Power of the Stars

Chapters

Across the Stars
Friendly Faces
Princess of the Town
Sense of Fashion
Identity Crisis
The Green Thunder
Brothers Till the End
Brief Break
Learning Experience
Plumber's Best Friend

Across the Stars

"Get-a back here, Bowser!"

Bowser laughed, flying high in his clown copter. Of course, everything was going according to plan this time. Sitting next to him was the beloved princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach, who he of course kidnapped once more, to drag the heroes into another trap he had planned. The turtle dragon laughed, "Ya should know this by now, plumber! You have to catch me first!" he taunted, flying even higher.

"Mario! Luigi! Help!" cried Peach, reaching out an arm.

On the ground, there were three people already on the chase. Running was a mustached man wearing red and blue overalls, a red cap with an 'M' on it was worn on top of his head. Next to him was a green dinosaur running at his pace, and sitting on top, just as determined was a taller mustached man wearing green and blue overalls with his own green cap with an 'L' on it. The Super Mario Bros and their companion Yoshi were on the move, ready to stop Bowser once more.

"We're-a almost there!" shouted Mario.

Luigi held on to the back of Yoshi's neck while the dinosaur sped up, "Mama mia, Yoshi!" he cried out, feeling himself about to fall off his pal.

"Sorry, Luigi!" apologized Yoshi.

Bowser ignored the heroes, continuing the flight to his castle in the Dark Lands. "Bah, as if you can stop me this time Mario and Green-Stache!" he mocked. He turned his head to see Peach once more reaching out for her heroes. Not wanting them to rescue her, the Koopa King threw some Bob-Ombs their way in an attempt to distract them, "You're so lucky I didn't bring my troops with me! Because they'll make sure you don't go anywhere!"

Mario hopped over one of the tossed bombs, seeing it explode behind him, "Mama mia!" he shouted, ""Be-a careful you two!" he warned his companions. Another Bob-Omb was tossed in his direction, this time with his hands on his hat, he ducked underneath it, avoiding the projectile. Bowser grunted, and then saw that he had a few more Bob-Ombs to spare. Smirking, he grabbed another, ready to pelt his longtime enemies with them. Mario and Luigi saw it coming and with Yoshi they moved to the side, watching as the Koopa King threw more bombs below.

Yoshi extended his tounge, holding the ticking bomb in his mouth. He hopped, using his Flurry Jump to keep himself airborne with Luigi still on his back and spat the Bob-Omb right in Bowser's face, covering his face in ash. The Koopa King shook the dust off his face and growled in anger. "Yer gonna pay for that, dinosaur... thing..." he grunted, shaking his fist at Yoshi.

"Ha ha!" laughed Yoshi, now back on the ground.

Mario looked at Luigi, as though he had a plan. The younger brother nodded and hopped off Yoshi, "What is it, Bro?" he asked.

The red clad plumber whispered something in Luigi's ear, him looking worried, "A-Are you-a sure that this is-a gonna work?" he asked timidly. Mario nodded, "Then count-a me in!"

"Let's-a go, Luigi!" said Mario, jumping into the air and Luigi caught him, holding his brother over his head. The green clad brother ran ahead, never losing momentum despite the added weight. Luigi jumped and began to spin, allowing the duo to float high enough to reach the clown copter. Yoshi saw the brothers and decided to join in, jumping and usinf his flutter jump to reach as high as the heroic plumbers. Bowser was unaware of this, only looking ahead at his destination, "Finally! Now to get the Power Stars!" he declared with a loud shout. Peach decided to speak up.

"Power Stars?"

"Bwahaha! That's right, Peach! But after our little space adventure, I found a large amount of Power Stars present in another world! I already sent my troops there right before I got ya! Now, with them the pesky plumbers won't be able to stop me!" the turtle dragon laughed.

"I won't-a be so sure of that!"

Bowser huffed while pressing a button, turning around, "That's what ya think-" he was cut off by the spinning plumbers aiming themselves toward him. Bowser's eyes widened at the sight, trying to speed up, "Curse you copter mileage!" he growled. The spinning Mario Bros managed to hit Bowser's Clown Copter, but before Yoshi could reach the princess, something they were unprepared for occurred. A rift opened up, dragging in the brothers, dinosaur, villain, and princess within it.

It was a peaceful day in Ponyville, the various equines wandered around, conversing with one another. Pinkie Pie hopped around, a strange object on her back. It appeared to be a glowing star with eyes. Standing next to her was Fluttershy, who had decided to join the pink pony. "I sure can't wait to see Twilight's reaction when she sees what I found lying on the ground! I bet it will be confusion, then excitement over wondering what it is!"

"I bet she'll be surprised." suggested the yellow pegasus.

Pinkie smiled, "You bet she will! It will be as though I'm throwing a party for her, even though I'm actually not! But what if I secretly am? Wouldn't that be great?" she asked.

"I'm sure it will." said Fluttershy who was unsure of how to answer.

Pinkie pointed at the sky, "Ooh! What's that?" she asked. Fluttershy stopped and looked up as well. Up in the sky was a blur of red, green, blue, and yellow. They noticed that the strange lights were being scattered, the red one heading toward the edge of Ponyville. A loud crash was heard once it was out of sight. The two mares also noticed that the other lights were out of their eyesight, presumably also having landed somewhere in Equestria.

"Let's check them out! Hopefully they'll have more stars like these!" Pinkie cheered.

"Are you sure about that, Pinkie?" questioned Fluttershy.

Smiling, Pinkie ruffled the timid pegasus' mane, "Don't worry, Fluttershy! Your auntie Pinkie will keep you away from any monsters!" she declared.

"I'm a year older than you..." Fluttershy reminded her friend.

Pinkie bounced in each step, with the pegasus following suit. The two wondered what crash landed, but the pegasus hoped that it was nothing hostile.

'And so... It has begun.'

A hooded pony witnessed the meteors through a small rift within her deserted castle hidden away, 'Once I step through there, my search for the Warriors will begin. I've already sent somepony to Equestria through a rift before, so it should be easy to transport myself to another dimension. The so-called Displaced heroes are my only hope in stopping HIM. Who knows what else shall make its way to Equestria...' she said to herself.

The cloaked being stepped into the rift, awaitng whatever's on the other side.

Friendly Faces

Mario slurred, finally gaining back consciousness. 'What-a happened...?' he thought, 'Why was-a there a portal in the way?' he wondered, remembering that Bowser was escaping and he, Luigi and Yoshi followed him into some rift of sorts, leading them to who knows where. Deciding that he wasn't going to get much done sitting down, the plumber decided to open his eyes.

And the first thing that he was a pink face staring right at him.

"Mama mia!" screamed Mario, hopping backwards in surprise. He noticed that the person staring at him wasn't a person, or even a Toad, but it appeared to be a horse of sorts. He stood up and noticed that next to the pink horse was a yellow one with wings, who appeared to hide behind their mane. "Um... Hello!" he tried to greet, wondering how to assess this situation.

"Hi!" said the pink horse, "My name's Pinkie Pie and that's Fluttershy! What's your name?" she asked loudly.

"Mario." said the red clad plumber.

"Um... What are you? You don't look like a creature seen in Equestria..." questioned Fluttershy.

"Well-a, I'm a human from the-a Mushroom Kingdom!" Mario revealed, pointing at himself. "You-a said this was called-a Equestria?" once he saw the mares nod, he continued, "I'm-a sorry, but I've never-a heard of Equestria before." he added.

Pinkie gapsed, "What do you mean you've never heard of Equestria before?"

Shaking his head, Mario answered, "I'm from a different world. I would-a have heard of Equestria if that-a wasn't the case." he looked down to see the small crater he created upon landing. "Anyway, it's all-a nothing new for me. There are-a plenty of stranger places I've-a been too, that's for sure."

"You're from another world?" asked Fluttershy.

Mario put a finger on his chin, "I believe-a so as far as-a I'm aware..." his mind trailed off, remembering the events that led to him arriving in this new world, "Ah! Luigi! Where-a is he?" he asked worridly.

"Um... Who's Luigi?"

"My-a brother!" replied the redclad plumber.

"You have a brother?" questioned Pinkie.

Nodding, Mario turned his head, "Yes. But I do not-a see him anywhere..." he sighed. "And Yoshi's gone... Along with Bowser and the princess. I'm-a on my own for now. I-a have to find them as soon as-a possible. I can only-a hope that they're somewhere-a safe as well as the princess."

"Wait..." muttered Fluttershy, making Mario stop, "We saw some stars land in different areas... And different colored things land as well." she revealed. "W-We have no idea where they went though. Sorry..."

"It's-a fine." comforted Mario with a smile. "Now, you also mentioned stars?"

Pinkie's mouth opened, "Oh yeah! Like this!" she yelled, showing Mario the strange star she was holding earlier.

Thr plumber immediately held it, "A Power Star? How did you-a get your hooves on this?!" he asked in disbelief, "These are only from-a my world!"

"These also fell down around Equestria! Luckily I managed to grab one!" explained the pink pony, "Fluttershy and I were going to see if Twilight could find out what it was, but then you crashed over here, and then we thought to check if you were all right and then we did and here we are!"

"How long ago?" asked the plumber.

Fluttershy raised a brow in confusion, "Um... What do you mean?"

"When did this-a happen?"

Pinkie inhaled, ready to speak once more, "Well, the stars fell down a few weeks ago, but I didn't find one until today and then you were in the sky along with a bunch of other comets and then they probably all landed in different spots kind of like you did over here!" she explained as fast as she could. "Does that help?"

Nodding, Mario sighed, "A little... Now... Can you-a help me get around this place? If what-a you said was true, then my-a friends are-a here too. Along with an enemy... And there is no way I'd be-a able to find them on my own."

"A-An enemy?" the pegasus gulped.

"Yes. But he shouldn't be able to do much-a harm like this. He has-a no army in this dimension." assured the redclad hero, waving his hand.

"Ooh! Can we take you to meet Twilight?" Pinkie wondered.

Mario scratched the back of his head, "Um... Sure. Who is she again?"

"She's only the smartest pony ever!" the pink pony declared.

'Oh, if only E. Gadd were here.' the plumber thought, remembering the scientist back in his world.

"Do you want to come? Y-You don't have to..." Fluttershy offered.

"I-a will. Let's just-a hope the other ponies are all friendly."

"Oh don't worry! Everypony's a friend in Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie assured the uneasy plumber. Mario smiled at her words, "We'll take you to meet Twilight right now! She'll definitely be surprised to see you."

Mario tipped his cap, "Okey dokey!" he cheered.

"Grah!"

Bowser clenched his aching head, seeing his Clown Copter still intact. "Stupid rift! That wasn't part of the plan!" he groaned, getting to his feet. He noticed that Peach was still in the copter, still unconscious from the fall. "At least she's still here. Makes things a lot easier for me..." he said.

The Koopa King took a step forward, noticing that he was in a forest, "Hm... The Power Stars did their jobs. Took me to another world. I can only hope the Troop did their jobs and kept a spare rift just in case." he said. He turned back to his craft and pushed it up. He knocked on it and then hopped in it, testing the controls. "Alright it's still working. Good. I just got this thing paid off like a week ago for the third time. That would've stunk." he chuckled lightly to himself.

"Now. I gotta check on the Koopa Cave to see if the Troop did their job right." he said, turning on his Clown Copter. The hovercraft began to fly in its spot, once Bowser pressed another button, the copter began to get through the forest, to the coordinates Bowser told his army to head to. 'Finally. It's all comin' to plan. The pesky plumber won't know what hit them once I find all of the Power Stars within this dimension!'

Bowser's thoughts were stopped as he heard the sound of moaning. Turning his head, he spotted Princess Peach waking up. "Oh my... Where am I?" her eyes widened upon realizing that she never left the Clown Copter with Bowser. "Oh no..." she gasped, seeing the Koopa King.

"Morning, Princess. Quite the surprise isn't it?" the turtle asked.

"Wh-Where's Mario?"

Laughing, Bowser replied, "No clue! We all got separated in the rift! Luckily, you're still here! We're on the way back to the lair! It'll be fun! Heck, I'll even bring Junior here if I have the time!"

Peach gasped again and she held onto the edge of the hovercraft, "MARIO! LUIGI! HELP ME!"

Princess of the Town

"That is one-a big crystal house."

Mario turned his gaze upward to stare at the castle. Despite his many adventures that led him around the world countless times, even he had to admit that this crystal house was a bizzare sight. "This is-a where your friend lives? It doesn't look-a like a normal house, er, well-a one that I've-a seen." he told the two ponies standing by his side.

"It's not just a house! It's a castle!" Pinkie responded in her usual cheerful tone.

Scratching his head, Mario replied, "That-a explains a lot."

Pinkie opened the door slowly, the three of them hearing it creak as she did so. They walked in, and Mario observed just how big the castle truly was on the inside. "Mama mia! How does-a she find out where to-a go? It's-a huge in here!" he wondered aloud, his voice echoing across the halls.

"Well, she does live here." Fluttershy answered. "She probably figured out where to put her stuff..."

The plumber nodded, "That-a makes sense, I suppose."

"Even I get lost in here sometimes!" admitted Pinkie, "But after walking in here so many times, I thought I figured it out, but every time I get lost and have to wander for so long just to find the exit! It's a good thing Twilight knows her way around here, otherwise." she gasped, "I may not get out of here!"

"But you-a do. And you would eventually." Mario assured, "It can't-a be that big in here to the point where-a you forget where you're even-a at." he added, looking at the many tall doors at every corner, 'What are-a all these doors for? They cannot-a each be their own room... Can-a they?'

Fluttershy quietly nodded in agreement, but before she could say something, Pinkie pulled out a megaphone began to shout at the top of her lungs, "TWILIGHT! WE'RE HERE! AND I THINK WE GOT LOST!" Mario and Fluttershy held their ears to block out the noise, but they felt the very foundation of the castle shake with Pinkie's every word, giving the two of them a brief scare. Once the noise stopped, the two looked at the pink pony, "I think she heard me."

Fluttershy and Mario raised a brow, "Um, I don't think she did Pinkie." said the yellow pegasus.

The plumber held his ears, "I do not-a know about that. She was-a pretty loud..." he reminded Fluttershy. He released his grip on his ears, noticing that the ringing sound was gone. He aighed in relief, "Just-a warn us whenever you-a do that again." he told the loud pink party pony.

"Okie dokie!" smiled Pinkie.

The three heard the sound of a door creak and turned around, "Can you keep it down, Pinkie? I'm trying to study." questioned the purple unicorn with wings. "And you're not lost you're-" she paused upon seeing Mario standing with her friends. The redclad plumber looked at her worridly, waving his hand in her frozen face.

He turned to the other ponies, "Is she-a okay?"

"Twilight will be fine! She just hasn't seen anything like you in Equestria!" Pinkie explained, with Mario nodding in understanding of what she just said.

"I get it." Mario faced Twilight once more, and waved his hand, then snapped his fingers. He cleared his throat. "Hello!" he waved nicely to the princess.

"W-What are you?" Twilight asked nervously.

"It's-a me, Mario! And I'm-a from another world! Pinkie Pie and-a Fluttershy said that you-a would be able to help me get-a back." the hero explained.

Twilight put a hoof on her chin, observing the plumber, who rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. The alicorn smiled, "I believe you. But... Why are you here?"

Mario shrugged, "I do not-a know. All I-a remember is chasing my enemy and then I fell-a into a portal then-a landed here, where these-a two ponies found me."

Pinkie's mouth formed an 'o' as she remembered something, "Oh that's right! Fluttershy and I were on our way to see you about this before we found Mario!" she held out the Power Star, which Twilight took a moment to deduce its strange appearance. The alicorn paused as she continued to think.

"It's a Power Star. But I'm-a not too sure how-a they got here from my world." explained Mario as best as he could.

"Strange..." Twilight said quietly. "It's from your world?" she addressed Mario.

The plumber nodded, "Yes. Power Stars hold a lot of power. Of course, that would-a mean that a certain fire-breathing turtle-a would come after them as well. I'm-a still wondering how we even-a got here to begin with." he crossed his arms, pondering the events that led to him waking up in Equestria.

Holding the Power Star with her magic, Twilight asked, "Fire-breathing turtle? That's... Odd."

"He's-a not to be trusted, I can-a tell you that much." he chuckled, "Just stay-a clear of him. He has a strange obsession with-a kidnapping princesses." he teased.

"Um... Who are you talking about?" Fluttershy questioned.

Twilight cut off Mario before he can say anything, "We can focus on that later. I think it'd be best if we get the other girls before Mario can explain. Is that alright?"

"Sure. I-a take it you can-a defend yourselves?" asked the plumber.

Pinkie nodded, "Yeperoo!" she confirmed.

"Okie dokie then! We'll-a see your friends about finding-a Bowser!" Mario agreed.

"That's his name?" Twilight responded with a question.

"Mh hmm." Mario nodded.

Meanwhile, a few minutes earlier, a certain purple dragon with green scales was rudely awakened thanks to Pinkie's shenanigans. He groaned as he stood up from his bed, "Ugh... Pinkie. It's too early for this." he moaned to himself, scratching his head as he got up from his bed. He looked himself in the mirror, noticing the bags under his eyes.

"This better be worth waking up for..." he sighed, yawning after speaking.

The young drake stepped out of his room into the endless hallways. He yawned once more, still reeling from just waking up. There was a small wobble in his step as he walked, which he didn't care. "I swear... I might as well collapse on this floor right now." he mumbled once again,

The dragon saw Pinkie, knowing what happened, and ignoring the other ponies with her, "Pinkie... You're not lost." he said simply, but then he paused upon seeing the strange person standing among them.

"Hello!" greeted Mario.

Twilight chuckled, "Good morning, Spike! Did you sleep well?" she asked him.

Spike started to walk away, "I'll get the travel bag."

Mario looked at Twilight with a raised brow, "What-a was that about?"

"That's Spike. Don't mind him right now. He's usually a grumpy dragon when he wakes up."

Pinkie said, "I wonder what got him in a bad mood."

Twilight continued to speak, "Once he's ready, I guess we'll head out. It'd be best if you get aquainted with our friends so we won't have to worry about anypony being surprised to see you in Ponyville and treat you as a threat."

"Thank you-a, Princess Twilight." thanked the plumber.

The lavender alicorn raised a hoof, "Please. Just call me Twilight." she said bashfully.

"Alrighty then, Twilight."

Sense of Fashion

"So, what-a is this farm? It-a looks pretty busy." Mario inquired. Since he travelled pretty much all across the Mushroom Kingdom during his adventures, he's seen plenty of interesting things. But the plumber never actually seen many farms during his travels, or at least one without that many animals.

"Sweet Apple Acres." answered Twilight, "Our friend Applejack lives nere with her family. Everyday she's working to harvest as many apples as she can." she explained. Spike sprinted behind her to catch up, Pinkie and Fluttershy having returned home earlier.

Mario shrugged, "Her name-a seems fitting."

The three walked ahead to the fields, where they saw an orange earth pony wearing a stetson over her blonde mane kick a tree with her hindlegs, forcing all of the apples in the tree to fall down into a small bucket she placed, not one missing its shot. The mare wiped sweat off her head as she turned around.

"Oh. Howdy, Twilight, Spike... And uh..."

Twilight cleared her throat, "Oh, right. Applejack, this is Mario. He's from another world."

"Hello." greeted Mario.

"Hey there, Mario. What brings ya here to Equestria?" Applejack questioned him.

The plumber shook his head, "I-a do not-a know. One minute I was-a fighting my enemy Bowser, but then-a suddenly, a portal opened up and-a then I woke up here." he explained the best he could. "So, you-a seem pretty busy here." he said, changing the subject.

"That's right. Everyday, mah family has to attend to these here trees in the orchard. Ya know what?" she inquired stepping away from the next tree she was going to go to. "I'll let you have a chance. Try to get as many apples into the basket as ya can." she suggested. Mario looked at Twilight and Spike, who shrugged.

"Alrighty then." sighed Mario.

The red-clad plumber raised his fist and reared it back. He punched the tree with all of his might, knocking down all the apples with ease. Mario rubbed his knuckles as he smlled, "Mama mia. That-a was easy." he responded.

Applejack chuckled, "Ya got some skill there, Mario. Something tells me you'd be great help around here."

"Yeah, sure."

The four looked up to see a lone cloud floating by. "Did that-a cloud just talk to us? I've-a seen weirder." Mario wondered, pointing upward at said cloud.

"No!" said the voice. A rainbow trail sped out of the top of the cloud, landing next to Mario. "You're talking to Rainbow Dash! Fastest flyer in all of Equestria. You did good down here, but I can clear this field faster than you."

"Rainbow Dash! Were ya lazing around in the orchard again?" Applejack groaned.

"What? It's a nice quiet spot?" Rainbow huffed.

Mario crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "What's that look for?" she asked.

"I know a hedgehog exactly like-a you. Fast and a big ego." Mario chuckled. Rainbow growled as the plumber continued, "So-a, you're-a Rainbow Dash, huh? Nice to-a meet ya, I'm-a Mario." he introduced himself.

"Heh. Ya got some talk in you." Rainbow smiled extending a hoof, "Nice to meet you." the plumber gave the pegasus a questioning glance before extending his arm, shaking her hoof. "So, what brings something like you into Ponyville?"

Mario sighed, telling the story again. "Heh. When I meet this Bowser creep I'll send him flying across the planet!" Rainbow boasted, earning an eye roll from the ponies.

"We have to find him first, Rainbow. But Mario mentioned that these Power Stars are essential as well." Twilight pointed out, "They fell out of the sky a few days ago! Mario said that they were actually from his world, and that this Bowser characters wants them to gain ultimate power somehow."

"That explains the meteor shower." Spike replied, "What are Power Stars anyway?"

"I'll-a explain later. I-a just hope that Bowser hasn't-a become aware of this matter yet." Mario said to the dragon before looking down at the alicorn, "So-a Twilight, do we-a have to stop anywhere-a else before we get-a started on finding the stars and my brother as well as my friend Yoshi?"

"Actually there is." Twilight said.

Mario shook his head, "What am I-a even looking at right now?" he asked aloud upon staring at the building.

"That's the Carasoul Boutique, Mario. Our friend Rarity lives and works there." as Twilight explained this, Mario looked at Spike, and he swore he saw hearts in his eyes. The plumber raised a brow in confusion, but he just shrugged it off and knocked on the door, with the two standing by his side.

The door slowly creaked open, the pony in question who opened it was a white unicorn with a purple mane. "Hello. Welcome to the Carasoul..." her words died in her mouth upon seeing Mario, who frowned upon her reaction.

'Is everyone going to-a be like this?' he thought. He turned to Twilight, who decided to explain things.

"Rarity. Um, this is Mario. He's from another world and needs help in doing that... Rarity?" Twilight said, but the unicorn remained still. Spike walked up, waving his hand around her face.

"My word... Those clothes..." Rarity mumbled, "They look so... So... Outdated."

Mario rolled his eyes at the comment, "I've-a been wearing these overalls since I was a child." he said. "Nobody has-a ever commented on-a them until now. What's-a wrong with them?" he asked the unicorn, who shook her head.

"That red does not go with blue overalls! You should've went blue with red overalls!" Rarity practically screamed.

Mario rubbed the side of his head, "I-a already did. I grew out of that and-a settled with this."

Rarity huffed, "Very well. What brings you three here anyhow?"

"As I was saying... Mario needs our help in stopping some new foe from taking over this world and his own." Twilight repeated.

"Well we can't have that, now can we? What do you suppose we do about this?" Rarity inquired.

Spike decided to speak, "Weren't we going to meet back at the castle or something? Then head out to find these weird stars Mario mentioned to Pinkie?"

The unicorn's eyes widened, "Star?" she used her magic to levitate something out the door, "You mean like this?" she asked. The star also had a face like the one Mario had.

"Mm hmm." nodded Mario, "I'm-a not sure how many are-a here but we should find out soon." as they walked back to the castle, Mario swore he saw a cloaked figure watching him, but when he turned around, they were gone.

"You idiots!"

Bowser grumbled at the army he brought with him to Equestria, hiding out in a secret cavern. "I give you ten Power Stars! Ten! And how somehow manages to lose half of them? What do I pay you for!?" he asked his scared minion.

The Koopa gulped, "Y-You don't pay us at all sir!"

Bowser pointed at the turtle and snarled, "Exactly! It's because of nonsense like this that you work for free!" he crossed his arms and sighed, "Look, we have enough Power Stars to continue anyhow. We just have to make sure that Mario and Green Stache don't find the ones we're missing before we do. Open a portal... I'm sending a small army to the nearest town to draw them out."

"Sir..."

Bowser opened his eyes, "Uh? What is it Kamek?"

The Magikoopa cleared his throat, "Your big muscled majesty! I used a spell and managed to track down two of the missing Power Stars! The five we lost fell in a meteor shower. I tracked the two in a town called Ponyville."

"Ponyville, eh? Sounds as subtle as the Mushroom Kingdom. That's it, we're sending the Koopa Troop there first! Let's see if Mario and his friends can handle this in time!"

Identity Crisis

A man wearing green held his head while he struggled to stand. "Mama mia..." he groaned, feeling a cap over his head as he slowly got to his feet. "What-a happened to me...?"

The man paused as he tried to recollect his memories, but an aching sensation in his head forced him to stop. 'I-I don't-a remember anything...! W-Who am I?' he thought, his mind racing, but nothing of help came to his head.

'N-No wait... My name... Is Luigi...' he remembered. Opening his eyes, Luigi noticed that he was in the middle of a forest, of which he couldn't tell if he had been there before. But the green-clad plumber decided to walk ahead to get a better look at his surroundings, in hopes of getting his memory back.

Luigi looked ahead, spotting a river. Running toward it, he felt himself get tired. He took a look at the water after kneeling down, seeing his clear reflection. Seeing that the water for the most part was clean, he dipped his hand into the body of river and poured the water into his mouth. Once he felt satisfied, he wiped his wet mouth with his sleeve.

'Mama mia... I-a needed that.' thought Luigi, getting back to his feet. He dusted his pants off as he turned around, 'Now... Why am-a I afraid of what's-a here?'

The sound of rumbling got Luigi's attention. He shuddered as he turned around. The plumber gulped as a howl was heard. Despite this, he got up and turned around. What he saw turned his eyes into saucers. "Mama mia!" he shouted.

It was a giant wolf, made of wood. The creature howled as it stared down at Luigi, who gulped in response. 'Think! There-a has to be-a way to stop th-this thing!' his brain told him. Luigi jumped away right as the wolf attempted to bite him.

"I-a can jump... Really high..." noticed Luigi in between breaths. With a scowl, he felt a memory come back to him. Memories that allowed him to find a way to stop this creature. 'I'm-a different... I'm a powerful person...' he realized at last.

Luigi huffed, opening his palm, a ball of green electric appearing on top of it. With a scowl, he threw it at the monster, and it burst into pieces almost instantly upon contact. Luigi paused upon seeing how easy this battle was against a monster like that. He looked at his hand once again, seeing that he was somehow able to easily control the electric powers within his palm.

His small victory was cut short by the sound of rumbling. Luigi looked at the ground to see that the splintered remains of the wolf were shaking and moving on their own. The plumber shivered at the sight as the timberwolf reformed itself without any problems. The creature lowered its head as it roared, frightening Luigi.

Luigi took a step back then ran, the timberwolf howled before chasing thr plumber. Luigi hopped over a log and slid underneath a few loose vines hanging from the trees. He turned his head for a moment to see the timberwolf rampaging through the terrain as if it wasn't there. Gulping, Luigi faced ahead once again.

But a problem arose when Luigi found himself surrounded by trees with no way to climb fast enough. He turned around, face to face with the angered timberwolf. "St-stay back!" he warned with a small studder, still scared out of his mind. He held out his hand, but as he did, he felt a strange warmth coming out of it. Opening his eyes, Luigi expected his electric abilities to appear on his hand.

But instead he found a green fire ball emerging from his palm.

A smile formed on Luigi's face. He flicked his hand, shooting the fireball at the timberwolf, burning it slightly. He repeated the action a few more times, hitting the limbs of the wodden creature. The timberwolf howled as it fell apart again.

'Just to-a be on the safe side...' thought Luigi. He raised his hand and dropped a fireball on the remains, making sure that it stayed down while he was wandering about.

Luigi continued on, but a strange noise got his attention. He looked down and saw a faint glow. The green-clad plumber knelt down, seeing a strange star with a face buried underneath some leaves. He picked it up and looked at it. 'This-a also looks familiar.' he thought, 'Maybe I can-a get some answers nearby.'

As Luigi continued walking, strange star in his pocket, he bumped into something. The plumber rubbed his head again while he opened his eyes. He was greeted by a group of walking turtles, wearing robes and not, and brown mushroom things that found him somehow. They shivered in fright at the mere sight of him.

"Luigi!" shouted the frightened turtle.

"You-a know me?" Luigi asked.

The turtle nodded, "Um... Yes?"

A smile formed on the plumber's face, "Oh-a good. Can you-a help-a me? I can't-a remember anything!"

The Koopa gestured for his team to huddle and whispered. "Okay, guys. It seems Luigi has amnesia or is dumber than we thought... We can use this." he said. "What do you think?" he asked the Goomba,

"I say we get him to fight Mario for us..." the Goomba smirked, "King Bowser would be so pleased with us..."

"Yes. And if that fails, we can take them down ourselves." the Magickoopa agreed. They all faced Luigi again, as they came up with the perfect explanation.

"You're with us. We're after a guy named Mario. We needed you to find him in a nearby town called Ponyville." the Koopa revealed, "Can you do that?"

'A part of-a me tells me this is-a wrong... But I-a need answers.' Luigi slowly nodded, sprinting away from the Koopa Troops who held in laughter. 'Maybe this-a Mario person can-a give me some-a answers.'

Eventually, Luigi reached the outskirts of a forest, seeing a small town in the distance and he smirked. 'Mario may not be able to withstand the-a power of the Green Thunder, Mr. L. Once I-a find him, I'll-a do as they said. Bring him down.'

The Green Thunder

Mario stood in the room Twilight offered him while he was stuck in Equestria. "It's-a cozy..." he told himself, lying on the bed next to the small desk. 'Two Power Stars... How many did-a Bowser lose? How did-a he get them-a here in the first place?'

The plumber looked at his desk, the two stars he collected were lying on the table. "This-a makes my job-a easier." he whispered, gazing out the window. "I-a hope Luigi and Yoshi are safe..."

'Hello Mario...'

Mario's eyes went wide at the unfamiliar voice. "Mama mia!" he gasped. He turned around, and the sight he was bestowed was of a strange cloaked pony, an aura surrounding her being. "Um... Who-a are you and how do you-a know me?" he asked the strange pony, whose eyes were covered by the cloak.

The cloaked pony sighed, 'My apologies... This is the first time I have done anything like this... I am glad I got to you at this moment...' she said cryptically. 'My name is Solar... And I need your help, Super Mario.' she revealed.

"Why?" asked Mario.

The being, revealed to be Solar, sighed again, 'A dark presence is in my world. One that will destroy everything. I am looking for heroes in order to combat it. It seems that there are a number of heroes displaced from their dimensions and coming to Equestria. I am travelling through as many worlds as I can to find the right heroes.'

"But why-a me?" Mario wondered.

Solar gazed at the ground, 'You are a person I am looking for. A hero who can lead this team I have in mind. I've seen plenty of worlds and you have the potential I seek.'

Mario put a finger on his chin, trying to figure out what the strange being was saying, "So, you-a want me to be a part of some-a team? But-a you mentioned potential. What does that mean?"

'I cannot say for right now. But what I can tell you is that you are about to fight a battle against one close to you.' Solar began to vanish, 'I bid you farewell, Mario. Lest he finds me.'

"Wait! Till-a who finds you!?" Mario tried to plead, but Solar already vanished before he could get answers. With a grunt, Mario spoke, "Mama mia! What is-a going on!?"

The door to Mario's room opened, getting the plumber's attention. He saw Spike enter. "Hey, Mario." he said.

"Oh, hello Spike." Mario greeted.

"We... Uh, kinda need your help." Spike slowly said.

Mario gave the dragon a confused look, "What do you-a need--" he was cut off by a strange, yet familiar sound coming from outside. The plumber looked out the window, his eyes nearly bulging out at what sight greeted him.

It was Luigi, but he seemed more hostile. "Where is-a, Mario?" he asked. "I have-a orders to take-a care of!"

With a scowl, the plumber knew what was happening, 'Luigi! H-He must've either lost his memory and was manipulated, or is under mind control! I-a have to stop him before he-a hurts someone.' he thought. Mario ran out the door, "Tell the-a others to stay behind! I can handle-a this!" he ordered Spike.

"Uh... Okay."

Mario stepped out of the castle. "Luigi!"

"There you are, Mario!" grunted Luigi.

The red-clad plumber raised his fists, "Why-a are you doing this? You're-a better than this!" he pleaded.

Luigi smiled, "I was-a told to destroy you! I have no-a recollection of who I am. That's-a why I'm here. To get answers. And a fight." he raised his fists as well.

"You-a don't have to do this, Luigi!"

"I-a have to!"

Mario grunted, "Fine." he leaped in the air and reared his arm back, ready to deliver a punch. Luigi jumped out of the way in time, avoiding Mario's fist slam down. "C'mon, bro!" he begged to his brother, getting back to his feet.

Luigi held his head, "Ah!" he shouted, memories coming back to him. "N-No... I-a need to stop you." the green-clad plumber said through gritted teeth. "They-a said so."

"Who did!?" Mario shouted.

Luigi hissed, running after Mario. The plumber in red, slid underneath his brother tripping him again. Luigi extended his arm and threw a fireball in Mario's direction, forcing the hero to jump out of the way before it can hit him. Luigi got back to his feet as he reared his ahd back again, it glowing green.

Luigi threw another fireball at Mario, who dove out of the way, and saw that luckily, it missed hitting any bystanding ponies. "Go!" he told them, the ponies slowly nodded and trotted out of the way. "And-a as for you!" he ran to his awol brother and grabbed him by the overall strap, "You-a are Luigi! My-a brother!" he revealed once again, but Luigi scowled.

"You say that... But-a how do I-a know you're not lying?" Luigi questioned again. He landed a punch on Mario's face, making the red-clad plumber stagger. Mario managed to get his focus back while Luigi continued, "Why-a are you playing with my mind?"

"I'm not-a the one playing with your mind! Whoever-a told you to-a destroy me did!" Mario revealed. He watched as Luigi grabbed his head once again. "Come back to me, bro!" pleaded the plumber, a hand reaching out for Luigi. Instead of the green-clad hero reaching, he threw an electric ball at the plumber, sending Mario flying in pain.

Mario held his chest, still feeling a slight sting. "Fine... Then-a I guess we're-a doing this the hard way." he panted.

"The hard way?" Luigi questioned.

Grunting, Mario threw a punch Luigi's way, hitting his brother's side. The green hero fell back, but as Mario rubbed his knuckles, Luigi manages to kick him. "Do not-a think I won't-a hold back." said the amnesic plumber to Mario.

"I know."

The red hero threw a fireball at his brother, but Luigi managed to catch it and absorbed it into a fireball of his own, throwing it back at Mario. Without any other options, Mario reached for his side and flicked a yellow cape, reflecting the fireball back at his brother. Luigi's eyes widened as he found no way to catch the fireball in time. He took the fire to the chest, stunning him.

Mario ran forward and decided to end the battle with an uppercut. He reared his fist back and aimed for Luigi's jaw. "I'm-a sorry, bro." he whispered, jumping as Luigi felt the force of his fist collide with his chin. The red hero spun in the air as Luigi collided with the ground. "I hope-a you remember..."

"Mama mia..." groaned Luigi, "M-Mario?"

The older brother looked down at his brother lying on the ground, "Luigi? Is it-a really you?" he asked, helping Luigi get back on his feet without hesitation.

The green plumber nodded, "Mm hmm. What-a happened to-a me?" he questioned. "And where are we?"

"You-a lost your memory..." explained Mario. "We are-a in another world called Equestria. Turns-a out there are-a Power Stars here as well. And we need to-a find them before Bowser."

"Power Stars?" asked Luigi, reaching into his pocket, "I-a already found one."

"Mama mia! That's-a three already!" exclaimed Mario.

"So you found three for us?"

The Mario Bros faced the source of the voice. They were the Koopa Troop Luigi met earlier. "Gotta say. Thanks for making our jobs easier. Now we can return them to Lord Bowser and finally get our paychecks!" said the Koopa standing in the front.

Mario and Luigi looked at each other and nodded, ready for a fight.

Brothers Till the End

Mario reached into his pocket and managed to grab a weapon, his trusty hammer, something he'll never leave without. The red-clad plumber jumped up, hammer raised. The Koopa standing in front of the group cowered and hid in his shell.

Luckily for the koopa, Mario only taunted him and hit the ground with his hammer. While he was still in the shell, Luigi jumped up and kicked the shell, hitting the Goombas standing around. One of the brown creatures jumped and dodged the moving shell in time. The shell stopped once it bounced off a building, the Koopa inside it popped out, dizzy from having ben spun around so many times and so fast.

The lone Goomba charged ahead after Luigi. The plumber, not afraid of the minion, jumped up and managed hit the Goomba on the head, squishing his head. "Oh man..." sighed the Goomba in annoyance, having this happen to him yet again. He tried to run away before the Mario Bros. could finish the job like his brethren before him.

The Magikoopa left standing performed a spell with his wand and aimed it at the Mario Brothers. Mario of course used his cape to reflect the spell back at the wizard. Luigi, while the Magikoopa was distracted, grabbed his own hammer and hit the Magikoopa on the head, stunning him for a moment. The green-clad plumber then jumped away from the dazed wizard.

In that moment, the spell that was reflected managed to hit the Magickoopa, turning himself into a Goomba. "Aw..." sighed the transformed creature. "You may have won this time, Mario and Luigi. But King Bowser will have a plan that will destroy you once we retrieve the other Power Stars!"

Somehow managing to use and wave his wand despite having no hands, the Magikoopa warped himself and the minions away from Ponyville. Once they were gone, Mario and Luigi high-fived each other. "Oh yeah!" they both shouted at their temporary victory.

"It's-a great to see you again, bro!" the red-clad plumber said sincerely.

Luigi nodded, "I'm-a glad I found you. What have I-a missed?"

"Not alot. I was-a looking for you and Yoshi." Mario explained.

"Yoshi is-a missing too? Where could he have-a possibly gone?" Luigi wondered.

"This-a castle's huge!"

Luigi faced the ceiling of Twilight's castle, "This place is-a bigger than Peach's Castle!" he noted. "But why are we-a here, bro?"

"It-a is. I want-a to introduce you to-a my new friends." said Mario, "They should-a already be-a here."

Mario and Luigi opened the gianr doors, leading them into a strange room unlike the others. This room had a large crystal table lying in the middle of it, surrounded by seven chairs, and on the ceiling were tree roots, which seemed to be there for a while.

"Hello!" said Mario.

"Mario?" asked Twilight, "Who is this?"

"I'm-a Luigi, numbah one!" Luigi introduced himself with a thumbs up and a smile.

Mario wrapped an arm around Luigi's shoulder, "This is-a my brother, Luigi!"

"Your brother?" Rainbow questioned.

"Yep!"

"I-Is he someone you were looking for?" Fluttershy wondered.

Mario nodded, "Mm hmm! He and I got-a separated. Now we're-a only missing Yoshi. If only I knew where he could-a be at..." he sighed, wondering where his friend wound up in.

"How did you two even end up here?" asked Rarity. "It seems odd that you would show up here after those strange stars fell from the sky merely a few days ago."

"We were-a chasing our enemy Bowser, who-a kidnapped Princess Peach again," Mario began to explained, "Suddenly, a portal opened up and we were-a taken in. I woke up and that's-a when Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie-a found me, and they already had a Power Star in their-a possession."

"What about you, Luigi?" Applejack asked, "Where were ya when Mario was here?"

"I-a woke up in some forest. And I-a forgot who I was, I think I hit-a my head while I-a fell. Bowser's-a minions told me to fight you to get-a Mario easily and conquer this-a world. We-a stopped them before they could-a do anymore damage to the town." Luigi brought in his own side of the story, explaining how he ended up fighting his brother.

Rarity put a hoof under her chin, "So, this Bowser creep kidnapped a princess and is planning to conquer our world as well? Why I never!" she huffed.

"Exactly! We need to-a find Yoshi soon! He can-a help us find the proncess before it's-a too late!" Mario declared and faced his brother, "Are you-a ready to help, Luigi?"

"As long as it's not-a too scary, then I am!" Luigi announced.

"Aw yeah! Where are we going first?" Rainbow wondered, "We gotta go somewhere... Right?"

"Sorry, Mario and Luigi. But we don't even know where to begin looking for the missing Power Stars, or where this Yoshi person is even at." Twilight apologized.

"It's-a fine. I'm sure-a Yoshi can handle himself a little longer." Mario responded with a tip of his cap.

"But what do we-a do in the meantime?" asked Luigi.

Twilight decided to speak first, "We can show you around Ponyville at least now that the two of you are reunited. I can attempt to create a tracking spell to find the Power Stars and maybe along the way we'll find your Yoshi friend." she explained, lighting up her horn.

"Okey dokey!" Mario agreed.

"Why do I even bother aith you morons!?"

Bowser shouted at his minions, who failed to destroy Mario or retrieve the Power Stars in his possession. "Let me get this straight? You not only didn't get the stars there, but now he has another one with him and his annoying brother!?" he asked while crossing his arms, "This is why I do all the hard work myself!"

"W-We're sorry, Lord Bowser!" studdered a Koopa.

Bowser grunted, "Ya darn right you are! Kamek!"

The helpful Magikoopa hovered into the room, "Yes, your burly buffness?" he wondered.

"Open a portal. We're bringing Junior here and having him keep an eye out for Mario. Then, once I get the stars, this world and the Mushroom Kingdom will belong to me!"

"But what will Junior do exactly?" Kamek questioned.

Bowser chuckled, "It's simple. He'll come here, then I'll make sure that he stays quiet about this, a challenge I know. Then when Mario and Luigi least expect it... Bam! We take the stars they have right from under their giant noses and get the ones we're missing!" he announced his plan, slamming his fist right into his palm in a dramatic manner. "It's diabolical!"

In her cell, Peach overheard the plan, and she whispered, "Mario, Luigi, Yoshi. Please hurry."

Brief Break

Mario and Luigi slammed their fists on the tree, tossing the apples into the bucket with no problem. They had been at this job for a while now, since Applejack decided that they could use more help around the farm, the brothers decided that it'd be a good break before they continue their quest in this new world.

"This is-a very easy, bro." said Luigi, looking at the buckets of apples lying before him. "But shouldn't-a we find-a Yoshi soon?" he asked the red-clad plumber, who nodded.

"Yep! It's-a only a small-a break, I assure you." Mario said. "We need to-a be prepared for anything. We-a still don't know where-a Bowser's at, and I'm-a sure Yoshi is safe. I have-a faith he can handle himself, and I knew you would-a be fine."

"If you-a say so... Those minions Bowser-a sent left, but I-a wished we had a clue to-a where he's at." Luigi sighed.

"Me too, bro." Mario agreed.

"Well, it seems the two of ya got the job done faster than ah thought." said Applejack, walking in on the conversation next to her brother, who was pushing a wagon of his own. "Thanks for the help, but I can take it from here."

"Eeyup." said Big Mac.

"Uh... Who are-a you?" asked Mario.

"Oh, Mario, this is my brother, Big Mac. He's not known fer talkin'." the mare introduced the plumbers to the red stallion. "Ain't that right, bro?" she asked.

"Eeyup." agreed Big Mac.

"Pleasure to-a meet you." said Mario.

"Same here." added Luigi.

"So, ya two. What do you plan on doin' after this?" the farmpony wondered. The plumbers scratched their heads, curious as well. After a moment of thinking, Mario decided to answer, having a small idea of what's to come.

"We're-a gonna go find-a our friend soon." answered the red-clad plumber. "Luigi and I-a wanted to go explore for a bit, and then-a we will continue to-a find the Power Stars lost around this-a world." he turned to face his brother, who nodded in agreement.

"That's good." Applejack commented, "But ah think the two of ya re done fer today. Ya can start lookin' if ya want. I'll tell Twi about where you're at if she wants to know."

Luigi nodded, grabbing the bucket and placing it on the wagon, "Thank-a you, Big Mac."

"Eeyup."

As Big Mac and Applejack walked away, Luigi faced his brother, after glancing at the orchard real quick. "Hey, bro." he got Mario's attention, "Where do you-a think Yoshi's at?" he asked.

"I don't-a know. But like I-a said earlier. He-a should be fine. I'm-a worried about him too..." Mario sighed, wondering where his trusty dinosaur friend ended up in this strange dimension. "But at least once-a we find him, we can-a continue the search."

Luigi put a hand on his brother's shoulder, "Okie dokie. I-a trust you, bro." he said. "C'mon, we should-a head back to the castle. Maybe we can-a find a map and start-a today."

Mario smiled, but when he turned his head, he saw a familiar cloaked pony standing by. "I'll-a meet you there, Luigi." he assured, "I got-a something to take care of real quick." at Luigi's nod, the green-clad plumber walked away, leaving Mario to speak to the pony.

'You have done as well as I hoped.' Solar revealed. 'Just as I had initially thought.'

"Why are you-a here again?" Mario questioned.

The glowing pony sighed, 'To see your progress. Among the displaced warriors I have seen, you have what it takes. You have saved your brother without effort, but of course, your journey is far from over at this point.'

Mario crossed his arms, "I-a know. I need to find-a Yoshi, the Power Stars, and-a rescue the princess. It won't-a be over until all of that-a gets done. And I don't-a like sitting down while Bowser is-a out there. Luigi had a good idea... I can-a only hope that we can find-a Yoshi sooner rather than later."

'Exactly. You're exactly like I had hoped. A hero, unlike the one I have summoned to my world...'

"What do you-a mean?" Mario asked.

Solar faced the plumber, her eyes still covered by her hood, 'It doesn't matter now. But I will explain to you what is happening once you find your true power.'

"I do not-a know what that means, but I have a feeling we will-a meet again." Mario said.

'Correct. But for now I will leave you to your devices.' she said, fading away like she did earlier.

Mario scratched his head, "Well... I-a hope this can only-a be a good thing." he muttered to himself. With those thoughts in his head, Mario decided to follow Luigi back to the castle, where they're gonna discuss finding Yoshi.

With a grunt, a green dinosaur hovered over the small lake, and landed on the grass. Yoshi hummed, running as fast as he could through the forest. 'Where are you, Mario and Luigi?' he thought without stopping his pace.

"Hm... Where am I now?" Yoshi asked. "I swear this forest looks the same everywhere I go." he looked up and saw a small fruit on a tree. With a light jumped, he craned his neck upward and used his long tongue to grab the food. He swallowed it in one bit.

"Yummy!" he cheered, rubbing his stomach.

Feeling satisfied, Yoshi continued running, hoping to find civilization soon enough. But a strange noise got his attention. 'What's that?' he asked himself. The dinosaur peeked through some bushes, seeing some goombas and koopas.

"Come on! Lord Bowser wants us to find Mario and Luigi!" the goomba wearing a hat ordered.

"Yeah! He can finally pay us after this!" said a koopa.

"Payday!"

'Minions? Bowser must be nearby.' thought Yoshi. 'A shame I already ate. I could turn all of them into eggs. And I'm tired... I can't fight them like this.' he added. Despite having just eaten, Yoshi realized that even though there weren't a lot of minions, the last thing he needed was to be exposed in a world he was unfamiliar with.

So with a sigh, Yoshi sprinted off, the minions unaware of his brief presence. The green dinosaur passed through the forest but something caught his eye.

"A town! Finally! I can eat and sleep!" cheered the dinosaur. Yoshi ducked down, sprinting ahead. But then he realized something... In all of his time helping Mario, he's never seen a town like this before. So, he slowed down, hoping to see what resides down there.

Learning Experience

"Mama mia! That-a map is made out of-a crystal!" Mario shouted. He slowly placed a hand on the round crystal table, well he thought it was a table anyway. He couldn't quite figure out what it really was. "This-a wasn't what we were expecting!"

Twilight walked next to Mario, her gaze on the Crystal Map, "This isn't like any other map in Equestria, Mario. This one has certain magical properties, though I'm not sure how your world operates compared to ours. Whenever there is a friendship problem somewhere in Equestria, the map will summon any of us who can aid in the situation, which we'll go."

"That-a sounds neat." Luigi complimented. "Can we-a look at it to-a find Yoshi? Or at-a least learn where everything is-a at?" he asked the alicorn, who nodded. "This-a world is-a way different than-a the Mushroom Kingdom." he put a finger on his chin.

"Go ahead. But it probably won't help find Yoshi directly." Twilight warned.

Spike nodded, rubbing a hand on the table as well, "How can you even tell what's what on here anyway? There's no label or key or anything! Oh, I see a few towns, and mountains."

"You're right about that, Spike. We as ponies recognize these places, while you two have no idea this world even existed until recently." Twilight realized, rubbing a hoof on the back of her head upon discovering this small flaw. "Can you bring a different map to list the different regions for them?"

Saluting, Spike responded, "You got it, Twi!" he then ran off, looking for another map.

"Yoshi could be-a anywhere, Mario." Luigi reminded him. The red-clad plumber nodded, "How are-a we going to began-a looking for him, anyway?"

Mario said, "I'm aware of-a that, Luigi. But we-a have to start-a somewhere. First, we will-a look around Ponyville. Then, we will-a wander about any nearby-a cities. Yoshi can't be that-a far away if we were-a warped here." he told his brother.

"If it makes you feel any better, this world isn't that much hostile, unless it is a known monster. If your friend Yoshi is friendly then he should be safe at least." Twilight assured.

Nodding, Mario crossed his arms, "I-a had a feeling that was-a the case. No one-a in this dimension reacted aggresively toward-a us when we-a arrived."

"At this point, we are-a only known in Ponyville. Yoshi would have-a no idea where we are-a at or that we're even-a here to being with." Luigi added.

Twilight looked down, "That is true. Unless of course, he ended up neaby Ponyville."

"That seems-a too convenient." Mario pointed out.

Yoshi turned his head, seeing a small house standing at the putskirts of the nearby town. It was the only known source of shelter anywhere away from civilization at the moment. Close enough to get to the village in case of an emergency, but far enough away so that it could be considered isolated.

"Oh well." sighed the green dinosuar. So far, he had no clue as to where he was at. The only thing he did know, however, is that wherever they're at, Bowser followed them. And that meant, Mario and Luigi were close by judging by the Goombas and Koopas.

The dinosaur walked forward, taking a glance at the animals residing nearby this small house. 'Is this a farm of some kind? I hope whoever lives here is nice,' thought Yoshi.

Yoshi knocked on the door gently, seeing a cream yellow pony open it. She squeaked in fright at the sight of Yoshi, prompting him to assure her he was friendly, "W-Wait! I'm not going to hurt you, cute pony!" he nearly shouted. He placed his hands at his side, "See? I'm just a little lost, and I need directions."

Fluttershy looked at the dinosaur, "Um... What are you?"

"I'm a dinosaur." Yoshi answered.

The pegasus' eyes widened, "Wait... M-Mario mentioned that he was looking for a dinosaur earlier... I've never seen one before... So, are you Yoshi!"

The green creature cheered, "You know Mario? Great! Can you take me to him?" he wondered.

Fluttershy was taken aback by Yoshi's enthusiasm, "O-Of course. C-Can I learn more about you on the way? I-If you don't mind that is..." she suggested. "I-I've nevee talked to a dinosaur before..."

Yoshi nodded, "Yeah! I have so much to talk about."

Spike held up a rolled up scroll, "Here you go, guys! One map containing the different regions of Equestria. I think this should make detailing a lot easier."

"Thank-a you, Spike." said Luigi.

"No problem. Can I help?" the young drake asked.

Mario nodded, "Sure. You and-a Twilight know more-a about this world than we-a do. We could use your-a input."

"Cool!"

And then for the next ten minutes, Mario and Luigi learned about the strange land. Equestria was home to many different cities, Ponyville, Canterlot, Manehattan, Fillydelphia and even regions that are inhabitied by species other than ponies. The plumbers hadn't realized the world they were in was as expansive as theirs.

Luigi sighed, "It-a kinda reminds me of-a home."

"You're-a right. And due to how-a we were sent-a here. Bowser and the princess could be-a anywhere." Mario said, his gaze never leaving the paper map.

Twilight looked at the red-clad plumber, "I'm sure somepony will warn us of Bowser's presence if he ever decides to reveal himself. In the meantime, we should focus on finding these Power Stars that seem to be important."

"We already have-a three. I have no clue-a on how many Bowser has-a over here." Mario recalled.

Spike shrugged, "Why would this Bowser guy even want to come here to begin with?"

Luigi narrowed his gaze at the mention of their nemesis, "Perhaps he grew-a tired of facing us... So he wanted to-a conquer another world instead? That-a doesn't sound-a good if that is-a the case..." he realized, silently gulping in fear. "He could-a expand to different-a dimensions if we weren't here!"

"It's a good thing we're a here now, then." Mario reminded his brother. "At least it's-a only Bowser and his Koopa Troop we-a have to worry about this-a time. We can handle-a them anytime!" he boasted, easing Luigi's worries.

"Koopa Troop?" Twilight repeated the name as a question.

"Bowser's mook army. They're-a not difficult to handle. With you and your-a friends, it will be-a easier to thin their numbers so that we can-a focus on Bowser." Mario assured. "It only takes a single jump or two for them to-a surrender."

"That's good to hear." Spike replied, "So, I can just bop them on the head and they're done? Awesome!"

Twilight nodded, "You mentioned it's just his basic Koopa Troop. Are there any other threats on your world that we should be concerned about at the moment?"

"Not-a really. Well... Huge-a threats anyway." Mario corrected himself, the red plumber stroking his mustache. "Bowser usually-a works with only his troop and-a his Koopalings. Mainly his-a son, Bowser Jr." he elaborated for the two.

Luigi continued, "Usually if-a there's a bigger and scarier threat, he will-a join us to stop them. But-a everytime I'm-a afraid he will-a turn his back on us." he admitted.

"At the very least he won't get himself involved with some of our world's threats." Twilight muttered, but she cleared her throat, "If what you're saying is true then it's only him we have to worry about as well as the Power Stars missing. If only we knew how many there were and where they're at."

Mario clenched a fist, "Maybe if we can-a get information out of the next goon Bowser-a sends, we can-a figure out!"

Bowser laughed, seeing the portal open up. "Alright, gents! He should be here any minute!" time passed for the Koopa King, him tapping his foot impatiently, "Okay... Now!" he shouted, with nothing happening as a result. He walked back and forth, him and his Magikoopa minions growing bored by the second. Even Peach seemed to have fallen asleep in the lengthy wait.

"If he doesn't show up in the next five seconds, I'm dragging him here by the shell!" he threatened loudly.

A lighter laugh came from the portal as a being jumped out. It was a creature similar to Bowser, but he was smaller and ne wore a bib of sorts with drawn fangs on it, seemingly made to look threatening for his younger age. "I'm here, Pa!"

"About time, Junior!" Bowser grunted, "Your father was getting impatient at this point. What took ya so long?"

Bowser Junior lowered the bib, raising the strange paintbrush in his clawed hand. "I wanted to look for this! I wanna have some fun in this world!"

The older Koopa smirked proudly, "That's my son! If Mario and Luigi are here, you can throw off the ponies of this world and make him look like the bad guy! Perfect!"

Junior lowered the brush, "I just wanna go somewhere!"

"I have news, King Bowser!" yelled Kamek, the Magikoopa running into the room as fast he could. "O-Oh, Junior! I am surprised to see you here as well!"

Bowser stomped his foot, the sound echoing through the caves, "Alright, Kamek. What is it this time?"

The wizard koopa sighed, "I am sorry fr my intrusion. But I have found one of the last missing Power Stars. It is in a city called Manehattan. What are your orders?"

"It's simple! Junior can go there and have fun with that paintbrush of his!" Bowser declared, "Have this world mistrust Mario, and it nets us a Power Star! Nice timing, Kamek!" he complimented.

"Yay!" cheered Junior, "Can I borrow your Clown Car?"

The Koopa King raised a claw, "Even better! On my way to pick you up," he paused, grabbing something behind him, "I managed to grab yours for such an occassion! Knock yourself out, Junior."

"Thanks, Pa!" Junior cheered again, hopping into his vehicle, "Can you tell me where it's at, Kamek?"

Kamek nodded, "Of course, Lord Junior."

Bowser crossed his arms, a smile on his face, "Do me proud, son."

Plumber's Best Friend

Mario and Luigi did their best to trek the large hallways of Twilight's castle, and seemingly wandered for what felt like an eternity. The brothers could tell that it was getting late and that they should probably rest before beginning their search for the Power Stars. The red-clad plumber eventually spotted a door that looked familiar to him. He opened it finding his room.

He could tell since the Power Stars he aquired were plainly lying on the floor. "Finally." sighed Luigi, sitting on the floor, "My-a legs were getting a little-a worn out."

"Mine too." Mario commented, lying on his bed, before turning to his stomach and looking out the window. The night sky illuminated Ponyville, bringing Mario to peace. "I-a hope we can-a find the Princess soon." he sighed.

Luigi nodded, "Me too. We still-a don't know where Bowser-a went." he realized.

Mario crossed his arms, "It's just a matter of-a trying to find out where he could-a go. We weren't that-a far behind him. How did-a he even find this world?" he wondered aloud.

"...And that's how I helped Mario on Dinosaur Island." Yoshi finished explaining, following Fluttershy across Ponyville. They were almost t their destination. And to pass the time, the dinosaur told the story of how he and Mario reunited on Dinosaur Island to foil Bowser's plans to capture the species.

Fluttershy frowned, "I had no idea there were more of you. Bowser sounds so cruel to do that to all of you."

Yoshi sighed, "A whole island of us. I'm glad Mario and Luigi were there to stop him as fast as they did." he complimented his oldest allies. "You said they were here?"

"Oh, yes. Mario fell from the sky somehow and Luigi showed up later. They're at Twilight's castle." Fluttershy explained.

Yoshi raised a brow, "A castle? Your friend is royalty?"

Fluttershy nodded, "Yes... But she really doesn't want to be treated as such."

Nodding, the dinosaur spoke, "Okay. Do you want to hear the time we went to space?"

The pegasus smiled, "Yes. If you don't mind."

Yoshi went on to describe the time Mario, Luigi and he travelled across the cosmos and find Bowser before he could rule not only the Mushroom Kingdom, but the universe. It kinda brought the dinosaur to thinking about why their old foe decided to warp to this world of all placed, but he knew he was going to get answers soon enough once they actually find the person behind all of this.

But eventually, the two made their way to the crystal castle that towered over the small town. Yoshi was reminded of Toad Town back on his world, but he pushed those thoughts aside for the moment, seeing the yellow pegasus slowly knock on the giant doors that towered over them as well. 'Why are the doors this big?' the dragon wondered.

Silence was passed between the two for a moment. They heard quiet footsteps getting louder, until the sound of creaking and a moving door got their attention. Yoshi smiled, recognizing the duo clad in red and green. The brothers also grinned at the sight of their old friend, relieved to see him. "Yoshi!" Luigi called out.

"Mario! Luigi!" Yoshi cheered.

Mario tipped his hat, "It's-a so good to-a see you. We were-a worried about you, but we didn't-a know where to go." he explained to his dinosaur friend.

"Is he the only friend with you?" Fluttershy questioned.

Luigi nodded, "Mm-hmm! Now we-a have to find-a Bowser."

"I had a feeling Bowser was here too." Yoshi groaned.

Fluttershy raised a brow, "W-What makes you say that? D-Did you see him?"

Shaking his head, the green dinosaur answered, "No, but his minions were looking for Power Stars. Sounds like they knew we were here." his stomach rumbled, "--Is there anything to eat? I'm starving!"

The sound of more footsteps got their attention, they saw Spike and Twilight sprinting to the door. "Oh..." Spike said simply, seeing Yoshi and Fluttershy, a scroll in his hands. "Uh, who's this?"

"This is-a Yoshi!" Mario introduced. He knelt down, "What's-a the problem you-a two?"

Twilight panted, "While I'm glad that you found your friend, we have a big problem. In Manehattan, there are reports of somepony vandalizing and destroying the city. Celestia heard the reports going on all day and sent a letter to me and Spike. We have to get there as soon as possible."

"Does it-a say what the person-a doing this looked-a like?" Mario asked.

Spike reopened the letter, "Uh... It says that it was a bipedal creature with a paintbrush that creates a strange goo that burns to the touch."

"That-a sounds familiar...." Mario hummed.

Twilight raised a brow, "It does? Is it Bowser that's doing this?"

Luigi shook his head, "Wait a minute, bro... When you went to Isle Delfino, didn't Bowser Jr use-a E. Gadd's paintbrush? It could-a be him using it here." he reminded his brither, who nodded in agreement, "He-a may be looking for-a one of the Power Stars." he added, raising a finger.

"Power Stars? What about them? They're here too?" Yoshi asked, his stomach rumbling again. "Aw, and I wanted a quick snack before we left too."

Twilight said, "Sorry, Yoshi. But we have to find our friends before-- Wait, did you say Bowser Jr?"

"Bowser has a s-son?" Fluttershy asked in disbelief.

Mario nodded, "Yes. I-a first met him in Isle Delfino... Where he-a used the paintbrush to frame me... He-a may be doing that again to spite-a us."

"I hope-a the goo isn't as-a dangerous as you-a said." Luigi gulped.

"What do you mean?" Spike asked.

Mario sighed, "The goo from-a the paintbrush were-a able to create small creatures and-a hurt to the touch. If-a only I brought-a Fludd with-a me..."

Manehattan was covered in strange multi-colored goo. The ponies cowered in fear at the sight of the strange being that attacked their city out of nowhere. In his hand was a strange star, which he obtained fairly easily from a pawn shop mere moments ago. A paintbrush was wielded in his other hand. Passing by another building, he decided to swipe his brush in various directions on the wall, creating a giant 'M' that arched.

Some ponies ran off, seeing more goo get spread across the city. They wondered what it was that appeared, but the figure was silent and continued to vandalize the city. Some even felt the burning sensation of the multicolored goo that lay on the streets. Luckily, some guards in the city already alerted the princesses of the strange phemonenon and all they had to do was wait and hold him off in the meanwhile until either they or Twilight and her friends showed up.

The figure in question was blue, transparent as water, and looked like Mario right down to the smallest detail, inc,uding hid mustache and cap. Once he was in the shadows, the fake Mario changed his form, revealing to be Bowser Jr as he lowered his bib with teeth drawn on it, who laughed in glee over what he's done. "Pa is gonna be so proud of me when he sees what I did!"

Feeling proud, the son of Bowser put his bib back in and swiped he paintbrush in various directions, changing back to Shadow Mario. He knew that if Mario was gonna come, he'd be framed for the crimes. After all, he only moved in the shadows and so fast, they could only tell his general shape apart.