Power of the Stars

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.