My Little Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

by Codex92

Rating: everyone
Tags: Other, Starlight Glimmer, Comedy, Adventure, Crossover, Human, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 183107

Another adventure in the Mushroom Kingdom, though in a new land with new foes, and even scarier dangers than anything in both this world and Equestria combined.

Twilight and Princess Peach are having themselves a princess vacation in a faraway land, starting in the ragged port city, Rougeport. They find a mysterious treasure map given to them by a mysterious trader, and not wanting to leave their friends out on discovering something exciting, they deliver letters to both Mario and Twilight's friends in Equestria, detailing their findings along with sending the map to the heroic plumber in red, and the gang set off to Rougeport to join the two princesses.

A far more dangerous game is afoot than Bowser's almost successful attempt months prior with the power of the Star Rod. A new enemy stands in their way, wanting to discover what lies beneath the port city, and they will do anything to open what is known as the legendary One Thousand Year Door. Not only that, but they have also managed to kidnap both Peach and Twilight, taking them hostage while the leader of this new group plans to uncover what secrets are hidden beyond this millennial doorway. Will Mario and co. be able to surpass this new foe and claim the treasure for themselves, or is there something far more sinister lurking deep below the land that could wreak havoc on the world?

Published 2018-07-15 17:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-06-21 03:35:16 UTC

The Start of a Brand New Adventure

"...So, you're really a ball of electricity," Starlight pondered as she stared at Watt, the Li'l Sparky having come over to visit.

"Umm, yes I am!" Watt said.

"It's...actually quite astounding," the unicorn commented, taking notes about Watt's species from the Mushroom Kingdom. "Then again, anything in an alternate world or a world different from ours can have different kinds of creatures." She prodded Watt with her hooves, making the living sparky sphere giggle as she got very ticklish. "It's almost like touching something with static cling, though it's not dangerous unless you will it. No wonder the changelings who attacked us in the hive fell pretty quickly."

After getting a closer observation of Watt's body, Spike came in with an envelope in his claw. "Hey, Starlight. Twilight sent us a letter."

"Really?" Starlight asked curiously. "Isn't she supposed to be on her princess vacation right now?"

"Aww, you mean I missed Twilight?" Watt whined sadly. "I wanted to say hi to her, too..."

"Didn't you visit a couple weeks ago and zipped through the castle while playing tag with Flurry Heart when Shining Armor and Cadence came to visit again?" Spike asked.

"Umm...yes?" Watt answered.

"I wonder if Twilight's already bored of her vacation because of a lack of books." Starlight giggled to herself at the slight jab on her mentor and friend. "Let's see what Princess Twilight wrote."

She opened the letter and read it aloud to Spike and Watt.

Dear Starlight,

Hope you guys haven't missed me already...although, if Pinkie Pie is, she won't have to worry about us being separated for long. Peach, Toadsworth, and I have arrived at our destination, a port town named Rogueport, although it's not exactly a destination I would have thought of with how run down it is.

Aside from that, there's actually something amazing Peach and I discovered on our first day alone! There's actually a tale about a prosperous town that lies underneath Rogueport, and there were rumors of a treasure down in the ruins where it sank after a horrible disaster. And if it wasn't coincidence enough, some old lady selling different trinkets had a chest that contained a really old map, and it showed the entire region where we landed! This map is somehow connected to this legendary treasure, and with how much there is to explore, we didn't want to leave you girls out of the fun.

So, tomorrow morning, I want you all to head to Toad Town's port and get onboard a boat that'll take you to Rogueport and meet us at the docks there. Mario's going to come along with you as well, which I hope he'll accept. I know he's been a bit worried about something that startled him at the end of that party back in Peach's Castle, and we both hope that this treasure hunt will take his mind off things. Hope to see you all there soon!

Twilight Sparkle

"Whoa! A treasure hunt!?" Spike exclaimed once Starlight finished. "Can I come along!?"

"I'm not so sure, Spike," Starlight said. "The Mushroom Kingdom was already a dangerous place. And in a place that's actually named 'Rogueport', I doubt that place is much safer."

"Aww, come on," Spike pleaded. "I was worried sick about where Twilight went to, and now that I know what to expect, I can surely handle it."

"Sorry, Spike, but I'm not going to take that chance if Twilight gets mad at me for putting you in danger," Starlight sternly said. "We may know about what goes on in the Mushroom Kingdom, but anywhere else in that world? We know next to nothing."

"I bet Watt's going along," Spike grumbled.

"Umm, actually, I need to stay in the Toy Box," Watt said. "I need to keep the Shy Guys from being sneaky and taking things from everyone. Some of them who followed General Guy are still around, and they're still trying to steal things."

"Maybe the others can come with us?" Starlight suggested.

"I think they're busy, too," Watt sadly said. "Goombario's watching his sister and grandparents while his parents are on their honeymoon, Kooper's planning another expedition with Kolorado, Bombette's helping make a new railroad around Mt. Rugged to reach Dry Dry Outpost, Parakarry's always on his deliveries, Bow might, though she might be busy being the queen of the Boos in her mansion to go anywhere, Sushie's always watching the Yoshi Kids, and Lakilester and Lakilulu are on a vacation at Lavalava Island to enjoy some quality time."

"Wow. You're all going to be busy???" Starlight asked.

"Yeah, but we got these," Watt said, showing off her magical pendant. "We could probably show up in a flash if we wanted, hee hee. It's too bad we can't spend a lot of time visiting everyone with all our responsibilities."

"I guess I can understand that," Starlight uttered. "Try to visit more often. I want to see just how many volts you can release when you go all out."

"Ok! Bye, Starlight! Bye, Spike!" Watt flew out and passed through the portal back into the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Well, it's getting a bit late. I'll gather the girls tomorrow morning and see if they all want to go." Spike groaned as he slumped off, unable to go on yet another dangerous adventure. "Don't worry, Spike. We'll bring you back a souvenir when we come back. Maybe we'll run into a delicious gem that tastes better than what Equestria has."

"I guess," Spike moaned as he trudged miserably up to his room.

"Colts always want to go on a reckless adventure," Starlight said to herself with a sigh.

The next morning, in the Mario Bros. home in the Mushroom Kingdom, both brothers were tidying up their home and making sure it was spotless. Ever since Mario bested Bowser with the Star Rod months ago, the kingdom has been at peace with no sign of the Koopa King causing any trouble. There was always a calm before the storm, and he didn't know when it would end, but he was always prepared for what comes at him. During the peace, Mario had visited Equestria a few times, though most of the time was due to the strange vision he had the night after the party where Peach and Twilight announced the unification of both their kingdoms.

At least something exciting did happen when the changelings had almost kidnapped everyone in Equestria and captured them in pods to feed off them, but what the queen, Chrysalis, didn't expect was a group of heroes from another world to assist Discord, Trixie, Starlight, and Thorax, the new leader of the newly transformed changelings. Their magic from their pendants might not have worked, but they had skills that didn't require magic, destroying the enchanted throne that prevented magic use, rescuing the ponies they captured, and bested the queen, even though she managed to escape before she could be brought in to justice. At least she was a pretty smart villain unlike Bowser, though they could be a force to be reckoned with if they worked together; Chrysalis the brains while Bowser was the brawn.

Outside, Parakarry whistled a tune Pinkie sang one day during one of his visits to Equestria, putting a smile on his face even if he was feeling down, which was a rarity with the love of his job. He touched down in front of the Mario Bros. house, walking up the steps and to the door, giving it a knock as he waited for them to answer.

"I'll get it, bro!" Luigi called out, being closer to their front door as he put down his broom. He opened the door to see the mail carrier Paratroopa. "Hey, Parakarry."

"Hi, Luigi," Parakarry greeted. "Got a special delivery for Mario." He pulled out an envelope from his bag, always making sure that his bag was in good condition and closed before his flight so he didn't lose any letters like last time. "From the handwriting, I think it's from the princess."

"Oh boy. Hopefully not another party where someone interrupts it," Luigi pleaded, making the Paratroopa laugh. Before Parakarry left to deliver more mail, Luigi stopped him for a moment, feeling a little curious. "Say, is Equestria as great as I hear?"

"Oh, it's amazing," Parakarry said. "Ponyville's a wonderful little town, and with really friendly folks. If I was able to extend my delivery route there, I would love flying through the portal and visiting the ponies there. I even met the mail pony who works Ponyville's route. She loves her work, but she's a bit clumsy...She has some really...interesting eyes, too."

"...Ok. I'm going to have to visit there myself one day after hearing about it from just about everyone in town." With that, Parakarry waved goodbye to Luigi and flew off to continue his route. Luigi walked back inside with Mario's letter, the red plumber curious about who came over to visit. "Mario, you got a letter from Princess Peach."

Mario took the envelope and opened it up. Inside, he pulled out a letter, along with an old map. Wondering what exactly Peach gave him, he read the letter out loud as Luigi stared at the worn paper that held the map of a region in their world.

Dear Mario,

Yesterday, I had begun my little vacation with Twilight, and we discovered something quite exciting the first day in a place called Rogueport. We found a mysterious map, which turned out to be a treasure map to a treasure that's around here. We got it from an elderly merchant inside of a magically sealed chest, though she disappeared when I managed to open it and the map was what lied inside. With Twilight's curiosity about Rogueport's history, it seemed like the map was connected to the treasure, but in order to find it, we may need your help if you want to come along since it might be a bit dangerous, even with just the two of us if Toadsworth doesn't babysit us 24/7. Twilight's writing a letter to send to her friends in Equestria, so they'll be receiving theirs as well. They'll be waiting at the docks for you so you can meet us at Rogueport via boat. I also stashed the map away in the letter as well considering how Toadsworth actually got robbed of his wallet earlier, but I kept his money safe, so nothing was really lost. Hope to see you and the girls, soon!

Peach

"Wow. A treasure hunt. Lucky you," Luigi said. Mario looked over the map, having a feeling Peach was going to end up getting kidnapped while they tried to find this treasure. "So, I guess I'm going to be staying here to watch the house again?" Luigi asked, given a look from his older brother that stated the obvious. "...Fine...But, I do admit that you need something to do. You've been constantly worrying about that strange vision you had a few months back and have been on edge about it happening." Mario looked down at his Lucky Star, the magic inside it still flowing with power gained from the Mane Six after saving a Star Spirit upon finding them. "I know you worry about me, bro, but let me worry about you. Pack up some things and get on that boat."

Mario couldn't argue with Luigi about that. He did need something to get his mind off of what he saw, occasionally getting nightmares seeing Twilight being possessed by a demonic spirit and transforming into a dark alicorn with unimaginable power that even terrified him, even more so than Bowser's invincibility with the Star Rod. Mario packed a few things in a backpack, saying goodbye to his brother while making sure he doesn't do anything reckless while he was gone, then made his way out the door, down the warp pipe, and into Toad Town. Mario greeted passersby as he made his way to the docks, even finding a few ponies looking around and exploring the town out of curiosity while being lead by tour guides. Some of them he didn't recognize, though, thinking they might have come from another town or city and visited after hearing about this new world from Princess Twilight.

Once arriving on the docks, he found the princess's royal boat, a red, white, and blue vessel, stars patterned around the outer edge of the deck, and skimmed across the water using paddle wheels colored yellow with a sun in the center. After showing the captain of the ship Peach's letter about her request to have him join her and Twilight in Rogueport, he agreed to take them there once Twilight's friends showed up. Mario didn't wait long until they arrived, Pinkie the first to greet the plumber as she ran up at him at mach speeds, tackled him, them squeezed him in a deathgrip of a hug that made his eyes pop out of his head.

"Mario! It's been forever since we last saw you!" Pinkie squealed.

"Pinkie, darling, it's only been a couple weeks since he visited us," Rarity said. Applejack and Rainbow Dash helped Mario, pulling the excitable pink party pony off him so he can breathe. As soon as he recovered from nearly blacking out, Mario raised a brow as he saw the amount of luggage that they had brought, most of it being Rarity's as they had hundreds of different outfits inside. "It's not like we were going to never see him ever again if Twilight hadn't used her wish to create a link between both our worlds."

"But it still felt like forever!" Pinkie reiterated.

"Ya think everythin' feels like forever," Applejack said with a chuckle. "Great seein' ya again, sugarcube."

"So, where exactly are we going again?" Rainbow asked.

"A port town called Rogueport," Starlight said. "Not sure how far away it is from the Mushroom Kingdom, but it's probably got a lot of differences compared to this land. I haven't really gotten farther than the town, but I assume the other locations around here are pretty dangerous?"

The other girls voiced their agreements, even though most of them were in towns where they were kept safe and sound from anything beyond their borders. Without wasting any time, the group boarded onto the ship, their gear safely stored in the cargo hold, and shoved off toward the sea and made its way to Rogueport. During the long boat ride across the sea, everyone spent the time relaxing, playing a few board games Pinkie managed to bring, or lounged out on the deck. While Mario sat in a chair, he pulled out a device he had gotten a couple months ago called the Mailbox SP, a technological advancement in receiving mail from anyone digitally instead of waiting a certain amount of days for a letter to be delivered. He was a bit worried that Parakarry would lose his career, but he didn't mind it, getting one himself along with the rest of their friends and assuring Mario that there would be some people who would still appreciate receiving letters the old fashioned way.

He looked over previous messages he got, looking back on the pictures his friends had sent as well as they talked about their day they had. It was a shame that the others couldn't come along, knowing how busy their own lives were now that they no longer had to fend off Bowser and his minions for now, but they were at least able to stay in contact. Goombario shared a picture of Goombaria using his pendant again, getting into another tumble from the super speed while he stood on the side, letting out an exasperated sigh to share his annoyance with his little sister taking his things. Kooper shared a group photo with Kolorado and his two aides as they planned their next expedition, Bombette showed off the progress of the railroad across the Dry Dry Desert, Bow showed a few victims getting spooked by her fellow Boos while she laughed at their fright, Watt and her Shy Guy friends in their rainbow wigs for their Rainbow Dash fanclub, Sushie taking a picture of the Yoshis on the island, and Lakilester with Lakilulu as they shared a cute, romantic looking photograph.

"What's that thing?" Mario yelped, fumbling the Mailbox SP in his hands as Starlight startled him. After calming down, he explained what it was and showed the unicorn some of the photos he was given in the emails from his friends. "Oh. That's actually really cool. It's like delivering letters, only somehow much quicker and without there being a mess if somepony spills an ink bottle on the paper...Technology here seems way more advanced than in Equestria." Mario nodded in agreement, though he stated his opinions on how Equestrian magic seems a lot more diverse than any magic used in his world. "Yup, and complex. If a powerful unicorn loses control of their emotions and pushed to a breaking point, they can cast some really powerful spells.

"I know I've caused a bit of trouble with my frustrations of my past, or with Trixie when she constantly boasts about herself." Mario raised a brow, asking her curiously what she did back then to cause "a bit of trouble". "...Well...Before I met Twilight and the other girls, I lead a small village of ponies...who I lied to about cutie marks being evil as I make them all equal, exactly the same with no special talents or anything that makes them unique. I stole everypony's cutie marks, including the girls', and tried forcing them with my poor excuse of a philosophy. Then, to get revenge on Twilight, I found an old spell of a powerful unicorn wizard, Star Swirl the Bearded, that allowed a unicorn to travel back in time, and I modified it to make me stay longer when cast. I went back to the point where Rainbow Dash created the sonic rainboom, that same moment where they all earned their cutie marks at the same time and sparked their friendship before they met years later, and stopped her multiple times with Twilight.

"Unfortunately, I didn't realize my actions meddling with the past caused so many alternate outcomes to the future, all of them worse than the last, but Twilight and Spike were the only ones who saw them...I got so frustrated dealing with her that I showed her why I did all that in the first place..." Starlight paused, her hesitation obvious by the nervous expression on her face. She was going to tell someone like Mario why she did what she did, and she knew he was going to tell her she was being outright ridiculous and could have handled the situation differently, without any hint of anger or spite. "...I hated cutie marks...because my first friend, Sunburst, got his before mine, and after he showed his parents, they moved to Canterlot, and I never saw him again until many years later in the Crystal Empire, our friendship rekindled after an awkward reunion and revealing the truth about what happened to us while we were apart.

"We at least began writing to each other and made sure to keep in touch when we had the chance...But I feel so silly after I let my sadness get the better of me and change me into...an equality-driven tyrant who wanted to steal everyone's cutie marks and almost destroy Equestria because of my selfish desires to get revenge for what I worked so hard to make, only to lose it all because of Twilight and her friends showing me what real friendship was about..." After regaling her story to the plumber, Mario stared at the unicorn, processing everything. Instead of hearing him tell her how crazy she was and how she could have done it better, she fell over when he asked her she was able to travel back in time. "Ahh! Seriously!? You're more curious about the time travel more than what else I said!?"

"Well, you gotta admit, time travel is pretty neat!" Pinkie exclaimed, surprising Mario and Starlight as she popped in out of nowhere behind them. "Hey, cool thingie! What's it do!?" Before Mario could explain, Pinkie swiped the Mailbox SP out of his hands and looked at the small screen. She pressed a button, making it flash on the other side in Starlight's direction, taking her picture while blinding the mare at the same time. "Ooh! It's a camera! Vacation photos galore!"

Mario quickly grabbed Pinkie's tail before she ran off to randomly take pictures with his Mailbox SP, dragging her back and taking his device back. He didn't want her breaking it after only getting it a while ago, erasing the random photo of a confused Starlight. It didn't take long for the ship to finally arrive at Rogueport, the port town able to be seen in the distance. It looked like a nice place from afar, the captain letting the party know that they were about to disembark as they went to get their luggage. When they stepped off and got a better look at the port, Rarity's jaw hit the floor at the unclean port town, though she wouldn't want to hit her chin against the filthy ground as she saw the horribly tended buildings and the trash that littered the corners of the walls and in the water.

"Oh sweet Celestia, this place is horrid!" she shrieked. "I am not stepping a single hoof on this disgusting ground! Are we even in the right place, and have these ponies ever heard of cleaning!?"

"This is the town of Rogueport, ma'am," the captain said. "The same exact place I dropped off Her Highness, her escort, and the pony princess from Equestria."

"...Ick...Where are my boots?" Rarity levitated her several bags of luggage, looking around for a pair of more worn out boots to wear so she didn't walk into anything disgusting or sharp if there were broken glass bottles strewn about. "Please tell me I have a pair in here!"

"Rarity, we walked through the sewers of Toad Town," Rainbow reminded the fussy fashionista with an annoyed huff.

"At least the sewers looked far more cleaner than the state of these horrid streets! Excuse me if I don't want to soil my hooficure I just got at the spa yesterday!" Rarity argued. She finally found a simple pair of boots, hating having to ruin them, but her bigger concern was to not step on something foul, mushy, and reeked of whatever disgusting smells lingered in the garbage lazily tossed aside. "These will have to do."

"Typical Rarity," Applejack muttered.

The group stepped off the ship with their cargo, Starlight forced to levitate Rarity's luggage with her magic as they began making their way to the center of town. "AHH! Get away from me!" a female voice shouted.

They stopped when they saw a pink female Goomba with a pith helmet, a pale tan shirt, and a red ascot around her neck run from the center of Rogueport as three strangely dressed people chased after her. It was hard to tell who they were from their outfits, the leader bigger wearing a black shirt with a white "X" on the front, purple shorts, a pair of black shoes, white gloves, a purple hat with horns jutting up from the sides, a pair of glasses where his eyes were, and a red cape connected with a pointed red collar. His followers had similar outfits sans the cape, wearing red full-body suit with a black "X" instead, white boots, and their hats and collars white with the horns and frills drooped down. The Goomba panicked, trapping herself on the port as she turned and glared at her pursuers.

"Don't play dumb with us, missy!" the bigger member exclaimed. "I saw you walking around town asking everyone about information on the Crystal Stars. Now it's my turn to do the asking, so be a good girl and tell us what you know! Right! Now!"

"I don't have anything to say to you creeps!" the Goomba said, sticking her tongue out at him defiantly.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't be right if a sassy little lass like you were met with an untimely demise," he said. "Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh! Boys, we're taking this firebrand to our fortress!"

"As you command, Lord Crump!" the two minions said, the trio getting closer while the Goomba backed away from them.

"Get back, you bunch of weirdos!" she warned them. "I'll scream if you so much as touch me!"

"We gotta help her!" Rainbow said, but Mario was already ahead of her as he raced down the docks.

Just as the leader, called Lord Crump, was about to grab the Goomba, Mario shoulder tackled him away, sending him tumbling back into his minions. The pile of villains scrambled to get up as they faced the heroic plumber from across the sea, standing in front of their victim defensively, pulling out his hammer to smack some sense into this kidnapper if he tries to nab her again.

"Whoa," the Goomba uttered in awe at her savior. She looked back when she heard several hooves running up to them, shocked to see six more creatures like the one she met yesterday who asked her for a book about Rogueport's history. Despite learning about there being more of them, she looked back at Crump and his minions, looking just as confused as she was when the six mares arrived as Mario's backup. "Thanks, whoever you guys are. I do not want to go anywhere with those creeps stalking me."

"Who the heck are you, chump!?" Crump asked Mario. "You think you can screw up my plans!?"

"What plans?" Starlight asked. "What were you going to do to her?"

"Bah...It's always something," Crump said to himself with a shake of his head. "Looks like I'm going to have to give you a little taste of the old CRUMP-A-BUMP!"

"Uhh, do you even know who you're talking to?" Pinkie asked, but Crump didn't listen as he let out a battle cry and charged toward Mario. "Maybe not."

Crump leapt up and tried to drop kick Mario, but Mario merely dodged out of the way, then spin-kicked Crump hard in the face as soon as he landed, sending him stumbling backward while clutching his face. "Don't worry, Lord Crump!" one of the minions said. "We'll handle the others!"

The two minions ran past Mario and tried to attack the girls, their targets Applejack and Rainbow first, though it was a big mistake dealing with the two toughest of the ponies by physical standards. Both mares bucked them hard, sending them flying back to the other side of the port and smacking them into the wall. Crump recovered from the kick and charged Mario again, this time throwing his fists at the plumber. Being more experienced in combat from dealing with Bowser and his army in the past, Mario easily blocked and dodged each punch, frustrating the leader greatly. Mario grabbed Crump's fist from his last punch, giving one of his own and hitting Crump hard in the stomach, knocking the air out of him while giving him another directly in the face.

Crump grunted and stumbled back, letting out a grunt, clearly outmatched by the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. "You got in a few good shots, I'll give you that," he said. His two minions managed to recover, surprisingly resilient from getting kicked by a pair of powerful bucks from two tough mares either due to their toughness or their clothing absorbing the blows as they both limped over to their boss. "But you haven't beaten us yet!"

"Yeah, right!" Rainbow goaded. "You and what army!? Those tiny freaks!?"

"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh!" Crump chuckled. "I'll show you an army!"

He let out a whistle, a stampede of hundreds of red and white dressed minions suddenly surrounding the group. "...Oh," Rainbow said.

"You just had to say it, didn't you, Rainbow Dash?" Starlight groaned.

"GET THEM!" Crump ordered, his army of minions yelling as they all leapt up and dogpiled Mario, the female Goomba they were after, and the six mares.

Dozens upon dozens of minions continued bouncing around, creating a mess of a pileup on top of the group that got in the way of whatever plans they had. Unfortunately, they weren't the brightest of the bunch as they didn't really so much as jump on them, but more like created a living dust cloud. The group managed to sneak through the attacking bunch without a scratch, sneaking away as they looked back and watched them trying to attack something that wasn't even cornered.

"...Wow. What a bunch of idiots," the Goomba said. "Quick, this way before they figure out they're just beating up the air."

"Good idea," Starlight said, the pink Goomba leading the way as the others followed her to the center of town.

After a moment of constant leaping, flailing, and screaming, Crump was the first to notice something was off. "Stop! STOP! STOP ATTACKING!" he shouted, his minions stopping as they circled their leader, neither of them spotting any sign of the ponies, Goomba, and plumber. "Huh!? Where did they go!? Johnson, did you see them? Anyone?" The minions muttered incoherently, clear as day that none have them have seen them slip by. "...Crud. They bolted..."

Once they were far enough away from Crump and his army of smaller troops, the group stood by the gallows. "Thanks for saving me back there," the Goomba said. "Especially you, mister. I have GOT to give you a reward for coming to my rescue."

She leapt up and gave Mario a kiss on the cheek, surprising the plumber as he looked away bashfully, making the mares giggle at his reaction to his reward. "Mario, darling, you sure do have your way with the ladies, don't you? First Peach, myself, and now...Oh, sorry. I don't think we got your name."

"My name's Goombella," the Goomba said, then let out a frustrated grunt as she looked back at the walkway to the docks. "I really hate this place. There's freaks and weirdos EVERYWHERE! I mean, I know this place is called 'Rogueport', and I should have expected it, but yeesh! I wouldn't have come here if there weren't a legendary treasure here."

At the mention of a legendary treasure in Rogueport, the group were surprised to hear someone else was looking for it as well. "You're looking for the treasure around here as well?" Starlight asked.

"Yeah...Wait, 'as well'?" Goombella questioned. "Was that why you were interested in learning about the history of the region?"

"Uhh, I'm sorry?" Starlight asked, confused by Goombella's assumption that they had met before.

"Yesterday, you came up to me and asked to borrow a book," she said. "...Hey, wait, what happened to your wings? I thought you had a pair."

"But I never had any-" It took a moment for Starlight to realize what the Goomba was talking about. She stifled an irritated grunt as she was mistaken to be Twilight, though it was a surprise to know Goombella had actually met Twilight the other day. "Oh! No, no, Goombella! This is the first time we've ever met each other! I'm Starlight Glimmer. I think the pony you met yesterday was our friend, Twilight Sparkle."

"Huh?" Goombella walked up to Starlight and got a better look at the unicorn. "...Oh. Whoops. Sorry. You two look really alike...aside from the lack of wings and weird tattoos on your rear ends."

"My fur is brighter and looks more pink, and our hairstyles are completely different," Starlight muttered under her breath. "How exactly are we even remotely the same?"

"And I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said, grabbing Goombella as she introduced herself and the others while swinging her around to get a really closer look at them. "And that's Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Super Mario Mario of the famous Mario Bros.!"

Goombella blinked as she tried to memorize their names, then tilted her head curiously at Mario's name. "'Mario Mario'? Wait, how many Marios are there?"

"Three!" Pinkie said, dropping Goombella as she counted out the number of Marios on her hooves. "There's Mario Mario, and Luigi Mario! Luigi's Mario's younger brother, who isn't here right now because he's going to have his own story plot by complete random to add hilarity to his own misadventures in this story!"

Goombella suddenly went cross-eyed, her head already hurting from Pinkie's "simplified" explanation. "...Ow...My brain...I don't get it."

"Sugarcube, just trust us when we say not to ask how Pinkie Pie does her thing," Applejack said.

"Duly noted..." Goombella shook her head, making sure not to take Pinkie too seriously, though that would be difficult to tell if she actually is being serious. When she could see straight again, she noticed something sticking out of Mario's pack, growing curious about the worn out piece of paper that hung out in the open. "Whoa. What's that?" Mario noticed her pointing at the map, pulling it out and showing it to her. "Is that a treasure map!? Where'd you get that!?"

"Princess Peach delivered it to Mario when she and Twilight told us about it in their letters," Fluttershy said.

"...Princess Peach?" Goombella questioned.

Before they could answer, Toadsworth spotted the group from the east side of Rogueport and approached them. "Master Mario! An odd coincidence seeing you here!" he said.

As they spoke, some of the mares noticed something going on in the alleyway between the inn and the shop. Two strange looking yellow creatures with palm tree heads and grass hula skirts snuck out, wearing black tuxedos and black-tinted sunglasses. They waited for someone to come around, where two avian-like guards approached them, then after some talking about business, the palm tree brutes roughed them up, then left after one of them fell over after getting pummeled.

"Uhh, should somepony have helped them?" Rainbow asked, but seeing how the one that fell was fine, though slightly dazed, the pair of guards walked back to their post.

"I've been in a spot of bother, Master Mario," Toadsworth said, having ignored the strange fight in the background. "But, tell me, what brings you here?" Mario explained to Toadsworth about Peach's letter, the map that came with it, and the reason why Twilight's friends were here with them as well. "Ah, so both princesses told you and these mares to come along and meet them here in Rogueport? And with a treasure map of all things? How peculiar."

"Where are Peach and Twilight?" Applejack asked. "Weren't they with you?"

"Well, last night before I went to bed early in that horrible, run-down inn," Toadsworth said, rubbing his back after having the worst experience of a good night's sleep in his life. "The next morning, I didn't find hide nor hair of them. It's like they up and vanished."

"What!?" the mares exclaimed in shock, including Mario.

"They assured me they wouldn't go far when they left me this note." The elder Toad pulled out a piece of paper, which was the note the princesses left for him. "Apparently, I cannot trust the promise of two young princesses who love the taste of adventure. And I know it's certainly not Princess Peach's handwriting, so I figured Princess Twilight wrote it."

Starlight took the note and looked at the writing, but this wasn't Twilight's carefully crafted calligraphy writing. "Twilight didn't write this letter," she said. "Someone must have, but if they've been gone long before we arrived..."

"...Oh no. Not again," Toadsworth groaned. "How many times must the princess be kidnapped in my old life? And not I fear Princess Twilight has been taken as well if she's associated with her!"

"I'm sure Twilight can beat up whoever tries to nab her," Rainbow said confidently. "If we can kick Bowser's spiky shell, even with that Star Rod to cheat his way to winning, she can take care of herself and save Peach on her own!"

"I sure hope so," Toadsworth said, still having that feeling in his gut that they were both helplessly captured. "There isn't much I can do except try to search in Rogueport some more. If you find them, please bring them back safely. I don't want to spark a way with the other princesses in Equestria because of their co-rulers was taken hostage by some heathen."

Mario reassured the Toad he'll bring the princesses back safely and unharmed. Toadsworth soon made his leave, heading back to the inn to rest and calm his nerves with some tea. As soon as he left, Goombella was in shock when she realized who she was talking to and who had sent them that map.

"...No way...Princess Peach from the Mushroom Kingdom sent you that map!?" she asked. "So...that means you're the Mario who saves her from getting nabbed by Bowser!" Mario nodded his head in response. "...Wait, so why did she have that map?"

"It was pretty odd from the sound of both letters," Starlight said. "They both met some peddler out here yesterday and Peach opened a small chest that had that map inside."

"Really?" Goombella pondered. "You think they both got a bit bored waiting and went off to find the treasure instead?"

"I hope so," Fluttershy said nervously. "I just hope that Bowser isn't involved again. He was pretty mean when we first met him."

"Hmmm...Aha! I know!" Goombella said. "Follow me, guys! One of my professors is here in town and researching this treasure! We'll show him the map, then we can start looking for the treasure, and maybe catch up to the princesses!"

"Sounds like a plan," Starlight agreed, the rest of the group nodding in approval. "Lead the way, Goombella."

Goombella lead the group to the east side of town, which was more run down, a pipe across a pair of nearby houses blocked by a wooden fence with the gate locked up, an archway blocked by one of the same shady avian guards that got beat up earlier where the rest of the section rested. As they passed the archway, a Bandit ran right past them, brushing past Mario and making him spin around like a top.

"Watch where you're running, jerk!" Rainbow called out. "What's that guy's problem?"

"I know! Bandits are the worst, especially in Dry Dry Desert," Pinkie agreed. Her face suddenly scrunched up in shock when she mentioned what that blue-clothed, mask-wearing person was. "...A Bandit...They steal money. Mario, I think you just got robbed!"

Concerned, Mario checked his wallet. He yelped when he realized he had lost half his coins he brought with him on this trip, looking back angrily as the thief seemed to have gotten away. Activating his speed enhancement with the power of his Lucky Star, Mario sped off after the Bandit, surprising Goombella at the mach speeds he ran, then came back a few seconds later after dealing with the Bandit and got his money back.

"W-What the heck was that!?" Goombella asked. "I didn't know you moved THAT fast!"

"It's a pretty long story," Rainbow said.

"And you can see that story here!" Pinkie said, confusing Goombella as she looked out at the sea instead of her or her friends. "And if you're reading the sequel before you even read the prequel, you are going to be very, very, very confused with what happened. So read the first book first before the second! That's why the first book is called 'first'."

"W-What is she-?" Goombella paused, slowly turning around as she reminded herself not to question Pinkie Pie. "Never mind...My professor's place isn't too far."

Goombella lead the others over to the second house, the first being a fortune teller's shop, marked by a symbol of a sun with a pair of eyes, almost like it was some kind of Star, and to the left of that building was an alleyway leading behind it. Goombella walked inside the second house, the room filled with dozens of history books, scrolls and papers from several centuries ago to notes made by the professor, and some relics found in the region around Rogueport. The professor in question was in a corner behind the desk, rummaging for something as he muttered to himself.

"Wow...I bet Twilight had a field day in here," Starlight commented.

"Yeah...she did," Goombella said, remembering how much Twilight geeked out when she saw all the literature she wanted to nab, which made it a chore to put everything back where it was so her professor's work wouldn't get ruined. "Professor Frankly, I'm back!"

"Huh!? Whuzzat!?" The elderly Goomba turned and stepped around the desk. He was a lighter tan Goomba with white curled hair on the sides while the rest of his head was bald, thick white eyebrows, and a pair of swirly glasses that hid his eyes. "Who's calling me?"

"Professor, it's me," Goombella said.

"Ah, yes. You," Professor Frankly said. "Uhh...You're uhh..." Goombella was about to remind Frankly who she was, but he pressed his foot to her lips. "No, no! Don't tell me! I'll get it right! Umm...It's not Goombriel...Is it Elizagoom?" After another moment of thinking, the professor finally remembered, moving his foot away from Goombella's lips. "Ah! Yes! Goombella! I remember you in my archaeology class last year!"

"Yup. Now I'm a junior at U Goom. Gooo Goombas!" Goombella cheered. "And now I'm helping you out with your thesis and discovering the treasure beneath Rogueport. Remember?"

"Of course I know that," Frankly said, though he wasn't convincing their guests. "You got stuck in my mind because you were such an exceptional student." He then looked behind his former student, now assistant, at the plumber and six mares. "...And these are...?"

"Oh, right! This is Mario!" Goombella introduced, Mario tipping his hat in greeting to the professor.

"What!? THE Mario!?" Frankly asked in shock.

"The one and only from the Mushroom Kingdom," Rarity said. "Rescuer of damsels and defender of the Mushroom Kingdom himself."

"...And who are they?" Frankly asked curiously. "I could swear I've read something about the six of them..." He walked over to a small desk where some older newspapers were kept, ruffling through them until he found what he was looking for. "...Ah, I see. The Equestrians from that new portal that was unveiled a few months back! Well, I guess it has been good long while for some of them to explore the rest of our world."

"You knew about them?" Goombella asked, a little shocked when she looked at the article Frankly grabbed.

"Of course! You younguns don't like reading the news all that much, and the newspaper has some very useful historical information to recall past events. Take note of that." Goombella nodded, taking the note to heart as she read through the article silently. "I may be a bookworm and not know what's 'hip' with the younger generation of this age, but I certainly recognize the six ponies in the picture who saved the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser's latest escapades."

"Uhh, I wasn't one of those ponies," Starlight said. "That was Twilight. I'm merely her student."

"...Ah. I see...Are you her twin?" Frankly asked curiously. Starlight shook her head, though she didn't expect a question like that from someone mistaking her for Twilight. "No? You look so much alike."

Starlight merely sighed and hung her head in exasperation. "Wow. I never knew they arrived here months ago," Goombella said in awe. "So, I met one of the ponies yesterday, and I never bothered to ask her name. I hope she didn't ruin that book I let her borrow."

"What book?" Frankly asked.

"I left a note on your desk about a book I loaned to someone who was curious about Rogueport's history, and your place was the only one I know that isn't shifty that had a good copy," she said.

"What note? I didn't see a note." The professor looked around his desk, moving papers around until he found a small note in Goombella's handwriting. "...Oh...I am so scatterbrained, I must have moved some of my research notes around and covered it by mistake." Goombella sighed and shook her head, placing the newspaper back neatly on her old mentor's pile. "Anyway, knowing she's the kind of pony who can handle books with great care, what brings you all here?"

"We're hoping you can tell us a bit more about the treasure below Rogueport," Goombella said.

"Well, that's one of the reasons why I came here; to learn more about the subject," Frankly said, adjusting his spiral glasses. "Now, granted, this treasure is supposed to be considered a fairy tale, but, what do I tell my students when they pursue careers such as archaeology, Goombella?"

"Archaeologists and historians have to search for the truth in those fairy tales!" Goombella said with pride. "And I believe this legendary treasure exists, and I REALLY want to find it!"

"Excellent!" Frankly said with a chuckle. "Now, this treasure has many mysteries about it. Some say that it's a treasure trove full of gold coins and valuable riches. Others say it's a magical item made by a mysterious force. Some books say that it's a monster, while others claim it's an empty chest. So many rumors, so many questions remained unanswered with so many theories that boggle the mind..." As he paused, Frankly looked over at one of his shelves, finding what he needed and pulled out a book. "But, they all agree on one point: to find the treasure, one must have the Crystal Stars!"

Opening the pages, he stopped at an image where seven stars carved out of crystal, and showed it to the group. "Oh my," Rarity said in awe, even though the illustration was drawn out from the old tome, making it hard to distinguish what kind of gems these Crystal Stars were made of.

"'To find the treasure of yore, take the seven Crystal Stars to the Thousand-Year Door,'" Goombella quoted. "That's what all the elders around Rogueport have told me when I asked around about the treasure. Those same Crystal Stars are involved with the treasure?"

"The very same," Frankly confirmed. "As the saying goes, if you want to find the legendary treasure, you must first collect the seven Crystal Stars."

"Gee, sounds kind of similar to how we had to help rescue the Star Spirits a few months ago," Fluttershy said.

"Except instead of them helping us defeat Bowser, we're finding these stars to find an awesome treasure!" Rainbow said. "I'm dying to see what's inside!"

"'Hold the Magical Map aloft before the entrance to the Thousand-Year Door. Then the stars will light the way that leads to the stones of yesterday,'" Goombella continued to quote. "In other words, if we show this map to the Thousand-Year Door, it'll show us the locations of where the Crystal Stars are!"

"Yes, but sadly, the Magical Map is the missing piece of this puzzle," Frankly said. "The Thousand-Year Door is supposedly here, deep beneath this town, but without it, our start is left at a standstill...If only we had that map!"

"But I think we do have it!" Starlight said. "Mario has it on him! Show him."

Mario pulled out the old map and showed it to Professor Frankly. "Hmm?" Looking closer at it, his jaw dropped in shock. "Hummina hubbity hubbida hippity hoobida hammala huffala hoofala...T-This is it! This is the Magical Map! The one and only genuine piece of parchment!" The professor whooped and leapt onto Mario, surprising him with a Goomba-style hug as he laughed joyously. "You, son, are my HERO! Fantastic! Wonderful!"

"Wondertastic, even?" Pinkie added.

"Yes! Even that!" Frankly agreed. He let go of Mario with a flip, dancing excitedly as he approached his assistant. "With this map, we can find the Crystal Stars just by holding it aloft to the legendary door!"

"He sure seems as spry as Granny Smith for an old Goomba," Applejack said to the others. "And Ah think Granny's older than him by a few decades."

Ignoring the giggles coming from the mares, Frankly was too excited to sit still as he made his way to the door. "Well, what are we all doing standing around here twiddling our thumbs!? If any of us have any thumbs, that is!" he said. "Come on, everyone! Off we go, this instant! Time's a wasting and I'm not getting any younger!"

Frankly ran out the door, the others hurrying after him as they ran across the road and toward the gated fence. The older Goomba didn't bother with the lock on it and kicked the gate down, which was barely attached to the posts on each end.

"...Uhh, is this considered breaking and entering?" Starlight asked, greatly concerned.

"With how run down Rogueport is and the lack of actual authorities around here, I doubt we can get in trouble for littering," Goombella said.

"Well, this place is in definite need of a good cleaning from top to bottom," Rarity said, letting out a whine as she looked down at her boots. "It's a crime to have even something as plain as these boots get soiled by all this garbage and unclean streets."

"Oh give it a rest, Rarity," Rainbow groaned.

Frankly leapt up onto the warp pipe and went down, Goombella and Mario following after him so he doesn't wind up getting himself hurt. "Uhh, are these things really safe?" Starlight asked.

"Of course, Starlight!" Pinkie said. "And they're fun to go down!"

Pinkie bounced over the warp pipe and dove in, letting out a squeal as the pipe let out a warping sound effect when someone went in or out. The rest of the mares followed suit, Rarity hesitating a little because they would end up going underground beneath Rogueport, praying that it wasn't even worse down there than it was up here. Starlight shrugged and climbed up, looking down in the pipe before jumping in, the party on their way to find the legendary Thousand-Year Door and begin uncovering the mysterious treasure deep inside, along with finding where Peach and Twilight have gone.

Trekking the Rogueport Sewers

Starlight yelled as her stomach flopped during the fast, yet controlled drop down through the warp pipe. It was odd to feel her body move as the pipe curved along with it as she went through, and when she reached the end, she slowed down upon exiting. She barely got on her hooves before collapsing, getting her first taste of traveling through them as she sat up, shaking her head.

"Wow...That's an odd experience," she commented, figuring it won't be the last time they'll be going through the warp pipes. After recovering from the slightly delirious ride, she regrouped with the others as they now stood in the underground of Rogueport. It was just as dirty as the town above, only with grey concrete walls and floors, several buildings out in the distance that couldn't be reached from where they were, and a lack of knowing the time of day without a clock. By the look of the structures, it looked like these were part of the old ruins of the city Rogueport sits on today, at least on most of the upper portions of the ancient city. "Where are we?"

"We are in the Rogueport Sewers," Frankly said. "Further down, we should be able to find the Thousand-Year Door with enough of a search."

"Ick! This place is worse than Toad Town's Sewers," Rarity whined, unable to hold her nose with her hoof as her boots were meant to avoid stepping on garbage. "And it smells horrid! I'd rather walk through Toad Town's sewage system instead! Does anypony have noseplugs, or even some air freshener!?"

"I got delicious cupcakes!" Pinkie said, pulling out a tray of colorful confectionery goodness from her saddlebags. "They smell fruity and frostingy."

"Pinkie, I think any food you bring down here will get contaminated by the odor lingering in this place!" Rarity complained. Pinkie just shrugged and sniffed the cupcakes, letting out a sigh as her senses could only smell the surprisingly fresh cupcakes she mysteriously baked. Unable to take the smell anymore, Rarity gave in. "Give me one!"

"Okie dokie!" The white unicorn snatched one of the cupcakes, the disgusting smell of the Rogueport Sewers gone as she inhaled the green-frosted cupcake. "Ooh! The melon cupcake. Made from fresh melons from Lavalava Island the Yoshis love to eat!"

"...Where did she even get those cupcakes?" Frankly asked. "And why do they look like they were JUST baked from an oven? Did she make anything when you all got here?"

"Professor, don't ask," Goombella said with a sigh. "Just...let it go when it involves Pinkie Pie."

"Why that's absurd!" Frankly protested. "There has to be a reason! Anything that illogical has to have some logical reasoning!" Mario let out a small laugh, simply explaining not to question whatever Pinkie does. Or even pulls out of nowhere. "...Bah. There's time to solve that mystery later. We must find the Thousand-Year Door posthaste!"

"Prof. Frankly!" Goombella shouted, grabbing her mentor before he ran off on his own. "How about you let us lead? The sewers'll probably be filled with even worse creeps than there are above ground."

"I ain't that old," Frankly grumbled. "...Alright. Lead the way."

"Alright! Let's go!" Goombella said, but barely moved as she pointed in the only two directions they could go to. "...Uhh, where to start?"

"Well, to the left of our entrance down here is another small town under Rogueport," Frankly said. "No way of getting through with a fallen pillar blocking the way unless we blow it up. Either that, or we crawl under it, but we'd have to be the size of a rolled up newspaper to even make it under. I know...I tried." His cheeks turned pink for a moment, quickly fixing his glasses and clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment. "The only option is to our right, although in the other room is nothing but water and a pipe on a lone island. So, our other alternate path is through this warp pipe behind this fence."

Frankly pointed at a nearby gate, which had another warp pipe hidden behind it. Unfortunately, the only way to reach it for those who can't jump as high as Mario or fly like Rainbow and Fluttershy was by a platform that hovered back and forth on the other end of a flight of stairs. With no choice but to take the long way around, the group climbed down the first flight, only to be stopped by a trio of Goombas who appeared on the other side, the normal Goomba, Paragoomba, and Spiked Goomba cackling sinisterly as they looked specifically at Goombella.

"Hey there, sweetheart!" the normal Goomba greeted.

"Wassup, baby?" the Paragoomba said, failing miserably to flirt with Goombella with the way they acted toward her. "Why don't ya hang with us? We play nice."

"What's a fine-lookin' Goomba like you hangin' around with a tubby, mustached man, an old geezer, and...six...weird animal things?" the Spiked Goomba said, his insult toward Mario and Frankly faltering when he noticed the six mares, who found them just as appalling as Goombella was at the moment. "What are those rainbow sprinkle things? Pets?"

"Oh, great," Rainbow groaned. "We're going to have another Jr. Troopa moment, aren't we?"

"Who's that?" Starlight asked.

"Remember the little Koopa we told ya about, who always kept getting in Mario's way?" Applejack said.

"Oh, now I remember," Starlight said. "What happened to him anyway?"

"Who cares!? We don't need another random antagonist we have to keep fighting after each odd chapter!" Pinkie said. "I hope he doesn't make an appearance in this story."

"Hey, baby, forget about these chumps!" the Goomba said, the trio leaping down and began surrounding Goombella. "How about we show you our crib and have a little fun?"

Mario was about to pull out his hammer to deal with these Goombas, but Goombella growled, getting fed up with the perverted Goombas trying to whisk her away for some "fun". "You creeps make me gag!" Goombella exclaimed. "Back off!"

"Oh! So you think you're too good for us, huh!?" the Paragoomba questioned.

"We weren't even going to give you a choice to come with us," the Spiked Goomba added.

As they got closer, Mario was ready to strike them to help Goombella again like he did before. However, Goombella let out a yell, headbutting the normal Goomba right in the face, sending him staggering backwards in pain. Shocked by the female Goomba's self-defense, Goombella kicked the other two Goombas back while they were caught off guard.

"I'm not going anywhere with you sick Goombas!" Goombella said. "I'm not a helpless damsel, so if you want to take me, then try it, punks!"

"You are so asking for it!" The Goomba trio charged Goombella with a battle cry.

Goombella jumped off the normal Goomba, bouncing off his head and headbonked the Paragoomba, sending the flying mushroom falling to the ground. She stomped down hard on him upon landing, jumping out of the way when she heard the normal Goomba try to lunge at her, missing and tackling his buddy instead. The Spiked Goomba chuckled and leapt up, diving down to drive the pointed spike hat he wore on the female Goomba.

"Goombella, look out!" Starlight warned, her horn glowing as she snatched the Spiked Goomba in the air, sending him flying into the pileup of Goombas, one of them yelping in pain as the Spiked Goomba's cap pricked someone.

"Thanks, but I could have taken them on my own," Goombella said.

The dastardly group of Goombas got up, the normal one wincing as he moved, apparently the one who got pricked by the Spiked Goomba. "W-What the heck was that!?" the spike-topped Goomba exclaimed. "I flew!"

"I think that thing with the horn can use magic," the Paragoomba said. He pointed at Rarity, who still held the heavenly aromatic cupcake close to her face to avoid the musty smell of the sewers. "See? Even that white one's using magic."

"Racist!" Pinkie shouted, pointing at the flying Goomba. "Or...speciesist!...Whatever the right term is for being
so derogative toward unicorns!"

"Ugh. We're just wasting time right now," Starlight grumbled. Using her magic again, she picked up the Goomba trio in her aura, then flung them hard into the other room, three splashes echoing in the underground sewers as they hit the water. No longer pestered by the Goombas trying to kidnap Goombella, they continued on their way, climbing up the steps and waited for the platform to reach them. "We need to catch up to Twilight and Peach if they went on ahead."

"At least we know Goombella's got some fight in her," Rainbow said. "Guess we didn't really need to help you with that Crump guy after all."

"Yeah, until he called in his army. I couldn't have handled them on my own at that point," Goombella said.

They quickly got on the platform, letting it carry them over the gap to reach the warp pipe, then dove down into it. Upon exiting, they appeared in another section further down under Rogueport, walking by a grated fence blocking the lower pathway while taking out more Goombas that got in their way. At least they weren't involved with the trio from earlier who wanted Goombella more than just for her company. Walking all the way around and down the stairs to the lower walkway, passing a couple grated passages, the closest one leading to another room, though it was impossible to pass unless they were skinny enough to squeeze through. The farthest one was blocked by yellow blocks, easily taken care of when Mario swung his hammer down on them, opening up a way to another warp pipe.

Diving down and going further down under Rogueport, they entered another bigger room, a grated passage nearby, taller platforms with the shorter one holding a black key and the higher another passage, a platform hanging by the edge with an image of a paper airplane pointing away from where it was perched. Behind where the pipe exited was another ledge that had a passage, though it was hard to reach with most of the group unable to jump as high as Mario or fly like the two pegasi in the party. There was another yellow block, though it was much bigger than the ones Mario broke earlier. There were even some more foes lying in wait for them, a group of short enemies that seemed to be made out of green discs spaced apart an inch or two.

Near the closed off passage, they spotted something nearby, a grey creature with darker grey sports and an antenna with a green orb at the end. It gasped, then scurried off on its tiny legs through a small crack in the wall, its small frame able to easily squeeze through.

"What in Equestria was that?" Starlight asked, Fluttershy quickly chasing after it, but was too late, unable to even fit through the bars into the room where it fled.

"Wait, little friend!" she called out. "We won't hurt you!" Sadly, it didn't come back, Fluttershy letting out a sigh. "It was so cute. What was it?"

"Hmm...I think I've seen something like that before," Frankly said. "I do have some research on them, but I can't put their name on the tip of my tongue. I'll find out after we find the Thousand-Year Door."

"At least that wasn't as dangerous-lookin' as...these weird things," Applejack said, pointing at the discus enemies, spotting them and charged them while spinning rapidly.

"Spinias," Goombella stated. "They live down here in the sewers. Just be careful of their tough spinning attack, and take careful aim if you try to jump on them."

Thankfully, the Spinias weren't able to jump as they spun against the wall of the short ledge they stood on. Pinkie hopped on one of them, squishing them down as her weight easily knocked the weak foe out, while Rainbow flew in and bucked the other one hard, its body surprisingly still intact despite its floating pieces. While figuring out where to go next, Mario saw a blue switch on the other side of the room. Giving it a good whack as most switches always lead to advancing further to where they need to go, it revealed a staircase hidden behind the nearby wall, leading up to the highest level in the room. Rainbow grabbed the mysterious black key as the others climbed up, curious about what it would unlock as they checked out the upper floor.

In the next room, there was a black chest sitting in the middle on a small dias, small black spikes patterned along the edges. "Hmm...I wonder what's in this chest," Rainbow pondered.

"Hello!?" a voice said, surprising everyone as the chest began wiggling around. "Hey, can anyone hear me!?"

"A talking chest?" Fluttershy questioned.

"Oh no! It's a Mimic!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Don't let it eat us!"

"Wait, so you can hear me?" the voice in the chest asked. "That means one of you must be the hero of legend! Only the great hero of legend can hear my voice!"

"'Hero of legend'?" Pinkie asked. "Hey, you're talking about the wrong crossover, mysterious voice who we obviously trust! If you're talking about a legendary hero in a legend, try looking around Hyrule!"

"...What the heck is 'High Rule'?" Goombella questioned skeptically. "And what do you mean by 'crossover'?"

"Inside joke," Pinkie stated, making the two Goombas facepalm at her illogical response.

"Well, there is a hero of legend," the voice said. "See, a long time ago, an evil spirit put a curse on me, locking me in this chest. It was a bummer, and I've been waiting here since then for the hero to come by."

"Well, you probably shouldn't have messed around with an evil spirit to begin with," Rarity said. "We unfortunately deal with a spirit of chaos, and depending on the day, he can be helpful, or cause us a lot of grief. Mostly the latter."

"Discord's been behaving after the changelings invaded and kidnapped us," Fluttershy said. "He was really worried about me though, being his first ever best friend."

"Ya think Discord finds ya more than just a friend, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, making the yellow pegasus blush at the ridiculous assumption.

"I-I-I don't...N-No, I d-don't think he..." Fluttershy squeaked, quickly hiding behind her mane, completely flustered and embarrassed. "W-We're...just friends..."

"So, what brings all of you to a place like this?" the trapped voice asked. Mario explained to the voice about their hunt for the Crystal Stars and the Thousand-Year Door, figuring the person trapped inside might know something about it if they were trapped for many years. "Huh. Searching for the Crystal Stars, eh? Well, you're all DEFINITELY going to need my help searching for those bad boys. You'll have to find the key to this box, then release me from this crazy prison."

"Hmm...I'm not sure if we should trust this," Frankly said nervously. "How can you be so sure that we would trust you?"

"Hey, you'll be doing me a huge favor," the voice said. "Being stuck in here is no picnic! If you find the key, which is just as black as this chest, I'll definitely give you something great if you free me."

Rainbow hummed in thought, pulling out the key she found earlier. "Is this the key?"

"Whoa! You actually found it!" the voice cheered. "Quick, open it up!" Rainbow gave Mario the key, seeing how Mario was more legendary hero material in the Mushroom Kingdom. The plumber unlocked it, the trapped voice laughing joyously as he was freed. "Yes! Thank...ha! Thank nothing!" the voice suddenly turned sinister, letting out a creepy cackle as the chest slowly opened up. "FOOOOOOOOLS!"

A black mist suddenly poured out around them, nothing but darkness surrounding the group as they were trapped in some strange magical void. "What's going on!?" Rainbow exclaimed.

"I knew something fishy was up with that chest!" Frankly said. "I should have gone with my gut and expected something that ominous to hold something dastardly!"

"Oh boy, did you suckers fall for it!" Appearing before them was a creepy face, glowing an ominous yellow with a jagged grin and piercing eyes. "Did you all really think I was going to help you? As if! But I will give you something; a little something for the suffering I've endured in this stupid box!"

"We didn't even trap you in there and we let you out!" Starlight said. "What kind of spirit are you!?"

"A bored one who wants to spread a curse!" the monster said, looking down at Mario. "And I'm gonna start by giving it to the 'hero' who deserves it!" An invisible force suddenly struck Mario as he quickly raised his arms up to protect himself. The monster began to laugh maniacally, but stopped when a light began to spread around Mario, his Lucky Star shining brightly in the dark void everyone was trapped in. "W-What the-!?"

Whatever curse the monster tried to place on Mario seemed to have backfired, brief flashes of light blinding everyone, including the dark spirit. When the light faded and everyone could blink the spots out of their eyes, everyone gasped when they saw a pair of ethereal wings appear on Mario's back.

"Whoa!" Goombella exclaimed in awe.

"Is this...supposed to be the curse?" Starlight questioned.

Mario moved his arms, not feeling any different. When he looked behind him, he stared in shock at the magical pegasus wings sprouting from his back. He then looked down at his chest, spotting the glowing light from his pendant as it either saved him or purified the curse into something else similar to what the monster had planned in the first place. The glowing face blinked a couple times, still in shock, but he grimaced as he tried to play it off like this was the curse.

"Err, yes! Yes, this is the curse!" it said. "In certain places, you will grow those...glowing wings, and it'll make you look ridiculous!" Appearing below Mario was the paper airplane panel similar to the one outside of the room where the chest was. "Stepping on these panels will make it glow, and they'll sprout...making you...able to glide through the air! Everyone will laugh at how silly you look with those ethereal wings!...Oh, who am I kidding? My curse wasn't supposed to do this. It was supposed to turn him into a paper airplane." Pinkie floated up to the face and whispered something to him, making its yellow eyes grow wide in surprise. "Wait, this world ISN'T made out of paper!?"

"Well, duh," Pinkie said. "Did you not see the last story?"

"I was trapped in a treasure chest for over a millennia!" the monster exclaimed, confusing the others as it and Pinkie talked.

"Gotta come up with weird ways to tie in Mario's new Equestrian magic in a realistic setting instead of paper, even though the title's misleading." She then stared out into space, glaring at something, or someone, the others couldn't see. "You need to work on your titles, mister author!"

"...Who is she talking to?" Frankly asked as he looked out to where Pinkie was looking. "There's no one but us...I NEED ANSWERS!"

"...Well, uhh, I...guess that's it?" the monster said. "Enjoy the curse, sucker...? Er, farewell, fools!"

The monster laugh maniacally, only to die out, still confused by his curse failing as the world began to return to them. "...Ok...that was...odd," Applejack commented.

Sadly, as the void disappeared, so did Mario's temporary wings. At least there weren't any physical changes given to him, otherwise if that curse ended up turning him into a pony, then there would be a lot of embarrassing complications. Leaving the empty black chest behind, they head back into the previous room. Looking over the area, they saw the passage leading to another room, but with it on a higher ledge, it would be tedious constantly carrying anyone unable to reach higher ledges, and more exhausting if they have to traverse more of the sewers to find the Thousand-Year Door.

"So, what exactly happened?" Goombella asked. "Is Mario cursed now, or did something else happen?"

"I'm not sure," Starlight said. "Twilight told me about Mario's Lucky Star pendant and how it was able to borrow magic from her and the girls after rescuing a Star Spirit from Bowser's troops. Maybe Mario actually was 'cursed', but because he has the powers of the Elements of Harmony, six powerful gems created by the Tree of Harmony to help protect Equestria, he must have enough of that magic in it to purify the curse and change it into something else."

"Oh. So that explains the super speed earlier when Mario got robbed," Goombella said. "And they brought those gems here in our world?"

"Actually, it was more from our rainbow power," Rainbow said. "We gave up the Elements of Harmony to save the Tree of Harmony when it was attacked by Discord's plunder vines, and when we beat Tirek, the chest it gave us for saving it after it was opened gave us awesome new powers on the same level as the Elements."

"Too bad we can't use that power unless Twilight is with us," Pinkie added. "Gotta have all six for it to work. Which means no longer hair, highlights, and glowing bodies while we shoot rainbow lasers at the big baddie."

"I do hope we find her soon," Rarity said. "As fun as a treasure hunt might be, I'd rather get it over with quickly so we don't keep walking around in these sewers!"

"Then how are we gonna get across there?" Applejack questioned, pointing at the passage into the next room on the ledge above the pipe they exited. "If we keep needin' to go back and forth to find the Crystal Stars, won't it get annoyin' if Mario or Rainbow has to help carry us all up there if that door's closeby?"

"I could teleport us up there, but Applejack does make a point," Starlight said. "I could get easily drained if I don't get enough rest. And considering the fact we'll end up fighting more that getting around, I might not have enough in me to even teleport myself."

While figuring out how to get everyone up to the ledge on the opposite end of the room, Mario looked at the panel the monster who "cursed" him showed while explaining what it was meant to do. Curious about the blessed curse, he stepped onto the grey panel, which began glowing along with the Lucky Star pendant. Pulling the charm out from his shirt, he grasped it in his hand, feeling a new magical power flowing from inside it, even though there was no physical change to it like it had done before. Unleashing it, a harmless shockwave of light shot out from the plumber, his ethereal wings reappearing on his back, but the light also phased through the rest of the group, creating more ethereal wings to the non-pegasi and two Goombas. The others gasped at the strange feeling, looking at the glowing wings they now had.

"W-Whoa!" Goombella exclaimed, looking back at her smaller, temporary wings. "What...What is happening!? Did we all get cursed!?"

"No, that thing seemed to only curse Mario," Starlight said, intrigued by the magical wings. "And I doubt this is a curse when this...doesn't actually seem that bad."

"Must be a pretty powerful little accessory if it can spread out this kind of magic," Frankly said, giving his fake wings an experimental flap.

"Whoo hoo!" Pinkie cheered. "I have wings! Let's find another evil black chest and see if it can give us horns!"

"Well, these aren't as attracting like the wings Twilight gave me when we went to cheer Rainbow Dash at the Best Young Fliers competition a few years back, but they are simply divine," Rarity complimented.

Mario was just as curious as to his his "curse" affected the others. Maybe something else happened during the last fight with Bowser, where the Star Spirits power along with Twink's helped heal everyone while giving his partners similar pendants like his Lucky Star with the same magical abilities. With how the temporary flight was able to spread upon activating it while on the panel, it was able to spread out and affect his flightless friends. At least now they were all able to glide across and waste less energy if he had to pick up someone and jump up to where they need to be, especially when they're in a new location with new foes they could encounter, Mario was going to need all the energy he needed.

Testing out his wings, Mario took a running start and leapt off, his wings spreading out as he straightened his body horizontally and glided across. He wasn't able to flap them while in the air, only able to shift his body up and down to get as much hang time and distance he could. Once he landed on the upper ledge safely, his wings disappeared, only useful for one flight until he found another. The others followed suit, Rarity remembering how it felt to fly before as she daintily hovered across, but Starlight, Applejack, Pinkie, Goombella, and Frankly needed some help from Rainbow and Fluttershy during their first attempt. Thankfully, they all made it safely across and continued on, the next room the last one they needed to search as they entered a much larger room.

"Oh...Look, everyone!" Frankly pointed out. Despite some of the pillars broken in the room, the entire structure was still standing. But the main centerpiece of the room was clearly evident on the wall; a massive door surrounded by a patterned archway, the faded red door coated with a faded gold frame, the same shade of etched designs on it showing seven stars, with three of them on the right, three on the left, and the last one above them in the center. Before the door was a circular dais with a small circular platform in the middle. "I can't believe it...We found it! The Thousand-Year Door!"

"Unbelievable," Goombella gasped, she and the others joining the professor in awe and the grand door before them. "It's just like how the books of legend depicted it..."

"Let's get a closer look!" Frankly said, running on ahead to inspect the door further. The others followed, some going with Frankly to look at the legendary door while the others checked the circular dais. "This is astounding. The Thousand-Year Door, right under everyone's noses, and it's no longer a legend! Oh, if only we had those Crystal Stars right now!"

"Professor, what's with this pedestal?" Goombella asked curiously.

"Hmm...I wonder if this is used to show the map to the door and reveal the Crystal Stars' location," Starlight pondered. Mario stepped up onto the dais and stood on the pedestal, staring at the door from a slightly elevated height. Suddenly, a bright flash alerted everyone, the pedestal Mario stood on now revealing a star in a blue light. "What in Equestria!?"

Two circles of light appeared in a clockwise path, everyone around the dais sans Mario leaping away as they watched in shock and awe at the glowing lights. Soon, runes began to appear in the light from the pedestal Mario still stood on, seven empty circles connected together near the outer edge soon materialized.

"Professor, what's going on!?" Goombella asked nervously.

"I-I'm not sure!" Frankly said, just as shocked as his assistant.

Mario's backpack soon began to glow, the Magical Map floating by itself out of where it was stashed and began hovering above him. Ethereal stars began flowing into it, the stars flying in faster and faster, making it glow brighter. The map then shimmered as a beam of light from above shot down onto the map, blinding everyone for a short time. While they couldn't see, they didn't see the map was slowly changing, a small sparkle of light rising from the town overlooked by the castle to the east of Rogueport. More detail was given to the castle, almost like it was popping out of the Magical Map, along with the ethereal image of what appeared to be a glittering light grey gem in the shape of a star.

As soon as the light dimmed, Mario squinted his eyes, holding his hands up to grab the Magical Map is it gently floated back in his hands. As soon as he touched it, he gasped as he felt some magical power flow into him from the map itself, not giving any physical changes to his Lucky Star like before, but it felt like the map wanted to give him something to help him on his quest. When he got a look at the region, he noticed the shimmering star floating in front of the highly detailed castle. The lights and runes that have appeared were now gone, baffling the others as to what had just happened.

"Wow. What a light show," Rainbow commented.

"Just what was all that?" Goombella asked. She then leapt up onto the pedestal Mario stood on, looking down at the map. "Whoa! Professor, you need to see this!"

Frankly hopped up onto the pedestal with Mario and Goombella, the plumber lowering the map for him to see. "Hmm...It looks like information on one of the Crystal Stars has appeared...and that light around Mario...I think a mysterious power was given to him."

"Doesn't seem like a surprise if that happened to him with us," Pinkie noted.

"Let's return to my place and study the map closely," Frankly said, the others agreeing as they began making their way back to the surface.

Back inside Frankly's home, the Goomba professor conducted his research with the Magical Map resting beside his books on his desk. After looking through what he understood, he closed the book and gave everyone a grin.

"Well, it was just as I suspected!" Frankly said. "When that light surrounded Mario, and blinded us in the process, the Magical Map has definitely given him some special powers!"

"Really, professor?" Goombella asked.

"The Crystal Stars are quite powerful, even on their own!" the older Goomba explained. "With the creation of the Magical Map, some of their power must have rubbed off on it, and it grants whoever is deemed worthy of using it and the Crystal Stars' unique magics! I'm sure he's no stranger to this sort of thing from his last adventure, but I am sure that upon finding them, their power will be quite useful in a sticky situation."

"Ok, but what about the map?" Starlight asked, pointing at the recent addition, along with the image of one of the Crystal Stars hovering in front of the castle. "This wasn't on here before the lights appeared down near the Thousand-Year Door."

"The Magical Map has radar-like functions, from what I've read in a few of my resources," Frankly said. "It's revealed the location of one of the Crystal Stars, which just so happens to be near a location called Petal Meadows."

"That sounds like a nice place," Fluttershy said.

"Yes, and it's located far to the east of Rogueport, as the map has shown," Frankly said.

"Oh, thank goodness," Rarity said. "I don't have to spend another moment walking around this filthy place and walk on fresh grass and clean roads. How do we get there? By train? I do see railroad tracks, though they seem to lead to another city."

"Actually, warp pipes are the fastest way to travel," Frankly said, making Rarity's eye twitch as she dreaded what he was about to say next. "In fact, getting to and from most places around here is better by warp pipe. The sewers should have a pipe that'll take you to Petal Meadows! Instant and efficient!"

"...Y-You mean...we're going to have to go through the sewers...over and over...to get to where the map takes us???" Rarity asked. She then whined, making the others roll their eyes as the white unicorn stared down at her boots. "I'm throwing these away when we are done with this crazy adventure..."

"Speaking of adventurin', there wasn't any sign of Twilight or Peach down near that door," Applejack said. "Where could they have gone?"

"Maybe they went to Petal Meadows instead?" Fluttershy suggested. "They could have heard about some rumors about the treasure, and went somewhere else?"

"Possibly, as many of those rumors about the whereabouts of one of the Crystal Stars was around Petal Meadows," Frankly said. "They must have caught wind of the rumors and went off on their own."

"Well, knowing Twilight, she can take care of Peach if they ever get into trouble," Starlight said.

"But what about that suspicious group who tried to attack me?" Goombella asked. "They seem to be looking for the Crystal Stars as well. I hope the princesses aren't involved with those goons."

"Of course not!" Rainbow said. "That Crump guy was a creep, and so were his little white minions!"

"Whoever they were, let's hope we don't run into them again," Starlight said. "Let's head on out to Petal Meadows and see if Peach and Twilight are there, and maybe find that Crystal Star."

Everyone nodded and began to head out, but Frankly stayed behind. "You coming, professor?" Goombella asked.

"I think I should stay here," Frankly said. "I'll ask around for more info on the whereabouts of the princesses and this strange group you all ran into. Besides, I doubt a shriveled old Goomba like me can handle the trials of the open road. If there's anything you find out though that you need help involving any research, just come and see me if you need help."

Taking the advice, the group headed off and made their way back down into the sewers. Ignoring the pipe they went down earlier, they continued onward to the rest of the room, where there was another paper airplane panel facing a ledge across a wide gap, a passage on the other end where Starlight flung the Goomba trio through when they harassed Goombella. Using his new "cursed" ability, Mario activated his ethereal wings as he stood on the panel, the flash of light striking the others as the others without wings grew a temporary pair as well, then glided over to the other side. In the next room was a large body of water, another panel near the water made of wood that had the picture of a boat, and across the surface was a gray warp pipe, almost similar to the color of the Crystal Star that the map was guiding them to. Nearby was a random tentacle resting on the ground as it came from the water.

"What is that thing?" Starlight asked curiously, prodding the slimy tentacle with her hoof.

"Oh no," Rarity uttered. "Please tell me that's not what I think it belongs to."

"Stand back girls...and Mario," Pinkie said, reaching behind herself and pulled out the Super Hammer Mario had loaned her after getting the Ultra Hammer back in Mt. Lavalava. "I got this." Pinkie casually walked up to the tentacle, twirling her melee weapon around with her poofy tail. "So, Mr. Tentacle, what are you doing here out of the water? Hoping to get a little pony snack?"

"Pinkie, what are you-?" Starlight suddenly yelped when she felt the tentacle curl around her leg, not too tight, but wrapped around it in a curious manner. "Whoa, hey!"

"Well, not on our watch! HAVE AT THEE!" Pinkie shouted, slamming her hammer down on the tentacle.

It let go of Starlight while also letting out a gurgled cry of pain coming from the water. "Bloop! BLOOOOOOOP!!!!!"

The tentacle slipped back in the water. A ripple on the surface began to appear, Pinkie realizing she made a huge mistake as a giant Blooper leapt up and floated over the water, glaring angrily at the group.

"...I probably should have given more warning before doing that," Pinkie said. The Blooper lunged one of its longer tentacles at her, grasping the poor pony tightly in its grip and hoisted her up to its face. "AHHH! Help! I'm gonna get eaten!"

"Sweet Celestia, it's a Blooper!" Rarity screamed, quickly pulling Mario in front of her as a shield. "Don't let it ink me!"

Starlight zapped the Blooper with her magic, dropping Pinkie as it shuddered from the shock. As Pinkie landed in the water, expecting the mare to drop safely, she yelped and flew up in the air while holding onto her rear. Surfacing after her for a moment was what looked like fish with a Chain Chomp's dangerously sharp-toothed maw, chomping at air before diving back in the water. Everyone was caught off guard by the strange aquatic creature as Pinkie fell back on safer land, rubbing her behind with a wince.

"Owie! I knew I was gonna get eaten, but not by that!" she whined.

"W-What was that?" Fluttershy questioned fearfully, not sure if she should be afraid of the angry Blooper or the dangerous waters.

"A Nibbler," Goombella said. "These fish love inhabiting the water around the region. And I mean any body of water. If you want to go for a swim, prepare to get your butts chomped."

"Ah guess it's safe to assume swimmin' to that pipe ain't the best solution then," Applejack figured, staying wary of the Blooper eyeing them.

"Pretty much," Goombella said.

The Blooper let out some more gurgling sounds, no one able to tell what it was saying as it talked to itself. It floated over the group, then turned its underside to them, spraying the whole group with ink. Rarity let out a whine as it hit her too, getting mad as she snatched Mario's hammer off his person with her magic.

"I said I didn't want to get inked, and now look at what you've done!" Rarity complained, confusing the Blooper. "As if I didn't have it worse being forced to walk around such a disgusting, filthy town, I had to get inked again by your species, and you live in by far the worst possible place an aquatic creature such as you the absolutely DISGUSTING sewer water in the entire world!"

Rarity then proceeded to pummel the Blooper repeatedly with the hammer, making it wince as it brought its long tentacles up to protect itself while she continued ranting. "...So, I take it Rarity didn't like getting squirted with ink by a Blooper before," Goombella pondered.

"Yeah. Now she's mad," Rainbow said. "Too bad we can't take a dip in a cleaner lake to clean this muck off after knowing those Nibbler things infest any body of water deeper than a puddle."

The Blooper growled, now getting irritated by Rarity's constant whining and smacking it around with Mario's hammer, grabbing the mallet in its tentacle and disrupting her aura's hold on it. It tossed it over its shoulder, but Mario wasn't going to lose his weapon when they come across tougher foes. Reaching his hand out, his glove glowing purple, he caught his hammer in a similar colored aura, then dragged it back, sending it spinning in the air and smacking the Blooper in the back of the head. Gurgling in pain and confusion, the Blooper fell forward, smacking onto dry land in a daze.

"Oh dear. I hope it's not too hurt," Fluttershy said worriedly. She approached it and tried to help it, but it woke up and floated back upright, snatching the animal-loving pegasus in its tentacle. "Oof! Maybe not!"

"Hey, let go of my best friend!" Rainbow exclaimed, zipping forward and slamming into the Blooper. Thankfully, it dropped Fluttershy, then bucked it hard in the air, smacking it into the ceiling. It let out a defeated blurb, its eyes swirling as its limp body fell into the water. "Hopefully that's the last time we deal with Bloopers for a lifetime."

"At least that one's not as bad as the last three we found in Toad Town's Sewers," Applejack said.

With the Blooper's defeat, two stone platforms rose up from the water, moving back and forth as they created a way to reach the pipe. "Huh...That's...oddly convenient," Starlight noted.

"Yup, that's how it works in this world," Pinkie said. "Good thing we got in a fight with the Blooper, or else we would have gotten munched by the sharp-tooth fishies."

"A fight you kinda started by hitting a Blooper's tentacle," Goombella reiterated. "...Then again, swimming would have been the worst option...At least now we have a way across."

Being careful not to fall in the water and get chewed up like Pinkie had, they crossed the floating platforms and reached the warp pipe. "When we get to that little town in Petal Meadows, can we please get a shower?" Rarity pleaded. "It's bad enough just wandering around a place like Rogueport and these disgusting sewers, but black ink is going to stain my coat! I have white fur, and white stains very easily!"

"Maybe we should," Starlight agreed. "Even I feel a bit unclean after getting sprayed with ink. Someone might be willing to let us use their bathroom and clean up."

Everyone jumped down into the pipe and officially started their quest to find the Crystal Stars and uncover what lies behind the Thousand-Year Door. Maybe they'll even bump into Twilight and Peach along the way, assuming they'll stay put and not try to do anything reckless without everyone there to help them on what was sure to be a much more dangerous adventure that any of them have ever been on.

Hooktail's Castle

Koops sighed as he stood at the sink, washing dishes after he and his girlfriend shared some lunch. Koopie was always worried about him, and he can understand her over-protectiveness and stubbornness over his crazy ideas, but she never gave him the chance to explain why and wind up guilt-tripping him to stay and keep his thoughts to himself. Koops wondered how much better everything would have been if his dad didn't go off to Hooktail's Castle. Maybe better? Maybe worse? It wouldn't matter since there wasn't a way to travel back in time, stop Koopley from going to the castle, and living as peacefully as possible with Hooktail still flying around.

As he looked up out the window while drying his hands, he spotted Mario, Goombella, and the group of ponies making their way back into town. From the look of them, they must have found what they were looking for and were ready to trek up to Hooktail's Castle. Looking back in the living room, where Koopie Koo was waiting for him, he made up his mind, even if he dreaded to hear his girlfriend tell him how crazy he was. Breathing deeply to steel his growing nerves, he left the kitchen and headed toward the front door.

"Uhh, Koopie?" he called out. "I'm gonna...head out."

"To do what?" Koopie asked.

"I...I think I forgot something at the store," Koops lied, hoping his girlfriend didn't hear how nervous he sounded. "I'll be right back, ok?"

Koopie raised a brow curiously, making the Koopa sweat, already found out. "...Ok. But hurry back."

"O-Ok. Love you." Koops left the door, letting out a sigh of relief, then ran after the adventuring group.

Unbeknownst to him, Koopie walked over to the window and watched him running down the road. "You're not that forgetful, Koops," she muttered to herself. "...What are you really planning?"

The party stopped by the store, making sure to stock up on enough items this time and not risk any future disastrous encounters with creatures like those Bristles. Starlight enchanted her bags to store an infinite amount of items, even though they couldn't get much with the amount of coins Mario had. Even the items mentioned in that quiz the Thwomp gave them back at Shhwonk Fortress had the exact total amount that was the right answer.

"Next time we enter a new town, we'll explore every single inch of the place," Starlight voiced. "Just in case we run into anymore quizaholics."

"That won't be a problem when we never ran into Chuck Quizmo at all throughout the Mushroom Kingdom!" Pinkie said.

"Chuck who?" Goombella asked. "Is this another thing she's making up?"

"Nope! He's real!" Pinkie said. "He's a big orange and purple worm creature with a top hat, and I bumped into him in Toad Town when I went to visit Tayce T. for some more yummy cakes. He gave me a quiz, bringing me to a fun game show, but I got the answer wrong so I didn't get a prize. I wonder what he and Vanna T. are doing now?"

"...Ok. I'm just gonna nod my head and agree with knowing that," Goombella uttered, starting to grow more curious about this mysterious worm.

Once everything was all set, they made their way out of Petalburg and out the front entrance to the direction of Hooktail's Castle. Before they could properly leave the gates, they were surprised to see Koops out on the road, waiting for them with a slightly more determined look on his face.

"Hey, it's Koops," Applejack said. "What's the matter, sugarcube?"

"Umm...I-I've been...waiting here for you guys so I could talk to you," Koops said, swallowing a huge lump of nervousness as he stood his ground. "I need...to ask you something, and you can say no if you want. I'll understand..." He approached them, struggling to not walk past them as he stopped before them. "I-I...was wondering...Would you...?" Koops stammered, but the others were patient to let him say his peace as his trepidation was about to win over. Frustrated, he finally belted it out as he fell to his knees and clasping his hands together. "Please take me with you to fight Hooktail! Please! I'm begging you!"

"Huh!?" the group exclaimed, yet again startled by the Koopa's outburst.

"S-Sorry," Koops apologized, standing back up nervously. "I didn't...mean to shout that."

"Like the last time?" Fluttershy asked.

"And you want to come with us?" Starlight questioned curiously. "You do realize how dangerous this is, right? Even we're crazy enough to get there to find an ancient Crystal Star."

"I know, but...well...my dad went off to fight Hooktail a few years ago," Koops explained, the group knowing a few bits and pieces to the timid Koopa Troopa's past. "He never came back, and everyone assumed he was killed...I...really miss him."

"So, you want to get back at Hooktail for killing your dad?" Rainbow asked. "I don't think it's worth it when you're going against a giant dragon that's ten times bigger than town."

"This is more than just avenging my dad," Koops said. "...Well, maybe it does a little bit. But, if I'm being honest, I kinda want to finish what he started...For everyone's sake."

"And what's the other reason?" Goombella asked curiously.

"...Since my dad left and never came back, I was picked on a lot," Koops said. "Everyone looked down at me, the bullying slowly turning to pity on me, and they think I can't take care of myself..." He clenched his fists, giving the group a more confident gaze. "If I can beat Hooktail, maybe everyone will stop thinking I'm weak. I don't care how dangerous it is. I want to come with you guys...if you'll let me."

The plumber, Goomba, and ponies looked at each other, silently wondering if they should let Koops join. Even though he wants vengeance against Hooktail for killing Koopley, he wants to face Hooktail to not only prove he was a strong Koopa, but also to keep everyone else from being eaten by the monstrous dragon. He was still pretty timid, but if he was like Fluttershy, there was some semblance of courage inside him, and the guard earlier said that Koops was pretty tough despite his silent nature.

"Well, we do need a Koopa in the group," Pinkie voiced aloud. "Although he could have been helpful against those Bristley thingies in that old fort."

"There might be more hiding in Hooktail's Castle," Goombella added. "Who knows what else we'll run into if we find the other Crystal Stars, too. But, if he is as good as others say, I'll have to see it to believe it."

Mario was curious about Koops's skills after hearing how the Koopas in Petalburg can toss themselves back toward their foes. He might have different abilities than Kooper might have, even though Kooper was a lot more confident in himself despite his relationship to the Koopa Bros. in his youth. The girls all looked to him to make the decision, and willing to help Koops's confidence and bravery along with gaining a new ally, he held his hand out to the Koopa Troopa.

"R-Really? You'll take me along?" Koops asked. Mario responded a nod, making him grin as he happily took the plumber's hand and shook it. "T-Thank you! I promise I won't let you all down...Umm, what were your names again?"

"I don't think we introduced ourselves to you," Goombella said. "I'm-"

"I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie interrupted, surprising Koops as she appeared out of nowhere and forced him to hide in his shell. She picked up the startled Koopa, showing him to the others as she introduced him for them, the Goomba letting out a sigh with a roll of her eyes. "That's Mario, Starlight Glimmer, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Goombella!" Pinkie then looked inside the neck of Koops's shell, popping her head inside while making him feel a bit uncomfortable with her face both pressed against his and squishing him inside his shell. "You must have felt so lonely, but now you have a lot of new friends! Isn't that good news!?"

"Uhh...M-Maybe," Koops uttered. "...Can you...put me down, please?"

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie popped her head out of Koops's shell, then lowered him down as he moved his limbs back through and stood up.

"How did you fit your head in my shell?" Koops questioned to himself aloud.

"One thing ya gotta know about Pinkie Pie, sugarcube," Applejack said. "Whatever she does, just accept it."

"Oh...Ok," Koops mumbled. "...Well, let's get going."

"Koops." The sweater-wearing Koopa winced, looking behind his new friends to find Koopie Koo approach them, not at all happy seeing him not where he promised her he was going.

Koops gulped nervously as the group looked back at the female Koopa. "Uhh...H-Hi, Koopie."

"I thought you said you forgot something at the store," Koopie said skeptically. "Surprisingly, you weren't at the store, and instead you're trying to join these travelers as they're going up to Hooktail's Castle, where we all know you're all signing a death wish by even coming close to that monstrous den of that dragon."

"Uhh...Y-You heard...all of that?" Koops asked, his girlfriend nodding his head, which only made him panic more.

"Who's this?" Goombella asked.

"...M-My girlfriend, Koopie Koo," Koops introduced, hanging his head in shame to avoid the disappointing leer from his lover.

"Well, Ms. Koopie, we need to go to Hooktail's Castle for a reason," Starlight explained. "We're looking for the Crystal Stars, and one of them is being held by Hooktail in its castle. We know how insane it is trying to go against a dragon. My friends and I aren't from here, but there are dragons where we come from, so we know it's not a fun time when you tick off the wrong dragon."

"And you're letting my boyfriend go along? Even though he lost his dad to Hooktail's jaws?" Koopie questioned, crossing her arms over her chest while tapping her foot.

"He could help us if we get into some trouble," Rainbow said. "We had a problem with-"

"I am NOT losing Koops!" Koopie exclaimed. "This is so stupid! Please tell me this is all big joke, Koops! You're not that strong to take on a dragon on your own! Not even with travelers who don't even look like they can wrangle a dragon!"

"...I know," Koops said. He looked up and walked over to her. "But I want to be tougher...I want to help everyone, stop losing everyone from Hooktail's flights for an easy lunch...I have to do this."

"Koops, you don't HAVE to do this," Koopie reasoned, grasping Koops hands in hers as she gave him a worried gaze. "Going off somewhere dangerous just to get revenge? It's...It's just stupid." She leaned closer, pressing her cheek against Koops's as she hugged him. "I don't care if you're timid or cry. I don't care about all of that. I just want you to be you...Please, don't go..."

Koops ignored the sighs from the girls behind him as they watched him and Koopie sharing a tender moment, feeling guilt tripped despite his girlfriend being genuinely concerned about his safety. He was willing to stay so he wouldn't worry her, but he wanted to leave with Mario and his party to not only assist them, but also stop Hooktail so no one would getting eaten by that dragon again, especially if Koopie was the next unfortunate victim. Letting out a sigh, he grabbed Koopie's shoulders, gently pushing her back a little.

"Sorry, Koopie...I've made up my mind." His response shocked her, only to squeak in surprise when he cupped her cheeks, then gave her a kiss on the lips. Most of the girls in the group squealed at the cute, romantic gesture, a promise a hero makes to their loved one to return home without getting too badly hurt or killed. Koops pulled away, leaving Koopie slightly dazed and confused with a huge blush on her face. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll be with Mario and the others. I think...we can do this."

Koopie just stared, still reeling from how bold Koops had suddenly gotten, even if it was still a crazy idea. She finally snapped out of her daze, but instead of trusting him on his word, she glared at him, clenching her fists as she struggled to hold back tears as they welled up in her eyes.

"Fine then! Ignore me and get yourself killed!" she shouted. Her outburst startled Koops, his girlfriend ducking in her shell and tossing herself toward him. The group yelped and jumped out of the angry Koopa girl's way, but Koops wasn't as lucky as he was hit, smacked in the side and spun rapidly in place. When he slowed to a halt, his head spun, but when he regained focus, he saw his girlfriend fling herself backward where she stopped, showing off the Petalburg Koopas' shell tossing technique to the visiting group, ramming him in the chest and knocking him on his back. "STUBBORN KOOPA!"

Koops wheezed, Koopie running back into Petalburg, not wanting him to see her cry. The others were a bit shocked to see the end result of such a heartwarming promise. Mario walked up to the knocked over Koopa, helping him back up as Koops rubbed his sore underbelly.

"Sorry, Koopie," Koops said to himself. He then sighed sadly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think she hates me now."

"Are you kidding, darling?" Rarity questioned. "If that was considered hating your guts for doing something so dangerous, you need to get your eyes checked." Koops rubbed his injured eye, the white unicorn flinching after realizing what she said. "N-Not that your bad eye is actually that bad."

"It's fine," Koops assured. "Been like that for a couple years...I'm used to it, though."

"Rarity, are you sure Koops's girlfriend still likes him after she basically bowled him over?" Goombella questioned. "I may love a romance story or two, but what just happened isn't exactly true love."

"If Twilight's sister-in-law, Cadence, were here, she would beg to differ," Rarity said. "She may have roughed Koops up, but the look in her eyes, struggling to hold back tears, that showed she was absolutely worried about his safety. Even though she ran off and hurt him, she'll accept his decision and await the moment her brave, strong, and confident hero will come back home to her."

Koops blushed at Rarity's thoughts on how Koopie actually felt. He knew he wasn't hero material and Rarity might have exaggerated her reasons why his girlfriend knocked him senseless, but part of him believed that might actually be true. That only gave him more of a reason to do this for her and everyone else in town. Now joining a hero from across the seas, six mares from another world, and an archaeological Goomba student, Koops followed them off to Hooktail's Castle, facing every Koopa in Petalburg's fears for them and hopefully end them once and for all.

On the road to the stone formations, Koops got to know more about the others. He was a bit surprised to know he was traveling with THE Super Mario from the Mushroom Kingdom, only hearing stories about the heroic plumber and never meeting him in person until now. He even appreciated how friendly the ponies were, though he felt sorry for them that they couldn't find their friend and one of the few princesses in their kingdom who joined Peach to this continent. Goombella was a little bit skeptical with him as a fighter, even he thought the same thing with her explorer's outfit, but when they battled a few Goombas and Koopas that crossed their path, they surprised each other with how versatile they were against certain foes. They could easily work together, with Goombella taking the flying Paragoombas and Parakoopas while he dealt with the grounded Goombas, especially the ones with spiked caps.

They soon reached the circle of stones, looking out to Hooktail Castle in the distance. Koops trembled slightly, but swallowed his nerves, forcing himself to stay and prove to everyone and himself he wasn't weak. Starlight pulled out the stone keys they acquired from Shwwonk Fortress, using her magic to float the right keys into their respectful places. After placing them, everyone stepped back as the earth around them shook, both rocks with the key indents spinning around as they moved closer to the center, warp pipe-shaped rock, now creating a square formation as they revealed a pair of blue switches. Along with revealing the switched, the central stone had lit up symbols revealed in glowing blue lights. Goombella observed the hieroglyphic writing that appeared, pulling out one of her many almanacs she carried on her to translate the writing.

"'Here beginneth the path to dread Hooktail's Castle. Weaklings, retreateth,'" she said aloud. "'Ye who seeketh to proceed: a power of two must hitteth both switches simultaneously. ***Addendum*** If ye are a Petalburg Koopa, huzzah! Your HOLD ability maketh this chore a snap!' Huh. Guess that explains why there are two switches."

"I think even without Koops, we could have hit the switches at the same time by ourselves," Starlight noted. "No offense, Koops."

"None taken," Koops said. "I understand."

"Then let's open up the shortcut to the castle!" Pinkie said, grabbing Koops, then placed him over by the right switch. "Ducking time!"

"Uhh, Pinkie?" Koops yelped as Pinkie bounced on him, forcing him in his shell.

"Twenty-one!" Pinkie shouted, swinging her hammer and smacking Koops away from the switch. He quickly stopped himself, keeping his spinning momentum as he realized what Pinkie was trying to do, though he wished she asked him instead of doing things randomly. Then again, he was warned not to question her, so he just played along and waited for Pinkie's signal. The pink earth pony bounced over to the other switch, readying her hammer to slam it down. "And...HIT IT!"

Taking that as the signal, Koops flung himself back toward his switch. As soon as he struck his, Pinkie smacked hers, causing both switches to disappear and crumble the warp pipe stone to reveal and actual warp pipe inside it. Standing back up, Koops rubbed his back as he watched a warp pipe out in the distance appear close to the old castle.

"I could have helped if you just asked," he mumbled to himself.

"That was pretty cool what you did, Koops," Rainbow complimented. "I don't think Kooper can pull off something like that, and he can catch on fire when he spins around fast enough."

"...Uhh...thanks?" Koops said, feeling a bit less self-confident that a Koopa they knew was strong enough to spark himself into a flaming shell over his town's unique shell tossing ability.

"It's now or never, everypony," Starlight said. "Time to reach Hooktail's Castle and find that Crystal Star."

She jumped down the pipe first, the others following suit as they stood mere yards away from the front gates of the grand old castle ruins.

Opening the old wooden doors and passing through the entrance, they saw just how huge the dragon's castle was: a tall spire big enough for the massive Hooktail to roost and, surprisingly, hold its weight, the stone structure worn out from age and even some from the dragon's abuse against intruders, though not too much to destroy it, a moat around the palace that was once used to keep intruders out back then, and what used to be a wooden bridge connecting the castle to the entrance, its pieces lingering in the moat while withered by time or destroyed by Hooktail. The ponies and Mario weren't as impressed as Goombella and Koops were, seeing their fair share of ruins and castles, though Koops was impressed out of fear, gulping loudly at the sight of Hooktail's lair.

"Wow...Hooktail's Castle looked so much smaller from Petalburg," Koops said to himself. "And it's as scary as the stories say..."

"You're not getting cold feet on us, are you?" Goombella asked.

"N-No...B-Besides, how are we going to get across?" the Koopa asked. "The bridge is broken, and I don't think all of us can jump that so easily."

Looking up, Starlight spotted a familiar looking platform jutting out from the entrance's guard tower. "Hey, there's another one of those flying boards that Mario was 'cursed' to use. We can use that to fly across."

"And there was a spring back in the tower that can help us get to the top!" Pinkie stated, noticing it as they passed through to get a closer look at the castle.

"W-Wait, fly across?" Koops questioned. Everyone ignored him and headed back, bouncing up to the upper platform in the tower. Koops followed, curious and confused by what Starlight meant. "Hold on a second. What's this about flying?"

"It's actually more like gliding, darling," Rarity said. "You'll see."

"Hope you wondered what it's like to be a Paratroopa," Goombella said. "It's quite an exhilarating experience!"

"Uhh, no...I haven't?" Koops muttered. Finding it better to show him rather than explain, Mario pulled out his Lucky Star hidden in his shirt, then stepped onto the arrow platform. The sudden glow surprised Koops, having no idea what to expect as the plumber activated his new blessing as he decided to call it rather than a curse. A shockwave of light shot out around him, phasing through the others with Koops flinching as it hit him. When he opened his eyes, he gasped in awe as he saw the flightless ponies, Mario, and Goombella now with a pair of ethereal wings. "W-Whaaaaaaa...!?"

"Pretty cool, right?" Pinkie said. "And you've got wings too, Koopsie!"

"K-Koopsie???" Deterred by Pinkie's nickname for him, which actually sounded more like a girl's name, he did look behind him, his jaw dropping as he also had a pair of magical wings attached to his shell. Awed by the ethereal Paratroopa wings on his back, he reached a hand out to touch one, tensing up as he actually felt it and responded to his own touch like it was actual wings he was born with. "...Whoa...How is this possible?"

"A blessing in disguise," Starlight explained. "Turned out there was this black chest that was supposed to curse Mario, but thanks to the magic absorbed in his Lucky Star pendant when he made a connection with Twilight and the girls while they were trapped in this world, it ended up giving Mario a useful spell to help us all get across far ledges. The only way to activate it is by using these specific panels...which is an odd coincidence if there are more of these scattered throughout the rest of this continent."

"...Ok...I guess that makes sense?" Koops said, taking the unicorn's word for it as he looked back at his temporary wings. He looked back when he heard Pinkie squeal in excitement, the mare jumping off and gliding across to the other side of the broken bridge. He was at least assured that they actually worked, but flying over looked pretty difficult while the others took a running leap and flew over to safety. "Uhh, how do I use these?"

"Just spread them out and jump for it," Rainbow said, both her and Fluttershy staying behind to teach Koops the basics of gliding. "Those aren't useful for flight, but it'll get the job done if you do it right."

"And if you mess up, we'll help you," Fluttershy added.

"...O-Ok." Taking a deep breath, Koops stepped back, flexing his wings out, still finding it odd he can move them at will, then ran forward and jumped. He flailed a little as he looked down at the moat, no doubt filled with Nibblers that infested the land's bodies of water, but Rainbow and Fluttershy kept him from plummeting as they straightened his body a little and helped him glide over. He made it across, but slid on his stomach from the odd landing, sighing in relief as the terrifying experience of temporary flight was over. "That's...kinda hard. I'd rather stick to the ground."

"We might find more, so don't get too relaxed about that just yet," Goombella said, making Koops gulp nervously.

Walking through the large purple doors of the castle, the party entered the main foyer. The interior had red diamond and star patterned stone flooring, cobwebs littering the corners of the many rooms from lack of care, and with bits of the castle barely held together or broken like the stairway railings and barred windows. What startled the group most, especially the ponies, were the bones of Koopas that already greeted them as they walked in.

"Oh dear Celestia," Starlight uttered in disgust, seeing skeletal remains for the first time. "Are those...skeletons from Koopa Troopas?"

"I'm afraid they are," Rarity said. "I dreaded seeing more of these things...and I hope they aren't alive."

"Wait, alive!?" Starlight questioned in shock. "They can come to life!?"

"They're known as Dry Bones," Goombella said, pulling out her trusty almanac of different creatures throughout the world. "No one knows what kind of dark magic brings Koopa skeletons to life, but the reanimated corpses can be pretty deadly in groups."

"And Bowser used these things in his castle when we rescued Peach," Rainbow added. "We were just as shocked and disturbed by them. And Bony Beetles, too."

"Oh, I hope they stay not moving," Fluttershy hoped as the group moved forward, staying away from the inanimated Dry Bones around them.

There were a few Koopas who were wandering around as well, confusing them as they wondered what compelled some of these Koopas to explore such a dangerous castle, or if they were the helpless slaves of Hooktail and would be eaten if they fail to keep its home secure. Taking care of the "guards", they moved into the next room, a long and wide hall that had barely any light shining through, several bars blocking off a small row of the room, where a red key on the far end sat on the other side. Even if Starlight was able to use her magic to pull the key through the bars, there was no way it would fit, and she didn't want to exhaust her mana if they had to fight Hooktail, needing every single ounce of it if they had to defend themselves. There were more skeletons around, thankfully scattered about, but one particular pile of Koopa bones caught Koops's eye, to his horror.

"...Oh...Oh no..." The others looked at what he saw, the pile of bones with a different colored pair of shoes resting by it, this one's blue while the rest were a dull evergreen. Koops walked over to the pile, recognizing those similarly colored shoes as he fell on his knees. "...T-This skeleton...Those shoes...M-My dad...They're the same ones he..." Tears welled up in the Koopa's eyes as he faced the worst case scenario of his father's fate. "There's no doubt...T-This is m-my...my..."

Koops broke down and began crying. Everyone felt sorry for him as he mourned his father's remains, Pinkie approaching Koops and held him as he cried his eyes out.

"Sorry for your loss, Koops," Starlight said as she and the others bowed their heads, paying their respects for Koops's father and many other victims of Hooktail's hunger.

Koops sniffled, grateful to have his new friends be there for him in his time of need. He sniffled, calming down as Pinkie continued hugging him. Looking down at the corpse, he spotted something in the inanimate Dry Bones's hand.

"W-What's that?" Koops uttered to himself.

Pinkie noticed what Koops was looking at, which happened to be a slightly ruffled piece of paper held in the skeleton's clutches. "I wonder what it says." Letting go of the mourning Koopa, Pinkie grabbed the letter, letting out a grimace while sticking her tongue out as she tried to shake it out of the dead body's hand. She managed to pry it free, though she was hesitant to read it. "...Uhh, maybe you should read it, Koops. Maybe it's something your daddy wrote for you if he didn't come back."

"I-I don't know," Koops mumbled nervously, dreading to hear his father's final woods on paper.

"It might help bring you some closure," Starlight said. "I mean, I have some issues with my dad where he constantly treats me like a filly. But if anything happened to him and I didn't know, I would be devastated if he didn't say anything about me before kicking the bucket."

Whimpering in dread, Koops took in a deep breath and sighed heavily, taking the letter from Pinkie and read what was written on it. "'I came to this castle to destroy Hooktail, but I'm stuck and can go no further. So, in this letter, I shall note Hooktail's weaknesses for those who follow.'" Everyone was a bit surprised to know Hooktail actually had a weakness, but if there was an easy way to handle Hooktail, any help is useful when it comes to something as dangerous as a dragon that terrorizes the area. "'The dread Hooktail cannot tolerate creatures that begin with 'cr' and end with 'icket'. Hidden somewhere in this castle is an item related to Hooktail's weakness. If one is to have any hope of defeating Hooktail, one must first find that item.'"

"A creature beginning with 'cr' and ending with 'icket'?" Rainbow questioned. "Why can't he just say cricket?"

"And Hooktail...doesn't like crickets???" Goombella questioned skeptically. "How can a massive dragon towering several stories high be afraid of a tiny little bug? That's not going to help us."

"Maybe Hooktail accidentally ate one, and with the little cricket so scared, it jumped around trying to find a way out and gave it a tummy ache?" Fluttershy theorized.

Everyone looked at each other, finding Fluttershy's guess highly unlikely to happen. "I don't think Hooktail would even feel something that small punching its stomach lining as it bounces around to find an escape route, darling," Rarity said.

"Sorry, Fluttershy, but I doubt that would work either," Starlight said. "If we find this item, maybe we'll see what it does, but if it doesn't work on Hooktail, we'll have to go all out on it instead."

Koops sighed at the hopeless hint, continuing reading what his father wrote down. "'One last thing: if faced with ultimate doom, the fiend will use any trick to save itself. If you hope to defeat it, do not give in to your kinder nature and fall for its tricks.'"

"So, don't believe what it says if we get it on the ropes," Applejack paraphrased. "Won't be too hard to ignore its lies."

"'Alas, I do not have the strength to continue writing,'" Koops continued to read, beginning to choke up as the last of his father's words were reaching the end. "'Already, mist veils my eyes...My last words go to my son, Kolorado; I love you, and I'm so proud of who you've become.'"

Koops blinked, then looked back at the last line, reading it over and over to himself while the others stared in confusion. "...Wait, Kolorado?" Rainbow asked.

"You mean Kolorado Koopa, the bumbling explorer Kooper idolizes?" Rarity questioned. "So...Koops, this isn't your father's bones after all?"

"...Uhhhhhhhhh..." Koops stared at the letter, slightly relieved that this wasn't his father, though his cheeks were bright red in embarrassment. "...I...guess not..." Whining, he brought his hands to his face as he dropped the letter, feeling absolutely ridiculous crying in front of his friends for no reason. "I've never felt so embarrassed in all my life."

"Don't worry, Koopsie," Pinkie said, patting the Koopa on the head. "It's ok to feel sad sometimes, even for somepony else. But how are we gonna break the news to Kolorado that HIS daddy died here?"

"Maybe we'll tell him if we see him again," Rainbow said. "Wonder how well he'll take it."

"A lot better than how his wife telling him off," Applejack said.

Koops stood up, then looked over to the other side of the room. "Hey, maybe that might be my dad's body."

He walked over to a Dry Bones body that was red and pink. Just as he leaned over to check, the bones began rattling, startling Koops as he backed away, watching the body reform into a living skeleton.

"Blarf harf harf harf!" the Koopa skeleton laughed. "You all do not value your lives much if you've come to this castle to disturb us."

"Oh sweet Celestia, they really can come to life!" Starlight screamed.

"You will go no farther, and from this moment on...You'll be nothing but bones! Attack, my Dull Bones army!!!!" Suddenly raining down on them were hundreds upon thousands of Koopa skeletons, all of them alive and covering nearly every inch of the room.

The Dull Bones began pushing everyone back while the red skeleton laughed as he watched his minions shoving the intruders away. "Ewwww! Get your icky, bony paws off of me!" Rarity squealed. "How are there so many of these Dry Bones!"

"Not Dry Bones; Dull Bones!" Goombella corrected, her book out even as she was being handled around by the Dull Bones army pushing and shoving them around. "Judging by the grayness of their bones, they're not as tough as a Dry Bones's is! And that red one's apparently a Red Bones, far tougher than the Dull Bones!"

"So you're saying these skeletons are a bit brittle!?" Rainbow asked. Letting out a yell, she managed to break free and buck her legs hard, sending several Dull Bones behind her flying back, scattering them into piles of bones. "Hah! They're not so tough after all! Let's mow them down!"

"I've got a better idea!" Pinkie said, swinging her hammer wildly to give herself some space. She then pulled out her party cannon, stuffing her hammer inside the barrel, smirking with manic glee as the Dull Bones rattled in shock, confusion, and terror all at once. "Say hello to my little friend!...Or, not so little. Little big friend?"

"Pinkie, just fire your party cannon already!" Starlight shouted, blasting Dull Bones away from her with several strong beams of magic.

"Okie dokie lokie, artichokie!" Pressing the button on her cannon, she fired her hammer with a blast of confetti, bowling through a wide row of Dull Bones, their pieces clattering all over the place as she left an open path to the Red Bones standing by the doorway.

"Where did THAT come from!?" the Red Bones exclaimed. His worries over the unexpected antics of the pink mare were distracted by another hammer that was flung toward him, mowing down more skeletons as the tougher hammer stopped right at the Red Bones's feet. Down the other break in Dull Bones was Mario, charging forward as he punched past foes, his fists glowing orange as he broke the Dull Bones in his way apart with his enhanced strength. "Uh oh."

Grabbing some of his bones, the Red Bones tossed them at Mario to throw him off. The plumber easily dodged them, slid under one more as he grabbed his hammer, then swung it hard into the Red Bones. The impact sent the red skeleton Koopa into the bars, still intact as his bones were far stronger than the Dull Bones'.

"Incoming!" Rainbow warned, flapping in the air and zooming through the Dull Bones, giving a path for Applejack to reach the head of the skeleton army. "Get him, Applejack!"

"On it!" Applejack charged forward, letting out a whoop as she got enough speed, then spun around and bucked the dazed Red Bones hard in the abdomen, making it groan out in agony before it was finally broke into pieces.

With their leader beaten, the Dull Bones army fled, leaving the large room with only a few actual dead Koopa skeletons behind. Able to progress forward, the group walked through the doors, making a note of that key behind the bars for later when they find another way without having Starlight or Rarity expend their magic when they'll need it for anymore Dull Bones in the castle and Hooktail. The next room had more skeletons on the floor, some Dull Bones popping up as they played dead to try to ambush them, but they were easy to beat without a whole horde of them. There was a key on a ledge in the center of the room, which was easy to grab with Rainbow Dash snagging it, needing it to open the locked door before them up a small flight of steps. There were some blocks nearby, two stone ones a few meters split apart with a yellow sand one on top of one, and two black ones with square outlines on the front with an arrow pointing up, both different sizes and different colors, which appear to match the ones on a lower ledge that, upon hitting, makes them move in the direction the arrow's facing.

Passing through the next room into another, ignoring the steps leading to a large black box similar to the two others in the last room until later, entering what appeared to be a dungeon, three cells with bars that once kept prisoners held inside: the left one with a red badge with a white music note sitting on the ground, the middle one with a Koopa skeleton, and the right one empty with a hidden passage to another room. Looking around the empty dungeon section of the castle, Mario spotted the passage in the farthest cell, but the bars were pretty strong, even while using the increased strength from his Equestria-infused Lucky Star to try to pry the metal bars apart.

"Hmm...Doesn't seem like there's much around here," Goombella said. "Just a weird music note badge sitting in one of the cells." Mario pointed out the secret passage, bringing the others over as they saw a glimpse of the other side. "How are we gonna get through there?"

"I could teleport us through, but that'll cost me a lot of magic power I can't afford to waste while we're literally in a dragon's den," Starlight said.

"There's a switch over here," Koops said, pointing to a red switch on the other side of an oddly placed fence. The Koopa walked around and pushed the switch, which opened up the cell bars to the far right room. The bars soon slammed shut mere seconds after the switch was pressed. "Whoa...Uhh, guess it doesn't open for that long."

Mario volunteered to go through to see what was inside while the others stayed behind to wait and open the cell when he returns. Ready to go through, Koops pressed the switch again, the plumber racing inside, then walked through to the next room. There was another black cursed chest similar to the one back in Rogueport's Sewers sitting in the middle of the room, watching it twitch as the monster inside it would try to beg for someone to release it from its long imprisonment. Deciding to humor this one, he approached the locked chest.

"Hello!" the spiritual monster exclaimed with joy. "Oh, it's been such a long time since anyone's come to visit me! You have no idea how bored I am!" Mario acknowledged the "talking" chest, shocking the creature. "Whoa! You can actually hear me? Then that means...you must be the legendary hero who's destined to free me...Or not. Honestly, I think anyone with ears can hear me. But it is fun to zing people with the 'legendary hero' bit!

"But, seriously, can you let me out of here? I've been locked in here for so long I'm getting constantly cramped up. The key should be nearby. Just unlock it, open it up, and I'm free! Easy-peasy!" Mario crossed his arms against his chest, warning the chest not to curse him if he does, even though he knows he will and its attempt to do so will fail and be purified into something else. "W-What!? Curse you!? Noooo! That's absolutely ridiculous! Come on! I'm stuck in a fancy black box! You gotta be a slimeball to curse someone who's going to free you! I mean, seriously, you free me, I'll help you. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, that whole shebang."

Mario sighed, shook his head, then agreed to help the monster out. There was a door leading further through the castle, seeing it was possibly where the black key might be located. Inside was another large room, though it was empty aside from a wooden chest, no furniture, stairways, or other doorways. The only odd thing of note was the floor, which was laid out with normal stone tiles and specifically laid out panels with holes in them. Mario had a bad feeling that this was where spikes would rise up to try to impale him, though how they were triggered was a mystery as the floor looked like a giant maze. Being cautious, Mario approached the chest and opened it, finding the black key for the black chest.

The moment he snatched the key out from the chest, his guess was right as spikes shot up from the paneled sections of the floor. The floor began to shake a little, and as he looked up, he yelped as the ceiling was lowering down, spikes also jutting out from it as they threatened to crush and impale him all at once. Mario didn't want to risk jumping over the spikes if they shot up under him, leaving him no choice but to traverse through the spike maze until he reached the door. He should have paid attention to the floor and mapped out the maze so he wouldn't end up stuck at a dead end. Luckily, he managed to reach the door without any problem, running through as the ground finally stopped shaking as he escaped, the trap resetting itself for another brain-dead thief wanting to steal any treasure.

Twirling the key in his hand, the chest noticed Mario's return and shook excitedly. "Hey, you found it!" the spirit said. Mario unlocked it, tossing the key aside and pulled his Lucky Star out. "WHEE HEE HEE HEE HEE! YOU FOOL!!!!!!!" The chest opened, enveloping Mario in black smoke as he was transported into a familiar dark void. The face of the cursing spirit showed himself, cackling sinisterly as he stared down at the "foolish" plumber. "What an utter idiot you are for actually trusting me! This castle had traps set up specifically to keep morons like you from escaping if they think they can sneak off with any treasures hidden away! Especially the likes of me!

"Now, for 'rescuing' me, I'm going to give you a curse, absolutely free of charge! Oogly-googly-boo!" Light flashed around Mario as the monster cursed him, but his Lucky Star protected him from the curse, absorbing it and turning it into a blessing as it glowed brightly. "Huh? What the heck was that? Was that supposed to happen?...Well, anyway, how does it feel to be cursed!?" the spirit cackled, recovering from its confusion. "This curse will turn you as flat as paper! Go ahead and try it out so you can see how dumb you look going from 3D to 2D!" Curious knowing he can activate this blessing at will, Mario decided to try it out. With his pendant shining, instead of turning two-dimensional, his body began to turn intangible, shocking the spirit as he jaw dropped, not expecting his curse to do that. "W-What!? N-No! That's not what it was supposed to do!

"How did this happen!?" Mario explained that he and his friends met a chest and a monstrous spirit similar to him who tried to curse him, only for it to turn into something quite helpful and not as humiliating. Even though it was different, the effects of the curse still lingered as the wings only allowed him and his friends to glide across with specific panels. "...Oh...So that's why you knew I was going to curse you...and you let me anyway..." The spirit let out a sigh, feeling like he was the one who got tricked instead of Mario. "Well, if that's the case, even if you're intangible, you can only pass through objects with a tiny enough gap that only something made of paper can pass through...What a let down. And I thought I'd have more fun cursing someone foolish enough to open this chest. I'm outta here."

The spirit faded away as the void disappeared, freeing Mario, now gaining a new blessing. "Mario, what's going on over there!?" Starlight called out. "Did you find anything over there!?"

Mario walked back into the cell, but he stopped Koops from opening the door for him, wanting to show everyone his new blessing. Clutching his Lucky Star, the plumber turned intangible, surprising everyone at his new ability and phasing through the bars like a Boo.

"Whoa! Awesome!" Rainbow said. "Wait, how did you do that?"

Mario told them about another black chest that was in the other room, and nearly dodging a bullet when he was caught in the spike trap where the key for said chest was. While still intangible, he pressed his hand against the solid stone wall nearby. Like the spirit told him, he wasn't able to phase through everything, otherwise he would have fallen through the floor at any moment, so only places thin enough for a piece of paper to slide through would only work.

"Well, that's one good thing about those monsters in those chests; their curses are only going to be a burden on them if Mario frees them," Goombella said. "You think that can work on us just like the flight panels?" Mario shrugged his shoulders, but he was willing to test that theory out. Holding up his pendant, the Lucky Star flashed and released a shockwave, giving the others the same intangible form of the blessing he just received. The group looked at their limbs in awe, then Pinkie, being the overly curious one, phased her hoof through the metal bars of one of the cells. "Well, what do you know? All of the curses work on all of us it seems."

While still intangible, Pinkie walked into the cell with the music note badge, grabbed it, then walked through it, bringing the badge with her. "So, what good is a badge like this if it's all locked up?" Pinkie asked curiously, then gasped and dropped it. "It must be cursed! Quick, Mario, use your Lucky Star to make it pure! Where's the holy water!?"

"Pinkie, it's not cursed," Starlight said. The unicorn picked up the badge, eyeing it curiously. "I wonder what it does."

"I think I recognize this kind of badge," Goombella muttered to herself. "There's badges sold in a shop in Rogueport that's above the item shop there, but I hear they're pretty expensive. No idea what they do, but some of them can do some pretty cool stuff through some magical enchantments or something."

The ponies watched Pinkie, the mare blinking a few times as her friends waited for her to do something. "...Well?" Rainbow asked. "You're not going to take the badge and toss it like you did with those similar ones we found back in the Crystal Palace?"

"Nah, I'm going to allow this since badges are apparently this important in this chapter," Pinkie said, then looked out to something the others couldn't see with a leer. "Besides, badges are everywhere in this sequel! We can't even escape from seeing at least one enemy in a fight with a badge on them we could steal or win if they drop it, not to mention the endless amount of the same badge we can find and stack! Should have called the game 'Paper Mario: Endless Badges (Starring The Thousand Year Door) The Game: The Movie: The Fanfiction'!"

Koops blinked, scratching his head, while Goombella puffed her cheeks, constantly muttering to herself to ignore Pinkie if she goes off on a tangent. "...Uhh, Pinkie, who were you talking to?" he dared to ask.

"Just...pass that as Pinkie being Pinkie," Rarity said. "I honestly don't know who she speaks to when she stares at nothing like that."

"...Ok," Koops mumbled.

Mario took the badge from Starlight's aura, pinning it on his shirt to test the music note badge. Nothing seemed to happen after a moment, but as they waited, a Paragoomba came flying in through the broken window. Not thinking before flying into Mario, the plumber pulled out his hammer and smacked the flying Goomba away. As his mallet struck the random foe, there was an odd cricket chirping sound upon impact, confusing the group from the random sound effect that came out of what should have been a thud.

"...Uhh, what just happened?" Rarity asked.

"Oh no! Is there a little cricket hopping around?" Fluttershy asked, fearing for the nonexistent insect as she looked around for it. Mario stared at his hammer, smacking it against the ground, which let out the same cricket sound earlier. "Ahh! Mario, don't hurt the poor thing!"

"Umm, Fluttershy, I don't think there is a cricket around here," Koops said. "I think the sound came from Mario."

Goombella hummed curiously, rummaging through her books until she found what she was looking for. "Ah. That makes sense. That badge is known as a Sound Effect Badge, making any noises sound like something else than it should."

"And it sounds like cricket chirping?" Rainbow questioned. "...Wait. Is this the item Kolorado's dead dad hinted us on?"

"Probably," Starlight said.

"Lame," Rainbow groaned. "How's that going to help us with Hooktail? Annoy it to death when we beat it up?"

Mario took off the badge, but kept it in his pocket just in case it would help them. Now with a new blessing, the group headed back through the rooms to the one where they fought the Red Bones and his Dull Bones army, turning intangible and phased through the bars, taking the key with him before backtracking to the junction where the dungeon was. Everyone climbed up on the black box at the top of the stairs, Mario tossing his hammer at the smaller one nearby and hitting it, making it glow as the block underneath them rose up like an elevator. Up more flights of stairs, they found another locked door, the group glad they went back to nab that key as they used it and walked onto the upper balcony in the previous room.

The walkway was broken apart, but there were a couple switches that revealed the hidden platforms, one closeby with a simple hit while another halfway across was reached by Koops's shell toss. There wasn't a switch to reveal the third section, but there was an opened window leading out to a safe enough ledge to the other side with another opened window. Making it across into the next room, they rode up on yet another large black box, after dealing with some more foes that got in their way. The upper walkway the floating elevator stopped on had two doors, the right one locked while the left was opened.

The party walked in the available doorway, which happened to be a weapons storage room with old spears, cannonballs, and shields, still in fairly good condition as they sat on the racks or in crates. There were some chests on the other side of the storage space, though they were caught off guard they saw someone inside, rummaging through one of them. That someone was a white mouse, similar to the mice in Dry Dry Desert back in the kingdom, only without wearing any desert clothing. The mouse was clearly feminine by its body structure, wearing red heels, a red mask over her eyes, and her tail was curled in the shape of a heart as it wagged with glee.

"Ooh-la-la," the mouse uttered to herself. "Come to mama, my pretty."

"Hey, who are you!?" Rainbow called out, the mouse's tail going stiff before she leapt away from the chest to stare down her enemies.

"...Well, well, well. Never in my life did I expect to find other thieves in this barren castle." The mouse then eyed Mario, the group ready to take on the mysterious mouse. "Oooh. And who's this big ol' hunk of cheese? Love the mustache, handsome."

Mario balked, pointing to himself to confirm the mouse was talking about him, who did so by giving him a wink. "Uhh, who exactly are you?" Goombella questioned, slowly beginning to feel irritated by the other intruder in Hooktail's Castle.

"Why, I am Ms. Mowz, the globe-trotting thief!" Ms. Mowz introduced with a flair, though none of them seem to know who she is. "Never heard of me? Well, good. That means I'm doing my job well."

"And just why are you here in such a dangerous place?" Rarity asked.

"I heard rumors of a rare and valuable badge I was dying to get my paws on," Ms. Mowz explained. "Though, now it's my turn to ask what brings the likes of you here?"

"W-Well, we're here to beat Hooktail," Koops said. "And...get the Crystal Star it has...S-So, don't try anything funny if you think you'll take it from us."

Ms. Mowz brought a paw to her muzzle, tittering in amusement as her eyes glinted mischievously. "A Crystal Star, you say? I didn't know something like THAT was hiding in this castle...How intriguing. One little thing about treasure hunting, little Koopa: keep something you know from others hearing, otherwise they'll take what you're searching for right under your nose." Koops gulped, backing away slightly as he ducked his head in his shell in embarrassment for leaking out such precious information. "Oh, no don't lose your self-confidence so easily, sweetie. I'm only messing with you. I was just looking for the badge, and since I've found it, I'll leave the Crystal Star for you all."

The party voiced their confusion to the mouse thief's offering, which is unlike anything a thief would say. "What do you mean by-?"

Suddenly, Ms Mowz rushed toward the group faster than they could blink. She stopped in front of Mario, startling him, then made him freeze up when she leapt up and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Sorry, but I've got to get going, cutie," she said to Mario, giving him a wink before flipping backwards, landing in the opened window in the room. Before she leapt outside, she turned back to face the group, most of them stunned by her parting gift for Mario while still questioning what her true morals were. "Oh,almost forgot one little thing. There's a little secret I heard about: somewhere in this castle is a special badge that'll help you beat Hooktail. Don't know what kind of badge it is, but I'm sure it would cost millions of coins if it's able to fell such a dangerous beast of a dragon here in this part of the continent. Maybe you found it, maybe not, but I'd recommend getting that badge." Curious, Mario pulled out the badge, making Ms. Mowz's nose wrinkle as she sniffed the air at the sight of it. "Ohhh. Looks like you did find it after all."

"Seriously? This badge that makes cricket sounds when you hit something?" Rainbow questioned. "How is this supposed to help us!?"

"Now, now, dearie, don't question the value of a badge just by looks or by impracticality," Ms. Mowz advised. "It's how you use it that gives you the best results." She chuckled, then winked and blew Mario a kiss. "Take care, handsome. Let's meet again real soon."

She leapt out and left the castle, searching for more badges elsewhere to pawn off. "Some thief," Applejack said with a whistle. "How come she didn't want to try to get the Crystal Star if those are far more valuable than badges?"

"Some people have their own priorities I guess," Goombella said. "No idea who that Squeek was, but I don't like her one bit."

"She seemed nice!" Pinkie said. "And I loved her theme song." She swayed her hips as she hummed out a song she could only hear, only to pause at what kind of mouse Ms. Mowz was. "Wait, a Squeek? I thought they were Nomadimousies."

"A Nomadimouse is what a Squeek's called when they're travelers, especially in natural terrain like forests, deserts, etc.," Goombella explained. "Their species is technically called Squeeks, and they're mostly tricky and resort to thievery for a quick coin."

"Are you sure you're not sour because Ms. Mowz stole a kiss from Mario after you gave him one earlier for rescuing you?" Starlight asked with a smirk.

Goombella stammered, her cheeks turning pink as she huffed and turned away. "Wow, Mario, you really do get all the mares, huh?" Rainbow teased the plumber, nudging his side while he gently shoved the pegasus away from him with an annoyed sigh.

Koops poked his head out from his shell's neck, letting out a groan in disappointment. "The first time I decide to open my big mouth, and I could have cost you guys that Crystal Star...Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Koops," Starlight said. "At least Ms. Mowz isn't all that interested in the Crystal Star. I doubt she'd last a minute with Hooktail, even if she swiped it out of its claws."

"What's in the other chests she didn't bother to take?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

Starlight used her magic to open the remaining three chests and pulled them out. "A Mushroom, some Honey Syrup, and one of the castle's keys. Good thing she didn't swipe that from us."

Taking the key and helpful items, the group continued onward through the castle, opening up the locked door and continued making their way to the top. The next doorway was on a ledge that was devoid of any stairs, but it wasn't that high for them to climb up, even with there being a flight panel up on the broken rafters that was reachable by more of the floating blocks. Mario lifted the others up onto the ledge while Rainbow and Fluttershy helped pull them up, then leapt up after them as they headed through to another stairwell. Rainbow flew on ahead, spotting a key on a ledge on the other side of an active lift block, taking it and meeting the others as they climbed up the stairs. Once at the top and by the next locked door, they were back outside near the top of the castle, just a simple walk over the stone bridge leading to the large spire where Hooktail resides.

On the walk across, facing Koopas and Paratroopas in their way, Koops suddenly felt trepidation kick in as they were getting closer and closer to Hooktail. He was nervous, frightened, his heart pounding in his chest as they were about to meet the dreaded dragon that caused so much terror in Petal Meadows, and ate so many Koopas who were unfortunate to be Hooktail's snack. As much as he wanted to turn back now, he wasn't going to abandon what he promised himself, what he promised Koopie Koo. And he wasn't facing this challenge alone either. He has his friends with him, all but one experienced in taking on dangerous foes towering them by several stories. Putting his trust in them as they allowed him to come with them for their own reasons for being here, he was ready to face Hooktail, avenge his father, save everyone else in Petalburg from being the next victims from the dragon's hunting, and retrieve the Crystal Star for his new friends to help them on their quest. Koops was scared, no doubt about that, but he wasn't alone, determined to end Hooktail once and for all.

Facing the Dreaded Hooktail

"Ooooh. We're so high up," Pinkie said in awe, looking over the edge as the group climbed up the staircase spiraling around the outside of Hooktail's tower. "Probably not as high as the clouds, but pretty high!"

"I'm actually shocked to see just how broken up this castle is, yet we were able to find a way to reach the top from ground level," Starlight said. "Then again, the Castle of the Two Sisters back in Equestria had seen better days, and that's still standing after over a thousand years."

"Ah bet Kooper would have loved to find out the history of this castle before Hooktail took over," Applejack said.

After climbing all the way around, they finally reached the giant doors leading into Hooktail's huge tower, the doors actually big enough for the dragon to fit through. Everyone stared at the double doors, most of them steeling their nerves as they prepared to face a dragon of all things as their first challenge to retrieve the Crystal Stars. Koops's hands trembled, sweat beginning to trickle down his head, facing Petalburg's worst nightmare and ending it once and for all, and he was already getting second thoughts about coming.

"W-Well, here goes nothing," Goombella said, then moved behind Mario and nudged him forward. "Uhh, why don't you go on first, Mario? Heroes before heroines?"

"Come on, Goombella, don't be such a chicken," Rainbow chided. She looked at the door, gulped nervously, then joined the Goomba and helped push Mario in front of them. "B-But, you do have a point. You got this, Mario. It's like fighting Bowser...only fifty times bigger, with wings, and can eat us in one bite...No pressure, big guy."

Mario rolled his eyes, taking the lead while the others stayed behind him. Grabbing the handles, he opened the doors and walked through, entering the incredibly spacious, yet dimly lit room. With all the thin gaps in the walls of the tower, there should have at least been some decent lighting, though that didn't seem to be the case. The doors closed behind them, though their entrance didn't go unnoticed as they heard a low growl in front of them.

"Who dares approach me?" The mares, Goombella, and Koops yelped and quickly hid behind Mario, staring down the dreaded dragon of Petal Meadows; Hooktail. They got a pretty good close-up of the orange dragon, its underbelly white, a blue, thin, forked tail, purple claws, small wings that were able to lift it into the air, and behind its head were antennae that looked like ponytails. Hooktail let out a roar, making the group wince from its ear-piercing cry and nearly stumble over from how loud it was. The dragon looked down at them, amused by the cowering group behind the plumber, though he stood his ground despite the major size difference between them. "So, you must be friends of that strangely-cloaked one from earlier, huh? I didn't expect anyone else to steal the treasure I protect."

"Someone cloaked?" Starlight asked. "We don't know who came here before us."

"Unless you're talking about Ms. Mowz?" Goombella questioned. "But...she left after getting what she came here for. And she wasn't wearing a cloak."

"Well, regardless, it was pretty foolish to come here and face me," Hooktail said.

"Was there anyone else that showed up here?" Starlight asked. "A princess? And someone who likes like any of us?"

"My last snack who 'visited' me was a clueless Koopa who thought they stood a chance against me, but I gobbled him up for a good snack," Hooktail said with a cackle, making Koops clench his fists and glare at the dragon, though he was still afraid as he trembled slightly. "Looks like I have a smorgasbord of flavors to choose from, but you're all so small. I bet you'd all make a nice light lunch, and the bottoms of your feet smell like they would make a good sauce with some spices."

"Eww! I'd rather keep my hooves intact, thank you very much, you grotesque beast!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Oh, it won't be too messy, if that's your concern," Hooktail chuckled lowly. "I'll saute you all to crispy goodness and gobble you down...HEADFIRST!" Hooktail reared its head back, taking in a deep breath and blew out red flames from its maw. The party quickly split up to avoid Hooktail's fire breath, Mario, Koops, and Goombella diving to one side while the mares jumped to the other. The hungry dragon looked at the two groups, setting its sights on the colorful ponies, licking its lips in delight. "I wonder what colors of the rainbow I'll taste from you strange appetizers."

"We're not gonna be dragon chow!" Rainbow said. Even though she stood her ground, she and her friends screamed as Hooktail lunged its head forward, moving fairly quickly for a large dragon as it tried to chomp them. Luckily, Mario rushed toward them, using his hammer and held it out perpendicular to the dragon's jaws, keeping it from biting. "Whew. That was a close-"

Hooktail growled, swinging its head while Mario held onto his hammer for dear life. While trying to fling Mario, Hooktail stomped the ground, trying to squish his prey under its paws. The ponies were faster than its feet as they regrouped with Koops and Goombella. Hooktail was smarter than Bowser after a moment of swinging its head around, giving when more hard lunge as it opened its mouth, making Mario yell as he was flung across the other side of the room, slamming into the wall with a thud, sliding down to the ground with a groan while his hammer bounced to a stop a few feet away.

"Almost gave me lockjaw, you irritating morsel," Hooktail said to itself. It then turned its sights on the others, giving them a toothy smirk. "Now, where was I? Oh yes. Snack time!"

"Scatter!" Starlight screamed as Hooktail lunged its head at them.

Left with no choice but to try to fight, the group did all they could to hurt the massive dragon: beams of magic, slamming, ramming, or bouncing on its massive paws, but Hooktail barely flinched from their attacks, alone or together.

"Nothing's working!" Fluttershy said as she backed away. "We're g-going to be eaten!"

Mario grunted and shook the cobwebs out of his head. He watched his friends struggling not to get munched or stepped on by Hooktail. It was like Hooktail was a dog and they were the annoying fleas that barely did anything to the beast, failing to even be pests at all. As he stood up, he recalled the odd hint given to them by both Ms. Mowz and Kolorado's father's final words. Reaching his hand in his pocket, he pulled out the Sound Effect badge they grabbed, the odd badge that made any sound he made sound like a cricket's chirps. He was as skeptical about this badge like the others, but if Hooktail really had a weakness to crickets, he was willing to give it a chance. Pinning the badge to his shirt, he ran up to his hammer, then lifted it and slammed it hard into the ground.

Hooktail caught Koops in a corner, the Koopa trembling as he tried to put on a brave face. "You look just like the last Koopa who tried to stop me," it said. "Was that a family member of yours?"

"M-My father," Koops said timidly. "Y-You...Did you...eat him?"

"Oh, I did. And he was absolutely delicious." Hooktail laughed as it instilled more fear in the timid Koopa. "I wonder if you'll taste the same way!" Hooktail roared and lunged its jaws on Koops, who quickly ducked in his shell to defend himself in vain. Suddenly, a loud cricket noise rang out in the room, causing Hooktail to stop its jaws mere inches from chomping down on Koops. Lifting its head up, Hooktail's eyes grew wide in shock, the antennae ponytails straightened out as the same chirping rang out around them. "...I-Is that...a cricket???" Mario continued slamming his hammer down on the ground, each chirp made from every impact making the dragon's face turn pale, letting out a pained groan as it clutched its stomach. "Ooooogh! N-No, where is it coming from!? I got really bad food poisoning when I accidentally ate one."

"Huh. Guess Fluttershy's guess wasn't that far off," Rarity uttered.

With Hooktail distracted and clutching its belly, Mario ran toward the dragon and leapt onto its back, slamming its hammer down on Hooktail's back, causing it more discomfort as it let out a sickening belch. "Ugh! S-Stop it! Oooogh, my tummy!" Mario leapt up high, then fell down with a powerful slam with his hammer on Hooktail's head, smacking its chin to the ground. Hooktail groaned, feeling more woozy than ever before and in severe pain from the skull-cracking force of Mario's hammer, the plumber landing in front of the dazed dragon and his friends gathering around him. "Ugggggh. So...woozy...I think I'm gonna be sick."

"I can't believe it's actually working," Goombella said in shock. "Hooktail really does hate crickets."

"Let's get him!" Pinkie yelled, pulling out her hammer as they rushed the weakened dragon.

Hooktail tried to defend itself, but every time Mario struck it, either with his hammer or his own fists and feet, the cricket noises kept making its stomach curdle and make it more ill than it liked to be. Hooktail tried to burn them, but even its fire breath was weakened due to how sick it was, barely singeing the party while also trying not to blow up chunks. One powerful uppercut in the jaw from Mario sent Hooktail falling, unable to stand as the cricket noises with each attack he made kept making its condition worse along with the beating it was getting from the group of nine that it towered tenfold.

"Whoo hoo!" Applejack cheered. "Ah guess this wasn't gonna be as scary as we thought!"

"Ptth! And you all worried our first adventure boss was against a dragon," Pinkie said, though she got leers from everyone as she was the one who stated her disdain about Hooktail as soon as they arrived in Petal Meadows. "...What?"

"You complained about that when we saw Hooktail for the first time," Starlight mentioned irritably.

"...Well...uhhh..." Pinkie scratched her head with the side of her hammer, sticking her tongue out as she thought of an excuse. "...At least it's not Bowser?"

"Let's just end this dragon and get the Crystal Star from it," Goombella said.

Hooktail grunted and got up on its feet, clearly not able to last much longer if they keep fighting it. "W-Wait, hold on a second! I surrender!" Hooktail exclaimed, confusing the party with its pleas. "I give up. I won't do anything bad anymore! I swear!"

They were warned not to believe Hooktail's lies from Kolorado's father's message, and if the dragon was resorting to begging for forgiveness, none of them were going to give it a chance to prove it was being honest. "Are ya sure about that?" Applejack asked skeptically, raising a brow as she judged the deceitful dragon's words.

"Er, yes!" Hooktail said. "To prove it, I'll give you 1000 coins! What do you say, huh?"

The group looked at each other, but they weren't buying it for a second, Mario shaking his head and denying its barter. "Yeah right!" Pinkie said. "You can't even give us 1000 coins because game logic states we can only keep 999 coins in our wallet, so we'd be out one little coin, along with whatever else we got from beating up baddies!"

"...What?" Hooktail questioned in confusion, but shook its head, ignoring Pinkie's random logic and came up with another excuse. "Ok, so no coins...How about an extra-rare special badge I have stored away? It's one of a kind and for a limited time! Will you let me go if I give you that!?"

"But...Ms. Mowz said she got a badge that was hidden here in your castle," Koops stated. "If it was that rare, she probably has it right now and is off somewhere else finding others."

Hooktail grunted in shock, that lie clearly failing as sweat began to drip down the dragon's forehead. "Err...W-Well, maybe I could apologize by...letting you smell the bottoms of my feet?"

"WHAT!?" the group exclaimed, clearly seeing Hooktail was reaching for any way to get them to lower their guard.

"Y-Yes! People pay good money to do this!" Hooktail lied. "I'm being completely honest right now! What do you say?"

"Ugh! That is just...disgusting!" Rarity exclaimed, everyone agreeing with the fashionista as she took the words out of their mouths. "I'd rather smell your dragon breath than go anywhere near those rancid toenails! Who knows what you step on if you don't fly around the place!?"

Hooktail gulped audibly, none of her lies able to get to them. "...Y-You guys aren't all that trustworthy, are you?"

"No, we're trustworthy, but we aren't going to believe any lies you tell others when you're about to fall!" Rainbow said. "You'll try to eat us if you so much as offer us anything that'll get us to come closer to you!"

"...I-I see..." Hooktail looked around, but when it looked at Mario, the dragon noticed the badge on his shirt. The cricket chirps didn't happen until he started hitting it and the ground, and there wasn't a badge on the plumber when they entered its lair. Hooktail recognized the badge, having locked it away in a cell no one could get into after figuring out what it did. Hooktail squinted, needing to get rid of before they could use its cricket sound effect on it anymore. "Ok, I give up. For real this time. You say you're looking for a Crystal Star, then I'll give it to you."

"...Really?" Goombella asked, shocking the others as Hooktail sincerely sounded like it was giving up.

"Yeah, sure. I've been guarding it for a long time, and it's been a burden with all these crazy explorers wanting to find the Crystal Star they hear I've kept. But, since I'm going to be beaten finally, I guess it'll have to go to you all." Hooktail waited to see if they would trust it, and after a moment with the group silently mulling over the dragon's offer, Mario nodded and approached it. As soon as he got close enough, Hooktail smirked, then lunged forward. Everyone gasped as Mario leapt back, but he didn't make it far enough as Hooktail managed to latch its sharp fangs on the Sound Effect badge, ripping it off his shirt, then clenched its jaws and broke the badge to pieces. "So, that was the source of those crickets chirping around me. I should have destroyed this badge long ago."

"Oh no! Not our secret weapon!" Pinkie screamed. "Ohhh, Ms. Mowz might not be happy to hear a rare badge just got bitten and broke to itty bitty pieces!"

"Ahh, I starting to feel a little bit better now," Hooktail said. "Maybe you can ease my upset stomach from such a dirty trick!"

The dragon quickly spun around, swinging its tail and smacking all but Mario back, the plumber jumping over the wide tail. While sent flying back, Koops recovered as he landed on his back, spinning around and break-dancing back onto his feet. He watched Mario try to fight Hooktail after weakening it greatly using the now broken badge, he was kicked back hard by one of the dragon's back legs, sent tumbling back a few yards before rolling back onto his feet. Hooktail turned around, blowing more fire at Mario, who quickly brought his arms up while his body began glowing yellow, using his protective enchantment to shield himself from the burning flames. The plumber was too focused on protecting himself from Hooktail's fire, he didn't notice Hooktail rearing up on its back legs, falling back down to slam its forepaws down on him.

"Oh no. Mario, duck!" Koops warned, showing off another hidden talent that only he was capable of doing.

Raising his arms up in the air, he focused on a powerful shield, then yelled as he threw his arms down. Falling down on top of Mario right as he looked up, a giant Koopa shell landed over him, shielding him just in time as Hooktail's paws slammed into the shell. The impact made a crack in the shell, but it still held strong as Hooktail stepped back in confusion.

"Huh!? Where did this come from!?" the dragon asked in shock.

As the others recovered from getting knocked back, they were just as surprised when they saw the giant shell, Mario lifting it up to peek from underneath it with the same confused expression. "Wow. That's a big shell," Fluttershy said.

"Where'd it come from?" Starlight asked. She looked over at Koops, who was relieved to have saved Mario in time, then went in his shell and tossed himself toward Mario, leaping onto the shell he created, then smacked Hooktail in the muzzle with his momentum. Lighting up her horn, she sensed around the room for any other source of magic, and was shocked to see that Koops was somehow able to use magic as the shell was created from a spell as a physical barrier to those he wanted to protect. "No way...Koops pulled that off? Aren't Magikoopas supposed to perform stuff like this?"

"Maybe Kameks, but not normal Koopas," Goombella said. "What other bits of potential is Koops hiding that we don't know?"

"Whatever it is, we need to do something fast before Hooktail tries to eat us again," Rainbow said. "But how are we going to beat it without that badge?" The girls slowly looked over to Fluttershy, the yellow pegasus looking at her friends, clueless to the simultaneous idea they all had. "Flutters, you think you can imitate a cricket?"

"Well...I guess I could try," Fluttershy said. "It might not be good enough to get Hooktail sick, though."

"We'll take that chance," Rainbow said.

Hooktail roared, ignoring Koops as he dashed away from the dragon's maw. Mario ducked back in the magic shell as the dragon munched on the shield, its powerful jaws cracking it more and more until it shattered completely. Mario backed away as Hooktail growled, getting frustrated that her snack was still fighting back.

"I've just about had it with you-!" Hooktail froze when Fluttershy began imitating a cricket, using her wings to cover her mouth to hide her mouth so the dragon didn't try to go after her if it found out. It apparently worked as Hooktail groaned, quickly bringing a paw to its mouth as it retched and turned pale again. "Urp! Oh no. Not again! I destroyed the badge!"

"I-Is there...a real cricket hopping around in here?" Koops asked Mario, the plumber shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Come on, y'all, let's not waste any time standin' around!" Applejack said as the girls sans Fluttershy charged Hooktail, the animal loving pegasus continuing her mimicked cricket chirping to keep the dragon distracted.

Mario and Koops joined them, continuing battering the dragon as it staggered helplessly. Hooktail stomped down hard, stunning those stuck on the ground from the powerful quake, then turned and swung its tail at them, smacking them hard to give it some distance from the party while Rainbow continued attacking and Fluttershy kept making more cricket chirps. Getting knocked again knocked the wind out of the others, but as Mario stood up, he saw a faint light come from the Magical Map in his pack. He pulled out the map, sensing a powerful magic coming from it, as if it was asking him to use its power to aid them.

Holding the map up, it began shining, time slowing to a standstill around him as it floated up to the ceiling, hovering around the room as it sprinkled sparkles of light down in the room. Mario noticed his hands glowing, holding several small ethereal stars, and when he looked up, he saw the map drop hearts with his and his friends' faces attached to them, flowers, and dark green mushrooms, which were known as Poison Mushrooms, something he knows to avoid at all costs. As the hearts fell, he tossed the stars at them, and as he hit them, they floated over to the respective body it was attached to. Mario made sure to avoid hitting the Poison Mushrooms, unsure of what negative effects would happen if he hit one, keeping it up until the Magical Map's power ended. Time returned to normal, the amount of hearts Mario gathered to everyone he managed to hit took effect, surprising and confusing the party as their pain had mysteriously vanished within seconds, even Rainbow stopped when she suddenly felt more energy.

"Whoa! What just happened!?" she asked.

"It's like the two painful tail whips we felt are all mysteriously gone by some healing magic coming from something," Pinkie said.

"Well, whatever happened, let's keep going!" Starlight said. "We must be getting close to finishing Hooktail by now!"

"N-No, please!" Hooktail begged, but no one was going to give the dragon a chance to backpedal and really beg for mercy. Fluttershy went back to making Hooktail sick with cricket chirps while the others attacked it while stunned from the sickening sounds it hates. "Urp! W-Why? There's...so much I wanted to do with my life...So many meals..."

"There won't be anymore meals for you!" Koops exclaimed. He looked at Mario, getting an idea to finish Hooktail off. "Mario, knock me as far away from Hooktail as you can!"

The plumber nodded, gripping his hammer as Koops ran up to him, slipping into his shell as he slid toward Mario. Mario stepped down on Koops's shell, stopping him in place as he took aim, readying his hammer to smack the Koopa out through the doors of the massive room. With his Lucky Star and gloves glowing orange, Mario reared his weapon back, then gave it a quick, hard whack, sending Koops flying off at mach speeds, crashing through the doors and breaking them off their hinges while soaring out several hundred yards out in the air away from the tower. As Koops readied himself to rebound, Mario quickly warned the girls to back away from Hooktail, which they heeded posthaste as they regrouped with Fluttershy.

Hooktail groaned in agony, mostly from the sickness, but it was so weak that anything could hurt unless it managed to find enough strength to fly off and munch on a lot of medicine. Looking down at Mario with squinted eyes, the plumber smirked and pointed out to the broken down doorway, then leapt out of the way. The dragon looked out the door, but wasn't fast enough to react as Koops yelled and boomeranged back at twice the speed he was struck, bouncing up and rammed into Hooktail's muzzle hard. The impact sent Hooktail rearing back, its head snapping back as its back struck the wall of the empty room, letting out a pained grunt, then groaned as it keeled over to the ground on its back.

Koops bounced back and forth around the room after hitting Hooktail with one of his fastest and strongest tosses, slowing to a crawl as he wound up on his back. As soon as he stopped, he popped his limbs out, panting heavily in shock from the incredible amount of force he unleashed from the rebound. While resting from the heart-pounding experience, the rest of the party approached him, staying away from Hooktail even though the dragon was down and completely out.

"Wowie! That was super fast!" Pinkie said. "Maybe faster than Dashie!"

"Heheh. Let's not get THAT carried away, Pinkie," Rainbow said.

"...I-I can't...get up," Koops mumbled. Mario helped the Koopa back up on his feet, his balance shaky for a moment before he was standing on his own. When he looked at Hooktail, he was surprised to see his final blow finally put an end to the monstrous dragon haunting Petal Meadows. "...Whoa...I can't believe I did it...Er, I mean, we did it."

"Couldn't have done it without that unique skill Petalburg Koopas have, sugarcube," Applejack said. "Most of the credit goes to you."

"Oh, won't Koopie be surprised to hear her hero vanquished the evil dragon who terrorized their home," Rarity teased playfully, making Koops blush with a sheepish grin.

"At least Hooktail's finally done," Starlight said. "Let's find the Crystal Star and get out of here."

Before their search began, the group froze as they heard a rumbling coming from Hooktail, specifically around its abdomen. The sickening gurgling sound grew as they watched a bulge move from the defeated dragon's stomach, to its neck, and was making its way to its mouth.

"Uh oh!" Goombella panicked. "Hooktail's gonna vomit! Hit the deck!"

They ran away from Hooktail, but thankfully, instead of a stream of bile and whatever the dragon had stewing in its stomach, it spat out just one object. It fell and hit the ground, which happened to be a blue Koopa shell, surprisingly intact after being stuck in the belly of the unconscious beast for who knows how long. Koops thought it looked familiar, but as it shifted around, a pair of arms and legs poked out from inside, inhabited by a Koopa that was still alive, then stood up and poked their head out.

"Haaaaah! Finally, I'm free!" the Koopa said, the male Koopa's jolly demeanor, bushy brown eyebrows, and scruffy beard made Koops gasp in shock.

"It...It can't be," Koops uttered. After a few stretches, the freed Koopa turned to face his heroes, Koops stepping past his friends as he stared at the Koops in disbelief. "D-Dad!?"

"Huh...Koops?" the Koopa asked as he walked closer to the shocked, sweater-wearing Koopa. "Koops! It is you, son! My, you've gotten big since I last saw you!"

"This is your dad!?" the girls behind Koops exclaimed in shock while Mario stared in bewilderment.

"W-What...What happened to you???" Koops questioned.

"Well, that's a funny story," Koopley said. "A while back, I came here to deal with Hooktail to stop it from terrorizing Petalburg. Everything was going great...but just as I was about to deal the finishing blow, that dastardly dragon tricked me and gobbled me up whole. I've been hiding in my shell for nearly ten years inside its stomach! Bleck!"

"T-Ten years!?" Starlight shrieked, shocking all but Koops as he or others who mentioned Koopley's disappearance never specified how long he was gone for. "There is no possible way anything can survive ten years in a dragon's digestive tract! And how did you even eat if you had been surviving in Hooktail's stomach!?"

"Oh, a few Mushrooms it picked up, berries, roots, some edible stuff Hooktail didn't notice it picked up when catching a snack," Koopley said, then sadly sighed and shook his head. "Wasn't able to help those poor victims, sadly. I guess I got lucky."

"Extremely, impossibly lucky," Starlight grumbled, her eye twitching at the improbable scenario, but at least Koops was reunited with his father after assuming he was dead for over a decade.

"...Dad...do you have any idea how worried we all were back home?" Koops asked, feeling tears well up in his eyes. "We all thought your game was over...Even I thought...I thought I wouldn't see you again."

Koopley's grin faltered, guilt settling in for worrying his son and everyone back home who knew him well. "I'm sorry, son. But I'm ok. That's good, right?" he asked, showing off his surprisingly undigested body to reassure Koops. "We're back together again." Koops nodded, letting out a sniffle as his tears began to run down his cheeks with a joyful smile. He approached Koopley, his father holding his arms out as he took the offered hug, hugging his father tightly after being apart for so long. "Can you forgive your old man for being so careless?"

"I'm just happy to have you back, dad," Koops said. Their hug didn't last long as Koops scrunched his face, breaking free from Koopley's embrace and held his nose. "Ugh. You really reek, dad. I think I'll be happier when you get a shower."

Koopley raised a brow in confusion before raising one of his arms and sniffed himself, flinching from the foul stench radiating from him. "Yeesh! I guess being in Hooktail's stomach for so long made me tolerate the stench in there, but now that I've gotten some fresh air..." The others laughed as Koopley winced as he caught another whiff, quickly putting his arms down and taking a shower when they got back home his first priority. "Well, speaking of Hooktail, what brought all of you here anyway?"

"Koops actually wanted to join us to reach Hooktail to beat it and prove to everyone, including himself, that he was strong and brave," Pinkie said. "And, if you look behind you, Koops beat Hooktail with a super powerful boomerangy shell toss move!"

"Really?" Koopley looked behind him, a little shocked to find the dragon on its back, lying unconscious with some of its limbs twitching. The older Koopa looked back at his son, amazed and beaming proudly at the incredible feat. "And I said I was careless. Son, you're a wild animal!"

Koops laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "W-Well, I couldn't have done it without Mario and my other friends," he said. "But, aside from defeating Hooktail, they were also looking for the Crystal Star that's hidden here."

"A Crystal Star?" Koopley reached his hand in his shell, then pulled something out. "This wouldn't be what you're talking about, would it?"

In Koopley's hand, the mares, Goombella, and Mario were shocked to see what he held. It was a gray star made out of a mystical diamond gem, shimmering with light as sparkles radiated from it. Mario pulled out the Magical Map, confirming that the Crystal Star they were searching on the map matched the one in the older Koopa's hand.

"No way!" Goombella cheered. "That's the Crystal Star we're looking for!"

"My goodness, it's beautiful," Rarity commented.

"Where did you find that?" Starlight asked.

"I found it in Hooktail's belly," Koopley said, making the others cringe as the star must have smelled just as worse as the Koopa while disgusting them knowing Hooktail swallowed the Crystal Star to keep it protected. "I thought of keeping it as a souvenir, but if this is something you guys were looking for, you can have it."

"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

"Of course!" Koopley assured. "You're Koops's friends. Think of it as a reward for helping Petalburg."

Unable to deny such a reward, Mario agreed to accept the Crystal Star, approaching Koopley and taking the mystical star.

As Mario touched the Crystal Star, it flew out from his grasp and began circling him, showering the plumber with sparkles of light. He felt an incredible power flow through him, just like the Magical Map had, the Crystal Star hovering over Mario and unleashed a flash of light. After the brief flash, the Crystal Star floated down in Mario's hands, finished granting him its power.

"Whoa, what a light show," Goombella said. "Did the Crystal Star give you another mystical power like the map did?"

"But what healed us earlier when we fought Hooktail?" Applejack asked. Mario told everyone about the Magical Map's power when it called out to him, even what it did after going through the odd mini-game of sorts that healed them. "Huh. That's...kinda odd for an ability from the map."

"I say we call that move 'Sweet Treat'!" Pinkie said. "Like a quick little snack that gets your energy back up when you need it!"

"Makes sense to me," Goombella said, then winced when she mixed the word "sense" with Pinkie Pie.

"I wonder what this Crystal Star gave Mario," Fluttershy wondered aloud.

"Maybe we'll find out when we're in a bind," Starlight said. "But maybe not here. How about we get out of this castle and head back to town?"

"Couldn't agree more!" Koopley said. "I am dying for a long bubble bath right about now!" His stomach began growling loudly, giving everyone a sheepish grin as he rubbed his empty stomach. "And something to eat. Maybe a big, heaping plate of Koopasta with some Fried Shrooms mixed in?"

"Sure, dad," Koops said. "I'll also catch you up on what else happened while you were gone."

"That I'm curious about as well," Koopley said, then smirked as he gave his son a look. "You met a cutie of a Koopa yet?"

Koops stammered and blushed heavily at his father's question, Koopley chuckling at his son's embarrassment. "...U-Uhh...W-Well...I-I-I d-do...have a girlfriend..."

"Ho ho! I knew it!" Koopley cheered. "You definitely inherited your old man's charisma. How'd you woo her? You two aren't getting too serious in your relationship at your age, are you?"

Koops groaned in embarrassment, though he did miss his father's doting if it meant introducing him to Koopie and enduring the fatherly teasing he would get. "L-Let's just...head back home."

"Alright, alright. I won't pick on you too much when I'm around your girlfriend," Koopley promised. No longer wanting to stick around the castle, the group headed back down and made their return to Petalburg. "But, I am seriously starving. Anyone got a snack for the trip?"

Twilight and Peach let out a groan as they began to wake up, feeling really drowsy as they had fallen asleep for quite a long while. They both sat up and rubbed their eyes, ignoring the fact that their beds felt harder and more solid than the inn's mattresses were.

"Ugh. Ironically the best sleep I've had while sleeping on a mattress made of steel in a dingy inn," Twilight muttered. She grabbed the book she took with her to bed and opened her eyes, but when she got a glimpse at their "room", they grew wide in shock when they were no longer in the run down inn her, Peach, and Toadsworth checked in. They actually slept on the floor of an iron cage, which was thankfully big enough for the two of them, and they were held in what appeared to be a metallic room with dozens of blinking lights and technology the alicorn was unfamiliar with. "...Umm...Peach? I...don't think this is the Rogueport Inn..."

When Peach opened her eyes, she gasped and stared in shock at their surroundings, then let out an irritated huff. "Not again," she groaned. "Welcome to the 'Damsels in Distress Club', Twilight."

"We've been kidnapped?" Twilight questioned. "By who? Bowser?" Twilight sat up, aiming her horn at the bars. "I'll get us out of here." She tried to focus her magic and break through the bars, but as her aura lit up, she winced as her magic sputtered, then dimmed out. "W-What in Equestria? UGH! Not again!"

"Twilight, what's wrong?" Peach asked. "Can't you get us out?"

"Please tell me I didn't lose my magic again!" Twilight groaned.

As the alicorn turned to face Peach, the princess stared at the ring that was firmly placed around the base of Twilight's horn. "When did you get that horn ring?"

"'Horn ring'?" Twilight reached her hoof up to her horn, feeling something wrapped tightly around her conical appendage. "W-Where did this-?" She tried using her magic again, but it failed as she tried to telekinetically pull it off. "Ugh! I-I can't use my-!" Twilight then gasped, realizing what kind of "horn ring" was on her. "Oh no...It's a magic inhibitor. That's why my magic's failing me." Forced to use her forehooves, she gripped the ring and tried to pull it off, but it was firmly attached to her forehead like a hungry tick. "Urgh! Come...on...you...stupid...ring!"

"Let me help," Peach offered, Twilight giving up on her own attempt as the princess gripped the ring with her hands. "Maybe opposable thumbs can help get this-" Peach pulled hard, unable to take the ring off while tugging Twilight's head. "-off!"

"Ah! Easy!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Sorry," Peach apologized, then tried again. After several hard tugs, even with Twilight bracing herself as hard as she could, the inhibitor ring wouldn't so much as budge. Peach let go and gave up, letting the alicorn rub her sore neck after being yanked so many times. "I can't get it off."

"I hope it's not glued around my horn," Twilight muttered. "Maybe there's a key to it, or it unlocks with some kind of remote."

Suddenly, the doors to the room they were kept in slid open, alerting the princesses as their captors stepped in. A pair of small humanoid figures dressed in red outfits with a black "X" on the front, white shoes, gloves, and droopy-eared hats, and goggles stepped through and approached their cell.

"Looks like they're awake," one of them said. He held up a card, swiping it over the electronic lock on the cage door, a beeping sound ringing before the door opened up. "Come with us, and don't try to fight back. There's no chance for you two to escape, anyway."

"Who are you?" Twilight demanded, only to yelp when one of the captors held out a small remote and pushed the button, shocking the alicorn through the inhibitor ring.

"And no backtalking, creature," the second one ordered.

Not wanting to get shocked again, Twilight obeyed as she and Peach were forced out of the cage, Peach bringing Twilight's book with her since she couldn't carry it herself. Flanked by the guards, they were lead out of the room and into a steel hallway, no windows or monitors to tell the princesses of their whereabouts. They stepped into an elevator, accessed by the same key card the first guard had, then stepped in as the futuristic lift arrived, then headed up one floor before stepping out. Continuing down this hall, they walked through the sliding doors and entered a large room, the guards stopping for a moment before saluting to someone at the other end by crossing their arms together to form an "X".

The room had some pedestals with purple orbs resting on top of them. At the other end of the room was a small flight of stairs leading up to a command console, where an oddly robed figure stood before it: his clothing purple and black with a curved up collar, a cloth hanging down the front that was red with the same "X" that the guards had on their outfits, only it was white instead of black, a pair of goggles concealing his eyes, wielding a gold staff with a clear blue orb at the end, and a strange looking hat with a glass casing, showing some weird electronic machinery inside, both the hat and orb with a similar "X" that seemed to be a theme to this strange group. Standing on the side was another follower, though he was bigger than the guards, wearing a black shirt with a white "X", purple pants and horned cap, and black pointed shoes.

Unable to observe their kidnappers for long, the princesses were forced forward until the guards stopped before their leader, stepping off to the side for him to get a good look at them. "O great, exalted Grodus, the princesses are awake, and we brought them to you as you requested!" one of them said.

"Finally, we'll get some answers," the leader, Grodus, said. "Now, I think it's about time you two tell me where the map is." Peach and Twilight looked at each other, confused by Grodus's demand and why they were kidnapped. "Speak when spoken to, princesses."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight questioned. "Who are all of you, and what do you want with us?"

"Don't play ignorant with me, little pony," Grodus said, shocking the alicorn from what the leader knew of her if he guessed her species correctly. "We know you both had the map, so I suggest you two be completely honest with me. We X-Nauts are not all rainbows and lollipops like your world, I assure you. We can be quite nasty if you do not cooperate with us."

Both princesses looked at each other, still unsure what to say. They figured they must have talked about the map they found in that chest, but considering how they kidnapped them and were clearly up to something despicable, they remained quiet about where they sent it. After a moment of silence, a holographic monitor appeared in front of Grodus, where one of his troops appeared and saluted to his leader.

"Grodus, sir, I have news!" the X-Naut troop said.

"Report at once," Grodus commanded.

"You know the Crystal Star we thought that Hooktail had?" the soldier asked. "...Well, someone nabbed it."

"What!? What did you just say!?" Grodus questioned angrily, startling the X-Naut. "Someone else is after the Crystal Stars? And you say he defeated that Hooktail dragon? SPEAK, soldier!"

"Y-Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," the soldier responded. "There's more to the report. According to this-" The X-Naut pulled up a sheet of paper, reading over the information aloud to everyone present. "-it was a mustached dude in a red hat and blue overalls, along with six of the ponies from that Equestria world that was announced in that news article months ago."

"Mario!" Peach blurted out, quickly clasping her hands over her mouth as she and Twilight winced at her accidental outburst.

Grodus looked at them, her blunder noticed by the X-Naut leader. "Mario, you say?" he asked Peach, then began to laugh as he put the pieces together from her and Twilight's reaction. "So, you know this Mario, hmm?" He then glanced at Twilight through his eyewear. "And...I assume the six ponies joining him happen to be friends of yours?" Twilight said nothing, but the nervous look in her eyes as she expected those ponies to be her friends explained everything. "Well, those fools don't really matter. I'll learn about them in due time. Soldiers take the princesses to their room downstairs."

"Yessir!" the two guards immediately answered, taking back their flanking positions between Peach and Twilight.

"And take good care of them, understand?" Grodus ordered. "They are not to be harmed."

"You got it, sir!" they responded, saluting to Grodus, then escorted both princesses back out into the hall.

Grodus then turned his attention to his right hand man. "Lord Crump, if this Mario character and those six ponies have the map, then it's highly likely they'll find the Crystal Star we're hunting in Boggly Woods. Return there immediately and hasten the excavation. It must not fail."

"Whuzzat!?" Crump exclaimed, difficult to tell if the higher-ranked X-Naut was even paying attention. "Oh, yeah, sure! Roger, Grodus! And with that-" Crump slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand. "-POW! I'm gone!"

Crump made his way out of the room, obeying his leader's orders. As soon as he left, Grodus let out a sigh, rubbing his fingers along the glass dome of his metal head.

"I wonder if sending Lord Crump there alone is wise...He is a bit...out there. Hmm..." Rethinking his plan, he turned back to the entrance. "X-Naut! I summon you!"

Walking into the room was a different X-Naut soldier, approaching Grodus and saluted to him. "You rang, dude? I mean, sir? You ran, sir, Grodus, dude? Grodus?"

"Shut up, you imbecile," Grodus demanded, annoyed by the lackadaisical tone of this soldier's voice. "Go and bring the Shadow Sirens to me."

The X-Naut gulped nervously. "T-The Shadow Sirens, sir? But they-"

"I don't care how you planned to finish that sentence, fool," Grodus warned, tapping the bottom of his staff against the floor. "Go get them. Now."

The soldier obeyed, dreading to know the outcome of Grodus's warning if he delayed any further as he ran out of the room.

"The honorable Grodus has need of us?" a mysterious, elderly feminine voice rang out, Grodus barely flinching at the mysterious voice that appeared out of nowhere. "Then we arrive without delay." In front of the X-Naut leader, three mysterious shadow creatures rose up from the ground in a void of shadows, small wisps connecting them to the ground. One was smallest of the three, though elderly with pale-blue hair, one was chubby and the tallest of the three with orange bang that concealed its eyes, and the last one was in between in height with light pink curly hair, the curly bangs also concealing their eyes, and all three had white and colored striped hats on their heads; blue, yellow, and red respectfully. The eldest one cackled with glee, her hat concealing most of her face as the trio bowed to Grodus. "Pray tell, have the princesses told you where the map is?"

"Still your tongue, Beldam," Grodus warned. "We would have already had it if you snatched them earlier. You missed your chance, and now some poor fool named Mario has the map, along with six of the pony princess's friends as well."

"It wasn't my fault, truly!" Beldam explained. "There were too many prying eyes! Besides, knowing of the pony world and their magical feats, I wouldn't want to risk getting into a confrontation with someone as prodigal with elemental spells like we are. But why worry? All we have to do is steal the map from Mario, yes?"

"Yes, that is YOUR duty. Must I remind you? That map is vital to the X-Naut plan," Grodus reiterated, as if he explained this to Beldam and the other two Shadow Sirens multiple times. "I will have my men prepare gathering information about this Mario and these friends of Princess Twilight Sparkle's. For now, Beldam, you must take care of these troublemakers!"

"Mmmwee hee hee hee. Fear not, sire. I, Beldam, shall return with what you seek," Beldam promised, then turned to the other two Sirens. "Let's go, my lovelies! Marilyn! Vivian! Come! We've got a job to do!"

Beldam phased into the ground, followed by Marilyn and Vivian, the former letting out a derpy grunt in response while the latter giggled. Little did most of them realize that, throughout the facility, the security cameras had been watching the entire scene take place. The observer switched to different cameras, switching to a hallway that had windows, showing what appeared to be space as several stars dotted the dark blue sky, the facility built on what appeared to be a moon, then to a random security room, finally finding the right one in Peach and Twilight's room. There wasn't much in their room aside from some unused lockers, a pair of beds with a lamp on a small table, the door on their right the way out of their room, which was locked shut, while the left door lead to a bathroom with a shower, a sink with a mirror, and a toilet. Peach paced about nervously while Twilight stared down at the book she had held onto during their long slumber.

"...So, is this how it feels when you get kidnapped by someone?" Twilight asked curiously.

"Pretty much, but I get used to it, depending on where I'm being held prisoner," Peach said. "Most of the time, I end up in a cage or a tower, but I expected us to stay in that cage we woke up in...Probably because those X-Naut people thought you could still be dangerous, even without magic."

"But...the leader saw me as an sentient creature, unlike Bowser," Twilight noted. "And how did they know about Equestria? I didn't think news about it reached out to...wherever we are so fast..."

"At least we know Mario has the map, and your friends are with him." Peach sighed, fearing they have no idea where they are or that they were kidnapped. "I wish there was a way we could let them know about our predicament."

"And with my magic sealed off, I can't get away, send for help, or do anything simple at all," Twilight grumbled. Pouting and staring at the history book she borrowed, she placed it on the small table near the lamp, using her mouth since she was limited to using her maw to pick things up without her magic. "I'm going to see if that shower in the other room works. I need something to distract me from the fact I still have this book and I can't return it to that Goomba. It's like borrowing a library book and its return is past due for over a year, with the fine being several hundred bits that needs to be paid off!"

"...Uhh, sure. Go ahead," Peach said.

Twilight got up from her bed and entered the bathroom, always getting startled when the doors slid open as she got closer since they were pretty new to her. Luckily, there were some towels hanging over the curtain railing so they could dry themselves off after a refreshing shower, assuming there was running water. Her first instinct was to use her magic to turn the handles, only to remember the inhibitor ring on her horn as she groaned irritably, using her hooves instead to turn them. Lo and behold, there was water as it came out from the showerhead, slowly steaming up the room with hot water.

"Thank Celestia for running water," Twilight said to herself, stepping in and letting the water soak her fur. There wasn't any soap or shampoo placed for the two princess prisoners, but as long as there was hot water, it would be good enough for them. Twilight didn't take long, just needing a couple minutes to try to relax herself and not go into a full-blown panic attack, turning off the water and shaking herself dry before using one of the fresh towels to dry off what her shaking missed. After hanging the towel over the rail, Twilight walked back into the room. "Good news: the shower works. No soap, though, so it's either just a soak or a quick rinse."

"If I can manage going for days without a bath in Bowser's castle, which can reek if none of his followers clean up after him, I'll live with just hot water," Peach said.

Just as Twilight returned to her chosen bed, the entrance to their room slid open on its own, surprising the princesses. "...Umm...Peach? Those doors are supposed to open when we're near them, right?"

"Yes...But, we're not even near the door, and no one's on the other side." Confused and highly curious by this odd phenomenon, Peach and Twilight approached the opened door and looked out in the hall. There weren't any guards watching them, which was a good thing for the former so they weren't truly forced to stay confined in a bedroom. They both made their way down the short hall, finding the elevator, but without a key card, they can't access it. "Well, so much for an escape route if we don't have the key."

"As much as I want to study how all this technology works, I'm afraid it's going to go over my head," Twilight said. "The human version of Equestria had these 'computer' things, and I still have no idea how those things work."

Their only other way was the door on the other side, but as they stood only a few feet away, the doors opened automatically. "What is going on with these doors?" Peach questioned.

Both princesses peeked inside the room, which was dim at first before the lights grew a bit brighter for them to see as they walked inside, a humming sound ringing as the machines inside started up. Against one side of this room was a large monitor with a console connected to it, several servers, screens, and all sorts of other complicated console setups on both sides of the larger screen, a security camera above it that seemed to be moving as it watched the princesses.

"Is this...a control room?" Twilight asked.

Hello, Princess Peach and Princess Twilight Sparkle, a monotone, mechanical voice said, surprising the princess duo as they looked around.

"Who said that?" Peach asked. "Where are you?"

How amusing, the voice spoke again. I am right here before your eyes. Twilight and Peach faced the supercomputer, where the sound of the mechanical voice was coming from. I am this laboratory's main computer. I am the TEX-XX. Many call me TEC. You may. Sir Grodus created me to be a perfect computer, one that is flawless in its reason.

"A perfect computer?" Twilight asked. "Just how big can these computers get in different worlds?"

"You said Grodus created you," Peach noted. "He's that awful dome-headed thing who interrogated us earlier."

Sir Grodus is not awful, TEC assured. He is a very great person. He is marvelous.

"Not so great if he kidnapped us and sealed my magic," Twilight said, pointing at the inhibitor on her horn to the computer. "But, since you're that X-Naut leader's creation, I doubt you'll even listen to us."

"Were you the one who lead us here?" Peach asked.

Affirmative, but the reason why is concerning, TEC said. An unusual program deviation occurred while observing you two earlier. My higher-brain circuitry malfunctioned and nearly overheated at your image, Princess Peach. Also, an unidentified impulse sped through my processors. Peach and Twilight looked at each other with a raised brow at TEC's odd errors. These events are new to me. I ran diagnostic programs...and their solution was...I want to know more about you. I want to observe you. Such a compulsion has no precedence. Cause unknown.

"...That's...strange," Twilight uttered to herself. "Why does this sound...creepy coming from a computer?"

I, the perfect computer...I must diagnose this unusual situation. I will not fail. That is why I led you here. It started to become clear about TEC's explanation for his diagnostic problems, though they seemed more like feelings than a system malfunction.

"...You...want to observe me?" Peach questioned. "To know more about me?" She was shocked when she figured it out. "Could it be that you...? No! That's impossible! You're a computer!"

What has happened to me? TEC asked. If you know my malfunction, you must tell me of it.

Peach looked at Twilight, hoping to let her explain it for the super computer as she turned away out of awkwardness. "I might not know everything about this advanced form of technology about you, TEC, but if what you're saying is true...I think you might be...in love with Peach."

TEC didn't respond immediately, processing the answer to his problem. ..."Love"? What is..."love"? I cannot compute this.

"Seriously?" Twilight questioned. "You're a computer and you don't even know what the word 'love' even means? You're supposed to hold more knowledge than a hard cover encyclopedia set on several different subjects, and you don't even know the definition of love?"

TEC was silent once again, completely clueless despite the vast amount of knowledge contained within his incredible hard drive. "Uhh, how do I explain this?" Peach asked herself, silently thinking of the right explanation for the term without getting hit on by someone else she has no interest in, especially when it was a computer. "Love tells you when you want to be with someone forever. It makes you feel happy just to see them happy, smiling...having fun. When you love someone, you will do anything to help them when he or she is in trouble."

Happiness? Fun? TEC asked in confusion. I have definitions for these words, but...My programming is insufficient. There should be nothing I cannot comprehend. I am a perfect computer.

"'Comprehend?'" Twilight repeated questioningly. "You can't comprehend love, TEC. You feel it...Though I don't see how a machine can feel emotions. You're kind of like something called a golem, a creation made by someone, given a life, but unable to feel any kind of emotion and follow the orders of their creator..."

TEC was once again silent, pondering what to do about his dilemma until he came up with a response. Princess Peach, Princess Twilight Sparkle...Will you teach me to feel this thing you call "love"?

"HUH!?" both princesses exclaimed in surprise.

I am perfect. There must be nothing that I cannot comprehend. Nothing, TEC explained.That is why you must help me understand this thing called "love". Please. Noticing the unsure expressions on their faces, TEC thought of an offer to bargain with the princesses so he could truly be perfect in knowledge. If you have any wishes that I can grant you in exchange, I will grant them. But, of course, I am unable to grant such a wish as letting you escape.

"Are you insane!?" Peach exclaimed. "You X-Jerks kidnapped us like common Koopas! And you call us over to where you're set to teach you the meaning of love!?"

"Why should we even believe you!?" Twilight added. "You could be trying to trick us and get us into more trouble than we already are! If I was able to use magic, I'd blast your screen to pieces!"

I understand you are both angry, an emotion I do comprehend. Twilight and Peach scoffed at that statement, finding TEC's excuse ridiculous if he can understand other emotions well and not love. You need not teach me now, but I must learn this thing. I must. There is no alternative. I must be a perfect computer. That is why, if you would just consider teaching me, I will grant your wishes.

Peach and Twilight grumbled, but when they looked at each other, it appeared they didn't have much choice if they wanted help. "...Does that wish include taking off this inhibitor?" Twilight asked.

I am sorry, Princess Twilight Sparkle, but I am not allowed to release the electronic lock placed on your magical nullification ring, TEC said. Sir Grodus believe you can be dangerous if you could use your magic. I must receive his authorization to do so, while he and the other X-Nauts have remotes that release a non-lethal, painless shock if you do not comply or behave aggressively. Twilight was about to interject on the latter statement, but TEC continued.I find the latter unnecessary as most of the soldiers see you as an animal, but you are a sentient being, intelligent, clearly not considered an animal despite that in the eyes of others.

Taken aback by TEC's response, Twilight somehow felt flattered being complimented by the super computer, which only made his personal goal of the meaning of love even more strange. "Uhh...Thank you...I think?"

"Well, if that's what you want, TEC...I guess we'll...help you," Peach said reluctantly. "Do you think we can try to contact someone? The sooner, the better."

Yes, of course you may, TEC said. Use my communicator to send wireless mail to anywhere you want. If you so wish, you can use it right now. Use the keyboard in front of you. Enter the recipient, address, and message.

Twilight stared at the keyboard, lifting up her hooves as she recalled her first experience typing on a computer back in Canterlot High. "Uhh...how exactly is this going to help us? I don't think Mario can receive a message this way."

"I think it can," Peach corrected. "There was a new device that was created a while ago that can receive and send wireless messages, and I know Mario has one. I got one, too, but I think the X-Nauts took it...or it's back with Toadsworth in Rogueport." Peach approached the keyboard, sitting directly under the large screen TEC instructed. She typed in her message and her heroes Mailbox SP address, Twilight watching over the princess's shoulder as she watched how typing the keyboard was supposed to look like, despite the fact she has hooves and that she'll end up hitting six keys if she tried. "Ok, TEC, it's ready."

Understood. Sending message. The screen in front of the princesses lit up, a trio of envelopes appearing as they lit up and dimmed out from left to right as beeps rang out. A moment later, a different sounding tone notified them of the message being sent. Message sent. For the time being, you may return to your room. I will call you in again when I want to ask you something.

"Uhh, ok," Peach said. "Good night."

Peach headed for the door, making her way back to their room, though Twilight stayed where she was as a question plagued her after Grodus and TEC's knowledge on her. "TEC, how do you know who I am?" she asked the computer. "I'm from another world, not this one. You and Grodus seem to know more than I expected about me."

I collect data from any important news that seems valuable to Sir Grodus: political events, royal celebrities, historical discoveries, changes to towns or cities. On the screen, a news article appeared, showing a picture of Twilight with Peach in Peach's Castle, both of them standing in front of the portal to Equestria as they shook each other's hand/hoof as photographic proof of the event's uniting of their kingdoms. She nearly forgot about that picture, feeling overwhelmed by reporters from the Mushroom Kingdom asking her questions about her world, how powerful of a magic user she was, and if there was some conspiracy theory of her and Mario as more than just friends, though the last one was just a lie one of the reporters tried to extort out of the alicorn's words just to make some money off a dumb rumor. The treaty of uniting both the Mushroom Kingdom and Equestria was published, and word has not spread outside of the Mushroom Kingdom. Sir Grodus sent his soldiers to gather information and stumbled across this, subtly gathering more from what they could without growing suspicious and cause a panic there. We only gathered intelligence on you more than your friends, your incredible magical power along with the "magic of friendship" as some locals had mentioned when tales of your ventures in your world were told...Is friendship really an essence of mana Equestrians can use?

"...Uhh...Well, friendship really is magic with what my friends and I have been able to accomplish," Twilight said, trying to figure out how to explain the magic of friendship to TEC. "We used to have powerful gems called the Elements of Harmony, and they work when my friends and I are together. At first, I didn't think friendship was all that important during my studies, but after that day during the Summer Sun Celebration, I realized how special it was to have such good friends to help me...Without them, I would never have turned into an alicorn and given the role as a princess: the Princess of Friendship."

Alicorn? TEC asked curiously. The only type of mythological creature known in this world that closely resembles you is either a pegasus or unicorn. My theory suggests that an alicorn in your world is a combination of the two species, correct?

"Yes, but I was born a unicorn before I basically ascended after solving an old spell a wise unicorn wizard a thousand years ago didn't finish, which I accidentally casted that had resulted in switching my friends' cutie marks around, ruining their lives and their true talents that I had to try to-" Twilight paused, realizing she was rambling to hers and Peach's kidnapper's "perfect" computer. "...And you're memorizing everything I'm saying, aren't you?"

...Correct, but your past accomplishments are not considered important to Sir Grodus, TEC assured. I shall store this data under my own interests as I am also curious about what else Equestria is like compared to this world...If you want to discuss them with me.

"Grodus doesn't find my world interesting enough to document?" Twilight asked, though TEC didn't offer a response. Mulling over Grodus's true intentions for a later time, Twilight decided to head back to join Peach in their room. "I...think I'm done talking. I'm heading back."

Twilight left TEC's room, the doors closing shut behind her as the lights began to dim down. Good night, princesses.

Far off in a desolate kingdom, the sky bleak and the ground barren with rivers of lava flowing throughout the land, a stone castle with spikes built around the edges of the towers and base of the massive structure stood on an island of stone surrounded by a lake of lava, the only safe passage a small trail curving up to it. This fortified palace is home to none other than the well known villain of the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser. Throughout the halls, his guards ranging from Koopatrols, Magikoopas of different magical skills with Kameks being his highest ranking mages, Hammer Bros., and even the lowly lackeys of Goombas were either standing guard, cleaning the castle, or transporting weapons or supplies throughout the structure. The King of the Koopas himself wandered the halls out of boredom, still fuming over the humiliating loss he faced in his last attempt to kidnap Peach. Even when he had the Star Rod, when he thought he finally defeated Mario and took over the Mushroom Kingdom, he still lost to the heroic plumber. And to make it even more embarrassing, he was beaten by six technicolor ponies from another world, thinking he was rid of them, too, only for their own magic and strengths to defeat him along with Mario and his small army of partners.

As he headed for his throne room, he spotted one of the Koopatrols leaning against the wall while reading a newspaper. On the front was the continued news article about the portal to Equestria open to those in the Mushroom Kingdom, showing both Princess Peach and Princess Twilight Sparkle in their treaty shot the day it was announced. Growling angrily, he roared and blew flames at the Koopatrol, the guard yelping as he heard his king and ducked in his shell while his paper was burnt to ashes.

"You bring in anything involving those rainbow freaks in my castle, I'm throwing you out in the lava moat!" Bowser warned.

"Y-Yes, Lord Bowser! Sorry, Lord Bowser!" the guard obeyed fearfully, popping his limbs back out and ran off back to his post.

Letting out a frustrated grunt, Bowser continued onward. As he reached the doors to the long hall leading to his comfy chair, two Koopatrols opened the door for him, hearing his heavy footsteps coming from a mile away.

"Kammy, where are you!?" Bowser shouted. "What is it that you want to tell me when I want to wallow in misery!?"

"Uhh, Great Lord Bowser?" one of the Koopatrols said, getting his king's attention, though it came as a nasty glare. The Koopa gulped nervously, being mindful of his choice of words so he doesn't infuriate his leader further. "K-Kammy Koopa will arrive in just a moment. She had...an errand to run?"

"...Fine. But she had better be back soon!" Bowser stomped down the hall, grumbling to himself.

He passed by a pair of Hammer Bros., overhearing one of them telling a story about him. "So, the other day I saw Lord Bowser gazing longingly at a picture of Princess Peach."

"Uh, you may want to put a cork in it, man," the other Hammer Bro. warned, trembling in fear as Bowser silently walked up behind the storyteller.

"Ha! I tell you, the look on his face when he was mooning over that thing," the other Koopa continued despite the death glare Bowser gave the back of his head. "And the next thing I knew, he-" He was interrupted when his friend pointed behind him, sweat trickling down his face with a look of terror on his face. "What? I'm getting to the good part. It's hilarious!"

"Oh, is it now?" Bowser asked. The Hammer Bro. blanched, heel-turning to face his king, yelping in fright as he hid behind his friend. "Oh no, don't stop on my account. I'm dying to hear the rest of your 'hilarious' story, Mr. Comedian."

Unable to escape from continuing his story, the Hammer Bro. stammered before he finally found his voice. "...W-W-Well...T-The next thing I k-knew...L-Lord Bowser put the picture away...and n-nothing awkward or embarrassing...h-happened?"

"Wow! Great story!" Bowser exclaimed sarcastically. His mock grin turned into a sneer, grasping the sneaky minion's neck in his giant claw, then hoisted him up to his eye level threateningly. "If you want to snoop around, do that with finding a way to destroy Mario, capture the princess, and take over the Mushroom Kingdom, not me! You tell anyone else that story, I'll feed you to a giant Chain Chomp, then dump your remains in a pit! Do you understand!?"

"Y-Yes, my liege!" the Hammer Bro. said, letting out a yelp as Bowser dropped him.

The irate Koopa King stomped off to his throne, sitting down with a heavy thump and rubbed his hands against his face in irritation. "Can I get minions who don't find a way to infuriate me for just one day? It's bad enough I was beaten by those six things and Mario's little hero crew. All that power, and I still lose..."

While mulling over his latest defeat, Kammy Koopa had arrived through the double doors, slowly walking down the carpet to her king's throne, which irritated him further with how slow she moved. "Sorry I am late, Lord Bowser," Kammy apologized.

"Why did you call me out here?" Bowser grumbled.

"Please, Your Grumpiness, don't be so impatient with your servant," Kammy said, which made the king grumble. "It is my displeasure to report that Mario is off at a town called Rogueport, along with those ponies, as they're oddly, yet accurately called."

"Do you think I care about what he does?" Bowser growled. "I'm not his babysitter! And I don't care what those colored creatures are actually called! They're just stupid animals who talk about 'friendship is magic' and all that goodie-goodie nonsense that makes me sick to my stomach! I still feel ill when they used that stupid 'friendship beam' on me, along with whatever else hit me while I was invincible!"

"Yes, well, that terrible loss aside, Mario's actually there hunting for an amazing treasure," Kammy said.

That peaked the fire-breathing Koopa's interest as his tirade came to a halt. "...T-Treasure?"

"They've gone off to search for star-shaped jewels called Crystal Stars," Kammy explained. "I'm looking into what they are, but there's no question these must be in high value."

Despite stars being a considerable nightmare to him now, Bowser saw dollar signs at the mention of such rich jewels, while also sounding like they could hold mysterious powers that would be perfect for his next conquest attempt. "Hmmm...They sound like good world conquering tools...Yes, very good. Kammy, continue researching this for me, you brainy hag, you."

"Yes, sir," Kammy said. Before she left, she turned back around with something else she wanted to tell Bowser. "Oh, by the way, Lord Bowser...Do you like fried eggs?"

Bowser blinked, staring at the old witch he just complimented, now wanting to retract said compliment over such an odd question. "...Why do you ask?"

"Well, during my recon, I stopped by a lovely place called Petal Meadows," Kammy explained. "I was planning on taking everyone there for a picnic." Bowser's eye twitched, his blood boiling at the insane idea while he was focused on figuring out how to defeat Mario and kidnap the princess. "Of course, I wouldn't think of sending out invitations without your permission!"

"A PICNIC!?!?!?!?!?!?" Bowser shouted angrily. "You insane, senile old hag! This isn't the time to throw a picnic! This is why my plans keep getting derailed! You clods always goof off!"

As he had his angry fit, stomping his foot hard in the ground while rambling about how incompetent his army is, a Kamek rushed in and whispered something to Kammy. The older witch was shocked by the unexpected news, something that Bowser clearly needs to know right away.

"Lord Bowser! Terrible news!" Kammy exclaimed, stopping the Koopa King's stomping a hole in the hard stone floor. "Some bold fool abducted Princess Peach in Rogueport!"

"WHAT!?!?!?!?!?" Bowser roared. Charging toward them, the two magic-wielding Koopas screamed as they were nearly bowled over, picked up by the panicked, enraged king. "Tell me you're only joking with me! Who!? How!? Why!?"

"W-We don't know, Your Majesty!" the Kamek said. "We didn't gather enough intel on that, aside from the fact the purple pony from that new world was kidnapped along with Princess Peach."

Bowser snarled, dropping Kammy and the Kamek, clenching his fists while gritting his teeth to the point of cracking them in fury. "Under NO circumstance is ANYONE allowed to kidnap her without MY say-so! I'm going to Rogueport and kidnapping her back!"

"W-Wait, Your Grunginess!" Kammy called out, but Bowser ran out and made his way to where his Koopa Copter was docked. Kammy used her magic, calling forth her riding broom and flew off to catch up to him, the Koopa King jumping in his vehicle and starting it up, dead set on getting Peach back from who he considered his enemy for kidnapping his princess. He flew out of his castle, using a map of the world stored in his copter he barely used to find Rogueport, Kammy chasing after him while worrying about what crazy shenanigans Bowser will end up in without a straightforward plan. "Wait for me!!!"

A Boggling Adventure Through Boggly Woods

After a lengthy climb back down from the top of Hooktail's Castle, the group finally made it out of the castle's walls with Koops's father in tow. Thankfully, they had taken care of any Dull Bones wandering around the rooms during their climb up, taking their time to relax after a very creepy start to their adventure searching for the Crystal Stars. With one down and six more to go, they dove into the pipe, making it back to Petal Meadows, and made their way down the road to Petalburg. As soon as they entered the peaceful town, the villagers were surprised to see Koopley again, everyone who knew him rushing up to him as they praised the Stars he was alive. Even Koopie came over to see what the commotion was, surprised and relieved to see Koops was back and alive with his supposedly dead father by his side.

Koopley told everyone what had happened to him, miraculously surviving in Hooktail's stomach all this time, and regaled how Koops and his friends defeated the menacing dragon and got him out. Koops grinned bashfully, his father over-exaggerating who exactly did most of the work when it was mostly Mario who stood up and did most of the work while he made the finishing blow. When Koopie approached him after the story, Koops couldn't tell how his girlfriend felt now. He was about to turn away in sadness, thinking she was going to dump him, but his worries about their relationship faded when she grabbed him, yanked him toward her, then gave him the biggest, deepest, and very much longing kiss ever, shocking him before he melted, his pupils turning into hearts as he kissed the love of his life back. Koopley put the pieces together after seeing such a romantic scene, even as the rest of the crowd whooped and let out whistles, encouraging the couple. No words were said between each other once they broke away for air, holding each other tightly as Koopie's timid boyfriend had come back with more confidence than before.

Once things had settled down, Koopley invited Mario, Goombella, and the six ponies to Koops's home for a victory feast, though the feast was mostly for him since his stomach demanded some good food. The group sat at the table where a variety of Koopa-style dishes were laid out in front of them, everyone digging in as they relaxed after surviving fighting a massive dragon.

"Mmm! Koopie, my dear, you are an excellent cook!" Koopley commented, stuffing his face with several plates of food to sate his stomach. "You'd be a great wife for my son, and I approve wholeheartedly!"

"Heheheh, I don't think we're ready for marriage just yet, Mr. Koopley," Koopie said, blushing a little at the thought of Koops proposing to her.

"Then start calling me 'dad', because I have a gut feeling that's around the corner," Koopley teased, waggling his eyebrows.

"D-Dad!" Koops whined in embarrassment, blushing heavily while his father and new friends laughed.

After dinner was over, Starlight offered to clean the dishes, using her magic to get the job done quicker so they could head back to the inn sooner for some rest. "Thanks for treating us, but we should get some sleep," Starlight said. "No idea where the Magical Map will send us when we offer the first Crystal Star to the Thousand-Year-Door."

"I wonder what kind of cool magic this one has if the map helped heal us," Rainbow wondered aloud.

"Well, this Crystal Star is known as a 'Diamond Star', even though the grayish color makes it look like a stone," Goombella said as she looked through her book. "Doesn't really say what their unique magic powers are, so I guess we'll have to discover them when Mario uses them."

Mario pulled out the Diamond Star, curious about its power, too, but he would have to wait until they were in trouble. Putting it back in his pockets, the group got up, thanked their hosts, and began making their way back to inn.

"W-Wait!" Koops said suddenly. "I-I...I want to keep traveling with you guys." His request baffled everyone, including Koopie after he already proved himself with Hooktail. "Maybe...you could still use my help, like when we got through Hooktail's Castle?"

"Are you sure you want to stay with us?" Applejack asked.

"Y-Yes," Koops said. "I want to come back stronger...Just like dad."

"Atta boy, son!" Koopley encouraged. "You're old enough to make your own decisions now, and I think this experience would be great for you."

"B-B-But you just got back after fighting Hooktail. And won," Koopie stammered. "W-Why would you-?"

"I know I said I would come back a stronger Koopa, Koopie, but...I don't feel strong enough just yet," Koops said. He looked down at his feet, twiddling his fingers nervously. "Next time, though, I promise I'll come back even stronger than before...Ok?"

Koopie was once again conflicted, but just like earlier today, Koops can make his own decisions without being held back by her guilt-tripping him. She didn't want him to leave after such a terrifying departure, but seeing how much more confident Koops was, she couldn't keep him away from what he wanted to show others after many years of being quiet, reserved, and timid. As much as she hated seeing her beloved go off on a longer, more perilous journey, she wanted to see him grow as a stronger Koopa, like he wished.

"...Ok," she said after several long minutes of silence. "I'll be waiting here for you when you come back."

Koops smiled, hugging Koopie and gave her a loving kiss. "Hey, before you do leave tomorrow, you wanna give your old dad some grandkids if something happens?" Koopley asked, startling the Koopa Troopa couple as they broke their kiss and leered at the old Koopa for ruining the touching moment. "What? I'm not getting any younger, you know?"

"J-Just shut up, dad," Koops muttered, puffing his cheeks angrily while blushing madly. "I-I will come back, but...please, PLEASE stop embarrassing me."

"Embarrassing us," Koopie corrected.

"I'm teasing ya!" Koopley exclaimed with a chuckle. "That's my job; embarrass my son in front of his girlfriend for a laugh!...Is that not allowed anymore?"

Koopie and Koops let out a sigh while their female guests giggled at the comical display. Before the group headed out to the inn, Mario made sure to let Koops know to meet with them near the entrance of town in the morning, giving him a bit more time to be with his father and girlfriend before shoving off back to the Rogueport Sewers.

The next morning, everyone was fully rested and ready to go, Koops running down the road from his home, thinking he overslept as he skid to a halt before his friends. He said his farewells to his dad and Koopie, promising once again to come back in one piece for the latter's sake, and now that they were ready, they were on their way back down the road to the stone warp pipe. They barely moved a few yards from Petalburg's entrance before a ringtone on Mario's person stopped them.

"Whoa, what's that noise?" Rainbow asked.

"I think it's coming from Mario," Goombella said.

Mario reached into his pockets, pulling out his Mailbox SP, where the source of the electronic music was coming from as it vibrated every so often. "Wow! A Mailbox SP?" Koops said in awe. "Those haven't come out yet. At least, not around here."

"Who could be sending you mail?" Starlight asked, but Mario shrugged his shoulders as he opened it up to see who the sender was.

He didn't know who it came from, but he read the message out loud for everyone.

My Dearest Mario,
I send this letter in the hope that it reaches you safely. I am being held against my will in some strange place, along with Twilight who is as much a prisoner as I am. I don't know where we are, but we're unharmed and in relative comfort...Sort of. Twilight can't get us out since the ones who captured us sealed her magic with some kind of magical inhibitor around her horn. They are also after the map I sent you. They're hoping to use it to find objects called the "Crystal Stars". I don't know what they're planning, but I know it's clearly up to no good. Mario, please collect the Crystal Stars before they do. They are already aware that you have the map, so please be careful. And please...don't worry about us.
-Princess Peach-

"Oh no!" Rarity exclaimed after Mario finished reading Peach's letter. "Peach AND Twilight are captured by somepony!?"

"And without her magic, she's completely helpless," Fluttershy added.

"So that means they never came through Petal Meadows at all," Goombella said. "They could be anywhere in the region if these kidnappers are from around here."

"Well, the good news is that they're at least unharmed, right?" Koops asked.

Mario nodded, but pointed out that whoever took Peach and Twilight were after the Crystal Stars. They needed to find those magical gems before they did, though their intentions for them were uncertain whereas theirs was to open up the millennium-locked door underground. As long as they were ok, he can keep searching for the Crystal Stars and use them to help break them out. Mario could only hope that vision with Twilight doesn't come true.

Saving the recipient's address on his device under "Peach (Alt.)" since her own Mailbox SP must not be in her possession because of her captors, he put his device back in his pockets and continued leading the way. It didn't take long for them make it back to the stone warp pipe, warping back down into the sewers where they entered the now peaceful meadow and trudged their way back down to the Thousand-Year-Door.

Remembering the path they took to reach the massive entrance, they arrived without much hassle from the Goombas or Spinias in their way. Koops gasped in awe at the sight of the grand doorway, growing curious about what lies beyond it.

"This is...amazing," Koops uttered. "And...this has been down here for a thousand years?"

"Yepper pepper!" Pinkie said.

"We're kinda used to learnin' about things that have happened or been made for over a thousand years," Applejack said. "Though it is quite a sight to behold."

"And in order to open it, we need all seven Crystal Stars to discover its secrets," Goombella stated. "To find the next ones, we need to show the Crystal Star we just found to the door, and it'll show us the next location for the second one. Go ahead, Mario! Show us the way!"

Mario nodded and leapt up onto the dais, standing on the slightly raised platform in the middle of the room. Pulling out the Diamond Star, he held it over his head, the blue lights circling the dais with its unique markings and spaces for the Crystal Stars. The Crystal Star flew out of Mario's hand and over one of the seven empty spaces in the outer circle of the magical dais, which left behind a blue star underneath it to fill in the space.

Mario pulled out the Magical Map after the Diamond Star left his hands, holding it up to let the magical power carry it up into the air above him. Koops stared in awe as light began to radiate from the mystical map, but he wasn't told to shut his eyes as the others had, suddenly blinded by a bright flash that revealed the next Crystal Star's location. On the map, the woods north of the port town shimmered, the trees in the white and black forest popping up first, then the white leaves and bushes, the center tree bigger than the others. And directly over the finished pop-up of the monochrome forest was the illusion of the next Crystal Star, this one a green emerald color.

The lights dimmed down as the map floated back down in Mario's hands, Koops rubbing the spots out of his eyes while blinking rapidly. "Wow. What a light show," he mumbled. "Is that...supposed to happen?"

"Sorry," Fluttershy apologized. "We should have warned you."

"Now I know," Koops said.

While the Koopa slowly regained his sight, Goombella leapt up to see the Magical Map. "Looks like the next Crystal Star is in a forest north of Rogueport. But I don't really know where that is."

"Let's show this to Prof. Frankly and see if he knows," Starlight suggested, the others nodding in agreement as they made their way back up to the surface.

Frankly hummed in thought, looking over the map and a book on the region as a reference. After several minutes of researching, he closed his book.

"Aha. Pretty clear where the next Crystal Star is," Prof. Frankly said. "It's in the Boggly Woods, inside of a great tree in the center of the forest."

"The Boggly Woods? Sounds mind boggling," Pinkie commented.

"At least it sounds safer than the Everfree Forest or the Forever Forest," Rarity said.

"Also, about these woods," Frankly added, grabbing another book and flipped through the pages. "There's some odd creatures who live there."

Finding the page, he showed the group a picture of the creature in question. The illustration showed a small gray creature with tiny legs, big eyes, and an antenna on its head with a glowing yellow orb at the end. Fluttershy gasped, taking the book and getting a closer look as she recalled seeing something similar to what was in the picture.

"I saw one of these cute little things in the sewers when we first went down," Fluttershy said. "That must be one of them, only it had two dark-gray strips on its back, and the orb on its antenna was green."

"There should be a pipe down in the sewers that should lead to Boggly Woods," Frankly said. "It could be possible a creature such as that could have been able to make it through."

While Fluttershy looked through the pages, trying to find out what the adorable gray creatures are called, Starlight approached the Goomba professor to discuss another serious issue. "Professor, we've found out where Peach and Twilight went. Mario got an email from Peach just a moment ago, and they were both kidnapped by a group who's also trying to find the Crystal Stars. She has no idea where they are or what they plan to do with them and the Crystal Stars."

"Oh dear," Frankly muttered. "What could those kidnappers hope to achieve? Could they be hunting for the treasure too?" He began pacing back and forth, unable to find a possible reason with the lack of information and the varying unknowns speculating around this group. "Hmph. Unfortunately, the only clues we have are to rely on the Crystal Stars and the map."

"I guess we'll have to discover more about the Thousand-Year-Door when we find more Crystal Stars," Goombella theorized.

"Yes, Goombella, that is most highly recommended," Frankly said. "And find it before the princess' captors do! B-But don't be too hasty! Be sure to stock up on supplies if things get hairy. I'll keep on researching some more about the Crystal Stars and the treasure."

"Maybe if we find those jerks who snatched Peach and Twilight, we can get some info out of them if we kick their plots into next week," Rainbow growled, slamming her hooves together, ready to beat the living daylights out of their friends' kidnappers. The group made their way out and back to the sewers to find the creature, but Rainbow noticed they were missing someone. Flying back inside Frankly's study, Fluttershy had her nose in the book, still looking for the name of the little creature. "Fluttershy, come on! We're leaving!"

"J-Just another minute," Fluttershy said, but Rainbow, being the impatient pegasus she was, grabbed her best friend, making her yelp as she dragged the yellow pegasus outside and dropped the book. "I was about to find out what they're called!"

"Find out when we meet the thing in the sewers! We need to find Twilight and Peach fast!" Rainbow said, tossing Fluttershy into the warp pipe after the others, then dove in after them.

Heading back down near where the Thousand-Year-Door was located and where they first saw the mysterious gray creature, the party exited the warp pipe that lead to the deepest part of the sewers. Near the barred passage and the tiny hole near it, that same creature they saw before was there, gasping in surprise and fled back in the hole.

"No, wait!" Fluttershy called out, fluttering over to the hole and peeked inside. "We won't hurt you! I promise!"

"Ah guess it's a good thing we found a way to get through them bars back in Hooktail's Castle," Applejack said.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Pinkie cheered.

Everyone stood before the steel bars blocking the path, Mario grabbing his Lucky Star and activated his blessing that made them intangible. A light shone around his pendant, his body, and spread to his friends. Now that they were intangible, they phased through the bars, going further through the seemingly endless sewers. Inside the barred off section, they found the creature nearby, who panicked and skittered away from them, only to get itself caught in a dead end.

"Ahh, wrong turn!" the creature said, surprising them, not expecting it to be able to speak as it was definitely a boy. He turned around and shuddered in fright, looking up at the taller creatures slowly approaching them, trying not to scare him, though failing. "D-Don't eat me! I'm all gamy!"

"It's ok, little guy," Fluttershy gently cooed. "We're not going to hurt you."

"Y-You're not?" The creature cautiously approached Fluttershy's outstretched hoof, tapping it with his nose. "You're not...bullies either?"

"Of course not. We're very friendly," Fluttershy assured. Moving her hoof out closer, she began petting the creature's head, who let out a content murmur. "See? You're not in any danger with us around."

"Phew. I sure do feel safer," he said. "I thought I was about to have an accident."

Now that the little creature wasn't scared of them, the others approached them, Fluttershy picking him up and holding him in her forehooves. "Are you one of the creatures from Boggly Woods?"

The creature flinched in shock at the mention of his home. "W-What!? You know about me!? I've been had!" He began squirming, but he was too weak to escape from Fluttershy's cuddling hold, his little feet flailing against her forelegs. "You must be working with the X-Nauts! NOOOO! It's the end for me!"

Mario, Goombella, Koops, and the ponies looked at each other in confusion at the strange-sounding name. "'X-Nauts'? What the heck is an X-Naut?" Koops asked aloud.

"Whoever they are, we're not with them, sugarcube," Applejack reassured the re-frightened creature. "What's goin' on in your home?"

"Are you sure you're not with them?" he asked nervously.

"Would these smiles lie to you?" Pinkie asked, giving him a wide, toothy grin.

"...Well...Ok." He took in a deep breath, able to trust them, his gut telling him the six colorful equines weren't as bad as he thought with how nice Fluttershy was. "This gang of bad guys call themselves the X-Nauts, and they invaded my home. They came inside out Great Tree and started tearing it apart and causing trouble. So...I came all the way here looking for help."

"Bad guys in the Great Tree?" Starlight asked. "That's where we're headed right now. We're hoping to find the Crystal Star there, but if those are the same ones who kidnapped Peach and Twilight, then we're in for trouble."

"Now that you mention it, they did say something about a Crystal Star thingy," the creature said, feeling unsure of himself as he had never once heard of a Crystal Star before the X-Nauts came. "But we Punies don't know anything about crystals or stars."

"You're called a 'Puni'?" Fluttershy asked, squealing and cuddling the little Puni in her hooves. "That's adorable!"

"So, what do you guys say? Can you help me out?" the Puni pleaded. "If you do, we can give you this Crystal Star thing, whatever it is. The Puni elder might know about it, and I'm sure the elder will agree."

"Do you even need to ask?" Rainbow asked. "Of course we'll help you and the other Punies! We need that Crystal Star before these X-Naut guys get it first!"

"And we'll interrogate them on where our friends are!" Pinkie added, pulling out her hammer and tapped it against her hoof. "We're gonna get it out of them one way or another, and we won't give them the 'another' option."

"Oh, thank you all so much!" he cheered. "Oh, yeah. I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Punio!"

"I'm Fluttershy," Fluttershy greeted. "And that's Mario, Goombella, Koops, Starlight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack."

"Nice meeting you," Punio said. "I'll show you where I live."

Fluttershy let Punio go, letting him lead them to where the warp pipe to Boggly Woods was located. On the other side of the room, there was another sizable crack Punio could fit through. He skittered through, but Pinkie tried to follow after him, only able to get her muzzle in while the rest of her got stuck.

"Hey, we can't fit through this tiny crack!" Pinkie called out to Punio.

"Oh, right. I forgot," the Puni said sheepishly. "Hang on. The elder said there was a button around here that opened a secret entrance..." Pinkie pulled her face out of the small hole, her muzzle temporarily shaped like the hole before popping back to normal. "Aha! Found it!"

Punio pressed the button, which made the wall up the nearby flight of steps slide open, along with several windows, revealing the pathway to the other side of the wall. The group climbed up and walk through the secret passage, meeting up with Punio as he stood by what appeared to look like a hollowed stump flipped on its side sticking out through the wall.

"Is this...a warp pipe?" Rarity questioned.

"It sure is," Punio said. "This'll take us to Boggly Woods, and it's only a bit of a walk until we reach the Great Tree."

"Feels odd to go through a tree stump, but it's certainly environmentally friendly," Goombella commented.

With no time to waste, Mario dove through the wooden warp pipe, that same warping sound coming from his entrance proving it was indeed a warp pipe. The others followed after him to Boggly Woods, Punio hoping they make it to the Great Tree in time to stop the X-Nauts.

Reaching the end of the wooden tree trunk warp pipe, Mario jumped out and looked around at his surroundings. The others climbed out and followed his example, staring in awe at the Boggly Woods. Like the map showed, the forest was beautiful despite its monochrome setting, the black trees bearing white leaves while the flowers and bushes on the ground were as white as the canopy of whiteness above.

"Wow. It's really pretty," Fluttershy uttered.

"Well...I suppose for a forest that doesn't seem to be splashed in color," Rarity said. "Couldn't hurt to maybe have a little green...At least it's not as bad as the dull grayness of the sewers, and actually quite cleaner than it and all of Rogueport."

Punio skittered through the circle of flowers around the warp pipe, making his way to a path to the east. "The Great Tree is over this way. The elder and my friends are there, and my little sister, too...I hope she's ok..."

Leading the way, the little Puni guided his new, taller friends down the road to his home. Sadly, they didn't get far when they stopped suddenly, spotting a trio of strange-looking specters standing off to the side. Their skins were purple, though the only differences they could tell where their height and the different colored stripes on their hats: the smaller, elderly one with the blue-striped hat, the medium one with the red-striped hat, and the bigger, heftier one with the yellow-striped hat. The elder giggled maliciously as she addressed the other two beings.

"Time to go to work, lovelies!" she exclaimed. "Vivian, you understand what we've got to do, yessss?"

"Mhmm!" the one with the red-striped hat said with a nod. "First, we find this Mario guy and those 'pone-hies' like the purple one, then steal the map of the Crystal Stars, right?" While Vivian mulled over if those were the right instructions given to them, the group winced as they overheard them. They were going to have to steer clear of this trio of witches if they were looking for Mario and were working with the same group who kidnapped Peach and Twilight. "We can just do away with them, can't we?...Or is that bad?"

"Oh, bad things happen all the time, Vivian," the elder assured wickedly. "But you're right about our goals. If my information is correct, Mario and his little band of 'ponies', which is the right word for those magical creatures, they should be coming down the road any second now."

The group was actually glad they were too busy with their own discussion to notice them. Pinkie slowly pulled out a small basket of mustaches, placing one over her upper lip and holding the basket of fake facial hair to the others.

"Psst! Quick! Go incognito!" Pinkie whispered. "They won't know who we are if we're wearing mustaches!"

"Pinkie, Mario already has a mustache," Starlight pointed out. "I think that's going to make them figure us out even easier."

As the older witch started watching the road, completely oblivious of their targets standing in her line of sight, she noticed Vivian begin to fumble with something in her gloved hands. "Hmm? Vivian!? What are you fawning over!?"

"Huh?" Vivian held out her hands, showing the elder and the bigger witch a pearl necklace. "You mean this? I found this gorgeous necklace over by that tree a while back. It was so lovely, I-I just had to pick it up!"

"Hmph! For shame, Vivian!" the elder scolded. "Picking up someone else's scraps!? Disgusting! Greedy!" Vivian wilted and frowned sadly, putting away her new necklace. "Bah. Enough about that. Now, Vivian, my dear pack rat...Bring out the sketch of that Mario guy we got from Grodus if you please."

"H-Huh? B-But I don't have that, Beldam," Vivian said. "You said it was too important, so you took it. You're the one who has it."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Beldam shouted, making the red-capped witch whimper. "I don't have the darn thing! You were in charge of it! You wretched little worm; blaming me for something you probably screwed up!"

"B-But I..." Vivian's lower lip quivered as tears could be seen welling in her eyes from under her hat.

While Beldam constantly scolded Vivian, the yellow-capped witch looked over at the group watching them. Despite Starlight's earlier gripe for Pinkie's crazy idea of putting mustaches on everyone, Pinkie put them on all her friends, even putting one on Mario despite having real upper lip hair. Punio even had one on, his eyes closed in glee as he wiggled it around on his snout.

"Guh! Guh!" the bigger specter exclaimed, pointing at the group.

"Oh, what is it, Marilyn?" Beldam looked at where the more silent witch was constantly pointing at. "Hmm?...A large group of mustachioed travelers?" she questioned, most of the group leering at Pinkie with a deadpanned gaze, the pink earth pony grinning wide as she waved to the trio. "...This is no time for such nonsense, you great oaf! Save your games for later!"

Marilyn grunted again, trying to explain it wasn't a game, only to huff and pout, waiting for Beldam to stop being senile. Surprised to see Pinkie's odd plan had worked, the group slowly walked past them, avoiding their gaze while making sure their fake 'staches stuck to their upper lips.

"Don't mind us," Pinkie said. "Just a group of mustache travelers looking for mustaches to mustache...Mustache!"

"Pinkie, shush!" Applejack hissed.

They successfully walked past Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian, the former continuing scolding the latter as the others continued hearing their arguing. "Now, where was I?...Oh yeah! Vivian, you lost our sketch!"

"B-B-But I...I didn't..." Vivian stammered, telling the truth, but the unfortunate witch wasn't able to get through to her leader. "I-I never had the-"

"SILENCE, YOU DITZ!" Beldam screeched, stopping the heroic party as they stumbled from Beldam's outburst. Curious, they turned around and continued watching, starting to feel bad for Vivian taking all this abuse. "How dare you talk back to me like a rebellious child!? It's clear to me that the only rationale your type understands is force." Beldam glided over to the distressed witch, snatching the necklace Vivian found and intended to keep, which greatly upset Vivian. "For your punishment, I'll be taking that necklace you just found."

"W-What!? B-But, Beldam...!" Vivian sobbed, bringing her hands to her face as she struggled not to break down in tears.

Having heard enough, Mario and the gang continued onward, getting out of earshot from the three witches as they took off their fake mustaches, except for Punio, who kept his on. "Whoa...That didn't sound good at all," Rainbow said. "I mean, they're technically our enemies if they're looking for us...but I kinda feel bad for that one in the red hat."

The others voiced their concerns for Vivian as well. "She sounded pretty honest when she said she didn't have that sketch of Mario they were arguin' about earlier," Applejack said. "And Ah don't need to be the Element of Honesty to see that."

"Must be a pretty toxic relationship if that Beldam was that clueless to figure out who were were," Starlight added. "Thank goodness we passed them without getting into a confrontation. That's the last thing we need right now."

"Well, the Boggly Woods aren't really all that safe," Punio said as he continued leading the way. "There's some baddies that love to roam around, some that like to munch on us Punies as a snack."

"Thanks for the warning," Koops said. "But we can take them...right?"

Further down the road, Punio was right as they did encounter a few foes on the way. There were Clefts disguising themselves as rocks, their spiked heads making it hard for anyone to physically leap on them, Pale Piranha Plants that sprouted from the ground to chomp at them, and Dark Puffs that either tackled them or charged themselves up with electricity to shoot a lightning bolt down on them. Just like the Boggly Woods, the creatures in this area were also monochrome, blending in with the black, white, and gray landscape to catch them off guard. Luckily, they had the numbers and strength to take them down, and in no time at all, they found the Great Tree out in the distance.

"There it is!" Punio cheered. He skittered over to a nearby warp pipe stump, though there was a small hole near the ground that was small enough for a Puni like Punio to crawl through. "Through this warp pipe! It's the only way to get to the Great Tree! Hang on, everyone! I'm coming!"

They followed Punio down the pipe, reappearing in the one off in the distance and reached the Great Tree in no time. The home of the Punies was far taller than the rest of the forest, definitely suitable as a living space for small little critters like Punio and his family and friends. Unfortunately, something was completely out of place as they got closer; there was a red metallic door installed at the trunk of the giant tree, a red light glowing above it signalling it was electronically locked.

"Uhh, you Punies have doors like these? In a natural environment like the Boggly Woods?" Goombella asked curiously.

"No," Punio said, taking off his fake mustache as he moved closer to the door. "This wasn't here before...Someone installed it!" He rammed into it, grunting heavily as he struggled to push or slide the electronic door open. "I...can't...open it!" After another moment of pushing, Punio gave up, flopping on his belly with an exhausted sigh. "I thought I could finally save everyone..."

"Hey, let's not give up now," Rainbow said, flying over to the depressed Puni and helped him back up on his stubby legs. "There's gotta be some other way in, right? If not, we'll bust our way through!"

"Yeah, not through tough metal doors like that," Goombella said. "Those look like state of the art electronic doors, and the only way to open those up is to unlock it by a keycard or a switch on the other side. Not sure if Mario can bust it down, but I'm sure the locks are pretty heavily reinforced, and we have no idea how many of those X-Naut guys might be waiting for us."

"...Ok, there goes that plan," Rainbow uttered.

"Wait...I think there might be another way!" Punio said. He quickly scampered off to one of the large roots of the Great Tree, climbing up it to a higher point of the trunk, where a few thin branches connected the root to the height he was at over the locked door. "Long ago, the Puni elder told me about a secret entrance somewhere right around here...The problem is, it's kinda hard to find it. It's not like it's labeled 'Secret Entrance'."

"Not that much of a problem," Starlight gloated. "I can find this secret entrance with a simple scanning spell." Lighting up her horn, Starlight's aura flew out and began searching around the Great Tree for the secret entrance Punio mentioned. As the mist of light blue magic honed in on the area Punio pointed out, her horn flashed, signalling her successful search, though as she felt around for the entrance, she discovered something odd. "Whoa...This is...new."

"Did you find it?" Koops asked.

"Yes...but...what kind of magic IS this?" Starlight questioned. "I understand this is a different world and so is its magic, but...this invisible enchantment is so...strange..."

"You mean you can't reveal the entrance?" Rarity asked.

"I can try..." With her horn glowing again, she tried to cast a spell to dispel the mysterious invisibility enchantment on the secret entrance to the Great Tree. She grunted, barely able to break through it as the spell had wavered slightly, but it wasn't enough to get rid of it. She stopped after exerting herself, grumbling with frustration while rubbing her horn. "As powerful as I am, I don't think I can get rid of it. I doubt Twilight could as well if she was with us and we teamed up."

"Just how strong is it, Starlight?" Fluttershy asked.

"It looks flimsy like a piece of paper, but it's like trying to peel away said paper that's been super glued to the tree while it was also welded and bolted into the bark," Starlight explained.

"Well, great. Now what?" Goombella asked.

They sat around the tree, trying to figure out what to do next while Starlight studied this strange magical enchantment to find a way to break it.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Boggly Woods, there was a small yellow and purple house that stood out in the monochrome forest. Inside, the decor seemed to fit for someone who enjoyed the finer things in life with all the expensive furniture, vases, ceramic dishes in window display cabinets, even a luxurious bedroom where the owner of the out of place building floated about, letting out a relaxed sigh.

"These woods are absolutely wonderful," a female voice said aloud, as if proclaiming to an audience admiring her oncoming monologue. "Building a house here was just the FINEST idea I've ever had! So much different from the bright flashbulbs of the world I'm used to...Such peace...This negative image of the real world soothes my body and soul. But what's even better is that I, Madame Flurrie, grow ever more lovely here!

"Plus, those squishy, adorable little Punies that live in that tree are SO nice to me!" Flurrie let out a laugh as she floated around her room, running a hand over a few picture frames of herself. She seemed to reminisce on the old life she had before taking a temporary leave of absence from her busy occupation. "But...I suppose if I stay here too long, I'll begin to crave hustle and bustle before long! Oh, it's happening as I speak! Already I feel the need for drama! That moment of exhilaration when the spotlight shines down on the stage...On me! Surely I was born to be...an actress for the ages...

"It's settled, then. I shall rise again!...But, before I make my comeback, I simply must whip my body and mind into shape." She floated over to her vanity mirror, looking over her figure as she blew a kiss at her reflection. "Just a bit of makeup to make me even more beautiful, and-" While rummaging around for her beauty supplies, Flurrie paused as she got a better look at herself. "Wait a minute...Where's...?" Placing her hands around her neck, she gasped as she appeared to have lost something she was never without. She began to panic and rummage through her belongings, but finding no sight of her lost item. "NOOOOOOOO! It's gone! I can't believe it's gone! Where is my...!?"

After several moments of silent thinking, Punio finally got an idea, racing down the root he sat on to join the others on the ground. "I got it! I know who can help remove the invisible spell! Madame Flurrie!"

"Madame who?" Pinkie asked.

"She lives in the woods not too far from the Great Tree!" Punio said. "The elder says she's a wind spirit who can wield the power of wind with ease. Maybe she can use her wind powers to blow the spell away!"

Starlight hummed in thought, curious about meeting this wind spirit, Madame Flurrie. "Are you sure she can do it?" the unicorn asked.

"And is she willing to help us?" Rarity asked as well. "Somepony with the title 'madame' sounds like somepony who is refined and dignified."

"She is, actually. Kind of like you, Miss Rarity," Punio commented. "I'm sure she'll help us."

The others looked to Mario, the plumber shrugging his shoulders as they were left with that only option. With everyone agreeing to enlist Flurrie's help to get rid of the mysterious invisible spell around the secret entrance to the Great Tree, they made their way back out in the forest. After exiting the warp pipe, Punio lead the way to where the wind spirit lived, taking them further deeper in the Boggly Woods. This next section had some taller trees, another tree warp pipe with a flight panel attached to the top. Its height, however, wouldn't be able to help glide everyone up to the ledge of the upper level of the forest.

There was a blue switch in the background on white and black ringed stumps. Rainbow volunteered to press it, slamming her hooves down on it. It caused the warp pipe to grow taller, reaching a suitable height to help get everyone over to the other end without much difficulty. The flightless members of the party climbed through the warp pipe, Rainbow and Fluttershy flying on ahead while the latter carried Punio in her hooves. Since there wasn't much room at the top, Mario stood on the flight panel, activating his winged blessing as the rest of his friends glided across first, flying one by one until he was the last one left. Once they were all across, they found the house of Madame Flurrie in the distance, easily standing out in the monochromatic colors of Boggly Woods.

"Hey, something other than us with color!" Pinkie pointed out.

"Looks pretty fancy," Applejack noted. "Punio, are ya sure she ain't the kinda 'refined and dignified' spirit who might also be stuck up?"

"No, she's really friendly," Punio assured. "She knows a lot about us and visits from time to time."

"We'll take your word for it, Ah guess," Applejack uttered.

Making their way around the black fence of wooden, spiked posts, they found a warp pipe leading to Flurrie's house. They entered the regal home after exiting the other end of the warp pipe, marveling the interior design with the two-toned purple, checker patterned floors, some bouquets of pink flowers near the stairs, soft-looking couches, and a few ceramic dishes on display in a cabinet.

"Um, excuse me!" Punio called out. They were met with silence as they waited for a response. "Hmm...Maybe she's not home. She could be taking a walk in the woods."

"If she was a Dark Puff, then I think we may have already met," Goombella said jokingly.

Punio clambered up the steps and over to the door that must serve as Flurrie's bedroom. "Madame Flurrie!" he called out again as the others looked around the wind spirit's home. "If you're here, say something!"

The Puni tried to push the bedroom door open, only to hear a shriek as the door quickly slammed shut. "No, no! Don't come in! I'm indecent!"

"Madame Flurrie, it's me, Punio!" Punio said, everyone rushing over to the bedroom door after hearing the resident was indeed home and hiding from them.

"Punio...? Oh! Punio!" Flurrie exclaimed. "It has been an AGE since I last saw you!...Or rather, hear from you. Is there something wrong, dearie?"

"Depends on how bad that 'something' is," Koops mumbled, but Flurrie heard the Koopa, letting out a shocked gasp.

"Oh my! I have other guests as well!?" Flurrie exclaimed. "Oh no...I certainly cannot be out and about now...But, my issues shouldn't be important if you're here, Punio. What's happened?"

"Well...we have a problem that only you can help us with, ma'am," Punio began. "The Great Tree's entry hole is blocked by this metal door, and we can't get through. My friends are in a pickle, and I brought my new friends in hopes that they can help us, and they need the Crystal Star that's somewhere in our home. So, we need you to help reveal the secret entrance for us, otherwise we're doomed."

"Oh...Is that all?" Flurrie asked, her voice sounding sympathetic after Punio's explanation. "My little Punio, you know I would do anything in my power to help you and the other Punies...However, lamentably...I'm in a bind myself...I can't come out."

"Why not?" Starlight asked. "Because you're 'indecent'?"

"...Yes, as embarrassing as it to admit it," Flurrie said. "But I never go out anywhere without my necklace. I simply can't find it anywhere in my home! I must have dropped it during one of my walks around the woods. I absolutely MUST have that necklace to highlight my beauty, and if anyone saw me without it, it would be quite the scandal!"

"Must be a pretty fancy necklace if it's that important," Fluttershy said.

"Wait a minute...Didn't we see a necklace earlier?" Rarity asked. "One of those three ghost...things had a pearl necklace they found."

"A pearl necklace!?" Flurrie asked. "That must be it! Oh no, I hope they don't steal it from me! I'll forever be exposed without it!"

"Wow. She definitely sounds like Rarity with how dramatic she sounds," Rainbow said with a snicker, Rarity scoffing in offense at Rainbow's statement.

"Don't worry, Madame Flurrie," Punio said. "We'll get your necklace back."

"Oh, thank you, little Punio," Flurrie said. "I know introductions are important, but I will gladly greet you personally as soon as I get my necklace back. And I will help you get into the Great Tree."

"Ok. We'll be back in a flash," Goombella said.

They soon left Flurrie's home and began to make their way back to the trio of specters who have Flurrie's necklace.

Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian still stood where they were, the youngest and oldest of the trio still arguing. Beldam had finally found the sketch, which had been on her the whole time, frustrating Vivian while still greatly upset from the accusations.

"I TOLD you, Beldam!" Vivian exclaimed. "Blaming me for losing the sketch, and YOU had it!"

"Silence, you twit!" Beldam scolded. "Now is not the time to get hung up on stupid details! We must study this sketch!" Holding out the sketch of their target, the three witches found the odd mugshot of the plumber from the Mushroom Kingdom all too familiar, like they had seen him before. "Hmmm...He looks quite manly. And check out the bushy mustache...Wait a minute, didn't we see this gentleman before? And he had a double mustache?" Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian soon gasped in shock, the group that passed by them who they were looking for all this time. "Ahh! We've been fooled! That man with the mustache IS Mario! How genius; wearing another mustache over the real thing to hide his true identity." Marilyn let out a groan, shaking her head in exasperation. "Vivian, this is all your fault! I'll be dealing out a strict punishment for you later, my dearie! I promise you that!"

"W-What!? But that's not fair!" Vivian whined, once again taking the brunt of the blame when Beldam was the one who forgot she had the sketch of Mario in the first place. "You're the one who had the-"

"Silence, you squirrel-brain!" Beldam exclaimed. "Don't you cop that insolent attitude with me!" Vivian teared up again, glaring spitefully at the elder witch. "And about that necklace...I was thinking of returning it to you, but NO MORE!" Vivian gasped in shock, but kept her thoughts to herself, otherwise risk getting an even worse punishment. "Since you caused this problem, you have to figure out how to find this Mario and the other equines Lord Grodus wants us to find!"

They didn't need to look far as Mario lead his entourage of ponies, Goomba, Koopa Troopa, and Puni back to them to get back Flurrie's necklace. Marilyn spotted them, grunting and pointing at them, though Beldam and Vivian didn't pay attention, too wrapped up in their own bickering.

"Don't worry, guys, I got this," Pinkie said, putting on her fake mustache again as she strolled up casually to the witches. "Excuse me, my good...yous! My name is Moneybags Esquire III, and I am looking to buy some very fancy jewelry in this grayscaled forest! More specifically, the pearl necklace variety! Would you like me to pawn it off you for-" Pinkie pulled out a single coin from behind her and held it out to Beldam. "-one coin!?"

The heroes behind the bartering mare facepalmed, already failing to know the meaning of the term "barter" when jewelry is far more expensive than a single coin. Beldam spotted Mario, this time without his extra mustache, not letting him out of their sight again.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mario!" Beldam cackled. "You're not that bright to come right to us. And why is that? Because we've been waiting for you this whole time!"

"If you were looking for him, then how come you actually fell for Pinkie's dumb fake mustaches she forced us to wear?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't know how it worked, but it will not work on the likes of us again!" Beldam proclaimed. The party looked at each other, highly doubting a group like these three lacking that much insight could not be fooled so easily again. "Now, give us that map of yours, or I'll take it by force. But, whether or not you comply, we're going to use force anyway."

"Ok...maybe one coin's not enough," Pinkie said, ignoring the threatening statement while her friends prepared themselves for a fight. "How about...two coins!?"

She pulled out another coin, waving them around in Beldam's face. The elder witch was not amused by Pinkie's antics, reaching her hand out and tore the fake mustache off her upper lip. Beldam then showed off her power, clenching her fist and encased the disguise in a block of ice, snow particles spreading out around her hand as the ice was quickly formed.

"...Well, good thing I packed plenty of extra 'staches!" Pinkie said, only to yelp as Starlight dragged her back with them by the tail using her magic.

"So, you can use magic, huh?" Starlight said. "Just who are you three?"

"Mmmwee hee hee hee!" Beldam cackled. "Those who seek names are often disappointed, but if you insist, we'll tell you. We are..."

"The Three..." Marilyn said next, the others finding it odd to hear the bigger witch say something other than express with grunts.

"Shadow Beauties!" Vivian finished enthusiastically, making Beldam blanch and turn to leer at the red-capped specter.

"Vivian, you nincompoop! What are you babbling about!? It's Shadow SIRENS!" Beldam exclaimed. "I don't see three beauties! I see two, but then there's you, and you're PLUG-UGLY!"

The heroes lowered their guard as the two bickering Shadow Sirens went at it again. Yet again, they feel bad for Vivian, who is actually far more good looking than Beldam or Marilyn, and she's being scolded over messing up their group sound off.

"Oh, right...Sorry, Sis," Vivian apologized meekly. "It's just, you always call us 'lovelies', and..."

"It's a figure of speech, you nitwit!" Beldam said. "You're definitely going to be punished...but later. First, we have to deal with Mario and his friends!"

"Aww. I hate being punished," Vivian mumbled miserably.

"You three realize you're outnumbered three-to-one, right?" Goombella asked. "Even with whatever magic you have, it won't be enough!"

"Well, we'll show you, my pretty," Beldam assured with a wicked grin. "Let's do it, my lovelies...or rather, my lovely and ugly!"

Vivian frowned at that, her self-esteem brought even lower as the ugly comment was meant for her. "Some older sister you are if you three are actually siblings," Rarity said. "Why do you talk down to her like that?"

"Because she's a troublemaker and deserves to be taught her place!" Beldam reasoned, but the others found it as a pitiful excuse to hide her own embarrassing mistakes, like letting their enemies pass by them while arguing over a sketch of their target. "Marilyn! Vivian! Let's show them precisely what we can do!"

"Guh!"

"Yes, Sis!"

Punio quickly fled and ducked behind a tree, getting away from the fight against the Shadow Sirens. Rainbow made the first move, charging into the three witches with a hard flap of her wings. However, her speed was outmatched as all three Sirens suddenly sunk into the ground where their small tail-like tendrils were firmly attached to. Rainbow yelped, skidding to a halt, spreading white flower petals around her as she looked around for them.

"Where'd they go!?" Rainbow asked.

"They sank into the ground like shadows!" Goombella stated, pulling out her book to find out what exactly the Shadow Sirens were.

While looking at her book, everyone was unaware of Marilyn rising up from behind the bookworm Goomba. Pinkie suddenly felt one of her Pinkie Senses going off, quickly turning around to find the bigger Siren rearing her hands back to give Goombella a hard thwack.

"Behind you!" Pinkie shouted, then threw her hammer at the Siren.

"Guh?" Marilyn was distracted by Pinkie's outburst, only to grunt in pain as the mare's mallet struck her face. "GOOW!!!!"

The others quickly backed away from Marilyn, but when Mario tried to punch the yellow-capped witch, she disappeared into the ground again. "Where are they!?" Starlight exclaimed.

"Ah have no idea!" Applejack said. "They're like a bunch of shadows!"

"Wrong crossover! This is a Nintendo one, not a Square one!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Pinkie, darling, can you focus on the-!" Rarity was interrupted when she suddenly felt a chill on her leg, Beldam having popped up from the ground and gave the white unicorn a light, icy punch.

She shrieked from the freezing touch, only to be frozen in ice a second later. "Rarity!" Fluttershy shrieked, watching Beldam fade back down into the ground with a cackle.

Mario quickly ran up to the frozen unicorn, punching through the ice and freeing Rarity, her body shuddering as she began to slowly warm up. "T-T-T-Thank y-you, d-d-d-darling..."

Applejack tried to stomp on the blue-capped witch, but she missed as they disappeared too quickly. "Consarn it, they're too fast!"

"How do we even know where they are if they keep hiding in the ground!?" Rainbow asked, only to let out a yell when Vivian rose up from behind her and punched her flank, her ability being fire as she left a scorch mark on the cyan pegasus's behind. "Hey!" She tried to buck the red-capped witch, only to miss as Vivian sank back into the ground. "URGH! Quit hiding like cowards and fight us!"

It was impossible to tell where the Shadow Sirens would pop up, even without the patches of flowers covering where they hid under the earth. Mario activated his enhanced perception using the Lucky Star, his charm and eyes glowing white as he looked around, spotting the Shadow Sirens hiding and sneaking around underneath them, seen as white pulsating voids in his darkened vision. The biggest void, being Marilyn, headed straight for him, the plumber quickly backflipping out of the way as she rose up to try to punch him, her fists crackling with electricity as she swung.

Starting to get a little frustrated, Mario decided to test out the first Crystal Star's power. Pulling out the Diamond Star, he activated its magic, the star growing bigger as it hovered beside him. Despite its size, it was somehow able to fit everyone who weren't able to fly on its upper arms. He gathered everyone on top of it, not sure what exactly it would do, but they were just as curious to see what the Diamond Star could do. Mario began focusing, gathering energy inside the Crystal Star as it began to grow bigger and bigger, giving the others more room to sit as they waited anxiously for its power to be unleashed.

The Shadow Sirens rose up from the ground, wondering what happened to their opponents. "Where did they-?" Beldam asked, only to gawk in surprise as they looked up. "W-What in the-!?"

"Umm...is that star getting bigger?" Vivian asked nervously.

"No, it's getting smaller, you dense twit!" Beldam scolded sarcastically.

After gathering as much power as possible, the Diamond Star was now gargantuan in size, towering the trees around them. The Crystal Star then began to bounce up and down, the riders on top yelping as they held on, their stomachs flopping with each rise and drop. Upon impact with the ground, the Crystal Star managed to hit the ground hard enough to cause a quake that made the ground shoot up like the wave of a rolling ocean, growing bigger and bigger with each thud getting harder as it landed. The Shadow Sirens couldn't hide in time as they were knocked up in the air by the painful waves, the wisps of their tails still somehow connected to the ground no matter how high they were flung. After one last powerful bounce, the final, tallest wave sent the trio of witches flying high, their screams slowly fading before growing louder as they fell back down, crashing to the ground hard.

The Crystal Star shrunk, its ability complete as it allowed its user and his friends to leap down before shrinking back down to its original size. "Ugh, that felt like the worst roller coaster I never wanted to get on," Starlight groaned as a majority of the group eased their stomachs.

"Whoo hoo! Let's do that again!" Pinkie cheered. "Only this time, bounce higher!"

"How about no?" Rarity uttered, letting out a groan as her legs shook, still recovering from being frozen.

The Shadow Sirens grunted, slowly getting up as they recovered from the Diamond Star's special ability. "They're not done yet," Rainbow said, quickly getting behind Koops. "Hey, Mario, let's play a round of tennis! Koops is the ball!"

"W-Wait, tennis?" Koops questioned until he got the pegasus's plan. "Oh! Right!"

Quickly ducking in his shell, Rainbow kicked the Koopa hard, sending him flying straight into Beldam. The elder Siren yelped as she was hit in the face, making her arms flail as she accidentally tossed Flurrie's necklace in the air, losing Vivian's "garbage" she was hoping to keep away. Starlight quickly caught it with her magic before it hit the ground, or got in Mario and Rainbow's way as they struck Koops back into the Sirens repeatedly. They alternated aiming at Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian for a minute before the elder had enough, unleashing a small blizzard on Koops as he came right toward her again. Koops yelped from the sudden chill, his body turning into ice as he slid back to the others after getting blown back.

"Gah. Maybe we were a touch overconfident," Beldam said. "Marilyn, Vivian, we would have won if you two pulled your weight! Both of you prepare for a world-class punishment session when we get back!"

Marilyn and Vivian followed Beldam as they fled, Vivian somehow tripping despite having no limbs to trip over with her wispy tail embedded in the ground before chasing after her sisters. No longer needing to deal with the Shadow Sirens and their insane power to sink into the ground like a void to avoid their attacks, they got what they needed to get Flurrie's assistance to get in the Great Tree.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Punio said, skittering out of his hiding spot. "That's definitely Madame Flurrie's necklace! We should get it back to her!"

"Right...but right after we get Koops unthawed," Goombella said.

Mario punched and shattered the ice around Koops, the Koopa Troopa popping out of his shell with a shudder. "W-Well, g-good thing I'm w-wearing a sweater..."

"I hope we don't run into those Shadow Sirens again," Fluttershy said as they made their way back to Flurrie's home.

After a long trip back through the Boggly Woods, along with dealing with more of the monochrome forest's inhabitants, the party finally made it back to Flurrie's house, entering her front door and stood before the wind spirit's bedroom door. "Madame Flurrie, we found your necklace!" Punio announced.

"Oh, by the Stars! Thank you all so much!" Flurrie said gratefully. "...But, I don't want you all to see me just yet. Just leave my necklace by the door. And no peeking!"

Starlight levitated Flurrie's necklace by her door, which cracked open slightly, the spirit's pale grayish-purple hand reaching out to grab it and quickly close the door. "Well, we're finally going to see what she looks like," Goombella said.

"The question is what DOES a wind spirit like Flurrie look like," Starlight said.

After a moment of waiting for the wind spirit to get herself ready, the lights suddenly dimmed in the room and a disco ball lowered from the ceiling as music began playing. "Uhh...what's happening?" Koops asked.

Flurrie's bedroom door finally opened up and the wind spirit floated out, showing herself to her guests, and they were surprised to see what she looked like. Her body was a pale grayish-purple, each part of her rounded figure bouncing with each movement like she was a living cloud, especially her rounded breasts protruding from her chest. She hovered in the air with no legs, fitting for someone known as a wind spirit, gold bracelets on her wrists, green pearl earrings, and her pearl necklace hanging around her neck and shown off thanks to her bosom. Her hair was a shade of light purple, wildly styled similarly to that of a mad scientist's, but for Flurrie, it seemed to suit her as a wind spirit. She also had big red lips, though whether she added lipstick or not was unknown as they were a perfect cherry red.

Mario and Koops's jaws dropped, their cheeks blushing madly at Madame Flurrie's entrance. "...U-Umm...W-Wow," Koops mumbled, quickly bringing his hands to his bashful face before pushing his head down in the neck of his shell. "T-T-That's...NOT indecent???"

Flurrie giggled, spinning around and flaunting her looks, giving Mario a seductive wink while holding out her hand in a sign with all but her middle and ring finger extended. "Hello, everyone," Flurrie greeted. "I do apologize for being a drama queen, but I am glad to finally meet you all in person...Especially the hunk who helped bring back my necklace." Mario flinched, looking around to see if she meant Koops, but Flurrie was definitely looking at him. "I simply must thank my hero for finding my special necklace...Perhaps if I...gave you a little sugar?"

Mario yelped, chuckling nervously as he shook his head rapidly, politely declining the offer. Too bad Flurrie wasn't going to take no as an answer, swiftly flying past the girls, bumping past Koops, then grabbed the shocked plumber and planted a massive smooch on Mario's cheek that lasted for several seconds. Mario flailed his limbs, trapped in the wind spirit's surprisingly powerful grasp until she finally let go, pulling back with a loud smack while leaving behind a giant kiss mark on the flustered plumber's face. The girls laughed at his expression, even as Mario fell over in shock, his foot twitching as he let out a dazed groan.

"That is definitive proof right there; Mario definitely has a way with all the ladies he helps," Rarity commented.

Flurrie turned to her other guests, not surprised like any others to meet the six ponies from another world. "My, my. I know I can be a rare oddity back in the city, but you six really take the cake," Flurrie said. "And I was so rude to give Mr. Handsome his reward that I skipped the introductions."

"Well, I'm Starlight Glimmer," Starlight said. "And this is Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Goombella-" She then pointed a the knocked over males in the group. "-and that's Koops and Mario. And if you're wondering about what me and my friends are, we're ponies, and we come from a world called Equestria."

"Hmm...I read something about a new world that had opened up in the newspaper down in the Mushroom Kingdom," Flurrie said to herself. "And it must be quite a world if you ponies are as cute as buttons like Punio."

"I'm not that cute," Punio grumbled with a pout, but Flurrie giggled, floating over to the Puni and patted his head.

"Yeah, neither am I," Rainbow added. "I don't do cute."

"And yet your hair is like a rainbow," Flurrie pointed out. Mario and Koops got back up, both of them keeping their eyes above the wind spirit's prominent chest as she got back to the point of their visit and request. "Now, earlier, you had mentioned something about the Crystal Stars. Are they the very same ones I've heard from the lowlifes down in Rogueport?"

"Yes, and they are real," Starlight said.

Mario pulled out the Diamond Star, showing Flurrie the genuine Crystal Star in their possession. "Oh my...A danger-filled search for beautiful jewels...How absolutely marvelous! And here I thought I was going to be frightfully bored out here by myself! I believe it's time for a change!"

"So, you actually want to join us for a lot longer than helping us get inside the Great Tree?" Rarity asked.

"Why, of course," Flurrie said. "I don't need much convincing with Mario's plush mustache already swooning me since I first laid eyes on him."

She winked at Mario, who let out a nervous groan while lowering the brim of his hat over his eyes. "Well, glad to have you aboard, Miss Flurrie!" Pinkie said. "The more, the merrier!"

"Let's hurry back to the Great Tree!" Punio exclaimed. "I'm starting to worry about how much damage those X-Nauts did to my home, and if the others are ok!"

"Oh, you're absolutely right!" Flurrie said, bringing her hands together and cracked her knuckles, giving a serious gaze as she looked out one of her windows. "No one hurts these little Punies while I'm around. Look out, your brutes, because you're going to be blown away by Madame Flurrie."

Now with Madame Flurrie in tow, party left the wind spirit's house and quickly made their way back to the Great Tree.

A Very Puni Rescue

Back at the Great Tree, the group returned with the newly joined wind spirit, Madame Flurrie. Flurrie hovered up to where Punio climbed up on the root, observing the location where the secret entrance was supposed to be.

"Ah, I see," Flurrie said, letting out an amused chuckle. "I thought the secret entrance was camouflaged to others who would want to harm the Punies."

"You can see the illusion?" Starlight asked, astounded. "I could feel the magical enchantment, but I just can't seem to get rid of it. It's so powerful that not even my own magic alone isn't enough to even breach a fraction of it."

"Oh, it's magical alright," Flurrie said. "But, even if your own unique magic might be strong, it's nothing compared to illusion spells like these. Tell me, Starlight, did the illusion 'feel' strange when you probed it with your magic?"

"Yeah. It was actually kind of frail and light, almost like a sheet of paper, but when I tried to erase it or pull it, it felt like it was superglued to the area, and no amount of powerful adhesive could get it unstuck if it was possible." Starlight emphasized her explanation, trying to pull off the thin illusion, but it wouldn't budge. "I'm just as powerful as our friend Twilight, and she's an alicorn, ponies with far stronger magic than average unicorns."

"Mhmm...Well, none of you have ever seen illusions like this, so it's perfectly reasonable," Flurrie said. "As a spirit, some of us can do incredible feats. Wind spirits like myself can create powerful winds, mostly blowing away adoring fans." She laughed at her little pun, then regained her composure when she didn't get a chuckle out of the others. "But our breath can also reveal some of these hidden illusions, which might have been cast by someone who got their hands on such a trick to hide other entrances to their homes, important treasures they don't want others to take, or just to pull a prank and confuse unfortunate victims when they bump into something they can't see. These are nothing for a powerful spirit like myself."

Flurrie hovered up to the illusion and took in a deep breath. When she exhaled, she released a powerful stream of air, rustling some of the branches of the Great Tree even though her powerful breath was not even aimed at canopy of the large monochrome tree. The gust of wind began to reveal the illusion for everyone else, making it flutter like a piece of paper slightly before it was blown off, drifting away until it disappeared. The others gasped in awe, not even looking at the small hole that was revealed that had a neon sign that read "SECRET ENTRANCE" above it as they saw how easily Flurrie got rid of the paper-like illusion.

"You mean all we have to do is blow air into them, and they disappear like that!?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "I call dibs on blowing away the next fake illusion thingie!"

Flurrie laughed in amusement as she floated back down to the pink earth pony. "No, no, no, my dear, not just any simple blowing of air will do," she reiterated. "My power alone is able to get rid of them. I know you have your own kind of magic, and yours is..." Flurrie paused as she stared at Pinkie, the pony blinking her eyes with an eager gaze, which made the wind spirit nervous with the exact words she had to think over so as to not hurt her feelings. "...incredibly unique, but some specifically unique magics can cancel other unique magics."

"Ohhhhh...Well, darn," Pinkie said, slightly disappointed. "I was gonna try to use my party cannon if it had enough of a blast to blow it away. Or up. Whichever comes first!"

"A party what?" Flurrie asked. Pinkie pulled out her special cannon, shocking the spirit after dragging it from out of nowhere. "...Where did you-?"

"Don't ask!" Goombella exclaimed before the other ponies could explain Pinkie. "Please, Flurrie, if you love your sanity, do not ask how she does the things she does, because you will never figure it out!"

Flurrie looked at the others, a bit startled by the reason, but willing to take the frantic Goomba's word for it. "Well, since the secret entrance is revealed now, I'm gonna open up that metal door," Punio said, balancing his way across the thin branches, then crawled into the secret entrance.

Pinkie put away her party cannon, saving it for her next unfortunate foe in need of a blast of confetti, or a party needing to be set if that comes first. "So, Flurrie, what do you do for a living?" Rarity asked to pass the time until Punio got them inside. "You don't look like the camping type with how lavish your home is."

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I used to be a rather famous actress," Flurrie said.

"Whoa, really?" Koops asked in surprise. "You acted in movies?"

"More like theater, dear Koops," Flurrie said. "I was known as Madame Flurrie the world over; a diva on the stage. But I stopped because of the filthy air outside the spotlight."

"Ah, I see," Rarity said. "I can see where you come from. The same is said for me and my own boutiques in Canterlot and Manehattan. As sophisticated as those cities might be and how much business I get, it can get a bit frustrating dealing with certain customers while I oversee them at times. I prefer my Carousel Boutique in Ponyville because of how rustic the town is. That and being my home since I was a filly."

"Which is the exact reason I came out here to these woods," Flurrie continued. "And soon enough, I glimpsed the beauty of these Punies and their pure little hearts...It reminded me of my own innocence as an actress." She sighed, feeling nostalgic as she thought back on her first days as a young upcoming star. "That made me realize how much I love the stage. I must have the spotlight shine down on me again, oh how I must! These little Punies helped me find my true self, which is why I must help them before I go on my own adventures."

"But can you defend yourself, or did you only have experience 'fighting' in your acts?" Rainbow asked curiously.

"Ho ho ho, can I defend myself?" Flurrie repeated, highly amused by her new friends' curiosity of her life. "I may be a diva, but I'm no slouch when it comes to beating back ruffian fans who thought I was a sham."

Before Flurrie got into details of some scuffles she got into with some disrespectful hecklers, they heard the sound of a beep by the electronic door. The red light above the door now turned green, then slid open and Punio walked out.

"Hey, guys! I managed to get it opened from inside!" Punio said ecstatically. "Come on, let's hurry!" Punio scurried back inside the Great Tree, the others following after him with the door sliding closed behind them once they all walked through the entrance. The interior of the tree wasn't exactly how the visiting members expected, streaks of blue along the black bark that seemed to look like the tree was underwater with bubbles flowing up in the out of place sections of the walls. There were some gray bushes scattered around, two large, curved black gourds with white markings between a pedestal with a Puni in the middle, a wooden warp pipe on the other side of the room, and another electronic door that was locked near the warp pipe. "Huh? Weird. Normally, everyone's right here. Helloooo!? Elder! Anyone! Come on out!"

"Are they hiding because we look scary?" Fluttershy asked, greatly concerned that they startled the other Punies.

The door on the other side of the room unlocked, where two goons in red and white walked out to check on the commotion. Surprised by who was intruding, the duo ran toward them, their appearance shocking Goombella, Mario, and the ponies, recognizing the outfits they wore.

"Hey, how did you guys get in here!?" one of them asked.

"You guys again!?" Goombella exclaimed.

"You know who these guys are?" Koops asked.

"Know them!? They ambushed us in Rogueport with that guy in purple!" Rainbow said.

"Don't tell me these guys are the X-Nauts are the same ones who attacked us at the port," Starlight grumbled.

"Whoa, check it out!" the other X-Naut said, pointing at the red plumber. "Isn't he that Mario guy?"

"He totally is!" the first one said. "We better get him, then!"

"But, dude, Lord Crump told us to tell him IMMEDIATELY if we found Mario!" the second X-Naut said, reminding his friend their orders.

"You idiot! Use your head!" the first X-Naut scolded. "If we capture him, we'll get all the credit, man! Duh!"

While the two X-Nauts talked with each other over how capturing Mario would earn them bragging rights, Flurrie hovered in front of her friends, leering at the duo who intruded on her little friends' home. "So, you must be the nasty brutes who are hurting my adorable little Punies, eh?"

"Huh? Who the heck are you?" the second soldier asked.

"Who cares!? Just get them!" the first one scolded, then yelled and charged forward. Flurrie blew out a powerful gust of wind, sending the X-Naut spinning rapidly as he screamed. As soon as she stopped, he slowed down and staggered, his head spinning with his eyes rolling around behind his goggles. "Whoooaaaaaa! Stop spinning the world, mommy!"

"Time to feel the might of the Madame Flurrie!" Flurrie announced, launching herself and let out an opera-like wail.

She landed on the dazed X-Naut with her entire body, squishing him while he let out a painful grunt. The other X-Naut winced, backing away slowly as Flurrie floated over his crushed partner. She peeled the flattened X-Naut from the ground, then wound her fist up and punched him back into his friend. The others watching were amazed to see just how well the wind spirit actress could hold her own in a fight, especially her body slam able to squish her foes into pancakes.

"Uhh, ok, I think it's best to tell Lord Crump instead!" the conscious X-Naut quickly said, carrying his friend with him as they ran back through the door and locked it.

Flurrie scoffed, dusting off her hands before placing them on her hips. "I'll bet there's more of them hiding somewhere. How dare they defile such a beautiful tree with technology, and harm the Punies as well?"

Starlight heard rustling nearby, looking over at the large gourds and statue, where she caught a glimpse of something gray before it skittered behind the statue. "Uhh, I don't think we're alone still," she said.

Punio turned to the gourds, spotting an antenna sticking out from one side. "There you guys are!" he said. He skittered over to another Puni, this one definitely fitting the description that was in Prof. Frankly's book. "What are you guys doing hiding back here!? I brought us some powerful friends who can help us! Come and meet them!"

Slowly, one by one, eight more normal Punies poked their heads out, muttering worriedly as they stared at the group. They also spotted Flurrie, feeling a little more confident as the nine regular Punies slowly came out, though they kept their distance as they stood at Punio's side opposite of the visitors.

"Wow, they look just like the ones in Prof. Frankly's book," Goombella said in awe. "I guess there are some Punies who have a different skin pattern or antenna than the usual ones."

"Is this really all of you?" Punio asked, slightly confused as he counted the nine other Punies. He noticed his friends were still a little frightened, especially when they saw the awed look on Fluttershy's face at the increased numbers. "Hey, relax, guys. They're not dangerous. In fact, they're going to save us. Let me introduce you to them. That is Mario, and that's-"

"Hold on a minute!" a voice called out from behind one of the gourds. Yet another Puni came out, only this one was a bit bigger, almost like it was fatter with its chubby cheeks, though it had an orange antenna than the regular Punies' yellow. "How do you know they're our allies, Punio? For all we know, they could be working for those X-Nauts!"

"Puniper, they're not with those bad people!" Punio argued. "With Mario, Starlight, and everyone here, we can take back our home and kick out those X-Nauts!"

"Hah! Big, bad Punio. Listen to yourself, trying to sound all important. You have no idea what we've been through since you left to find help!" Puniper came out of his hiding spot, shoving Punio aside and confronted the group. "How can you be so sure we can trust-?"

"Awww, he's so cute!" Fluttershy squealed, grabbing Puniper and squeezed him in a hug, surprising the chubby Puni. "And so squishy! Ooh, chubby Punies are more adorable!"

"AHHH! Help! I'm gonna get eaten!" Puniper shouted, wiggling his feet trying to break free, but it was no use.

"No. She just thinks we're cute and tries to snuggle us to death," Punio joked as he chuckled, watching his friend squirming out of the animal-loving pegasus's grasp. Fluttershy finally let Puniper go, the fat Puni skittering far enough away from her to avoid getting hugged to his demise. "But what's going on here? Why are there so few of you, anyway?"

"What do you think!? They've been captured!" Puniper said. "Everyone, the elder...even your sister."

Punio gasped in horror. "WHAT!? Petuni!? Not my little sister!"

"She'll be fine," Puniper assured the panicking Punio. "She was taken with the others. All because we wouldn't tell them where we hid that crystal thing they kept asking about. We told them we never heard of it, and they didn't believe us."

"I have to go find her!" Punio said.

He tried to scurry away, but Puniper blocked his friend's path. "Are you crazy!? We can't do anything to them! And even if we could, they have the cursed Jabbi tribe working with them! With these X-Naut guys invading, they plan on taking over our tree once we're driven out!"

"What in Equestria is a 'Jabbi'?" Applejack asked.

"Umm...Let's see," Goombella muttered as she flipped through the pages of her mighty almanac to find what a Jabbi was and what it looked like. While Punio tried to continue convincing his skeptical friend to fight back, the studious Goomba found the page. It looked like a gray mosquito of sorts, though seemed slightly off with its curved body, large wingspan, and cocked eyes. "Eww. That's a Jabbi?"

"Yes, indeed," Flurrie said. "I caught a glimpse of one of them when I visited the tree one day. A bit of a rivalry between the Punies and Jabbies, but I prefer aiding the Punies since this has been their home for centuries."

"Oh, do we have to fight these little guys?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "I don't want to hurt any of them."

"If they're working with the X-Nauts, I don't think we'll have much of a choice, Fluttershy," Rainbow said.

After Punio and Puniper finished their arguing, Punio skittered over to his non-Puni friends. "Ok, Puniper doesn't seem to understand, but if we can convince him to get a revolution started, he'll join us in taking back the Great Tree."

"Then let's start a revolution!" Pinkie cheered. "They may take our tree, but they can't take our cute adorableness!"

Mario approached Puniper, backing away a little out of worry, but the plumber reassured him that he and his friends will help save the rest of the Punies and liberate the Great Tree from the X-Nauts. "...Good luck with that, then," Puniper said, then skittered over to the other Punies, who were torn between helping or hiding.

"I'll show you, Puniper," Punio promised, leering at his friend before skittering over to the nearby warp pipe, the others following after him as they went through and went up another level in the tree.

"Puniper's not really a nice Puni, is he?" Koops asked.

"I don't really blame him for being afraid," Punio said. "But I can't sit around doing nothing knowing my sister's captured by those jerks! I'm sure if we can at least rescue the elder, he'll change his mind and join us, and so will the other Punies."

"Let's hope they weren't taken away from the tree," Starlight said.

The group continued onward, passing by a mysterious pedestal that had the number ten on it, along with a panel near it that looked like some kind of pressure plate, both objects black and white just like the rest of the region's setting. Passing it, they entered the next warp pipe, going up further and running into more X-Naut troops. Along with them, there were strange X-shaped mechanical foes that shot circular beams at them while also popping out small triangular ones that created a barrier to protect the bigger one. Once they were beaten and they were safe for the meantime, they went through another pipe leading to the upper ledge in this room, only to run into another one of these machines firing at them. Flurrie took care of this one with her body slam, crushing it and saving them from being blasted.

"What in Equestria were those things?" Applejack asked.

"Maybe it says something in Goombella's magical book of tattling," Pinkie suggested.

"'Magical book of tattling'? My books aren't-" Goombella tried to say, but Pinkie snatched her book and flipped through the pages. "Hey!"

"Hmmm...Hey, here it is!" Pinkie cheered. "See? I knew it was a magic tattle book. It has info on all the baddies we face when we first see them!...But why couldn't we see their hit points?"

"Gimmie back my book!" Goombella scolded, swiping the book away from the party pony.

"Yeah, she's definitely our backup Twilight if she loves her books that much," Rainbow teased, earning a raspberry from the Goomba.

Looking at the page Pinkie was on, she was surprised to see information on the mysterious X-shaped machine. "...They're called a 'Yux'...And the little things that come out of it after it attacks are 'Mini-Yux'...They're obviously machines the X-Nauts built just from their shape alone." Goombella slowly closed the book, putting it away, and let out a heavy sigh. "Maybe it is magical because Pinkie's weird magic rubbed off on it, because that book is meant to hold info on creatures DOCUMENTED in specific areas of the region."

"Well, if it helps us discover our enemies' weaknesses, I won't complain one bit," Flurrie said.

They continued on and reached another pipe leading up, Goombella finally giving up trying to figure out how Pinkie Pie was able to pull off the weirdest things, especially with her own book she's kept since she arrived in Rogueport.

Meanwhile, in a storage room inside the Great Tree, an X-Naut stood watch over the supplies they had brought for their search. "Ugh...This is so boring," he grumbled. "When are we going to find that stupid Crystal Star? Those puny Punies don't even know where it is. And they live here!" He then sighed, leaning against a crate of supplies, bored and irritated with his post. "After all this pointless searching, I think we might be looking in the wrong place..."

Suddenly, jumping down from a hidden hole in the wall, a mysterious rodent-like shadow jumped down near the X-Naut. He turned to see who it was, only to let out a grunt as he was struck hard in the abdomen. With the air knocked out of him, he fell unconscious with a wheeze, falling to the ground. The attacker snickered, then turned to the treasure chests in the makeshift supply room for the X-Nauts.

Up through this pipe, the party found what appeared to be holding cells, clearly not naturally made in the Great Tree. There were two large cells; one blue and the other red. Punio gasped when they saw what was in the red cell, the one closest to the pipe.

"Elder!" Punio called out, skittering over to the bars.

Inside was an elderly Puni, her upper body a darker gray while the lower part was a bit lighter, wrinkles lined around her snout, and her antenna was drooped slightly with a purple orb. "Punio, is that you?" the Puni Elder asked, slowly walking over to the bars to get a closer look at Punio. "You're looking quite well today."

"H-Huh!? Why are you so calm!?" Punio exclaimed. "You're trapped! We're here to rescue you!"

"Oh, a rescuing, is it?" Elder Puni asked. "Well, thanks, I suppose. Those are quite exciting." She then glanced over to the others, barely batting an eye at the mysterious rescuers unlike the other wary ones back near the entrance to the tree. "And you brought friends. But I think you should rescue the others before me."

Punio sighed in annoyance at the elder's nonchalant behavior, the others approaching the cell to get a better look at the leader of the Punies. "So, you're the elder of the Puni Tribe?" Starlight asked.

"Yes, she is indeed, and not like the other Punies when it comes to bigger strangers," Flurrie said, giving the elder a small wave.

"Where are the other Punies?" Goombella asked.

"Punio!? Is that you!?" a young, feminine voice called out from the next cell.

"Petuni!?" They moved over to the next cell, the whole group sans Flurrie and Punio staring in shock at how many Punies were trapped in the blue cell. There were dozens of normal Punies holed up together, shocking them at how possible it was to trap so many of them in one big cell, but one stood out from the others as a pink orb floating among the yellow swung about as a Puni pushed through the others. Appearing in front of the cell before Punio was a younger Puni, most of her body gray with a few darker gray spots on her back. "Petuni! Oh, thank the Stars you're here! And safe!"

"I knew you'd come for me!" Petuni said, both brother and sister nuzzling each other through the bars.

"Of course I would," Punio said. "And I brought some pretty tough friends to help us."

Petuni looked behind her brother, finally noticing Mario, his new allies, and the six ponies, ignoring the gushing look on Fluttershy's face after watching her nuzzle Punio. "Wow...That's a lot of help. I like the one with the rainbow hair. It's pretty!"

"Yeah, Rainbow Dash definitely stands out more than everypony in Boggly Woods!" Pinkie teased, the prismatic pegasus rolling her eyes in response.

"Don't worry, guys! Just sit tight and we'll find a way to get you all out," Punio promised.

"Ok!" Petuni said while the others silently nodded, putting their faith in Punio.

"There's not really much else to explore if we can't get through that mechanical door," Applejack thought aloud. "Only other place Ah see that we can look for some kind of jail key is in the next room over there."

With no other option, the group headed over to the next room to search for a key to either of the two cells. There were a lot of crates stacked nearby, clearly belonging to the X-Nauts with their signature "X" insignia. They expected at least one guard looking over their supplies, and they found him, but instead of standing, he was knocked unconscious.

"What happened to this guy?" Rainbow asked.

They heard some rummaging on the other side of the room, where they could see a familiar heart-shaped tail wagging around. "Ms. Mowz?" Rarity called out.

The tail stiffened, and poking her head out from the chest she ransacked, she stuffed her stolen goods away and walked out to reveal herself. "Well, well, well, fancy meeting you all again," Ms. Mowz said. "We must stop meeting up like this."

"I'm sorry?" Flurrie asked questioningly. "Do you all know her?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately," Goombella grumbled, giving the mouse thief a leer.

"Is she a friend of yours?" Flurrie asked. She looked at Ms. Mowz as she slowly walked over to them, her tail swaying back and forth as she eyed Mario. The wind spirit's gaze drooped to a leer as she got a good understanding why Goombella didn't appreciate her appearance. "Oh...I see...And I most certainly do NOT approve..."

"Let me guess: more badges for you to swipe?" Starlight asked.

"And you found a doozy of a badge, too!?" Pinkie asked. "Can we have it this time?"

"Sorry, dearie, but finders keepers is the rules," Ms. Mowz teased, making the pink pony frown sadly. "I didn't expect to run into more trouble than I expected." As she passed the unconscious X-Naut she knocked out, she gave his side a small kick with her red heel. Her eye glinted when she looked back at Mario, the plumber preparing himself for what was to come as he readied himself. Ms. Mowz swiftly lunged toward him, and Mario was ready to block his face, only to not expect her to slip through his legs, use her tail to send him off balance, then backflipped, giving him an upside-down kiss on the cheek before passing him and landing back near the X-Naut. She giggled at Mario's shock and all but Goombella and Flurrie's awe at her moves, the Goomba and wind spirit fuming over the mouse's flirting over red plumber. "Lovely to see you again, though, Mario. A bit too slow to expect the same results."

"Wow. That was actually kinda sneaky," Rainbow commented. "Hey, why don't you join us?"

"Absolutely not!" Goombella and Flurrie exclaimed simultaneously.

"Oh? Do I hear a hint of jealousy from you two?" Ms. Mowz teased, wiggling her hips and giving the two clearly jealous party members a wink. Goombella and Flurrie huffed in response, Koops slowly sidling away nervously to avoid taking the brunt of their frustrations if they couldn't catch the mouse thief. "Don't worry. I've had my fun, and I got what I was looking for anyway." Ms. Mowz bounded up the crates and up to a higher ledge, where she found her way inside the Great Tree. She looked down at the group, giving them a little bit of a hint if they were here for the same reason they were in Hooktail's Castle. "The precious Crystal Star you're all looking for is at the bottom of this tree, if you're curious."

"H-How do you know there's a Crystal Star here?" Koops asked, shocking everyone.

"You're here for a reason like me, right? So I figured you were looking for one that was here, and most of these types of treasures are always hidden at the highest or lowest section of certain locations," Ms. Mowz said with a laugh. "Besides, I overheard these guys talking about searching for a Crystal Star and started searching all over this tree for it. Good luck getting it before these strange wannabe thugs. And take care of yourself, my handsome 'stache superstar." She winked at Mario, the plumber still reeling from the brilliant maneuver she pulled while rubbing his kissed cheek. "Let's get together again real soon."

Ms. Mowz finally made her exit with her treasure after blowing Mario a kiss. "I really, really don't like her," Goombella grumbled. She then leered at Rainbow Dash for her earlier comment. "You really want her to join us? Why in the name of all Mushrooms and Fire Flowers did you think suggesting her to join our expedition!? She's a thief, and the moment our backs are turned, she's gonna swipe what Crystal Stars we find!"

"Didn't sound like she was fibbin' to me when she said she found what she needed," Applejack said. "And she did help us figure out how to beat Hooktail with that sound makin' badge in that castle."

"She may be a thief, but you can always count on a thief class to steal some goodies!" Pinkie said. "I say we recruit her the next time we see her!"

"I still don't trust her," Goombella growled.

"Are you sure you two aren't just jealous of her?" Koops asked. His question earned two deadly glares from the Goomba archaeologist and the wind spirit actress. Gulping nervously, he giggled timidly with his hands up in defense, backing further away from the two obviously jealous females and hid behind Starlight. "N-Never mind..."

"Ugh..." The unconscious X-Naut began to wake up, grunting in pain as he sat up while clutching his abdomen. "That really hurt...What happened?" Looking around to find the attacker, he spotted Mario and his entourage, thinking they were the ones who sucker punched him. "Hey! You guys are real dirtbags for hitting me from behind! Real fair!"

"Shut up and go back to being unconscious!" Goombella said, letting out a yell and charging into the X-Naut with a headbutt in his gut.

He let out a wheezed grunt, mercilessly pummeled by the fuming Goomba girl as she headbonked him repeatedly until he was knocked out again. After taking out her frustrations on the enemy, Goombella felt a lot better as she let out a stress-relieved sigh.

"Feeling better after unleashing your jealousy on an unfortunate soul?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, and I'm not jealous! At all!" Goombella kicked the downed X-Naut while denying her jealousy, hitting a key out of his pocket. Humming curiously at what she hit, she picked up a red key that seemed to fit the lock for the red cell holding Elder Puni. "Well, at least we can free the elder."

"And have Puniper rally with us to get our home back," Punio added. They headed back into the prison room and approached Elder Puni's cell. Mario took the red key from Goombella and unlocked the door, opening it for Punio to enter and get his elder to safety. "Elder, you're free! Let's head back to-!"

"FOOLISH CHILD!!!!" the elder screeched, somehow growing bigger and towered over Punio for a moment before shrinking back down to her original size. "Punio, sit down this instant and shut your mouth!"

"H-Huh? What? Why? What did I do?" Punio asked nervously, his friends watching with shock at how gargantuan Elder Puni got. "Why are you mad at me?"

"Stop your mumbling and mind your elders, whelp!" the old Puni scolded. "How could you just abandon your poor sister and run off like that!? Absolutely shameful!"

"B-But...I went to find help...to rescue you guys..." Punio muttered pathetically, terrified of the Puni elder.

"Oh, stop with the whining! You never interrupt an elder mid-lecture! NEVER!" Elder Puni continued lecturing Punio, nervous sweat beading down his head as he was reprimanded for trying to save his tribe. Everyone else watched, feeling pity for Punio, and they had a feeling they would get scolded by the elder if they tried to interrupt her as well. Her rant felt like it went on forever as an hour passed, the outsiders having fallen asleep while Punio was wide awake, still hearing out her lecture while also being reminded of his future, why other Punies called him names, everything about his life he already knew that he didn't need to know. "...or else! You got that? From now on, you've got to get your act together, Punio!"

"Y-Yes, elder. Yes, I understand," Punio said.

"Bah! Only answer ONCE!" Elder Puni scolded again. Punio quickly nodded his head, understanding perfectly. "...By the way, why are you here, anyway?"

Punio let out a heavy sigh, dreading getting a repeat lecture for running off to find help. "I was just telling you...We came to rescue you, and we...started with you since you were more...important?"

"Oh! Well why didn't you just say so!?" Punio let out another sigh, shaking his head in disbelief. "In that case, get me out of here already! This cell is cold, which isn't good for the old back, and this damp stench is making me nauseous..."

Elder Puni continued rambling about her captivity as she walked out of the cell, climbing over the sleeping ponies in her way, waking them up with her tiny feet tickling them. Mario, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie woke up as well, watching the elder slowly scurrying away, finally leaving after scolding Punio.

"How long were we asleep for?" Koops asked tiredly.

"About an hour," Punio said. "At least the elder's free. Let's just head back before she lectures me about not being there to escort her." After letting out a shudder, fearing getting more of an earful from Elder Puni, he walked over to the other cell with the rest of his captured tribe. "Petuni, don't worry. I'll be right back to get you and the others out."

"Ok, big brother," Petuni said, the siblings giving one last nuzzle before Punio rejoined Mario and co. back near the entrance, hurrying after the elder before she got hurt by the X-Nauts that might check on the patrols in the latter areas.

Quickly making it back to the other freed Punies, luckily without running into more X-Naut troops, they found the elder had surprisingly made it back safely. "Well, if it isn't Punio," Puniper said with a grunt. "Can't say I expected you to save the elder that quickly."

"I told you I could do it!" Punio said.

"Don't get a swelled head!" Puniper exclaimed. "That doesn't mean I'm accepting you as our leader, and I'm still not gonna trust these guys you're buddies with, either."

"Are you kidding me?" Punio questioned angrily.

"You haven't found a way to rescue the rest of our tribe. I am not lifting an antenna to help you until you do." Behind the pudgy Puny, the elder leered at Puniper and approached him.

"YOU STUBBORN MULE!!!!" she scolded, growing big again and startling Puniper, shrinking back down after getting his attention. "Deplorable! How DARE you talk like that, knowing what we're up against!? We must stand together now! We must take back our tree! Do you understand that!?"

Puniper trembled, swallowing nervously as he tried to speak very carefully. "B-But...but elder..."

"Shut your trap, Puniper!" Elder Puni interrupted, making the fat Puni flinch. "And mind me, you hear? You'll help Mustachio here..." She began mumbling to herself, trying to recall what the plumber's name was. "What was your name again? It was...Marty, right?"

"It's Mario," Starlight corrected. "I'm Starlight Gli-"

"Ah, yes! I knew I was spot on!" Elder Puni interrupted, Starlight staring blankly as she sighed and hung her head in annoyance. "All of you, help Marty-o clear out our tree! That includes you, Puniper."

Mario pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a groan, hearing yet another senior creature mistakenly pronounce his name wrong. Puniper grumbled, but kept his mouth shut, otherwise he would face the verbal wrath of Elder Puni again.

"Oh, alright...I'll go," Puniper said. He then turned to Punio, who was still mad at his Puni brother for going back on his word if they found the elder. "To be honest, I'm worried about Petuni as much as you are, Punio. I'm not that heartless."

"Sure didn't sound like it when you went behind my back after I promised to at least free the elder," Punio grumbled.

"...Sorry," Puniper apologized. "But you're right. We don't have a choice. We must fight! We must take our tree back from those thugs! Right, everyone!?"

The other Punies voiced their agreements, their morale risen as they joined Punio in liberating their home from the X-Nauts. "Thanks, guys," he said to his friends, then looked at Puniper. "But...do you still think I won't do well as a leader? Even after I left to try to find help AND found it before anything worse happened?"

"W-Well...I was a bit jealous, but I'm too much of a coward in the elder's eyes to even lead a revolution," Puniper admitted with a small laugh. "She did pick you to be our future leader, after all...so, whatever you say, we'll follow your word."

The other nine Punies nodded and agreed, lightening Punio's mood a little. While he discussed what they'll do to free the others, Flurrie floated over to the elder to speak with her.

"Elder, if you have a moment?" Flurrie asked. "We are looking for a lovely gem called a Crystal Star. Do you by any chance know where something like that could be around here?"

"Hmmmmmm...Yes, perhaps," Elder Puni mumbled. "Hidden down, down, down at the bottom of the tree is a funny-colored stone." Flurrie restrained herself from growling, surprised to know Ms. Mowz's hint on the Crystal Star's location was accurate. "What do we do with it again?...Oh, yes: 'Guard it from evil and give it to a pure heart...' Generations of elders have passed this down to their future leaders."

"It must be a Crystal Star if it's that important to protect," Flurrie said. "Thank you, elder. I swear on my acting career that we'll do all we can to get rid of these brutes from your home, and keep the Crystal Star from their clutches."

"Oh, wait, Madame Flurrie, before you and your friends go, I forgot to give you something." Elder Puni pulled out a sun-shaped orb, giving it to the wind spirit. "Before you can get to the Crystal Star, you'll need to rescue all the Punies first, and you need the Puni Orb. Can't get to it without that orb and every single Puni in the tribe. It is also the symbol of our leader."

"I see," Flurrie said, observing the sun orb like it was a delicate gem.

"If you place the Puni Orb in the pedestals you see around the Great Tree, the Punies will gather toward it," the elder continued. "Just make sure to take it with you when you're done using it, otherwise everyone will just stay in one place and stare at it."

"Ah. Understandable," Flurrie said. "Thank you, Elder Puni. This will surely come in handy."

She bowed her head to the elder, then floated back to the group. Flurrie told everyone what the elder informed her on, giving Mario the Puni Orb to use and help them reach more of the Great Tree. They headed back through the pipe with an army of eleven Punies in tow to the pedestal they passed earlier. Holding out the Puni Orb in front of the indented space in the pedestal, Mario could see that the orb would fit inside. He placed the orb in the pedestal, causing a light to shine around the platform it was connected to. The Punies all suddenly began skittering onto the glowing platform, mesmerized by the bright glow as they muttered in awe at the attractive lights. Once the counter had reached zero, the platform sank a little into the ground and the tree shook slightly. A warp pipe rose up from the ground near the pedestal, granting them access to more of the Great Tree.

"Wow, that's pretty neat," Starlight said. "Even though we had more than enough Punies, we really did need that orb to help reveal more passages to go further into the tree."

"And in order to do that, we're going to have to protect them if we run into more X-Nauts or anything else crawling around here," Koops added.

"Sounds like a good old fashioned roundup Ah can handle," Applejack said. "Herdin' these Punies shouldn't be harder than heardin' them cattle that nearly trampled Ponyville years back."

"If you can handle herding one hundred Punies without losing any of them, I would be very impressed," Flurrie commented.

"Time for a Puni roundup!" Pinkie said. She pulled out a lasso from her bags, along with a goofy ten gallon hat with an arrow sticking out, then pointed to the warp pipe. "Giddyup, little Punies! To the bottom of the tree!"

Pinkie continued standing in her pose, but the Punies didn't seem to pay attention. The others stared at Pinkie, then the distracted Punies.

"...Uhh, Pinkie, I don't think they heard you," Fluttershy said.

Looking back, Pinkie scowled, then marched over and grabbed one of the normal Punies. "Come on, guys! You wanna save your home, don't you!?" Right as she pulled the Puni away, he managed to squirm out of Pinkie's hooves and rejoin the rest of the hypnotized Punies. "Hey!"

"The elder mentioned taking the Puni Orb out once these pedestals have been activated, or else they'll just stay put and stare at the orb," Flurrie reminded the pink earth pony.

Mario pulled out the orb, making the light around the sunken platform fade, snapping the Punies out of their daze. "Ahh! I always hate that!" Puniper complained.

"Well, you're going to have to get used to it, because there's definitely going to be more along the way," Punio said.

The group went down the newly appeared warp pipe, going back down and into what would have been the next area to walk into if it weren't for the electronic door. Taking care of the X-Naut guarding the door, Mario unlocked the door with the nearby console, changing the light from red to green to let them know it was now opened. In the rest of the area, there was a pretty wide gap with a tall gray stump as a method of getting across, a small pond down below filled not with water, but a soapy rainbow liquid that made bubbles occasionally float up from it. There were two of these pedestals for the Puni Orb as well: one nearby, and another on the other side.

"What is that stuff?" Goombella asked, looking down at the soap-like goo down below.

"Bubble ponds," Punio said. "These are actually kind fun for us, touching the ground and putting us in bubbles, making us fly up until it pops on the ceiling. We use these to get across, but we need a bit of a gust of wind to make it to the other side."

"Sounds like fun!" Pinkie said, jumping off and cheering, only to grunt as she hit the ground, too big to be trapped in a bubble. "...I'm ok!...Owie..."

"I have a feeling we'd be too big to be put in a bubble, seeing how we can just jump across," Starlight pointed out as she looked at the stump between the gap.

"We did before in Flower Fields with that Bubble Plant," Applejack said. "Only problem is we don't have any bubble berries."

"And we're not really good jumpers," Puniper added. "Plus, I'm afraid of heights."

Pinkie rejoined everyone using the warp pipe that was close to the one they used to get into this room as Mario put the Puni Orb in the pedestal, distracting the Punies as they huddled in the glowing spot in front of it. Flurrie got the idea to help move the Punies to the other side, using her powerful wind breath to blow them over the edge, barely phasing them as they rolled over, then began floating up while trapped in bubbles. She then blew them across to the other side, Mario taking the Puni Orb once all of them had been blown over. Puniper had wondered what happened when he realized they were on the opposite end of the room, leering at Mario for using that orb again just to distract him, but it at least worked as they continued moving further down into the Great Tree.

While continuing to head down, they ran into more Pale Piranha Plants that seemed to reside in the tree, and encountered new monochromatic enemies called Piders. The grayed spiders slide up and down on a string of web, avoiding getting hit from the ground while spitting out balls of webbing from their maws. Flurrie and Rainbow handled them when they climbed up near the ceiling, trying to get away when Koops, Goombella, or Applejack tried to hit them while lower to the ground, taken care of before they hit them or the Punies they were escorting.

After exiting another pipe they found, the walkway hovering over the ground on this floor zigzagged from one side to the other, both with pathways to enter. Nearby, they heard a strange buzzing sound, and when they turned to the noise, the Punies gasped when they saw a Jabbi. It let out a startled noise, speaking in a strange tongue as it fled down the nearby passage.

"Was that one of those Jabbi things?" Goombella asked.

"Yeah, and they're helping the X-Nauts take over our home," Punio said. "For many years, our tribes have been enemies. Every time we meet, we fight...a lot." Punio looked down and sighed sadly. "...But I used to get along with Jabble..."

"Jabble?" Puniper asked skeptically.

Punio winced, realizing he's been found out, ignoring Puniper's squinted leer. "...He's...a Jabbi."

"Oh! Gee! I wouldn't have been able to guess by the name!" Puniper exclaimed.

"We were friends since we were little," Punio argued. "We always hung out in secret if we weren't busy dealing with stuff in our own tribes." Puniper huffed, but Punio ignored him and the other Punies' odd looks. "...I really hope I don't have to fight Jabble..."

"Let's take care of those Jabbies and take back our home!" one of the Punies exclaimed, the rest of the group ignoring their future leader's worried gaze as they charged on ahead.

Punio swallowed nervously, hoping his friend wasn't going to fight with the Jabbies. He already felt bad wanting to get into a conflict with them while the X-Nauts were here, but he wouldn't have much of a choice when the Great Tree was the Punies' home first. He hurried after the others with his tribe's saviors following behind him. Little did he notice, down below, a Jabbie watched the group while hiding in the bushes, looking younger than the one detailed in Goombella's book, lacking horns and had normal pair of eyes. He let out a sad buzzing sound, feeling the same pain his secret best friend was expressing.

The room the rogue Jabbi ran in had a wide space, a giant gray hive resting on the other side with a red alarm light hanging under it. As soon as the Punies got halfway across the room, the alarm began to light up and blare, alerting the Jabbies as ten of them filed out of the tiny hole big enough for both tribes to squeeze through, buzzing angrily as they stood in a "Y" formation.

"Should we do something to help them?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "Can't both tribes settle living in the tree together without fighting?"

"That's up to the Punies and Jabbies," Flurrie said. "Besides, this is between them. I don't think we should interfere...even though I know all of us want to help the Punies."

Punio joined his tribe, staring down the ten Jabbies as they outnumbered them by only one. Luckily, his best friend wasn't among them, so he didn't worry about losing his friendship with someone from their enemy tribe.

"You're not losing your nerve, are you, Punio?" Puniper asked, keeping his gaze on their opponents.

"As long as Jabble's not fighting with them, I'll live," Punio said. Before Puniper could argue with his future leader's idea befriending the enemy, Punio glared at him with almost the same kind of intensity Elder Puni had, startling him. "I'm not fighting my best friend, Puniper! In fact, the reason why I found him a better friend was because of you and the other Punies who made fun of me, saying I don't have what it takes to be a good leader! At least he understands me more than you!" Puniper cringed, looking away from Punio's judgmental gaze. "We'll talk about all this AFTER we take our tree back. Let's get them!"

Punio lead the charge as both sides yelled, Punies and Jabbies ramming into each other while trying to overpower each other. Though they had the advantage in numbers by a slim margin, it was all about teamwork and working together to defeat their enemy. The others in the background could only cringe and watch as the small monochrome tribes duked it out, but the fight was about to end as the Punies were winning with five of them left standing while chasing down the last two Jabbies as they retreated, Punio being one of the Punies still up and fighting. After knocking the last ones out, the Punies came out victorious, and the ones that were knocked down got back up.

"Aww, that wasn't a fun battle," Pinkie whined. "All they did was bump into each other like they were playing tag. Boooooooriiiiiiiiiing!"

"Pinkie!" the others scolded, making the pink pony wince.

"Alright, everyone! Let's take down this hive!" Punio said, rallying the Punies as they filed into the Jabbi hive, then, to everyone's surprise, blew the entire natural fortress up, revealing a passage hidden behind it.

"Whoa! What did you use to blast that Jabbi hive!? Dynamite!?" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Actually, we broke down the support structures that held the rock wall of the hive, then let gravity do the work with a good enough slam into the weakened supports," one of the Punies said, his voice nasally as he explained. He got odd looks from the group helping them take back their home. "It's not really all that strong on the inside, so anyone trying to break in from the outside's not gonna have any luck."

"Thank you, Punedexter," Puniper groaned irritably. "We didn't need a lecture on how the Jabbi's hives are built. Just say they crumbled."

"Know your enemy to defeat them easily, as they say," the nerdy Puni stated, making Puniper grumble.

"Let's just see what was behind that hive," Starlight said, getting back on topic as they continued on, stepping over the beaten Jabbies as they let out buzzes that sounded like groans.

The hidden room had a bridge of pillars with Puni statues and a large block matching the monochrome landscape from outside. On the giant slab of stone were four squares, each of them with a picture that looked really important. In the squares, from left to right, were a Puni, a star, a crescent moon, and a sun. Mario took a mental note of the slab before jumping down to the lower section, passing a black-boarded part of the ground he was familiar with in the past, but he left his Ultra Boots back home and switched back to his old pair before their trip out to Rogueport. Chastizing himself for forgetting his special board-breaking boots, he walked over to the nearby treasure chest, which held the blue jail cell key.

"Alright, we found the other key!" Goombella cheered. "Let's head back to the cell and free the rest of the Punies!"

Back in the blue cell, the rest of the locked up Puni tribe waited to be rescued, though some of them were a bit annoyed by Petuni's optimism. One of them had spoken up and lectured her on how hopeless they are, even though they had no idea how strong the helpers her brother found were.

"...and they'll never come back, and that's that and what's going to happen to us." Even though the Puni was done ranting, Petuni shook her head in defiance, her brother coming back with outside already proving him wrong. And they had just freed the elder, so it was only a matter of time before they were freed. The Puni shook his head, then noticed something Petuni was holding something since they've been captured. "Hey, what is that?"

"Hmm?...Oh, this?" Petuni pulled out her held item, which was a Dried Shroom. "It's a Mushroom."

The Punies looked at each other, muttering to themselves as they tried to come up with a nicer way to tell them that Mushroom was too dry to even be considered edible. "Uhh...I don't mean to be rude...but that looks all dry, wrinkly, and gross."

"Yeah, I know," Petuni said. "I picked it so I could give it to my brother to eat. It dried up, and it had to be when those invaders showed up and trapped us in this cell when I wanted to give it to him."

"...Oh..." The Puni who complained to Petuni felt bad, not wanting to dash her happiness if she decided to give Punio that dried up Mushroom. "...Well, all my complaining aside, I'm sure Punio will be right back."

"And as I promised, we're back!" Petuni gasped when she heard Punio. He and the rescue party appeared from around the cell bars, Mario holding the cell key to their freedom in his hand. He unlocked the door and opened it, everyone stepping back as the imprisoned Punies all filed out. They all split up and let Petuni reunite with Punio, where the siblings nuzzled each other. "I'm glad you're safe, sis."

"I knew you could do it!" Petuni said. "I got you something, big brother." She gave Punio the Dried Shroom, the older brother clearly disgusted by the dried fungus. "I know Mushrooms are your favorite. But...well, this one got all dried up..."

"Uhh...Well..." Punio stuttered, seeing the disappointed look in Petuni's eyes.

"It's not good anymore, is it?" she asked.

To her surprise, he steeled his stomach's nerves and began eating the Dried Shroom. Resisting the urge to gag or cough it up, Punio consumed the entire Mushroom, being the best big brother he is by making his little sister happy. As sweet as it was, the party watching should have just admitted it was bad, but appreciated the thought, and promised to eat the next one she found for him. After swallowing the last of the Dried Shroom, Punio cringed, feeling his stomach churn in disdain for having that disgusting fungus dissolving in his guts.

"Mmmmm! D-Delicious!" Punio exaggerated, letting out a belch that almost made him throw up his "snack". "T-That was...super...yummy...!"

Petuni could tell Punio was lying, his cheeks turning green and looking quite sick. "Are you ok, big brother?"

"GIMMIE A HUG, PETUNI!" Punio leapt over to Petuni and hugged her, making the younger Puni squirm in embarrassment while his hug distracted her from the look on his face.

"Hey, quit it, Punio!" Petuni protested. "Everyone's watching! And I know you didn't like the Mushroom." Punio winced, pulling away as his white lie was quickly discovered by his smart little sister. "It was icky, and you looked like you were sick."

"Heh. I just...didn't want to upset you," Punio admitted. "But I appreciate the gesture, Petuni."

"Aw, it was nothing!" Petuni said. "And next time, I'll find you a juicier Mushroom to make up for you eating that bad one!"

"You don't have to, Petuni, but if it gets dried out, I am not gonna eat another one of those again." Petuni giggled and nuzzled Punio.

Fluttershy squealed from the cute moment, alerting the other Punies to their saviors' presence. "So cute!"

"Oh, if only they weren't able to talk, I would love to have one of them as pets," Flurrie added with a giggle.

Puniper began to regret making fun of Punio. All the Punies were free, and Punio was the one who braved leaving Boggly Woods and finding help. He had more optimism than he had taking back their home. He even lead the charge against the Jabbies, even though he learned he made friends with one of them. He was clearly a better leader than he thought, far better than himself when he wanted what remaining Punies were still safe to hide in fear instead of getting off his pudgy butt and doing something to take back what was rightfully theirs.

"Now, everyone, if you're willing to help join the fight, I think we can beat back those X-Nauts invading our home, and show them we're not as helpless as we look," Punio said to his tribe, acting like a true leader with his motivational speech. "What do you say? Should we hide? Or should we fight?"

"I'll fight!" Petuni immediately cheered.

"Me too!" one of the Punies from the small group earlier added.

Soon, every Puni began to cheer, rallied up to fight for their home and kick out the intruders threatening to destroy it for something all but the elder knew of the Crystal Star they were searching for. Now the army of Punies was at one hundred and one, Mario and his friends needing all of them to help them traverse the rest of the Great Tree and gain the Crystal Star hidden far below. Hopefully, they'll find it before the X-Nauts do, having no clue what their intentions of opening the Thousand-Year Door. And if they find where they're group is hiding out, they'll rescue Peach and Twilight from their clutches.

Rock'em, Sock'em, von Grapple

After a long trek back down to where the group encountered the first Jabbi hive, Mario and co. headed down the winding path to the other side of the massive room with their army of one hundred and one Punies. To keep the Punies from getting startled by the dangerous creatures in the Great Tree, Fluttershy and Rarity made sure they didn't get hurt while the others went on ahead to deal with the Piders that slinked down from their webs. In no time at all, they reached the other end and found the next Jabbi hive, sounding the alarm as they entered.

Flittering out from the hive were, to the visiting heroes' surprise, one hundred Jabbies, standing in a five by twenty wall formation to protect their last hive. "Whoa. And I thought there were just a lot of Punies," Starlight commented.

"We're not gonna let them get in our way and take over our home!" Punio said. "We have one more of us over their hundred, so we have the advantage!" The army of Punies got into a similar formation, staring down their foes while the Jabbies all buzzed intimidatingly. "CHAAAARGE!"

Both sides rushed each other, meeting halfway in the wide battlefield-like room and crashing into a flurry of ramming and sending both Jabbies and Punies flying out of the massive cluster of gray creatures. The others watched, believing in the Punies that they would come out victorious, and after a few grueling minutes, the Punies were winning, the ones still kicking chasing down the weakened Jabbies and tackled them into a daze on the ground with the rest of their kind. With the battle won, Punio rallied his group, helping others that had fallen back on their tiny feet and lead them into the hive. The hive was destroyed once they found the weaker supports, unveiling another passage to let their saviors continue onward through the Great Tree.

"Oh, dear," Fluttershy murmured sadly, feeling sorry for all the Jabbies. "I do hope they don't go homeless with their hives destroyed."

"I'm sure they can build more, but the Great Tree does belong to the Punies," Flurrie assured.

Punio looked around at the fallen Jabbi army they fought, thankfully no sign of his friend, Jabble during the fight. "He must be hiding," he said to himself. "Good...Sorry I had to hurt your family, but they were working with some bad people..."

Continuing on, everyone entered the next room where they found another Puni Orb pedestal next to a wooden floor, though without Mario's helpful ground-pounding shoes, they weren't able to drop down to the lower level. Luckily, there was a warp pipe nearby behind a Pale Piranha, which Mario quickly smacked with his hammer before they went down. The lower section had a large stump with a warp pipe going down, the wooden flooring above the tall gray stump to drop down onto once they found a way to break through it. The next room was a dead end with yet another pedestal and another wooden panel next to it.

"Hmm...Now what?" Goombella asked.

"Is there a hidden veil concealing something you could blow away, Flurrie?" Starlight asked.

"I don't see anything around to reveal," Flurrie said after looking around the room.

"Maybe there's a secret panel hidden in the ground that all the Punies need to stand on," Pinkie theorized, pressing her face to the ground in front of the pedestal, "searching" for the hidden floor panel for the Punies to gather around to activate.

"I guess there's only one way to find out," Koops said.

Mario nodded in agreement, taking the Puni Orb and placing it in the pedestal. The Punies gathered in front of it in their daze, huddling together, but there didn't seem like anything changed in the room. Right as the others were about to voice their confusion, a cage suddenly dropped down on them, startling them as they were trapped behind iron bars, even the awestruck Punies as a huge majority of them were once again captured.

"Gah! It was a trap!?" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh!" Dropping down from the ceiling where the cage was hanging, two X-Naut soldiers and their leader, the same X-Naut who tried to capture Goombella back in Rogueport, landing in front of them. "Man, you guys are dense!"

"Y-You!" Goombella shouted. "You're the creep who was harassing me back in Rogueport!"

"And you fell for the most obvious trap ever!" Crump gloated. One of the X-Nauts walked over to the side of the cage, pulling back a camouflaged sheet that hid a warp pipe they could have gone down. Flurrie was shocked that she didn't see it, considering it didn't have any magical enchantment that kept it hidden. "We saw you sticking that stone in those pedestals, so I made a fake one. Pretty impressive, eh?"

"Ooooh! Just you wait until we break out of here, you monster!" Flurrie growled. "You're already destroying the Punies' home just to find the Crystal Star! I won't stand for it!"

"Ah, blow it out your tailpipe, you bag of wind," Crump said. Angered, Flurrie did just that, floating toward the bars and letting out a strong gust of wind, sending the X-Naut general and his two lackeys with him flying back with a yelp, smacking into the wall with a grunt. "Urgh...I didn't mean it literally, but I'm glad it wasn't from the other end."

"Stand back, everypony. I'll break us out of here." Starlight charged up her horn, everyone backing away from the unicorn to give her some space. She unleashed a powerful beam at the bars, but instead of busting through, the bars began glowing as it absorbed the magical energy. "W-What!?"

"Uhh, was that supposed to happen?" Puniper asked.

Crump laughed as he stood back up, rubbing his sore back from getting blown back by Flurrie. "Good luck trying to break out of those reinforced bars," he taunted. "We know about you creatures and your special kind of magic power from the Mushroom Kingdom. It took a lot of testing, but now we can cancel out any kind of spell, whether from a lowly Magikoopa to your conical-foreheaded kind!"

"We're called unicorns," Starlight growled, only for her and the others to grimace, their enemy knowing a lot more about the ponies and Equestrian magic than they thought. "And...with Twilight captured, you sealed her magic, too?"

"Darn right, we did!" Crump said. "Now that you're out of the picture, we can take our sweet time hunting the Crystal Star in this tree!"

He began to laugh, his two X-Naut soldiers joining him with their mocking laughter as the trio left the room and continued their search. Shocked and beginning to panic, Starlight fired more magic beams into the bars, each shot getting absorbed by the technically advanced bars.

"T-This can't be happening right now," Starlight uttered, ceasing her attempts to blast the cell's bars out before using up all her energy.

"Looks like these X-Naut fellas are smarter than they look," Applejack said. "Ah don't think Ah can even buck our way out of this metal cage without hurtin' mah hooves."

"Have you ever bucked metal before?" Goombella asked.

"Nope, and Ah don't plan to," Applejack said.

Mario approached the bars, making his hands glow orange to enhance his strength and either punch through the metal bars or bend them enough for them all to squeeze through. The moment his hands touched the bars to try the latter option, the aura dissipated and left him to his normal strength, foiling one plan as the Equestrian magic from his Lucky Star would be absorbed as well. There was one other idea he had in mind; being in a barred cell, his transparent blessing could be used to phase through, but he didn't know if a purified curse would suffer from the same result as any normal magic spell.

It was the only choice he had, and he was willing to risk it. Activating his blessing, only on himself, the others watched the plumber as he took a running start, startling the Punies while his friends wondered what he was doing. Mario ran through the bars, his body still transparent as he managed to succeed in escaping without losing its power.

"Or that can work," Starlight said. "It makes sense, since his body's technically not touching the magic-sucking bars."

"Ok, now get us out of here now, Mario!" Rainbow said.

"Yeah, I'd like to not be stuck in another cage for the rest of my life!" one of the Punies complained.

Mario looked around the cage, but didn't find a cell door, or any kind of switch to shut of the magical absorption for the bars. He doubted his blessing could stretch out to everyone, especially with their being one hundred and one Punies adding up to the six mares, Goomba, Koopa, and wind spirit. He looked at the warp pipe the X-Nauts hid from them, wondering where it led to. And with that boarded up floor in the cage, if he found himself a pair of Super Boots, he could phase back inside and break through to free everyone. He let his friends and the Punies know he'll be back as he went down the pipe into the room beneath the cage.

There was a black switch in the middle of the room, and against the wall were four pillars, each one with a different symbol that looked like a clue to something. From left to right, the symbols were sun, moon, Puni, and star, Mario jotting down a quick note of it in his Mailbox SP just in case. He then pushed the switch, making the tree shake, hearing the others upstairs panic from the sudden quake that hit them.

"Ahh! Mario, what was that!?" Punio asked.

He expected something to happen after pressing the switch, but nothing appeared in the room. He was going to have to check elsewhere in the Great Tree to see if anything had changed. He went back up the warp pipe, but the change didn't occur in this room either. As much as he hated to leave his companions, he could easily handle Crump and the other X-Nauts in the tree by himself. That, and he had no way of getting the Punies out without finding a way to break through the wooden panel in the cage. He told everyone he hit a switch in the lower room, but nothing happened and he was going to see what changed.

"Ok, we'll watch the Punies," Flurrie said. "You be careful out there. Who knows what dirty tricks that horrid brute has up his sleeves."

"He dealt with a cheating Bowser before, he can beat a tricky cheater X-Naut...guy?" Pinkie said. "...What do they even look like under their clothes???"

Mario trusted his friends with watching over the Punies and hurried out of the room to find a way out for them. Backtracking through the previous rooms, he made it back to mysterious podiums with the same symbols he found in the one with the switch. There was a change in this room now: four white switches stood out a distance from those four podiums with the symbols. Taking a guess that each switch changes the symbols, he pressed them until they stopped in the correct order in the mysterious switch's room: sun, moon, Puni, and star. The whole tree shook again, but when it stopped, the podiums sank into the ground, revealing a hidden passage that was behind it while the switches disappeared.

Taking a look inside, he found a large chest, which could only mean one thing if he treks throughout the Mushroom Kingdom were any indication. Opening it up, he found just what he needed: a pair of Super Boots. Now he can ground pound through the boards and get them out of the cage. Crump wasn't all that smart if he didn't think fate would lead him to something helpful out of any situation they put him or his friends in. Quickly swapping his old boots with his second pair of Super Boots, Mario quickly ran out of the room and tested it on the boards where the switches used to be.

Jumping in the air, Mario flipped in midair, then slammed down to the ground on his rear, smashing through the wooden planks and dropping into the lower floor on a pedestal. Using the warp pipe leading back up, Mario ran back to the cage, using his magically enhanced speed to quicken his pace. Within ten seconds flat, he returned, using his blessing to phase through the bars and reunited with everyone.

"Well, anything to help get us out of here?" Starlight asked. Mario lifted up his foot, showing off his new shoes. Starlight sneered, giving Mario a blank stare. "A pair of shoes? Seriously? At this rate, I would have expected your hammer to bust through the bars."

"Hooray! Super Boots!" Pinkie cheered.

"Pinkie, this isn't a time to be celebrating over somepony's new hoofware!" Starlight scolded.

"Actually, Starlight, these boots are anything but a fashion sense," Rarity explained. "Mario, show her how useful those new shoes of yours can be."

Mario nodded, then walked over to the wooden panel, the Punies skittering around to give him some space. He leapt up in the air and hip-dropped, smashing through the boards and creating an escape route for them. Starlight blinked in surprise, then poked her head over the new hole in the ground.

"...Ok...and he couldn't do that by himself without the shoes?" Starlight questioned.

"It's probably got some magic to it to help him break through wooden stuff with his butt," Goombella said.

"Or, uhh, maybe it enhances his jumping skills more than he already has?" Koops theorized.

"It's actually a helpful upgrade to not only increase Mario's jumping power, but also help us continue on through the dungeon," Pinkie said. "Too bad about Toadette not giving us a tutorial since we all know what the Super Boots do anyway, and the transitional learning aspect wouldn't make much sense in this story." Everyone blinked, staring at Pinkie with uncertainty over her answer. "...Oh! I mean, what Goombella said! Yeah, that's obviously it! Whatarewedoingstandingaroundherelet'sgo!"

Pinkie quickly dove down in the hole, surprising Mario as everyone heard him yelp, then grunt when Pinkie landed on him. "...Ok, then," Goombella said. "Anyway, let's get everyone out of here."

It took a while, but the rest of the group and all the Punies jumped down the hole, then gathered around the warp pipe to climb back up to the cage room and continue on. "I'm kinda wondering if that Crump fellah put up that wooden board to block our escape route if he was plannin' on cagin' us like a wild critter," Applejack pondered.

"Not with those boots Mario found," Rainbow said. "Maybe I can borrow them so I can kick that tubby X-Naut's plot for tricking us!"

"Oh, I most certainly agree, and I don't have any legs," Flurrie said with a light chuckle at her little joke about herself.

Making their way back up to the other Puni pedestal, one that wasn't a fake, and Mario broke through the boards that lead to the tall stump with a warp pipe. After dropping down and making sure non of the Punies fell off the edge of the stump, they went down the pipe and continued onward, fighting more X-Nauts and Yuxes along the way. The next floor leading down lead to a small lake, though with no way of getting across unless they want to get eaten by more of the Nibblers that infest the waters of this region. The only thing sticking out of the water was a blue switch that rested on a platform, along with a similarly colored pressure switch on the other side.

Rainbow flew over and pushed the switch, causing the water to drain out into the lower level down below. "Well, we can sort of get across," Rainbow said.

"Hmmm...Why do I have deja vu about this kind of predicament?" Pinkie asked herself, rubbing her head while sticking her tongue out in deep thought.

Mario had a similar feeling as well, everyone using the nearby warp pipe that lead down into the area the lake was drained out in. Luckily, there was a pathway across the new lake with the pedestals and gray lily pads floating on the surface, which was surprisingly strong enough to hold everyone as they walked across the safe path in a single file. With no need to go through the pipe going back up, they went down the next pipe going further down in the Great Tree, leading to yet another Puni Orb pedestal next to a pillar with the number 101 on it.

"Just how far down does this tree go?" Goombella asked. "It's like this tree was built as a dungeon the moment it was a sapling."

"We must be getting close by now," Starlight said. "It can't be much farther...at least I hope."

Gathering on the floor panel in front of the pedestal, Mario placed the Puni orb in the slot, making it glow while the Punies gathered around in their trance. The counter nearby began counting down until it reached zero, counting how many Punies were standing on the platform. They heard a click and the platform shudder a bit, startling everyone as it lowered down like an elevator to yet another floor down the massive tree of Boggly Woods.

"Oh, so this is what the elder meant when she said we needed all of us," Punio said. "I think we're getting close."

"Then let's not waste any time," Starlight said. "If the X-Nauts are still searching, we better get it before they do."

Ironically, in the next room, Crump wandered around trying to find the Crystal Star. In the center of the room was one of the Puni Orb pedestals in front of an octagonal platform, sitting before several Puni statues circling against the walls of the room, one of them holding a black bowl with white patterns etched in it, along with the same counter at 101 like the previous one Mario and Co saw. He made it to the deepest part of the tree faster than his adversaries he thought he locked away via a warp pipe on the other end of the room, where he and his X-Nauts blocked the shortcut to this sanctum of sorts with the electronic doors they set up.

"Hmmm...This thing's gotta be here somewhere..." He stopped his search when he heard voices coming from the "dead end" on the opposite end of the room. "Buh...huh? Whuh-oh. Sounds like a mob! Better clear out..."

Crump quickly hid behind one of the statues, watching in shock and awe as Mario, his friends, and the army of Punies waltzed right in, having somehow escaped from the planned out trap he set up. The group that entered stared in awe at the statues, the mysterious room definitely holding something secretive.

"I wonder how long the Punies have lived here if there's so many statues and pillars of them," Koops thought aloud.

"A pretty long while," Punio said. "Longer than the elder, at least."

"Let's see what you all do with the Puni Orb in here," Goombella said.

Mario pulled out the Puni Orb and placed it in the pedestal. The Punies gathered on the platform, dropping the counter down to zero. The tree shook, not surprising at this point, though the quake lasted a bit longer than the last few after gathering the right amount of Punies for the Puni Orb platforms. When it finally stopped, they all heard a sparkling sound come from the Puni statue holding the ornate bowl. Everyone looked up, and rising up from the bowl was the Emerald Crystal Star.

"There it is!" Rainbow cheered.

"Oh my. So that's a Crystal Star," Flurrie uttered in awe, watching it rise up and lower down to the ground, hovering a few inches as it waited to be claimed.

"At least we don't have to fight a terrifying dragon to get to this one," Rarity said.

"Hang on a second. This feels too easy," Pinkie said, humming in thought. "Usually, we face a toughie after crawling through a long dungeon, fortress, or ruins before we get the important thingamajig we need to save the day."

"Why, Pinkie Pie, that is absolute nonsense," Flurrie said. While everyone was distracted, looking at Pinkie after her odd suspicions, Crump took his opportunity to swipe the Crystal Star right in front of them. As he triumphantly laughed, everyone quickly turned around, yelping in surprise and shock, seeing the Crystal Star in his hands. "Ohh! Oh no! That brute! Where did he come from!?"

"Hah! I knew it!" Pinkie cheered. "You all owe me twenty coins!"

"We didn't make any bets about anything, Pinkie!" Applejack scolded.

"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh! Am I lucky or what?" Crump gloated. "'You say you need the Crystal Star, Lord Crump?' BOOM! Falls right into my lap!...But this is humiliating. You shouldn't have even been able to escape that cell."

"You clearly underestimated Mario, you fat jerk!" Goombella said.

"Give us that Crystal Star right now, Crump," Starlight warned.

"Finders keepers, little four-legged candy cane," Crump said. "And for insulting my trap, I'm gonna repay you with a little present."

"Ooh! A present!?" Pinkie asked. "I love presents!"

"Then you're going to love this." Crump chuckled, pulling out a remote from his pocket as he walked over to the warp pipe. "It's something I like to call a REMOTE TIME-BOMB DETONATOR!"

"WHAT!?" Crump laughed at their horrified expressions, then clicked a button on the remote, activating the time bomb.

"Enjoy your final moments inside this dank old tree as you and these squirmy Punies are buried in rubble!" Crump said. "And with that...pow! I'm gone!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Starlight fired a beam at Crump, missing him as he escaped through the warp pipe. "Darn it! We can't let him get away!"

"When did they even have time to set up a bomb to destroy this place!?" Rainbow questioned.

"Save the questions for when we beat the stuffing out of him and snag that remote and the Crystal Star from his grimy hands!" Goombella said.

Quickly taking out the Puni Orb, Mario led everyone through the pipe after Crump, the Punies panicking as their home was about to be blown to pieces from the inside. While the group tried to keep the Punies corralled as they exited, they saw Crump running off and disappearing behind a metal electronic door, guarded by two of his X-Naut troops.

"We're not gonna let you-!" one of them shouted, only for Mario to smack one out of their way with his hammer while the other was slammed into the wall via Starlight's telekinetic magic.

"Not the time for you idiots to get in our way!" Starlight said. "You're not stalling us to let this tree blow up!"

The door was locked, but luckily, there was a control panel nearby. Mario hastily pressed the keys, the red light turning green above the metal door and unlocking it for them. Making their way through as it slid open, they found themselves back in the wide crossroads room between the two Jabbi hives, which meant the X-Nauts had found the faster route to where the Crystal Star was, but without the Punies, they couldn't have found it no matter how hard they looked. With no time to spare, the group quickly made their way back up and chase Crump. Punio had stopped, his peripherals catching something shaking in the bushes where they exited. Jabble poked his head out, terrified of the massive army of Punies and feared getting attacked, but luckily, Punio's tribe didn't see him. He was glad his friend from the enemy tribe was safe and stayed out of their fights, though he felt bad for destroying their hives.

"Punio, come on!" Petuni called out. "We can't let that meanie get away!"

"R-Right! Coming! I thought I...saw something." Punio looked back at his friend, the two silently promising each other to meet again after all this madness was over.

He quickly caught up with the rest of his tribe, going through pipe back up to the entrance of the tree. After crossing the stump over the bubble lake while the Punies were blown across while stuck inside bubbles, they finally reached the main entrance, where they found Crump being blocked by the Elder Puni.

"Oh no! He's gonna hurt the Elder!" Fluttershy said.

"No, I think she's got this," Puniper said. "You've seen how scary she can get."

"You won't be going any further this-a-way!" the elder said to Crump defiantly.

"What!? Are you nuts!?" Crump questioned, both irritated by being blocked by a creature in their senior years and anxious to get out before his bomb blows up. "Move it, you old geezer!"

"WHAT!?!?!?!?!?" The Elder Puni grew bigger in her "scary" scolding mode, making Crump balk in shock before shrinking back to normal. "Did you just call me an 'old geezer'!? Where do you get off talking like that!? Disrespectful brat! Don't think my age has a thing to do with my might! Even if it kills me, I won't let you through! ELDER POWER ACTIVATE!"

"...Uhh, what?" Crump said. "What's your problem, Gramma? Got an ear hair tickling your brain or something?"

"Oh! Ooh! What the...Can't...take...another...step..." Elder Puni tried to move, only for her back to make a cringeworthy crack, making everyone wince at the sound. "Oooooogh. What a time for my stupid back to start acting up..."

"Bah! You hotheaded old coot!" Crump laughed. "You think you can really stop me? I could shine my boots with you!"

"You will do no such thing!" Flurrie exclaimed. Lunging forward, she flew over Crump, snatching up the helpless elder while blocking the way for the Puni. "If you think you're going to get away that easily, then you're going to stay here and get blown up with all of us!"

"Along with any of your other X-Naut friends ya planned on ditchin' so y'all could escape with the Crystal Star!" Applejack added.

"Yeah, so hand it over before we whack you around with hammers, put a boot to your head, and mount your tushie on our fireplace!" Pinkie said, waving her hammer around like a baseball bat with the intent to maim the X-Naut.

"Umm, why would you do that?" Petuni questioned.

"Are you guys forgetting about the bomb he set off!?" Goombella exclaimed. "We need to get that remote off him FIRST before taking the Crystal Star!"

Crump growled, digging into his pockets and pulling out the remote. "You guys are absolutely nuts," he said, pressing a button to stop the timer. At least he was sensible enough to stop the bomb, not willing to blow up the Crystal Star if they kept him from escaping. "Ok, you pests. You ordered one pummeling? Well, you're gonna get one...with extra fists!"

"Just give it up! You're completely outnumbered!" Rainbow said. "You couldn't even beat Mario even with his arms tied behind his back!"

"When I said 'fists', I meant metal fists!" Using the same remote in his hand, Crump pressed a different button. The others expected another bomb or something smaller to blow up in their faces out of nowhere, but instead, behind them, an egg-shaped capsule-like ship hovered down from the ceiling. Distracted by the mysterious vessel, Crump ran past the heroes and jumped inside the capsule, pressing a few switches on the console before him. As it rolled around, four pink metal blades shot out, forming an "X" shape. "Awake, Magnus von Grapple! Time for a technological thrashing!"

The blades turned over and set themselves dead center around the middle of the capsule Crump was sitting in, then lowered down until they joined together, forming a robotic body. Two panels on the sides opened up, releasing a pair of elongated metal arms, along with a pair of legs from underneath. The front of Crump's machine lit up, creating a white "X", the signature mark of the X-Nauts, completing the mech's transformation.

"W-What in Equestria is that!?" Rarity exclaimed.

"A metal monster!" one of the Punies shrieked, causing the rest of them to panic and flee from the technological mech.

Punio, Puniper, and Petuni rushed over to Flurrie, the wind spirit gently lowering the Elder Puni down to them as the trio carried her out of what was going to be a tough fight. "We'll watch out for the elder and the other Punies!" Punio said. "Beat that Crump guy and his metal thing!"

"Uhh, easier said than done," Fluttershy whimpered.

"Is fighting a robot considered a step down after beating Hooktail?" Koops asked. "It should be a piece of cake...right?"

"Depends on what this giant hunk of metal has in store for us!" Goombella said. "But if we beat a dragon, we can beat a robot!"

"Good luck trying to trash Magnus von Grapple!" Crump taunted, moving his robot forward as its heavy legs thumped against the ground with each step.

Punio, Puniper, and Petuni scurried away with the Elder on their backs, avoiding Magnus von Grapple as Crump's main focus was on Mario and his friends. Mario wasn't dissuaded by facing a giant mech, though this one was quite better than the Koopa Bros. poor recreation of the parade float shaped like Bowser they tried to use on him, Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette back then. He cracked his knuckles and took the lead, ready to face down Crump and his robot. The others were right behind him, even though the ponies had no idea how to fight against something like this.

Magnus von Grapple stomped toward them, lifting its giant, steel-plated foot up, and began aiming for one of them to squish. Mario's foresight kicked it, watching that foot slam straight down on Starlight as she stood behind him. Reacting quickly, he pushed Starlight out of the way, then used his enhanced magic strength as he lifted his hands over his head, blocking the mech's foot and holding it up. Crump let out a confused grunt and looked down, yelping in surprise.

"Thanks, Mario," Starlight said. "Now, let's see if this hunk of junk is magic proof like that stupid cell of yours!"

Lighting up her horn, Starlight shot a beam right in the mech's chest, causing a bit of damage as it staggered backwards once Mario let go. "Whoa whoa whoa!" Crump exclaimed, trying to keep his machine balanced.

Koops ran up to Mario, ducking in his shell as the plumber smacked him with his hammer, sending him crashing into Magnus Von Grapple and toppling it over. It wasn't down down for long as the machine got back up, irritating Crump as he charged forward.

"Fists of fury!" the X-Naut general shouted, thrusting his mech's fists rapidly.

Flurrie took in a big gulp of air, then blew a hurricane of winds at the robot, halting Magnus's advances as Crump struggled to power through the wind spirit's power. Rainbow had a crazy idea, even while they were in such a cramped space. Taking a running start near the entrance of the tree, she flapped her wings and zoomed forward, diving into Flurrie's powerful wind currents, increasing her speed up to mach levels as she immediately blasted forward, releasing a shockwave of rainbow lights in the room, tackling Magnus von Grapple into the wall on the other side. The sonic rainboom nearly knocked everyone off their feet, including the Punies as they all hid in the background.

"W-Whoa! What was THAT!?" Goombella exclaimed.

"Rainbow's specialty: the sonic rainboom," Applejack said. "But next time, Rainbow, do somethin' like that when we're outdoors!"

Rainbow fell to the ground, completely dazed after slamming into solid steel as they crashed into the wall. "Ugh...Shoulda thought about that plan more," she muttered deliriously.

Crump managed to pull his robot's limbs out from the imprint made from the sonic rainboom tackle, groaning himself as he felt whiplash from that attack. "Ooogh, you creatures are pretty talented. Too bad we're not interested in all of you. At least, not yet." He rose Magnus's foot up, the others gasping as he was about to squish Rainbow Dash. "Your purple friend's a mix of all three of your kind, so nixing one of you won't make much of a difference!"

"Oh, no ya don't!" Applejack dug into her bags and pulled out her trusty lasso. Twirling it around over her head, she gave it a hard toss, wrapping it around Magnus's raised leg tightly. Mario, Koops, and Flurrie grabbed the rope, helping Applejack tug hard, making the robot slip and fall over while Crump screamed and grunted from the fall. "Rarity, Fluttershy, get Rainbow out of the way while we hogtie him!"

"Right! We're coming, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said as the two mares quickly got to their downed pegasus friend while the rest of the group ran toward Magnus and began tying its legs.

As Rainbow was carried off, Pinkie decided to distract Crump, leaping onto the robot's chest, and with her hammer in her mouth, she slammed it repeatedly on the dome. "Ring ring ring ring ring ring! Hammer phone~!" Pinkie sang, every hammer slam making an actual ringing noise that grated Crump's ears along with the constant thudding.

"GAH! You irritating pest!" he cried out. Reaching his hands out to the console, he pressed a series of buttons, making Magnus's arms extend forward. The metal fists connected to the flexible metal limbs shot up in the air, thrusters behind them propelling them through the air. Pinkie stopped smacking the dome, looking up at the hovering, rocket-like fists, which were aiming right at her. "Chew on this, you giant living piece of bubble gum!"

Hitting a button, both fists dove down straight toward Pinkie. She shrieked and leapt over them, jumping off Magnus's body and ducked low to avoid the swift rocket arms swirling around trying to punch her lights out.

"His hands are alive!" Pinkie screamed. "Everypony run!"

The others ducked from Pinkie's warning, barely finishing tying up the mech's legs as Crump finally got control of its legs, untying the unfinished knots while the rope was still lassoed around its leg. The hands looped back around, the left going for the ponies missing as Starlight redirected its trajectory with her magic, but the right one aiming at Mario, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie struck true, sending all four of them flying back across the room. Crump laughed, maneuvering Magnus's flying fists back to his side.

"Ok. This robot has a lot of tricks up its sleeve," Goombella groaned. "They really are smarter than we thought..."

"Can we even beat such a monstrosity?" Flurrie asked. "He could have used this robotic menace to level the whole tree instead of that bomb he tried to use."

Mario stood back up, straightening his cap before getting back in the fight. "Give it up! You'll never be able to match the might of Magnus von Grapple!" Crump taunted with his signature laugh.

"You clearly haven't met Bowser if you're honestly making such a claim," Rarity said.

"And you don't know exactly what we've faced," Starlight added, standing beside Mario. "Give us your worst."

"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh! Have it your way!" Crump said. "Rocket arms, FIRE!"

Both arms aimed at the unicorn and red plumber, launching themselves toward the two. Simultaneously, Mario and Starlight stopped each arm, the former with his magically enhanced strength while the latter enveloped the other arm and poured all her mana into freezing it in place. Crump growled, increasing the rockets' thrusters to full power. Mario grunted as his feet began to skid back, keeping his fist from sending him into the wall and get crushed, while Starlight struggled to push hers back, straining her magic as her head began to pound painfully.

"Come on, you two!" Flurrie cheered on. "You can do it!"

"Send those fists straight back at him!" Goombella said.

Mario and Starlight looked at each other, the Goomba's idea perfect as any construct's weakness can also be it's own if used against others. With all their strengths, they flipped the arms around, keeping a firm hold on them before letting go and aiming for the giant metal target.

"H-Huh!? W-Wait, no!" Crump begged, beginning to panic as he pressed buttons on his console to stop the arms' thrusters.

In perfect sync, Mario and Starlight let out a heavily exerted grunt as they flung the rocket arms back at Magnus. Crump fumbled with his controls, unable to stop the fists as they struck Magnus von Grapple hard, denting its chest as it slammed back into the wall again and fell over. Even though Starlight was exhausted, Mario had enough to take out the robot. With his hands still glowing orange, gripping his hammer tightly, Mario rushed the downed mech, leapt up, and fell down with a heavy swing, slamming down on the dome and nearly cracking it open from the impact. Crump grunted as his face slammed down on the console from the whiplashing impact, alarms blaring as his controls began sparking dangerously.

Magnus von Grapple began to short circuit from the damage it took, the electrical sparks reaching the core of its body and exploded. The blasts blew the robot to pieces, flinging Crump out of the cockpit and toward the entrance, slamming his head into the ground with a painful groan. The Crystal Star he stole fell out of his pocket, landing beside Fluttershy as she fed Rainbow a Mushroom to heal her injury after her crazy stunt earlier.

"Oh! The Crystal Star," she said, scooping it up with a wing, holding it tightly so it didn't get snatched away from them again.

Crump let out a groan, rubbing his head as he stood up, wincing in pain after getting tossed from the explosion. "Buh! No! Magnus von Grapple! How could we lose!?" The X-Naut general turned around, heavily outnumbered and defenseless as he faced the remaining group still standing and ready to continue fighting. He panted heavily, noticing the Crystal Star in Fluttershy's wing, but he wasn't going to risk getting whooped again after an embarrassing defeat. "I'll remember this, losers!" he shouted before fleeing from the Great Tree.

Rainbow finally snapped out of her daze once the Mushroom's healing effects sunk in, rubbing her head with a groan. "What happened? Did we win?"

"Lord Crump summons us!" From the other end of the room, all the X-Naut troops who were with Crump ran past everyone and chased after their leader.

One of them had lagged behind, tripping over his own feet comically and hit the ground with a thud. Rainbow couldn't help but get a feeling a deja vu at the scene as the fallen soldier got back up and hurried after his team.

"...I think I'll take that as a yes," Rainbow said, the answer given to her without any verbal confirmation.

"Hooray! They saved us all!" a Puni cheered, rousing the rest of the tribe to join in, celebrating their heroes rescuing them from the intruders.

"Yes, and now our tree can go back to being the peaceful place I remember," Elder Puni said. "Marty-o, you can take the Emerald Star, the Crystal Star that resided in this tree."

Mario was about to correct the old Puni that she pronounced his name wrong like Mayor Kroop in Petalburg, but disregarded it since there was going to be no point. Fluttershy walked over to Mario, holding out the Crystal Star.

"Good thing it didn't break when that Magnus thingie blew up," she said as Mario took the star from the pegasus.

The Crystal Star flew around Mario the moment he touched it, giving them their second out of seven while also being granted a second power, Clock Out, in a spectacular shower of sparkles. After giving Mario his new ability, it floated back in his hand, where he kept it safely secure in his backpack.

"That's two for us, and zip for the bad guys," Rainbow gloated."

"Ya sure contributed in that fight pretty well, Rainbow," Applejack sarcastically said.

"Unfortunately, we didn't get any information from that guy about the princesses," Goombella said. "We don't even have any idea where their base is, or even if it's anywhere close by."

"Next time he shows up, we're going to get some answers," Starlight said. "And if won't talk, a little magic shock torture could get him to flap his gums."

"At least they're finally gone, and the Punies' can live peacefully again," Flurrie said, bringing their attention to the tribe. "I'm just glad none of you are too badly hurt. But there's the matter of that bomb that distasteful Crump fellow hid in the Great Tree."

They heard a chirping sound, and to everyone's surprise, they saw Jabble flittering toward them. "It's another Jabbie!" one of the Punies said.

"Get him!" others shouted, terrifying Jabble.

"Wait, stop!" Punio exclaimed. "Don't hurt my friend!" The Punies all gasped in shock at Punio's claim, watching him skitter over to his panicked Jabbie friend. "Yes. I admit it. I made friends with one of our enemies. But despite how different we are, we know more about each other AND our tribe more than any other Puni or Jabbi. And if you all think it's wrong for me to have fun with someone who isn't like me, then I'm going to change our ways and try to befriend the Jabbi tribe with Jabble at my side!"

The Punies muttered to each other with this strange idea coming from their future leader. Even if they didn't agree and would protest, Punio didn't care, wanting to make this change since the Great Tree is a home for both their tribes. Puniper approached Punio and Jabble, the innocent Jabbi squeaking frightfully and hid behind his best friend. He could tell Jabble was different from the rest of the Jabbies, about the same age as Punio and smaller than the ones they fought, but his eyes didn't show much spite or hatred, mostly fear as he was greatly outnumbered by approaching his enemies. Seeing how much Punio had changed compared to back when they were younger, he swore he would follow his new leader and agree to any new ideas and changes he wants to make to better their tribe.

"If you're gonna try to make friends with the Jabbies, you're gonna need me as your ambassador," Puniper said. "I have a way with words, after all."

Punio snickered at the thought. "Yeah, right. You'll only get them to swarm you with your big mouth."

"Give me a chance, boss," Puniper begged.

"I'll think about it." Punio stepped aside, making Jabble squeak, his body quivering as his wings were about ready to help him flee. "Jabble, this is Puniper. He was a bully of mine, but I consider him a friend...unless he picks on me again."

"I'm just gonna ignore that, but nice meeting you," Puniper said.

Jabble nervously greeted him in his own language, the other Punies seeing the interaction helping them see Punio's point of view and give the Jabbies a chance, assuming they weren't too mad having their hives destroyed. Before Punio could introduce his friend to the others, Jabble squeaked, telling Punio about something he overheard when he followed them.

"Huh? You mean you know where that bomb is that almost blew up the tree?" Punio asked, Jabble responding with a nod. "Whoa! That's amazing! We can finally get rid of it, and our home will really be safe and sound!"

"Of course it would make sense," the nerdy Puni, Punedexter, stated. "Considering how the Jabbies teamed up with the X-Nauts, they would show them where the best location would be to break down the Great Boggly Tree from the inside in a giant explosion, wiping all of us out, including the Jabbies despite their help taking over the tree."

"Well, let's not stand around!" Petuni said. "Let's follow Jabble and find the bomb!" The other Punies agreed, a majority of the tribe gathering around Jabble while Petuni approached him. "Any friend of my brother's is a friend of mine! And he's cute for a Jabbi."

Jabble let out a startled squeak, his cheeks turning a bit darker in a blush when Petuni gave him a friendly nuzzle. Punio gave his Jabbi friend a warning glare, the overprotective side of him not wanting his sister to get THAT close to Jabble, even with their future treaty and uniting both their tribes.

"Well, as much as we love to stay and help, we've got to get going," Starlight said. "We've got to find the five remaining Crystal Stars before the X-Nauts do."

"Thanks for all your help, everyone," Punio said. "And come back to visit us whenever you can!"

"Oh, of course we will," Fluttershy said. "Maybe if we take a detour after finding another Crystal Star?"

"We'll think about it, dearie," Flurrie said. "Ta-ta, my adorable little Punies!"

The tribe said their goodbyes as they waved their heroes off. Mario and co headed off out of the tree and began their trek back to the warp pipe connected to the Rogueport sewers, hoping for the best between the Punies and Jabbies, and they move that bomb safely away from the Great Tree before it goes off unexpectedly. So far, there were no leads on where Twilight and Peach were, only the fact that the X-Nauts have them held hostage and weren't planning letting them go, even for a ransom if they gave up the Crystal Stars.

"What!?" Back in Grodus's lair, the X-Naut leader had just heard some unfortunate news from one of his soldiers, this X-Naut wearing a white coat over a blue uniform while holding a clipboard, being one of his more intellectual scientists in his army. "What do you mean you can't get in touch with Lord Crump!?"

"We are investigating the dilemma now, Sir Grodus," the scientist said. "We should hear from him at any moment..."

A red-suited X-Naut soldier walked in, saluting as he made his presence in front of his leader. "Sir Grodus! Please allow me to enter!"

"What is it?" Grodus asked, allowing the soldier to approach him.

"I have a report, sir!" he said. "The Crystal Star in the Boggly Woods has apparently been taken by Mario!"

"WHAT!?" Grodus exclaimed in shock. "You can't be serious!? What about the Shadow Sirens and Lord Crump!?"

"Uh, I'm sorry, sir! Unfortunately, Mario and his entourage of sidekicks laid a beating on all of them!" the soldier explained, making Grodus grumble.

"How disturbing," Grodus uttered to himself. "Just how strong is this Mario and those other equines he has with him..." After pondering the determination from the Mushroom Kingdom's hero and the ponies from another world, he brought his attention back to he soldier who just entered. "What of the status on the other Crystal Stars?"

"I apologize, sir!" the red-suited X-Naut replied. "We are still searching for the other Crystal Stars! Unsuccessfully, sir!"

"We know of three of them: Hooktail Castle, Boggly Woods, and the one we found in Rogueport," Grodus said. "There are only four Crystal Stars left out there...and we WILL have them! Keep searching so Mario won't beat us to the punch!" The X-Naut soldier nodded, gave Grodus their signature salute, then took his leave. "As I suspected, there's no reason to doubt Mario has the map..." He looked at the scientist still in the room, awaiting more orders. "Keep a close eye on Mario and those friends of the alicorn princess."

"Yes, sir!" the scientist said with a salute, then walked out of the command room.

Grodus growled to himself as soon as he was alone, despising Mario for getting in the way of his plans. "Mario...I loathe you..."

Meanwhile, in what was considered the prison cell for the royal pair, Peach paced around nervously while Twilight sat in her bed, her eyes boringly tracing through the words of the book she had with her. "...I'm starting to get bored of reading already," Twilight grumbled, closing the book on the legend of the One Thousand-Year Door after reading it for the umpteenth time. "If I were stranded on a deserted island, and I could only bring one book with me, I would already lose my mind. They can't provide us with anything else to entertain ourselves if we're treated like special prisoners?"

"At least we're not being held in a cage," Peach said. She continued pacing, sighing heavily. "I hope my email got to Mario."

"I'm starting to have doubts trying to trust that computer if it works for our kidnappers," Twilight said. "He probably was sending it, then erased it, or sent it to a different address to give us false hope."

"I don't think TEC is all that bad if he's curious about us. Besides, he's the only way we can contact Mario and the others right now." Twilight sighed, plopping her head on her pillow as she leered at the ceiling, too bored to argue. "Oh, I wonder how everyone's doing at the castle...Will I ever dance at the Mushroom Ball again?"

"I'm wondering if there's any other reading material they can give us so time can pass by quickly," Twilight grumbled.

Thankfully, something stirred out Twilight's boredom as their door opened up, both princesses looking down the hallway. "Is this TEC's doing?"

"What does he want from us this time?" Twilight asked.

"Let's find out." Peach and Twilight made their way down the hall into TEC's control room, both princesses walking up to the monitor, the camera above looking down at them.

Hello, Princess Peach, Princess Twilight, TEC greeted.

"TEC, that mail sent to Mario...Did it go through?" Peach asked.

Yes. I can confirm that Mario received the mail. Twilight was about to question if TEC really did send the email like he promised, but the monitor lit up, showing the message had indeed been sent to the right person and in full.

"...Ok, so I guess TEC did keep his word," Twilight uttered to herself. "So, what do you want from us today? Lessons in friendship? Love? More history about Equestria to store outside of your 'programming'?"

Princess Peach, you expressed regret earlier that you would not be able to dance at a ball, and Princess Twilight has been restless due to no activity to keep her entertained while imprisoned. TEC shocked the princesses, overhearing them in their room.

"You were eavesdropping on us!?" Twilight exclaimed.

I am sorry, TEC apologized. I have been ordered to keep survellience on both of you.

"...Please don't tell me you 'survey' us if we're using the restroom next door," Peach said, making herself and Twilight feel awkward when the only chance of privacy was going to be breached by security cameras.

There are no cameras in the restrooms at all in the base, as it is an invasion of privacy if anyone needs to use the facilities of any kind. The relieved both princesses, although they're going to check every corner of their bathroom just in case. But...it is odd...

"Finding it odd having no cameras to watch us while we shower or use the toilet?" Twilight questioned irritably.

I meant about the ball Princess Peach mentioned, TEC elaborated, making Twilight feel silly making an assumption like that. When you said that, I had an impulse to dance with you as well. How my CPU would produce this impulse is inexplicable. I must find what caused it.

Peach and Twilight looked at each other awkwardly, finding it odd that something like a computer wanted to dance with Peach. "...Ok...? But, there's no reason behind such a feeling, TEC," Peach said. "Wanting to do something together...It's part of love."

Princess Peach. Please dance with me. TEC's request made the princesses balk in surprise and confusion.

"Y-You want to WHAT!?" Twilight exclaimed. "How is that even possible!? You're a...a computer! Dancing involves movement, and you're...kinda stuck against a wall!"

"Twilight has a point, TEC," Peach agreed. "It sounds a bit bizarre."

Would this be an acceptable dance substitute? The lights in the room dimmed slightly as TEC revealed his substitute for Peach to dance with.

Appearing before Peach and Twilight was a holographic image of Peach herself, shocking the princesses at the perfectly created illusion made by the laser lights around TEC's room. "Is...is that me!?" Peach asked.

"H-How did you do that?" Twilight asked, both curious and a little terrified seeing a double of Peach standing before them. TEC created another holographic image beside Twilight, which happened to be a copy of herself. She turned her head to look at the odd lights in her peripherals, yelping in surprise at herself. "A-And now one of me!?"

Did you not wish to dance as well? TEC asked.

"Uhh...Isn't it a bit weird trying to dance with yourself?" Twilight questioned. "Plus, I can't dance. I have four left hooves."

I assume that phrase is an iteration to "having two left feet" from your world, TEC stated out of intrigue. Maybe another time.

TEC dismissed the Twilight hologram, leaving the Peach one beside the real princess. She did want to help TEC understand what love is and befriend him if he was willing to help them escape, though the latter seemed impossible since he was a computer and had specific priorities set in his programming.

"This is going to look so awkward," Peach said to herself as she approached her double, holding her arms out to it.

The see-through double mimicked her movements as they joined together, and with music provided by TEC, they began to dance a simple waltz around the room. As strange as it was, Twilight watched the real and holographic princesses, stepping in time with the tempo and spinning around on occasion. Peach seemed to have more experience in ballroom dancing with however many balls her kingdom hosted, though the alicorn wondered when she had the time when Bowser would try to kidnap her every few months. Once the song ended, the two Peachs' stepped away from each other and curtsied, the see-through creation disappearing and the lights in the room brightening back up.

"...Looked fun," Twilight sarcastically stated.

Thank you, Princess Peach. That was very fun. Peach giggled nervously as TEC's robotic voice contradicted his actual feelings after the short dance. Just a moment...........Fun? Is this impulse I feel the concept known as fun?

While TEC was processing the elation he just felt, Peach and Twilight looked at each other awkwardly, scared to know if it was going to break him. "Uhh, TEC?" Twilight called out, apparently snapping the super computer from his silent observation.

...I will fulfill my promise to you, TEC said. Use the keyboard to send whatever message you want.

"Ok." Peach approached the console and began typing her next message for Mario, sadly unable to gather anymore intel at the moment aside from their slight boredom. "I'm finished, TEC. Can you send it?"

The princesses watched TEC send Peach's email to Mario, successfully sent with a series of beeps. The message has been sent. Please go back to your room. I want to analyze the data from this dance immediately. The data that I thought was fun...

"...You are a weeeeird computer," Peach commented, Twilight snickering as she agreed in silence.

No. You are mistaken, TEC said. I am the world's best and only perfect computer.

The princesses rolled their eyes, then made their way back to their room. "Not exactly perfect if he doesn't know anything about love or friendship," Twilight said, only to wince, almost forgetting TEC could hear them with all the cameras in the base. "I hope he didn't take offense to that."

"At least he's on our side, and we can give the others hints about where we are or where else they're able to go. It's too bad we're unable to sneak around like I was able to back when my castle was abducted by Bowser." Peach and Twilight were back in their room, back to waiting until Grodus wants to interrogate them or TEC wants some more of his questions answered. "...So, do you want to play I Spy?"

"Metal walls," Twilight said, giving an answer before Peach's attempt at entertaining each other with a game as the alicorn plopped back down in her bed.

"...Drat," Peach muttered. "Should have picked another thing. Your turn."

Twilight groaned in agonizing boredom, burying her head underneath her pillow. "I need a new book or something exciting to happen!" she whined.

Down in Petal Meadows, Bowser and Kammy had finally reached the continent where they heard Peach was kidnapped, the witch content to stay on her broomstick while the Koopa King decided to hoof it. "Ok, I'm sure this is the right place," Bowser said.

"Right as usual, Lord Bowser!" Kammy said. "We had gotten word that Princess Peach was spotted in the town up ahead."

"Gwa ha ha ha ha! Good! Now I can take back my princess, and Mario won't even realize he's been looking in the wrong place all this time!" Bowser gloated, slamming his fist in the palm of his hand, cracking his knuckles. "And I'll give the wannabe copycat taking MY beloved princess a whooping before I torch his hide to a crispy, charred black!"

The duo made their way down the path, eventually arriving in Petalburg, not dismayed by the Goombas and Koopas on the road as Bowser's mere presence made them run and hide in fear. Bowser didn't like the bright and colorful land, looking almost like Flower Fields in the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Hello, and welcome to Petal-" the Koopa near the entrance began to welcome the Koopa King and his right hand witch, but the moment he saw Bowser, his heart stopped and began to sweat, knowing exactly who was entering the peaceful town. "AAAAAHHHHHH! EVERYBODY HIDE!!!! IT'S BOWSER!!!!!!!!"

The other townsfolk turned to see the Koopa King at the entrance, causing a panic as everyone screamed and ran away from him as he made his way down the path, searching for his princess. "What a bunch of wusses," Bowser muttered to himself. "Run and hide! I'm not even interested in any of you anyway! I'm searching for-" Looking at one of the buildings, standing at the window sill, was who Bowser was looking for, wearing a grin as she spotted her "savior". "Ah! And there she is!"

"What a stroke of luck, eh, Lord Bowser?" Kammy said.

"Luck has nothing to do with this," Bowser chuckled, licking his hand and running it through his hair to slick it back, marching casually up to the building with a cheeky grin. "Oh, my beloved little Peachy poo! Your future king is here to save you from the clutches of fakers pretending to be me!" Where he expected either a retort or, in his mind, elation from the princess of his daring rescue, Peach was silent, still in the same grinning pose. "...Ah. I see. So stunned to see me whisk you off your feet that you're rendered speechless. I know. I am amazing...And I could live with you being silent. That's your choice, just so long as I'll hold you in my arms."

"NOOO!" Snapped out of his suave, "romantic" wooing, a Koopa near the building trembled as he tried to stand defiantly against the terrifying Koopa King. "M-M-My life's treasure! I'd rather die than give up my life-sized Peach poster!"

"...What?" Bowser asked, highly confused. He was about to retort when the Peach fan screamed in terror, running up to the window, and took off what was actually a poster hung up against the window and carefully rolled it up before fleeing. Bowser was incredibly shocked, flabbergasted, and utterly embarrassed as he was practically talking to a poster of the princess his heart desires. "A-A-A...A poster??? I...was trying to sweet talk...a poster??????"

Kammy blinked a few times, taken aback after witnessing her ruler making an embarrassment of himself. "...Well, I didn't see that coming." Bowser's eye twitched, his shock slowly turning to irritation, glaring in the window at what appeared to be the Peach fan's house, where there were all sorts of Princess Peach memorabilia: pictures, figurines, artwork, everything a diehard fan of anything would want to worship a person, show, etc. Kammy looked in the window, seeing where their intel had gone awry with all the belongings inside. "Oh my...Seems like someone has a thing for the princess as much as you. But, at least no one else saw you trying to win over a poster with your smooth talk than the smaller pictures in your bed chambers."

"Oh, great. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kammy," Bowser sarcastically said, growling angrily. "Now I just humiliated myself by being the king of TALKING TO POSTERS!!!!!!!" After fuming at his embarrassment, Bowser hung his head in shame with a heavy sigh. "Back to square one..."

"But, since we are here, do you want to take a break and enjoy that picnic I mentioned back out in the fields?" Kammy asked. Her answer from the Koopa King was a deadly glower, his nose steaming as he was about ready to breathe fire on the purple-robed witch. "...Heheheheh. O-Or not?"

Bowser grumbled, stomping out of the village and back to his copter with a huff. "We're gonna search elsewhere. I am not going to take a break until I find Peach and take her back home! And if you mention anymore picnics, I'll roast you, Kammy Koopa!"

"Y-Yes, my lord!" Kammy quickly obeyed nervously, floating after Bowser before losing sight of him.

The Pianta Mafia

Returning back to Rogueport from Boggly Woods via the sewers, it didn't take long for the group to make it back to the Thousand-Year Door. On the way, Mario got an e-mail from Peach again as they made their way to the warp pipe.

Dear Mario,
I'm sure all of you are concerned about us, but please know Twilight and I are both fine. We should be the ones worrying about you, especially the girls. Those fiends who kidnapped us are searching desperately for the Crystal Stars. We'll try to figure out more about them where we are, and e-mail you when we discover something. Twilight's been antsy without her magic, but we both miss all of you. I hope we can spend some semblance of peace with each other after all of this.
Princess Peach

The mares knew Twilight was trying to pull herself together, but the longer she was without her magic, the more worried she gets, and she goes into her usual Twilight panic attacks. As long as they didn't hurt her, she'll survive, and with Peach beside her, they know she's not alone as the captured princess in any cliched storybooks of a hero rescuing the damsel in distress.

After navigating a little through the sewers, Boggly Woods not too far from the hall of the Thousand-Year Door, they finally arrived without too much trouble. When Flurrie saw the grand door before them, she was in awe at its size, growing just as curious as the rest as to what lies beyond something that's been hidden for over a millennia.

"My, oh my," Flurrie uttered. "I may have been around for quite some time, but never in my life did I think that this legendary door was actually real."

"Neither were the Crystal Stars, but from what we've learned, legends are never really legends at all," Starlight said. "At least in our world."

"Might wanna close your eyes when Mario holds up the Crystal Star," Rainbow advised.

Taking the pegasus's warning, Flurrie shut her eyes as Mario made his way to the center platform on the dais.

The Emerald Star flew up out of Mario's backpack, hovering into the top right-most spot of the dais as it lit up its ethereal symbols. Mario pulled out the Magical Map, letting it float out of his hands as it began to glow, energy absorbing into it as the map revealed the next Crystal Star in a bright flash of light. In the top right corner of the map, in between Hooktail Castle and the Great Tree of Boggly Woods, appearing in the empty sky was what appeared to be a floating city of sorts. A huge platform was held up by rocket thrusters to keep it afloat, the main attraction of this city a huge building with a Chain Chomp on top of it, accompanied by smaller buildings that appeared to be shops. The next Crystal Star appeared in front of the floating city, its hue a bronzeish-gold as it's incorporeal visage hovered over its location.

Once the flashing lights dimmed down, Flurrie opened her eyes, a bit disappointed she missed the light show, but she didn't also want to loose her eyesight anytime soon. "Well, even when my eyes were shut tight, those flashes were something."

"Where's our next lead, Mario?" Goombella asked. He showed everyone the map, baffling the ponies, Goomba, Koopa, and wind spirit. "It's...in the sky?"

"At least it's not made of clouds like back home," Fluttershy said. "But, why is there one there?"

"Maybe we should ask Prof. Frankly," Koops suggested, the others agreeing and made their way back to Rogueport.

Back in Prof. Frankly's abode, the Goomba was given a rundown of what happened in Boggly Woods. While also given the map to look at the next location of the third Crystal Star, Frankly went on a short lecture about the history of the Thousand-Year Door and the kingdom that once thrived sink into the oceans below.

"...That means that beneath this town, the thousand-year-old ruins remain intact," the elder Goomba concluded, closing up the book before addressing the group. "And that door's been sealed shut for a thousand years by the Crystal Stars...In order to open that seal, we have to muster the power of the Crystal Stars."

"Yeah, we know," Rainbow commented, having gotten bored hearing the story. "That's why we're trying to find them, and keep the X-Nauts from getting whatever's in there, too."

"But why in Equestria would the older citizens of what are now ruins want to seal this treasure up?" Starlight asked. "Did they not want thieves or tomb raiders coming in to steal what they owned?"

"No, that's not..." Frankly uttered, pausing as he tried to figure out the true reason for the Thousand-Year Door's powerful seal set in place.

"'That's not' what?" Goombella asked curiously.

"I don't KNOW!" Frankly exclaimed, startling everyone from his outburst. "S-Sorry. I know the treasure was sealed away when the town was destroyed, but the problem is...no one's sure what caused the town's demise." He picked up the book he just read, waving it around as he emphasized what was quoted in the legend. "All that's written is this: 'Darkness stole the sky and the cataclysm rained down.' I need to research this some more. Assuming would just make an...Well, you all know the saying..."

"I wonder what actually happened back then," Fluttershy pondered. "I do hope no one was seriously hurt by this cataclysm..."

"Well, since there's no leads for the destruction of the town a thousand years ago, what about this floating city on the map?" Starlight asked.

"Ah, yes," Frankly muttered, looking over the map. "Perhaps the Crystal Star is being held in the floating town of Glitzville."

"'Glitzville'?" Applejack asked. "What in the name of oats and apples is in a place called that?"

"There is a stunning arena where there are great warriors who engage in furious battles!" Frankly explained. "It's a bit of a tourist spot for families to lounge and enjoy the fights."

"No way! That sounds awesome!" Rainbow cheered. "What are we waiting for!? Let's go there!"

"Not all of us can fly, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said, reminding the excited pegasus, who gave everyone a sheepish grin. "And how exactly do we get up there from Rogueport?...Please don't say more sewers."

"How would a warp pipe even lead up to something flying in the sky?" Starlight pointed out. "Last I checked, pipe systems have to be connected via an underground network."

"Yeah, it would have been way too easy to make it to Star Haven if warp pipes could lead to someplace floating above the earth," Pinkie added. "But that's what adventures are for! No shortcuts!...Unless we absolutely have to skip backtracking..." Her grin suddenly turned forced when she lifted up a small sign reading "Chapter 4", her hooves shaking as she struggled not to get angry. "Except when we can't avoid it...at all."

"What was that, Pinkie?" Flurrie asked, the pink earth pony tossing away the sign with a timid giggle.

"Nothing!" she squealed.

"Getting to Glitzville is not that difficult," Frankly said, getting them back on topic. "A special blimp flies up to Glitzville at the station here in Rogueport, and it runs several times a day. However, the problem is getting a seat. The only way to get a ticket is through certain...'channels'." Everyone looked at each other, surprised by knowing they could only get a blimp ticket through a bit of shady dealings. "Yeah, I know...But I don't think we have much of a choice if we want to get that Crystal Star. Word on the street is, all tickets go through Don Pianta on the west side of town."

"Don Pianta? What's a 'Pianta'?" Rainbow asked.

"Uhh, maybe they're the things with big noses and palm tree heads?" Pinkie guessed. "I don't know if anypony else noticed them in the background when we got here as they roughed up some birdy-looking guys."

"Don Pianta lives in the west side of Rogueport, but be careful," Frankly warned. "He's a syndicate boss. There's been some scary rumors about him, and he's also reclusive. Getting an audience with him might be a bit difficult."

"We'll figure it out. Let's go and meet Don Pianta and ask him for that ticket," Starlight said, the group heading out to meet with the don of the Piantas.

Leaving Frankly's study, the group headed back to the main plaza and begin exploring the rest of Rogueport to the west. Passing the inn, where Toadsworth was inside constantly worrying about Princess Peach and what kind of conflicts could spark with Princess Twilight being kidnapped in their world. Making their way to the west path, they saw a Toad grumbling as she walked around, looking down at the ground. Her mushroom head had yellow spots, white curly hair under her mushroom cap, wearing a red apron over a black shirt. Right as they got close to the building she was pacing in front of, she spotted them, holding her hand out as she leered at them.

"STOP!" she shouted, making them pause. "None of you take another step closer!"

"Uhh, sorry, miss, but we kinda-" Starlight began, lifting up a hoof to step forward.

"I SAID NOT ANOTHER STEP!" the Toad shrieked, making everyone freeze at her command. "Some jerk bumped into me and I lost my contact lens! I'm looking for it right now, so none of you move a muscle until I find it! Capisce!?"

"Ooh! We get a quiche for standing perfectly still!?" Pinkie asked, making the Toad roll her eyes before continuing her search. "Oh! Or maybe we can help you find your-!" Pinkie took a step forward, then froze when her hoof accidentally crunched something. The Toad quickly turned her head at her, glaring at her with a twitching eye. Pinkie slowly looked down, then lifted her hoof up, seeing the shattered fragments of what was supposed to be a contact lens. "...Oops."

"WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU!?!?!?!?!?!" the Toad screeched angrily, running over to the pink pony, making her step back as she inspected the damage. "NO!!! My contact lens! Do your ears not work!? And who even said you were gonna get a quiche out of me if you 'helped' find it! Well, you found it, and broke it, so you get absolutely nothing from me besides my fury!"

"Hey, calm down there, lady!" Rainbow exclaimed. "It's not like we can see how big it was!"

"And it appears randomly when we get too close, so even backing away or leaping somewhere else would have left it under our feet," Pinkie muttered apologetically.

"Well, this is just perfect. Now I have to buy a new contact lens," the Toad grumbled, then pointed at the group. "But you're gonna be paying for it because of Miss Squishy here!" She then moved over to the archway, blocking their path to the west side of Rogueport. "And until I get my new contact lens, none of ya are getting by me!"

"B-But that's not fair!" Koops said. "We need to get to Glitzville."

"Oh ho ho! Don't even try asking me politely!" the irate Toad said. "I'm not like my sweet and charming cousin, Tayce T. back in Toad Town! In this town, I gotta be tough dealing with thugs and clumsy twinkle-toes breaking my stuff!"

"You know Tayce T.?" Pinkie asked curiously.

"Yeah. Name's Zess T., but don't try to get friendly with me!" Zess T. said. "Now, get me my new contact lens, or I'll go get my frying pan and bash someone so hard they'll be seeing stars!"

Starlight levitated the bits of the contact lens, definitely too small for a pony's considering how big their eyes are. "Not sure if I can fix this with magic if there's a sharp piece out of place. That, and how dirty this ground is..." She shook her head, discarding the broken contact lens. "Might as well see if the store has any in stock."

Luckily, Rogueport's store wasn't all that far from Zess T.'s home, the party making their way inside to see what wares they had. It would have helped to check this store first before going off through the sewers to Petalburg, though they didn't have as many useful items that Petalburg had. They didn't see any contact lenses on the shelf, so they approached the two Toads running the shop, hoping they have some so they can get by Zess T.

"Excuse us, sirs," Goombella said. "Do you by any chance sell contact lenses?"

"Hmm. Let me take a look in our storage," one of them said, making their way around the counter and into the back room. A moment later, the Toad came out with a small box, opening it up and pulling out several contact lenses in perfect condition. "We got ourselves a shipment of them not too long ago. I know Zess T. ends up losing hers no thanks to the hoodlums running around stealing coins and running past her, so we made sure to keep some in stock for her."

"Let me guess: one of you stepped on a lens that fell out, and she wants you to buy her a new one?" the other Toad guessed, the look on Pinkie's face explaining it all with her guilty look. "Thought so. These are ten coins apiece, but seeing how you got the brunt of her ire, which I think the whole town could hear, we'll give you a new contact lens on us."

"Really?" Pinkie asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, no problem," the first Toad said. "Not many folks around here wear contacts all that much anyway."

"Gee, thanks!" Pinkie was about to grab the contact lens, only for Rarity to snatch it away in her magic aura.

"How about you let somepony who can keep it from getting crushed, darling?" Rarity suggested. "Don't want her getting upset with you again. Besides, we need hurry and rescue Twilight."

"Right," Pinkie said with a nervous giggle.

After thanking the shop owners, the group headed back outside and back to Zess T., giving her her new contact lens. "About time," she grumbled, snatching the lens and carefully putting it in her eye, blinking a few times to let it settle in. "Ah, I can finally see again. I'll let you guys go now. Just be careful next time. No one likes their stuff being stomped on."

"Then how about a cupcake to make up for stepping on your old contact lens?" Pinkie offered, pulling out a random cupcake from behind her.

Zess T. raised a brow, wondering where the pastry came from and when she even had time to make it after waking into the shop, but shrugged, accepting it and taking a bite. "...Mmmm...Wow. Sour and sweet for a cupcake. You use actual lemons and limes for the batter and frosting?"

"Yup! From the desert oasis in Dry Dry Desert back in the Mushroom Kingdom!" Pinkie said. "I can never get enough of them, so I had them imported to Ponyville, and everypony loves them!"

Zess T. hummed, finishing off the cupcake, licking her lips as she showed a genuine smile, despite the serious look in her eyes. "Not bad for a young baker. If you guys have the time, I'll show you how to whip up a mean cupcake using my own special recipes."

"Deal!" Pinkie and Zess T. shook on the promise, the serious baker heading back inside her home to make some confectionery goodies.

"Well, that was...quite a one-eighty," Rainbow noted.

"Zess T. kinda reminds me of Limestone Pie," Applejack said, rubbing the back of her head in thought. "Almost sounded like her, too."

"I should introduce her to my sisters one day! We can even share baking tricks!" Pinkie squealed excitedly, bouncing up and down as many possibilities ran through her wild noggin.

Moving onto the west side of Rogueport, this area was a little bit nicer with several apartment buildings, a little garden in the southeast corner with a fountain, an archway leading to the station where the blimp was, along with some railroad tracks for a train, and far to the west was a shop and a place called the "Pianta Parlor", the front guarded by one of the Piantas Frankly mentioned, wearing a business suit and sunglasses, though his tough-guy look was thrown off by the leafy skirt around his waist. Seeing he must clearly work for Don Pianta, the party approached the bouncer.

"Excuse us, but do you happen to know Don Pianta?" Flurrie asked.

"Who wants to know?" the Pianta questioned skeptically.

"We would like to request an audience with him, if you don't mind." The Pianta shook his head, refusing to answer. Flurrie decided to lay on the charm, hovering before him as she struck an alluring pose, giving him a wink. "Come on, Mr. Big-Tall-and-Handsome. Isn't there any way you can do us a favor?"

The Pianta's cheeks began to turn red, sweat beading down his face rapidly as his eyes tried not to look down behind his sunglasses. "...M-Maybe I can...give you a hint on how to see the don, but don't mention this to him, or he'll have my tree if he finds out I helped someone." Flurrie nodded in agreement, looking back at her friends with a wink, making the girls giggle while Mario and Koops looked away nervously. "The shop near the parlor is where you'll find the don, but you won't get by the shopkeeper unless you say the password."

"And what is the password, hon?" Flurrie asked, laying on more of her charm.

"I-I can't say! I've already said too much!" the bouncer said. "B-But, there's a group on the other end of town who owes the don a huge debt, either coming to him to make their payment or us coming to them to force it out of them." Pinkie let out a awed noise, now understanding why those Piantas were roughing up some shady-looking bird people after getting away from Crump and his army of X-Nauts. "They know how to get it, so your best bet is to get it out of them."

"Hmm...Well, if that's all you can give us, we'll have to go with that, I guess," Flurrie said, slightly dejected, but they at least have a lead. "Thanks, sweetie."

She then rewarded the Pianta with a fat smooch on the cheek, startling him as he flailed nervously, falling backwards a few seconds after Flurrie pulled away with a smack. With the little information they got out of the bouncer, they headed back to the east side of town to find the group Don Pianta has "ties" to. Once they got back to the front of Prof. Frankly's house, their progress was halted by one of those birds Pinkie mentioned who got roughed up, blocking the path under the small archway to the rest of the shadier side of Rogueport.

"Oh, so this must have been the bird person Pinkie mentioned," Goombella said. "They're called Craws."

"Makes sense with the way their beaks look," Fluttershy said.

"Excuse us," Starlight said, trying to pass by, but the Craw held his spear out, impeding her progress.

"No one's allowed beyond here," the Craw said. "If you want to, ya gotta pay a price to pass me."

"What price?" Starlight asked skeptically.

"Ten coins," he said.

"...How about you just let us by, not acting as a toll for citizens to walk around wherever they please in a town, and we won't have any trouble?" Starlight suggested.

"Oh ho ho! You think you can take me on, little...whatever you are!?" the Craw asked, pointing his spear at the unicorn. "If it's a fight you're looking for, then I'll gladly kick your butt and show you I'm no pushover!" Starlight stared blankly at the "guard", her horn lighting up, then shocked the Craw when his spear was yanked out of his hand. He blinked, watching his weapon hover in front of the mare, the others behind her giving him a look that said he shouldn't have challenged someone definitely stronger than he thought she was. "...Oh...You have...magic powers?"

"Mhmm." She snapped the wooden handle in half, sweat dripping down the Craw's face as he giggled nervously. He tried to escape, only to be caught by Starlight's magic, hovering back over to him as she lead him over to the edge of the water. "We need to have a chat with Don Pianta, and one of his bodyguards told us you and your friends know how the password to see him. And we can do this the easy way, or the hard way, so I'd pick easy because we kinda have somewhere to be."

"Whoa, whoa! Let's not get too hasty here!" the Craw exclaimed nervously, looking down to see Nibblers leaping up as they catch sight of their next meal. "W-Why do you need to see the don? You're not gonna try to take over his parlor, are you?"

"We need to get to Glitzville, and the only way we can get a ticket for the blimp is by the don," Starlight explained. "Now, what's the password?"

"I-I don't know!" he screeched.

"Alrighty, then. Chow time, little fishies!" Starlight dropped the Craw, making him shriek in terror as he fell, only to stop mere inches from the water, then thankfully pulled back up before a Nibbler nibbled on his giblets.

"Y-You're crazy!" the Craw yelled out, shuddering slightly, then yelped when he felt Starlight about to dip him down like bait again. "W-Wait, wait! My boss knows the password! You can talk to him at our hideout!"

"Where is it?" Starlight asked, keeping her victim hovering over the water.

"T-There's a gap between two buildings you all can squeeze through! The door's just around the corner! Can't miss it!" he responded. "Please don't drop me in the ocean again!"

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Starlight smugly asked. He hovered the terrified Craw back on dry land, dropping him unceremoniously. "How about you run off and not bar anyone passage to a side of town as a toll booth if you don't really own the whole town?" Nodding his head rapidly, he quickly fled, heading past the arch he was blocking to warn his friends about their future presence. "There. Now we know where to go."

"So, does this make us as our own syndicate if we're beating up another gang or something?" Koops asked nervously.

"I call mob boss!" Rainbow said, raising a hoof.

"No, I think Starlight fits it better after dealing with that Craw," Goombella said, the group continuing their discussion as they made their way to the former guard's boss further beyond the east side.

Spotting the two buildings he mentioned, they squeezed their way through to the other side, the ones able to fly simply hovering over the houses until they saw the door to the hideout. Walking through without knocking, they found the same Craw Starlight threatened, along with a couple more Craws like him and an odd snail-like biped, the shell firmly connected to his back while he wore green vest over a white shirt, a brown knitted cap on his head, and a pair of sunglasses. The place was a pigsty just like the rest of the east side of Rogueport, offending Rarity when the west side was far better in cleanliness.

"Hey, who are you?" the snail said, clearly the leader as he addressed the intruders. "This is the fortress of the Robbo Thieves. You got no right trespassing on our turf."

"Uhh, careful, Ishnail," the nervous Craw warned, pointing at Starlight. "She's the one I told ya that almost fed me to the Nibblers."

"Look, we're not here to cause trouble, but we're really in a hurry," Starlight said. "We want to meet with Don Pianta, and we heard you know about the password to get to his hideout."

"What!? You wanna meet that no-good, dirty, rotten, lyin', cheatin', stealin', jerky-for-brains, Don Pianta!?" Ishnail exclaimed. "We never catch a break from that guy, and now we've got some prissy-lookin'...whatever you are messing with one of my guys when we're already strugglin' with them Piantas getting in our business!? Even when he demands protection money from us as well, you REALLY want to meet up with him!?"

"We need tickets for the blimp to get to Glitzville, and it's not for a vacation," Starlight reasoned, making Pinkie and Rainbow groan, the duo wanting to see some of the fights. "We're trying to stop a group WORSE than both yours and Don Pianta's combined, and they have two of our friends, both of them princesses no less. So if you want to get a taste of what your friend got, I'll assure you that I have done far worse to others in the past."

Ishnail grimaced, the serious look on Starlight's face enough of a warning, her pony friends nodding in confirmation as they witnessed what she was capable of. "...Grr...Fine then...but it's going to cost you 64 coins!"

"Are you serious?" Goombella questioned.

"This is insider information, and no one else must know about this! That, and it'll insure your'll keep your word from learning how to get to the don from us a secret." As much as they didn't want to waste too much money on a bit of information, time was of the essence. Starlight looked at Mario, nodding her head, agreeing to Ishnail's terms. Mario took out his wallet, handing the snail the 64 coins, shocking him and the Craws, neither of them expecting a payment after what the guard Craw told them. "W-Wait, you're really gonna pay?"

"You better tell us now, or Starlight will warp you to where my buddy Chompy is and he'll give you a bite worse than the Nibblers!" Pinkie warned with a sinister grin, somehow wearing a black mustache as she twirled it like a dastardly villain.

The Robbo Thieves gulped audibly in fear, Ishnail quickly giggling as he held his hands up. "Ok, ok, we'll tell ya!" he said, clearing his throat as he promised to tell them how to reach Don Pianta. "Ok. The secret entrance is behind the shop near that parlor of Don Pianta's. Go into that store, and buy a Dried Shroom and a Dizzy Dial in that order."

"Ooh! Just like with Moustafa back in Dry Dry Desert!" Pinkie mentioned. "But I'm not telling any of you how to meet him so easily...It's a secret!"

"...Ok...?" Ishnail looked at his group, the Craws baffled by Pinkie's odd antics and shifting moods, but to avoid meeting "Chompy", the leader continued. "Anyway, after buying those items in order, the shopkeeper will ask you what your favorite color is. You answer 'yellow'. Once you tell her the password, you're free to see the don."

"Doesn't seem all that hard to remember," Flurrie said.

"Thank you, Ishnail," Starlight said, the party taking their leave and made their way back to the west side of town.

Before they could sigh in relief, Pinkie poked her head in the doorway. "Oh! And this is Chompy!" she said, showing a picture of her and her friendly Chain Chomp playing together. The image of a Chain Chomp as Pinkie's "buddy" instilled more fear in the Robbo Thieves. "Ain't he cute!? Ok, bye now!"

She left and rejoined her friends, one of the Craws letting out a breath as he passed out in shock. "...Yeah...cute," Ishnail uttered.

Arriving back near the parlor, Mario and co. entered the shop next to the Pianta Parlor. There were some more decent items in this shop compared to the one in the center of Rogueport, along with the Dried Shroom and Dizzy Dial they need to purchase in order to say the password. It was run by a light blue female Boo, though her choice of attire was a bit strange; a pink bowtie around her neck, cufflinks around her small arms, and bunny ears on her head. She watched Mario buying the two items in the correct order, figuring this big group knew Don Pianta.

"Hmm...Very specific choice in items you bought," the Boo commented. "Ok. What color is your mustache?" Mario was about to answer yellow, but paused when he realized that wasn't the right question, even baffling the others with the expected question they needed to answer. "...Oh, oopsie! What's wrong with me! That's not the right question. Let me try again," she said, a bit flustered as she giggled, but the shop owner quickly composed herself and tried again. "What's your favorite color?"

"Yellow," Starlight answered.

"Uh huh. You guys know the password. So, you must be acquaintances of Don Pianta's, huh?" the Boo asked. Everyone muttered, either randomly answering unsuredly or lying about knowing him vaguely. "Here, let me get the door." She floated over to the back door, unlocking it for them, allowing them access to meet with the don."Alrighty, there you go."

"Thanks, ma'am," Koops said, the group filing out before the owner got suspicious.

Heading up the stairs to the door, leading to the second floor of the parlor next door, the group walked inside the luxurious room: a small gold chandelier hanging from the ceiling, lush carpeting, some comfortable chairs, and some vases sitting on dressers that looked expensive. There were two of the don's Pianta bodyguards in the room watching them, along with Don Pianta himself sitting behind a desk. The don also wore a similar black suit like his boys, though his glasses were a more sharper style, he wore a matching fedora on his head with the small palm tree sticking up from the top, and sported a black mustache, his skin color orange unlike his guards' yellow.

"What's wid all these wise guys bargin' into my private office?" the don questioned, leering at the group behind his sunglasses. "I ain't in a jolly mood today. If you got a beef with me, spit it out or dis is gonna hurt real quick."

"We don't have a 'beef' with you, Don Pianta," Starlight said. "We actually wanted to know if you could let us...borrow a ticket for the blimp to reach Glitzville."

The don stood up from his desk, tapping his hand against the wooden surface. "...Are ya pullin' my leg, sweetheart? You want me to give ya a ticket for da blimp?" The party nodded, making Don Pianta heave out a heavy sigh. "...You must not be a good comedian, 'cause I ain't laughin'. Ya got a lot of nerve comin' here askin' me for somethin' like that. Do ya even know who I am?" Pinkie was about to answer, everyone obviously knowing who he is, but he interrupted her, slamming his fist on his desk. "I'm Don Pianta! I'm no pushover, an' if ya wanna cause any trouble, I can end it real quick!"

"Ya want us to rough 'em up for ya, boss!?" one of Don Pianta's guards asked, pounding a fist into his hand, his buddy joining him as they leered at the intruding guests.

The don held up his hand, signalling his boys to stay put. "Not so fast, boys...I like this little lady's moxie," he complimented Starlight. "Seems to be the type to take charge, and instill fear with her power." Starlight chuckled timidly, having done that before in the past, and not wanting to relive her old days. "If they want to talk, then we'll talk." The two Piantas looked at each other, then stood back in place, obeying the don's command. "So, pray tell, what's your true purpose wantin' one of my tickets for da blimp?"

"Well, as crazy as it sounds..." Starlight pulled the Magical Map out of Mario's backpack, showing Don Pianta the city of Glitzville, along with the image of the Crystal Star that's hiding there. "We need to get to Glitzville not for a pleasure cruise. We're looking for the Crystal Stars, and we also need them in order to help two of our friends who were kidnapped by an evil organization called the X-Nauts, both our friends happening to be very important princesses from this world and the world my kind is from. One of those stars are here, and the only lead we had to make it up there is by asking for a ticket from you."

The two guards looked at each other, hearing rumors of the Crystal Stars, though they never thought they really existed. Don Pianta stared at the map, feeling a bit skeptical that such a treasure truly existed, but as he looked up at Starlight, she was dead serious about her claim, and her party was also determined to find their two friends, even though Koops and Fluttershy were nervous being in the Pianta mob boss's room.

"...I don't care whether them Crystal Stars are real or not, but savin' two skirts in one..." The don chuckled, eyeing Mario, being the only masculine male out of the two who looks like he's the type of guy who rescues a pretty damsel in distress. "Alright. I think we can make a little...arrangement. Do me a favor, an' I'll give you dat ticket."

"Is it a hit?" Pinkie asked, slowly pulling out her hammer. "I got a nice whacking hammer."

The Piantas stared at Pinkie in confusion. "...We ain't THAT kind of syndicate," one of Don Pianta's bodyguards said.

"Yeah, we ain't that violent with our 'clients' if they don't pay up," the other added.

"Oh...Well, when you roughed up those Craw guys, I thought you did some other stuff like that." Pinkie put her hammer away with a grin. "Continue, Donny Pianto!"

Ignoring Pinkie, the don continued. "Anyway, this favor is quite easy..." He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, sitting back down in his seat, his hands clasped together. "...It's my daughter. She...eloped wit' one of my young associates. Dey vanished, but it wasn't that long ago. Dey still oughta be nearby."

"So, you want us to find your daughter and the man she's eloping with?" Flurrie asked.

"Yes. Either bring dem back here, or if ya can't, I'll settle dis matter myself," Don Pianta said.

"But boss, we don't know anything about dese guys!" one of the guards exclaimed.

"Yeah, ya can't rely on a group this random!" the other said.

"QUIET!" the don shouted, making the two Piantas wince. "It's 'cause you lugs can't find her dat I gotta swallow my pride an' ask dem! I hope you dopes ain't makin' complaints 'bout my decisions, are ya?" The glare from Don Pianta made his boys flinch, both of them shaking their heads nervously. "Good. So, do we have ourselves a deal?"

"We'll find your daughter for you, Don Pianta," Starlight promised.

"Excellent." He dug into his jacket pocket, pulling out couple of pictures and showing it to them. "Here's what my daughter an' associate look like; Francesca an' Frankie."

Starlight hovered the photos over to her friends, getting a good look at Francesca and Frankie. The don's daughter was a yellow Pianta, wearing a white shirt with a pink ribbon tied in a loose bow around the collar, the leaves of her skirt a more brownish-gold like they were in the autumn season, wearing a white sunhat, the top of her palm tree blooming a pink flower. Frankie was dressed similar to Don Pianta and his guards, though his outfit was white, his skin was a light blue, and he wore squared sunglasses.

"Shouldn't be all that hard to find them," Rainbow said. "We'll bring them back to you in ten seconds flat!"

"Then I suggest ya find them in that time, otherwise your luck just might turn terrible in ten seconds flat," Don Pianta warned.

The party winced, quickly taking their leave and begin their search for Francesca and Frankie. They asked around town, knowing they probably wouldn't be anywhere near Rogueport's west side, considering Don Pianta's influence in the area. They got themselves a lead when someone mentioned a Pianta couple making their way to the docks not too long ago. Once they arrived at the docks, standing at the end of the pier, they found the don's daughter and his young associate, the couple anxiously waiting for a boat to arrive.

"There they are!" Goombella said.

Rainbow flew over to them, the others catching up as the pegasus hovered in front the Piantas, startling them. "Ahh! Where in the world did you come from!?"

"Francesca and Frankie?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah? What's it to ya?" Francesca questioned.

"Your dad's looking for you two, so he sent us to find you," Rainbow said. "...And maybe you should come back with us, otherwise we might be in for a bit of trouble. Heheh."

"Oh no! I can't believe he's found us!" Francesca exclaimed nervously. "What do we do, Frankie? If he finds us...Oh, and the boat's gonna arrive any minute now."

"Listen, doll, maybe we oughta head back an' try to talk to da boss one more time," Frankie suggested.

"No, don't say that!" Francesca said. "Don't you know what he'll do to you if we do that? He'll...Oh, I can't bear the thought!"

"Uhh, what exactly will Don Pianta do to him?" Rainbow asked curiously.

"Probably nothin' good," Applejack said.

"Daddy sent more? How desperate is he?" Francesca asked worriedly, then turned back to Frankie. "Frankie, don't you love me?"

"Of course I love you, sugar cookie," Frankie promised, grabbing Francesca's hands. "More dan anybody in da whole world!"

"Then let's run away, Frankie! To the ends of the earth!" the don's daughter exclaimed. She looked at Rainbow, who stood beside her friends, breaking out of her distress as her curiosity toward the ponies in the group grew. "Or...where are you from, miss?"

"Equestria," Rainbow said.

"Or we could go to Equestria! Wherever that is!" Francesca announced. "Daddy doesn't know about a place like that, so it's perfect!"

"But, butter biscuit, dey already found us," Frankie stated, reminding his anxious lover about their predicament. "We can't keep running forever."

"Yes we can, Frankie!" she interjected. "The more they try to put out the flames of love, the hotter they burn! Until I marry you, no one will extinguish these flames of passion! NO ONE!" Mario and his entourage were conflicted, watching the Pianta couple hug, Francesca holding Frankie tightly as she proclaimed her love for him to the whole world. They needed the ticket, but they also didn't want to break them apart if they truly love each other. And if they brought them back to Don Pianta, who knows what he would do to Frankie, a former associate of his who's fallen for his little girl and doesn't approve of anyone to take his kin away. Francesca looked back at her father's "messengers", a pleading look in her eyes. "Can't you all see how much I love him? Please, I beg of you all; pretend you never saw us."

Everyone looked at each other, silently making an agreement as they made a tough choice. "...We won't tell your father," Rarity answered. "How can we break up love this pure between such a lovely couple like you two?"

"Oh, thank you!" Francesca squealed, running up to them and giving each of them a grateful hug. "You're all such stand up people and...what are you the six of you?"

"We're ponies, Francesca," Starlight responded.

"Ponies...You all just look adorable. And I love the white pony's hair," she said, complimenting Rarity's mane. "Thank you all again!"

"No...problem," Rainbow uttered, the group taking their leave, left with no chance of getting a blimp ticket, but they at least gave Francesca her chance to be with Frankie for the rest of her life.

"...We're in big trouble, aren't we?" Koops asked rhetorically.

"I'm sure we can deal with a syndicate leader and his goons if he puts the hurt on us...right?" Goombella asked.

"I guess we'll see what he does to us," Starlight said.

Heading back to Don Pianta's parlor, meeting back with the don himself in his private office, he was expecting them to bring his daughter and Frankie back with them. "Well, well, look who's back," he said. "You gonna brighten up my mood? Where are dose two runaways?" Mario stepped forward and told the don what they "knew", lying for the couple and keeping them still being in Rogueport until they left a secret. Don Pianta wasn't impressed, his eyes hidden behind his glasses glancing at Applejack, who seemed to fidget and look anywhere but at him. He took in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "...Why are ya lyin' to my face?"

"Who's lying?" Flurrie asked. "We couldn't find them in Rogueport. They're long gone."

"Then why's da orange one look like she's tryin' to hide da fact she stole a cookie from da cookie jar from her mother, otherwise she'd spoil her dinner?" he said, making the mares yelp, knowing Applejack could never lie, and if she tries, she makes it very obvious. Applejack stammered, trying to find an excuse, but Don Pianta doesn't want excuses. "Ya know where dey are, an' I wanna know now before I have my boys beat da answers outta ya."

The two Pianta guards in the room slowly approached the group, but despite their tough exterior, Mario was far stronger, ready to fight back if they so much as harm the ponies. Right before Starlight was about to give Don Pianta the reason why they had to lie to him, the door to the don's office was slammed open, Francesca and Frankie barging in, to everyone's shock.

"Daddy, wait!" Francesca called out.

"Boss, I'm sorry!" Frankie said, the couple approaching Don Pianta's desk. "It's all my fault!"

"Well, look who's come back, head hung low an' wit' your tail between your legs," Don Pianta growled.

"No, daddy, don't him! Or he pony girls and their friends!" Francesca interjected. "I'm the one who said we should elope! It was my idea, not Frankie's! He wanted us to come back and talk to you!"

"Boss, I don't care what you do to me! I deserve it for bein' disloyal!" Frankie said as he tried to take the blame for Francesca. "But ya gotta forgive her! She's your daughter!"

"No, daddy, no! It's my fault!" Francesca said.

"No, mine!" Frankie said.

The couple went back and forth, blaming themselves while asking Don Pianta to forgive their lover. The don was overwhelmed, wanting to punish Frankie, but not upset his daughter. He had enough and yelled, silencing the two Piantas while the others watched in astonishment.

"ENOUGH!" he shouted, glaring at his daughter and youngest associate in his syndicate. "Francesca, my headstrong daughter...You used up your last favor long ago." Mario and co. gasped, unable to believe what they just heard, Francesca tearing up as her own father practically paraphrased he was done with her. "An' you, Frankie...You were like a son to me! Dis is how you repay your debt to me? I'm so disappointed in you two, it's like a Poison Mushroom in my gut!" Frankie lowered his head in shame, the don turning his back on everyone. "I don't ever want to see your mugs again! Ya hear me!? Get outta my sight! I don't care where, just go! Do whatever ya want, even if it means...gettin' married!"

The couple gasped, the don giving his blessing, despite how harsh his words were toward them. Francesca and Frankie looked at each other, going back a much better idea than running away, turning out ok for the both of them in the end, then looked back at Don Pianta.

"Thank you so much, daddy!" Francesca said.

"Boss, I'll make your daughter a happy woman! She'll want for nothin'!" Frankie promised.

"Enough already! Just...just go!" the don said, his voice wavering a little as he had tears begin to run down his face, thankfully kept away from everyone's sight with his back to them. After thanking her father again, Francesca and Frankie left, but not before being congratulated by the two Pianta guards and the mares, plumber, Goomba, Koopa, and wind spirit. The happy couple left to make it to their boat before it shoves off without them, the outcome not what the group had expected, but at least it turned out ok in the end. Don Pianta subtly wiped his eyes, sad to see them both leave, but he was happy knowing her daughter would be happy with Frankie, where he just might be his future son-in-law. He turned around, finding the group he asked for their assistance still here. "You're still here?"

"Yeah. Still kinda...recovering after something that dramatic," Starlight said.

"That and you promised us a little something for the favor we made," Rainbow said, emphasizing their rewarded ticket, only to have Starlight look back and glare at the pegasus, clearly not wanting to upset the Pianta.

"You're right. A deal's a deal." Don Pianta reached into his pocket, pulling out the promised blimp ticket, placing it down on his desk. "Here's your blimp ticket, special group boarding pass when me, the boys, and Francesca wanted to watch some fights. I knew you were the right people for the job...But I don't wanna see your gloomy and/or colorful faces of yours no more! Get outta my sight!"

He turned around again, Mario taking the ticket and stashing it in his pockets for safekeeping, then they all left and quickly hurried off to the station. With that bit of drama out of the way, seeing some action in Glitzville might do them some good, and hopefully, the next Crystal Star won't be that hard to find on the floating city than in an abandoned castle taken over by a dragon or hidden deep under a tree while racing to find it before the X-Nauts.

Welcome to the Glitz Pit

The group took their leave of Don Pianta's office, hoping for Francesca and Frankie as the happy married couple they would be. Leaving the shop, they made their way up through the tunnel to the station, where they could see the bullet train nearby and the blimp they needed to ride on in the distance. They approached the Cheep Cheep conductor, barring anyone from entering without a ticket.

"Hello, everyone," the conductor greeted. "Will you be joining us on our flight to Glitzville?"

"I think the answer's obvious, sir," Goombella said.

"Well, in that case, tickets, please," he said. Mario pulled out the ticket, showing the Cheep Cheep. "Wowsers! That's a group boarding ticket! You must be friends of Don Pianta's if you have something like this."

"We kinda did him a huge favor," Starlight said.

"Must be big to get something like this," the conductor said with a light chuckle. "Anyway, climb aboard, and watch your step!"

He let the group through the small fenced-in area that had a warp pipe in the center. Everyone dove in, appearing on the other side of the tracks where the blimp's landing zone was built. Ironically, it was in the shape of a huge orange Cheep Cheep, the wings flapping like actually fins, mostly as an aesthetic to make it seem like the real thing. They all stepped onto the lift, rising them up into the passenger's hull underneath. Once everyone was seated, the blimp set off, the propellers in the back spinning faster, pushing the blimp forward.

The ponies were amazed by how different this kind of blimp was compared to the airships they had in Equestria. It was a little startling to have the blimp shift as it ascended up, making them clutch their seats nervously. They all got a really good view of the land, watching Rogueport slowly disappear, even seeing some of the tracks the bullet train rides on traveling on what appeared to be several hundreds of miles along the plains. There was even Petalburg and Hooktail's Castle, and the Great Boggly Tree.

Rainbow Dash huffed, fidgeting anxiously while everyone else watched the scenery in awe. "Man, I hate how slow these things go," she grumbled. "I could get there and find the Crystal Star much faster than the rate we're at."

"And if we run into trouble and you're outnumbered, then you're not going to make it far at all," Flurrie advised. "Those X-Naut scoundrels aren't one to be glanced past with how difficult their technological warfare is."

"Don't remind me of that giant robot Crump used on us," Rainbow grunted.

"Then that's all the more why we need to stick together," Starlight said. "They kidnapped Princess Peach and Twilight, but they're quite cunning if they're able to snatch someone as magically powerful as Twilight without getting blasted. And even blocking her magic as well."

"But at least we'll get to see some fighting, not be involved with any for the sake of our lives," Rarity said.

"I agree," Fluttershy said. "...As long as it's not too painful for anypony in the fights..."

The blimp finally arrived at the floating city of Glitzville, the rockets keeping it floating active as they rotated in a circle underneath the massive platform. There were balloons flying off to the sky, let go by excited children that were down there as they died to see the arena fights inside the grand building that was the centerpiece of the city. The Cheep Cheep blimp hovered over the middle of the city as it slowed to a stop, the driver inside guiding the group to the lift as he lowered them down to the platform. The hustle and bustle of excited tourists was almost deafening, neon lights flashing from the stadium and the nearby shops, clearly perfect for a city filled with entertainment such as tournament fights. There were billboards with some of the different fighters that made a name for themselves, some palm trees to give the stadium a bit of decor along with the small pools of water, which somehow had those Nibblers swimming around. There was also a strange pig-like biped at a nearby kiosk selling hot dogs, a sign near his stand announcing a new kind of hot dog that's called "The Southern Fried Egg Dog of Tastiness". They ignored that, since Mario and his party in this world knew the ponies wouldn't want to try anything made out of meat, unless they had vegetarian options.

After stepping off the lift, it rose back up as everyone gazed in awe. "Whoa nelly," Applejack uttered. "At least this place ain't as big as Manehattan, but it's still...pretty huge."

"Shouldn't be that hard to find the Crystal Star here, right?" Koops asked.

"Not really much to search, so it should be a cinch," Starlight said.

"Let's start with the stadium!" Pinkie said. "It's the biggest building, so, by default, it should be the first place we should look!"

"And maybe catch a free fight!" Rainbow added.

Both mares looked at each other, then rushed on ahead to the stadium. The others followed after them, at a slower, more calmer pace, heading inside the building. Just from the main lobby, they can hear the audience inside cheering madly through the entrances to the center of the battle arena. Rainbow and Pinkie raced up the stairs to the upper level of the stadium, but they barely got any further inside with how packed the stadium was. They were at least still able to see the fight from their vantage point over the heads of the other audience members.

"Ooh! Ooh! Who's fighting!?" Pinkie asked, bouncing excitedly as she tried to see more of the stage while Rainbow easily hovered over the crowd.

The others caught up with them, content to just standing behind the fans blocking their way as they looked down at the battle arena. There was a fight already underway on the square stage, metal stairs on either side for contestants to step up from the big doorways, the passages for the fighters from said doors barred by metal fences to keep the audience from rushing out and interrupt the matches, lights set up on the rafters above the stage to light up the area during the evening, and there was a screen in the background that gave a closeup of the fight in action from a camera aimed at the stage. On one side of the stage, there was a Kooptarol, but his shell and skin color were a bit darker with red eyes that seemed to glow eerily. On the other was a muscular avian, his feathers and hair a pale yellow and gold respectively, wearing a silver headband with a topaz gem in the center of his forehead, yellow spandex shorts with a black belt around the waist, and gold boots.

The Koopatrol appeared exhausted, struggling to stay up, while the avian wrestler barely had scratch on him. The unharmed fighter scoffed, pointing out to the audience, where they all cheered, clearly the star of the match as he took the time to gloat while his opponent caught his second wind.

"Yeah, that's right!" the fighter exclaimed, then aimed his pointed finger at the Koopatrol. "I think it's about time for you to FEEL THE RAAAAAAWK!" The Koopatrol growled irritably, ducking into his shell and dashed toward him. The avian simply leapt over the spike-shelled Koopa, and when the Koopa tried to kick him as he popped back out, his foot was caught in the wrestler's grip, followed by a hard toss right to the ground. The star let out a caw, jumping high, then dove down on the upended Koopatrol, kicking him right in the stomach and knocking the air out of his lungs while clutching his stomach, the crowd going nuts at the finishing blow. "And stay down, pincushion! You don't want anymore of this! No little wimp's gonna take me down!"

"Boy, he sure has quite the ego," Rarity said as the winner of the match continued to gloat and talk down to his opponent while he writhed in pain. "Reminds me of a certain pegasus we all know."

Everyone immediately looked at Rainbow Dash, though she didn't pay attention as she cheered on the avian after his finisher. As the Koopatrol got up and walked off in defeat, a Clubba walked up on stage with a microphone, wearing a fancy black jacket and green vest with a red bowtie, a pair of tinted glasses, and a fedora with a white band around the brim. Unlike the Clubba's Mario fought before, this one was blue with a small purple shell, his hair a bright orange.

"Hoooo-WHEEEE! What a match from the legendary Rawk Hawk!" the Clubba said, obviously the announcer for all the matches in the stadium. "That was a grade-A whuppin', champ! Your thoughts on the match, son!"

"You call that a match?" Rawk Hawk questioned with a scoff, snatching the held out mic out of the Clubba's hand to let the audience know. "As if! There ain't no fighter out there who can barely make me break a sweat! I'm fighting little crybabies making a mess in their little diapers! You got a bone to pick with me!? I'll fight ya with my hands tied behind my back! Might as well stick to playing your little video games, because I'll RAWWWWWK YOUR WORLD!!!!! RAWK HAWK'S NUMBER ONE, BABY! YEEEEAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

The audience erupted in cheers, Rawk Hawk basking in their praise as he lazily tossed the microphone over his shoulder, the Clubba catching it, barely even shocked to have the mic taken away by the egotistical champion. He then grabbed what was the champion's belt the Clubba also held in his other hand, hoisting it up in triumph for his fans to see. However, what was on the large brown belt startled Mario and Co.: it was the Crystal Star they were searching for, the similar bronzeish-gold color the map depicted.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Goombella uttered.

"The Crystal Star's on the champion's belt!?" Starlight exclaimed, voicing everyone's shock. Seeing the match was over, they headed back out to the lobby, puzzled by this bit of unfortunate news. "I thought these Crystal Stars were supposed to be relics split up in the region a thousand years ago and kept hidden, not shown off at a sporting event!"

"There must be some reason why that is the case," Flurrie pondered. "The only problem now is how we're going to take the belt without everyone suspecting us of stealing it. We're sure to get into serious trouble for stealing a belt that's considered a trophy to all the fighters and fans here."

"Hmm...Maybe...we can try to sign up and take the belt for ourselves!" Rainbow suggested.

"Because of course it wouldn't be that simple trying to find the Crystal Star here," Rarity muttered.

"We don't seem to have much of a choice if it's the only way we can take that Crystal Star without resorting to stealing it around a bunch of experienced fighters," Starlight said. "Mario, looks like we're going to have to sign you up and take the championship title."

Mario nodded in agreement, clearly having no other option but rise up the ranks and beat Rawk Hawk in a championship bout. The group headed downstairs, then made their way to one of the side passages that lead backstage, heading to the left-most side. One of the security guards, the tough-looking bouncers in suits and black sunglasses, kept vigilant watch of the door, making sure no crazy fans try to barge through to meet their favorite fighters. Mario asked him to let them through, letting him know he was going to sign up to join the roster.

"You want to join up, huh?" the guard asked. "Well, if you're serious, you'd better meet Mr. Grubba, the promoter. His office is just down the hall. Can't miss it."

He let them through, everyone filing into the hallway. The corridors lead in a huge square, going around the main stage from both ends of the lobby. There were some security guards standing vigilant in front of the doors in the hall, two of them leading to different locker rooms on the left while the right lead outside to the stadium. Around the corner, there were three more doorways, the one in the middle locked up while the two on the ends had guards standing in front of them. After asking the guard at the closer door, he confirmed this room was the promoter's office, letting them in after telling him Mario was going to sign up for the fights. They found Grubba at his desk, the office quite well furbished compared to the hallway outside, some bookcases with different books, a couple sofas in front of a coffee table, and a small laptop sitting on the promoter's desk.

"Hmm? Who in tarnation are all of y'all!?" Grubba questioned. "Comin' into my office without knockin'. Very rude."

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Grubba," Fluttershy apologized.

Grubba looked at the party, eyeing the colorful equines curiously. "What do y'all need of me?"

"Well, Grubba, my man," Rainbow said, flapping over to the Clubba's desk, leaning against it nonchalantly. "We're here to sign up our good friend, Mario, to be your next champion."

"Hmm...you want to be a fighter, son?" Grubba asked Mario, the plumber nodding his head in response. "Heh! That does change a thing or two! I always got time for an up-an'-comer, and this place is packed to the gills with young fighters primed up and a-rarin' to go!"

"Great, so let's sign us up, boss!" Rainbow said ecstatically.

"Now, see, that kinda attitude ya got there is what I'm lookin' for...er, what are y'all?" Grubba asked curiously.

"Name's Rainbow Dash, my fighting star's manager," Rainbow said, making some of the mares roll their eyes at the charade she was playing. "My friends and I are ponies, from a place called Equestria. I'm sure you must have heard the news about our world opening up to the Mushroom Kingdom across the seas?"

"...Not really," Grubba said, making Rainbow sigh and hang her head. "But I can see y'all are ready to taste that glory of bein' a champion. I know where y'all come from." Grubba got up from his seat and approached the group. "When I was a poor pup, I didn't give a Pokey's patoot for fancy, big-city ways. But I jumped in the world of martial arts and fought my way to fame and riches! It was then I realized bein' rich and famous was diggety-dang DYNAMITE!"

"You used to be a fighter?" Koops asked curiously, finding it odd to imagine Grubba as a famous fighter.

"Sure as sugar on a tart, kiddo!" Grubba said, then sighed. "Now, I can't mix it up in the ring anymore, but I earned enough to set me for life. You readin' me, y'all? Dreams do come true, even if they ain't yours, exactly! And that's the key: dream big, and you'll GET big, the winner's way!"

"Well, ain't that a coinky-dink!" Pinkie said, hopping over to Rainbow Dash. "Dashie here had a dream of being a Wonderbolt, a stunt flying team back where we're from, and she worked her tail off to become a member! Fastest pegasus in the world, and she finally got her chance to shine, living her dream!"

"Aww, come on, Pinks, stop," Rainbow said, somewhat bashful, but she waited for her or the others to praise her. "...But seriously, keep going...Anypony?"

Grubba laughed in amusement. "That's the spirit! Now, why don't y'all follow me and I'll give ya a bit of a tour?" Exiting the office, he lead them down the hall into the opposite doorway in the back corridor, the guard stepping aside as Grubba guided the group inside a fancily furbished bedroom. There was a really comfortable looking bed in the corner, while there were also some gifts stacked up in the adjacent corner, along with a cabinet and a barbell. "Now, how do ya like this? Feast your eyes on the champion's room! You become champ, and ya get the key to this room!"

"Looks quite nice," Applejack complimented. She looked around, thinking they would see the current champion, Rawk Hawk, resting inside. "Uhh, where's that Rawk Hawk guy?"

"Probably signing autographs for some devoted fans outside the Pit," Grubba said. He moved the tour on to one of the locker rooms the party passed by earlier. The floor was tiled in a red and white checkerboard pattern, lockers kept in good condition, along with some furbished benches, and a couple beds for the fighters to rest on after a tough match. They all saw a few of the competitors relaxing or warming up, looking pretty tough in the tier they were in. There was even the Koopatrol Rawk Hawk fought in the match earlier, sitting on one of the beds, sporting a few bruises from his defeat. "This here's the major-league locker room. Not the most glamorous of rooms, but clean and comfortable for those in the top ten. I may be old-fashioned, but I care about all of my fighters."

After the brief tour, they headed back into Grubba's office, where the Clubba was going through his drawers finding a contract for his newest fighter and his entourage. "So, if we want that championship belt and that comfortable room, Mario needs to start from the bottom and fight his way to the top, right?" Starlight asked.

"Righty there, little missy," Grubba said. "Can't give any newbies the luxury they don't deserve unless they fight for it." Pulling out several sheets of paper that was the fighting contract, he laid it out on the desk for Mario. "Now, I can see you've got the makings of a champ there, pard. If you're over the newbie jitters, just sign right here and we'll get to work on settlin' y'all in!" Mario looked over the contract, making sure there weren't any crazy loopholes that could endanger him. Then again, he's faced Bowser, and the King of Koopas always played dirty to try to get his way, so fighting in a competitive show shouldn't be all that difficult after what he's experienced. He signed his name on the dotted line, then handed it back to Grubba, who looked over his name. "So, Mario, huh?...Doesn't really have much of a punch for a fighter's name."

"Well, he should be feared, because he's saved the Mushroom Kingdom from the likes of Bowser several times!" Rainbow proclaimed. "Last time, he got a little bit of help from us when he stole the Star Rod."

"Mostly 'cause we appeared by mistake thanks to Twilight's spell backfirin' when he was snatchin' that magic wand," Applejack said.

"But we did help save the day, so we're heroes in both worlds!" Pinkie said.

Grubba hummed in thought for a moment before looking up from the contract. "Hah! I found the perfect name for ya, pard! From now on, you're gonna be...the Great Gonzales!"

Everyone stared at Grubba questioningly, Mario's new fighter name clearly not so. "...The Great Gonzales?" Futtershy asked.

"Couldn't you come up with something better?" Goombella muttered. "Like 'Jumpman', or maybe 'The Mushroom Defender'?"

"It's a perfect name! A good name like that doesn't come around once in a lifetime!" Grubba said, apparently proud of his genius at nicknames. "And I'll even give your little pony entourage a group name, too: The Mane Six! Ya know, because of your hair, and you're all so colorful y'all could make up the rainbow...aside from rainbow hair over there."

The ponies gave Grubba a blank stare, Rarity quickly snapping out of the dumbfounded group name Grubba gave her and her friends. "Wait, what do you mean by 'entourage'?"

"Well, seein' how big of a group y'all are, I figured y'all would fight together in the ring," Grubba said. "I mean, some prefer goin' solo, but sometimes, the best fighters either come in pairs or groups. No rules against outnumberin' your opponents, but as long as the main star of the group is on stage, y'all can play a bit of tag team to shake up the matches a bit! You don't have to join the Great Gonzales if ya don't wanna, but you can be the cheer squad, coach, whatever ya please."

"Oh, I am so in!" Rainbow said. "I'm up for a good tussle!"

"Me too!" Pinkie said, pulling out her party cannon out of nowhere, shocking Grubba as he yelped and hid behind his desk. "And I brought my party cannon to light this party up!...With confetti, sometimes cake batter I forget I put in, maybe a cannonball if I can find one, or maybe I can find a Bullet Bill buddy and ask him if he wants to try out my-"

"Ok, ok, missy, settle down!" Grubba exclaimed, poking his head up, trying to avoid the barrel of Pinkie's personal party cannon. "Let's no have dangerous weapons like that on stage. We got kids watchin' the fights, and we try to keep it clean here."

"Aww...ok," Pinkie mumbled, rolling her cannon away sadly.

Grubba stood back up, baffled at where said cannon came from in his own office, but he cleared his throat and regained his composure. "Anywho, with the business side out of the way..." He then pressed a button on his desk near his laptop. "Jolene, could you come in my office for a minute, darlin'?"

A moment later, a Toad walks into the room, female by her professional red business suit and heels, blonde bangs hanging over her face under the pink-spotted mushroom cap, and she wore a pair of glasses. "Yes, sir? You wished to see me?"

"Sure did, hon," Grubba said. "Jolene, this is the Great Gonzales, our newest risin' star. Be a peach and take him and his team to the minor-league locker room, alrighty?"

"Right away, sir," Jolene obeyed, shifting her glasses a little as she faced the newest member of the Glitz Pit and his team. "Mr. Gonzales? If you and your party would be so kind, follow me please." The Toad assistant exited the office, the group following behind her as they walked down the hall, past the major-league locker room. "As you know, you're a contracted fighter now, so you must abide by a few rules. First and foremost, whatever Mr. Grubba says, goes. Period. And also, as per your contract, you cannot quit until Mr. Grubba releases you."

"Well, that's kind of a problem," Starlight said. "When we get the champion's belt, we have quite a lot of things to do."

"Breaching the rules in the contract will lead to a lawsuit, where you will be forced to pay a serious fine for leaving before the period of time you agreed to upon the signing," Jolene explained, making everyone gulp nervously.

"Uhh, just how bad IS the fine?" Koops asked timidly.

"For such a lucrative business the entertainment industry has, especially the Glitz Pit...Well, I'll let you figure out the numbers yourself." The Koopa looked around nervously, dreading to know how close he would be if they actually quit right after winning the belt. "There are many other small guidelines to follow, but I'll explain those as they become relevant." She then stopped at the minor-league locker room, the guard stepping aside and letting them enter. "Welcome to your locker room."

They walked inside, and to Rarity's horror, it was not as great as the major-league locker room. "Oh, sweet Celestia above!" the white unicorn screeched, getting the fighters in this league's attention as she stared aghast at the state of this room: it was filthy, some of the tile flooring and wallpaper were worn or ripped up, some of the lockers were bent, the bench had stuffing and springs popping out from where there were tears, almost as if this room was a battle arena and no one bothered to clean up the mess. "What is this!?"

"You and your group will be residing here to wait and relax before and after your matches," Jolene explained.

"Mr. Grubba said he cares about his fighters and keeps the locker rooms clean and sanitized!" Rarity argued. "THIS IS NEITHER CLEAN NOR SANITARY!!!!!!"

"Then let the state of this locker room give you the incentive to work hard to climb up in ranks to stay in the major-leagues," Jolene suggested coldly. Rarity grumbled, disliking how strict this Toad was compared to the more upbeat Clubba in charge of the whole operation. While whimpering at each step she took on the dirty floor, Jolene ignored the prissy mare and walked over to a screen on the wall near the door. There was an directional arrow pad on the left side of the device, while a couple buttons were on the right. "When you're ready to fight, log into the computer terminal here. Mr. Grubba will decide who you'll match up against, which you'll have no say in because these matches are scheduled depending on your rank and how well you perform for the crowd. You can check your current ranking, and reserve your matches here. Go ahead and give it a try."

Mario walked up to the terminal and gave it a try. Highlighting the "Reserve a Match" option, he pressed the button to confirm his choice, and a couple seconds later, Grubba appeared on the screen from the view of his laptop on his desk.

"Well, howdy, Gonzales!" Grubba greeted. "Ready to get your fists dirty already, huh? That's the spirit! Have I got a treat for you: your first battle's gonna be against the Goomba Bros.! Don't worry; they'll be a piece of cake."

"That...sounds a bit too easy," Goombella said. "Why do I feel like there's a catch?"

"Also, we want to get the crowd fired up, so appeal to them. Show off a bit and let them know who the Great Gonzales is!" Grubba continued. "If y'all have any questions, don't be afraid to ask Ms. Jolene, ok? Good luck out there, pard!"

The screen turned off, leaving Mario and his friends with their task along with their first match. "Of course. There it is," Goombella said.

"What exactly does he mean by 'appeal' to the crowd?" Flurrie asked.

"If you wish to rise up in the ranks, you'll have to fulfill certain conditions Mr. Grubba gives you for your matches," Jolene explained. "For example, you'll need to appeal to the crowd at least once during your fight and beat your opponents in order to go up. Fairly simple."

The group looked at each other, feeling a bit unsure about completing objectives while in the middle of a fight in order to increase their rank to reach Rawk Hawk. "...Ok...So, do we just...go up to the stage or somethin'?" Applejack asked.

"You'll wait for security to come get you and escort you to the side of the ring you'll appear in," Jolene said.

As if on cue, the guard watching the locker room door walked in. "Gonzales! Match time!" he announced.

"Right on time," Jolene said, then walked past the security guard. Before she left, she turned to look at Mario and his friends. "Try not to get completely destroyed out there."

The assistant to the Clubba promoter made her leave after readjusting her glasses. "That Toad is really strict," Rainbow said. "Bet Ms. Harshwhinny would make friends with her really quickly."

"Maybe she needs a party," Pinkie suggested.

"Good news is we got our first match, and pretty fast, too," Starlight said. "If we follow the rules and win each fight, we should beat the champion, get that belt, and take that Crystal Star."

"And Mario getting out of his contract?" Goombella asked.

"...Well...I'll figure that out when the time comes," Starlight said with a nervous grin.

Out in the arena, a large crowd cheered as they awaited the next match. In the ring already was Grubba as the announcer again, along with a group of five Goombas on one side of the stage.

"Alrighty, folks! Squarin' off next...are the Hoppin' Hardheads...the GOOMBA BROS.!!!" Grubba announced, walking over to the quintet of Goombas. "And they'll be facin' off against a newcomer, who has a hankerin' for a hammerin', the Greeeeeeat GONZALES!" Everyone in the stands applauded, curious to see who the newest fighter was. "Howdy do, Goomba Bros.! How are y'all doin'? You ready for a fight?"

As Grubba pointed his microphone at the Goombas, the group of mushroom creatures began to laugh as the leader of the group spoke. "Are you kidding, man!? We're ALWAYS ready to bonk a fool or two! This Gonzales guy must be pretty cocky to start messing with us just as he waltzes into the Pit! And being late is disrespectful to his senior fighters! We're gonna give a good bonking, so you'd better call an ambulance real quick!"

Not a moment later, the doors on the other side of the arena from the Goomba Bros. opened up, revealing the new fighters to the crowd as Mario and his company made their way toward the stage. Some were excited to see some new faces in the Glitz Pit, though seeing "The Great Gonzales's" entourage of ponies baffled some, thinking they were his exotic pets from some other world. Granted, most of the audience present might not have heard of the events in the Mushroom Kingdom, seeing how most people in Rogueport didn't know about the Equestrians visiting with the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Well, hot-diggety-dang, fight fans! Here's the Great Gonzales now, stridin' on up with his posse and his mascots, the Mane Six!" Grubba said, still making the ponies groan at the ridiculous nickname he gave them, along with being known as Mario's mascots. "Musta been late groomin' their hair, and hey, who says you can't be tough and have some cute things to take care of?"

"Well, we are cute, but we just got our match reserved!" Pinkie said. "I blame the security for be so slow."

"And we aren't pets," Starlight mentioned, mostly to the audience. "We are sentient creatures and will fight alongside Ma-er, the Great Gonzales, rather, as a-"

"Have a bonk, punk!" the Goomba leading their fighting team interrupted, letting out a battle cry and struck Mario in the gut with his head.

Despite how weak the Goombas were, it still caught Mario by surprise as he staggered back. "Hey, that's cheating!" Rainbow exclaimed, quickly bucking the Goomba back to his friends, who quickly caught him as he was sent flying back. "The fight didn't even start yet!"

"You guys took way too long!" the group leader said. "We're itching to fight, and we're gonna get it!"

"YEAH!" the other four Goombas agreed.

Mario's team stared at Grubba, the promoter shrugging his shoulders as he stepped back. "Well, anything can happen in the ring. Break a leg!...But not really. Entertainment terms and whatnot."

Mario rubbed his chest, barely phased by the Goomba's headbutt. Before he could let himself or his friends overpower the five Goombas, he had to appeal to the audience at least once before winning the match for them to move up and face the next ranking fighters. Pinkie beat him to it, wearing a cheerleading outfit with her mane tied up in poofy pigtails, her shirt sporting Mario's face while under the picture, the name "The Great Gonzales" was there instead of his own.

"Come on, everypony!" Pinkie said, waving around red and blue pom poms in her hooves while bouncing and dancing. "Give it up for the Great Gonzales, your next new champion in Glitzville!"

Swayed by Pinkie's energy, the crowd cheered and began chanting "Gonzales!", which didn't sit well for the Goomba quintet as they rooted for the new guy and not them. "Hey, that's not right! We're gonna clobber ya, Granola!"

The Goombas charged together, leaping up and dive bombed toward Mario headfirst. Rainbow backed away, letting the plumber handle the small fries. Mario quickly leapt back, then dashed forward and slid, kicking all five Goombas up into the air. He jumped up after them, bouncing on each of them and slamming them back to the ground with several thuds. While they were dazed, he pulled out his hammer, then dove down with a hard slam to the ground, his hands enveloped in an orange aura to increase his strength. The impact created a shockwave, sending all five Goombas off their feet with a yelp right out of the ring, sending them crashing out of bounds in a mushroom pile.

The audience was stunned silent before erupting into applause, impressed by the new fighter's skills and how fun Pinkie was. Grubba grinned, looking over to the beaten Goomba Bros., who were groaning in pain, clearly beaten and lost the match by a mile.

"The Great Gonzales wins his first match!" Grubba announced, walking over to the plumber and his group. "Tell me, son, what's it like to get your first taste of victory?"

He held the mic out to "Gonzales" to get his comment, only for Rainbow Dash to butt in. "You kidding me!? That was WAY too easy!" the pegasus said. "Everypony stick around, because we're gonna fly through these other fighters faster than you can blink!"

"Ok!" Pinkie said as she popped up beside Rainbow, blinking once before looking around. "...Are we champions now?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes as the audience laughed, even Grubba with his chuckles as he held the mic back to himself. "Everyone, give it up for the Great Gonzales!"

The crowd cheered again for the new up and comers, the group waving to the crowd, though Fluttershy and Koops did sheepishly.

After being escorted back into the minor-league locker room, Jolene approached the newly signed in contenders as she walked in. "Commendable first fight, Gonzales," the Toad said. "Here's your prize money for winning the match, and with the pink one's idea of 'exciting the crowd', you're now up to rank 19."

She then handed Mario a couple coins, not much for a fighting match reward, but he figured there would be more that can be earned the higher up he goes. "Alright! One step closer to getting that belt!" Goombella said. "...Even though that was way too easy of a fight."

"You can check your ranking and reserve your next match from the terminal," Jolene instructed. "Feel free to do whatever you like until the next match. Have a nice day."

She adjusted her glasses and headed out, finished giving the "fresh meat" the rundown of the Glitz Pit. Mario and co. checked the terminal, seeing how many more groups they need to face until they can face Rawk Hawk.

"Hoo boy. Looks like there's about twenty more fighters to go until we face that Rawk Hawk fellah," Applejack said.

"No sweat," Rainbow assured. "We've beaten Bowser before. Who's worse than him?"

"Yo, Rookies." They looked over at the person calling out to them. Leaning against the wall near the beds was a yellow-shelled Koopa, wearing similar black sunglasses like the enemy Koopas they faced before had on. "Saw your first match out there through the terminal. Not too shabby, Gonzales."

"Thanks!" Pinkie said. "But...who are you?"

"You can call me King K," the Koopa said, making his way to the terminal. He then pointed at the ranked name just above "The Great Gonzales". "I'm the leader of the KP Koopas, which means we're gonna be facing each other next in the ring."

"Well, nice meeting you, King K," Koops greeted.

"How about I introduce you to the rest of the gang here in the minor-league?" King K suggested. Everyone nodded, seeing not every fighter's that hardheaded and stubborn to win big in a fighting competition. The yellow-shelled Koopa pointed to a Bob-omb on the other side of the bench, who walked over to them as he overheard King K give a roll call for the new guys. "This here's Master Crash from the Bob-omb Squad."

"Nice to meet you all BOMB!" Crash said, startling everyone with one of the strangest speech impediments they've ever heard. "Just to let you guys know BOMB, if you want a shot at BOMB rising in rank, you'd better BOMB do as Mr. Grubba says BOMB-BOMB!"

"...Uhh, is he ok?" Rarity asked, terrified of when one of those BOMBs would turn into an actual explosion.

"Crash has a bit of a speech problem, but he's got quite a lot of advice," King K said. "He's at number 11 for a reason." He then introduced the group to a green Bandit looking shifty near the lockers, making Pinkie wary knowing her own past encounters with certain thieves out in the Dry Dry Desert. "That's Bandy Andy. He's leading the Hand-It-Overs, ranked 14."

"'Sup," Andy greeted. "I'm not usually here too often, so if you ever see me out and about, don't be afraid to say hi."

"You're not stealing anything while you're 'out and about', are you?" Pinkie questioned skeptically.

"Unless you got any coin or valuables on ya," Andy said. "But, I'm more interested in some...shady stuff going on around here..."

"Yeah. That shady business mostly involving bandits...who stole my pom poms!" Pinkie shrieked, zipping up to the Bandit and poking him in the chest.

Andy smirked, then pulled out Pinkie's pom poms she used for her little cheer onstage from behind his back. "I'm just good at my job, pink thing," he boasted, Pinkie swiping back her pom poms before walking back to her friends.

"I suggest keeping a close eye on your bags, girls," Pinkie said. "I can trust Bandits as far as I can throw Chompy...and he's a big iron ball with teeth, which is REALLY heavy."

"I'm sure we can be good friends as long as he doesn't take anything important of ours," Fluttershy said optimistically. She yelped and jumped in surprise as something touched her tail, clinging onto Koops as she looked at what it was. Where she expected maybe a rat or mouse because of the state of the locker room, it was instead a green rock with a craggy face and purple shoes, similar to the Hyper Clefts Mario encountered at Gusty Gulch, only without the spikes on its head. "Oh my. You startled me."

"And this stony fellow's Cleftor, leading the Punk Rocks at number 12 on the roster," King K introduced. "He's not the friendliest guy here, but you get used to him."

Cleftor continued staring at Fluttershy, even as she climbed down from Koops's arms, the timid Koopa a bit flustered from her earlier fright. "Hello, Cleftor," Fluttershy greeted. "My name is Fluttershy."

"Grack! Cleftor like pink hair," Cleftor said, shocking King K with how he seemed to like someone else in the Glitz Pit.

"Oh, well, thank you," Fluttershy said sheepishly, flicking her tail slightly in embarrassment with a slight pink blush on her cheeks from Cleftor's flattery.

"Hey, I have pink hair, too!" Pinkie said as she bounced in front of the Bald Hyper Cleft, showing off her wildly curly tail.

"...Cleftor like other one hair more," Cleftor said, making Pinkie's mane and tail deflate in shock.

"But I'm all pink! And my name is Pinkie Pie! Pink is in my name!" she argued, but Cleftor ignored her and continued admiring Fluttershy's longer, straighter tail.

"...Well...that's...a bit of a surprise," King K said.

"Yeah BOMB!" Crash agreed. "He hated me when BOMB my team blew his team to pieces BOMB-BOMB!"

"She's made stranger friends with some dangerous creatures back where we're from," Rainbow said.

The others introduced themselves to the minor-league crew, the ponies letting them know about their world in Equestria and how they knew about the Mushroom Kingdom across the seas. After befriending their fellow fighters, Mario reserved his team's next match, though Grubba gave them an odd objective for the match against King K and the KP Koopas; seeing how big the Great Gonzales's group was, he'll have to limit his party in the ring every so often, but they can watch from the sidelines to cheer him on. And what he wanted Mario to do this match was to let his teammates do the fighting so everyone can see how well their partners can do.

A couple security guards came in not a moment later to gather both teams, one of them guiding King K to the other side for his team's entrance. "Alright. Good luck in the arena, guys," King K said before leaving.

"Don't go easy on us!" Rainbow called out.

"As if I was gonna just because we started to be friends!" he said back before disappearing around the corner.

Mario decided to bring Koops and Rainbow as his party against King K, the trio stepping up onto the battle arena while the others stood on the side to watch. He chose right as King K and his trio climbed up the steps, arriving with another two Koopas with yellow shells and shoes, one grounded like him while the other was a Paratroopa.

"Welcome back, folks!" Grubba announced. "Fer our next battle, we got the Merciless Executioner, the GREAT GONZALES, and the Shell Machines of Doom, a fight to finish with the KP Koopas!"

"Meet my homies, Gonzales!" King K said, his two partners ready to square off with their opponents. "Give us your best shot!"

"Oh my," Koops uttered nervously. He took in a deep breath, ignoring the crowd as he focused on their goal: getting the Crystal Star from the champion's belt. "L-Let's go!"

"Bring it on!" Rainbow goaded.

"Get yourselves ready to...BAAAAAAAATTLE!!!!" Grubba said, starting the match as a gong signaled the fight to begin.

King K and his grounded buddy quickly got behind their Paratroopa partner, both Koopas simultaneously kicking him as he hid in his shell as they fired him at Mario. The plumber knew he shouldn't be the one fighting, but Rainbow snatched his hammer and got herself ready to smack the flying yellow shell with wings back.

"Batter up!" Rainbow said, hitting the shell back straight toward the two Koopas, both diving out of their friend's way, who popped out of his shell after a fair distance, flying back to his team. The crowd cheered, startling Mario a bit with her surprise assist. "Well, he said YOU can't attack. That didn't mean we couldn't borrow whatever you have on you." Keeping Mario's hammer, she flew over to Koops, who got an idea of what she was planning as he ducked inside his own shell, giving himself a spin to help lay on some damage. "Never played tennis with a shell, but I bet it'll be even more fun than with a ball!"

Winding up her shot, Rainbow smacked Koops hard, sending him flying toward King K. "Whoa!" the KP Koopas' leader yelped, quickly diving out of Koops's way. He was about to taunt the pegasus, only to get struck from behind by the spinning green shell as it boomeranged back to Rainbow, who struck it back to one of his teammates. "Holy cow. Is that kid a Koopa from Petalburg!?"

This time, Koops struck the Paratroopa, bouncing off him and headed straight for King K, popping out of his shell and skid to a halt before the yellow Koopa. "Darn right I am," Koops said, boasting a little bit from the grown confidence he's been building up.

"I need to learn how to ricochet like that," King K said. "But I'm not all about tossing myself." He surprised Koops with a swift kick to his gut, knocking the wind out of the younger Koopa. "This is a fighting ring. Gotta fight in any way as long as it's not illegal."

Koops coughed, catching his breath, then caught King K off guard with a headbutt, sending him staggering back with a startled grunt and slightly bruised forehead. "That's not illegal, right?" he asked. King K rubbed his forehead, Rainbow fighting off the other two Koopas on his team in the background, zipping around in a rainbow blur using her hooves or the hammer she borrowed, keeping them away from Mario as he let his team fight for him by Grubba's orders. King K leered at Koops with a playful gaze, clearly underestimating the Petalburg Koopa's nature with how strong he was. "I might be a nervous wreck, but I'm not a crybaby. If these fights are on the air and my girlfriend watches me, I'm gonna show her just how strong I am after I helped take down that dragon that terrorized my home."

"Heh. Bold words, kid," King K said. "Let's see if you really can back them up."

Both Koopas rushed forward, fists and feet flying as they got in a one-on-one scuffle. Ironically, the camera was locked on their fight, which was shown on the screen for the audience to get a better view from their seats.

Back in Petalburg, Koopley was shifting through channels on his T.V. while lounging on his couch. "Must have missed a lot of my favorite shows back then," he mumbled to himself. Koopie walked into the living room, visiting her possible future father-in-law if her relationship with Koops gets more serious. "Not one of the ones I know are on anymore. I hope there's VHS tapes of all the episodes I missed."

While channel hopping, he briefly glanced at a channel recording live matches in Glitzville, but Koopie noticed a familiar Koopa in the middle of a fight with another. "Wait, was that Koops!?" she asked. Not even waiting for a response from Koopley, Koopie snatched the remote out of his hands and quickly changed it back to the fighting match. Her suspicion was right when she saw Koops fighting a yellow-shelled Koopa, both of them exchanging blows with their fists on occasion while ducking, dodging, or blocking the other's strikes. "Oh my gosh, it is!"

"Well, that's a surprise, ain't it?" Koopley asked. "What's he doing in a fighting match? Ain't he off with Mario and his friends finding those other Crystal Stars?"

Koopie was speechless, plopping herself down on the couch next to Koopley and watched the action. Koops seemed to be losing as King K was far more experienced with hand-to-hand combat, but that wasn't going to stop the Koopa from winning. Koops was knocked back by another punch to the face, sending him on his back, seemingly helpless on his shell. The yellow Koopa was about to deliver a dive kick on Koops's exposed stomach, but he ducked and shell tossed himself out of harm's way. He stopped, but continued spinning, going faster and faster until he was nothing but a green top. King K turned to face him, only to be met by a speeding green shell that sent him flipping rapidly in midair.

It didn't end there as Koops continued tossing himself repeatedly into King K, making him flip faster with each passing blow. After doing this several more times, Koops stopped and popped out of his shell beside King K, still spinning as he leapt up alongside him. With a perfectly timed kick, he struck the yellow Koopa's stomach hard with perfect accuracy, sending him flying off toward Rainbow, who bucked both of the other KP Koopas toward King K after knocking them for a loop. The trio of yellow Koopa Troopas ran into each other with a painful smack, collapsing in a heap as they were bested by the pegasus and Petalburg Koopa.

Both Koopley and Koopie's jaws dropped after seeing Koops best the KP Koopas' leader with a move neither of them expected him to be able to pull off. "And we have our winners; without even so much as lifting a finger and letting his team handle it themselves, the GRRRRREAT GONZALES!!!!" Grubba proclaimed as the audience in Glitzville went nuts. The Clubba approached Koops, panting heavily while rubbing his neck sheepishly, seeing the crowd was mostly cheering for him. "Young Koopa, that was quite a display! Y'all were born to fight! Let the world know your name, son!"

"Uhh...M-My name's Koops," he said, only to wince when he thought he heard Grubba wrong. "Wait, did you say 'the world'?"

"Indeed, son!...Well, not exactly all the world. Just the region around Glitzville and the Glitz Pit," Grubba stated. "Now, there anything you wanna say to someone out there who might be watching you and that spectacular shell tossing skill?"

Koops nervously looked at the camera, Grubba holding the mic in front of him for his words to be heard clearly over the roaring crowd. "...Uhh...I-If she is watching, w-which I doubt...H-Hi, Koopie," he said, waving to the camera. He stammered a bit, his cheeks red as he tried to look cool to the rest of the people watching, though felt like he was embarrassing himself as he pointed to the camera with both hands. "H-How...awesome was that?"

"Uhh, super awesome!" Rainbow said, landing beside him as she posed along with him. "You should meet a Koopa friend of ours named Kooper! You two could make an awesome tag team with how good you both are!"

Koopley was laughing at the awkward attempt his son made by trying to act sly and cool, trying to impress his girlfriend live on T.V. Koopie was still stunned, unable to believe Koops was really that strong after Hooktail was dealt with, but now she witnessed how much better he was than even herself.

"My boy's a hero AND a star!" Koopley exclaimed joyously. "He could have just left it there with a hello, but that pose..."

Her snorted and laughed in amusement some more. Koopie snapped out of her daze as the live feed went to a commercial break. She grinned and giggled a little, finding the little bit he did adorable.

"I'm really impressed, Koops," she uttered to herself. "You were already awesome to me before, but you surprise me more and more..."

An Eggcellent Comeback

Author's Note

Ok, a little bit of a sad note. Before starting this chapter, I was looking up a specific YouTuber's playlist for some background music in the story for a bit of atmosphere, and the playlist has been erased, which means all the links in this story, including the prequel, are now dead. So, from here on out, the rest of this story won't have links (ruining the atmosphere I planned for most of my stories :ajbemused:). This is the second series where someone's playlist has died, the videos they had are gone, and changing the links is only going to be a bother when I had extended cuts of the songs to use as the story plays out, or I don't remember which ones I used (even though this series' music is obvious from the areas they go through along with unique boss music). Sorry about the unfortunate inconvenience, though I am also disappointed at what's happening with my favorite playlists, but onto the story!

An Eggcellent Comeback

After being escorted back to the minor-league locker rooms, Jolene gave Mario their winnings and left to continue on with other matters. Those who fought were patched up after such a rough battle, King K. leading Koops over to a side of the room to talk with him in private.

"You're not so bad, kid," King K. complimented. "Didn't expect a Petalburg Koopa like you give me the beatdown. Shouldn't have misjudged you with how timid you are."

"T-Thanks," Koops said bashfully.

"Although, next time, might wanna not be a bit TOO rough on me?" King K. asked with a chuckle. "And, hey, that little bit after our match. You going steady with this Koopie you shouted out to?"

Koops flinched, sweating nervously. "U-Uhh...W-Well, K-Koopie and I a-a-are...I-I n-never really..." Koops stammered, his cheeks burning red as he stumbled to try to find the right answer. "...M-Maybe?"

"Hehehe! Hey, don't overthink it, kid," King K. said. "But, if she's the right one, don't hesitate to pop the question, man." Koops gulped, letting out a whimper before falling over on his back, his mind racing as scenarios of him asking for Koopie's hand in marriage. "...Wow. He's real easy to freak...And he does much better in the arena than being social..."

The next day, after their first night resting in the Glitz Pit's locker room, Mario was up the moment the doors were opened to let the audience see some more fights. He got their next match going against the Pokey Triplets, just a trio of normal Pokeys that were quickly dealt with. Although, the odd request was for Mario to get hit by the Pokeys, trying not to make the fight end too soon. Once back in the locker room, Jolene gave him their winnings and left.

"This is going to be a shoo-in if we keep facing easy opponents," Rainbow said. "But these dumb rules really mess us up from getting to the top faster."

"Better to follow them rather than fight the same team again without doing as Grubba tells us," Starlight said.

"I'd rather us be quick so we can get out of this filthy locker room," Rarity whined. "And the beds were uncomfortable!"

"Get back in there!" Everyone in the locker room quickly turned to the door, where Jolene sternly escorted Bandy Andy inside, and she was not happy with what he did, along with the smug grin on his face. "How many times do I have to tell you: that room is OFF LIMITS! If you want to remain on our roster, you need to follow the rules!" Jolene warned the Bandit. "And don't think I haven't noticed you following me. You cut that out, too. Your stalking me is making me paranoid, and you'll be warranted for invading my personal space if it doesn't stop. You keep breaking the rules, you will be banned from the Glitz Pit. Understand?"

"...Yup," Andy lazily responded with a shrug. The Toad secretary let out a huff, readjusting her glasses before leaving the room.

"Again, dude?" King K. questioned. "Man, you're a magnet for trouble."

"Heheheh. Sorry, but that's what I do," Andy said. "Didn't mean to bring Queen Nag in here."

"You should probably be worried if you don't want you and your team kicked out of the roster," Flurrie suggested.

"Jolene's always got a 'tude, no matter who she's dealing with," King K. said. "Even if there's a well-behaved fighter, she'll go off on them for no reason. What's your deal following her anyway, B-money? You got a thing for her or something?"

"When Clefts grow wings," Andy scoffed. "Now, if you'll all excuse me..."

Andy headed for the door and snuck out, doing some more snooping like the sneaky thief he was. "He's probably gonna get himself caught again, isn't he?" Goombella asked.

Once Mario was rested, he reserved another match, this time going against the Dead Bones. It was another trio of the same enemy, this time, they were Dull Bones, the same ones they faced in Hooktail's Castle. Making sure to heed Grubba's request, they won the match with barely a scratch, accepting their winnings and waited for their next ranked match. They heard someone out in the hall crying out in pain as they were carried out, apparently one of the fighters injuring themselves, unable to take whatever opponent they faced. King K. made a comment about the poor sap, letting Mario and his friends know that they were in a brutal sport where anyone can get seriously hurt to the point of being hospitalized.

Their next battle was Spike Storm: a Lakitu and a couple Spinies, but with how infinite number of Spiny eggs a Lakitu can carry in their cloud, there could be an unending wave of Spinies that could make the fight last a while. Once the source of the Spinies was dealt with, they party took care of the cute, spiky creatures, winning the match and rising up a rank. While resting in the locker room, some more than others, Pinkie stared at the big yellow block in the corner of the room no one else noticed, having a staring contest with the inanimate object's eyes.

"Pinkie, what are you doing?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

"These blocks always hide secrets," Pinkie said. "And look at how big the arch is leading to the 'next room'." Pinkie squished Fluttershy's cheeks between her hooves, pointing her head to the outline the yellow block was perfectly blocking. "There's a bigger room beyond there, and the dingy minor-league room is just a cover to a super secret control room, where all the super techie stuff for the Glitz Pit is beyond here!"

"T-Tha shounds...shilly," Fluttershy said with her smushed cheeks.

Pinkie let go of the yellow pegasus's face, pulling out her trusty hammer. "Let's bust on through and find out!"

Pinkie let out a battle cry and jumped toward the block, smacking away at the incredibly tough surface with her hammer. It was odd, considering the one she has was able to break the iron blocks back in the Mushroom Kingdom, but this yellow block was several times bigger, and it barely gave with any whacks. Fluttershy silently watched as Pinkie went wild on the block, climbing all over it, even trying to use her teeth to tear it away. Cleftor snuck up on the pegasus, startling her as he moved her tail to cover it over his head, joining her with watching Pinkie's antics.

"What pink one do?" Cleftor asked.

"Oh, it's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie," she stated. "You get used to her doing weird stuff." Looking back at Pinkie, the earth pony was smacking her head against the block's face's forehead, letting out an exhausted groan before flipping down it, crashing to the floor in a heavily panting heap. "...Sometimes, that stuff is too weird to comprehend..."

"Pink one crazy," Cleftor said.

King K. walked into the locker room, munching on a hot dog he got from the square. "Hey, guys, you're not gonna believe this new menu item that hot dog stand's about ready to release," he said. "A hot dog made with an egg from a southern island. The vendor said that it'll even help someone win in a battle."

"I think we saw a stand out there the first day we arrived in Glitzville announcing something like that," Starlight said.

"Well, whatever it is, hopefully you're lucky enough to get one," King K. said, scarfing down the rest of his snack. "I heard the line's gonna get long the moment it's finally taste-tested."

"Ah could use some lunch right about now," Applejack said.

"Me too," Rainbow agreed.

"I'll do anything to get out of this locker room," Rarity said. "And I hope there's somewhere with some decent cuisine."

Everyone else agreed, including Mario, needing a bit of fresh air and see what kind of food they have here in Glitzville. They had to wade through fans, Rawk Hawk making his presence known in the lobby, signing autographs and taking pictures with admirers or young fans while he boasted about how awesome he was. Seeing that scene made Rainbow Dash grimace, recalling the time her friends made up the mysterious superhero, Mare-Do-Well, to teach her a lesson in modesty after her life-saving ego blew up a bit too high. After pushing their way through the screaming crowd, they finally made it outside the building.

"My goodness, there were so many fans," Flurrie commented. "I may have had plenty of admirers as an actress, but everyone in there was eating that Rawk Hawk up."

"That's all gonna change when we start rising up in ranks and have a match against the champion," Rainbow said. "But first, some grub!"

"And lots of dessert!" Pinkie added.

"Ahh! No! Bad! C-Come back here!" Curious about the commotion, it was ironically coming from near the hotdog vendor. They were a bit surprised to see the cook/owner of the stand running around, chasing around a bouncing, colorfully speckled egg. "S-Stop bouncing around, egg! Someone help! My imported egg's escaping!"

"A bouncing egg???" Starlight asked.

"Uhh, not sure if I want to eat a hot dog with an ingredient that was alive," Koops uttered.

"Let's help the fellah out, and maybe get that egg away from him if there's somethin' in there," Applejack suggested.

The group ran down to help the pig vendor, but the egg was really fast, bouncing around to avoid getting caught. Rainbow and Pinkie crashed into each other after trying a pincer maneuver, Starlight and Rarity tried to stun the egg with their magic, not wanting to be too rough on it despite how quick it moved, even Flurrie used her strong gusts to disorient it, only to accidentally send Koops, Goombella, Mario, Fluttershy, and Applejack flying off their feet, missing the egg by mere inches. Whatever was in there had a lot of energy, speed, and dexterity to avoid being caught.

After a good few minutes of running everyone ragged, the egg finally decided to rest on top of the hot dog vendor's stand. "G-Gosh darn it all," the vendor panted heavily. "You get down from there, you naughty egg!" Seeing the egg was too busy napping, the vendor caught his breath, letting out a disgruntled huff. "How am I supposed to get that thing down?"

"Let me try," Fluttershy said. She flew up onto the hot dog stand, letting out a gasp when she got a closer look at the egg. "Oh my goodness."

"What is it, Fluttershy?" Applejack asked.

"I think this is a Yoshi egg!" she exclaimed, surprising everyone. Grabbing the egg in her forelegs, startling it awake, Fluttershy angrily hovered before the vendor. "You were going to use Yoshi eggs for your food items!? And while it was just about to hatch!?"

"A-A Yoshi egg?" the vendor asked nervously. "B-But that's not what the guy who suggested I buy one told me! He just said it was from an island south of here!"

"Then I suggest never buying anything from a poacher who kidnaps poor, innocent Yoshi eggs from their parents to sell and make into food!" Fluttershy scolded. "Now, you are going to take down those signs about your new 'delicious' hot dogs, and not buy anymore baby Yoshi eggs!"

"Y-Yes ma'am, right away!" The pig vendor quickly went to work, taking down his sign to avoid the yellow pegasus's wrath.

Satisfied, Fluttershy looked down at the rainbow-spotted Yoshi egg, which wiggled a little in her hooves. "There, there, don't you worry, little one," she cooed, cuddling the helpless dinosaur egg. "You'll be safe with us."

"Are you sure that's a Yoshi egg?" Rainbow asked curiously. "You told me their skin would be the same color the spots on their eggs had. What kind of Yoshi lays multi-colored ones?"

"I don't know. This is the first one I've seen with different-colored spots," Fluttershy said. "Hopefully, you don't mind staying with us until we help you find your family."

The egg wiggled happily, glad to be anywhere that didn't get it cooked on a frying pan. After finding somewhere to get some lunch, avoiding anything with eggs to startle the newly joined Yoshi egg, they went back inside the Glitz Pit for some more matches. Thankfully, Rawk Hawk and his massive crowd of fans dispersed, so they didn't have to forcefully make their way down the halls back to the minor-league locker room. The other fighters in the locker room wondered where the newcomers got the rainbow-speckled egg from, but didn't question it out loud, despite it being alive as it bounced along with the group.

The next couple matches were a bit tough with what Grubba wanted Mario and his team to do, the next ranked match being Bandy Andy's team, the Hand-It-Overs, and after that, the Mind Bogglers. Andy was joined with three other Bandits, one wearing green like him while the other two wore pink. It didn't help that they were more focused on trying to steal money or items and flee, which would have wound up getting the runaway thieves booted off the arena as a sign of giving up the match. "The Great Gonzales" and his entourage wasn't going to let them go that easily and give the audience a fight, avoiding their pickpocketing fingers and beating them into submission. The Mind Bogglers had a trio of grayscaled enemies from the Boggly Woods: a Pider, a Dark Puff, and a Pale Piranha. Nothing they couldn't handle.

While taking a little break from fighting in the locker room, King K. came up to Mario. "Yo, Gonzales, can I talk to you in private for a sec?" Curious, Mario nodded, following the Koopa fighter over to a corner of the room. "Listen, man...Keep this under your hat, but I'm thinking about retiring soon." This news surprised Mario. King K. was a very skilled fighter, but it baffled him as to why he would want to quit, seeing he could advance in the ranks, but was stuck at number 19 for a long while. "If I stay here any longer...well, my future might get shorter, dig? After the next match, I'll be gone." Mario could understand the situation the Koopa was going through. There might be other things he wanted to do in life, and he didn't want to accidentally risk that chance if he stayed here. He held out his hand to King K., the yellow-shelled Koopa taking it, both fighters giving each other a firm shake. "You be cool, man. You and the rest of your posse. Promise you won't forget you once knew the King K."

Mario nodded, ensuring King K. with a Pinkie Promise. The Koopa was a little confused by the strange gestures, but Mario told him he learned it from a certain pink pony in his group, and when someone makes a Pinkie Promise, they never break it or risk losing their friend's trust. Despite how childish it seemed while Mario had crossed his heart, flapped his arms, then covered an eye with his hand, King K. believed Mario would uphold that promise. Mario headed back to the terminal, reserving a match, but seeing how dangerous the fights will be, Fluttershy told the Yoshi egg to stay in the locker room until they get back.

The next match was against Cleftor's team: the Punk Rocks. With himself along with two other Hyper Bald Clefts, the challenge was tough, especially when Grubba wanted Mario to not use his hammer, and Clefts were pretty tough defensively. Luckily, there wasn't a restriction for magic, Starlight blasting a beam on any of the Clefts' that were charging up to deal some heavy damage on their side. Despite the rules hindering them slightly, they managed to beat Cleftor and his team, moving up in rank and getting closer to the major-leagues.

When Mario and Cleftor's team returned, like King K. said, the Koopa was gone, nowhere to be seen in the locker rooms. "Hey, what happened to King K.?" Koops asked.

"He retired BOOM," Master Crash said.

"Really?" Rainbow asked, a bit shocked that the likable Koopa Troopa was gone after a short while of knowing him. "Why did he leave? He and his team were pretty good. They should have been a higher rank, at least."

Mario told his friends King K.'s reason for leaving, which was definitely understandable in such a dangerous profession. "Well, we'll wish him the best of luck in life," Flurrie said.

"I guess he didn't want any sad goodbyes," Goombella said, already able to tell that some of the other fighters in the minor-league were close friends with King K.

Mario decided on taking one more match tonight, taking on Master Crash and his Bob-omb Squad. Including the leader of his team were three other Bob-ombs, and with Mario's knowledge on dealing with Bob-ombs in the past, he made sure to keep his distance when enraging them after they get hit once. Koops was also helpful with his shell-tossing, protected in his shell as he dashed into the Bob-ombs, making them blow up after Mario, Goombella, Rainbow, and Pinkie bounced on the quartet of explosive creatures. After earning their pay and going up in rank once more, now at 11 and about ready to take on the bottom of the major-leagues, they took a break and rested up for what will be the toughest ten groups they'll face in the Glitz Pit.

The next morning, the minor-league locker room was pretty quiet, King K.'s retirement getting to the other fighters. "It feels kinda lonely without King K. here BOMB..."

"No lonely," Cleftor grunted. "...Him too weak...Now him not here. Sound normal to Cleftor."

"You're in BOMB denial, Cleftor," Crash said. "I saw you weeping in that locker last night BOMB-BOMB!"

"N-NO! Cleftor no weep for weak Koopa!" the Hyper Bald Cleft denied, turning away from the Bob-omb and running over to Fluttershy, to the Yoshi egg's ire as it bounced irritably. "Cleftor done talking! Cleftor admire yellow one's tail more now!"

"In other words, avoid expressing his emotions," Rarity whispered to Pinkie, which she nodded in agreement.

"Somepony needs a big hug!" Pinkie said, trying to reach out to Cleftor, only for the Cleft to chomp at her hooves. "AH! Hey, don't hide your feelings, buster! You may have hard skin, but deep down, there's a soft, gooey center that has emotions!"

"Leave Cleftor alone!" Cleftor exclaimed, fleeing from Pinkie as she chased him around the locker room.

"Well, that's a start to the morning," Goombella said.

Before Mario could reserve their next match, the door opened up, Cleftor and Pinkie freezing in place as they now stared at the door. Jolene walked inside, but instead of King K., or Bandy Andy, whom most of them expected to get in trouble with the Toad again, it was a Swooper. The bat fluttered behind her, looking around the state of the locker room.

"You'll be starting here in the minor league, of course, since your career's just started," Jolene explained to the Swooper. "If you don't like this dingy room, I suggest you make your way up through the ranks. When you're ready to fight, just log onto the computer terminal right here. Mr. Grubba will then decide who you will match up against, no ifs, ands, or buts. Understand?"

"Uhh, y-yeah," the Swooper said, still taking it all in.

"Go ahead and try it out," Jolene said.

The Swooper flew over to the terminal, logging into his team name, and reserved a match, where Grubba soon appeared on screen. "Well, howdy, Sir Swoop!" Grubba greeted. "Ready to get your wings dirty? Well, I got a treat for ya, son: your first battle's gonna be up against the Goomba Bros.! They'll be a piece of cake! But, we want to get the crowd fired up, so do a move where you do a triple flip and meow! You got any questions, you can ask the lovely Ms. Jolene, ok? Good luck out there, pard!"

Grubba ended the call, Sir Swoop tilting his head questionably at the odd request. "Uhh, what did he mean by that?" he asked.

"To keep the audience entertained, Grubba will give you specific rules to give you in your matches, and whether you choose to follow them is up to you," Jolene explained. "Win your match while following the conditions given to you, you can find yourself going up a rank, getting you a tiny bit closer to trying your luck against the champion, Rawk Hawk. Lose, however, and you might go down instead. In this case, you have to do a triple flip and meow in your match and best your opponents."

"Ohhh. Ok, I think I get it," Sir Swoop said. "So...do I go out now?"

"You'll wait for security to come get you, and they'll take you to where you'll enter the ring." A moment after Jolene's explanation, the security guard walked inside.

"You," the guard said, pointing at the Swooper. "Yeah, you, Sir Swoop. Time for your battle, bub."

"Ok, security's here to escort you now," Jolene said. "Try not to get completely destroyed out there."

"...Uhh, t-thanks?" Sir Swoop uttered. Before leaving with the security guard, he looked out to everyone in the locker room. "Uhh, hey, everyone. Name's Swoop. Er, SIR Swoop, actually."

"Hi, Sir Swoop!" Pinkie greeted cheerfully, the others mumbling their own greeting or waving to him.

The new fighter left with the guard, Jolene following suit to continue her duties. "Looks like we got ourselves a newbie," Rainbow said. "Sure seems confident, but the Goomba Bros. are easy. He could probably take them on solo."

"Let's see how good he is on the screen," Starlight suggested.

Everyone gathered around to see the match from the terminal. Luckily, Sir Swoop wasn't ambushed by the Goomba Bros. unlike Mario and his team was at their starting match, and he had his own team of three additional Swoopers. Like Grubba set for his match, Sir Swoop flipped three times in the air and let out a meow, making the audience go wild as he basically appealed to them and showing off his dexterity. Within no time, Sir Swoop won the match and move into King K.'s original spot, his team name called the Wings of Night. Sir Swoop fluttered back in, feeling excited after experiencing his first match.

"Hey, you're not all that bad, newbie," Rainbow complimented.

"Thanks, even though I was a little embarrassed pulling off that move for Mr. Grubba," Sir Swoop said.

"Get used to doing stuff like that, because we seem to get the worst conditions to complete for our fights," Starlight said.

While Mario used the terminal, Pinkie happily showed Sir Swoop around while introducing everyone, even explaining Mario's stage name was the Great Gonzales, not his real one. He looked at the number 10 spot in the roster, finding the name "Armored Harriers". He had no idea what to expect in this match, but he was sure it was nothing he couldn't handle, requesting his next match.

"Howdy, Gonzales!" Grubba greeted, then let out a giddy chuckle. "If you're fixin' for a fight, you're gonna get a kick out of this! You're goin' against the Armored Harriers, ranked number 10! You've been shootin' up faster than a beanstalk on a warm spring season! Now, for your fight, since this group you're goin' against is a team of two, we want there to be fair odds: two-on-two. So, pick your best pardner, and don't let your fans down!"

Mario nodded, understanding their team's winning conditions, which shouldn't be too difficult with the right teammate. He let the rest of his friends know about their next match after Pinkie stopped giving Sir Swooper the inside tour of the minor-league locker room.

"So, it's just a two-person team match this time," Flurrie reiterated. "I do believe it's no contest when I believe Starlight would be a perfect match."

"Hey, what about me!?" Rainbow questioned. "No offense to Starlight, but I'm much better at fighting than she is!"

"It does make sense, Rainbow," Goombella said. "Mario's more the heavy hitter with his unique powers, and Starlight's more of a long-ranged magic user. Makes a lot of sense balancing out both fields in a battle."

"Seconded," Koops agreed.

Rainbow grumbled, seeing everyone's points. "...Fine...I wanted everypony cheering for me, but...we're a team, so we're all gonna get an equal share of the glory...At least, I hope they cheer for me, more..."

The security guard soon walked in after their little group meeting, everyone agreeing with Mario's single partner to join him, then followed him out to the ring.

"Good afternoon, fighting fans all across the region!" Grubba announced, getting the crowd riled up. "Today, we have ourselves a main event for you all! The major leagues await our 11th-ranked fighter, the Great Gonzales-" The audience roared in applause at the name of the next rising star of the Glitz Pit. "-and standing in his way, at number 10, the Iron Adonis Twins! Let's get our Merciless Executioner and his companions out here, folks!" The left stage doors opened, the fans down on the ground screaming as Mario and his group began making their way down to the ring. Some like Rainbow gave their fans high fives as they passed, Mario and Starlight climbing up the steps while the others stood aside. "Hoooooooo-WEEEEEE! The Great Gonzales! How are y'all feelin' today!?"

"Awesome!" Rainbow shouted. "Trust me, I'm speaking for all of us! Let's just get on with the fight!"

Grubba eyed Rainbow before looking back at Mario, who just shrugged his shoulders. "Well, alright then. I'll take your friend's word for it." The doors on the other side of the stadium opened up, revealing Mario's and Starlight's opponents as they walked toward the stage. Like Grubba promised, there were two of them, both of them clefts, but they were pretty big compared to normal ones. Their skin looked a lot more solid than craggy, silver in color, but their boots were different from the other's, one's red and the other's green. The big Clefts stomped up onto the stage, looking intimidating while Grubba walked over to two-Cleft team. "Welcome to the stage, Armored Harriers! Hyuk hyuk! Your challengers are pretty confident!

"They've been talkin' trash about you nonstop since they got up on stage!" Mario and Starlight winced from the lies Grubba was telling the Clefts, and it was definitely getting on their nerves. "'Iron Adonis Twins?' they said. 'More like Wimpy Dog-Faced Bros.!...And they stink!'"

"What!? W-We never said that!" Starlight said nervously. "We barely even got a word in edgewise!"

"And then they had the gall to say, 'I bet they just play video games an' cry when they lose!'" Grubba continued. Even though the others knew this was just smack talk, he didn't have to spout random things neither of them even said, barely knowing anything about these two big Clefts. "And then they said, uhh, 'Outie belly buttons run in their family! Stinkwads!'"

Mario and his group gave Grubba a blank stare at the last "insult" he claimed they said. "...How is that supposed to hurt their feelings?" Koops asked.

"I don't know," Pinkie said. She sat on her haunches and looked down at her furry belly. "Maybe if he called them fat, but having an outie?"

"WHAAAAAAT!?" the Cleft in red shoes exclaimed angrily. "How does he know mom has an outie!? You jerk! We're gonna blend you up in a smoothie, pal! And then we're gonna drink ya!"

"...Ok, I guess it's a 'your momma' insult," Pinkie said, then rubbed her tummy as a curious thought came to her. "Would it be cuter if we had belly buttons to show? I wanna know what an outie one looks like."

"And only smelly stinkwads can call other people stinkwads! Got it, stinkwad!?" the first Cleft continued.

"Simmer down there, bro," the Cleft with green shoes said, not really surprising Mario, having a gut feeling considering most of the older brother in sibling duos he's faced were usually wearing something red. "Hey, stinkwads! You're gonna regret opening your yaps! You see our bods? Solid iron. Our spikes? They penetrate just about any substance. In other words, anything you'll try won't do anything to us! Think that over in the very short time you have left with a functioning brains!"

"...Ok, you know what, as soon as the match starts, I'm blasting them," Starlight grumbled. "We tried being nice, but when you look back at the start of the match before you even came in, you're gonna regret treating us like the simpletons!"

"Get yourselves ready to BAAAAAAATTLE!!!!!" Grumba announced, the gong ringing in the arena as he ran out of the ring.

Starlight lit up her horn, preparing to blast one of the Clefts out of the ring. It was just her and Mario, so they've already gotten the prerequisites to rank up. She fired a powerful beam at the red-shoed Cleft, only instead of it blowing up and pushing him back, the beam instead bounced off his face, ricocheting right toward Mario. Starlight gasped in shock while Mario quickly held out his hammer, making it shimmer in a lavender aura, quickly smacking the beam up in the air through the skylight, letting it safely explode into the sky and avoid getting himself or anyone in the audience hurt. The crowd thought it was a set of fireworks going off, but Starlight, Mario, and their friends on the sideline were shocked at what had just happened.

"D-Did...my magic bounce OFF of them!?" Starlight exclaimed. "B-But these things are rocks!" She tried something else, shrouding the green-shoed in her magic aura. Starlight grunted as she tried to lift the Cleft, barely able to get him off the ground as she strained her mental power to try pushing what felt like a mountain. "Urgh! C-Come on! Move...over...the edge!"

"Starlight, quit fooling around!" Goombella exclaimed. "Just shove them off!"

Starlight let out her held breath, heavily exhausted and dropped the Cleft. "I-I can't...push him," she panted. "Even...at my strongest...How much weight a unicorn can lift...depends on their mental power. And he weighs several tons!"

"Just what kinds of Clefts are those?" Rarity asked.

Goombella looked through her encyclopedia of different foes and creatures throughout the world, finding the type of Cleft their team was up against. "Here they are...They're...Iron Clefts..." As she read through what these Clefts can do, the Goomba began sweating nervously. "...T-There's no way..."

"W-Why does that not sound like a good sign?" Koops asked.

"...Uhh...W-Well..." Goombella continued stammering, not focusing on the fight as the Clefts began charging at Mario and Starlight.

Luckily, they weren't all that fast, but neither of them wanted to get pricked on their head spikes. Mario pulled out his hammer, residing on brute force to knock the two Iron Clefts out. He went for the Red Cleft, giving his side a hard whack, but upon contact, the plumber winced as his hammer bounced back, nearly breaking his wrists. It was like he hit solid ground, not a simple boulder that was meant to be broken by a tool like a hammer.

"Didn't feel a thing!" Red Iron Cleft cackled, laughing at Mario's pain toward his own failed swing.

Growling, Mario jumped up into the air, lighting his gloves with his enchanted strength, then dove down with a powerful hammer slam. He struck the Cleft with a tremendous amount of force, but the impact bounced off the incredibly sturdy body, Mario's tight grip making him shudder wildly with his hammer wiggling out of control. The Iron Clefts both laughed as the plumber jittered about, teeth chattering, his arms beginning to feel like jelly as he was slowly losing his grip. He accidentally let go, unable to hold on any further, falling on his back while his hammer bounced around on its own outside the arena before slowly coming to a stop.

The audience was a bit perturbed, wondering why the Great Gonzales's teammates weren't helping and why they couldn't beat the Iron Cleft Bros. "Oh my, this is embarrassing," Flurrie commented, shaking her head while covering her face.

"Goombella, what are ya afraid to tell us?" Applejack asked. "Not even Mario's able to break through them, and his hammer just went bouncin' around like Pinkie Pie on a sugar rush!"

"...These Iron Clefts...have impenetrable defenses," Goombella finally said, shocking everyone. "There's nothing that can harm them."

"And Starlight couldn't handle them either because they're magic proof, too!?" Rainbow questioned.

"Not even the strongest Kameks can cast a spell that either harmed or changed an Iron Cleft," Goombella continued. "Their bodies are basically impenetrable, despite being made of what they're named after."

"So, there's nothing we can do to win?" Fluttershy asked.

Goombella sadly shook her head. They looked back at the ring, hearing Mario and Starlight trying their hardest to do anything to the Iron Clefts, but nothing was even phasing them. In a way, it was almost like the mares were facing Bowser in his Star Rod enhanced power again, only there were two of them, they were slow as molasses compared to the Koopa King, and weren't as physically tough. With no choice, everyone agreed to throw in the towel, Pinkie Pie doing the honors as she pulled out a white towel out of nowhere, and throwing it toward the ring. Grubba caught the sign, quickly getting up on the arena, alerting his staff to bang the gong, ending the match early.

"Ok, that's the end, folks!" Grubba announced, the Armored Harriers skidding to a halt, ceasing their chasing Mario and Starlight. "Unfortunately, the Great Gonzales's team has decided to throw in the towel, admitting defeat to their opponents in a forfeit!" The audience groaned in disappointment, but it was better than watching their newest underdog and his team getting humiliated by what was the toughest duo in the Glitz Pit. "Our winner is the Armored Harriers!"

"Hah! How do you like that, stinkwads!?" Red Iron Cleft mocked.

"If you want another taste of pummel pie, take a bath and come on back, punks!" Green Iron Cleft added in, both brothers high-fiving with their feet as they walked off smugly, getting boos from the crowd after jeering their opponents.

Starlight panted, she and Mario glumly stepping down the stage, humiliated. "What are we going to do, Mario?" she asked, but the plumber shrugged, having no idea what to do next.

"...Is this really the best from the Great Gonzales?" Sir Swoop asked, he, Master Crash, and Cleftor gathered around the terminal watching the match to the end. "You guys said he whooped all the minor league without any issues."

"They have BOOM!" Crash said. "The Armored Harriers have really BOMB tough skins. Not even BOMB-BOMB my explosions left a crack BOB-BOMB!"

On the bench, the Yoshi egg had watched the match from a distance. Feeling like it needed to do something, the egg twitched, parts of the shell bulging as the Yoshi inside was trying to hatch itself. Eventually, the egg began to crack rolling off the bench and off into a corner as it struggled to break free. When it hit the wall, it went still, then a green hand punched through, the Yoshi hatchling pulling it back inside as it looked through the hole it made.

Walking into the locker room, Mario and his friends trudged inside, completely stumped and at a loss for ideas to get their Crystal Star. "Man, this sucks," Rainbow grumbled. "It's Bowser all over again, and we had thousands of creatures in this world watch us fail."

"We probably should have done more research on who was in the major league," Goombella said, hopelessly skimming through her books for some hints or advice. "We're either at a standstill, or, at worst, we steal that belt and take the Crystal Star by force."

"And have thousands of fans hate us after getting this far? That doesn't sound good," Starlight said.

"Oh no! Where'd the egg go!?" Fluttershy exclaimed worriedly. Everyone else looked at the bench, finding no sign of the rainbow-speckled egg. Thankfully, they didn't have to look at all, hearing the sound of cracking over in the corner of the room. Fluttershy quickly flew over to the egg, her shock turning from relief to excitement as she saw cracks forming, along with a red shoe that kicked out of the shell. "Oh my gosh! He's hatching!"

Everyone gathered around, including Sir Swoop, Cleftor, and Master Crash, watching the Yoshi finally break free with all four of its limbs. Inside was a green Yoshi, wearing red boots, a pair of orange pants with white polka dots it somehow had on while inside its egg, and the red spines on top of its head were shaped in a mohawk. He let out a sputter while shaking his head, scattering the bits of eggshell off of him, then looked up at everyone.

"...Hey, guys," he said, sounding more like a young child than a baby.

All the females in the locker room immediately gushed at the adorable Yoshi hatchling, shoving aside Mario, Koops, Crash, Cleftor, and Sir Swoop as they surrounded the little green dinosaur. "He is soooooo cute!" Pinkie cooed.

"This is the first Yoshi I ever saw, and it's just as cute as you girls said they look!" Starlight said as all the girls fought to cuddle with the helpless Yoshi, who let out whines and grunts, trying to wriggle away from the attention he was getting. "So scaly, but so soft and squishy!"

"Hey, it's my turn to hug the Yoshi baby!" Pinkie whined.

The males all watched, unsure whether they should help the Yoshi or not risk getting in the way of a group of girls' natural instinct of going after something small, cute, and unable to help but eat up. "Well, at least it's not me," Sir Swoop said.

The Yoshi managed to finally squirm out of whoever was holding him, leaping up over the girls and flutter-kicking away from them, landing beside Mario. "Ok, enough with the hugging!" he exclaimed. "Gonzales, I can see fighting can get me all the babes, but I haven't even been in the ring yet!"

"Uhh, did he just call you 'Gonzales', Mario?" Koops questioned.

"Well, duhhhh! Gonzales IS his name," the Yoshi stated. He looked back at the girls, flinching as some of them still had that look of wanting to squeeze the life out of him. "Hey, don't even think about it!"

"More huggies for the Yoshi!" Pinkie squealed, leaping toward the Yoshi.

She didn't expect the Yoshi to shoot his long tongue out, which stuck to her face, then pulled her into his mouth. Pinkie let out a shriek, which was silenced as the Yoshi hatchling's cheeks puffed out, shocking the other mares when they saw just how easily a baby Yoshi was able to stuff a grown mare into their mouth. He then swallowed Pinkie whole, letting out a heavy grunt as he bent over, laying out a big green-spotted egg, which wriggled slightly, no doubt the pink mare was trapped inside.

"Anyone else wanna go at me!? I'll rough you all up!" the Yoshi said, putting his fists up as he bounced around like a boxer.

"Little Yoshi!" Fluttershy scolded. The Yoshi winced, his bravado quickly diminished as the yellow pegasus marched up to him. He looked down at his feet, twiddling his fingers nervously as the mare's tone made him nervous. "You do not eat our friends and trap them in eggs, even if we all went a little bit too far giving you so much attention that made you uncomfortable. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mama Fluttershy," the Yoshi murmured apologetically.

"'Mama'?" Rainbow asked, snorting a little from the Yoshi apparently imprinting Fluttershy as his mother. "'Mama Fluttershy'?"

While most of the group thought it was funny, Mario, Rarity, and Applejack thought Fluttershy would make a really decent mother if she had foals of her own. She raised a lot of different animals and treated most of them like her own children, so it was more like practice for her future as a mom. They could even hear Pinkie Pie laughing along with the others, although muffled from the tough eggshell she was stuck in.

"Now, you get Pinkie Pie out of that egg and apologize to her right now, mister," Fluttershy ordered, ignoring the teasing from her friends.

The Yoshi nodded, giving the egg a few whacks at some weak points, freeing Pinkie Pie as she sat dumbfounded at what she experienced. "...That was kinda fun! Can I do that again!?"

"Let's not," Fluttershy said. "Now, young colt, apologize."

"Sorry, Pinkie Pie," the Yoshi apologized.

"Aww, it's o-...Hey, how'd you know mine and Fluttershy's names?" Pinkie asked.

"I may have been in an egg, but I could still hear and see a little bit from inside," he said. "I even watched that fight you guys lost in that last match."

"Oh, yeah. There's that we need to worry about," Applejack uttered.

"You think I can help you out?" the Yoshi asked. "I've watched the other matches, and I think I can do pretty good!"

"You want to what!?" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"Aren't you a bit too young to even do anything this dangerous?" Starlight asked.

"Actually, Yoshis are actually quite adaptable in their surroundings," Goombella explained, reading through a section about Yoshis from her book. "Though they mostly live on a jungle island, the creatures in the jungle can be very dangerous, and they need to learn how to defend themselves. Plus, that whole swallowing creatures into an egg thing we just saw is one of their defensive and offensive moves; swallow a foe, and use their egg as ammo to throw at other foes." After paraphrasing the paragraph, Goombella gasped, suddenly getting an idea about their earlier predicament. "Wait...Maybe this Yoshi CAN help us!"

"How?" Fluttershy asked skeptically. "He's just a baby. Besides, those two Iron Clefts aren't able to get hurt by anything."

"Maybe not by anyone else, but since they're both made of the same type of 'iron', and he has a pretty strong tongue..." Goombella paused, letting the others try to put the pieces together.

"And...if he's able to swallow something as big as one of us," Starlight mumbled, until she figured out what the Goomba was leading them toward. "We use their own bodies against them! It's just crazy enough to work!"

The others agreed, even Mario with his own experiences teaming up with a Yoshi or two in the past. "Oh, I don't know about this," Fluttershy said. "What if he gets hurt?"

"I can handle it!" the Yoshi said, quickly running up to Fluttershy's forelegs, begging her with puppy-dog eyes. "Please, Mama Fluttershy! I wanna be a fighter so bad! I even wanna help you win that champion belt and get that Crystal Star thing you were talking about earlier!"

He added a pitiful whimper and a sad pout to increase his chances. Fluttershy had dealt with the troublesome Yoshi Kids back on Lavalava Island, but unlike those children, this hatchling was definitely able to defend himself, even though he had just swallowed Pinkie into an egg. There wasn't anything else they had to move on through the Glitz Pit, and with how helpful Yoshis can be in a fight, Fluttershy sighed and gave in.

"Well...as long as you be careful out there," she said, feeling the Yoshi quickly hug her forelegs gratefully. Fluttershy gently pulled the hatchling off her, not done with setting up ground rules for the rambunctious dinosaur. "But if we get into a dangerous fight with something strong, don't go trying to attack it."

"Ok, Mama Fluttershy!" the Yoshi agreed, though he silently won't guarantee he won't avoid rising to a challenge.

"So, do you have a name, or are we just going to keep calling you Yoshi?" Rainbow asked.

"Uhh...I don't have a name," the Yoshi said.

"I say let's give him one," Flurrie suggested. "But what to name him?"

"He's...pretty feisty for a little guy," Koops noted.

"And he apparently loves wanting to get into a scrap, seeing how he's a bit into the fights in the arena," Starlight added.

"Ooh! I know!" Pinkie said. "Let's call him Scrappy!" The Yoshi grinned, finding the name fitting for him, though everyone else wondered why. Pinkie sidled up beside Scrappy and whispered to him. "You're obviously going to be the youngest teammate in our group, and you'll remind everypony reading this story about a puppy with the same name, but unlike him, you won't be annoying and actually be useful in future fights."

"Ah...Wait, what?" Scrappy asked, at first excited, only to get confused by Pinkie's statement.

"Pinkie, what did you tell him?" Fluttershy questioned.

"Oh, nothing important!" Pinkie assured.

"I guess we're gonna go with Scrappy the Yoshi," Starlight said.

"Well, that may be my birth name, but in the ring, I wanna be called...Gonzales Jr.!" Scrappy suggested, standing in a victorious pose while flexing his muscles, which looked more adorable than he was expecting it to be.

"Let's just stick with Scrappy for now," Fluttershy said, patting the Yoshi on the head.

With their new little Yoshi teammate ready for his first ever match, Mario headed to the terminal to reserve a rematch against the Armored Harriers.

It took a while for the rematch to start, since there were several other matches that were already scheduled, but it was time for them to move on up and get closer to taking that belt. Grubba's conditions for moving into the major league was the same as before: only "Gonzales" and a partner in a two-on-two match. As they waited on the other side of the doors, Grubba stood onstage, ready to announce the rematch as the Armored Harriers were the first ones to enter.

"Welcome back, fighting fans!" Grubba said. "We have ourselves a rematch that I know y'all are waitin' for after what happened this morning! The Great Gonzales and his teammates surrendered to the Armored Harriers, their might just too mighty for our latest rising star! But Gonzales had some time to come up with a new strategy, knowing all of you are waiting for him to try his luck at facing our champion, Rawk Hawk, and keep rising up on our roster!"

The crowd cheered at the good news, though the two Iron Clefts were skeptical after their last match. "Bring those stinkwads on!" Red Iron Cleft said. "They still won't hurt us, no matter what they've got!"

"Bold words, but always expect the unexpected!" Grubba said. "Now, let's bring out THE GREEEEAAAAT GONZAAAALEEEES!!!!"

As soon as the doors began to push open, Scrappy charged out first, surprising the audience. "YEAH!" he cheered, running on ahead while whooping and hollering. "We're the best! Not gonna stop us now! WHOOO-HOOOOO!!!!!"

"Sounds like somepony's a little bit too excited," Rarity uttered, the rest of the group making their way to the ring at a slower pace.

Scrappy bounded up the steps, waving to the crowd, then began doing some stretches to warm himself up. Mario stepped up and stood beside the eagerly excited Yoshi while the others stood on the sidelines.

"...Uhh, well, that was quite an introduction," Grubba commented. "This a new teammate of yours, Gonzales?"

Mario opened his mouth, but Scrappy interrupted him. "You better believe it!" the Yoshi cheered. "I'm Gonzales's ward and protégé: Gonzales Jr.!"

His claim made the audience chuckle, mostly out of seeing the adorable little dinosaur that was "Gonzales's" fan want to try to be a fighter like him. Even Grubba laughed at the bravado the Yoshi had.

"Well, ain't that cute?" he said. "Hope the Iron Adonis Twins don't rough up the little fellah too hard. Let's get ready to BAAAAAATTLE!!!!"

With the sound of the gong, the match was underway, Grubba leaving the ring to let his fighters duke it out. Mario stood back, letting Scrappy take charge, the young Yoshi doing little hops in place, ready to dodge or rush forward as he eyed the twin Iron Clefts. The two impervious Clefts looked at each other, slightly amused as Mario let Scrappy be the star of the show, ensured to win again, but this time by beating their opponents up and not by quitting.

"This is too easy," Red Iron Cleft scoffed. "Can't give us a challenge, Gonzales!? Even after you made fun of our mom's outie belly button!?"

"We never said anything about you or your family!" Starlight shouted irritably. "Why are you still on about that!?"

"Let's just beat the snot out of them, starting with the little green twerp!" Red Iron Cleft yelled as he charged toward Scrappy.

Scrappy waited for his chance to strike, smirking confidently. As soon as the Cleft was close enough, he opened his mouth and shot out his tongue, the super sticky bulb at the end of the dinosaur's lengthy and incredibly strong organ attaching to his opponent's forehead. Before he knew it, Red Iron Cleft yelped as he was suddenly pulled in by the Yoshi tongue, trapped inside Scrappy's mouth with his cheeks puffed out. The audience gasped in shock, but Green Iron Cleft's jaw dropped, horrified to see his brother get eaten.

Scrappy swallowed the Cleft down his gullet, his stomach extending from his giant victim, then let out a strained grunt while hunched over. With a loud pop that echoed all throughout the ring, Scrappy laid out a fat egg similar to the Iron Cleft's size, letting out a sigh of relief.

"AHH! BRO!" Green Cleft shrieked.

"You want your brother back?" Scrappy asked, grabbing the big egg he just laid. "You can have him!" With a well-aimed throw, Scrappy sent the egg hurling toward the Cleft. Too shocked from earlier to react, Green Iron Cleft was hit by the egg, which blew up on impact while also ramming Red Iron Cleft into his brother. Both brothers tumbled across the ring, confirming Goombella's theory when they all heard them yell out in pain when they smacked into each other. "Yeah! Da da da da, da daaaaa! YOSHI POWER!!!!"

The crowd roared in applause at the amazing display, all while Scrappy posed and showed off to his fans with a leaping flutter kick, hovering in the air for a moment before ground pounding to the ground, giving everyone a double peace sign. The Iron Clefts groaned, getting off of each other, then looked at the cocky Yoshi hatchling appealing to everyone.

"B-Bro, are you ok?" Green Iron Cleft asked.

"Urgh. I...don't even know what I went through when I went in that twerpy stinkwad's gullet," Red Iron Cleft said. "I'm not gonna get beaten by a little green dinosaur in a diaper! Let's charge him together!"

"R-Right! He can't get both of us at once!" Both Clefts charged forward, Scrappy too busy showboating to pay attention to the fight, which was still going on.

"Scrappy, look out!" Fluttershy warned.

Mario was about to jump in to save Scrappy, but the Yoshi's instincts kicked in, quickly leaping over the dual charging bodies of steel. Flipping in midair, he shot his tongue out, sticking it to Red Iron Cleft again.

"Oh no! Not again!" he shrieked.

Instead of getting eaten, he was flipped around as Scrappy flipped, letting out a yell as he was whipped around, slamming into the ring with a heavy thud. Green Iron Cleft skid to a halt and turned around, spotting the Yoshi turn slightly to look at him, mouth still open with his tongue outstretch and connected to his brother. Scrappy yanked Red Iron Cleft into his mouth again, but instead of swallowing him, he turned, charged the other Cleft, then spat Red out with an incredible amount of force. He hit Green hard, sending both Iron Clefts tumbling far off the ring, Mario sidestepping out of their path as he watched them bowl outside of the raised stage, crashing to the ground in a heap.

"And it's a ring out!" Grubba chimed in, the match ending as the Armored Harriers were not only flung out, but also knocked senseless, both Clefts barely moving as they let out weak groans. "And the Great Gonzales didn't even have to lift a finger! He let his new recruit do the job, and this little guy's got that fighting spirit!" Everyone cheered as Scrappy jumped around ecstatically, celebrating his first win and laughing triumphantly. "Congratulations, Gonzales, you and your compadres are moving up to the major leagues! Let's hear it for them, folks!"

Everyone cheered even louder, chanting "Gonzales!" over and over, which spurred on Scrappy and Rainbow's egos, the pegasus flying up on stage and joining the Yoshi's celebratory dance. "You did awesome, squirt!" Rainbow said to Scrappy. "Keep that up, and we'll get to Rawk Hawk in no time!"

After giving Scrappy his moment to bask in his glory, Mario had to grab both him and Rainbow Dash and drag them off the stage. This was only round one; round two's gonna be even tougher than ever, especially after getting a glimpse at who was in the major-league locker room on their tour around the Pit. And if Scrappy was going to be an imperative asset to their team here and much later in the future, he and Fluttershy were going to have to keep the Yoshi in line with his excited eagerness to get in a battle.

Inside the champion's room, Rawk Hawk stood in front of his terminal, always watching his competitions' matches and silently berate them with how poor they were. But the Great Gonzales's team, however, had broken records reaching up to the major-league ranks, and after laughing at how terribly he and one of his pony friends fought the Armored Harriers in their first match, now he was cringing after watching a baby Yoshi beat the Iron Clefts by himself.

"They think they can take my belt from me?" the champion grumbled, clenching his fists bitterly. "Well, I'll have to change your mind pretty quickly before you even have the chance to get to me, Gonzales..."

Mr. X and the Secrets of the Pit

"Oh yeah! Future champion of the Glitz Pit coming through!" Scrappy gloated as he waltzed into the minor league locker room ahead of the group. "I killed it out there, and all by myself!"

"Ok, Scrappy, settle down," Fluttershy gently chided, placing her hoof on the little Yoshi's head. "You're starting to get a bigger ego than Rainbow Dash, and if you keep that up, then I'm not letting you fight anymore."

"Aww, Mama Fluttershy! That's not fair!" Scrappy whined. Before he complained further, the yellow pegasus gave the Yoshi a stern glare, not exactly her signature Stare, but the look made Scrappy wince, instantly calming down. "Sorry, Mama Fluttershy...Can I still celebrate if we win a match?"

"Just not too much where you'll get on everypony's nerves," she said, making the Yoshi cheer as he continued his victory dance.

"At least Fluttershy can keep the little darling tamed from all the excitement," Flurrie noted.

"She's absolutely great with foals, even after watching my little sister and her friends back home," Rarity said.

"That was a BOOM explosive match!" Master Crash said. "Not even my team could BA-BOMB not blast those two Clefts tough bodies."

"All thanks to this little guy right here," Rainbow said, patting Scrappy's head. "I didn't think Yoshis could fight after seeing the ones on Lavalava Island, but they're pretty tough."

Jolene walked into the locker room, approaching Mario while the others tried to control Scrappy's excitement. "Great work, Gonzales," she said, giving Mario their coins for their win in the match. "Also, Mr. Grubba wants to see you and your team in his office." Curious to know what the fight promoter wanted with them, the group followed the Toadette down the halls to Grubba's office. As she opened the door, the Clubba yelped in surprise, quickly shoving something in one of his desk drawers in a panic with a hard slam, trying to act nonchalant with a bead of sweat running down his head. "Mr. Grubba, I brought Mr. Gonzales upon your request."

"M-Ms. Jolene, you mind your manners, now!" Grubba exclaimed. "We KNOCK around here, missy!"

"My apologies, Mr. Grubba," Jolene said with barely a hint of an apologetic tone.

"Don't you worry your pretty li'l head about it," the Clubba brushed off just as quickly as his surprise.

"What exactly were you looking at?" Pinkie asked, popping up behind Grubba's desk, startling him as he jumped back.

"N-Nothin' really important!" he quickly said, pushing the mare away and setting her back with her friends. Taking a moment to compose himself, he addressed the plumber, getting to the matter at hand with bringing his new fighter to his office. "Now, Gonzales, I am quite impressed by how far y'all have gotten. Even the crowd can't believe that amazin' comeback with your new little dino partner."

"Yeah, I am pretty awesome, aren't I?" Scrappy gloated, making Fluttershy clear her throat, reminding him to tone down his boasting.

"Not just that, but the demographic for our fights has reached out to even little girls, earning more fans for the Mane Six!" Grubba exclaimed gleefully. "The last couple days, there's been fan mail asking for more fights with the six of you ponies and your incredible talents in combat, even a toy line!"

"Wait, seriously?" Starlight asked.

"Why, of course! And with you all being in the major leagues, there's going to be merch with all your faces, memorable quotes, and even action figures! Don't that tickle your funny bones!?" While Rainbow, Pinkie, and Scrappy were overjoyed to have their images from the Glitz Pit seen throughout the continent, the others were a bit nervous, their growing popularity might be noticed by the X-Nauts. "Still working on the specs for the figures, but we're getting some posters and shirts ready for your growing fanbase, and there's already orders piling up!"

"Cool!" Scrappy cheered.

"Well, there ain't any for the little 'un just yet," Grubba said, disappointing the Yoshi. "But with a little more time in the spotlight, we'll get one for ya as well."

"Uhh...that's...great," Goombella uttered.

"But we're gonna need to work on Gonzales's outfit," Grubba added. "That plumber look's not gonna cut it forever. Maybe add some frills or somethin', make the red shirt a light pink."

"I think not!" Rarity interjected. "And if there's ever a need for a costume change, I will gladly do the honors myself. But Mario in pink and frills..."

The fashionista cringed imagining Mario in pink, though she could see Luigi making it look good, oddly enough. "Oh well. By all means," Grubba shrugged. "Now, let's get y'all settled into the major-league locker room, and you get more of them seats lined up while you break records reachin' for the stars!"

"Follow me, everyone," Jolene said, guiding the group over to the better locker rooms for the top ten fighters in the Glitz Pit.

They walked inside the locker room from the tour they were given upon arrival, seeing the same variety of fighters in the upper leagues from the very same tour. Most of them were pretty serious when they saw the quick up-and-coming fighting team walk in, Scrappy's waltzing in like a big shot not helping their welcoming committee respect them.

"Make way, here come the future champions!" the Yoshi announced. He was given hard stares from some of the major-league fighters, especially the Dark Koopatrol at rank 1. "...Sheesh. Not the friendliest group around here."

"You'd best keep your mouth shut around us, kid," the Koopatrol warned with a growl. "We all saw your first debut against the Armored Harriers. You're in way over your head if you think you're able to take on the likes of us."

"Ah, don't mind Red Eyes," the blue-shelled Koopa with sunglasses said. "He's in a tiff because he always loses to Rawk Hawk when he gets the chance to fight him."

The Dark Koopatrol grumbled irritably with clenched fists, then huffed and sulked over on the other side of the room. "The major-league locker room has the same type of match system as the minor league's, but the bouts are definitely going to be more challenging," Jolene said. "I must be going. Good luck out there."

Jolene made her leave as she adjusted her glasses. The Koopa who spoke up approached the newcomers in the major league.

"You're gonna need a whole lot of it here," he said. "I'm kinda surprised you made it here in less than a week. Maybe you might show Rawk Hawk a thing or two about humility when he finally gets his butt whooped." Not even a second later, the door to the locker room slammed open, and in comes Rawk Hawk, smirking as he looked down at his fellow competitors. "Uh oh. Speaking of, here's the big cheese himself."

"Listen up, losers!" Rawk Hawk said. "I've been hearing about a rising star rising up in the ranks, and I just saw them fight the Armored Wusses not too long ago." He looked at Mario, scoffing at how he looked up close compared to his fights in the arena. And when he eyed at his partners, especially the six colorful mares, he chuckled and shook his head. "I don't know how you got lucky enough to get here, but your little rainbow pets won't do you much good if you face me in a match. And that's a big IF, buddy."

"You know, you're not really all that threatening," Rainbow said. "We've faced way worse than some pro fighter. You're going down, Rawk Hawk, and we're gonna be taking that belt from you."

"Hah! A squishy little pigeon like you thinks you can take me on!?" Rawk Hawk laughed, poking Rainbow's muzzle, which made her growl. "You'll barely last a second with the RAWK!"

While Rainbow struggled to keep herself from beating the crap out of Rawk Hawk for calling her a pigeon, Scrappy noticed everyone else in his group was staring at the champion's belt. "Hey, why is everyone looking at this guy's belt?"

Goombella gently pulled the Yoshi aside so none of the other fighters heard them, seeing they all needed to explain to him why they were in the Glitz Pit in the first place. "Well, I know you were kinda just...'born' not that long ago, we're not really here to be champions in the Glitz Pit," she explained. The news surprised Scrappy, peaking his curiosity. Goombella moved over to their belongings, which were moved in this locker room from the minor league's from the security team during their brief visit with Grubba, finding Mario's backpack and took out one of the two Crystal Stars they found. "We're looking for seven mystical gems called Crystal Stars, which will open up something called The Thousand-Year Door once we find them all."

"Ooooh. Shiny," Scrappy uttered, his eyes transfixed on the shimmering light the Crystal Star gave off.

"And one of those Crystal Stars is on Rawk Hawk's champion's belt," Goombella pointed out. "We can't just take it, or else we'll get in a lot of trouble. So, we're fighting to get that Crystal Star, then we're leaving to find the next one."

"Ohhhh. Now I get it." Scrappy looked at Rawk Hawk, who was still poking fun at the mares while flaunting his title. The curious Yoshi walked up to the golden bird, examining his belt up close. Rawk Hawk looked down at the Yoshi, a bit unnerved with him eyeing his belt, thinking he was going to steal it. Not as entranced as he was with the real Crystal Star Goombella showed him, Scrappy turned to face his friends. "Hey, this star's a fake! It's not shiny at all!"

Despite all but Goombella being confused by Scrappy's statement, Rawk Hawk didn't take that well, glaring at the Yoshi with a twitching eye, grabbing the green dino by the scruff of his neck and hoisting him up to his face. "Oh, we got ourselves a smart mouth here!" he exclaimed. "You're saying my belt's a fake!?"

"Noooo, I said the star's fake," Scrappy reiterated. "But if you wanna tussle, put me down and I'll give you the ol' one-two, flutter-kick in the roo!"

Rawk Hawk snorted, then laughed at the ridiculous, childish statement the Yoshi made. "Well, ain't that just cute?" he mocked, dropping Scrappy, who quickly landed back on his feet. He grumbled when Rawk Hawk patted his head, knowing full well the champion was making fun of him and wanted to pummel him to prove he wasn't as weak as he looked. "Now, listen here, you little runt. You're lucky you're not in the ring, otherwise I would batter you all across the floor like a rag."

Fluttershy immediately went into protective mother mode, flying right up to Rawk Hawk, startling him with the menacing glare she gave him. "You so much as touch a soft, squishy scale on Scrappy's cute, little head, you're going to regret hurting my little Yoshi, Mr. Hawk!"

Rawk Hawk glanced at Fluttershy and Scrappy, questioning how this pegasus was the mother of a Yoshi, but when she didn't get a response from him, Fluttershy used her Stare, making him tremble. "Uhh...W-Well, y-you know this is a fighting competition, right? So-"

"I don't care what it is, but if you hurt my little Yoshi in any way, I'll hurt you," Fluttershy warned.

Rainbow hovered beside Rawk Hawk, giving him a cheeky smirk. "I would heed my friend's warning, dude," she advised. "Fluttershy might look meek, but get in the way of something cute and cuddly she's willing to protect, she'll gain the strength of ten Applejacks and beat you until you're black and blue."

"Ah don't think that's accurate, but Fluttershy can be a might terrifyin' if ya put a critter she's fond of in danger," Applejack said.

Rawk Hawk recovered from the soul-piercing Stare as Fluttershy backed off, letting out a scoff as he made his way out the door. "I won't let anyone take my title from me. Especially not a mustachioed midget and his cheerleading squad."

He slammed the door, leaving the other major-league fighters stunned by Fluttershy's surprising boldness and overprotection with Scrappy. "...Well...that's a first," the Dark Koopatrol uttered. "He's definitely worried about you guys, but I won't believe you can beat him until you get to me. Which I doubt you'll be there at the rate you're rising ranks."

"Uhh, Scrappy, what did you mean earlier about the star on Rawk Hawk's belt?" Koops asked.

"Goombella told me about these Crystal Star thingies you were looking for before you met me," he said. "They were real shiny..." Scrappy trailed off, but quickly shook his head before he got too distracted, cursing his curious instincts. "But the one on his belt wasn't as shiny if they're that important."

"The Crystal Star on his belt was a fake?" Starlight questioned. Grabbing the Magical Map, she looked at the Crystal Star they were searching for, still hovering over Glitzville. "That doesn't make sense."

"Well, now that I think about it, it was hard to tell when we first saw it in the stands," Rarity said. "The Crystal Stars do have that added bit of enchanted luster that makes them stand out. And I believe Scrappy might be right."

"So we've been fighting for absolutely nothing!?" Pinkie screeched. "Aww, pony feathers! Where's the real one at, then!?"

Suddenly, Mario's Mailbox SP began to go off, but with a different ringtone than the one for Princess Peach's emails. Pulling out his device, Mario reads out the mysterious message someone gave him aloud.

iF yOu WaNt ThE cRyStAl StAr, HeEd My InStRuCtIoNs.
FrOm X

Despite the odd typing system to hide their true identity when just the name "X" was enough for a mystery, this mysterious person who knew about the whereabouts of the real Crystal Star in Glitzville baffled them. "Who the hay is this X guy?" Rainbow asked. "And why does he want to help us?"

"Should we trust him?" Starlight asked.

Mario shrugged, but if this X took the time to figure out his email address and give him instructions to earn the Crystal Star, they had no choice but to follow through with X's future instructions while continuing their rise to fighting stardom. Since it was late in the evening, everyone turned in for the night, resting up for their next few bouts in the major league. Their next match was against The Tiny Spinies, two Red Spike Tops, quite a difficult pair of Buzzy Beetles with the spike on their shells to keep them from being flipped over helplessly on their backs. Luckily, Mario had his enchanted Lucky Charm, a simple jump thanks to the protective glow of Fluttershy's magic preventing an enemy's counter defenses from hurting him or anyone, wowing the crowd when he didn't prick his feet off their spikes. Then there were The Poker Faces, two Bristles, who were just like the ones back in Petalburg when headed for the ruins east of Koops' hometown, using the same method like The Tiny Spinies.

After that match, as the group recuperated, Mario's Mailbox SP rang again with that same ringtone, Pinkie dancing along to the catchy beat while humming it, only to be disappointed when the plumber opened it to check what was sent. "Aww, I like that tune!" Pinkie whined. "It's got an ice worldly tune to it."

Ignoring the odd specifics of Pinkie's thoughts on the strange ringtone, he read out the next message from their "friend" X.

gO tO tHe WaTeRiNg HoLe OuTsIdE ThE gLiTz PiT.
FrOm X

"'The watering hole'?" Starlight uttered curiously. "Does X mean the juice bar outside the arena?"

"Sounds like the only logical place to check out," Goombella said. "But does Mario have to do this alone, or should we come with him in case it's a trap?"

"I think Mario can get out of any sticky situations without us getting in the way," Rainbow said. "Go check it out, Mario. We'll hold things down if we can reserve our next match."

Mario nodded, following X's advice and made his way to Glitzville's juice bar. After leaving the locker room, Mario overheard a conversation around the corner, a bit farther away from Grubba's office. He noticed Jolene with one of the security guards, both of them standing in front of the locked door between the Clubba's office and the champion's luxurious room.

"So you're telling me that you have no idea who got inside?" Jolene questioned. "What do we pay you for?"

"I'm awful sorry, Ms. Jolene," the guard apologized. "I heard a noise in there, but I couldn't find nothing..."

Jolene let out a tsk in irritation, then shook her head. "Fine, leave the rest of the matter to me. Go back to your post. And listen to me carefully: do not EVER tell anyone this or I'll have your job."

The guard nodded, then walked off to return to his duty while Jolene headed the other way to continue working. Mario was a little suspicious about what was behind that door, seeing how it might be some kind of storage room. He turned around and focused on heading for the juice bar, jumping back in shock when he saw Bandy Andy standing behind him without making a sound.

"Sorry there, Gonzales," Andy apologized. "Didn't mean to make you jump out of your skin. You doing some snooping of your own?" Once Mario stopped his heart from pounding in his chest, he shook his head, keeping his emails from X a secret. "Oh well. Your loss." The Bandit walked past the plumber and continued his sneaky snooping. "If you are curious, though, check your pockets, Gonzales."

After Andy rounded the corner, Mario balked, thinking the Bandit fighter stole his coins. Quickly sifting through his pockets, his money wasn't taken, but there was a folded up piece of paper he knew wasn't there. Opening it up, he read what was written, the top of the page reading "The Seven Wonders of the Glitz Pit".

The Sealed Wall: The remains of fallen athletes are rumored to be stored behind a sealed wall in a minor-league locker room.

The Man-Eating Toilet: A toilet in the major-league locker room is said to devour anyone who attempts to use it.

The Stairs of Mystery: An unknown room in the Glitz Pit has a second floor but no stairs, and groaning noises can be heard coming from above.

The Haunted Boudoir: The champion's room is rumored to be haunted. People within the room claim that they hear voices whispering from nowhere, supposedly the voices of athletes who lost to the champion.

The Spooky Ring-Lights: Strange lights supposedly leak from under the ring doors when nobody is inside.

The Missing Ones: Sometimes fighters disappear for no reason and never return, including the first champion, Prince Mush.

Grubba and Jolene: The first part of this wonder is that Grubba is muscular despite being past sixty-years old. Secondly, Jolene has been known to suddenly vanish.

Mario raised a brow at the seven odd "wonders", and wondering if this was what Andy was trying to discover during his sleuthing outside the locker room. They sounded completely ridiculous, although the first one made him frighteningly curious with the large yellow block in the minor-league locker room. Stuffing the seven wonders Andy "gave" him back in his pocket, Mario left the wonders alone and continued on his way out of the Glitz Pit.

When he reached the bar, a decent place he and his friends went to for a nice cold beverage and some food, the bartender recognized the plumber, though more as his fighter persona in the Glitz Pit. "Ah, Mr. Gonzales! Just the mustachioed man I was looking for!" Confused, Mario pointed to himself curiously. "Yes, you!...Well, actually, you're a bit late. Someone left a package and a note by the door a little while ago. The letter said: 'Look for a thick-'stached man named Gonzales and give him this.'" The bartender pulled out the package he mentioned from behind the counter, handing it to Mario. He opened the package, and inside was a new hammer, looking similar to the Super Hammer he found in Dry Dry Ruins, though the double-sided head of the mallet was a more bright silver. "Ah. That's a new model of hammer: the HAMMAWHACK 2005. Solid craftsmanship, good grip, high bonkability.

"Must be a gift from a big fan, seeing how expensive getting one of these can be. But...why leave it in a juice bar of all places? A bit odd leaving it here rather than officially handing it to the pro fighter." As the bartender shrugged and returned to tending to the other patrons, Mario's Mailbox SP rang again, the same ringtone from X as he checked it.

SmAsH tHe BlOcKaDe In ThE mInOr-LeAgUe LoCkEr RoOm.
FrOm X

Now X wanted Mario to break down the block in the minor-league locker room, right after learning of the wonder about fallen athletes "stored" behind that blockade. He hoped the wonder wasn't true, his need to find that Crystal Star more important than whatever trouble he'll get himself into. Heading back to the Glitz Pit with his new hammer, Mario tried to figure out how he was going to sneak into the locker room when there's security guards keeping a watch on all the doors throughout the building. As soon as he got close to the minor-league locker room, the guard at the door noticed Mario while he pondered what to do.

"Ah, Gonzales," he said, getting Mario's attention. "I got word that you wanted to move back down to the minor league again." Mario grimaced as he heard the strange statement. There was no way he wanted to go back to the minor leagues after getting as far as he has, let alone any sane fighter wanting to lower their fame when reaching for the top. But, if this was the chance he had in order to get in and break that giant block down, he took it, nodding his head after a bit of awkward hesitation. "Well, that is kind of weird of you to actually want this, but go right on in."

The guard stepped aside, allowing Mario through. He didn't know if this was dumb luck, or someone pulling the strings to allow him to break the rules like this. Maybe it was X manipulating the guards through some hypnosis or magic. Walking inside, the gang in the locker room were a bit surprised to see him waltz right in, even though he was in the major leagues.

"Gonzales? W-What are you doing back?" Sir Swoop asked.

Mario didn't know what to say, or even explain why he was really here in the first place. They watched him approach the yellow block, curious to know why he was transfixed on it, although the two Iron Clefts glared at the plumber, still humiliated after their loss in their second match. Mario pulled out his old hammer, giving it a hard whack, which barely made a dent or cracked it slightly. He was a little skeptical that the patented HAMMAWHACK 2005 was stronger than the Ultra Hammer he found in Mt. Lavalava, but if X believed it could break this block more than his old one, he was going to take the mystery person's word for it. Grasping his new hammer, he wound back his swing, and to make sure it was destroyed, Mario spun around rapidly as he smacked the block several times. The last strike out of four caused the block to break apart, revealing a hidden storage room.

"Whoa BOOM!" Crash exclaimed, he and the others staring in shock at the secret room.

"Cleftor call new room," Cleftor said, apparently calling dibs on the extended part of their locker room they never knew about.

Mario was kind of glad that first wonder was debunked, thankfully being a separate storage room with a lot of old books on a dusty bookshelf, a broken computer on a desk, no sign of any fallen fighters. Unsure what he was supposed to look for, he noticed something at the top of the bookshelf that didn't seem as old as the books that were stored away. Leaping up and grabbing the small stack of pages held together with a paper clip, Mario took a look at them once he landed. To his shock, the pages had scientific details on the Crystal Stars, even pictures of the Crystal Star they were looking for were taken.

"Mr. Gonzales?" Jolene said, startling Mario from his "reading". "What are you doing in here? This is the minor-league locker rooms. Those in a higher league are forbidden from entering the lower ranked rooms, or even bash walls down for absolutely no reason." Mario grimaced, figuring he would have gotten caught after hearing how loud that big yellow block broke to pieces. Of course, with her being strict, Jolene would be the one to check on things. She approached him, snatching away the papers he just acquired. "I'll be confiscating THIS for your recklessness, thank you very much."

Mario wanted to protest, but if he didn't want to get kicked out, he kept his mouth shut as he watched her walk off with the item X wanted him to see. At least there was proof that the Crystal Star was here, but who was researching the Crystal Stars here in Glitzville? After returning to the major-league locker room, ignorant of the Armored Harriers giving him the death glare as he left, his friends waited to hear what he found, only to come back with a brand new hammer and knowing their Crystal Star was still here in the floating battle city.

"So THAT'S what was behind that block," Pinkie said. "I knew there was something suspicious behind it, and yet neither of our older hammers worked! Curse you, sequel reset rules!"

"Was there anything else X sent you to go to?" Starlight asked, but Mario shook his head. "Drat. At least we can trust him if he knew those papers were there."

"Or...what if this X guy is a girl?" Scrappy theorized.

"There is that, too," Flurrie agreed. "Whoever this X is, we should follow their instructions regardless."

"I just hope we get the Crystal Star, soon," Koops said, gulping nervously. "I-I kinda forget everyone in the continent...watches us...And...Koopie Koo..."

Koops blushed, twiddling his fingers bashfully. The girls all giggled as Koops' girlfriend could be watching them fight in the Glitz Pit, impressing her more and more with his fighting skills.

They continued reserving matches, their next fight against the blue-shelled Koopa and his team, The Shellshockers. Grubba requested Mario not to use his hammer, which wasn't much of an issue since they were fighting Koopa Troopas, though these were considered Shady Koopas from Goombella's mental knowledge, two normal and one Paratroopa. During the fight, Mario took care of the Shady Paratroopa, bouncing on his head to make him lose his wings and fall on his back, but instead of expecting them to be helpless, the fallen Koopa ducked in his shell and tossed himself at the current party fighting. Luckily, they managed to leap out of the way, Rainbow diving down to slam down on his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. They were careful with the next two, taking care not to knock them over and finished the fight with Scrappy snatching one with his dexterous tongue and spitting him back out into his partner.

Grubba announced The Great Gonzales and his team the winners, the crowd roaring in applause. Unfortunately, there were a couple party crashers who ran through the crowd, heading straight for the ring. It was the Armored Harriers, spouting out their anger toward Mario and his team for humiliating them in their match. They tried to beat the group to get revenge, but Scrappy made short work of them like before with his kind's specialty: snatching anything with their tongues, shove them in their mouths, and either spit them at their enemies or turn them into eggs to throw at said enemies. Despite the extra fight, the crowd went nuts as they chanted Scrappy's name, inflating the Yoshi's ego even more, to Fluttershy's chagrin.

Once back in the locker room and obtaining their winnings, Scrappy calming down after the adrenaline rush of their last match, Mario's Mailbox SP began to ring that familiar tune. "Yeesh! What now!?" Goombella exclaimed.

He pulled out his mobile email device and read what was sent.

Keep sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong and you are D-E-A-D M-E-A-T!

"Well, that was a friendly message," Applejack commented sarcastically.

"It definitely wasn't our buddy X," Rainbow said. "Wonder who sent that one?"

"A Rawk Hawk fan who doesn't like us very much?" Pinkie guessed.

"It was obvious we were going to have somepony out there jeering us for getting close to eventually winning the champion's belt," Rarity added.

Whoever the hate mail came from, they shrugged it off and continued with their next match against The Fuzz. By their name, the group consisted of three Fuzzies: a normal black Fuzzy, a Green Fuzzy similar to the Forest Fuzzies back in the Mushroom Kingdom, and a Flower Fuzzy, which was pink and, when it latched onto Pinkie Pie in the match, it sucked away some of her energy rather than her own health. It was quite an easy fight, making Starlight and Goombella question how these three Fuzzies were ranked 6. With their victory set and another rank up, Jolene came into the locker room to give them their winnings, but she also had a present she brought in.

"Here are your earnings, Gonzales," Jolene said. She placed the present down on the small table in the middle of the room after giving Mario the coins. "Some fan also wanted to give you and your team a cake."

"Cake!?" Pinkie exclaimed. She rushed toward the gift box, ripping away the box with a flurry of pink hooves to reveal a delicious vanilla cake with white frosting and strawberries topped in a circular pattern. Already, everyone's mouth watered at the sight of such a delicacy, making some of the other fighters jealous at such a gift. "It looks yummy!"

Jolene left to let the team eat their gift, Starlight using her magic to slice evenly cut pieces for everyone, even to the jealous fighters so they didn't feel left out. The other fighters thought it was an odd gesture, but they didn't complain and enjoyed their slice, especially the Koopa from Shellshockers. After finishing their snack, Mario reserved another match against the Magikoopa Masters: three Magikoopas with red, green, and white robes respectively. Yet another fight with familiar foes, the Green Magikoopa on a broomstick while the other two favored the ground. Mario's party avoided their magic spells, being mindful of the Green Magikoopa turning his allies invisible or electrocuting them, took out the White Magikoopa as their team's healer, and knocked out the other two before they could try to strengthen their defenses.

The crowd cheered at the Magikoopas' defeat. "We got ourselves a winner! THE GRRRRRREAT GONZALES!!!!" Grubba announced.

As the group waved, Mario noticed something in the crowd on the ground floor of the stadium, standing out among the smaller audience. "MAAARIOOOOOO!!!!!"

Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, and Fluttershy winced, recognizing that roar anywhere. Charging through the crowd, that roar came from none other than Bowser, to everyone's shock. How Grubba didn't have security stop anyone from interrupting fights or jumping in right at the end was beyond them, but with Bowser, they doubted security could stop the fire-breathing Koopa King.

"Bowser!?" all the mares sans Starlight exclaimed.

Bowser jumped onto the ring, shoving aside the fallen team the group just beat. "Looks like we got ourselves another fighter stormin' in screamin' his head off!" Grubba commentated. "Gonzales seems to have a lot of foes, doesn't he? Some don't even know his real name!"

"What are you doing here, you jerk!?" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Is that really this Bowser guy who attacked you girls?" Starlight asked, her expectations shot down after hearing how scary Bowser was. "...I thought he'd be a little bit bigger. Like dragon-size."

"At least he doesn't have the Star Rod anymore," Rarity said. "But how in Equestria did he find us!?"

"I overheard someone mentioning a mustachioed doofus here in Glitzville," Bowser said. "And would you look at that? Perfect timing, along with all six of you rainbow-" He paused when he looked at Starlight. Even though he didn't care much about who the ponies were, or even bothered learning their names, Starlight was obviously not the alicorn who accompanied the other five with their friendship magic beam. "...Who the heck are you? Don't tell me you replaced that one with wings and a horn."

"My name is Starlight Glimmer, and I didn't replace Twilight," Starlight said irritably. "She's been kidnapped and we're trying to find her. Along with your princess you seem to be fond of and love to kidnap on a daily basis."

"So you know where Princess Peach is!?" Bowser exclaimed. "Who took her and tell me where she is before I beat the info out of you!!!"

"You were going to beat us up regardless!" Pinkie said, waving her hammer around intimidatingly.

"Darn right I am!" Just as Bowser was about to charge them, he yelped when he was hit by a Yoshi egg, splattering all over his face. "Ahh! Ptth! What-Who threw that!?"

Another egg, the comedic stumbling Bowser did made the audience laugh. Wiping off the eggshells and yolk, Bowser leered at the Yoshi fighter, tossing an egg in one hand casually with a cocky grin.

"I did!" Scrappy proclaimed, throwing his last egg in Bowser's face again with perfect accuracy. "Suck it, jerk!"

"Scrappy, no!" Fluttershy shrieked, snatching the Yoshi before he tried to charge after the Koopa King. "He's too dangerous!"

"Oh, that's it! I'm gonna kill that runt, then I'm coming for all of you!" Bowser roared, wiping off the last egg's contents, his face red with rage as he unleashed a flamethrower on the group.

Mario was about to help them, but Starlight quickly stepped in, casting a barrier strong enough to withstand Bowser's intense flame breath. Forcing her barrier forward, she sent it smacking into Bowser, making him grunt in shock as he was flipped onto his back.

"You're not laying a single claw on my friends, you overweight, wannabe dragon!" Starlight said.

"I'm not fat! I'm big boned!" Bowser whined. He got back up, glaring daggers at the powerful unicorn. "I've about had it with you and your magic!"

"Then how about a beating!" Rainbow yelled, ramming into Bowser's chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Without the Star Rod, Bowser was far weaker than he was from their first encounter, and he had nothing to keep him invincible unless he hid in his shell. He picked a bad time to be ganged up by The Great Gonzales and his team, some of the other mares getting their chance to beat up the Koopa King for all he did to them back then. Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie were a bit wary as they watched THE Bowser fight against Mario, hearing stories about how tough he was, but seeing him getting his tail handed to by his archenemy was kind of satisfying to see him get his comeuppance. Mario dealt the finishing blow with a jumping uppercut to his chin, sending the large Koopa up in the air before coming down with a painful crash outside the arena.

The crowd went wild once again as they witnessed the unscripted second match, Grubba letting out a chuckle to put his two cents in. "What a show! That's our Gonzales!" he said. "Not even battin' an eye from an ambush! Stay tuned for our next few rounds of battles for the day, folks! Until then!"

After the match, everyone took a small break from fighting the rest of the day after encountering Bowser in this continent. Even though the audience ate it up with two different additional, out of nowhere fights, Bowser's appearance rose some red flags. They had no idea how he figured out Peach got kidnapped, but if they keep running into him, he's not going to be rational even if they agreed on a truce and worked together to stop the X-Nauts. Even if they had the same enemy, Bowser was too stubborn to receive any help from his enemy.

Once they got enough rest, they continued rising up and ranking up, reserving a match against Craw-Daddy. It was only one foe, who just so happened to be a Craw like the ones in Rogueport, only his color scheme was darker and he had red eyes, similar to the Dark Koopatrol in an intimidating way. Craw-Daddy was pretty tough with that spear of his, but with the advantage of a party, the tough Dark Craw was no match with the power of teamwork. Thankfully, no other haters ran through the crowd to attack Mario, and Bowser was thankfully gone, probably kicked out of the Glitz Pit the other day by security.

Winning the match and taking their earnings from Jolene, the group wondered what to do next while worrying about Bowser showing up again. The silence was broken by Mario's Mailbox SP ringing, opening it up to see another email from their friend X.

gO tO tHe TeLePhOnE bOoTh OuT oN tHe PaViLiOn.
FrOm X

"Here we go again," Rainbow uttered. "More secrets this place is hiding."

"What could there possibly be at a phone booth?" Goombella asked.

"You think...X wants to talk with us through the phone?" Koops pondered.

"Only one way to find out," Starlight said. "I'll come with you this time. So far, X isn't really looking for specifications on Mario doing this alone or with someone. If he sends another message, then I'll come back here."

Mario nodded, taking his leave with Starlight alongside him. They barely entered the hall before Rawk Hawk stopped them, waiting for Gonzales to come out to speak with him personally.

"Perfect timing, Gonzales!" he said, making Mario and Starlight groan irritably. "Uncle Rawk Hawk's got some advice from you and your little animal cheer squad. Keep stealing the spotlight from me, and you'll be in for a world of hurt."

"I think you're just scared of losing," Starlight said. "We've got more important things to worry about than your petty scare tactics, or even your belt now."

"Oh, so you think you can just brush off winning the title if it's 'easy' to take!? Mark my words, you grape-flavored, candy land loser. The Great Gonzales is gonna be The Great Washout if you mess with me!" With a huff, Rawk Hawk retreated to his room, leaving Starlight fuming with yet another name someone gave to an Equestrian.

"Is it that hard to call me or the other girls 'ponies'?" she questioned. "I'll show him who the loser is when he gets zapped over and over with non-lethal bolts of magic lightning." At thought suddenly crossed her mind after recalling the mysterious threat mail they got a while ago. "...Say, you don't think...Rawk Hawk sent that threatening message yesterday, did he?"

Mario shrugged, not entirely concerned with the champion's idle threats, regardless if it was personally from his beak or through text. Ignoring Rawk Hawk's warning, the duo continued following X's message and headed outside the Glitz Pit. They found the phone booth outside the shop, only instead of expecting the phone to ring as they got closer, they found a key sitting in the middle of the booth's floor. Wondering what it would open, the Mailbox SP rang again, receiving another message from X.

gO tO tHe StOrAgE rOoM nExT tO gRuBbA's OfFiCe.
FrOm X

"The storage room, huh?" Starlight uttered. "Guess this key must belong to that locked door. But who would be dumb enough to leave the key out here? What if somepony else took it?"

Mario was just as clueless, shocked at how irresponsible the caretaker of such an important key could leave it behind. Or, maybe X really was working in the Glitz Pit and knew something neither the owner or his assistant knew of. So many questions were raised, along with another wild goose chase, but Mario and Starlight made their way back in the Glitz Pit, heading around the hall to the locked storage room. Mario let Starlight know that Jolene questioned a guard yesterday about hearing something inside, even though the door had been locked. Taking caution, they both looked around so they didn't get caught, unlocked the door, and quickly walked inside. There were some metal crates in the room, three in one corner while several more were neatly organized on the other. And, to Mario and Starlight's surprise, standing on top of the crates was Ms. Mowz, up to some more "treasure hunting".

"Well, well, well," Ms. Mowz tittered in amusement. "My hunky cheese wedge has found me again. We have got to stop meeting like this, darling."

"Oh, great," Starlight groaned as Ms. Mowz flipped off the crate, landing beside her "hunky cheese wedge", the nickname making the unicorn gag. "So, the guards have been hearing you rummaging through the storage room's 'treasures'?"

"Hmm? Hearing me?" the mouse thief questioned, then laughed in amusement. "Hon, I'm quite an experienced mouse-burglar. I never make any noise to give away my location while sneaking into places with expensive treasures." Her statement baffled Mario and Starlight. If Ms. Mowz never made any noise in here, then what did? "Anyway, I got what I was looking for, so I'll be on my way. Until we meet again, my mustached hunk." She snuck a kiss on Mario's cheek as she ran past him, the plumber not seeing that coming despite knowing how she made her exits. Before leaving the room, she turned back to Mario and Starlight. "Oh, before I forget, you should know there's some secrets to this arena. You and your friends should be careful, lest you end up like those poor souls upstairs."

She slipped out of the door and made her escape, her cryptic warning startling the two. "Poor souls?" Starlight asked nervously. Mario's Mailbox SP suddenly rang, scaring Starlight and made her jump into Mario's arms. Realizing where the music was coming from, the unicorn growled, climbing out of Mario's arms, to his amusement. "I hate when it just goes off out of nowhere! It's worse than Pinkie Pie...and I always expect her to pop in out of nowhere!"

Mario chuckled as he pulled out his mobile messenger, seeing what X had sent them this time.

fInD tHe StAiRcAsE sWiTcH tO rEaCh ThE aTtIc.
FrOm X

"A staircase switch?" Starlight questioned. "All I see in here's a bunch of metal crates. Probably filled with fighting props or some smelly wrestling outfits they didn't bother washing."

As Starlight scrunched her nose in disgust at the latter theory she made, Mario was a little disturbed by X's lead. It sounded like The Stairs of Mystery wonder from Bandy Andy's list, from the mystery stairs that can be revealed to Ms. Mowz mentioning someone being upstairs. These wonders really weren't coincidental at this point, but Mario was going to keep his doubts in case this building really was haunted. Finding the switch for the stairs shouldn't be too hard, probably hiding behind one of the crates. As Mario moved to one in the larger group, instead of feeling solid metal, he felt some sort of thick tarp among the solid surface. Confused and curious, he tugged it, moving the tarp off to reveal several yellow sand blocks.

Starlight noticed and was just as shocked as Mario. The Glitz Pit's stored gear wasn't here in this room, or maybe not on this floor. Mario smashed his way through the blocks, finally locating the switch hidden behind the large stack. Pressing it, a metal staircase unfolded itself down from the ceiling, revealing the second hidden level of the storage room. Climbing up the stairs to see wooden crates, the Pit's actual storage units, another locked door, and another huge yellow block behind a blockade of crates that were able to be climbed over. Starlight tried to use the same key on this new lock, but the teeth wouldn't fit halfway through, which meant they needed a different key for it. The only place the duo could check was what was hidden from that block.

After climbing over the crates, Mario performed the same rapid spin on the block with his new hammer, destroying it to uncover an opened grate leading to the crawlspace above the first floor's ceiling. Seeing no other way with no lead as to what they should find, Mario and Starlight jumped down and carefully crawled along the confined space. Passing by some pipes, there was a grate on the other side leading back down to the storage room's first floor, and ahead was some light seeping in through a small hole, where they could hear a conversation taking place. Keeping quiet, Mario and Starlight peeked through the hole curiously, looking down in Grubba's office with the Clubba and Jolene in the middle of a private meeting.

"...So you didn't find hide or hair of nobody in the storage room, that what you're sayin'?" Grubba asked.

"Yes, Mr. Grubba," Jolene said with a nod. "It appeared to be secure. But don't worry, sir. I've taken the necessary precautions. It was most likely just a rat or something."

"Well, no big deal either way," Grubba said. "Ain't nothin' in there we'd miss too much anyway. Thanks for stayin' on top of this, Jolene." The Toad nodded again, although Mario and Starlight figured Grubba was going to have a field day when they notice a few "crates" were missing. "Oh, by the way, any word on King K.?"

"I'm afraid we still don't know where the whereabouts of King K., Mr. Grubba." Jolene's response baffled Mario and Starlight. King K. said he was retiring after the last match they last saw him, which didn't make sense for him to be considered missing. "I deleted his spot on our roster per regulations. The Glitz Pit no longer has any official connection to KP Pete, a.k.a. King K. I have, of course, taken the same steps with all fighters who have gone missing."

Grubba let out a heavy sigh, looking a bit worried. "Fighters sure have been goin' missin' a lot, lately," he said, rubbing his forehead while leaning back in his chair. "That's the fifth one this year! What in tarnation is goin' on around here? I even heard some security idjit say the Pit's cursed."

"I doubt that, sir, but I certainly don't understand the disappearances," Jolene said in agreement.

"Well, for the time bein', tell the other fellas that King K. headed home for a spell," Grubba instructed, even though King K. did say he was going to quit before he "left". "If word gets out about missin' fighters, it sure ain't gonna be any good for business. Nasty rumors have a way of sendin' folks runnin' to the hills, know what I mean?"

"I understand completely, Mr. Grubba," Jolene said. "I will take care of everything, sir."

Jolene headed for the door, but Grubba leaned forward on his desk, a thought running through his mind. "Y'know, Jolene," he said, causing the Toad to stop. "You're a dang find manager, but you just plumb disappear sometimes...I just gotta know! Where in the world do ya go, darlin'?"

It was hard to see through the peephole, but Jolene seemed to tense up a little, slowly turning to face Grubba. "Uh...T-That's...Mr. Grubba, I know you're my boss, but I don't believe that's any of your business."

"Easy! Didn't mean to pry, now!" Grubba said apologetically. "Well, how about this, then...Heard of a Crystal Star?"

Jolene's eyes widened, almost flinching in shock, but kept her stoic expression despite her reaction. "...N-No...I've never heard of such a thing, Mr. Grubba..."

"Okeydoke. Well, I 'preciate your time, Ms. Jolene," Grubba said. "You go ahead and run along, now, ya hear?" Without another word, Jolene hastily left, her reactions making her all the more suspicious of her actions. Grubba sighed again, pondering what to do about the unfortunate happenings in his business. "Well, ain't this a fine how-do-you-do? Good fighters are turnin' into a dying breed. Gonzales is the best draw I've got 'round here."

"Unbelievable," Starlight uttered. "King K. was supposed to be retired, but he's missing, along with several others? Who else was in the roster before they were unheard from?"

"Huh!? What was that!?" Grubba exclaimed, looking up at the ceiling in a panic as he heard Starlight. The unicorn quickly covered her mouth, not realizing how loud she was talking as both her and Mario grimaced. "There someone up there!?"

They both looked at each other, Starlight eventually calming down enough to find a way to avoid getting caught. "...Squeak. Squeak squeak..."

"...Phew. Just a mouse crawlin' around," Grubba said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I need to relax. Maybe call pest control if we're startin' to get mice and rats up in the crawlspace. Maybe after some more matches, I'll do some yoga or somethin'."

Grubba stood up and left his office to continue entertaining the masses for the day. Mario and Starlight let out the breaths they held as soon as the door was shut.

"That was way too close," Starlight said. "Let's get out of here before we get in trouble for spying on the owner."

Mario and Starlight crawled over to the grate, Mario dropping down first after opening it up, then caught Starlight when she followed after. When they arrived back in the locker room, making sure none of the security team saw them exiting the storage room, they relayed everything they overheard to the others, where all of them were just as equally shocked.

"That makes no sense!" Rainbow said. "How is King K. missing!? He said he was retiring!"

"I think we should be worried about Jolene," Goombella interjected. "They're probably overreacting because King K. didn't tell Grubba or Jolene he was going to quit. Her vanishing without a trace sounds impossible for a Toad like her."

"And she knows about the Crystal Star, too. Maybe before she took those papers away from Mario," Starlight added.

"We don't have much evidence to prove she's up to something, both with the Crystal Star or making records of previous fighters 'disappear'," Rarity said.

"If we can find the key to the door on the second floor of the storage room, we'll see what's hidden behind there," Starlight said. "Ms. Mowz mentioned someone was hiding up there while looking around for some more stuff to steal."

"T-That thief again!?" Goombella exclaimed. "Why is she always showing up where we are!?"

"This can't be a simple coincidence anymore," Flurrie added, both her and the female Goomba glowering with jealousy. "I think the little mouse is stalking Mario more than 'hunting treasures'."

"Mama Fluttershy, what are they talking about?" Scrappy asked.

"We met Ms. Mowz a couple times in other places, and she usually leaves after her heist by giving Mario a kiss," Fluttershy said.

"What's a kiss?" he asked. Fluttershy looked at her friends, Rarity and Pinkie giving the pegasus a sly smirk. Before Scrappy knew it, the three mares gave the Yoshi an example on him, surrounding him with giggles as they peppered him with kisses. When they were done, the young dinosaur's pupils shrank with a scrunched face and flushed cheeks. "...Oh..."

He fell over in stunned embarrassment, his foot twitching after being given an example. "Well, you asked, cutie!" Pinkie said with a giggle.

After the Yoshi recovered, eventually wiping his face from the lip-smacking triple attack, Mario reserved another match, their next fight against Hamma, Bamma, and Flare. The team consisted of a tough variety of Koopas, Hamma obviously being a Hammer Bro, Bamma was a Boomerang Bro, and Flare was a Fire Bro. Hammer Bros. weren't new with the mares, although the Boomerang and Fire Bros. were new, the former with an infinite stack of boomerangs to send them hurtling toward them and come back around to knock the backs of their heads, the latter able to spit out fireballs from his mouth, making them bounce toward them and possibly burn them. This was a tough group with all three of them using projectiles: hammers in the air, fireballs on the ground, and returning boomerangs after they've been flung. Despite playing the dodging game, Rarity and Starlight being able to shift the weapons and fireballs aside, or Scrappy using his tongue to grab and spit them back out helped, felling the trio of tough Koopa soldiers and taking their rank in the roster.

While resting in the locker room after accepting their winnings, Mario's Mailbox SP rang from a new message, though not from their friend X.

This is your last warning! Stop snooping around about the Crystal Star! If you don't, you'll suffer the same fate as the other fighters who have gone missing...

"From our 'favorite' fan again," Starlight grumbled. "Sounds like our mysterious hater knows about the Crystal Star."

"And the missing fighters," Goombella added. "This is a serious threat. Does this guy not realize he's dealing with a hero from another kingdom?"

"S-Should we call the authorities?" Koops asked. "I-I know we won't end up like...the missing fighters, but still..."

"Ah think we need to find him and see what he knows," Applejack said.

"Yeah! He must know where King K. is!" Rainbow added.

"Speaking of friends, while going out to get a smoothie after our latest scuffles in the ring, has anypony seen Andy?" Rarity asked curiously. "He snoops around the halls, but I didn't see him before our last match?"

Everyone shook their heads, curious to know of the Bandit's whereabouts. He most likely got booted out of the roster by Jolene after another attempt at stalking her, but when Mario checked the ranks, his team was still there. Mysteries just keep coming up all over the Glitz Pit, and the seven wonders Andy left him before his "disappearance" were all true. Hoping the Bandit was at least ok, Mario set up a match for them against Chomp Country, who appear to be two Red Chain Chomps. Maybe Pinkie could tame these Chomps like she did with Chompy in the Dry Dry Ruins. Grubba gave Mario his request to advance their rank, using no items in battle, which was easy since they didn't need any from their packs in these matches.

While waiting for security to get them, Jolene walked in the locker room, carrying a similar box she brought earlier with that cake from an excited fan. "Mr. Gonzales, another gift from your admirers arrived," she said, placing the package on the small table. "Quite popular with how far you've come. Enjoy whatever it is."

Once she left, Pinkie and Rainbow sped toward the package and opened it up. "Whoa! Another cake!" Rainbow said.

Though Rainbow was excited, Pinkie scrunched her face as she stared at the cake. It looked similar to their vanilla one they had and shared with the major-league fighters, but the frosting on top was pink.

"Must be strawberry flavored with that pink frosting," Rarity said. "I would have preferred chocolate to compliment the strawberries, but I'll take any good-looking dessert."

Starlight used her magic to slice up to cake, although Pinkie remained skeptical as she sniffed the cake a little. As Starlight hovered a slice to her mouth, Mario gasped as his eyes flashed pink, his Lucky Star giving him a vision. He watched Starlight eat the cake, the others following her as they munched on the sweet treat, all except Pinkie. A few seconds after everyone swallowed a bite, they all began to grunt and grimace, something going wrong as their bodies seized up and collapsed on the floor in excruciating pain. The vision ended, and Mario quickly reacted, smacking the slice out of Starlight's magic.

"Hey!" Starlight exclaimed. "Mario, what's the matter with you!?"

He quickly warned everyone not to eat the cake, telling them it was poisoned. "POISONED!?" everyone exclaimed.

"I knew this cake smelled weird!" Pinkie said, her suspicions correct when she saw the "delicious cake". "That wasn't strawberry frosting! It must be some kind of paralysis poison, which isn't all that deadly, but it would have been enough to incapacitate us!" She gave the cake a sniff again. "And I don't think they even used any sugar to make it any sweeter to hide the bitter taste of jealousy."

"So, we can't eat it? Why?" Scrappy asked.

"Mario's foresight," Applejack said. "That Lucky Star of yours sure does come in handy if we're in any danger."

"And always right one hundred percent of the time!" Pinkie added.

Mario didn't know about that after the one mysterious vision he had of Twilight turning into a demon. They always happened moments before any of his pony friends were about to be harmed pretty badly, but that one hasn't come true. At least, not yet.

Starlight grimaced, feeling awful for yelling at Mario over a slice of cake, even if he believed it was poisoned. "Sorry, Mario," she apologized, but the plumber shrugged it off.

Security finally came to get them, escorting them to the ring to face off against Chomp Country. The two Red Chain Chomps weren't swayed by Pinkie's random treats, their minds focused on winning the fight as they chased the pink mare around. Their metallic skins were tough to break through, but they eventually beat the two Chomps after Mario immobilized them using the Emerald Crystal Star's power, where it created a magic time bomb that grew bigger as Mario continued focusing power into it until it blew up, freezing the Chomps in time. When they returned to the locker room, their cake was gone, and laying on the ground in pain was the Koopa from Shellshockers, his cheeks covered in the "strawberry" frosting.

"What in the world happened to him!?" Goombella exclaimed.

"He ate that cake you all said was poisoned," the Dark Koopatrol said. "Idiot had a sweet tooth and couldn't help himself, even after the warning."

"Uggggggh...I'll...never...eat another cake...ever again," the Shady Koopa groaned in agony.

"Shouldn't we call an ambulance or a doctor!?" Starlight questioned, shocked to see no one bothering to help the Koopa's poisoned state.

"He'll be fine," the Dark Koopatrol brushed off. "He just needs to rest it off. It's not lethal."

"And how do you know that?" Pinkie questioned, getting up close to the Koopatrol with a suspicious glare. She put on a detective's cap and a bubble pipe, blowing a few bubbles in the stoic Koopa's face. "Was it YOU who tried to poison us!? You afraid we'll take your spot, considering you're next!?"

"Because I had a similar kind of cake 'an excited fan' gave me before one of my attempted matches with Rawk Hawk, and I doubled over in pain and couldn't fight, forcing me to forfeit and leave the champion with his belt," the Koopatrol explained, growling at the earth pony before slowly pushing her out of his face. "And if I were to poison you, that would get me kicked out for cheating or harming other fighters outside the ring." Pinkie was about to question further, but the Koopa shoved his hand over the mare's muzzle. "And if you're about to ask about the hate mails Gonzales is getting, I didn't send them. I don't give idle threats outside the ring, and I fight fair."

"...Ok," Pinkie squeaked while still muzzled.

The Koopatrol let go of Pinkie's muzzle, letting her retreat back to her friends. "Who would try to poison us?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"I'll bet Rawk Hawk's behind this," Rainbow grumbled. "In fact, I think he's responsible for all the hate mail AND the missing fighters, too!"

"I highly doubt Rawk Hawk's as smart as he is brutish," Flurrie said.

"But he has a motive for stopping us from taking away his title," Starlight said. "He must be watching the matches from the monitor in his room, and came in to get a look at us when we moved up to the major leagues. He even got a little bit rough when he thought Scrappy called him a fake when we were talking about the star on his belt."

"You mean he might have the real Crystal Star in his room?" Koops asked.

"After the last email we got from our hater, I believe so," Goombella said.

"We've only got one more fight before Rawk Hawk, so let's find out when we beat his plot into next week!" Rainbow said.

Their next match was against the Dark Koopatrol, his stage name being The Koopinator. It didn't sound as threatening as his appearance claimed to be, no thanks to Grubba giving the team names, but he was tougher than a normal Koopatrol, that was certain. Similar spikes protecting his head and back from the Koopa elites in Bowser's army, it was hard knocking the Dark Koopatrol on his back, and his shell tosses were quite powerful. Even without flinging himself, his hand-to-hand combat was quite skilled, taking his role as a fighter seriously with him being at rank 1. He was dead set on taking the champion's belt, but Mario had more skill under his belt against Bowser's Koopa army, finishing The Koopinator a hard uppercut to the jaw, sending him flying up and falling down on his back. With the match won by The Great Gonzales and his friends, Mario helped the Dark Koopatrol up, who respected his opponents after seeing their skills in person.

Once they were back in the locker room, the Dark Koopatrol getting some help walking back from the plumber, setting him down on the bed to let him rest. "You guys aren't half bad," he said. "Maybe Rawk Hawk will finally learn how to be humble and respect his fellow fighters in your debut against the champion."

Mario's Mailbox SP rang yet again, the plumber excusing himself to check the next email out of the several dozen he's been receiving since being here in Glitzville.

rEmOvE tHe GrEaT gOnZaLeS aNd MaNe SiX pOsTeRs In ThE lObBy.
FrOm X

He read the message to his friends, where they hoped they'll get closer to finding the Crystal Star. "Thank goodness it's X this time," Flurrie said. "But what could possibly be hidden behind posters of us?"

"Let's all find out," Starlight said, this time gathering everyone after spending way too much time here than they needed to.

After entering the lobby, they heard screams coming from the huge group of fans when they saw Mario and his team walking out. "It's Gonzales!" a female shrieked.

"I want an autograph from The Mane Six!" another added.

The crowd swarmed them as they tried to push their way through to reach the posters of the group plastered in the lobby. The posters overshadowed Rawk Hawk's many mugshots, even the other major-league fighters more well known to the fanbase. Unfortunately, Mario and the ponies were the only ones who were getting "attacked" by their fans, leaving Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and even Scrappy on the sidelines.

"Hey, I'm part of the group, too!" Scrappy whined, flutter kicking his way over the crowd to find Fluttershy. "Mama Fluttershy, let me sign some autographs, too!"

"Well, at least this gives us the freedom to find whatever's hidden under one of these posters," Goombella said.

"T-Then let's hurry before they all decide to want our autographs when they realize who we are," Koops added.

Aside from Scrappy, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie made their way through the crowd, or hovered over in the wind spirit's case, reaching the posters and looked underneath them. It didn't help that there were several of these posters, but Koops managed to find something hidden behind one, which happened to be a key. Finding Mario among the crowd, the plumber spotted him waving the key in the air, signalling them they found what X wanted them to find. After dealing with the last of their fans' requests for an autograph or a picture with them, the group quickly made their way back into the hallway, escaping the disappointed fans as the security team blocked their access to pester them or other fighters backstage.

"Oh man, they love us!" Rainbow said. "Rawk Hawk must be pretty jealous seeing his fans are coming to us instead!"

"I didn't really do much fighting, but I got to sign some pictures," Fluttershy said. "At least I'm not modeling and left so stressed with photo ops every few minutes."

"What did you guys find?" Starlight asked.

"It's a key to something," Koops said, handing the key to the unicorn.

Yet again, the Mailbox SP rang. "I'm surprised that thing hasn't short-circuited with how many emails you're getting," Goombella said.

gO tO tHe SeCoNd FlOoR oF tHe StOrAgE rOoM.
FrOm X

"Back to the storage room," Starlight said. "Then this key must lead to that locked door."

Filing down the hall, barely able to hide any suspicions of their actions, the group made their way to the storage room, keeping an eye out for any of the security team from watching them step into someplace certain staff members weren't allowed to enter. Climbing up the stairs to the second floor, Starlight used the new key on the lock, which fit perfectly, and unlocked it. Everyone walked into the next room, with more storage boxes stacked around, and yet another one of those giant yellow blocks in the corner. Climbing over the boxes, Mario pulled out his hammer, warning the others to stand back as he busted the block. Underneath it, however, was a surprising shock: nearly crushed under the block were King K. and Bandy Andy, both of them considered missing and and horrible shape.

"HOLY MONTY MOLES!!!!!" Goombella shrieked.

"King K.! Andy!" Rainbow exclaimed. Everyone gathered around the gravely injured fighters, King K. completely unconscious, but Andy was still partially awake, groaning in pain. "What the hay happened to you two!?"

"G-Gon...zales," Andy weakly said. "L-Listen...to me...Don't...go near...the ring...when...no...one...is...around..."

Unable to stay awake, Andy passed out after using the last of what energy had to warn them. "Hey, Andy, stay with us!" Rainbow said, gently shaking the Bandit, but he wouldn't budge. "...Darn it. We need to get these two to some help!"

"Let's find a doctor, and fast!" Starlight said.

Using her magic, Starlight lifted King K. and Andy on Rainbow and Applejack's backs, quickly rushing them out to get them immediate medical attention. As they began walking down the staircase, Mario paused when he saw the door was open, and hiding behind it was Jolene of all people. Before he could call her out, Pinkie yelped when she bumped into him, the Scrappy as he rushed a bit too fast down the steps, causing all three of them to tumble the rest of the way down to the ground floor.

"Ow! Why'd ya stop, Gonzales!?" Scrappy asked. When he heard Jolene gasp in surprise, he looked up, watching her quickly shut the door and flee. "Huh!? I just saw Ms. Jolene!" The Yoshi quickly got up, stepping on Pinkie and Mario's back before chasing after her. When he rammed through the door, looking down each hall while standing in different fighting poses, there was no sign of the Toad. "Wow, she is fast. Where'd she go?"

The others quickly filed out, their confusion only growing after Jolene caught them, only to suddenly disappear without a trace. Forgetting Jolene for now, Rainbow and Applejack rushed the hurt fighters to a doctor, leaving the others baffled with what was going on in this building. Mario pulled out the seven wonders Andy left him, the Missing Ones weren't necessarily missing, but kidnapped and left to near death in the "hidden" upstairs storage room. And before Andy passed out, he warned them not to be out in the arena when no one else was around, making him wonder if it was tied to the Spooky Ring-Lights wonder on his list. The only big question was who did this to Andy and King K., and what does Jolene know that she's been hiding?

The Bird or the Clubba; Who's the True Villain?

The group waited for Rainbow and Applejack's return after discovering King K. and Bandy Andy in the storeroom, both fighters almost crushed to death under a giant block while severely weakened. Whatever happened to them, they didn't seem to have been beaten to a pulp, and the only one who seemed to know was Jolene. She didn't reprimand them once they returned to the locker room, nor did she tell Grubba just yet and get them kicked out immediately. And Mario was wondering about the other Wonders of the Glitz Pit he's yet to see. The wall, the stairs in the storeroom, and the "missing" fighters came true, so who's to say the others are just as accurate as Andy researched.

The two mares returned after several agonizing minutes. "Well, there's some good news," Applejack said to everyone. "We got Andy and King K. to a doctor. They're restin' up and should be back on their hooves soon."

"The doc said we got them there in time," Rainbow added. "If we were too late finding them, they probably would have died."

"Did they say what happened to them?" Fluttershy asked.

"The doc figured they were drugged, but that was all he could guess before they took them away for some tests," Applejack said.

"This is serious. Something's gone horribly wrong in this arena, and missing fighters are actually getting killed off by somepony here," Starlight pondered aloud. "But who's responsible for all this?"

"Y-You don't think...Miss Jolene's responsible, is she?" Koops asked worriedly.

"It's gotta be her!" Scrappy exclaimed. "She saw us in the storeroom and just disappeared when we chased her! She's killing other fighters!"

"Kid, I doubt Jolene's much of a fighter," Goombella said. "It has to be Rawk Hawk. He's obviously afraid of anyone trying to go after his title."

"Then how does that explain why Andy and King K., who are in the minor leagues, were the ones up there and not anypony from the major leagues?" Rarity questioned.

"Agh! So confusing!" Pinkie shrieked. "Who did done doed it!? And why!?"

As the group wondered who was the real culprit, Mario read over the last wonder to himself. Jolene had acted odd when he and Starlight spied on her conversation with Grubba about King K.'s disappearance. Almost like she knew something that Grubba didn't. And she has a way of disappearing out of nowhere when someone tails her, losing her trail in an instant. Then there's the part about Grubba. It's clear this Clubba was a senior and a former pro fighter. There doesn't seem to be anything suspicious about the head promoter of the fighting arena. He may old, but he could still be in good shape. No one in the Glitz Pit seems like the kind of person who would do such a thing to the other fighters. Though, the first person to disappear, a fighter named Prince Mush, was the first champion, only to mysteriously vanish and pronounced dead while Rawk Hawk took the title. If Mush was taken out in the same way two of their minor league friends were, then it's possible Rawk Hawk is the most likely suspect.

With no other leads, all they can do is just move on to the championship match and figure out where the Crystal Star is. After checking with his friends if they were ready, they all nodded, dropping the mystery for now to focus on their true goal. Mario approached the terminal and reserved their championship match, Grubba showing up after the static faded away.

"Well, now! Gonzales and his little crew ready for their shot at the title!" Grubba said with a chuckle. "The crowd is eating away at all the merch, and they want to see you take that belt like a true champ! I knew ya had what it takes, and we're gonna see it all in a glorious showdown! Sure, there was that minor setback with the Adonis Twins, but you got back up on your feet and kept on rollin'! Now, seein' how this is a special match, to make it fair, it's just gonna be one-on-one between you and Rawk Hawk. Mano-y-mano. Your friends can watch on the sidelines, but for your championship bout to be an official win, it's just gotta be you in that ring, Gonzales."

"No sweat! He's got this in the bag!" Rainbow said, hovering beside Mario and draped a hoof over his shoulder. "He can beat Rawk Hawk with his eyes closed!"

"Rainbow, don't tempt him to giving us an even harder challenge," Starlight muttered through her teeth, tugging the pegasus away with her magic.

"We're all lookin' forward to this!" Grubba said. "Do me proud, son!"

Grubba ended the call, and the group waited for security to get them. After a few moments, a security guard came in to gather the group. The major-league fighters wished Mario luck as they exited the locker room, finding another guard waiting for them as their escort. They could already hear the crowd out in the arena, roaring with excitement for the epic match scheduled for the night. Just as Mario was about to walk to the nearby doors, the guard who waited for them gently grabbed his shoulder.

"Mr. Gonzales, you're coming with me," he said.

"Huh? What for?" Rainbow asked.

"Considering its a special match, we need to...get him prepared," the guard said.

The others looked at each other, finding this a bit odd. Mario shrugged and went along with whatever Grubba's got in mind, reassuring his friends he'll be there in time for the match. Mario followed the guard, making their way down the hall and disappeared around the corner.

"Just what type of preparations does Mario need?" Flurrie asked. "He's ready enough as it is."

"Something doesn't feel right..." Starlight uttered.

After rounding the other corner, Mario wondered if he was supposed to make an entrance from this side of the arena. They passed by the other large doors, however, and was lead into one of the abandoned locker rooms. This room was more rundown than the minor-league locker rooms, the walls and floor tiles torn apart, the bench more uncomfortable with all the springs sticking out, and with leaks from the piping that could lead to a serious health violation for the whole building in just this one room.

"You wait here," the guard said before leaving, shutting the door behind him while leaving Mario confused.

If this was where he was supposed to "be prepared", Mario was highly skeptical of what Grubba planned for him to be psyched for the match. Left with no choice, he sat on the bench, avoiding the loose springs while waiting for the guard to get him for his grand entrance.

Out in the ring, Grubba climbed up the steps with his mic as he heard the audience cheering in excitement, standing in the center of the ring as the cameras focused on him for all in the stands and their television sets to see. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome, one and all, to the most hyped event in all of Glitzville: the championship match between our reigning champ, Rawk Hawk, and our top dog of the major league, the Great Gonzales!" Louder cheers erupted from the fans, dedicated fans wearing Gonzales and co. T-shirts and holding banners with their group photo shots going absolutely nuts, and that was almost ninety percent of the audience. Grubba laughed, loving the anticipation and excitement in the air. "First to enter the ring, our reigning champ, the Feral Nuclear Reactor! RAAAAWWWWK HAAAAAAAAWWWWWWK!!!!!" Entering stage left, the doors flew open as Rawk Hawk made his entrance. Fans of his cheered as he strut his way toward the ring with a cocky grin, ignoring some of the jeers from a majority of the Great Gonzales' fans and held up his belt to mock his hecklers. "Hoo, doggies! How're ya feelin' tonight, champ!?"

"I'm ready to give that chump Gonzales not to mess with the RAWWWWK and his belt!" Rawk said.

"But the Great Gonzales made it to the major leagues faster than anyone, ever!" Grubba said. "Even faster than you did when you were a rookie yourself, champ! What have you got to say about that?"

"What do I have to say?" Rawk Hawk questioned, then, like an immature brat, he blew a raspberry right into the mic like the egotistical celebrity he was. "That's what I have to say! It doesn't matter how many chumps he beats! He's gonna get RAWKED!!!"

Grubba chuckled a little, quickly muting the microphone to clean it of the spittle Rawk Hawk decided to spew while mocking his challenger. "Say it, don't spray it, champ," he said to Rawk Hawk before turning the mic back on. "And now for our challenger, the Merciless Executioner, and his colorful entourage, THE GRRRRREAT GONZAAAAAALES AND THE MAAAAAANE SIIIIIIIIX!!!!!!!"

The audience wildly cheered when the doors on the other side began to open up, the rest of Mario's companions standing at the entrance with confusion when they were announced and the true star isn't with them. Told by security to go out there, the group walked out, getting a few excited squeals at first, but when there was no sign of the Great Gonzales, everything went nearly silent with confused murmurs. Even Grubba was confused with the lacking star in the group while Rawk Hawk seemed to smirk.

"This is kinda awkward," Rainbow muttered as they stepped up onto the stage.

"Uhh, hold on a second, now," Grubba said. "What happened to the Great Gonzales?"

"What do you mean, 'What happened?'" Starlight asked. "Didn't you have your security team escort Mario-er, I mean, Gonzales, elsewhere to get him ready for the match?"

"...I did the what now?" Grubba asked, scratching his head in confusion.

Rawk Hawk erupted in an insulting laughter. "I'll tell you what happened! He's afraid of the RAAAAAAAWWWWWK!!!"

"He's not afraid of anything!" Scrappy said. "He eats fear for breakfast!"

"Well, this is...quite an unexpected turnout, folks!" Grubba said. "Did the Great Gonzales get cold feet and turn tail on the most important match of the night!? If he doesn't show up, he's gonna forfeit the match! We'll give him a few to settle his nerves and be right back. But don't forget to order yourself some action figures featuring our future champ and his friends! Collect the whole set!"

After his segway to cut to commercial, the crowd got a bit impatient and worried about where the Great Gonzales disappeared to. Grubba thankfully cut off his mic before Pinkie jumped him aggressively.

"Alright, Mr. Manager/Promotor/Former Pro Fighter Clubba Guy, spill the beans!" Pinkie screeched, shaking the retired fighter. "What did you do to Mario!?"

"I don't know what you're talkin' about!" Grubba exclaimed.

Starlight pulled Pinkie off the fight promoter, worried attacking the announcer was going to get them kicked out when it was obvious he seemed to be just as baffled as everyone else. "Mr. Grubba, before we were even called to enter, one of the security guards escorted Mario somewhere else to get him ready for the fight," she said. "They work for you, so you HAVE to know where they took him."

"What are you talkin' about? I didn't tell anyone to escort my fighters elsewhere to prep them," Grubba said. "Y'all need to ready yourselves before reservin' a match and be guided to your entrances. There's no special preparations I ever make for any of the fighters in the roster. Not even rookies."

"Then who...?" Everyone then looked at Rawk Hawk, still looking all smug and not the least bit shocked by the unfortunate news.

"Well, that's such a shame," Rawk Hawk said with mock pity. "If Gonzales is a no-show, then that means the match will have to be canceled, and I still keep my title until the next match."

"Then one of us will fight you in his place!" Rainbow said.

"But Grubba told me that it was going to be a one-on-one match with Gonzales," Rawk stated. "Not one of his colorful little pets, a nerdy mushroom, a scared turtle, a big bag of hot wind, or a pint-sized, scaly brat." As he pointed at the group while insulting them, the mares were a little miffed, Goombella took offense being called a nerd, Koops flinched and slowly ducked his neck in his shell, Flurrie scoffed in offense, and Scrappy growled while glaring at the yellow avian. Rawk then held out his belt to mock them further. "And if you want to get this, then you'll have to follow Grubba's requests in order to take your rightful place as champs. That is, if you can trounce me."

"I'll show you 'pint-sized', you giant chicken!" Scrappy shouted. He was about to run at Rawk Hawk, but Fluttershy quickly stomped on his tail, keeping the Yoshi held back while he flailed his arms. "Lemme at him! Lemme at him! I'll give him the ol' one-two, flutterkick-a-roo!"

"Sorry, folks, but rules are rules," Grubba apologized. "Gonzales needs to be the star of this match tonight. And if he doesn't show up soon, it's considered a forfeit and you'll have to wait a couple months to reserve another match with the champ."

"MONTHS!?!?" the group exclaimed.

"That's not fair!" Goombella said.

"We worked hard to get here, and you're going to stiff us like this!?" Flurrie added.

"Well, there's plenty of other matches that I have to set up, too. Not just yours," Grubba explained. "Plus, fighters below your rank can also make reservations to fight you and take back their spot you beat out of them. Fighting isn't just a spectator sport; it's also a lucrative business with the right endorsements, promotions, even the best fighters." The ponies, Goomba, Koopa, wind spirit, and Yoshi understood, but it was still a tough pill to swallow after all their hard work getting here and what they discovered hidden from the backstage of the Glitz Pit. "We'll give Gonzales a few minutes, and if he doesn't show...it's considered a forfeit and Rawk Hawk keeps his belt and title."

"...It sounds fair enough," Starlight uttered, the group left with no choice but to wait, along with an anxious, slowly disappointed crowd. "Mario, where are you?"

Mario tapped his foot impatiently in the locker room, waiting for someone to come get him. He's already heard the announcement from Grubba, and there's only a few minutes until he's forced to forfeit the match. Having waited long enough, Mario got up from his uncomfortable seat and approached the door. He gripped the handle, but when he tried to turn it, the door was locked. Confused, he thought it was jammed, then knocked on the door.

"Pipe down in there!" the guard watching the door said. "You'll leave when it's time!"

Mario couldn't believe this was happening. The guard was keeping him locked up in this abandoned locker room, and someone was probably pulling the strings to keep him from winning the championship bout. Mario pounded on the door harder, demanding to be let out, but the guard wasn't going to budge. He couldn't risk using his enhanced magic strength to break down the door, lest he pay for property damage and be kicked out for doing so. Since there were many secrets in this building, Mario began looking around to find a secret passage that'll help get him out.

He wasn't able to use the terminal to try to contact anyone; it was broken, for one, and even if it did work, Grubba was out in the arena, so there would be no one on the other line. Mario searched around and tapped on different parts of the walls, checked in lockers, even stomped on the floor for any types of secret entrances that could exist. While searching around, in the back corner of the room, there was an old Princess Peach poster, worn out in places from the lack of care in the locker room. A corner was hanging slightly from where it was set, but instead of wall behind it, Mario thought he could see part of another room beyond it. Gently pressing his hand against the poster, it ended up tearing a little, but there wasn't a solid surface behind it; it was hiding a secret passage. Tearing the poster down revealed a small room that had an old T.V. set and a small coffee table, and beyond that was what looked like a metal locker door. When this room was actually used, this must have been a small hidden break room for an old Glitz Pit fighter.

Ignoring the small break room, Mario went through the door, ending up in the other abandoned locker room down the same hall. At least this one was in good repair, probably used as a major-league locker room. He went over to the door leading out to the hall, but this one was locked too as he quietly turned the knob. He had to search around for another secret entrance, but in a well-kept room like this, where would there be one? Mario tried the other lockers, nothing but empty storage space, until he saw another door on the opposite end from where he entered. It had a male and female symbol on it, which must have been a bathroom. Inside, all there was was just a toilet. Not even a sink to wash their hands, and it was tiny.

Mario huffed in annoyance, but when he started to lose hope, a strange thought came to him. Pulling out the list of wonders, he glanced at the one mentioning a "man-eating toilet". Since this was a major-league locker room, Andy must have known about this type of toilet. Mario was lucky he also had a profession as a plumber, although he could count it as misfortune for actually going down through the plumbing of a toilet than a warp pipe. Left with no other options, Mario stepped into the bowl, took in a deep breath, and sank down, "warping" to wherever the pipes lead him. The running water ran above the hall, startling the guards when they heard the unused pipes being used.

Mario popped out of an adjacent toilet after traveling for almost ten seconds, soaking wet and feeling disgusted. At least the toilets were kept clean as he climbed out, entering another small bathroom the pipes connected to. After shaking himself dry, he stepped out of the bathroom, back in the official major-league locker room. Hearing it open, the fighters had gathered near the monitor to watch the championship fight, and when they turned to see who it was, they gawked in surprise when they saw the challenger somehow in the bathroom when they just watched him and his team leave.

"What the-!? Gonzales!?" the Shady Koopa exclaimed, looking at the locker room entrance, then back to the plumber. "Didn't he just leave!?...Or am I still hallucinating from that poisoned cake?"

"No, you're seeing things right," the Spiny said. "I don't know how Gonzales walked out of that bathroom when he left for his match."

The screen on the terminal came to life, the live feed for the championship match back from its commercial break. "Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen!" Grubba said to the at-home audience. "Sorry for the early commercial break. We're still waiting for Gonzales. No clue where he is, but he sure knows how to psyche up a crowd by being fashionably late."

"They're going to force a forfeit if you don't get onstage now," the Dark Kooptarol said. "Better get out there and not take any detours."

Mario nodded and ran to the stage before Grubba pronounced canceling the match because someone didn't want him there.

Grubba began to sweat nervously as the impatient crowd began demanding a match. Even if Gonzales wasn't there, his team was at least, and they wanted to see the ponies take on Rawk Hawk or someone so they can get their money's worth. Rawk Hawk stood smugly, ready to gloat and keep his title, but Mario's entourage began to worry while Rainbow and Scrappy were starting to get impatient.

"Ugh! I can't take this anymore!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Let me fight him solo! This is getting ridiculous!"

"Rainbow, we won't take the title if you do that!" Starlight reminded the brash pegasus. "We have to wait for Mario!"

"We've been waiting for the last ten minutes, and everypony's on edge!" Rainbow argued.

She was about to tackle the champion, but Applejack grabbed Rainbow's tail in her mouth, holding the mare back. "Whoa, nelly! Calm down, Rainbow!"

Rawk Hawk chuckled as he watched the irritated look on the cyan pegasus's face, even the Yoshi as he was held back by Fluttershy still. "Too bad! Looks like Gonzales is too much of a chicken to show up!"

"Says the big, fat yellow chicken scared of getting his tail whooped!" Scrappy shouted while still flailing about.

"Scrappy! Language!" Fluttershy chided.

"He's a no-show, so he's automatically forfeiting!" Rawk Hawk said.

"No, not just yet," Grubba said, looking down at his wristwatch. "He's still got a few more seconds before his time's up. Five...Four...Three...Two..."

The stage right doors to the arena were kicked open, the metal thud able to be heard even from the angry crowd's chatter. "It's Gonzales!!!!" a fan cheered, getting the rest of the crowd to cheer when they saw Mario walk through, ignoring those on the ground for quick autographs or a chance to touch the superstar.

From the open doors, a couple of the security team were unconscious in the hall. They were shocked to see Mario out of his "preparation room", and tried to wrestle him back in the locker room. Mario was having none of it, easily taking out the guards before making his grand entrance. While his friends were relieved, Rawk Hawk was frustrated.

"You've got to be kidding me! He's too late!" Rawk Hawk complained.

"Not by my watch, champ," Grubba said, preemptively taking Rawk Hawk's belt now that there's finally a match the crowd has been waiting for.

"Oh, thank goodness you made it in time, Mario," Flurrie said. "We were about to forfeit!"

"What in Equestria happened to you, darling?" Rarity asked.

He didn't have any time to explain what happened, but he promised he'll tell them after the match. "Gonzales, ya gave us a bit of a fright!" Grubba said. "But you're finally here, so let's get this match underway! Let's all shake hands and wish each other a good fight!"

Mario approached Rawk Hawk, showing his sportsmanship and held his hand out to shake the champion's. Rawk Hawk sneered at the plumber, then grasped the plumber's hand, squeezing it hard, but Mario barely flinched as the fighter lowered his head down.

"You should have stayed locked up in that room, chump," Rawk Hawk said, confirming Mario's suspicions while he was forced into the locker room earlier before their match. "And that little cake should have been a clear message for you to back off, but it seems like you or your friends didn't have much of a sweet tooth to taste the poison inside it." And the admittance to sending that poisoned cake made Mario's suspicions all the more plausible. Surprising Rawk Hawk, he squeezed Rawk's hand harder than he tried to do to him, making the avian champ grimace. He quietly questioned him about the threatening emails he sent about the Crystal Star and discovering everything that's been happening in the Glitz Pit. "W-What? What are you...talking about!? What emails!? If I wanted to insult you, I'd do it face to face, not through any dumb letters or messages!"

Mario loosened his grip, startled by this fact. While Rawk Hawk scowled at him, holding his wrist after their "friendly" handshake, the mysterious writer behind both the threats and Mr. X's hinted messages obviously didn't belong to him. Even though Rawk Hawk admitted trying to scare Mario off and keep him from showing, he didn't seem like the kind of person who would actually kill someone off to avoid having his own title taken away. As cheap as that was, Mario wasn't going to let him get away from forcing him to forfeit and attempting to poison him and his friends.

Without another word, Mario headed back to his friends, ignoring Grubba's commentary. Pulling out his hammer, he handed it to Koops, confusing them as he not only decided to fight without his new hammer, but he also took off his Lucky Star, giving that to Starlight.

"Mario, what are you doing?" Koops asked.

Mario didn't say anything, turning around and faced Rawk Hawk. "Well, lookie here!" Grubba commented. "Gonzales seems real confident in himself if he's takin' off some of his gear! He looks dead serious, too, folk! Something tells me this is gonna be a good fight!"

"I hope you know what you're doing, Mario," Starlight said, wishing the plumber luck as she and her friends stepped off the ring.

"Knock his block off, Gonzales!" Scrappy said before he leapt off to join the others.

"Alright, both our fighters are ready!" Grubba said. "Let's get ready to BAAAAAATLE!!!!!!!!"

At the sound of the gong, the Clubba promoter jumped offstage, leaving both fighters to duke it out with the crowd erupting into cheers. "Alright, Gonzales! If it's a beatdown you've been wanting, then I'll quit beating around the bush!" Rawk Hawk said, cracking his knuckles, then crouched and made a running start toward Mario. "Let's go, punk!"

Mario raised his fists up, ready to show this cheap fighter how a real hero fights. Rawk Hawk threw a punch, only for Mario to dodge to the side with a spin, kicking him hard in the face to cause him to stagger from the impact. Once Mario landed, he jumped forward and gave a combo punch to the avian's abdomen, knocking him back further to ring him out. Rawk Hawk recovered, grabbing Mario's fist, then thrust his beak repeatedly at the plumber's face in retaliation. Mario kept his head away from his sharp beak, managing to wrangle his arm back. While backing away, Mario narrowly avoided an uppercut, his hat getting knocked off his head while leaning into a back somersault, flipping away to avoid anymore surprise blows.

"Oh no! Mario's hat!" Pinkie screeched. "Without it, his defenses are down!"

"The hay are ya talkin' about, Pinkie!?" Applejack questioned.

"...Oh, wait. You're right. That's only in the 3D adventure games," Pinkie said. "But still, NOT THE HAT!!!!"

Mario grumbled, patting his head while catching a glimpse of his hat gently floating down to the center of the ring. Ignoring the hat, Rawk Hawk let out a screech and charge forward again, leaping up and attempted to drop kick the plumber. Dodging his feet by leaping to the side, Mario managed to grasp Rawk Hawk's legs, then used his momentum to begin spinning the champion around. After a few good dizzying spins, Mario stopped, then slammed Rawk Hawk down to the ground stomach first, hearing a wheezing gasp come from his foe. He wasn't stunned for long, getting up on his knees, then swept his leg under Mario, causing him to trip in surprise. Rawk Hawk quickly got up and tried to do an elbow drop on the plumber, but Mario blocked his arm with both hands, then kicked the champion away from him.

Rawk Hawk was a bit surprised to see how tough Mario was, even without his hammer, his friends, or the strange magic he noticed during the newcomer's matches. "You're not that bad, Gonzales," Rawk Hawk said, but the praise was short-lived when he pounded his fists together. "I may not play fair, but I've got plenty of skills that made me champ! TIME TO RAAAAAWWWWWWK!!!!"

First posing to the crowd, Rawk Hawk then jumped up high in the air. He flipped around, then dive-bombed Mario with an eagle-like cry, falling just as fast as Rainbow Dash in her many daredevil dives while flying. Mario quickly dove out of the way, Rawk Hawk sliding to a halt, grunting as he missed and turned to face his opponent. Mario rolled over to his cap, snatching it, then placed it back on his head. Getting back in his stance, Mario taunted the champion, outstretching an arm and giving him a "bring it on" gesture with his hand. Growling, Rawk Hawk took the bait and dove after Mario again, but the plumber leapt over him with ease, slamming his fists down over the avian's head as he flipped, sending the champion sliding across the ring face first.

Rubbing his sore chin, Rawk Hawk stopped trying to use one of his signature moves and tried to wail on Mario, the two fighters getting into a close-quarters fist fight, each one throwing punches and kicks while ducking or blocking the other's. The crowd cheered, most of the audience chanting "Gonzales!", wanting to see him win and take the belt from the arrogant Rawk Hawk. The champion we getting frustrated as Mario kept up with him so easily, getting hit when he thought he blocked his opponent's fists and missing with his own from the heroic plumber's dexterity. Their flurry of blows ended with a hard, swift kick to the gut, knocking the wind out of the champion, then a one-two kick combo to the face and chest, knocking him back while struggling to get his breath back.

The crowd roared and Mario's friends cheered, which aggravated Rawk Hawk as his fans were cheering for his foe. "Go, Mario!" Goombella cheered. "Kick that giant chicken's butt!"

"Who knew he was this talented without any magic or a hammer?" Flurrie said. "Definitely proves his title as a hero of the Mushroom Kingdom."

Rawk Hawk growled, having had enough. "How dare you turn the Rawk back on the Hawk!?" the champion accused. "I should have just dealt with you before our fight. But I'm not going down like a chump, chump!"

Leaping up in the air, Mario expected Rawk Hawk to dive down on him again. Instead, he grabbed the rafters hanging over the ring, then shook heavily, causing some of the light fixtures to fall off and down on Mario. Even though Mario avoided the falling lights, the crowd gasped in shock and jeered Rawk Hawk for his desperation to use the stage in a battle.

"What the hay!?" Rainbow exclaimed. "He's hanging on the catwalk and knocking stuff down! Grubba, he should be disqualified!"

"Uhh, well, technically, he's still in the ring, and we're making plenty of money to replace some of the older lights," Grubba explained, though he could see how cheap of a move Rawk Hawk made because he was losing. "If he steps out of the ring, he's out, but if he's still in the air, he's still fighting."

"Rawk Hawk is a sore loser after all," Rarity said.

"Probably worse than Rainbow," Applejack said, making the cyan pegasus glower at the farm mare.

Mario dashed through the falling fixtures, then made a leap for Rawk Hawk. Surprised by his jumping height, Rawk Hawk couldn't let go in time as Mario punched him in the side, flipping upside down, then wrapped his arms around the champion's torso before pushing off, sending them into a tumbling dive back down to the ring. Mario pile-drived Rawk Hawk on his head as they landed with a hard thud, knocking the champ for a loop as he backed away, watching him fall over, but he wasn't done just yet. Exhausted, Rawk Hawk shakily stood up, his head spinning after the painful drop while trying to focus his blurry vision on his foe.

"Y-You...You can't...stop...the Rawk," he said, stumbling forward and swung widely at Mario.

Mario smacked aside his sluggish punch hard, making him spin around in place, getting him more dizzy in his delirium. Crouching low, he waited for the avian to stop, and once he faced him, Mario gave him a powerful leaping uppercut, his fist constantly connecting with Rawk Hawk's jaw as he sent him flying. The last blow from his uppercut sent the champion spinning backwards in the air, Mario landing first in a crouched position while adjusting his hat, followed by Rawk Hawk with a thud on his back.

With the champion defeated, the audience cheered wildly, deafening the arena with screams and clapping as the newest fighter to grace the Glitz Pit had bested Rawk Hawk. "Wowie, folks! This was a fight for the ages!" Grubba announced as he climbed up on stage, followed by Mario's friends as they came up to congratulate him, handing him back his hammer and Lucky Star. "Technique versus technique! Raw power versus raw power! What a legendary bout between two superhumans! Give it up for your new champion: THE GRRRRREAT GONZAAAAAALES!!!!!!"

More cheers rang as Grubba gave Mario the championship belt. Even though this was a victory on their part, Mario didn't feel like the battle was far from over. Whoever attempted to kill King K. and Andy was still out there along with the mysteries of their friend, Mr. X, or where the Crystal Star was located.

After the match, everyone gathered back in the major-league locker room, where the fighters currently in the locker room congratulated Mario and his spectacular match. Grubba soon came in with a chuckle, along with Jolene and a defeated Rawk Hawk.

"Well done, son! You're the new champion!" Grubba said. "Now, as per custom, you and your battle buddies gather up your stuff! You're going to move into your new room! Ms. Jolene, please take our new champ to his room, won't ya, darlin'?"

"Yes, sir, Mr. Grubba," Jolene said. Grubba left to his office while everyone gathered their belongings. Rawk Hawk grumbled, unable to believe he lost, Mario catching a glimpse of the Dark Koopatrol giving the former champ a smug grin, glad to see him put in his place. Jolene guided the group down the hall and to the champion's room, opening the door for them. Scrappy stared in awe, being the only one of the group who didn't see the room, then ran to the bed and plopped down on it with a sigh, relishing the super comfy mattress. "Make yourselves at home. If there's nothing else you need, I'll be on my way."

Jolene made her leave to do whatever it was she did, still a mystery after losing track of her earlier. "Man, this place is awesome!" Scrappy excitedly said, jumping off the bed and approached the training area in the corner. "If we're gonna defend our title, I'm gonna need to work on the pecs!"

Grabbing the barbell, Scrappy grunted, trying to lift it with the heavy weights set on the ends. With his small body and arms, he could barely lift it an inch off the ground, his cheeks puffing out with strain as his face turned red.

"Umm, maybe you should go with something smaller," Fluttershy suggested, grabbing a pair of pink dumbbells that only weighed one pound each. "Try these. They seem a lot lighter."

"I...can...lift this...Mama Fluttershy!" the Yoshi grunted, his feet skittering while still attempting to raise the heavier bar.

"So, Mario, care to tell us what the heck happened to you earlier?" Goombella asked.

"Yeah! Where'd that guard take you!?" Rainbow added.

Mario told everyone what happened to him, startling the group, along with who "gifted" them the poisoned cake and who plotted Mario's match to be forfeited when he almost didn't make it. "I knew Rawk Hawk was out to get us!" Flurrie said. "What an unfair sportsman that bird is!"

"Thank goodness Mario's Lucky Star caught us getting paralyzed!" Rarity said. "He's lucky neither of us got a hoof in ripping out his feathers!"

"But he wasn't responsible for the threats, and it confirms he doesn't know anything about the Crystal Star," Starlight said. While the group wondered what to do next, going back to the drawing board, Mario's Mailbox SP began to ring, startling everyone. " AHH! Again!? Seriously, is there a way to shut that thing's music off!?"

Mario apologized, but he didn't want to lower the volume in case they got a message from Peach and Twilight. He opened his device and read the message left to him.

fInD tHe GhOsT iN tHe ChAmP's RoOm.
FrOm X

Fluttershy gulped nervously at the mention of a ghost from this world haunting the building. "A g-g-ghost?"

"Well, we haven't seen any Boos taking part in the arena, nor the stands," Rarity said. "What other ghosts are there?"

Mario knew in one of the wonders that there was a ghost in the champion's room, but it couldn't be a Boo since they thrive more in abandoned houses. As the room went silent, they heard what sounded like a voice mumbling above them.

"W-What was that?" Applejack uttered.

"It sounds like...a voice?" Goombella said.

Rainbow hovered up to the vent in the corner of the room above the dresser, holding her ear up to the grate. "It sounds like it's coming through here."

"Must be somepony's voice echoing through the vent," Starlight guessed. "But where does it lead?"

"Let's check it out," Rainbow said.

Mario leapt up onto the dresser, grasping the grate with both hands and pulled hard, using his Lucky Star's magic strength to tear it off the vent. After breaching through, everyone else climbed up and moved in a single-file line through the vent. It lead across the building, the other end connected to Grubba's office, where the Clubba was sitting at his desk, having a chat with himself.

"Hyuk hyuk hyuk! That's in perfect condition, as usual!" he said. "As long as I got that baby workin' for me, this ol' bod ain't EVER gettin' weak!"

"What in Equestria is he talking about?" Rainbow whispered, only to be quickly hushed by Mario as they continued listening.

"Gonna have to watch my tootsies for a bit," Grubba continued. "First I let that King K. ijit walk in on me when I was with...that. And now I feel like Jolene and Gonzales are onto me..." Standing up from his seat, he picked up a piece of paper and looked it over with a smug grin. "...I'll burn that bridge when the time comes. I'll just make them disappear, like I did with the others...Like I did to Prince Mush, the first champ!"

"The first champion?" Scrappy whispered. "What did he do to everyone?"

"He's the one responsible for almost killing King K. and Andy!" Pinkie hissed.

"Hmm...maybe them ponies will be quite useful if they 'disappear', too," Grubba muttered with a small, sinister laugh. "Better make sure this room is locked up tighter than a peanut butter jar at a squirrel convention." He placed the paper he was looking at in a desk drawer, which happened to be the similar one he slipped something in earlier when Jolene walked in on him. "Ya know, thinkin' out loud here...good fighters ain't nothin' to mess with. Even Rawk Hawk lost to Gonzales. This new champ might have to disappear purty soon. For my sake..."

Grubba left his office, locking it up and going off to do whatever errands he needed to do. And those errands didn't sound all that good. Once he left, Mario kicked down the grate, wondering what the Clubba had planned and how he got rid of the missing fighters. He approached the desk as everyone leapt out of the vent, opening the drawer and pulled out what secret documents he was eyeing. The shocked look on his face made the others curious as they looked at the paper he placed on the desk.

"W-What in Equestria!?" Starlight exclaimed. "These are blueprints to some type of machine using a Crystal Star!"

"'Sapping away the strength of others to charge my own?'" Goombella questioned, reading aloud a side note Grubba wrote on this paper. "I may not be a technical science major, but if the Crystal Star we're looking for is powering some sort of device that drains the life out of anyone...Does that mean Grubba's stolen the strength of every missing fighter and using it for himself???"

"But why would he do this?" Koops asked.

The door opened up, Grubba yelping in surprise seeing Mario and his friends sneaking in his office and looking at his private blueprints. "GREAT GALLOPIN' GULPITS!" he exclaimed. "How in tarnation did y'all get in my office!?"

"How about you explain to us just what THIS is doing in your office desk!?" Starlight argued back, levitating his blueprints out for him to see. "What was your plan using something like this by sucking away somepony's strength!?"

"...Uhhhh...I think I hear my laundry calling!" Grubba quickly said before zipping off down the hall.

"Hey, get back here!" Rainbow called out as everyone chased after him. They saw Grubba round the corner, then head straight through the giant doors leading to the arena ring. Slamming through the doors, the audience long gone after the championship match, they surrounded Grubba as he stood in the center of the ring. "You're busted, Grubba! Give up now or get beaten up by us!"

"Y'all got a lot of nerve sniffin' around my business," Grubba said. "I even heard y'all 'rescued' Andy and King K. And now that y'all discovered my secret, I'm afraid you're all gonna be takin' a li'l dirt nap."

Stepping on a hidden switch in the dead center of the ring, the ground began to shake as most of the middle of the square battle ring sank down. Everyone quickly climbed up on the stage, standing near the edge, but they backed up when a cage-like machine came up on a rising platform from beneath the building's secret room. On top of the device, everyone caught a glimpse of the Crystal Star they were looking for, hovering in a spinning bowl-shaped dais, which fed power to the machine. And in the center of the cage-like contraption was Grubba, giving them a sinister smirk.

"He really was using the Crystal Star to power this thing!" Starlight said.

"How do y'all like it!?" Grubba asked with a laugh. "I've been using this baby to suck power from all the fighters out of them! Slurpin' them up like soda through a straw!"

"Why did you do this to our friends!?" Fluttershy asked.

"Why, it's simple, my dear: so I can keep my body young forever!" Grubba admitted, making everyone gasp in shock. "And I ain't as dumb as y'all think I am. I know all about you ponies through the paper, even the magic that comes from your world. And after seein' how strong y'all fought, especially them two unicorns, if my machine can suck out your energy AND magic, I'd find myself the best possible fountain of youth and stay my young, strong, and unbeatable self forever!"

"Y-You were gonna use US!?!?!?!?" Applejack exclaimed.

"Well, what did y'all expect!? Aside from her-" Grubba pointed at Starlight. "-the rest of ya are known as them Elements of Harmony from your world! The package deal might not have had your leader, but I think ol' Glimmer there would be suitable enough to complete it!"

"You're absolutely horrid!" Flurrie exclaimed angrily.

"No one hurts my Mama Fluttershy, and you're not gonna drain her life or magic, you fat jerk!" Scrappy shouted, hopping up and down in front of Fluttershy protectively.

"You're abusing the Crystal Star's power for all of this!?" Goombella questioned. "You're a sick freak, Grubba!"

"Oh, shut your traps!" Grubba scoffed. "I'll use MY Crystal Star however I darn well please!"

"Your power-stealing days are over, Grubba," Starlight growled, her horn lighting up as she prepared to blast the Clubba. "And you're not taking our magic as well!"

"Hmph. Ya think y'all can intimidate me?" Grubba questioned. "Check this out!" Widening his stance, Grubba growled as his body shook, letting out strained grunts as he powered himself up from what energy he stole from previous fighters. He began growing in size, his blue skin turning orange as his hat slipped off his head, his jacket's buttons popping off to look like a vest as his undershirt was torn off by his growing build, his hair turned into a spiky mohawk, and his shell grew sharp spikes. Everyone stared and backed away in shock at Grubba's size, hearing him roar as he unleashed his full strength, stepping out from his machine intimidatingly. "MAAAAAAACHO GRUBBA!!!!!!!!"

"H-Holy cow. H-H-He grew!" Koops exclaimed.

"Far more than that, son!" Grubba said. Starlight fired her magic beam, hitting Grubba square in the face. The massive Clubba flinched as he was struck, but he turned back to face Starlight, barely feeling a thing as he leered at her with a smirk. "I'M INVINCIBLE!!!"

Leaping off the ring, he tried to body slam Starlight, who quickly teleported away before she got crushed. Getting back on his feet, he heard Scrappy yell and charge at him, flutter-kicking up above him, and repeatedly ground-pounded on the Clubba's head. More irritated than hurt, he grasped the Yoshi faster than anyone could blink. He began crushing the Yoshi in his fist, Scrappy letting out a cry in agony, which triggered Fluttershy's mama bear instincts.

"Get your hooves off my baby Yoshi, you monster!!!" Fluttershy screamed, flying into Macho Grubba's abdomen and, to his surprise, knocked him over along with the air in his lungs.

Landing on his back, Fluttershy tried to free Scrappy from the Clubba's hand, but Macho Grubba recovered faster than everyone thought, grabbing the yellow pegasus in his other hand. "Not too bad," Grubba commented, standing back up while holding the now terrified pegasus. "Maybe if I put a few cute critters in the ring for your opponents to harass, I'd see more of THAT kind of power from ya!"

"Let go of my friend, jerk!" Rainbow yelled, swiftly flying around Grubba while kicking his face as she passed.

Mario and Applejack charged together, double-tackling the powered up Clubba, sending him staggering back and dropping Fluttershy and Scrappy. Macho Grubba tried swatting Rainbow Dash away, only to be met with a body slam from Flurrie as she let out a opera-like wail from high above. Sent crashing down on his back again, Starlight and Rarity held the Clubba down with their magic while the others tried to knock him unconscious: Goombella repeatedly headbonking Grubba's forehead, Koops tossing himself at one of his sides, Pinkie and Mario using their hammers to slam down any part of him, even Scrappy got back into the fight by throwing eggs in Grubba's face.

Macho Grubba growled irritably, letting out a yell as his muscles grew, pulsating with enhanced power thanks to his machine. He managed to break free from the unicorns' magic hold, grasped Koops while he was still in his shell, tossed him at Flurrie as she was about to slam back down for another full body slam and sending the two flying into the stands. Slamming his fists down hard, he caused a quake that stunned everyone, then swung his arms, smacking everyone away until they slid to a halt or smacked into a wall painfully.

"I'd say it's not fair gangin' up on me, but I'm a bit surprised how well y'all work together to wrangle me down like a newborn calf," Grubba said. "I love me a good tussle! It won't matter much in the end once I beat y'all and take ALL of your power for myself!" Mario got back up, activating his Lucky Star and enhanced his speed and strength. "Wanna have a supercharged duel, eh, Gonzales?" Grubba bulked himself up again, his body rippling and pulsating more as he flexed his powerful muscles. "Let's get it on!"

Mario zipped off at lightning speed, hammer in hand and jumped in the air. He slammed his hammer down, which was quickly blocked by Grubba, surprising the plumber at his own increased agility and strength. Flipping backward, Mario charged again, avoiding Macho Grubba's swift punches while trying to aim for his own at the Clubba's abdomen. Rainbow growled, watching her friends slowly get up after getting knocked back, then flew up through the skylight high above the arena and dove down, performing a sonic rainboom as the explosive burst of speed shot her down at Grubba. She slammed into the back of his head while still fighting Mario, causing quite a bit of pain while Mario "helped" flip the giant Clubba over across the other side of the arena, where Pinkie was up with her party cannon and her hammer inside the barrel.

"It's hammer time!" Pinkie screamed, pushing the button and set off the cannon, blasting confetti and her hammer in Grubba's face.

The impact sent the Clubba flipping backwards, landing him on his back once again with his face covered in confetti and a red mark of a flat hammer head on his forehead. Mario leapt up and slammed his hammer down on Grubba's chest, his bulkier chest making the blow a bit less painful, but still hurt him regardless. He smacked the plumber off his chest and got up, having enough getting knocked down and bashed.

"Y'all got a lot of spunk, I'll give ya that," Grubba said. "But it ain't over until it's over! I had moves back in the day that would be considered illegal today! Fortune's smilin' upon me in the end, and I'll crush all of y'all until I take my win!"

Unleashing another power-growing roar, Macho Grubba grew even taller, towering the rafters from the floor of the arena. Despite his bigger size, he still moved normally before his newest growth spurt, turning about and performed a backflip body slam on Pinkie. The earth pony shrieked and ran off, quickly grabbing her party cannon before she was crushed under his massive size and her patented cannon of fun from getting destroyed.

"Oh, great. He's gotten bigger!" Goombella exclaimed. "Just how strong is Grubba!?"

"Ah'm still in a bit of a loop when he knocked us back earlier," Applejack uttered. "He's gotta be tougher than Bowser was when he had the Star Rod."

"And he wants to kill us and take away our magic!" Pinkie added. "He even tried to smush my party cannon with his giant, flabby belly! I went the last adventure without my party cannon, and I am NOT gonna not have one in this story!"

"Oh, if only Twilight was here with us," Rarity said. "We could use our new magic together to try to drain the energy out of him and beat him that way."

"We've got to keep fighting!" Rainbow said. "We're outnumbering him, even if he keeps juicing himself up! He's on his last legs if he's gotten this strong!"

Grubba slammed his fists down on Mario, quickly holding up his hammer to block the blow, his legs shaking from the impact. Scrappy growled, fluttering his feet before running up to help Mario.

"Scrappy, what are you doing!?" Fluttershy called out, worried for the little Yoshi's safety.

"I'm gonna help!" he said, stopping a fair distance. Letting out a strained grunt, he felt something within him well up, something he wasn't sure a Yoshi like him had. An aura radiated from his body, matching to Fluttershy's fur color. After this new power was built up, he took in a deep breath, then let out a loud whistle that rang out all over the arena. Within seconds, several hundred puffs of smoke popped out around Scrappy, the ponies, and the other partners, and when the smoke cleared, they were surrounded by an army of ethereal Yoshis. Surprised, everyone stared in awe, Scrappy panting heavily from exerting so much of this latent magical power, but still had enough energy to keep standing. "Da-da-da da-daaaaaaa! YOSHI POWER!!!!!"

The magic Yoshis all let out their unique battle cries, stampeding toward Macho Grubba. The Clubba heard the random Yoshi herd, all of them kicking and headbutting his legs, or climbing all over him to punch or bite the rest of his body.

"AGH! What in the-!? Where did all of these-!? AHHH! GET OFF!!!" Grubba shouted, trying to shake off the ethereal dinosaurs off of him.

"...W-Whoa," Koops uttered.

"Where did all those Yoshis come from!?" Goombella exclaimed, almost squealing at the sight of hundreds of adult Yoshis around them.

"I...don't know how...but I think Scrappy...summoned them with...magic?" Starlight pondered, baffled, intrigued, and amazed by this strange discovery.

"Can Yoshis use magic?" Rainbow asked Fluttershy, who knows more about the Yoshis than anyone else in the group did.

"...Well, not really," Fluttershy said. "But they do seem to adapt to what's in their surroundings when they hatch, at least from what I know. The ones on Lavalava Island mostly live in peace, but Scrappy seems to love fighting and getting into fights since he was brought up here to Glitzville...And, maybe being around us, maybe with me always holding him while he was still in his egg, some of our magic must have also been imprinted when it seeped into his egg...That might...explain it?"

"...You have no idea, do you, Flutters?" Rainbow said.

"No," Fluttershy admitted. "I was...guessing."

"Not an impossible theory, but I'd be willing to try some tests," Starlight said.

"YEAH! Go, my Yoshi brethren!" Scrappy cheered as he watched Grubba flailing about while getting swarmed by his magic army. "Show that mean jerk who's boss! For Mama Flutter-!"

Suddenly, Scrappy fell over on his back, letting out a snore as he passed out. From his exhaustion, the Yoshi herd he summoned poofed away from existence, leaving Macho Grubba battered and panting heavily.

"...Well, he might have a lot of power for a little guy, but he's still a baby Yoshi," Pinkie said. "Reminds me of Spike!"

"And by my guess, depending on how many Yoshis he can make, he'll tire himself out much quicker," Flurrie said. "No wonder he has so much energy."

Grubba grunted, unable to believe a magical Yoshi herd managed to pound their way through his buffed up defenses. "That...That little Yoshi...is really something," he uttered. "He'll...definitely be the first one I'm draining."

Hearing this, Fluttershy looked up to glare at the Clubba, meeting her gaze and feeling a sense of dread in those big blue eyes. "That's it. Pinkie, give me your hammer," Fluttershy demanded, the earth pony quickly giving the pegasus her hammer. "Nopony, and I mean NOPONY, is going to hurt my little Yoshi! If you want him, then you'll have to take him over MY! DEAD! BODY!!!!!!!!!!"

Flying as fast as Rainbow Dash, shocking Goombella, Flurrie, and Koops, Grubba let out a terrified yell before letting out a painful grunt, getting smacked hard in the gut by the enraged animal lover with the hammer. "And this is why nopony ever messes with Fluttershy and any of her animal friends," Rarity said.

"Yeah, like when we got sucked in that enchanted Power Ponies comic Spike had and we were the Power Ponies," Rainbow said. "Even though her superhero was someone who turns into a hulking, rampaging beast when she gets mad, her tipping point was when the Maneiac hurt a small firefly, and she went nuts on her hairspray ray of doom!"

"Gee, thanks for putting THAT image in my head," Goombella said, cringing slightly as she imagined a bulky yellow pegasus acting like a wild bull.

They continued watching as Fluttershy continued bashing Grubba with all her might. He could barely avoid her as she was like an angry hornet trying to sting him, and that stinger was a mallet constantly battering every part of him. She even got him hard enough in the face, causing his glasses he still wore to break and reveal his beady eyes. Dazed, his body swayed before Fluttershy dove back in for one final blow, swinging up and hitting his jaw, sending him flying back and landing painfully against the stage. With a groan, Grubba shrank and returned to normal, defeated and barely able to move.

Fluttershy hovered back down to the ground, picking up the slumbering Yoshi after spitting out Pinkie's hammer. "N-No...How...?" Grubba questioned. "My bod...How could my perfect bod lose to all of you?"

"Because we NEVER lose to anypony as horrible as you!" Rainbow gloated. "Prepare to live in a dungeon for the rest of your life!"

"Mr. champion!" Everyone turned to the big doors stage right from the arena, Jolene slowly making her way toward them.

"Jolene?" Starlight uttered.

They expected to get in trouble after beating up her boss, but the Toad ignored the beaten Clubba. "I mean, Mario," Jolene corrected herself. "Allow me to offer you and your friends my earnest thanks for defeating that foul Grubba."

"What? You mean...you're not mad at us?" Goombella asked.

"I must apologize," Jolene said. "I didn't want you to get involved in all of this...but you all must understand. I had to learn the truth of this arena by any means."

"What do you mean?" Flurrie asked.

"I'll tell you everything." Jolene let out a heavy sigh, her stoic expression finally dropping as her lips curled into a sad frown. "I had a little brother once, by the name of Mush. He would have done anything for me. Our family was always poor, so he became a fighter here to support all of us." Mario was a little surprised. Jolene's younger brother had the same name as the first champion who Grubba had first taken out with his machine. "...But, one day, he just...suddenly went missing. Our family was inconsolable. I had suspected foul play, so I got hired as a manager and investigated in secret. As I looked for clues about my brother, I accidentally saw Grubba transform." She looked at the Clubba, who was still conscious, and he had a look of shock on his face when she claimed Mush was her brother. "Seeing what I was up against, I almost gave up hope...until Mario from the Mushroom Kingdom and five of the ponies who helped stopped Bowser recently appeared in Glitzville...So, I decided to secretly guide you."

It all dawned on the group as Mario pulled out his Mailbox SP, looking over the messages from X. "Ohhh. So, you were our friend, Mr. X," Koops said, then stammered when he realized their secret ally was actually Jolene. "Er, I mean, Ms. X..."

"Correct, I was 'Mr. X'," Jolene admitted.

"And the one who sent us those threats was..." Everyone turned to look at Grubba, the one who really left the threatening emails when Rawk Hawk would rather make threats face to face and Jolene being X.

"After seeing you all fight, I knew you could challenge Grubba," Jolene said, then made her way over to the Clubba. "Now, sir...No. Not sir!" Jolene gave Grubba a hard kick in the side, making him groan in pain. "Grubba, I demand answers, right NOW! What did you do to my little brother!?" Aggressively, she grabbed what remained of the Clubba's jacket, lifting his upper half, shocking everyone with her actually showing emotion, and she was enraged as she confronted her former boss. "And don't backpedal out of this! You know EXACTLY what happened to him: the first champion, Prince Mush!"

"Y-Your brother...He discovered the secret of my power-suckin' machine," Grubba groaned. "I made him...disappear. Any which way you look at it...he ain't around these parts no more..."

Jolene's breath hitched in her throat, the horrible fate that befell her brother shocking the group, understanding why Jolene was so strict. The Toad dropped Grubba as tears welled in her eyes.

"...No...I-I...suspected as much..." Jolene sniffled, mourning the loss of her little brother now that she knew the truth. She began to sob, taking off her glasses as her tears fell. "Mush...My poor, sweet Mush..."

Feeling sympathetic for Jolene, everyone lowered their heads, paying respects for the late champion. Above Grubba's power-stealing machine, the Crystal Star shimmered and began humming with power. Mario looked up, noticing it reacting strangely as it spun rapidly, causing the dais it was hovering in to spin as well. Everyone else looked up in surprise, watching the machine do something until something fell out from the top, landing on the ring near the base of the machine. Wondering what happened, everyone, including Jolene, raced up the steps to see what happened. Jolene gasped when she saw that something was actually someONE.

"Ugh...Where am I?" Groggily standing back up was a Toad, wearing a blue gi, the spots on his mushroom head pink like Jolene's, even with a curled blonde bang just like the manager's. "Am I...back in the Glitz Pit?"

"M-Mush?" Jolene called out in disbelief.

The Toad turned to her, hearing his name, then smiled at Jolene. "Sis? Is that you?" Mush asked. "What are you doing here? I was-"

"MUSH!!!" Jolene cried, running up to her brother and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, catching Mush off guard. For the first time since they met her, Jolene smiled as she cried, thankful to have her little brother back after assuming him to be long gone no thanks to Grubba and his horrible contraption to give him eternal youth. "Mush...I'm so glad you're back..."

"Uhh, what exactly happened to me?" Mush asked, highly confused. "Last I remember, I was meeting with Mr. Grubba after I won my championship match-"

Jolene shushed him, wanting nothing to do with Grubba while holding her brother tightly. "I'll tell you everything later, Mush," she said. The others were glad to see Jolene was happy, knowing her brother was back safe and sound after the Crystal Star heard her sorrow. Jolene reluctantly let go of Mush, then turned to face the Glitz Pit's current champion and saviors from Grubba's power-hungry greed. "I'm sorry you all had to go through this, but thank you for stopping Grubba."

"It's no problem, Jolene," Starlight said. "We all thought you were kind of harsh, but I can see why you sought us out to help solve these mysteries in Glitzville."

"And you've got your little brother back, so everything's ok now," Rarity added.

Jolene nodded, though Mush tilted his head curiously, completely out of the loop after being gone for who knows how long. "I must repay you all back somehow..." Looking up, she found the perfect reward. Jolene walked over to the terminal near the machine, pressing a few buttons, which caused the Crystal Star to drop down beside her. Picking it up, she approached Mario, holding out the Crystal Star to them. "Mario, you can have this as a reward for all your help."

"Are you sure you want to give it to us?" Koops asked.

"It's better to let you have it..." Jolene looked back at the machine, cringing bitterly at it before giving them a small grin. "So nothing like this can happen again."

Nodding in understanding, Mario took the Crystal Star, letting it float around him before hovering over his head, granting him its power. Three Crystal Stars down, and only four more to go. Before everyone turned in for the evening, they made sure Grubba was arrested for his crimes, losing all of his credibility as a respected fighter and owner of the Glitz Pit. Jolene wished she could do more to Grubba while he was beaten, but that one kick would have to do now that she had her little brother back. She couldn't wait to tell her family the good news tomorrow after checking in on King K and Andy's conditions, even if the Bandit had constantly spied on her while figuring out how to stop Grubba.

Espionage, Elder's Brawl, Next Chapter Stall

Grodus waited in his main chamber impatiently, disappointed in his minions for failing to find the Crystal Stars. So far, from what information some of his competent soldiers have discovered, Mario now as three of the Crystal Stars, and obtaining them far faster than they had within less than a month. He didn't have to wait long when he heard the Shadow Sirens warp up from the ground before him.

"Finally," he grumbled. "Beldam, you'd best explain why I should keep you and your sisters. You STILL haven't taken care of that Mario character, nor any of the other ponies."

"Yes. My apologies," Beldam said. "They were quite tougher than we thought at first, but next time, we'll be prepared for them."

"You do realize that we X-Nauts must open the door first, do you not?" Grodus questioned.

Beldam let out a small cackle, understanding the X-Naut leader's intentions. "Well, rest assured that I will definitely nail them next time. We have a weapon that will bring them to a swift end."

"Destroy Mario, but not the ponies," Grodus warned. "Whatever kind of magic they have has more potential than that meddling hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. Understand?" The Shadow Sirens silently nodded. "I am rapidly losing my patience. Find them, and take whatever Crystal Stars they have in their possession."

"Just leave it to us, sire," Beldam said with another cackle, then turned to her sisters. "Let's away, my lovelies!"

Beldam phased through the ground first, then Marilyn. Vivian hesitated for a moment, dreading another future scolding from her older sister with whatever plan Beldam had. She followed them, hoping to maybe impress her elder sister and be on her good graces, assuming there were any to bother gaining.

Peach laid on her bed, hanging upside down from the edge with a bored look on her face. Twilight walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, one towel wrapped clumsily around her hair while another draped her back, just finishing up with a shower.

"Well, if there was anything I learned from my first Winter Wrap-Up in Ponyville, the lack of magic to do mundane tasks is much more difficult without it," Twilight grumbled. Part of the towel over her head came undone, flopping over her face. She growled, ignoring trying to dry her hair normally and just rubbed it dry with her hooves, leaving her hair sticking out after pulling it off. "And this stupid inhibitor makes it more complicated when I can't shower properly! Not to mention no brush to straighten my mane or tail!" As she fumed after her rant while drying the rest of herself off, she noticed the bored look on Peach's face. "...You ok?"

"I'm just bored," Peach said. She sat up with a grunt, getting off the bed and walked over to Twilight, helping straighten out her mane. "At least when I was held hostage in my own castle, I had my library of books to read. They don't give us anything, and the only time they come in is to check on us, your inhibitor, and asking us more questions about the map that we can't answer."

"I just hope the others are doing ok," Twilight mumbled worriedly. After Twilight was dried and her mane was in decent order thanks to Peach, the door to their "prison" opened on its own. "Looks like TEC wants to see us again."

"Finally. I needed something to do today," Peach said.

The two princesses left their room and entered the supercomputer's room, wondering what TEC wanted to ask them.

Hello, princesses.

"You should probably try to give us a warning if you decide to guide us to your room," Twilight said as both princesses approached the terminal. "What do you want to know from us this time?"

I would like you to go to Sir Grodus is and ask him something.

TEC's request baffled Peach and Twilight, looking at each other, then back to the supercomputer. "You want us to do what?" Twilight asked.

"And what exactly do you need us to ask him?" Peach added.

I recently obtained specific information that brought an...issue to my attention.

"But aren't you the main computer in this place?" Peach questioned. "Why do you not know what it is?"

I am unable to know things that are not entered in my CPU or otherwise recorded. That is why I want to know what Sir Grodus is thinking about this issue.

"I don't know if your CPU remembers the fact that we're his prisoners!" Twilight exclaimed. "We can't leave, otherwise he'll do unspeakable things to us!"

"Or escort us back to our room while giving us a scolding," Peach theorized after her own experience last time. "I highly doubt wherever we are, we won't be able to leave so easily."

Peach's guess is quite accurate. But you will find a soldier's room one floor up. Take the elevator. Once there, please obtain a soldier's uniform and change into it, avoiding detection. You will go see Sir Grodus looking like a soldier.

Both princesses gave the computer a blank look, neither of them clearly able to pass as an X-Naut soldier between their height, or species in Twilight's case. "I highly doubt that'll even fool anyone," Peach said. "And I used a magic umbrella that let me transform into whoever I aimed it at."

"Wished you brought that along if you had a sixth sense that lets you know when you'd get kidnapped by Bowser," Twilight grumbled.

"Kammy Koopa broke it with her magic when she found me out," Peach said, making Twilight sigh heavily in exasperation. "At least we can inform the others about their plan. What do you want us to ask Grodus, TEC?"

TEC gave the princesses the questions he desires, the human and pony curious about why he wanted those specific "issues" resolved. They exited the computer room and approached the elevator,activated thanks to TEC as the glass doors opened up, allowing them access. The doors closed and rose up a couple floors, but the doors didn't open just yet.

Please wait a moment. There are currently soldiers in the vicinity.

Twilight and Peach were a little startled hearing TEC's voice outside of the terminal he was located in, wondering what he meant. Through the glass, which was barely able to distinguish anyone from either side, they heard an X-Naut soldier whistling while walking down the hall. He passed by the elevator, unable to see the princesses hiding inside, then disappeared further down the hall. Once the coast was clear, the elevator opened up, letting both Peach and Twilight out.

"Wow, that was close," Twilight said. "I guess, aside from seeing us everywhere, TEC can communicate with anyone everywhere in here...So, how come you don't talk to us when we're in our room?"

The room you two are imprisoned in prevent me from speaking with prisoners. That, and not wanting to intrude in the private conversations you might have, I would not have spoken to you even with approval.

"Well, it is rude to eavesdrop regardless if you can talk to us or not," Peach implied.

Understood. The room you two should enter the room with the green lamp on. It is very close to the elevator.

Looking around, the door TEC mentioned was to their left from exiting the elevator. Quickly making their way inside before other soldiers wandered about, the princesses entered a locker room with two changing rooms. The curtains for the small rooms were ironically pink in color, a huge contrast to the gray, metallic setting of the X-Naut base.

"Since this is a locker room, one of the X-Nauts should have a spare uniform in one of the lockers," Twilight pondered aloud, walking over to the row of lockers. Forced to use her mouth to open the doors, her hooves barely able to grasp the latches on the handles to lift and pull, she found a uniform hanging up in one of them. Peach stood beside Twilight, staring at the gaudy outfit, and how small it seemed compared to the two of them. "If Rarity was forced to wear one of these, she'd rather burn this and walk around nude than wear this thing." Peach silently nodded in agreement, then reached in the locker and grabbed the uniform. Peach and Twilight looked at each other, the alicorn clearly unable to wear something meant for a biped, and if it was meant for a pony, she would definitely stand out in the base. "...Well, you did say you were bored..."

"Ugh. Of course..." Peach grumbled, then sighed, left with no other option. "Might as well get this over with for TEC." She headed over to one of the changing rooms, opened and closed the curtain upon entering while Twilight waited outside. She heard the Mushroom Kingdom undressing, then struggled to get the X-Naut uniform on. "Ugh...OOF! Goodness!"

"Is it that bad putting it on?" Twilight asked curiously.

"It's a bit of a tight fit...And it kinda smells a bit," Peach said, making Twilight scrunch up her nose at the disturbing aspect of the obviously used outfit. After a couple minutes, Peach let out a sigh of relief, then opened the curtain to reveal her disguise. Despite the small size, she was able to fit in it, looking just like an X-Naut. "I can barely breathe in this thing, but I managed to make it work. How do I look?"

"...Like a...slightly bigger than average X-Naut, but so far, so good," Twilight said.

"I just hope this works. I'll be back in a moment." Peach straightened out her disguise's cap, keeping her blonde hair from being seen, then made her way out of the locker room while Twilight waited for her return.

As soon as Peach stepped outside, she gulped when she saw more X-Nauts out in the hall. There were some in the same uniform she wore, others that were white and blue and held clipboards, and some that looked a lot tougher in black and red. Playing it cool, she walked down the hall, the large room she remembered where they met Grodus was beyond the doors nearby. She spotted the X-Naut leader at the other end, looking greatly irritated as he paced around anxiously. Gulping nervously, she approached Grodus, copying the soldier's X salute, getting his attention.

"Uhh, excuse me...Sir Grodus?" Peach asked, lowering the pitch in her voice to sound a bit masculine to avoid being detected.

"Yes, what is it?" Grodus asked. "Speak!"

Peach gulped again, steeling her nerves and prepared for whatever answers she would get with TEC's specific questions he needed to know. "W-Well...It's about Princess Peach and Princess Twilight Sparkle," she said. "What do you plan to do with them going forward?"

Grodus raised a brow, leering at the "X-Naut". "...Is there something wrong with your voice?" he asked, making Peach worry about her masked voice not good enough to hide her identity. "...Maybe I have a throat lozenge." He looked around his person, making the princess silently sigh in relief. Grodus couldn't find a lozenge, letting out a hum in thought and slid the odd voice out of his mind. "Oh well, never mind. But I have no interest in what either of them have to say. Just keep them locked in their room, and do not rough up Princess Peach, understand? You make sure to tell the others this."

"A-And...the pony?" Peach asked, dreading the lack of care for the alicorn coming from Grodus.

"That inhibitor needs to be kept on her at all times, and if she tries to fight back, she will get shocked," Grodus said. "The world where she's from, their magic holds many different properties than what our world has. Plus, being royalty in that world, we must make sure that none of her other friends know she is missing, lest we cause a war between both worlds...at least until we find the Crystal Stars."

"T-Then why bother keeping them?" Peach asked.

"That's none of your business!" Grodus exclaimed, startling the disguised princess. "Do not forget your place, you impudent worm! Focus on getting the legendary treasure! That is all I require from you fools. We need that treasure to conquer the world!"

"...Conquer...the world?" Peach questioned, struck with shock that Grodus planned on trying to take over not just one kingdom, but the entire world. And whatever kind of treasure they were searching for, it must either be some sort of doomsday device or something far worse, and she was placing her coins on the device at this point. "W-What...legendary treasure?"

"And after my plan comes to fruition, I'll consider taking over the land of equines when we find that magic portal," Grodus added, making Peach gasp, her jaw dropping in horror. Grodus noticed the feminine gasp, giving her an odd look. "Something is definitely odd about you..."

"Err, n-no! Nothing odd!" Peach quickly responded. "So, uhh, r-roger and out, or whatever..."

Peach quickly saluted and left in a hurry, her reaction making Grodus sigh, rubbing his hand against his mechanical forehead. "Crump needs to recruit more competent soldiers..."

Peach headed down the hall, humming nervously around the other X-Nauts as she walked back into the locker room, Twilight unfortunately nowhere to be found. "Twilight?" Peach called out, making sure the door to the room was closed. "Twilight, where are you?"

"Peach?" Behind one of the curtains of the two changing rooms, Twilight pulled them away. Peach took off her hat to reveal her blonde hair, making the alicorn sigh in relief. "Thank goodness. I didn't know how long you would be gone for, and I heard the X-Nauts outside, so I hid in here. Glad these curtains reach the floor." Peach hurried over to the dressing room where she had her dress hung up, quickly changing, ignoring the odd smell on her from that uniform for the moment. "So, what did Grodus tell you? If he answers to lower-ranked soldiers."

"You'll find out when I have a chat with TEC," Peach said. Both princesses quickly snuck out of the locker room, making a dash to the elevator and ran inside, heading back down to the lower floor that was their prison and TEC's room. Peach stomped out of the elevator with Twilight hot on her heels, storming into the computer room and marched toward the console, glaring at the camera TEC was looking at them from. "TEC, you're a horrible machine! Your goal was to conquer the world, wasn't it!?"

"What!?" Twilight exclaimed.

"That's why the X-Nauts are looking for the Crystal Stars: to open the Thousand-Year Door, find the legendary treasure deep inside, and use it to take over both our worlds!" Twilight's jaw dropped in shock at Peach mentioning more than one singular world Grodus was planning to take over.

Of course. After all, I was built for that purpose.

"Peach...W-What did you mean by...?" Twilight uttered.

"Grodus wants nothing to do with us, but he's going to take over your world after taking over this one," Peach said.

Twilight's ears drooped as she began to have one of her mental panic attacks, worst-case scenarios popping up as she began to hyperventilate with worry.

Princess Peach, Princess Twilight, allow me to ask you something. Do you like the worlds you both live in? There are many problems in them, many sorrows. Do you like to live in such a world?

Both princesses were appalled by TEC's question, even if it was out of curiosity. "Of course we do!" Peach answered bitterly. "There may be bad things that might happen, but there's also the good we experience that we don't want to lose! You can't even have sorrow without joy!"

...Is that so...

"Tell us, TEC, will the Crystal Stars really help you conquer this world and any others?" Peach questioned, Twilight still in great shock, looking like she was about to explode in anxiety. "What's this treasure you're trying to get?"

I am afraid I cannot answer. Answering those questions is prohibited by Sir Grodus.

TEC's response made Twilight snap, the alicorn letting out a yell as she flew up to the camera, tears streaming down her face. "Why can't you tell us!?" she screamed. "You're planning to take over my world as well, and you're trying to figure out how to be friends with us when your master's going to destroy everything I love!? Friends don't keep important secrets from each other, even if it's painful to hear!" TEC didn't respond, blankly staring at the distressed alicorn as she sobbed angrily. "My friends and I have other friends and family there that we care about...I have a niece I adore, and she's just a toddler...Do you even care about how we feel about all this you and this...evil group are going to do?"

...It is not in my programming to explain Sir Grodus's plans. I apologize, Princess Twilight, but from your reaction and tears, I understand it appears to be quite stressful in your situation to our plans of world domination.

"...Do you?" Twilight grumbled, glaring at the camera lens for a moment. She hovered back down to the ground, letting out a huff. "You have no idea how I feel. You're just a machine. You CAN'T feel anything."

She kicked the side of the terminal, then walked out of the room. TEC didn't say anything, wanting to tell the distressed mare that he wanted to understand what feeling emotions was, but couldn't after the insult she gave him. Peach approached the terminal, just as angry, but remained calm for Twilight's sake.

"Let me contact Mario," Peach demanded. "I'm going to tell him about what your 'master' plans to do with this treasure you're seeking."

...............I suppose I can allow that.

Peach went ahead and typed out her message, TEC sending it once she was fully done before she had the chance to scold him. Finished with TEC's request and no longer wishing to speak to him for the rest of the day, Peach left the room, focusing on trying to calm Twilight down before she had a severe panic attack. When she walked into their room, she saw the alicorn struggling to pull the inhibitor off her horn with her hooves, barely making it budge while hurting herself in the process.

"Stupid...ring...!" she grunted, her hooves slipping as she yelled in frustration, then tried again as tears continued running down her face. "If I...didn't have this...thing on...I'd blast every single one of them! Including that stupid computer!"

"Twilight, calm down," Peach tried to usher gently, but Twilight let out another scream, trying to bash the ring this time. The abuse cause the inhibitor to light up, then released an electric shock that made her yell out in pain as her body spasmed. Peach gasped, but the shock only lasted for a few seconds, stopping the alicorn from trying to break the ring. Twilight fell when the shocks stopped, worrying the Mushroom Kingdom's princess as she hurried over to her. "Twilight, are you ok?"

Twilight shuddered, slowly looking up to Peach, her eyes welling with more tears with a look of helplessness. Twilight cried, completely breaking down, feeling useless and powerless with her magic blocked. She couldn't help her friends, her home that would be next on Grodus's conquering list, Peach, or even herself. Peach held the alicorn in a gentle embrace, letting her cry against her shoulder as she felt sorry for her. She always relied on Mario to come to her rescue and kept hope in his abilities to come through in the end, but Twilight had been able to find a way out of these situations on her own or with her friends. Being as powerless as she is now, she feared they might not be rescued soon and Grodus would succeed, taking over both worlds and harming the ones they love.

Peach helped the sobbing alicorn back on her hooves, guiding her over to her bed to lie her down. Hopefully, whoever was watching the security feed didn't catch them escaping their room thanks to TEC, but knowing the computer, he probably did care and erased any footage of them leaving to talk to him. And if the inhibitor activated with a push of a button, it must have had an automatic function to shock Twilight if she gets frustrated and try to forcefully bash the ring off her horn. Peach tried to comfort Twilight as she curled up in ball and cried, hoping she'll sleep this unfortunate news off. Peach left her alone to get herself cleaned up after dressing up in that smelly X-Naut uniform, silently praying for Mario and Twilight's friends to come find them soon before Twilight spiraled into a depression.

In the Boggly Woods, Bowser and Kammy found The Great Tree and let themselves in. A couple of the Punies near the entrance saw them, screaming in terror and warned their friends about the giant monster invading their home. Bowser was still fuming after getting his tail whooped by Mario again in the Glitz Pit, and he didn't have Peach in his clutches this time.

"Stupid, cheating Mario," he grumbled bitterly. "Stupid rainbow horse or ponies, whatever the heck they're called..."

"Did you say something, Your Rudeness?" Kammy asked.

"Uh, no! Nothing at all!" Bowser quickly exclaimed. He quickly changed the subject, already humiliated getting beaten at the Glitz Pit by his mortal enemy, and he didn't want Kammy to know. "So, what were those bite-size shrimps that ran off?"

"Those were some Punies," Kammy said. "One of them should know about the Crystal Star around here."

Behind the large vases, Punio and Petuni peeked around the corner, the former letting out a gasp when they saw Bowser searching through the bushes for them. And he was heading straight for where the Elder Puni hid. Bowser moved his claw through the bushes, but before Punio could try to attack him despite being so much smaller, the elder took action and grew in size and surprised the Koopa King.

"BEGONE!!!" the elder screeched, making Bowser let out a high-pitched scream as he leapt away. Elder Puni crawled out of the bush in her normal size, confronting the Koopa King. Kammy walked over to her king, trying to pretend he didn't sound like a squeamish girl finding a mouse on her foot. "You're one of them, aren't you? One of them evildoers! You want our Crystal Star!"

"Ha! I knew it!" Kammy cheered. "This ugly thing knows where the Crystal Star is!"

The Punies in the room all winced, Punio, Petuni, and Puniper skittering out to stand behind the elder, wanting to see the intruders get an earful from the old Puni. "HOW RUDE!!!!" Elder Puni shrieked, growing in size again and startling Kammy, Bowser slowly backing away from the crazy creature. "'Ugly thing'!? How DARE you, you wretched crone!? I am the great Puni elder!"

"Ahh! Y-You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Kammy exclaimed, glaring down the elder with her wand at the ready. Bowser had no idea what to say, but he had a grin on his face, anticipating these two old beings getting into a brawl. "Ok, elder hag-thing! Where's the Crystal Star? And don't pull rank again: your answer, not your age, will determine your fate!"

"Hmph!" Elder Puni scoffed, the Punies behind her letting out a sigh, seeing Kammy was probably just as old as their elder. "'Hag-thing'? Honestly! Well, in any case, you're too late! The Crystal Star is gone!"

Bowser's eyes widened, stomping over to the elder. "What!? What do you mean it's gone!?"

"Elder, maybe you should have just said we didn't have it in the first place instead of picking a fight," Punio said.

"A-And...not fight a big m-m-monster?" Petuni added.

"Well, serves them right for being rude!" Elder Puni said, making the Punies sigh heavily in exasperation. "We gave it to a mustachioed man named Marty-O and his Puni friends!"

"Ponies, Elder," Punio corrected, which shocked Kammy when he mentioned the ponies.

"He was collecting the legendary treasures to rescue some princesses," the elder continued, ignoring her grandson's correcting her. "Eh, what did they call them again? Princess Pinch? Princess Twinkle?...Yeah, that sounds about right. What a lucky lad to have two princesses to save."

"It's 'MARIO', not 'MARTY-O'!" Kammy shrieked. "And it's not 'Princess Pinch' or "Princess Twi-'!" Kammy paused, completely baffled as she pieced together who the other princess was that Mario was rescuing. Ignoring the clueless elder, Kammy looked at the other three Punies. "...I'm not sure if this...thing is suffering from senility, but...who else was Mario searching for?"

"Uhh, Princess Twilight Sparkle, I think," Puniper said. "Six of her friends were trying to find her along with the other princess. They said she was kidnapped by the same guys who invaded our home earlier with Princess Peach."

Kammy and Bowser looked at each other. "...Well, I can understand the Crystal Stars and Princess Peach being connected in all this, but why that purple pony?" Kammy questioned. "It's not like holding her hostage has any importance in this world."

"Guess that explains why there was some other purple one with the other five back in Glitzville," Bowser mumbled to himself while tapping his chin.

"Sorry? What happened?" Kammy asked, thinking she misheard Bowser.

"Nothing," he quickly said.

"No, you said 'the other five'," Kammy stated. "Is that what happened when you went on your own a while ago?"

Bowser grumbled, letting out a huff. "...I saw Mario and his pony pals in Glitzville...and I got my butt kicked by them when they were fighting in the ring."

"Well, why didn't you say something sooner, my liege!?" Kammy exclaimed. "If those ponies are here, this would be the perfect opportunity to figure out why they're traveling with Mario, and why that pony princess is held captive with Princess Peach!"

Bowser grumbled, watching Kammy walk out of the Great Tree, ignoring the lack of obtaining the Crystal Star Mario's already gotten in this place. He stomped off after her, leaving the confused Punies, dreading going back to Glitzville to get another beating in front of a crowd. He was going to get Peach back and take the Crystal Stars from Mario after getting revenge for defeating him so easily. He didn't care about Twilight or her friends, just the treasure and HIS princess, along with defeating his nemesis once and for all.

Outside the Glitz Pit in the floating city of Glitzville, everyone from the Pit gathered outside to see Mario and co. off. Even Bandy Andy and King K. were there despite their still recovering, along with Rawk Hawk. The former champion was still a little bitter from his loss, but after learning how deceitful Grubba was and what he had done to his other competitors, he saw a new light as a fair fighter, unable to imagine what would have happened to him if the Clubba decided to use him to give him the strength he had in his youth.

"It's a bit sad to see you all have to leave so soon," Jolene said. "But we can't keep you from your search for the Crystal Stars."

King K. approached them, limping slightly, but he was well enough to stand on his own. "Thanks for saving my hide," he said. "I thought I was a gonner getting crushed under that block. When I announced my retirement, I went to Grubba's office to tell him I was done, but just before I left, something clocked me in the back of the head. Next thing I knew, I vaguely remember feeling weak and having the life crushed out of me before waking up in the hospital."

"Good thing we found you two just in time," Rainbow said. "And Mush, the first champion, too."

Rawk Hawk stepped forward, feeling a bit sheepish as everyone looked at him. "Gonzales, I wanna tell you something," he said. Not everyone wanted to hear the former champion, especially those who were taking the brunt of his arrogant smack-talk and unsportsmanlike cheating to keep his title. Mario wanted to hear him out, seeing he's got something to get off his chest. "Rawk Hawk ain't gonna fight dirty anymore."

"Pth. Yeah, right," the Dark Koopatrol scoffed. "Mr. Big Shot's ego got kicked in the can, and he's deciding to be a humble fighter now? You're nothing but a joke now, and we know you'll just cheat your way back to the champion spot."

"Then put me back down in the minor leagues so I can start fresh!" Rawk Hawk said to Jolene. "I'm gonna hit the weights, take some vitamins, and win that title fair and square! You can do that, can't ya?"

"Well, since Grubba's under arrest for the charges placed on him for nearly murdering a few fighters and attempted to harm six ponies from another world along with Gonzales and his friends, that technically makes me the new owner of the Glitz Pit," Jolene said. She fixed her glasses, memorizing the Glitz Pit's contract policies for the fighters by heart after being Grubba's right-hand manager. "If you are being honest and wish to try to earn your way to the top fairly, I can start you over back to the lowest rank on the roster. And, seeing how Gonzales is going to be leaving, our new champion will have to be our runner-up: The Koopinator." Rawk Hawk beamed at the second chance, though the Dark Koopatrol was a bit shocked at this sudden announcement. "Unless my little brother decides to come back and win back his title in the same fashion."

"Hehe, maybe after a little vacation," Mush said with a grin. "I kinda need to get back in shape after Grubba caught me in that machine of his."

The Dark Koopatrol blinked, still recovering from what was considered great news. Rawk Hawk snapped him out of his stupor, giving him that same cocky grin, but with less of an ego in his eyes.

"Can't wait to kick your butt again in the ring," Rawk Hawk promised. "Only without the cheating."

"Pinkie Promise?" Pinkie asked, sliding up between the two solo fighters. Rawk Hawk tilted his head a bit, holding up his hand, clenching all his fingers except for his pinkie. "No, not that pinkie, silly! A Pinkie Promise, patented by me: Pinkamena Diane Pie!"

"You'd better keep that promise if ya make it," Applejack warned, then shuddered as she recalled her last Pinkie Promise. "Trust me; ya don't wanna know how much trouble you'll get into if ya break it..."

"Uhh, ok, I'll do that then," Rawk Hawk said. "How does it go?"

"When making a hoof, you say, 'Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,'" Pinkie said, even doing the hoof motions for her Pinkie Promise.

Everyone winced when they saw Pinkie actually poke herself in the eye at the end, barely even flinching when she did so. "...A-Alright. I Pinkie Promise I won't cheat as I make my way back up to the champion's rank. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my-" Rawk Hawk made the Pinkie promise, but accidentally poked his palm against his eye. "-AYE!"

The Koopatrol snorted, laughing at the former champion accidentally hitting himself in the eye over a silly promise. "I don't think you were actually supposed to touch your eyeball, Hawk," he mocked cheekily.

"But she did it!" Rawk Hawk whined while he rubbed his eye.

"Why would I poke my own eye?" Pinkie asked. "That hurts, you silly yellow rooster."

Rawk Hawk tried to retort, but his brain started to hurt worse than his sore eye. "...I've got a terrible headache now."

"Please don't try to question Pinkie's logic," Goombella said. "I've tried, and felt like I went back a few steps in my hypotheses than forward."

Rawk Hawk grumbled, taking Goombella's word for it. The rest of the competitors said their goodbyes, hoping to see Mario and his friends again soon, and maybe have another match in the ring if they decide to make a comeback. They saw the group off as they headed to the center of Glitzville, awaiting the lift for the Cheep Cheep blimp after Mario showed the conductor their ticket. It was a smooth ride back to Rogueport as the group relaxed, Scrappy looking out the window curiously as he was about to explore more of the continent with the gang. While lounging in his seat, Mario heard his Mailbox SP go off, this time playing Peach's ringtone. He pulled it out of his pocket and read up on her latest update.

Dearest Mario,

I have uncovered something terrible. The X-Nauts are planning to take over the world! It's to that end that they're searching for the Crystal Stars. To make things worse, they also plan to take over Equestria once they're done conquering ours. I still don't know what they do, but please find them all as soon as you can. Twilight's not happy hearing this, and she's going to be in a constant state of worry now. I'll find out more information soon. For now, I need to make sure Twilight doesn't lose it any further.
Princess Peach

It was bad enough that the X-Nauts wanted to take over the world, but reading how they plan to also take over others, especially Equestria, that was even worse. He couldn't imagine what Bowser would do if he decided to invade Equestria, but the X-Nauts are much more cunning than Bowser and his army, so the results could end in disaster. He told everyone the unfortunate news Peach sent him, and everyone was in shock.

"They're planning on what!?" Starlight exclaimed.

"No. Not Equestria, too," Fluttershy whimpered.

"Those jerks are really gonna get it if they so much as nab one of those Crystal Stars now!" Rainbow growled.

"My goodness. This has gotten quite serious," Flurrie said. "We must stop those ruffians before they manage to succeed."

"We can take those jerks!" Scrappy said. "We're tougher than anyone! We're the champs of the Glitz Pit!"

"As soon as we get off this blimp, we're heading straight for the Thousand-Year Door," Goombella said.

Once the blimp landed down in Rogueport, everyone quickly headed to the sewers and made their way to the Thousand-Year Door. Scrappy got distracted while looking around the port city, Fluttershy resorting to carry him on her back so he didn't get lost. After reaching the ancient millennial door, Mario leapt onto the pedestal, holding out the Gold Crystal Star in his hands. The dais activated, lighting up the aura around the platform as the Crystal Star hovered in place. Mario then held up the Magical Map, letting it float up above him, and released a bright flash as it revealed the next location. On the map, the next location was in a dark forest on the west side of the continent, some leafless trees surrounding what appeared to be an old church that was in ruins, the Crystal Star appearing in this area red like a ruby. Mario grabbed the map once the lights stopped, figuring out where their next stop is later once they reach Prof. Frankly and tell him the dire news Peach gave them.

"WHAT!?!?!?!?!" the Goomba professor exclaimed in shock. "You mean the group that took Princess Peach and Princess Twilight are bent on total world conquest!?"

"Afraid so," Koops said. "What's even down beyond that door? Some sort of doomsday device?"

"Mmm...I hope not," Frankly muttered. "I have done a bit of research on what this treasure is. One of the books I've glanced at had a preposterous theory." He looked at Koops, sporting a serious frown. "And the young Koopa Troopa seemed nearly spot on with his own guess. This specific book claimed that the 'treasure' was, in actuality, a great cataclysm."

Everyone gasped in surprise. "Ulp...I-I-I was...just...kidding........?" Koops mumbled, ducking his head in his shell sheepishly, wishing he kept his mouth shut.

"What's worse is that this theory about this treasure was the very same cataclysm, one thousand years ago, that sank the town underground!" Frankly continued.

"You mean those nutjobs are going to rule both our worlds by destroying them!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "What kind of sense does THAT make!?"

"This would be far worse than what we've faced in the past!" Rarity added.

"Yeah, like Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis and the changelings when they were evil, Sombra, Sunset Shimmer when she was evil, Starlight Glimmer when she was evil," Pinkie listed aloud, though mentioning Starlight made the unicorn grumble irritably.

"Yeah. Something definitely far worse than me traveling back in time to get revenge on you girls, only to create alternate timelines that ended with an even worse disaster," Starlight muttered.

"In any case, we must not let them get that treasure!" Frankly said. "If they get their hands on it if the treasure really is the cataclysm, this town will be destroyed once again...along with BOTH OUR WORLDS!"

Starlight quickly pulled out the Magical Map from Mario's backpack, placing it down for the Goomba professor to see. "Where exactly is this Crystal Star at?" she asked.

"Hmm...According to the map, it appears the next Crystal Star is in a place called Twilight Town," Frankly said.

"Hah! Twilight Town!" Pinkie giggled. "I betcha Twilight would have a hoot knowing there's a town dedicated to her!"

"I highly doubt that, seeing how this town has been around for centuries," Frankly stated, then hummed in thought. "I don't know much about this place. Only rumors. Especially around its namesake." The older Goomba shuddered, then wandered over to his shelves, pulling out a book and returning to the desk. Placing the book down, he flipped through the pages, skimming through it until he found what he was looking for. "Aha! There is a pipe to Twilight Town from Rogueport!"

"Please don't tell me it's back down in the sewers," Rarity whined, having enjoyed not wandering around the underground of the port town despite how dirty the minor-league locker rooms were.

"Well, obviously, most of the warp pipes to the different towns would be in the sewers," Frankly said. "It's located in the western side of town."

"I don't think I saw a pipe leading underground anywhere in the west side," Goombella said.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Scrappy piped in, bouncing up and down while waving his arms to get everyone's attention. "I saw a grate on the ground when we left the station before Mama Fluttershy scooped me up! Maybe that can lead us to the sewers in that direction!"

"Not a bad idea, squirt!" Rainbow gave Scrappy an encouraging noogie, making the Yoshi giggle from the praise.

Everyone hurried back to the west side of Rogueport, spotting the grate Scrappy mentioned. His curious eyes saved them a lot of needless searching, and he had quite a lot of strength in him for being a little guy with how well he fought in the Glitz Pit. Mario used his intangible blessing on the group, letting them all slip right through the grate and into a new area of the sewers. There were some high platforms and floating ones near where they landed, even some in the background that shifted left and right or up and down. They did manage to find a pipe that did connect from this side of Rogueport's surface in a little corner by the upper level. Across the way in the direction of the main plaza from above, they could see there were some people living underground, almost like a smaller town.

Assuming that, so far, the warp pipes to different locations around the region were different than the average green pipes, the one to Twilight Town had to be through a doorway they could see on the other side of the underground town. Respectively leaping or flying over the gap, everyone headed through the door, leading to a very small room with a brownish pipe in the center with a sign nearby that confirmed that this warp pipe leads to Twilight Town.

"Here we are," Starlight said. "Let's hurry and find the rest of the Crystal Stars before the X-Nauts do." Everyone nodded, Mario leaping up first and going down the pipe. Before anyone else could follow, Mario somehow came right back, letting out a confused hum as the warp pipe didn't let him go through. "Uhh, Mario? What just happened?"

The plumber shrugged his shoulders. "Is the pipe clogged?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

"If it was, a Piranha Plant would be the most likely culprit, but it would have been obvious if Mario got bit by one," Goombella said.

"Here, let me try going down!" Pinkie volunteered. Mario stepped down, letting Pinkie cannonball into the pipe with a hoot. A few seconds later, Pinkie somehow popped right back out, upside down, and crashed on the ground. "...Maybe it is clogged..."

"Well, this is quite a predicament," Flurrie mumbled.

"Now what do we do?" Applejack asked.

"Mario's a plumber! He can unclog this warp pipe with a good plungering!" Pinkie exclaimed, pulling out a plunger and waved the bathroom tool about.

"I'll ask Prof. Frankly what's going on," Starlight said, teleporting herself back inside the Goomba's house, startling the professor. "Professor, we found the warp pipe, but it's not letting any of us through."

"Goodness sakes, don't just appear out of thin air like that!" Frankly exclaimed with a heavy sigh. "But, to figure out what's going on...I'm not sure." Frankly frowned, tapping his foot against his chin. "Hmmm...Oh! I remembered there was a fellow from Twilight Town who's living here in Rogueport! If anyone knows how, it should be him. I believe his name was...Darkly? Yes, Darkly! He loiters around this area, though he doesn't really walk around when it's daytime."

"Ok, guess I better find Darkly, then," Starlight said, thanking Frankly for the advice, then headed out to search for Darkly. Since the person was only somewhere around the east side of Rogueport, Starlight thankfully didn't have to search all over town. The only question was where Darkly hangs out in the middle of the day. Taking a wild guess from Frankly's hint, the people of Twilight Town might be the type to only freely walk around where there's no sunlight, which means the area they'll be going to is probably stuck in a permanent twilight or nighttime setting. Checking the alleyway, being careful not to run into Bandits, she peered around the corner of the wall, spotting a dark-looking person casually loitering in the shadows. Wearing some ragged clothing and cap, what was creepy about the calm being was the yellow eyes under the bit of darkness concealing the upper part of their face. "Uhh...A-Are you...Darkly?"

The person looked over at Starlight. "Yeah, that's me," he said, oddly enough in a normal tone than Starlight imagined by his appearance. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh. You're not as intimidating as you appear," Starlight said aloud with a sheepish giggle.

"I get that sometimes," Darkly said. "Not many of my kind like to travel outside of Twilight Town because of the sunlight. It kinda hurts our eyes."

"...I see," Starlight uttered. She had a few other thoughts as to what would happen to someone like Darkly if they stepped into the sun, like suddenly lighting on fire the moment the light touches them. Pushing aside those gruesome thoughts, she cleared her throat, getting back to what she wanted to ask. "Anyways, my friends and I are trying to get to Twilight Town, but the warp pipe won't let any of us go down. It just pops us back up."

"Why, that's easy," Darkly said. "You just have to have your name written on you somewhere, and the pipe will let you through."

Starlight stared blankly at Darkly, thinking it was some sort of joke, but the Twilight Town immigrant sounded quite serious. "...That's...That's all???" Starlight questioned.

"Well, yeah," Darkly said. "I mean, doesn't everyone have their names written on something? In case it gets lost or stolen?"

Starlight's eye twitched, then facehooved in exasperation. "What kind of mystical power makes it possible for a warp pipe to reject ANYTHING without their name written on them!?" Darkly simply laughed sheepishly at Starlight's response, thinking it was common knowledge for everyone. Starlight sighed, at least getting an answer, even though it was completely nonsensical. "I appreciate the help, Darkly. Now, to tell the others."

She lit up her horn, making Darkly yelp and quickly shield his eyes from the bright blue aura glowing around the unicorn's horn. "AHH! Too bright!"

Starlight grimaced, cancelling her teleportation spell. "S-Sorry! I'll just...teleport out of the alley!" Darkly waved his hand, brushing off the accident since she didn't know. Starlight quickly trotted out of the alley, making sure to relay this information to Mario and Rarity if they ever need to use their magic around the people in Twilight Town. Relighting her horn, Starlight teleported back to her friends. "Ok, so, you will not believe how we're allowed to go down this specific warp pipe."

"Aha! I knew a plunger was going to get involved!" Pinkie said, her plunger at the ready as she prepared to jump back inside.

"No, Pinkie," Starlight quickly said. "In order to go down the pipe...we need to have our names written on ourselves in order for us to pass."

Everyone stared at the unicorn silently before Applejack spoke up. "...Seriously?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm even a bit confused by how that works." The ponies looked at Mario, who was just as dumbfounded, never in his life experiencing warp pipes imbued with certain entrance privileges. "Oh well. Anypony have a pen or something?"

"I believe I do," Rarity said. She dug into her bag, pulling out a pen. "Never know when I get an inspiration for a new line while in this world."

Mario took the pen, offering to write everyone's names on them. "I don't think it matters where it's written as long as the name's written," Starlight said to Mario, who nodded and started with Rarity, who grimaced as her white coat was stained with the black ink of the pen. "And, just as a warning, don't use any magic when we get to Twilight Town."

"Why not?" Rarity asked.

"The one who told me how to go down the pipe was from Twilight Town, and their eyes are really sensitive to the light," Starlight explained. "Even magic aura was bright enough to cause him a bit of discomfort."

Mario and Rarity nodded, making sure to keep their respective magic in check, the plumber continuing going around and writing everyone's names. Pinkie and Scrappy were the worst, both of them squirming and giggling, almost ruining his penmanship that would keep them from going through the warp pipe. Koops, Goombella, and Applejack were a little bit easier since they had articles of clothing: Koops's hoodie, Goombella's red tie, and Applejack's hat. Once everyone had their names written, Rarity took back her pen and wrote down Mario's name on the back of his shirt.

"Let's hope this works," Goombella said, taking the first leap and went down the pipe.

Seeing she didn't get kicked out like Pinkie and Mario earlier, Darkly's advice had worked. Finally able to get into the next area, everyone jumped in the pipe one by one to reach Twilight Town and search for the next Crystal Star.

The Shortest Chapter Ever...?

The warp pipe allowed everyone through, popping up into Twilight Town. They were baffled by the town, mostly due to the sky looking like it was entering twilight hours despite it still being the middle of the day. The moon was out as the sky had a purplish-orange hint, the trees lacking any leaves near the normal houses, and the others got a good look at the Twilight Town natives, wearing ragged, dark clothing and yellow eyes that pierced through their dark upper faces. There were also some pigs wandering about, which they found a bit odd.

"Where's the sun?" Applejack asked. "Ain't it still daytime?"

"It should be," Goombella said. "Maybe there's a reason why Twilight Town is called that. And if Starlight telling us about Darkly was true, then this place must be the only suitable environment for them to live in without being blinded by the sun."

"How can they tell the difference between day and night?" Scrappy asked.

"I'm wondering how it's possible for one location on this continent to not get any direct sunlight at all," Starlight pondered. "At least we can see with the...moon, I think."

While getting their bearings, one of the Twilighters approached them. "Hello," he greeted. "It's been a long time since anyone's come from...outside. Are you guys adventurers?"

"You could say that," Rainbow said.

"Well, I would say welcome, but you all seem to have come at the worst time," the Twilighter said. That confused the visiting group, a little disturbed by what was going on. "Or...maybe the perfect time?"

"Er, I beg your pardon?" Rarity questioned. "What is going on? And why did you say it was 'the perfect time' after telling us bad news?"

"Umm...Y-You see, it's kind of a scary story to tell..." Suddenly, an ominous bell tolled and echoed throughout the village. The Twilighter gasped and looked out to the forest out in the distance, where the bell seemed to originate from. "Oh no! The bell's ringing again! Who could it be now?"

"What about that bell is so-?" Flurrie began to ask, only for her and the group to gasp when smoke suddenly engulfed their greeter. When it disappeared, in his place was a pig, who let out a distressed squeal and cried out in anguish. "My goodness! He turned into a pig!?"

"Is this some sort of curse?" Starlight questioned.

"But...if it's a curse..." Fluttershy looked out to the other pigs in the village, whom everyone assumes that they aren't actually pigs. "Oh no. I think the villagers in Twilight Town are all turning into pigs."

"Not everyone just yet." Approaching them was an older Twilighter, walking with a cane in one hand with gray bushy eyebrows concealing his eyes and an equally bushy mustache on his upper lip. One thing that was startling to the group was the elder's head looked a little torn, fluff sticking out from the opening with some loose thread, which made the Twilighters actually appear to be living ragdolls than ordinary people who thrive in the darkness. "Oh, and now it's Freddy who's been turned into a pig."

"Umm...Who are you, mister?" Goombella asked.

"I'm the mayor of Twilight Town. My name is Dour," the elder introduced. "I assume you adventurers are wondering what's going on here. Let us talk inside my home. It's not safe for telling tales out in the open." Mayor Dour led the group to the larger house in the center, making their way inside as they gathered in the mayor's living room. "I would like to welcome you all to our town, but as you can see and take a guess, Twilight Town has been cursed."

"Do you know who's turning all of you into pigs?" Starlight asked.

"Is it an evil baddie?" Pinkie asked, then tapped her hammer against her hoof with a glowering sneer. "Because we have a few ways of getting them to stop..." She then tossed her hammer aside and wore a huge smile. "By being their friends!"

Mayor Dour shook his head in response to Pinkie's solution. "I doubt the creature causing us such turmoil will want to make friends," he said. "Beyond the forest outside of town, and at the heart of it is an ancient building, the Creepy Steeple. When the steeple bell rings, one of us Twilighters living here gets turned into a pig." The mayor sighed in distress and paced nervously. "I worry about my village, I can barely sleep. Will a loved on be turned into swine? Will I be transformed into a curly-tailed oinker? If this keeps up, Twilight Town would be nothing more than a giant pigpen." He stopped and faced the group. "However far you've traveled to be here, I suggest you leave before you, too, become...piggified!"

The heroes looked at each other, all of them silently agreeing these people needed help. And they couldn't leave when the Crystal Star they need to find next is in this area.

"Sorry, Mr. Mayor, but we're staying!" Rainbow said. "And we're gonna help get rid of this pig curse for you!"

"We might as well help since we're also looking for a Crystal Star here," Goombella said. Mario pulled out the Magical Map, where the location of the powerful artifact seemed to hover over the steeple the mayor mentioned where the curses were being cast from. "Maybe the monster cursing everyone is using the Crystal Star to make it possible."

"Hmm...Well, I don't know much about these Crystal Stars you mentioned, but I've heard there was a glittery red stone in the shape of a star," the mayor said.

"Then that's where we're heading, regardless," Starlight said. "Don't worry, Mayor Dour. We'll stop the curse and find the counter spell to restore everypony back to normal."

"You really are going to go there?" Mayor Dour asked, letting out a terrified shudder. "Well, I wish you all the best of luck."

They made their leave and made their way off to the forest toward the east, where Creepy Steeple awaited them. Unsure of what dangers might lie in wait in the forest, they entered the shop close to the village's entrance to stock up on supplies. As they entered the shop, they found a female Twilighter and another swine-transformed Twilighter. The female seemed upset, unable to run the store in her state.

"Oh. Hello," she greeted with a sniffle. "I-I'm sorry. We're not open right now."

"Is everything alright, ma'am?" Koops asked.

"No. My husband...He's been turned into a pig," she said, pointing to the pig between them. "He went into the woods yesterday to collect herbs...But no husband came home. Instead, a pig returned! A pig! And we got into a big fight before we left, too. The last thing I called him was a chauvinist pig...And now he really is a pig!"

The Twilighter started bawling, her whining unintelligible as she seemed to have cried about her husband's positive aspects compared to their bickering. "Ok, ok, ma'am, calm down," Koops said gently. "We're going to help everyone in Twilight Town."

"We're going off to Creepy Steeple to stop the one responsible for cursing all of you," Fluttershy added. "And we'll get your husband back to normal so you can make up for the awful fight you must have had." She heard the pig snort, trying to say something. Having a better understanding of animals, she looked down at the pig, only to be confused by what it said. "Umm, I'm sorry?"

"Oh, thank goodness," the Twilighter said, wiping away her tears. "If you can bring my husband back, I'll let you take anything in our storeroom. But he had the key, and didn't come back with it."

"We're pretty good at finding things! We'll find that key and cure the piggifying!" Pinkie said.

With the shopkeeper feeling better, she was well enough to open her store back up. The group bought some supplies, then headed for the gate, which was unfortunately blocked by a Twilighter acting as the entry/exit guard.

"Sorry, I can't let anyone through," he said.

"But we need to get through," Starlight said, Mario nodding in agreement with the unicorn.

"There's a nasty monster in the forest, and I don't want anyone, not even visitors to our town, to get hurt out there," the guard insisted. "If you really need to get through, then you'll need the mayor's permission to pass."

"Oh no. Here comes the backtracking," Pinkie whined. "And the chapter just started!"

"It was going to be obvious that we'll need permission to leave the town, anyway," Flurrie said. "He never even allowed us before we rushed off to save the poor villagers."

The group trekked back to the mayor's house, only to hear the ominous toll of Creepy Steeple's bell ringing in the distance. "Ah! The bell!" Scrappy screamed, quickly clinging onto Fluttershy's leg. "Please don't let me turn into a pig! I like being a Yoshi!"

They waited a few seconds after the bell went silent, none of them thankfully getting cursed into pigs. "Someone else must have gotten hit," Applejack pondered. "There don't seem to be much of the townfolk left to turn, though."

"Then let's hurry and stop this before we're too late!" Rainbow said. They hurried to the mayor's house, quickly entering, but instead of finding the old Twilighter, in his place was a pig. "Oh, come on! The mayor was the one that jerk caught in its curse!?"

The pig let out a depressed snort, wandering around the living room while contemplating what to do with his life now. "Now what? We can't leave the village without the mayor's permission," Rarity uttered.

"Maybe we could just lie and say we got his approval," Goombella suggested. "Even if it is wrong, how can we help them if we're forced to stay here and wait for all of us to be cursed, too?"

As wrong as it felt, they all agreed with Goombella and headed back to the gate. Along the way back, they heard the bell again, wondering who the next victim was. Ironically, it wound up being the Twilighter guard, the newly transformed pig snorting in frustration, unable to perform his duties.

"...Well, I guess we don't have to fib to pass after all," Fluttershy said.

"Thank goodness," Applejack sighed with relief. "Ah would have blown our chances with how bad Ah can lie. A shame for the poor fellah, though."

"I don't think he'll mind letting us through after we restore him and the other villagers to their old selves," Starlight said.

They passed the pig guard and the gate, making their way down Twilight Trail. Along the way, they encountered some Hyper Goombas, all three of the normal, Para-, and Spiked variety. Mario, Pinkie, and Rarity knew how dangerous these green-skinned mushroom creatures were with their hyper charging before attacking from their trek through Gusty Gulch back in the Mushroom Kingdom. They warned the others to watch out when they bulk themselves up and took them out before they had a chance to unleash that built up power.

Just as they were about to reach the path leading into the forest, the road was blocked by a massive fallen tree that was cut down. There was a small gap underneath the tree, barely able to let someone like Scrappy squeeze under, and it was too big to climb over, which would result in exhausting work trying to lift everyone over and back when they needed their strength to traverse the forest and face the monster at the Creepy Steeple. A pig was seen wandering around, almost like it was looking for something, though whether it was actually livestock or a Twilighter, the others weren't sure. There was a shed nearby, Scrappy running over to check inside, which was mostly empty aside from a black key.

"Hey, I found a key," the Yoshi called out as he ran back to the group. "You think this is the Twilight Town lady's storeroom key?"

Mario recognized the key's design, making him groan as he was going to eventually find another black chest that'll "curse" him. He took the key from Scrappy, wondering what might happen to him this time. While examining the fallen tree, Pinkie tried to poke her head through the small gap, but she was too big to fit under.

"Of all the rotten luck. A tree blocking our way," Pinkie grumbled. Peering underneath, Pinkie spotted a key laying on the other side. "Hey, there's another key!"

Starlight joined Pinkie and crouched down. "Wonder how that got over there." Using her magic, Starlight telekinetically grabbed the key and dragged it toward them. "This might be the actual key to the storeroom. That owner's husband must have dropped it when he got turned into a pig."

"We should return it to her," Fluttershy suggested. She heard the pig nearby snorting, her eyes growing wide at what it was saying. "Huh? What did he mean by...?"

"Mama Fluttershy? Is something wrong?" Scrappy asked curiously.

"Umm...I'm not really sure," she said.

Before she could voice her concerns, Starlight spoke up. "Ok. I'll teleport back to town and return the key." Before the unicorn could leave, Mario quickly interjected, wanting to come along with her. He showed her the black key, explaining how the chest for it might be hiding somewhere in Twilight Town. "Oh. You want to get cursed in another way again, Mario?" Starlight joked, making the plumber sigh. "Well, it's better than turning into a pig, right?" The bell rang again, startling the group. None of them were cursed after the ominous drone faded, though they all gave Starlight a blank stare. "...Heheh. Uhh, we'll be right back."

Starlight gave a nervous grin before lighting up her horn, teleporting both herself and Mario back to Twilight Town. "Starlight sure has a weird way of seeing the brighter side of things in a dire situation, doesn't she?" Goombella asked.

"She pokes fun at herself when she mentions the terrible things she did before she changed," Rainbow said.

"That's...strange," Koops mumbled.

Starlight and Mario appeared back at the entrance, the unicorn being mindful of her magic aura hurting the Twilighters' eyes after accidentally blinding Darkly back in Rogueport. They headed for the store, but before they could let the shop owner know they got her storage key, Mario and Starlight balked when they found two pigs in instead of one.

"Oh, great. Now she's turned into a pig, too," Starlight groaned. "Running out of villagers, and we're gonna be next at this rate." Mario scratched his head, trying to think of what to do now. Even though it felt wrong to go into a shop's personal storeroom without their consent, he had a feeling that the black chest for the black key might be in the storeroom. Taking the storage key from Starlight, the unicorn stammered, following Mario to the door in the back. "Umm, Mario? I hope whatever you're gonna 'borrow', we can pay them back after they turn back to normal."

Mario unlocked the storeroom and walked inside. Just as he thought, there was a black chest hiding in the back, but he ignored the inventory since he didn't want to be branded as a thief if the store owners found out. He approached the chest, which began shaking as a familiar voice came from within the locked chest.

"Hello!? Is anyone there!?" the voice said. "Oh, thank goodness! I've been stuck in here forever! If you kind find the key to this chest-!"

"We set you free, then 'reward' us by cursing Mario," Starlight finished, silencing the voice inside. "There were two other chests we met with the same sort of demon spirit inside."

"What? Demon?" the voice asked, then blew a raspberry in disbelief. "No, no! What demon? I'm just an innocent bystander who got locked away in this chest for no reason." Mario and Starlight gave each other a deadpanned guess before Mario took the key and unlocked the chest, opening it up for their next demon friend. "HA HA! I lied! Prepare to be cursed, fools!" Black mist poured out and shrouded the two in darkness. A pair of eyes and a jagged mouth appeared in the dark mist. "You should have kept me sealed inside that chest, FOOOOOLS! Did you expect a damsel in distress? A glittering treasure worth millions of coins?" While the evil spirit gloated, Mario sighed and pulled out his Lucky Star pendant, gesturing to the demon face to hurry up with his speech and hit him with his curse. "All lies! You shall be gifted with something, though. And that is a terrible curse!"

The spirit laughed manically and cursed Mario, though it stopped laughing when the Lucky Star reacted to the curse, making it shine brilliantly. The curse it gave Mario turned into something much safer, shrinking Mario down to a smaller size. Starlight and the spirit gawked at the ant-sized plumber, the latter baffled by his curse not doing what he expected it to.

"...You were going to let him shrink in size as your curse?" Starlight asked.

"Umm, no. Well, close to that size, but...he was supposed to look like a rolled up newspaper," the spirit said. "...I...I guess this is...better?" Mario used his pendant's new blessing to grow back to normal size, making Starlight note how it sounded like going down a warp pipe, though the growing sounded more upbeat in tone compared to the shrinking. "Oh, that's not fun at all! Did you two know my curse was gonna fail!?"

"More like changed into a blessing in disguise thanks to the magic from our world in Mario's lucky pendant," Starlight explained. "We weren't buying your little spiel after we met the first chest in the Rogueport Sewers."

"This stinks! It would have been funny watching you rolling around like a thin tumbleweed going under gaps or tiny spaces a bug could easily crawl through!" the spirit whined. "Urgh! At least I'm out of that stupid chest. Don't have too much fun with my curse."

The dark mist dissipated as the spirit fled, returning Mario and Starlight back in the storeroom. "Well, I'm sure that's gonna come in handy," Starlight sarcastically stated. "Although, there might be some parts of the old steeple we might not be able to get through without shrinking in size. And with that tree blocking the road, that'll save us some energy getting through that forest."

Mario nodded in agreement as Starlight shrouded them both in her aura, teleporting them back to their friends on the trail near the fallen tree.

"...You know, we could probably go around the tree," Goombella suggested. "No idea why we can wait when the blockade isn't blocking the whole thing."

"Silly, Goombella! There's a thing called 'boundaries'!" Pinkie stated. "You can't just break the rules of a game THAT intensely, otherwise you'll just be called a hacker!"

Goombella blinked trying to process what Pinkie was trying to say. "...Boundaries?" she questioned.

Before she could question the pink mare's logic, Starlight and Mario reappeared in a flash. "Well, good news and bad news, everypony," Starlight said. "Bad news is the shopkeeper was the one who got turned into a pig from that last bell."

"What's the good news?" Rarity asked.

Mario gathered everyone around him as he held his Lucky Star. In a dark purple light, the blessing's power enveloped the group, then startled everyone as they all got smaller. As soon as they reached the literal minimum size from the new blessing, everyone stared in awe.

"Holy Monty Moley!" Pinkie squeaked. "We're tiny! And with mousy voices!"

"Ugh. Don't remind me of mouses," Flurrie growled.

"Umm, are you and Goombella still...jealous of Ms. Mowz?" Koops asked, only to earn a death glare from both the Goomba and wind spirit. The Koopa giggled sheepishly, slowly ducking his head in his shell. "...I'll...take that...as a yes..."

Mario hoped they wouldn't run into Ms. Mowz again, though he doubted she would show up at an abandoned steeple deep in a dangerous forest like that. Especially where there's a creature cursing everyone in the area with the bell and turning them into pigs. After getting used to the size difference, everyone walked underneath the giant tree trunk, then grew back to normal size once they completely passed under.

"Once we find this monster and defeat him, someone should probably move this tree out of the way," Fluttershy suggested.

"Or we go around it," Goombella restated.

"Boundaries~!" Pinkie sang as she sidled up to the Goomba.

"Ugh. Whatever. I give up," Goombella grumbled as the group trudged their way on the path through the thick forest between Twilight Town and Creepy Steeple.

The woods weren't as safe as the path of dead trees and empty wasteland. The thick grass left a winding road on the path, and there were Hyper Clefts posing as rocks in the shrubbery, along with the annoying flower creatures Applejack recognized in her time in Flower Fields: Crazee Dayzees. While dealing with foes in their way, they had other strange obstacles that almost got them lost or pondered where to go next. One of which had the path leading them to a dead tree, though there was a similar tree in the distance that had an opening. Luckily, they had a wind spirit able to blow away invisible barriers that hid certain pathways or obstacles as Flurrie revealed the entrance to the hollowed tree.

Another came after exiting the tree, where a huge boulder blocked the path, and the thick shrubbery made it hard to try maneuvering around it. Flurrie revealed a hidden hole, which led to a small area with a smaller boulder similar in shape to the blockade. Mario pushed it over, which was connected with the bigger stone, revealing a hole underneath, which tunneled to the other side. At least it wasn't as convoluted to get through this forest like in Forever Forest with similar paths to take, but only one difference out of the other three would lead them closer to their exit.

The party finally arrived at Creepy Steeple, the crooked building slightly weathered over the years, yet still stood strong. They could see the bell tower high above, overlooking the forest, though the trees around the steeple were as dead as the ones back in Twilight Town. A brick wall with some pointed metal bars sticking out were set up to keep out guests, a rusted iron-barred door along the road to allow guests in, but it was locked up with a chain. Outside of the wall was an empty well, no longer useful to give those who once came to this building a drink, cook, or wash with.

"Oh my," Fluttershy mumbled as she and Koops trembled at the sight of the terrifyingly creepy church. "It's...pretty scary."

"Oh, please. Bow's mansion is much creepier, darlings," Rarity said. She blinked when she realized what she said. "I complimented an abandoned mansion filled with Boos. It's dusty and horrid...Mario, if you have Bow's contact on your little mail device, I'd like to have a chat with her."

"Oh no. Being in a creepy mansion made Rarity appreciate dirt and grime," Rainbow teased, making Applejack snort a little. "Where has the real Rarity gone?"

"Oh, hush, Rainbow Dash," Rarity huffed.

"Ok, focus, everypony," Starlight said. "Whatever's in this place doing all this, it'll probably just as dangerous as it is with that bell."

Seeing the only way in was through the gate, Rainbow flew over to the other side, bucking the chain off to open the gate. Everyone filed inside the "abandoned" property and into the iron doors of the steeple. Inside the main foyer, the first floor was mostly empty aside from a stone pillar with a star statue on top. The second floor balconies had worn out bridges, the one on the right as they entered had a piece that broke off nearby. The strangest thing within the room was the stained-glass window shining moonlight down in the foyer, depicting a strange, ghostly-looking creature with red eyes and a blue party hat with yellow stars, posing creepily with Piranha Plants in a twilight background.

"What is that thing supposed to be?" Scrappy asked as he looked at the window.

"That creature in the middle kinda looks familiar," Applejack uttered. "Lose the party hate, and Ah see a Duplighost."

"You think that's the monster cursing everyone in Twilight Town?" Flurrie asked.

"At least we know what we're going up against if that's true," Goombella said, pulling out her book and flipped through the pages to look up Duplighosts. "They can transform into anyone they see to try to trick their foes and impersonate them. Some, unfortunately, don't do it properly, especially in big groups."

"Yup. Sounds about right," Rainbow said. "They did that a couple times when we went to the Crystal Palace. They all failed miserably."

"Then let's hope this one is just as incompetent if it's by itself," Starlight said. "I've had enough dealing with shapeshifters to last a lifetime."

The other ponies voiced their agreements, recalling their last unfortunate encounter with the changelings in their world, and how Equestria almost fell to their now dethroned queen. Walking toward the stone pedestal, there were two doorways leading to different sections outside the main room. Curious, Starlight tried to open one of the doors, only for it to be held back, then get startled as a Boo appeared, looking depressed.

"My friends have all been taken away...So lonely..." The Boo disappeared, keeping the door from opening until it had its friends back.

After Starlight's heart finally stopped pounding, she backed away from the door. "Sweet Celestia, where did that thing come from?"

"Maybe the monster kidnapped the Boos who used this place as their home," Rarity pondered. "Never mess with a haunting ground, even though I do wish they did at least a little bit of cleaning with the dust and cobwebs they let build up."

Not willing to try the other door on the opposite end if another Boo is keeping it sealed, there wasn't much else for the group to traverse. Scrappy walked over to the pedestal curiously, and as he walked around it to see the carved stone star from every angle, he looked down and noticed something strange.

"Hey! There's weird marks on the floor next to this thing!" Scrappy called out.

Everyone gathered around the pedestal and looked down at the scuff marks on the floor in the back of it. "Scuff marks? Suspicious," Pinkie hummed curiously. "There's gotta be a secret passage hiding under this very statue! Stand back everypony!" Bouncing in front of the pedestal, Pinkie spit on her forehooves, rubbed them together, then pushed against the pedestal. It managed to move with some effort, though Pinkie failed to notice the deep hole it covered, slipping into it with a surprised yelp. Panicking, everyone quickly looked down, only to hear a spring bouncing and Pinkie grunting as she seemed to safely land. "I'm ok! There's a spring down here!...That was kind of fun!"

"Pinkie, for goodness sake, don't scare us like that!" Rarity scolded.

One by one, everyone filed down inside the hole, bounding off the safety spring down below in what seemed to be an abandoned basement in the steeple. There was a doorway nearby, walking down into a hall with another door at the end, and a strange-looking box colored purple with a rose design in front of it in the middle. Mario went ahead to check out the door, only to find it was locked.

"No further going, it seems," Applejack said, then looked at the box. "Wonder what's in this thing?"

"I say we find out," Rainbow said, opening it up before the others could warn her. When she looked inside, the pegasus was disappointed to see it was empty. "Aww man. Nothing? What a rip-"

Suddenly, a massive horde of Boos flew out, scaring the living daylights out of Rainbow Dash as they cried out freedom or let out spooky wails. After the hundreds of Boos escaped from their boxy prison and phased through the walls and ceilings, everyone stared in shock as they tried to recover from the incredible amount of ghosts that startled them, especially Rainbow Dash. One final Boo popped out of the box with a smirk.

"Hey, thanks for getting us out of there," he said. "Back to haunting up this joint!"

The last Boo flew up to join his friends, leaving the group with an empty box. "...Well, maybe we can explore more of the steeple now?" Fluttershy mumbled.

"And avoid running into those Boos we freed, too," Rainbow added with a shudder. "I've never seen so many ghosts in my life."

"Scared, Rainbow Dash?" Applejack teased.

"N-No! I laugh at the face of creepy ghosts!" Rainbow scoffed. One of the freed Boos snuck up on Rainbow Dash, and as she turned around, he let out a terrifying shriek with a creepy face. "AHHHHH!" Rainbow zipped behind Rarity while the Boo laughed uproariously as he faded away to haunt somewhere else. Rainbow peeked behind the white unicorn, fearing the Boo was hiding somewhere, but when she noticed the amused smirks and stifled giggling from her friends, she stood back up, pretending she didn't get freaked out as she brushed off some dust on her chest. "H-Heh. S-Scared him off by screaming back at him. He was lucky I didn't...come back to give him a good thrashing."

"Nah. You got scared by a ghost," Scrappy said. "Mama Fluttershy's braver than you, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow sneered at the Yoshi, grumbling to herself as she marched on ahead. She heard Pinkie and Applejack break out in laughter, even Fluttershy giggled at her adopted Yoshi kid's praise for her bravery compared to her best friend's. They headed back to the main foyer, ignoring the Boos continuing their haunting, now able to go through the doors on both sides of the room. Splitting up into groups, they each explored the different hallways, both of which were outer walkways toward the back end of the building. Up on the ceilings were Swoopers, each split group carefully walking beneath them without disturbing them. At each end of the halls, they saw red buttons and a doorway beside them.

They met up in a room that was mostly empty save a staircase, where it led up to a doorway in the center, along with two other doors just sitting in midair without any platform to reach. "Well, this is a weird design for a building," Goombella stated. "How exactly are we supposed to reach those other two doors?"

"The other side of that wall is where we first walked in this place, right?" Starlight asked.

"Let's see!" Pinkie bounded up the steps, opening up the door and walking through. They heard her yelp and fall down, hearing her crash, then rapid hoofsteps on the other side getting quieter, only to pick back up from the northern hallway. Pinkie reappeared through the door with a scowl, slamming the door behind her. "Curse you, automatic walking through doors after confirming! I had to run all the way back around here! This is why backtracking dungeons are the WORST concept in RPG games!"

"...Uhh, Pinkie, did that door...lead back to the main room?" Koops asked, trying to divert Pinkie's tangent back to what they needed to know.

"Oh, yeah. It goes back there, by the star statue," Pinkie said. "The other two doors seem to connect to those two balconies on the sides."

"Ok. Then...why is there only one staircase leading to basically nowhere?" Applejack questioned. "That's some poor plannin' if this steeple was visited often back then."

"It's physically impossible to move this staircase over," Flurrie said.

"Unless..." Starlight looked back at the two doorways. "There was a switch at the end of one those walkways out there." Curious, she headed out to the northern door and approached the button. She pushed down on it, startling her and hearing the others exclaim as the building seemed to shake. Fearing she caused a cave in by pushing the button, she ran back in the room after the shaking stopped. "What happened!? Did something break!?"

"No, we're fine! But look!" Scrappy pointed at the staircase, only now it had moved to the right-most door. "Whatever you did, it made that staircase slide across the floor!"

"There was another button down the other way," Rainbow pointed out. "They had a moving staircase to reach these other doors."

"Why couldn't they have just built other staircases instead?" Goombella questioned. "I might need to ask Prof. Frankly if there's anything on the Creepy Steeple if we can find a book on this region."

The party saved a lot of the technical questions for later and went up the staircase. Like Pinkie mentioned, this door and the one further down exited to the balconies in the main foyer. They carefully walked across the slightly crumbled stone walkway, getting a much closer look at the stain-glass window of the strange Duplighost. There was a door leading up to the belltower, but the door was locked. Luckily, the very key for it was on the other side of the room on the other balcony, and they had a few fliers able to easily nab it. Rainbow volunteered, still being cautious with the Boos now freed from their prison, taking the key and flying back to the others. She unlocked the door, letting Mario lead the way as they climbed up a winding staircase, but it stopped partway near the top with a spring aimed at a hole in the ceiling.

Taking point, Mario bounced off the spring and landed in the bell tower, which wasn't as empty or abandoned as he expected with there being a bathtub with a shower head and curtain, a television set, a lamp, a fridge, and a green chair, though it was occupied by someone. "Hold on a second there, Slick!" Mario was shocked to see that the squatter living here was the very Duplighost on the window: pure white sheet over its body, red eyes, a blue party hat, but with red stars instead of yellow, a blue ribbon tied in a bow on its chest, and red shoes. "What are you doing, interrupting my 'ME' time?"

"Mario, what's going on up there!?" Starlight called out from the hole.

Pinkie bounced up and peeked out from the hole. "Did you find the monster?" she asked. She finally noticed the Duplighost, though she was more fixated on his party hat. "Oh boy! A surprise party! Where's the streamers and cake!?"

"What the-?" the Duplighost mumbled, startled from seeing the pony. The rest of the group joined Mario and Pinkie, all of them surprised to see the creature responsible for piggifying all of Twilight Town sitting casually in the bell tower. "How many more of you guys are invading my place!?"

"Are you the monster turning everyone into pigs?" Flurrie questioned. "Because if you are, we cannot allow you to harm anymore innocents!"

"Monster!? Who you calling a monster!?" The Duplighost growled at the insult, jumping out of his chair. "But if you're that curious, then yeah! I'm the one turning those villagers into pigs! You know how hard it is to come up with a good prank when one good idea gets old!?"

"A prank!?" everyone exclaimed.

"That's not a prank! That's mean!" Pinkie shrieked.

"And Pinkie and I know about pranking!" Rainbow added. "You're just a jerk messing with that bell and terrifying everypony in Twilight Town!"

"Why'd you do it anyway, huh!?" Scrappy questioned, putting his fists up in preparation to wallop the culprit.

"It's kinda obvious, don't you think?" the Duplighost asked. "You've been in that town, right? You've seen how depressing, boring, and dimwitted they looked. I thought, instead of wallowing in gloom, they might as well wallow in mud!" He laughed at his hilarious prank, infuriating the party sent to stop him and find the Crystal Star here. Fluttershy had to hold back Scrappy by his tail, even though she was just as upset with the Duplighost as the others. "Ain't that a riot!?"

"No, that's just awful!" Goombella exclaimed.

"You're hurting other people!" Koops added.

"Oh, so you've all got a problem with that, eh? If you wanna tussle, then let's go!" The Duplighost suddenly lunged forward, flying toward the group to headbutt them.

Everyone quickly dove out of his way, readying themselves as they watched the ghostly shapeshifting creature fly up and hover in the air. The Duplighost dove back down, aiming to slam into Fluttershy, but Scrappy leapt in his way, flutter kicking up to her height and gave the Duplighost a few good swift kicks in his own hover. Caught off guard by the quick Yoshi protecting his surrogate mother, the Duplighost stumbled back into Applejack, who gave him a hard, powerful buck in the back, crashing him into his chair and toppling it over.

"You leave Mama Fluttershy alone, you jerk!" Scrappy grunted, hopping from side to side, ready to fight more.

The Duplighost grunted, climbing back to his feet with a slight stagger. "Ow. Who smacked me with an iron block?" he asked. He glanced down at his chair, letting out a growl as he saw one of the legs got snapped off. "You broke my chair! You better not break anymore of my stuff! Especially not the T.V.!"

"Then cease your dastardly 'pranks' and leave this area forever!" Flurrie said.

"How about no!?" The Duplighost dashed toward the wind spirit, catching her off guard and tackled her hard.

Flurrie grunted as they slammed into the wall, but managed to recover and use her powerful breath to blow the piggifying prankster away. He was sent back, but flew around to recover, only to be met by Mario's hammer being flung toward him. It smacked the Duplighost's face, causing him to spiral out of control, then felt it fly back in a lavender aura and hit the back of his head to send him back down to the ground. Just as he was about to land, Koops tossed himself, knocking him back in the air, followed by Goombella jumping up and headbutting him in the gut. Struggling to breathe, he tried to dive down, but Rainbow flew up and bucked the Duplighost hard in the face, knocking him higher and smacking him against the bell high atop the tower, making it ring from the impact and deafen him.

Dazed, the Duplighost fell back down, a pair of magical auras of differently shaded blues surrounded him as Rarity and Starlight telekinetically increased his descent, aiming him down in the hard, marble bathtub. Letting out a groan, the Duplighost shakily climbed out of his tub, his party hat askew as he regretted underestimating his foes while being completely outnumbered.

"Had enough, yet?" Starlight asked. "One last chance for you to give up now and leave."

"Also, if you know where there might be a red Crystal Star around here in this steeple, can you tell us that, too?" Pinkie asked. "We kinda need that, but you also gotta go!"

"Ugh...Crystal...Star?" the Duplighost questioned. He shook his head, snapping back to his senses. He reached under his sheet body, surprising the group as he held the Ruby Crystal Star. "You talking about this weird gem?"

"Ah, there it is! You had it all along!" Pinkie said cheerfully, though her smile quickly changed from chipper to sadistic as she held out her hammer and waggled it menacingly. "Now gimmie, you bad ghostie-goo!"

The Duplighost growled, hiding the Crystal Star back under his sheet body. "If you want this, then you'll have to take it from my cold dead hands." His bravado wavered as he glanced at the six ponies, Goomba, Koopa, wind spirit, Yoshi, and plumber. The moment his eyes locked on Mario, a sneaky grin appeared, his eyes glowing slightly in the twilit moon outside the windows. "But I'm just getting started. If you thought me changing folks into pigs was impressive, you ain't seen nothing yet!" The Duplighost's red eyes shimmered, then with a yell, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. The others looked around, wondering what he was up to, unaware of him copying Mario while hidden by his magic power. A few seconds later, rising from the floor where he once stood, the doppelganger took Mario's appearance, though his entire form seemed to be his shadow instead of a complete copy. They had expected worse out of the Duplighost if he managed to disappear like that, but he seemed to be worse than a normal Duplighost if he couldn't pull off a perfect visual copy of his victims. "Yuk yuk yuk yuk yuk! How do you like these apples!? You're fighting against yourself, Slick!"

Everyone blinked, baffled by the poor attempt at the Duplighost's copycat shapeshifting. "...Seriously?" Applejack questioned.

"He doesn't even look like Mario," Rarity said. "He was more dangerous as himself."

"Pth! Easy boss fight!" Pinkie said. "Mario, just whomp him so we can get out of this dumb chapter and move on to the next, actually scary one."

Seeing how little of a threat this Duplighost was, Mario agreed, then charged at the terrible doppelganger. The shadow copy did the same, pulling out a hammer of his own as both plumbers clashed, pounding their hammers into their opponents, Mario surprised to see the Duplighost was able to match his strength. But just copying the Mushroom Kingdom's savior's strength wasn't going to help the dastardly monster if he didn't match his experience. Mario's friends cheered him on as the duo continued swinging their hammers. Mario managed to knock the impostor's hammer out of his hands, giving him a hard smack in the side, sending the shadow of him staggering away. Stuffing away his mallet, Mario lunged forward and gave the fake a few good punches, knocking the Duplighost back with each blow while throwing in a good kick for measure.

Mario wound his fist back, neither him nor the others noticing the smirk hidden under the shadow's face. The fake reached into his silhouetted overalls, clutching something right as Mario threw his fist into his doppelganger's cheek, causing the fake to spin rapidly in place. Mario watched the Duplighost as his spinning slowed, then with one more punch to his chest, a faint red flash appeared on impact, hidden from the plumber's companions. The fake fell back, dropping the Crystal Star it tried to reach for, landing hard on his back with a defeated groan.

"Alright! Nice work, Mario!" Rainbow cheered. "That'll teach him!"

Mario crouched down and picked up the Crystal Star, then walked back to his friends. "Wow, that seemed a bit unfair, but he's not gonna move after getting pummeled like that!" Scrappy said.

"And maybe the curse is lifted after we beat that Duplighost," Goombella hoped.

"Let's head back to Twilight Town and check in on everypony before we head back to the sewers to find the next Crystal Star," Starlight said. With everyone in agreement, the group jumped down in the hole, everyone hearing Pinkie letting out a relieved sigh and mentioning more about backtracking. Starlight and Mario were the last to follow, but when Starlight glanced back at the plumber, she noticed him eyeing his hands and clenching them out of curiosity. "Mario? You coming?"

Snapping out of his stupor, the plumber nodded silently. Starlight shrugged, then jumped into the hole to join the others. Mario slowly approached the hole, only to stop and then glance back at the defeated impostor. Slowly, Mario grew a snide smirk, his eyes glinting red for a brief moment before tilting his cap down and gave a sinister chuckle. Pocketing the Crystal Star in his overalls, he hopped down into the hole after the others to return to town. The shadow winced slightly, his fingers twitching as he woke up after getting knocked unconscious.

Groaning, the shadow sat up, clutching his chest, confused by the amount of pain he was in. Feeling around his chest, he pulled out a shadowed replica of the Lucky Star, but unlike the rest of the darkened form that copied the plumber, the bright, colorful lights made it stand out, filled with magic from Equestria that came from the Mane Six when Mario recovered and journeyed with them to save the Mushroom Kingdom previously. Confused, the shadow looked at the television's screen, the moonlight reflecting off the surface to show their reflection, and it let out a startled shock upon seeing himself. Whatever happened after that "finishing blow", he wound up in this body; that Duplighost was much smarter than he seemed, because Mario was now the shadow, and the impostor managed to swap the real Mario's body with his copied form. His friends were in real trouble, especially the mares.

Looking around for his hammer, which was just as shrouded in blackness as his "new" body, quickly gathering it and chased after the others. He had to warn them about the impostor actually snatching his body away, fight the Duplighost and actually beat him, and take back his identity. Even if Mario was now alone, he bested Bowser and his minions by himself in his own castle many times in the past. How hard could it be in a twilit area with a small town, a dense forest, and a haunted steeple?

A Siren's New Calling

"Mwee hee hee hee hee! Yes...This time, we'll take that Mario and his map!" On the outskirts of Twilight Town, the Shadow Sirens lied in wait for Mario and his crew. Beldam cackled, Marilyn joining with her own deep laughter. Vivian, however, didn't feel so enthusiastic as her sisters. Not after all the times Beldam kept scolding her for all the mistakes "she" made when it was really the eldest Siren's fault her memory was that poor. "And with the Superbombomb, there's no way we can fail. Vivian, hand me that glorious Superbombomb!"

As the elder Siren held her hand out to the fire-elemental siren, Vivian looked at Beldam with confusion. "Huh? Me?"

Beldam scowled at Vivian, making her already dread the scolding she was about to get. "Vivian, don't you dare 'Huh?' me! Give it here!"

"B-But I don't have it!" Vivian tried to explain. "I never had it at all! You just had it two seconds ago, and you said it was too important for me to trust me with it!"

"You little LIAR!" Beldam screeched, making Vivian wince. "Stop making up stories to cover for yourself! If I don't have it, then OBVIOUSLY you must have had it! And OBVIOUSLY you lost it!" Beldam went quiet, slowly approaching the cowering Siren with a judgmental expression. "Or...are you implying that I'm the one who lost it, you little lollygagging worm?"

"I-I..." Vivian whimpered, hanging her head in dejection. "...No...Of course not, Beldam..."

"Well, we can't do much without that Superbombomb, now can we!?" Beldam questioned. Vivian slowly responded with a light shake of her head. "Oh, you are SUCH an idiot...I'm sure you must have dropped it somewhere. So why don't you look for it while Marilyn and I go take a well-earned siesta. And if you don't find it...Well, you know what'll happen, don't you?"

"...I...get punished," Vivian answered, keeping her head low as her shoulders shuddered, trying her hardest not to cry.

"That's right, you little twit, so get cracking!" Beldam turned her back on Vivian, feeling proud for insulting her youngest sibling for her own clueless mistake. "Come, Marilyn, Let's leave this useless little fool to her chore."

"Guh-huh," Marilyn nodded.

Both Shadow Sirens phased through the ground, warping away to have a "well-earned" nap as they left Vivian alone. Slowly, Vivian looked out to the grass, having no clue where to even start with her search. With her sisters gone, she couldn't hold back her tears as they finally rolled down her cheeks.

"I-I...I just...don't know...what I did wrong..." Vivian brought her hands to her face and began to cry, once again being left as Beldam's scapegoat for her own screwups.

At the entrance of the forest, the heroic party breathed a sigh of relief after getting through. "Thank goodness for that," Rarity said. "That forest is just as terrifying as the Everfree Forest back home."

"Ah think Ah'd prefer facin' a timberwolf than any of them Clefts," Applejack stated.

"And no more backtracking!" Pinkie cheered, tossing confetti everywhere from out of nowhere. Her celebrating abruptly ended as she brought a hoof to her chin. "Wait a minute. Why doesn't this...feel right? It felt like we should have been at this a lot longer."

"We've got nothing better to do at that place anyway." Mario turned to face his friends, holding out the Crystal Star they recently acquired. "That monster's not going to be needing this anymore, right?"

Pinkie shrieked, startling everyone as they all looked at the silly pink earth pony. "WHAT!? MARIO'S TALKING!?!?!?!?"

"Pinkie, what are you talking about?" Starlight questioned. "Mario always talks."

"No! Not like that!" Pinkie pulled out several stacks of papers out of nowhere, skimming through each of them faster than she blinked while panicking. "Mario doesn't have any dialogue to SAY anything aloud! How's this possible!?"

"...Umm...I'm lost," Koops uttered. "I know Pinkie Pie shouldn't be questioned, but...can I ask this time?"

"I think she's had a few too many sweets for a whole lifetime," Goombella groaned.

Pinkie suddenly sped off toward Mario, scattering the papers she pulled out and having them randomly smack her friends about before skidding to a halt in front of Mario. The plumber blinked at her, watching the mare pull out her trusty hammer.

"Mario never has any dialogue," Pinkie mumbled, staring Mario directly in the eye, even bulging out cartoonishly to almost threaten to poke his. "How do I know you're not a changeling in disguise?"

"...Uhh, a what?" Mario questioned.

"Umm, I don't think there are any changelings in this world, Pinkie," Fluttershy piped up. "Good or bad."

"Then if you're the real Mario, then maybe you can answer a question only the real Mario knows." While Pinkie paused her interrogation for dramatic effect, the others slumped over, facehooved, or sighed in exasperation. "...Who was the little star who helped us find some of the captured Star Spirits in the Mushroom Kingdom?"

Mario blinked silently while Pinkie kept giving the plumber a skeptical glare. She had her hammer ready to strike, waiting for an answer. After a few seconds of agonizing silence, Mario chuckled.

"Of course I know his name. It's Twink," Mario said. "How could I forget the little Star Kid who conked me on the head and helped the princess while she was kidnapped by Bowser?"

Surprised, Pinkie dropped her hammer from the accurate answer. "Pinkie, that's the real Mario," Starlight said, she and the others giving the earth pony a blank stare. "The fake was beaten back at the steeple."

"Yes, and a copy can't beat the original," Flurrie added.

Pinkie wilted, but still felt unsure. "But...he's talking," she reasoned again.

"Oh, Pinkie, you're so random," Mario said with a small laugh. "Now, let's head back to town and move on out."

Mario led the way, but as he approached the fallen tree on the road, he just jumped over it. "Uhh, Gonzales, weren't we supposed to use your new blessing thingie to make us all smaller?" Scrappy asked.

"'Gonzales'?" Rainbow questioned. "Hey, squirt, you don't have to call Mario that anymore. We're not in the Glitz Pit."

"Oh. It felt easier for me to call him that," Scrappy said.

"Just walk around the tree, guys! It's not that hard!" Mario called out as he waited for everyone.

Pinkie gasped, making another scowl as the others just shrugged. "I even suggested that before," Goombella grumbled. "It's so simple." The Goomba began to walk around where the roots were, easily able to walk around it. "And there's no 'boundary' blocking me from going around either, Pinkie!"

Pinkie puffed out her cheeks, her face turning red as she fumed in frustration. "He...broke...the boundaries...of the game," she grunted. "That's...not...how this...works..."

Seeing Pinkie wasn't budging, Koops gently pushed Pinkie along. "Uhh, maybe we can see if Twilight Town has some delicious pastries the locals make. Would that...make you feel better?"

Slowly, Pinkie's red face slowly changed back to her coat's pink hue, letting out a huff with her forelegs crossed and a pout. "...Maybe, but I still don't like this," she grumbled.

Once they were around the tree, Mario came to a halt near the shed. "Eh, why don't you guys go on ahead? I think I still need to catch my breath after beating that monster."

"You sure, Mario? You don't look all that hurt," Starlight noted.

"Probably can't see the bruises under my clothes. I'll catch up in a moment, ok?" The others didn't think much of it, but they knew Mario could handle the Hyper Goombas on his own. They continued on as Mario saw them off with a small wave and a smile. Once they were out of sight, "Mario's" smile widened to a smirk as his eyes glinted a shade of red. "What a bunch of suckers. They believed me. Even the dumb pink one and her weird magic or whatever she does." Looking back toward the forest, the impostor raised his hand, clenching it tightly with a dark chuckle. "This body feels so incredible. But I know the real Mario isn't down and out just yet. As long as no one discovers what my true name is, I'll be unstoppable in this form."

Mario panted as he ran through the forest. He tried to avoid running into any foes in the Steeple and along the forest trail. As tough as he was, he was all alone now, and if anything got him, no one would know he was in trouble. With that Duplighost copycat pretending to be him, his friends were in far more danger than he was right now. He had to reveal the imposter and prove to his friends that he was the real Mario trapped in this shadow body.

Finally emerging from the forest entrance, Mario continued down the road, jumping over the giant log on the path and landing with a grunt. "Well, well, well. Didn't think you'd wake up so soon, slick." Mario gasped, hearing the imposter using his own voice nearby. Walking out of the shed, the disguised Duplighost walked out casually with his arms behind his head, giving the real plumber a cocky grin, his eyes red rather than being the original's blue. "Gotta say, you're pretty tough. No wonder you can take a few hits without falling over. And thanks to being you with my power, none of your friends are even aware that I'm a doppelganger."

Flabbergasted, Mario clenched his fists. He couldn't believe this Duplighost was actually stronger than he seemed. And unlike the others he and the others fought before, this one seemed to match him, personality and memories, to a perfect T. Even though Mario's face couldn't be seen on his shadowy form, the faker cackled in amusement at his frustration.

"You fell for my trap like a true sap! And if you haven't figured it out, I've practically stolen your identity," the impostor gloated. "I may transform into others and take their bodies, but for it to be permanent, I'll have to get rid of them for good." Mario widened his stance, ready for a fight if the doppelganger wanted to kill him for his complete identity. The fake smirked at his resolve, shrugging his shoulders with a shake of his head. "But hey, I'm not that much of a monster. I may cause mischief, turn people into pigs for fun, or steal bodies when transforming into someone, but that doesn't mean I'm that heartless. I'm willing to offer you a challenge, mostly to my amusement. If you can guess my real name, then I'll give back your name and body." Refusing to fall for anymore random tricks, Mario charged the impostor, throwing a punch at his face. The Duplighost didn't try to move, and when Mario struck his cheek, the faker's head only tilted away with the fist's impact. Mario was stunned in shock as the impostor showed no signs of pain, only grinning wider in amusement. "Not going to take a guess? Very well, slick. I gave you a chance. Now...it's my turn."

Quickly grabbing Mario's arm, the impostor slowly twisted it around, making the plumber grimace as he struggled to pull his arm away. The doppelganger reared his other fist back and gave Mario a swift punch in his own face, letting go of his twisted arm and sent the real plumber flying back hard. Mario crashed through the log, splitting it in half as both pieces spun about from the impact. Mario tumbled back as he hits the ground, sliding to a halt on his back with a pained groan. Sitting up while rubbing his sore face, he flinched as he saw the fake approaching him, wearing a menacing smirk while cracking his knuckles. Now, for the first time since encountering Bowser for the first time, Mario was absolutely frightened. He barely made the impostor flinch while he sent him through a huge, fallen log like a Thwomp dropping down to crush him. He never felt so powerless like this before, even with his earlier solo missions to save Princess Peach from the Koopa King.

Mario needed to get away from this literal monster, far stronger and smarter than lesser Duplighosts he's run into before. As the fake passed the broken halves of the tree stumps, Mario had a crazy idea. Looking down at his hand, he activated his levitation through his Lucky Star, never trying it on anything else besides his hammer. Taking the chance, he held his hand out, his purple shadow form veiling the lavender aura glowing around his outstretched hand. The Duplighost laughed, thinking holding out his hand in surrender would give him a chance to live. Mario clenched his fist, casting an aura around one of the broken halves of the log, and with a pull of his arm, he managed to fling it toward the fake.

Hearing something shift, the doppelganger turned to what was happening, only to get blindsided by the log flying at him. Knocked in a daze as he hit the ground, Mario quickly got back on his feet, grinning in success, then activated his enhanced speed and made a run for it, dashing down the road while kicking up dust. The imposter groaned, quickly shook his head, then growled angrily and chased after Mario.

Avoiding the startled Hyper Goombas, Mario swiftly arrived at the gates to Twilight Town. Quickly hiding behind a nearby house, he hid just in time as the doppelganger arrived as fast as he had. The fake looked around for any sign of Mario, only to let out a frustrated grunt as his eyes changed from red to blue, trying not to look suspicious in front of the Twilighters, all the ones turned into pigs now back to normal.

"You got real lucky, slick," he grumbled to himself, fixing his cap before composing himself. "No matter. I'll find you eventually. Gotta keep your image up until you're out of the picture for good."

The fake Mario calmly walked further into town, making his way to the mayor's house where the others were probably waiting for him. Mario peeked around the corner, breathing a sigh of relief, though he was sure to run into him again at some point. Carefully following behind him, with none of the Twilighters even noticing him as a living shadow, he watched his doppelganger enter the mayor's house, hearing some commotion going on from outside. Mario carefully peeked around the window, where the ponies and their other friends were thrown a feast by Mayor Dour.

"Mario! Thank goodness you've arrived!" the mayor said. "Your friends said you needed a moment, but I actually expected the worse and they were trying to keep me from suffering a heart attack!"

"Just making sure your town wouldn't get overrun with Hyper Goombas on the way back," "Mario" said.

"Oh, I'm sure they wouldn't be a bother," the mayor said. "Please, have a seat. For our utmost gratitude for you and your friends' bravery, I wanted to throw you a feast for stopping that monster."

"Mario" looked down at the spread on the table, some of the group already helping themselves to the food. The ponies had more of the vegetarian dishes, and Scrappy snagged some big pieces of fruit with his long tongue, stuffing his cheeks and chewing the insane mouthfuls before swallowing.

"Well, don't mind if we do," "Mario" said. "I'm starving."

Mario was appalled by what the monster was doing. No one even realized anything was off about him, though Pinkie seemed to be giving him a skeptical glare, so at least someone seemed to know...or Pinkie was being goofily suspicious with no reason whatsoever.

"Boundary breaker," Pinkie grumbled, then stuffed her face with sweets.

"Pinkie, quit pouting and spouting your usual nonsense," Goombella said. "I don't know what you're mind's on about, and I really don't want to know, but we beat the monster and we'll be on our way after we eat."

"This is a video game crossover, Goombella!" Pinkie shrieked, nearly making the Goomba scholar choke on her mouthful of food. "This game's supposed to have boundaries! We follow a linear path to and from destinations, can't cross areas without a certain item or ability, and we're not supposed to step out of or pass through these boundaries! That's breaking the fourth wall!" Pinkie then glanced at something, leaping over the group, then shook an invisible box as her screeching grew louder. "AND I KNOW ABOUT BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL! THAT'S MY THING TO DO FOR COMEDY RELIEF! YOU ALL KNOW THAT, RIGHT, READERS!?"

Mayor Dour seemed a bit nervous as he watched Pinkie freaking out. "Umm...Is she...feeling ok?"

"It's Pinkie Pie. Don't bother asking," Rainbow Dash said. "She's...being more weird than usual, but when is she never?"

While "Mario" ate, barely concerned with Pinkie's antics, Applejack noticed something on his clothes. "Say, sugarcube, were ya really fightin' off them Goombas back on the road before ya came back?"

"Mhmm," "Mario" hummed, his mouth stuffed full with some delicious dishes he sampled.

Applejack reached a hoof toward the impostor, brushing away some splinters from his shoulder. "Then why's there splinters on your clothes?"

"Hmm? Oh, this?" "Mario" shrugged off the rest of the splinters. "One of those Hyper Goombas slammed me into one of the trees on my way here. Must have chipped off some bark, but I took care of them."

Applejack's ears twitched as she gave the plumber a confused gaze. The Hyper Goombas would have done some serious damage if they were charged up, but she noticed he wasn't in any pain or winced at her touch. Humming suspiciously, she could tell "Mario" was lying about something. Outside the house, the real Mario saw her expression, counting another pony who could see through his deceit, but it won't be enough to convince them. They'd attack him on the spot if they saw him now.

As he looked away from the window to formulate a plan, Mario's thoughts were put on hold when he saw something outside the town. It wasn't too far from the town proper, but he could see a familiar red and white striped magician's hat and a shadowy figure the hat belonged to. Grimacing, Mario had the worst luck if the Shadow Sirens were here again. At least it was just Vivian, and there was no sign of Beldam or Marilyn anywhere else. He actually felt bad for this Siren after seeing how horribly Beldam treats her. Curious, he walked over to the small, wooden fence to see what she was doing out here.

He noticed she was looking for something, but also sobbed on occasion. "...Not here...Or even here..." Whatever Vivian was looking for, she wasn't going to find it if she was looking around the same spots over and over. Despite being an enemy of hers, Mario couldn't bear to see someone like Vivian upset. She seemed too innocent to be part of an evil group like the X-Nauts. Knowing he was going to regret this at some point, Mario hopped over the fence and approached the upset Siren. As she turned around to look around the same bit of tall grass again, she spotted him. Mario flinched, praying she didn't recognize his silhouetted form as he awkwardly waved at her. "...A...shadow...?" Vivian looked down, barely greeting Mario back. "...You here to replace me?"

Taken aback, Mario shook his head. Something must have happened to leave Vivian so downhearted if she wasn't being herself. He asked her what she was looking for, making her look up at him for a brief moment.

"I...I'm looking for something important," Vivian said with a sniffle. "If I don't find it...my sister will punish me again...A-And...I didn't even have it in the first place." Of course, Beldam was blaming Vivian again, just like before with the poster of Mario and the ponies back in Boggly Woods. Mario asked her what the item looked like and he could help her find it. She didn't even look hopeful getting help from who she thought was a complete stranger. "W-Well, it's kind of...egg-shaped, green, and it has a skull on it. My sister called it the Superbombomb."

If Mario's face could be seen, Vivian would see an expression of abject horror right now. She was looking for a bomb, and the Shadow Sirens were planning to use that on him to eradicate him. Luckily, she looked back down at the ground as he wilted. He was definitely going to regret this if the bomb was able to make an explosion that spanned a wide enough radius to decimate a small area like Twilight Town. He complied and helped in her search, looking around the different areas of the grass while Vivian continued moping in the same general location she was pacing around.

Heading a bit farther away from Twilight Town, Mario searched through the strands of tall grass to find this bomb. He looked around as well, wondering where Beldam and Marilyn were. As he approached the next patch of grass, Mario found the Superbombomb: green and egg-shaped, the surface bumpy, a skull on one side, and activated with a pull of a pin with a small lever attached to where the trigger was, almost like it was built like a grenade. Picking up the bomb, Mario let out a sigh as he looked back at Vivian. He hated being good all the time to some of his foes, but not all of them are as cruel as Bowser, or even the X-Naut leader with his plans for world domination.

He walked back to Vivian, getting her attention as he held the bomb out to her. "Huh? Y-You found it!" Vivian smiled, taking the Superbombomb from the plumber. "Oh, thank you so much! Beldam won't punish me when she sees-!" Her excitement quickly faded when she looked at the bomb. She let out a small, shocked gasp, her hands beginning to shake as she stared at the metal end that ignites the fuse inside. "...N-No...No...I-It's...It's broken..." Mario balked, getting a better look at the bomb. Sure enough, the metal tip was bent awkwardly, keeping the pin firmly attached and the lever firmly pressed against the bomb to keep the delay on the fuse. Vivian dropped the grenade, more tears streaming down her face. "B-Beldam...It must have broke...when she dropped it...She'll...She'll still blame me, and I'll get punished again for breaking it when I never even had it at all!" Vivian sobbed, her body falling to the ground as if she fell on her knees. "W-Why...? I don't even know what I did wrong!"

Unable to hold back any longer, Vivian bawled her eyes out, crying hard and not caring who was around to see or hear her break down like this. Her tears rolled down her face and dripped to the ground at her wispy tail. Mario felt bad for her even more. She was the youngest of her sisters, and mistreated so poorly that her own self esteem keeps getting shut down by her eldest sister. Not a single ounce of praise for anything good, called degrading names, and being punished for mistakes that she didn't make on her own. Luigi may be Mario's twin brother, but even though Luigi's younger, Mario would never mistreat his own family like that. A few playful banters and a little arguing, but he knows Luigi has done just as much as he had, even if he was just the number two hero or a sidekick.

Mario gently approached the crying shadow girl, giving her something her siblings probably never gave her; a comforting hug. Vivian was startled, choking back a hiccup as she stopped crying for a moment to look up at him. Mario silently nodded, giving her a gentle smile. He didn't know if she could see his lips, but she quivered and buried her face in his chest, accepting his embrace. She cried some more, her arms clutching this stranger offering her the comfort she needed. Mario just let her cry, gently patting her back as he patiently waited for the Siren to calm down. Vivian backed away, sniffling and wiping her face with the back of her hand.

"S-Sorry...I...I think I needed that," she said, but Mario assured her that she had nothing to be sorry about. Vivian felt a little better, but as she looked back down at the broken Superbombomb, she began to worry. "My sisters will be back any minute, and if they see this...I don't know what to do..." Realizing Mario was still beside her, she ignored the bomb and focused on the mysterious shadow figure. "I don't think I got your name. Will you tell me?" Mario winced internally. How can he just tell Vivian his name without revealing himself to be her enemy? She hasn't noticed what she looks like, so maybe he can play dumb? Vivian tilted her head, waiting for a response. All Mario could do was shrug his shoulders, unable to come up with anything. "You don't have one? Oh, that's awful.

"Maybe I can give you a new name? Like...Shadow!" Mario nearly toppled over in exasperation from the strange nickname. She had the same enthusiasm as Pinkie Pie, but the slight timid and innocent nature as Fluttershy. It was silly, but also cute in a way, making the plumber wonder why someone like her would ever do anything so evil. After recovering from his nickname, he shook his head and came up with another idea to keep his identity from her and maybe get some help getting it back. "Huh? You already had one, but...someone took your identity and name?" Vivian asked. Mario nodded, making the shadow girl gasp in shock. "Oh, you poor thing! But...how's it POSSIBLE to steal someone's name? Maybe you've got it worse than me?"

Mario shrugged, unable to imagine anything else worse than losing his identity. Seeing how she needed the full story, at least about what happened to him, he told Vivian everything that happened at the Creepy Steeple and the "monster" in the area that's caused trouble for the Twilighters. Vivian was shocked to hear the locals in the town being turned into pigs by a Duplighost, though regretted missing seeing them turned into cute piggies.

"Oh dear. And your friends don't even know they're with such a terrible monster." Vivian surprised Mario and gave him a hug, thinking he was probably upset that he's lost everything. He was sure to get it back if he discovered the Duplighost's name, however he was supposed to figure that out, but he accepted the hug. As she released him, Vivian had a much more confident expression on her face. "Well, since you've been so nice to me and went out of your way to try to help me, then I'll help you get back your identity." Mario asked her if she was sure she was willing to help, but she nodded, though with a small frown. "I...I don't really want to stay around my sisters anymore...They're never nice to me as you are. It's the least I could do after I felt like a burden to you with my problems.

"Now, how to find out what this monster's name is..." Vivian looked around town, spotting some crows cawing on the dead tree branches in town. "Hmm...Maybe we can hear what the birds talk about." Mario wondered how that would work. Although, Fluttershy has a way with animals and could talk with them, but she won't be much help with the impostor taking his place. "Oh, it's actually kind of fun. Follow me!" Vivian led Mario back into town and toward one of the trees with a group of crows near the entrance pipe between Twilight Town and the sewers. Stopping by the base of the tree, the crows were just cawing, looking around while minding their own business. Before Mario could ask what Vivian was going to do, she grabbed the plumber with a giggle. "Hold on tight!"

Mario yelped as Vivian dragged him down into a void beneath the former Siren's tail. He thought he wasn't going to breathe, but the void they were sitting in only hid them, and he was able to see outside of it within a dozen yards. Mario looked at Vivian, who bought a finger to her mouth, gesturing him to stay quiet, then pointed up to the crows above them.

"Well, that was weird, huh, guys?" one of the crows said, shocking Mario when he looked up and heard them speaking like a normal person. "Two living shadows, phasing beneath a tree?"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G~!" another sang, then let out a squawking laugh.

Mario and Vivian blushed, the shadow girl's face heavily flushed, even as she wanted to let go of Mario with the embarrassing teasing. At least Mario knew something about birds; they can be really impish when people aren't around. The other two crows let out groans and rubbed their foreheads with their wings.

"Oh, for goodness sakes, you are so immature," the third of the group of crows grumbled.

"Hey, not my fault he led into that!" the second crow said.

"And this is why the rest of the murder hates your style of 'comedy'," the first crow stated.

"Well, you never know! Maybe they are a couple and are actually making out beneath the roots of the tree as we speak." Vivian squeaked, quickly phasing her and Mario back to the surface, startling the second crow. "Ahh! Er, caw! Caw caw caw!...Caw?"

Vivian giggled bashfully, twiddling her fingers once she let go of Mario. "Uhh...M-Maybe not a...good example?" Despite the awkward eavesdropping, Mario could see what Vivian meant with her void phasing. "Let's...see if any other crows have something else to talk about."

Inside the mayor's house, "Mario" helped himself to Mayor Dour's spread, eating much more than even Pinkie Pie could in one sitting. The others had their fill, but they were astounded by the plumber's appetite. None of them thought he was capable of having such a high metabolism. While stuffing his face, the impostor glanced out the window, nearly choking as he saw the real Mario walking by, following Vivian to another area of town.

"Sheesh, Mario, slow down," Rainbow said. "When did you get a black hole of a stomach like Pinkie?"

"Mario" coughed, pounding his fist into his chest as he tried to breathe. "You good, Mario?" Starlight asked.

"Y-Yeah...Just...went down the wrong pipe," the fake chuckled, then quickly got up while leaving his plethora of dirty dishes for the mayor to clean up. "You know, I should...probably do a little patrol on the trail. Just in case something's up."

Again, Applejack caught the lie, confused by his strange behavior. "Say what?" she questioned. "Who else would attack Twilight Town?"

"Well...what if that Duplighost wasn't actually beaten and plans to get his revenge?" "Mario" suggested.

"But we whooped his butt and took the Crystal Star from him," Scrappy said. "He'll have to think twice before planning to get back at us after last time."

"Yeah, and I do NOT want to go back through that creepy forest again," Goombella said.

"Just a quick look around to be sure," the impostor said. "As a hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, it would only be fair to help the more unfortunate towns, right?"

Before he gave the others a chance to answer, the doppelganger dashed out of the house and ran down the road. "...Uhh...Mario's been acting...weird since we got back, hasn't he?" Koops asked.

"Like talking, breaking boundaries, and probably hacking through stuff to get what he wants like a big, fat cheater," Pinkie grumbled.

"Pinkie, are you sure you're feeling alright, dear?" Flurrie asked with great concern. "Do you say stranger things far more necessarily if you get ill?"

"Nope. I'm all Pinkie keen, but I still don't believe Mario's really Mario if he's SPEAKING WITH DIALOGUE!" Starlight facehooved in frustration.

"I really hope it's all clear so we can finally go," the unicorn grumbled. "Twilight and Princess Peach need us."

Mario and Vivian went around eavesdropping on some more crows for information. One group of them talked about something that not even Mario knew pertaining to the Creepy Steeple on his and his friends' first visit. There was more to the basement area of the abandoned, haunted church, and it was able to be accessed from the courtyard of the building. With that being their only lead, the duo made their way down the road to return to the Creepy Steeple.

"I hope we find the second entrance to this steeple you went to," Vivian said. "Who would have thought someone would live in a place filled with ghosts? It's kind of spooky." Mario had seen ghost houses before in the past, and was a bit surprised that not all of them were with hostile Boos like Bow and her home and neighbors back in the Mushroom Kingdom. "I mean, I lived in darkness and traveled around with my sisters. We're...kind of unique, I guess."

Mario was a bit curious about what Vivian and her sisters were supposed to be. He's never seen beings like her before, and with there being new sorts of foes or denizens living in this continent, he had a feeling what the Shadow Sirens were was definitely a very rare sort to run into. Before he could ask what Vivian was exactly, as they passed the shed and broken log near the entrance of the forest, they heard a yell as something jumped out at them.

Vivian shrieked and phased away while Mario leapt to the side, avoiding the doppelganger's dive kick as it lied in wait for him. "You really are slick, ya know that?" he said. Vivian reappeared next to Mario, hiding behind him after being startled. The faker turned to leer at Mario, eyes glowing red as he pointed his finger at the plumber. "I'm gonna get you back for smacking me with that stump. You might not physically injure me, but you sure catch me by surprise, don't ya?"

Vivian peered around the real plumber, giving a confused look when she saw the imposter. "Huh...? He looks familiar...Is he the one who took your identity?"

Mario winced, his eyes shifting nervously while trying to avoid giving the former Siren his answer. He was surprised that she didn't recognize his face, or even his iconic red and blue clothes, the "M" on his cap, or even his mustache. It was baffling that she, along with her sisters, had a really bad case of short-term memory loss. No wonder Beldam blamed Vivian for nothing over all the things she held onto instead of "relying" on the youngest sibling to carry them to risk losing them. The X-Nauts picked the wrong group to hire for their tougher jobs.

"Alright, cut the chatter over there!" the fake exclaimed, getting impatient from the brief conversation Mario and Vivian were having. "I gave you a chance, slick, but you're not getting another one after last time. And you're not getting away from me again!"

The disguised Duplighost pulled out his hammer and charged Mario. Mario was about to clash with the impostor, dreading fighting his third invulnerable foe. Before they could come close, Vivian came to the rescue, letting out a yell and raised her hands upward. Out of nowhere, the impostor was lit on fire, making him scream and rolled around to try to put himself out. It might not have done any physical harm with his name still unknown and practically invincible, but it was a decent enough distraction. Mario looked back at Vivian, only to yelp as she grabbed him and brought them both into a void where they stood to hide.

"Shhh," Vivian shushed the plumber as they watched the fake put out the flames.

Panting, the doppelganger stood back up and looked around. "Gaaaah! Where'd they go!?" he shouted. There weren't any physical hiding spots nearby aside from the forest, but he didn't go any further. "Darn it. Did he go back to the steeple?...Not like it matters. He's not gonna find anything about me anyway...Still, you can't be too careful."

The impostor headed back to Twilight Town, barely even aware that Mario and Vivian had watched him from the void hidden in the ground. Once he was far enough away, Vivian brought them back up to the surface.

"That was close," Vivian said. "I swear I've seen him before..." Mario thanked her for the save, which shocked her as she looked at him. "...Oh...Umm...You're welcome." Vivian felt bashful as she twiddled her fingers. "No one's...ever thanked me before...I always felt like I did something wrong, and...I thought you were going to yell at me for saving you when you were able to defend yourself." Now Mario felt even more sorry for Vivian. No wonder she left her sisters without so much of a second thought. He told the former Siren that his impostor was practically invincible unless they found out his name, getting an awful punch earlier from him after punching him first. "Oh my. Then it was a good thing I helped you. We need to figure out that monster's name before he takes over the world! That's Lord Grodus's job!...Er, former Lord Grodus for me, at least."

Mario figured Grodus must be the name of the X-Naut leader who's holding Princess Peach and Twilight hostage. He wanted to press Vivian more for details, but they had no time to waste. They both quickly headed into the forest, avoiding running into the impostor again if he bothered to come back to find them.

Back at Mayor Dour's house, as the others waited for "Mario's" return, Starlight tried to formulate their next plan of action. "After getting the next Crystal Star, hopefully we'll be one step closer to rescuing both princesses," she said. "If Mario didn't keep hold of the map, I could take a guess where the next one might be hiding."

"I doubt it would be as easy as this one was," Flurrie said.

"Maybe the next one will take us on a big adventure on the water!" Scrappy exclaimed excitedly.

"We would if Mario wasn't acting so weird," Pinkie huffed. "That's basically the next chapter, and that's a lot more exciting."

Ignoring the pouty pink pony, Goombella pulled out her own map of the region. "Well, there's not much of the region left to explore. There's this big, wealthy city called Poshley Heights to the east, and Fahr Outpost in the northwest."

"Ooh! A city, you say?" Rarity peeked over the Goomba to look at the less detailed, geographical map. "We should go there next! I do hope there's a spa we can partake in. It feels like ages since I've had a decent session."

"It's only been about two weeks since we set hoof in this continent, Rarity," Rainbow said.

"I know; two week FAR too long," the fashionista said.

Soon, "Mario" returned with a dour expression. "Guys, I've got some bad news," he said. "I don't think that monster's really down and out anymore."

Surprised, everyone, including the mayor, gasped. "What do you mean? D-Don't tell me he plans to turn us all back into pigs again," the mayor begged nervously.

"How do ya even know?" Applejack asked suspiciously, barely able to believe "Mario's" words after his last few lies.

"I may have lied about the patrol. I didn't want to worry the mayor," "Mario" explained. "Out the window, I thought I saw that impostor wandering around in the middle of town and followed after it. It must have been spying on us and the other villagers that whole time."

Before, Applejack could tell "Mario" was hiding something, but after hearing him out, she had no idea what to believe anymore. "So I guess we're not done dealing with the shapeshifter after all," Starlight said. Pinkie let out a loud groan, clearly expressing her hatred for backtracking as she previously stated back in the Creepy Steeple. "Did it head back to the forest?"

"I think so. I lost track of it when I cornered it, but it wasn't alone." The group looked at each other in confusion, wondering what sort of backup the Duplighost even had if it lived alone. "Hurry on back to that Steeple. I'll stick around and find out if it's trying to hide in the shadows and kidnap any of the villagers."

Mayor Dour yelped in panic and shuddered in fright. "T-There's no end to this creature's wrath, is there?"

"Don't worry, mayor. We'll make sure it stays down." "Mario" turned to face the door, his eyes glinting red for a second as he smirked. "Permanently."

Mario and Vivian rushed through the forest and reached the steeple in record time. Going past the Crazee Dayzees was a cinch thanks to Vivian's ability with fire, though the Hyper Clefts were still a tough order. They soon arrived at the gates of the abandoned church grounds and stepped inside the property.

"Wow. This place really is creepy," Vivian commented. "You and your friends already searched around the inside of the building, right?" Mario nodded his head, suggesting they search around the grounds for a secret entrance inside. He mentioned there was a door down in the basement that was locked, so there must have been another way to enter and unlock it from the other side. There weren't any graves, but outside the walls of the property, there was a well. Curious, Mario headed over to it, Vivian following behind him. They both looked down into the well, finding it completely dried up, but there was a spring they could see down at the bottom of the pit. "You think it's down there?"

With only one way to find out, Mario hopped inside with Vivian following him after. Sure enough, next to the spring to bounce back out, there was a cavern, along with a huge group of Buzzy Beetles. Seeing enemies in their territory, the Buzzy Beetles tossed themselves to attack their intruders, a couple of them unfortunately bearing spikes on their shells. Luckily, Mario's charm helped protect his feet and flipped them over as he jumped on them. Vivian was impressed, watching him trouncing the spiked Buzzy Beetles without piercing his feet, though she didn't notice the pink aura around his shoes that the Lucky Star was granting him to prevent that from happening. Vivian just stood back and watched Mario trounce the Buzzy Beetles, knowing how thick their shells are and how impervious they were to fire.

Once they were dealt with, the duo continued onward. There was a wall blocking what looked like a hidden tunnel that could be pushed upward, however, there was no way to dislodge it to progress further. Luckily, Vivian helped Mario get by it by dragging him into a void, letting the wall slide back down behind them, continuing into a doorway that led to more of the Creepy Steeple's basement floor. Inside was just an empty room, and the only passage further in was a small hole only a tiny mouse could crawl through.

"Umm...Is this a dead end?" Vivian asked. "I can't transport others to and from other places if they aren't like me. I guess I'm not much help after all." She looked down in disappointment, feeling like she let down her friend and he'd call her such, too. Mario patted Vivan's shoulder, assuring her he had an idea. Pulling out his Lucky Star, he tapped into his newest blessing and shrank them down to size, startling the shadow being. "W-Whoa! W-We're...We're tiny! How'd you do that!? Do you have special powers like me?" Mario scratched his head, merely shrugging his shoulders in response. He was still learning about what else the Lucky Star is capable of, even after the first time the Equestrian enchantments were granted to him when he found Twilight and her friends after rescuing a Star Spirit from Bowser's henchmen. "Oh. Did that monster also take your memories on how to use your powers, too? We need to stop him, and soon."

Slipping into the hole, there was a small staircase leading up to another dead end room, but there was a boarded up section in the middle of the floor. Growing them back to normal size, Mario ground-pounded through the boards, dropping right down the hole. Vivian followed after him, worried he broke his legs from the fall, but the plumber was just fine after brushing off the dust from his body. Getting a bearing on their location, Mario recognized this hallway. They landed on the upper walkway on the other side of the hall, the windows showing the empty hall with the opened box that stored all the Boos he and his friends released in the now haunted church. To his right, there was a small hole leading into the locked room Mario tried to check before. Shrinking the two again, they dropped down into the room before growing them once again, which held a few chests, some wall shelves and a bookcase, cobwebs over the abandoned books and corners of the room, and to their surprise, a living parrot sitting idly on its perch. Mario was expecting Ms. Mowz to be here like the last few times, but he was surprised to see no sign of her. She probably would have blown his cover with Vivian anyway.

Mario found it odd that there was a parrot locked up in this room, and taken care of decently, too. The bird squawked, watching them curiously as Mario and Vivian looked around. Mario took a peak at some of the chests, one of the wooden chests holding a badge, the other with a Mr. Softener, the others with similar floral designs like the one in the hall had the key to unlock the door, and the other, strangely, was a strangely colored cardboard letter "p". Mario found that last one a bit odd, leaving the "treasure" in the box.

"Nothing?" Vivian asked. Mario shook his head in response. "Yeah. I looked at the dusty books. I don't think they'll be useful." She then glanced at the curious parrot, getting an idea. "Or maybe..."

Mario saw what Vivian was getting at, stepping over to her as she sent them into the ground to "disappear". "Skrawk? What the-?" The parrot looked around, wondering where Mario and Vivian were. "What happened to those weirdos?...Eh, who cares? Not like I even expected much company anyway, even if it was nice to see new faces." The bird let out a frustrated sigh, fidgeting around on his perch. "I mean, no matter how important it is that no one knows his real name, locking me up in here just because I know it, that's no way to treat a parrot!" As the parrot squawked angrily, Mario and Vivian looked at each other, then back to the bird. "I'm starving. I want a cracker, or maybe three. When the heck's feeding time, Doopliss, ya big jerk?"

The duo gasped, finally getting the Duplighost's name. "His name is Doopliss!?" Vivian exclaimed, popping her and Mario out of the void and surprising the parrot. He tried to act like a normal parrot, but the jig was already up. "This is great! Now we can get your name and body back, Mr. Shadow! Thanks, Mr. Parrot!"

Vivian hurried off to find the Duplighost, taking the key from Mario to unlock the door and hurried out into the hall. Mario sighed and chased after her before she got hurt. With the parrot left alone again, he shifted his eyes nervously, knowing he was going to be in so much trouble.

"...Uhhh...I think I better...hightail it out of here," the parrot said, flapping his wings and heading out the open doorway, making his escape before he was punished by his owner.

"Here we are again," Goombella said. "Back at casa de creepy."

"Strange how the walk back had no Crazee Dayzees or Hyper Clefts in the forest," Starlight Glimmer said. "Did something scare them off?"

"Maybe that creepy sheet ghost thing pretending to be Mario charged through them all while it escaped," Scrappy said. "All the better for us to kick its butt again."

The six ponies, Goomba, Koopa, wind spirit, and Yoshi headed inside the Creepy Steeple, Starlight teleporting the group up to the second floor walkway and up the tower to the Duplighost's pad. The moment the door to the stairway closed, Vivian hopped out of the hole leading to the basement of the church with Mario chasing after her. He could tell she was excited to do some good and stop Doopliss from taking anymore peoples' identities, but he didn't want her to find out who HIS was. She'd probably feel devastated, or stupid, when she realized who she was helping. She was already having a rough time with her sisters. He didn't want to add more emotional turmoil than she's already suffered in her life.

Racing through the forest, Vivian searched around for Doopliss to call the doppelganger out. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Vivian called out. Mario tried to stop her, but she had quite a lot of energy when she was a downer not too long ago. They were back at the entrance to the forest, Mario being heavily cautious if Doopliss was lying in wait for them again. "HEY, BODY STEALER! COME OUT AND FIGHT US AS YOURSELF, YOU COWARD!"

Mario flinched when VIvian started goading the Duplighost to attack them. He quickly covered the excited shadow girl's mouth with his hands, but the doppelganger heard the Siren's call as he stepped out from his hiding spot in the shed.

"A coward, eh?" the faker questioned with a snicker. "I'm sorry. Who's the one who ran away like a coward?"

Vivian pulled Mario's hands off her mouth, acting cocky as she approached the shapeshifter with a bit of a swagger in her movements. "You're clearly the big coward, you dumb identity stealer!" she said, making Mario groan and shake his head.

The Duplighost looked at Mario, then back at Vivian. "Where'd you find this chick, slick? She thinks she's all big and tough after setting me on fire, and pulling some disappearing act to help you escape? Hah! You two can't do a thing to me, and you made a big mistake trying to call me out." Mario growled, getting in front of Vivian to keep her from getting hurt by this demon of a shapeshifter. "You know, slick, I gave you a chance, and you blew it when you tried to fight me to get your body back...But, little dark and purple with the candy cane hat, I'm gonna make her your lifeline. If she can guess my real name, then I'll give back your identity. But if she's wrong-" He pulled out his hammer, twirling it around in his hand, then set it over his shoulder with a grin. "-then you're both paying the price. So, fire away, cotton candy curls. What. Is. My. Name?"

Vivian gave the faker a cheeky grin, standing beside Mario while giggling sinisterly. "Ok. You, Mr. Identity Thief, your real name is...Doopliss!"

The doppelganger's expression quickly turned from smug to horrified in milliseconds. He dropped his hammer, letting it fall to the ground behind him, his red eyes turning white as his face went pale.

"...W-What?" he uttered. "Y-You...H-How did you-!?" Vivian beamed as she watched Doopliss cower before her and Mario. "No...No. No! No no no no no!"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes!" Vivian said with a laugh. "Your name's Doopliss, and you owe my friend his identity back!"

Mario was a bit surprised that Vivian called him her friend. He was even seeing a much more confident and fun side to her, probably held back from being so shot down every single time she "made a mistake" and was free to be herself without unnecessary repercussions.

"T-This can't be happening...I-I...I don't feel good..." Knowing the spell keeping him impervious was now broken, Mario was ready to beat the tar out of Doopliss. Before he could approach the Duplighost, Doopliss screamed, grabbed his hammer, then sped right past Mario and Vivian, sending them spinning in place. "SCREW YOU JERKS!!!!!"

After the two stopped spinning, they looked back to the forest, where the doppelganger fled into and was possibly heading back to the Creepy Steeple. "Hey! Get back here! You made a promise!" Vivian called out. "He has some nerve! He went back on his word! Let's get him!"

Vivian ran off again, leaving Mario to chase after her again. Maybe keeping her in line was a good thing if she goes off to do whatever she pleases, just like how she wound up finding Flurrie's pearl necklace in Boggly Woods.

Back in the tower of the Creepy Steeple, the group searched all around the living space for any sign of the monster of Twilight Town. They flipped the place over, searched under every hiding spot there was to be found, and they found nothing.

"He's not here," Rainbow said. "We turned this whole tower upside down. Did he really come back here?"

"He might be hiding in the forest if that brute is nowhere in the steeple," Flurrie pondered.

"I still don't like how Mario's been the last hour," Pinkie grumbled.

"And she's still going on about this," Goombella sighed.

"...Maybe Pinkie's got a point," Applejack said.

Everyone glanced at Applejack, baffled by her claim while Pinkie bounded next to the farm mare with a relieved grunt. "Finally, somepony believes me! And it's my kind of, sort of, possibly related cousin with no definitive proof because our family trees are all conveniently smudged at certain points in our family lineage, thus leading to fan theories about us actually being long-distant relatives or not and many of those fans want us to be best cousins forever!" she said in one breath, taking in a big gulp of air before panting slightly, still annoyed that no one believed of her suspicions with "Mario".

"...Uhh, you two are actually...cousins?" Koops asked curiously.

"We're not actually sure, but that ain't important right now," Applejack said. "Ah don't think Mario's...actin' like himself?"

"What do you mean, Applejack?" Rarity asked.

"Ah can't quite put mah hoof on it, but...Ah think Mario's been fibbin' to us," Applejack said. "He wouldn't let anythin' like a Goomba knock him back that hard, even if it was a Hyper Goomba. There's some truth to what he's said about the Duplighost imposter and what happened, but he seemed to be hidin' somethin' from us."

"Maybe he didn't want us to worry about the Duplighost, but didn't want to hide it anymore when things got suspicious?" Fluttershy pondered.

Suddenly shooting up from the hole, "Mario" panted, clutching his chest as he staggered over to the group. "H-He's...coming!" he exclaimed. "T-That imposter...almost got me! But we'll catch him by surprise when he tries to come back to his hideout!"

"Alright! Let's show this jerky ghost what for!" Scrappy hopped around, holding his fists up and threw a few punches in the air.

The group prepared to encounter the doppelganger one last time, and finally be rid of him once and for all. A few moments later, the real Mario bounced up to the top of the tower, startling the plumber when he saw all his friends there along with the real impostor. Vivian joined in a second later, which shocked the others.

"Wait, is that...Vivian!?" Starlight questioned. "One of the Shadow Sirens!?"

"Oh, great! That Duplighost teamed up with those shadow witches!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"But...where are the other two?" Koops asked.

"They...might be lying in wait to ambush us!" "Mario" lied, which Applejack could tell this time.

Mario tried to explain that he was the real Mario, but when he looked at Vivian, he noticed the puzzled look on her face. "Wait...Why do they look...familiar?" Vivian asked, mostly staring at the six ponies behind the impostor, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Scrappy.

"How does she not recognize us?" Rarity uttered. "We stand out more than we all do in Twilight Town."

"Who are these 'Shadow Sirens' you mentioned?" Flurrie asked curiously.

"Well, that one, Vivian, she had your pearl necklace," Goombella said, making the wind spirit gasp.

"Oh! That's the one who had my necklace!?" Flurrie exclaimed.

Vivian, confused, looked at the necklace around Flurrie's neck. She recognized the piece of jewelry she found as it brought back memories of her time in Boggly Woods. Even though getting scolded by Beldam depressed her, she finally remembered the wanted poster she and her sisters had with poorly drawn illustrations of Mario and the ponies from another world. She looked at her friend, then to the impostor who took her friend's body, and all the companions, slowly realizing who exactly her friend was. Mario knew he was found out now with the look of shock on her face.

"...W-Wait...The monster stole...Mario's identity...?" She looked at Mario, baffled as her lower lip quivered and pointed a finger at him. "Y-You mean...You're actually...Mario?" Mario grimaced, feeling terrible for tricking Vivian and lying to her when he fully gained her trust when she was downtrodden. He slowly, silently nodded, averting his gaze from hers. Vivian began to slowly back away from Mario, mortified at the fact her new friend actually being her and her sisters' enemy. "...I-I...I can't believe you're...I was helping..." Tears began rolling down her face, choking back a sob as she pulled the rim of her hat over her face, ashamed and embarrassed at her cluelessness. "I'm so stupid...How did I not notice it sooner when we ran into him!?" Mario tried to reach out to her, but Vivian screamed, throwing a fiery fist at him and punched him in the face, catching him off guard as he stumbled back. "Don't touch me! Y-You...Y-Y-You..."

Mario rubbed his cheek, feeling the burning sting from her enchanted punch. While Doopliss covered his mouth with his hand and snickered, the others were surprised by VIvian's shock and her reaction.

"Is...she really that clueless?" Rainbow asked. "She's almost as oblivious as Derpy."

Mario tried once more to reach out to Vivian and apologize, but the siren teleported away. Mario pounced at where she stood, but he was too late. He knew she would react negatively when she finally discovered who he was. She could have been a great ally, be free from being put down so much by Beldam, and do some good for those in need than follow her sisters or the X-Naut leader, Grodus.

"What's the matter, you metamorphous freak?" Doopliss asked mockingly. "You having a little spat with your girlfriend?" Mario turned to glare at the impostor, getting back on his feet with his fists clenched. Even without Vivian, now that his name was discovered and his spell was broken, he was sure to beat the Duplighost on his own. "Guess it was all just a ruse. He's not working with the Shadow Sirens at all. He was just using her to try to take my identity for good!"

Already done with Doopliss and his big mouth, Mario charged the cocky faker. Right as he was about to punch Doopliss in the face, Flurrie blow harsh winds at the real plumber, pushing him back as his feet slid across the floor. Mario lost his footing and was flung back, quickly backflipping upright once Flurries stopped blowing her wind at him.

"Not one more step, you copycat brute!" Flurrie said, cracking her knuckles while Goombella, Koops, and Scrappy stepped forward.

"You're gonna get a bonking like you won't believe!" Goombella said.

"Let me at 'em! Let me at 'em!" Scrappy shouted while hopping up and down, ready for a showdown with the "fake" Mario.

Mario grunted irritably, watching the smug look on Doopliss's face while four of his friends approached him to protect the impostor. The mares were all flabbergasted with what happened to Vivian, and how cold "Mario" seemed to be when mocking the "monster". They knew Mario never insulted his foes, not even THAT harshly, and he didn't so much as feel any pity for Vivian like they had before when they saw her getting scolded by Beldam. None of them had any idea what was going on anymore.

Vivian sobbed, sitting against the fence outside the Creepy Steeple. "I...I really am stupid," she whimpered. "Beldam was r-right...How can I be so dumb? Beldam will probably yell at me for running off and...helping our enemy..." She could imagine the shrieking voice of her eldest sister insulting her for working with Mario, along with breaking the Superbombomb after losing it. She cried more, wrapping her arms around herself as she curled up tighter. "I'll always be treated like nothing. No one likes me...No one cares about me..."

As she held herself, a brief memory flashed in her mind. She thought back to earlier, when Mario approached her while she was searching for the Superbombomb. The moment he hugged her to comfort her when she was upset, that was the first time anyone's ever done that for her. And he seemed so sincere, even though they were supposed to be enemies. He obviously knew who she was, but he showed her a kindness she's never experienced. He never once yelled at her for anything she did. He was even grateful for her save when they ran into Doopliss on the way back to Creepy Steeple. Beldam never praised her for anything, not even Marilyn, and she doesn't talk as much as her or Beldam.

With Mario, she felt so much freer than she's ever been since she decided to abandon her negligent sisters. She was so much happier being with him than her own family. But now that she knew who he actually was, still feeling stupid for not noticing the way he looked as a shadow, nor what Doopliss was, Vivian didn't know what to think now. Doopliss stole his identity and turned his friends against him. The plumber was by himself now, and she had promised that she would help him get his identity and friends back, yet she punched him and ran away from him, freaking out over who he was by his true identity and overlooked who he is as a person; nice, brave, supportive, and if she weren't in denial, had a handsome mustache.

She turned her back on someone who treated her much better than her sisters, and she just felt awful doing so. She owed Mario so much for helping try to make her day better. And he was in trouble: outnumbered, facing someone who's copied the same fighting skills he has, and he didn't want to hurt any of his friends to get to Doopliss. Wiping her eyes with her arm, she stood up and looked up at the tower, already hearing the sounds of fighting coming from the top. Mario was her friend, needing one when she did, and she was glad to have met him on such different circumstances. If they beat Doopliss, she only hoped the others would accept her for changing sides, gulping nervously as she didn't expect them to trust her.

"HAH!" Goombella shouted as she dove down on Mario after jumping in the air.

Mario leapt back, refusing to harm any of his friends, but no matter how many times he tried to get to Doopliss, Flurrie just blew him away from the doppelganger. Scrappy laid out some eggs and threw them at Mario, and while the plumber was dodging them, he snatched Koops in his mouth with his tongue, then quickly spat the Koopa out as the shell spun rapidly. Mario managed to dive away from Koops after avoiding getting blasted by Scrappy's exploding eggs, forgetting about Koops' ability to rebound his shell toss as he shot back and dive-kicked Mario in the back of the head. Mario hit the ground with a grunt, then gets squashed by Flurrie as she body slammed him. He managed to roll away before Goombella and Scrappy double-teamed him with their own jumps, feeling winded after the wind spirit flopped heavily on his back.

There was no way he could do this by himself. He didn't want to hurt his friends, at least not too much, but this was much worse than his earlier adventures dealing with Bowser and his kidnapping Princess Peach. Doopliss wasn't even doing anything to help, which should have hinted toward the others, especially his Equestrian friends, that he wasn't the real Mario.

"Just give it up, slick! Er, I mean, copycat!" Doopliss said. "You're no match for us!"

"Hey, Mario, why don't you help them!?" Rainbow questioned. "I'll join in if you're not!"

Rainbow flew over the fake plumber, but Doopliss grabbed the pegasus's tail, and to the ponies' shock, he flung Rainbow back to the girls as she landed with a painful thud. "Oh no you don't!" Doopliss exclaimed. He winced as he lost his cool, quickly regaining his composure. "I mean, he's pretty dangerous. What if he can transform into any of you and take any of your bodies away? This is for your own safety, Rainbow Dash."

"Ugh. You didn't have to throw me," Rainbow growled.

"Ok, now I'm starting to see what Applejack's saying," Starlight said. "Mario wouldn't have done anything to intentionally hurt us."

"And he has a power gifted by Pinkie Pie to foresee if any of us will get hurt by something dangerous," Rarity added. "He would have prevented us from getting hurt, but not by being that rough with us."

"I knew something was wrong with Mario! He doesn't talk, but the faker's the one who can't talk!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Girls, come on. It's-a me, Mario, your friend," Doopliss said. "I'm just looking out for you innocent, defenseless ponies."

"We aren't that weak! We can fight!" Rainbow argued. "You've seen us fight Bowser's army, and we helped you get Peach back before!"

Doopliss growled, getting fed up with the defiant mares. Mario and Vivian already figured out his name. He didn't want his cover to be blown with them, not when Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Scrappy already had Mario on the ropes.

"Now, you six listen here, and you listen good," he warned, pointing his hammer toward the ponies. "You six are staying back here until they finally end that monstrosity before it does anything worse. After that, we're leaving this stupid, dark and dreary place, and moving onward. I won't hesitate to knock all of you out to keep your yaps shut and far away from that thing."

The mares gasped in shock, unable to believe that "Mario" would ever threaten them. "You'd what!?" Rarity shrieked.

"Mario would never say that to us," Fluttershy said.

"I AM Mario!" Doopliss shouted.

"Fiery Jinx!" Hearing Vivian's voice echo in the tower, everyone looked around in confusion. All of a sudden, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Scrappy were lit on fire, all four of them screaming and running around, trying to put out the fire. Doopliss turned around in shock, then was suddenly lit on fire too, letting out a yell and ran around screaming. The ponies were miraculously unharmed, though they looked at Starlight, thinking she cast a spell, but the unicorn shrugged in response. Mario stood up, and appearing from the ground in front of him, to his surprise, was Vivian. "Mario, are you ok? I-I'm sorry for...for running away from-" Mario immediately went to hug Vivian, making her gasp and cut her off from her apology. He was so glad to see her come back to rescue him, apologizing to her for lying about who he is and leading her on unintentionally. She blushed slightly, hugging Mario back, relieved to see he doesn't resent her for running away from him. "...I...I promised to help get your identity back," she said as she pulled away from Mario. "And I made my decision. I'm not going back to my sisters. I'm going to be staying with you...if you'll let me."

Mario nodded, accepting her without any hesitation. The flames on the attacked party eventually died down, leaving burn marks on the Goomba, Koopa, Yoshi, wind spirit, and Duplighost.

"Agh! That stupid fire again!" Doopliss growled as he glared at Vivian, the others staring at her too with her shockingly quick return.

"And...Vivian's back?" Goombella asked in disbelief. "...I have no idea what's going on."

"Who cares!? Get them both before they get me!" Doopliss shouted, but he quickly shook his head and pointed to the six mares. "I mean, before they get the girls!"

Applejack glared at "Mario" for his little slip-up and lying to cover it. "Now hold on just a second! Why are ya afraid of him goin' after ya, Mario?" Applejack questioned. "Or...are ya really 'Mario'?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to doubt which one's the real Mario, too," Starlight agreed.

Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Scrappy looked back, wondering what was happening with the mares glaring at "Mario" now while they were fighting the shadow figure. "Umm...D-Did we...miss something?" Koops asked.

"I'm not sure," Flurrie uttered.

"Let's just beat up the monster so we don't get confused!" Scrappy suggested as he faced the real Mario. "That'll stop the confusion!"

Vivian quickly stood in front of Mario with her arms outstretched, willing to defend him for his friends' sake. "Wait, you've got the wrong Mario!" she said.

"Like we're going to believe you!" Goombella said. "Where are the other Shadow Sirens!?"

"L-Listen, I know you might not believe me, but it's true!" Vivian said nervously. "I'm sorry for burning you all, but I had to do something to get you away from Mario!"

"Wow, this broad is dumb!" Doopliss said, losing any of Mario's mannerisms as he reverted to his own. "I'm obviously the real Mario! You're gonna believe our enemy and the jerk who tried to steal MY identity!?"

"He's the liar!" Vivian exclaimed, pointing to Doopliss. "That is not the real Mario; his real name is Doopliss!"

Doopliss cringed, his eyes flashing white for a moment before he clenched them shut with a growl. Everyone noticed his reaction, confusing them even more.

"The heck kind of name is 'Doopliss'?" Rainbow questioned, making the Duplighost wince and yell out as he began to clutch his head.

"S-Shut up already!" Doopliss growled. "Don't listen to the Siren! She's completely stupid!"

Vivian grimaced at the insult, swallowing her sadness of her self doubts to stay strong for Mario. Applejack looked between "Mario" and Vivian, and between the two of them, what Vivian said had more honesty than anything the real impostor had been spouting for the last several minutes.

"...Vivian's tellin' the truth," Applejack said, startling everyone. She then looked at the shadow figure of Mario's silhouette behind the former Shadow Siren. "...Mario? Is that...really you?"

Mario nodded his head. And to show proof, he pulled out his Lucky Star, the arms and body of the star glowing with the magical enchantments granted to him by the Mane Six when they rescued the Star Spirits. The five members of the Elements of Harmony recognized those colorful lights, then looked to Doopliss.

"Tsk. Big whoop! I've got the real thing right here, you fake!" Doopliss said as he pulled out HIS Lucky Star blindly from his shirt. The star pendant may have looked the same, but it was all a bronze color; not a single bit of it had any other color or shimmer to it. "See? Same dumb star necklace! Given to me by that little Twonk kid!"

"His name is Twink," Rarity corrected. "And he's a precious, brave little Star Kid who helped us in the Mushroom Kingdom. You said his name correctly before."

"No, I'm sure I said it correctly," Doopliss argued.

"Then you should know a bit more about us since you, your brother, and Peach visited Equestria a few times," Starlight said. She wanted to give the impostor a tougher question that Mario knew, and now that he seemed to be stumbling with names for some odd reason. "Who are the rulers of Equestria?"

"Pth, easy," Doopliss scoffed. "Celaphane and Loophole. How dumb do you think I am?"

Mario shook his head while the ponies glared at him. "Wrong answer, 'Mario'," Starlight said as she lit up her horn, ready to blast the fake plumber.

Doopliss realized his mistake, his spell fading away more as whatever memories he copied from Mario were immediately forgotten. "I'm so confused!" Scrappy exclaimed. "I don't know Gonzalez - er, Mario, that much, but..." The other four partners glanced at the real Mario, then back to the impostor. "...My head's hurting!"

"He messed up Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's names," Applejack said. "Up until town, he's gotten a lot of things right, but Mario wouldn't fumble them up that hard."

"Or threaten us to stay back," Fluttershy added, shocking Scrappy as "Mario" was going to hurt his Mama Fluttershy.

"His real name Doopliss!" Vivian said, calling out his name making the Duplighost yelp and cry out as his body twitched in agony. "He tricked all of you and kept his name a secret to keep his spell from being broken! But now you've been found out, Doopliss!"

"GAAAH! Cut it out, ya freaky fire-bending witch!" Doopliss said, but not in Mario's voice this time; he spoke in his own. The room went silent as the impostor froze in sheer terror, slowly looking around to Mario's friends. Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Scrappy could now see who the real impostor was, never noticing that they were actually hurting the real Mario until now, and they were ticked. "...Uhhhhhh...I-I mean...L-Let's-a...go?"

Pinkie slowly rose up behind Doopliss, her mane and tail drooping and losing its fluffy curls, clutching her hammer in one hoof while tapping the head menacingly in her other with a terrifying glint in her pinkprick-sized eyes. "You were the fake all along," she muttered darkly. Doopliss turned to face her, immediately regretting it as Pinkie turned into Pinkamena. She was scarier than anything he's ever turned into before. "I knew I was right when you started having dialogue..."

While Doopliss was stunned silent, Mario gasped as his Lucky Star reacted and his irises were able to be seen in his shadow body as they turned pink. He saw Doopliss snapping out of his shocked stupor, smacking Pinkie's hammer out of her hoof, then retaliated by smacking the earth pony hard in the face with his own hammer, sending her crashing into the wall and knocking her completely unconscious. Once the vision ended, he quickly tapped Vivian's shoulder, telling her to help Pinkie.

"Huh? Is she the pink one?" Vivian asked. Mario quickly nodding, warning her she was going to get hurt badly, and she needed to help her avoid Doopliss now. "O-Oh, ok!"

Vivian quickly ducked into the ground, appearing underneath Pinkie. Doopliss's fright quickly turned to rage, and just as Mario saw, he smacked Pinkie's hammer out of her hoof faster than she could blink. Just before Doopliss pulled out his own mallet to slam into Pinkie, Vivian's arms shot up from the ground, wrapped around Pinkie's barrel, and with a yelp from the party pony, she sank into a void and barely avoiding getting smacked hard by the spinning fake plumber. Doopliss yelped as he missed, coming to a stop as he looked around for any sign of Pinkie. The others were shocked and even more irate at the Duplighost doppelganger for that near sucker punch.

"Oh, that does it! THAT's the real faker, alright!" Rainbow shouted, then flew swiftly into Doopliss, sending him crashing to the ground. "You're gonna regret that, buddy!"

Doopliss growled, kicking the pegasus off of him, only to be met with a furious baby Yoshi flutterkicking over them, then repeatedly ground pounded the fake hero. "Don't! You! Ever! Threaten! My! Mama! Again! You! Big! Jerk!"

Doopliss wheezed after getting slammed down by the small Yoshi's powerful drops. He managed to grab Scrappy, squeezing him tightly between his hands, which was a big mistake as he was going to face Fluttershy's wrath. The animal lover charged at them, grabbing Pinkie's dropped hammer, then slammed it down hard on Doopliss's face.

"Drop my baby Yoshi right this instant!" she shouted, his fingers weakly obeying as he groaned with a comically flat face in the shape of the hammer. "Thank you."

Before grabbing Scrappy and taking him away from Doopliss, Fluttershy gave the Duplighost another whack in the face. While he was lost in a daze, Starlight picked the impostor up with her magic aura, shaking him back to consciousness. Pinkie and Vivian popped back out from the void, Pinkie in a bit of shock after getting rescued by the shadow girl.

"...Wow. I can't believe you saved me," she said to Vivian.

"W-Well, Mario said you were gonna get hurt," Vivian said nervously. "I-I trusted him, so-"

Vivian was once again surprised with a hug, and from Pinkie Pie as her hair inflated back to its poofy style. "I knew you weren't such a bad pony! Or, shadow creature thingie, but you know what I mean!" Her third ever hug, which felt so much better when it came from someone else other than Mario, like she was being accepted. It ended a bit too briefly, but they had a Duplighost to deal with as Pinkie joined the others circling Doopliss. "Good thing Mario still has his own Mario Sense, which you can't take away, you nasty wannabe ghostie!"

Doopliss finally snapped awake, unable to move in Starlight's aura, realizing he's screwed. "Uhh, hey, can we just talk about this or something?" he tried to reason. "I mean...I get so lonely and bored out here sometimes."

"You tricked us, and all those people in Twilight Town!" Goombella said.

"And you made us attack the real Mario while you did absolutely nothing!" Flurrie added.

"Not a good copycat if you hang back and lie like a big, fat chicken!" Scrappy said. "Even Rawk Hawk isn't a big coward like you!"

"You're just a pathetic monster, barely even threatening up close," Rarity said. "And you tried to take Mario away from us!"

Doopliss growled, trying to break free from Starlight's hold. "I would have gotten away with it if slick over there didn't become such a nuisance!" he said. "Her and the stupid, annoying witch who barged in on my property!"

Mario stomped over to Doopliss, telling Starlight to drop him. She obliged, but before Doopliss could escape, Mario turned the impostor around, then proceeded to give him a swift punch in the gut. It felt good for the plumber to inflict pain on the identity thieving creature after his last attempt on the trail. Doopliss wheezed and struggled to breathe as he clutched his abdomen. Gritting his teeth, Doopliss reached into his clothes, but Mario knew exactly what he was doing as he tried this the last time. Catching a glint of red, Doopliss pulled out the Ruby Crystal Star. Mario quickly grasped the Duplighost's arm, flicking it hard, causing him to yell in pain and lose his grip on the Crystal Star. It flew over the circle and landed next to Vivian, who leaned down to pick up one of the important jewels Grodus needed to open the Thousand-Year Door.

Mario shook his head in disappointment, not going to be fooled by that trick again. Doopliss giggled sheepishly before grunting as he was pummeled by the heroic plumber, and given a proper beating that will beat HIM rather than his victim knocking himself out. After getting punched to the ground, Mario grabbed Doopliss's feet, then spun him around in place, making him scream out as they spun faster and faster before Mario let go, sending him flying past his friends.

"So long, gay ghostie!" Pinkie exclaimed as everyone watched Doopliss slam into the wall of his "property".

Doopliss slid down the wall, falling on his stomach as his feet hit the ground. Knocked for a loop, he exploded in a puff of smoke, reverting back to his real form. No longer in control of his form, Mario's body began to glow, and in a puff of smoke as well, his body was back to normal as well, colors, features, and all. Everyone cheered, huddling around Mario, glad to have their real friend back after mistaking him for the Duplighost.

"Sorry for getting a bit too rough on you," Goombella apologized. "You know we didn't mean it, right?"

Mario completely understood, not blaming any of them for the mistaken identity. They heard Doopliss groan as he sat up, rubbing his sore body. When he looked up at them, he gulped nervously as he received glares from Mario's friends. Especially Pinkie as she returned to her creepy, more threatening state.

"...Uhhh...I-I think...I think I hear my laundry calling!" Doopliss said, giving the group a short, sheepish grin before panicking and running toward the window, jumping out, and panting heavily as he ran through the thick forest.

"Good riddance to that guy," Rainbow said. "Hope we don't see his stupid face again."

"We might not if he transforms into somepony else," Rarity said.

"Well, at least he won't ever bother Twilight Town ever again, though we're going to have to explain to Mayor Dour who he was actually thanking earlier," Starlight said. Soon, everyone turned their eyes on Vivian, who stood anxiously as all their attention was on her, nervously fidgeting with the Crystal Star in her hands. "Now...what do we do with her?"

Gulping nervously, Vivian approached the group, encouraged by Mario's kindness toward her and her drive to start her life anew as a good citizen. "U-Umm...H-Hello," Vivian greeted. "...S-Sorry for...burning you...and...everything else I did before..."

"Why are you here?" Goombella asked. "And...why come back?...Wait, what did you and Mario even do???"

Vivian stammered nervously, already dreading being rejected. Thankfully, Mario came to her rescue once again, coming over to her to wrap an arm around her shoulder and explained everything that happened with them, especially the Superbombomb that the Shadow Sirens were going to use that had luckily broke thanks to Beldam's senile ignorance. They all took pity for Vivian, especially Flurrie and Scrappy when they heard her sad tale, and ignoring Vivian's forgetfulness, she helped Mario when he was by himself and struggled to survive and get his identity back on his own.

"Wow. That's...a pretty gutsy move leaving your sisters," Starlight said. "I usually don't go with my own gut because...well, I just make things worse than they already are." She giggled sheepishly, remembering what she did to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna when they had their little sibling spat over who works harder and doesn't appreciate their sister's work for them after their long day or night respectively. "But, I had a similar experience as you did; doing something villainous, learning the errors of my ways, and turning myself around to be a much better pony than I was back then."

"You were a villain?" Vivian asked in shock. "W-What did you do?"

"...Uhhh...I manipulated everypony in a village I created to giving up their cutie marks to be equal, even taking them by force when Twilight and her friends arrived to help everypony I conformed into my 'religion', and sought revenge by traveling back through time to erase their friendship, not realizing I created alternate timelines where Equestria was doomed without Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom and their rainbow connection to being close friends in the future," Starlight summarized.

That was a lot for the shadow girl to take in, but she was surprised to know that someone as bright and colorful as Starlight could ever be so...sinister. "...Oh my...That's...much more evil than what I think I've done," she uttered. Vivian glanced at the other mares, confused by them accepting Starlight even after all she did to them and what she almost did to their world's future. "And...You all forgave her?"

"Yeah, she's cool now," Rainbow said.

"Twilight helped set her straight, and nothin' terrible happened in the end," Applejack said. "Well, at least for our time."

"That sounds like a complicated mess," Goombella said. "I can't believe time travel exists in Equestria." Humming in thought, Goombella pulled out a notebook and jotted down some notes. "Maybe I can travel there and explore ancient ruins and legends there after all this."

"W-Well...Mario wants me to join, and I want to join you all, too," Vivian said. "...Can I?"

The group looked toward each other, silently pondering their answer, though Pinkie made it vocal for them all. "Of course you can! The more the merrier!" she said. "We get a new partner for almost every new chapter, and you're the next one, Vivian!"

"You're not all that mean like your sisters, and if you have nowhere to go, you're welcome to join us," Fluttershy said.

"Uhh, what if...she leads us into a trap?" Koops pondered aloud.

"She doesn't even seem like the type to lure us in a trap," Goombella said, giving the Koopa a deadpanned leer. "She'd probably set off her own trap without realizing where she put it."

Koops grimaced and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "W-Well...S-Sometimes, you can never be...to careful?"

"I don't know much about her, and I didn't like getting caught on fire like that," Scrappy grumbled. "...But, if Mama Fluttershy thinks she's ok, then so will I."

As the rest of the group shared their opinions on Vivian, many of them positive, Vivian smiled as she shed tears of joy. "T-Thank you, everyone. I-I won't let you all down," she said, wiping away her tears, then realized she was still holding onto the Crystal Star Doopliss possessed. She really could just take it and return it to Grodus to feel some respect from her siblings, but they lost their chance, already gaining her new friends' trust. Vivian handed the Crystal Star to Mario. "Here, Mario. I think it's better if you hold onto it."

Mario nodded and took the Crystal Star in his hand, which shimmered and flew out of his hand to circle him, granting him its power. "Huh. You know, in hindsight, we probably should have seen the Crystal Star do that whenever Mario touches them," Pinkie said.

Everyone else stared at Pinkie in shock, then all groaned in exasperation. "Ugh, she has a point!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"How did none of us notice that from the last three times!?" Rarity exclaimed.

"Probably because we were more focused on helping the Twilighters," Flurrie said. "I'd forget my own necklace if I had to go out when the little Punies need my help."

"Let's just get back to town and figure out where the map wants us to go next," Starlight said.

Everyone collectively agreed as they finally left this church for good. Vivian followed along, feeling much more appreciated now with her new friends. Things were looking up for the reformed Shadow Siren, and she was going to do her best to help Mario, her very first friend.

"WHERE IS SHE!?" Back in the outskirts of Twilight Town, Beldam and Marilyn returned from their "siesta", only to find no trace of Vivian anywhere. "That scatterbrain must have wandered off again. She's late, and the Superbombomb is still missing!"

"Guuuuh," Marilyn grunted in agreement.

As the two Sirens searched around for Vivian, Doopliss panted as he ran past the two shadow witches. He tripped over his own feet, getting Beldam and Marilyn's attention as he grumbled something, then continued fleeing for his life.

"...What an odd creature," Beldam said. "Maybe it knows where Vivian went."

Short Intermissions to a New Voyage

"Are you sure about this? Speak up, X-Naut!" Grodus said.

In the X-Naut leader's lair, Grodus was alone with an X-Naut soldier, but the uniform was different from the usual red and white. This one wore blue suit with a black X along the front, but also wore a white lab coat and had a clipboard in his hand.

"Yes, sir, I am quite sure," the X-Naut answered as he read through the notes on his clipboard. "I've pored over all of our research of the Thousand-Year Door. And it appears the sealing power has definitely been weakening, like Beldam said."

Impressed by the good news, Grodus smirked. "Finally, the treasure of legend. The ancient power of darkness will soon be ours," he uttered to himself. "Listen, and listen well! Keep giving the Crystal Star search top priority! Of course, that also includes the elimination of Mario! Meddling scum..."

"And the Equestrians who are accompanying him? Are we still refraining from causing them any harm?" the X-Naut asked.

"...That all depends if they become just as much of a nuisance as Mario," Grodus said after some thought. "The other ponies are the Elements of Harmony, but with their sixth Element and royal princess held hostage, they won't pose too much of a threat with their most powerful magic. As long as they are unaware that Princess Twilight Sparkle is imprisoned, we won't be facing a political dilemma with the other royal princesses in their kingdom. Their magic can be an issue-" He then pulled out a remote from his robe, waving it a little to his scientific member of his army. "-unless you can contain it, too."

"Yes, sir," the soldier said, giving his leader their signature cross-armed salute, then walked out to continue their research.

Once Grodus was alone, he began to laugh in a sinister tone. "Soon, I will have the power that has slept for over a millennia," he said to himself. "And when that glorious day dawns, I will throw this world, and even the world of Equestria, into the depths of terror. No one will be able to stop us." Putting away the remote that handled Twilight's inhibitor ring, he looked back at his computer console, pulling up some information of Equestria they had managed to gather. "Not even that world's magic will stop what lies behind that door. All will kneel before the X-Naut regime, and then I, Grodus, will build a new world! A perfect, ideal world...Yes. A world made by me, about me, for me!"

His laughter intensified into cackling, wiping away a document about the Elements of Harmony, the ponies who were chosen by those same mystical artifacts and their powers, and their heroics in the last few years. The one that remained was Twilight's, filled with more files than the rest of her friends. Grodus left the terminal to his office, eager to open the Thousand-Year Door soon, even with all the setbacks from Mario and his friends.

Twilight stared into space, feeling numb and unmotivated from the helplessness she was experiencing. After discovering what the X-Nauts planned to do to the world, both this one and her own world, by using whatever power lies deep within the Thousand-Year Door. TEC seemed to be helping them, but telling them in that dull, robotic tone from his speakers already broke the trust she and Peach had for the supercomputer. He could help them escape, but he obeys Grodus as a part of his programming, and he has the nerve to learn about friendship from the two princesses after hiding something this serious from them. However, as angry and frustrated as she was with him, she was powerless thanks to the inhibitor ring secured tightly around the base of her horn.

Peach sat beside Twilight, her attempts to reassure her that everything was going to be fine all in vain. She tried to give her hope that her friends and Mario would eventually find them and get them out of the X-Naut base, rubbed her head and mane like she was comforting a forlorn pet, but she wasn't able to make her feel better. Twilight always had a way to plan for any scenario, but without her magic, split up from her friends, and trapped in a base neither of them knew where it was located, her hopes were completely dashed and she emotionally defeated. TEC was trying to be helpful, but he had a poor way of showing it, even though he was just a computer.

While Peach gently stroked Twilight's head as her rested in the Mushroom Kingdom princess's lap, they both heard the door to their room slide open on its own. "TEC's calling us," Peach uttered.

Twilight's helpless gaze turned into a leer, staring down the opened hallway leading to the supercomputer. "What does he want with us now?" she questioned. "We're supposed to be prisoners. Isn't it against his 'programming' to help us and our friends?"

"I know you're still mad at him, but he might have something else to tell us so we can tell Mario," Peach said. "I don't know why he's helping us if he's meant to serve Grodus. But...if there's any way to stop the X-Nauts, TEC is the only one who can help us right now."

Twilight glowered at the hall for a moment before letting out a disgruntled huff. "...Fine." Sitting up, Twilight ruffled her wings, begrudgingly climbing out of bed and headed toward the opened doorway. "If he holds anything else from me about Grodus destroying or taking over my world, I'll break his screen with my hooves."

Peach stood up and hurried after Twilight, hoping the alicorn wouldn't get them in more trouble than they've already gotten themselves into. The short walk into the supercomputer's room was left with tension for Twilight as both princesses looked at the camera TEC was watching them with.

Hello, princesses.

"What do you want?" Twilight questioned, wanting to get straight to the point of TEC's request for their audience. TEC didn't make a response, confusing Peach, but irritating Twilight. "Well!? Say something!" No response. "What, do you want me to sing a song and dance for you to get you to talk? How about a friendship lesson from the Princess of Friendship? Or better yet, tell me what else your leader plans to do to my world, my friends, and my FAMILY!?"

...............I am...conflicted...

"Oh, what do you know? A creation who doesn't have a heart finally grew a conscious," Twilight grumbled. "Too late for that."

"Twilight, calm down," Peach chided, gently resting her hand on the irate alicorn's head, reminding her not to lash out recklessly. "TEC, what's bothering you?"

...Which is more important? Carrying out an order or protecting a critical person? Or, rather, critical people?

Both princesses looked at each other, unsure what TEC was talking about. "...Did I hit something important last time?" Twilight asked nervously, part of her regretting almost revealing to Grodus or his soldiers that she and Peach had snuck out of their "cell".

I exist for the sole purpose of a certain person...I wish to exist for the purpose of others...I do not know what to do...

"TEC?" Peach asked, suddenly growing worried when the computer didn't respond after he went on his surprisingly self-conscious rambling.

No...Never mind. Please forget my musings. I do not know why...but it makes me feel unpleasant if I make either of you worry. Especially after our last meeting.

Twilight frowned, but she felt conflicted about TEC after he basically admitted he felt bad for holding back such information about the X-Naut's plans that he couldn't tell because of his parameters. "Really?" Twilight asked.

Yes. I do apologize, Twilight. I did not mean to withhold what I do or do not know. I am just a computer given specific rules and roles built into me.

"...I'm still sore about everything we learned about last time...but I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt if you're still letting us communicate with our friends," Twilight said. "So, why did you really call us? Just to say sorry?"

I want to give you two a quiz.

"Huh? A quiz?" Peach questioned.

Yes. I will give you five questions with multiple choice answers that will appear on my monitor. Answer them all correctly, and I will allow you to use the communicator as usual.

Peach and Twilight glanced at each other, neither of them having any clue to TEC's intentions today. "Are you sure you're not...accidentally broken? If I hit something really important the other day, then we need to try to figure that out before Grodus does," Twilight said, not wanting to get another dose of electrical shocks from her horn as punishment for busting the enemy base's supercomputer.

I am fully functional. There are no errors or bugs within my OS or any physical hardware. Now, question one.

What will happen if you collect seven Crystal Stars?

Your wish is granted

The Thousand-Year Door opens

A thousand coins appear

Fully trusting that TEC was indeed fine, Peach and Twilight stared at the first question. "Uh, the Thousand-Year Door opens?" Peach answered.

Correct. The second question.

What is the goal of Grodus, leader of the X-Nauts?

To conquer worlds

To get rich

To become a superhero

Twilight grimaced at the second question, considering the obvious answer was what they had learned not that long ago. "To conquer both this world and mine," the alicorn answered.

Correct. The third question.

What is the legendary treasure that waits behind the Thousand-Year Door?

100,000,000 coins

An extremely rare badge

A 1000-year-old demon's soul

After reading the question and the three answers, Twilight and Peach gasped in surprise at the last answer. The first two seemed a bit too farfetched of an answer for a giant door that's existed unopened for a millennia, but the last one they HOPED wasn't the correct response.

"T-TEC? W-What...?" Peach stammered, unable to express her distress in her shock.

"I-Is that really...?" Twilight trailed off, having read that legend about the Thousand-Year Door over and over since they were stuck here, but there was no hint of there ever mentioning what lies behind that door aside from rumors and historic value.

Please answer the question.

Gulping nervously, Peach spoke up next. "...A...one thousand year old demon soul?"

Correct. The fourth question.

What does Sir Grodus wish to do with this ancient demon's soul?

Cherish it always

Bring the demon back to life

Hang out with it

If there was anything in fictional tales about the villain summoning a demon Twilight had ever read, no one would be crazy enough to fall for or even befriend a demon with supernatural powers. "He wants to bring it back to life," Twilight answered.

Correct. The final question.

What is required to seal up the demon again?

A legendary sword

A magic spell

Crystal Stars

The last question and the answer puzzled Twilight, even after the bombshell of information around what "treasure" lies behind the Thousand-Year Door. The X-Nauts were searching for the Crystals Stars to open up the Thousand-Year Door, but they also had a part in sealing this demon from what TEC was hinting at with his quiz. It was probably for the best that the treasure was just a rumor so no one would be crazy enough to find out what it really is. However, Grodus seems dead set on gathering the Crystal Stars, not even concerned about the repercussions of the eventual demon stabbing him in the back if he revives it.

"Is it...the Crystal Stars?" Peach answered.

Correct. You two have answered all five questions correctly. You may now use the communicator.

Peach approached the console, still caught off guard with what they learned in TEC's quiz. While the princess typed away to send a message to Mario, Twilight stared at the supercomputer. She felt his gaze on her, even though it was hard to tell what the security cameras he used were looking at.

"...TEC...Why...?" she asked.

What is the matter, Twilight?

"...You're supposed to be the enemy, and yet you're helping us," Twilight said. "We're prisoners here, but you're letting us wander around, helping you gather information you don't know, and allowing us to tell our friends what we do find out while your creator is unaware of what's considered treason. And to top it all off, you give us a quiz to tell us more about what's behind the Thousand-Year Door instead of just being flat-out blunt about it like Grodus's plans." Peach's typing slowed slightly as she looked over her shoulder. She saw Twilight getting more frustrated with TEC's meetings giving them more bad news than good. "Is this just another game for you? Learning how to be friends? Having us risk getting caught just so you could understand more of your master's world domination schemes!? Are you just toying with us for your sick, twisted entertainment!?"

The room went silent, both princesses waiting for a response from the computer. After several minutes, Twilight lowered her head, scowling irritably.

I did not intend to upset you, Twilight. I...I apologize if my lack of information, and revealing them at the worst of time irks you. Your anger the last time was part of the confliction I have experienced...

Twilight looked back up at the security camera, confused. Despite the robotic, monotone voice coming from TEC, it almost seemed like he was actually feeling guilty. Twilight had no knowledge on advanced machinery like TEC, but being made of many parts and similar to that of golems that she's read of in a few spellbooks, they weren't meant to have a will, a soul, or even a heart; they were "created" for a sole purpose given to them by their creator. But if Grodus was the one who created TEC, why was he risking leaking the X-Naut's information to who was supposed to be his enemies?

Princess Peach, are you finished with your message?

Snapping out of her daze, Peach looked back at the console. "A-Almost," she said before resuming her typing until she was finally finished. "Ok. I'm done now."

TEC sent the message with a successful beep after a few seconds.

The message has been sent. You may return to your room now.

Peach and Twilight reluctantly took their leave, taking in what TEC "told" them, and dreading the outcome of what will happen when Mario and their friends find the remaining Crystal Stars. As they reached the door, they both looked back at TEC, still uncertain with what he truly wants out of them. They continued on their way and went back to their room before any X-Nauts discovered they went missing. Twilight walked over to her bed, sitting down, and after a long pause of staring blankly at a wall, she glanced at the book holding the legend of the millennial doorway and the ancient city below Rogueport sitting on her bed.

"A demon...over a thousand years old," Twilight uttered. Grabbing the book in her hooves, she blindly flipped through the pages. She's read this only book in their room so many times, she knows it inside out, and was desperate to see if she missed a page that got stuck together or got torn out by a delinquent who thought it would be funny to defile a book of legends. "Grodus is planning to use...a demon...for world domination...Is he insane?"

Peach saw the frantic look in Twilight's eyes as she repeatedly flipped through the pages. "Twilight, it'll be alright," she gently said.

"'Alright'? You think everything will be 'alright'!?" Twilight slammed the book shut, grimacing in fear as her eye twitched. "HOW!? Has Mario ever faced a demon before!? I don't think Bowser would hold candle to something flung straight out of Tartarus!" Twilight began to hyperventilate, unable to focus on the breathing exercises Cadence taught her to destress when she has a panic attack. Peach tried to calm her down, but the alicorn already leapt off her bed, flopping the book on the floor, and began to pace around nervously. "I've faced the darkness of a princess, a chaotic deity, a bug pony queen, a stallion who might come CLOSE to being a demon, even a magic-stealing centaur! And why, for the love of Celestia, Luna, and Faust above, does there have to be some evil monster who existed a millennia ago, was sealed away for that time, and eventually comes back to take over or destroy the world!? IS IT SOME SORT OF COINCIDENTAL PROPHECY IN ANY WORLD TO HAVE CATASTROPHIC EVENTS WITH A VILLAIN FOR THAT SPECIFIC PERIOD OF TIME!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

Peach quickly grabbed Twilight, holding her still and as gently as possible. "Twilight, calm down," Peach shushed, giving the alicorn calming rubs along her head and neck. Twilight's hooves flailed slightly as her pacing was ruined, and her hyperventilating began to slow down a little bit by the Mushroom Kingdom princess's gentle soothing motions. After some time, Twilight finally calmed down enough to listen to Peach. "Whatever this demon may be, Grodus can't release it without the Crystal Stars. And from their progress, they must have more of the Crystal Stars than the X-Nauts do. They won't bring it back to life if they don't have all seven, right?"

Slowly, Twilight nodded in agreement, but she was still terrified. "R-Right," Twilight mumbled.

"We just need to have faith in our friends that they'll get the rest of the Crystal Stars and keep that door from opening," Peach said. Gently, Peach guided the stressed alicorn back to bed. Sitting down, she helped Twilight climb up, and rest her head back in the princess's lap. "But, if what TEC told us was all true, even if the Thousand-Year Door does get opened, the Crystal Stars can also seal the demon back up again. It's like the Star Spirits cancelling out the Star Rod's power from Bowser."

"...Maybe," Twilight mumbled. "But...we're not dealing with a fire-breathing turtle; we're talking about a monster with unimaginable power that could probably put Sombra's dark magic to shame."

Peach went back to rubbing Twilight's head to calm her back down. "It won't happen. Mario will find out where we are, save us, and put an end to the X-Naut's plans." Even though Peach was trying to assure Twilight that things will be ok, she was just as nervous as the alicorn. Between the two of them, someone had to stay positive and be strong for the other. And in Twilight's desperation, her resolve was waning more and more with each day. Eventually, Twilight was lulled to sleep by the comforting petting, mentally and psychologically exhausted being a prisoner to an evil future overlord. Peach was used to being imprisoned, but it still made her anxious to know if her savior was alright when fighting a tough foe. "At least, I hope so."

Bowser and Kammy Koopa made their way through Rogueport, terrifying citizens who have heard of the big, bad Koopa tyrant and his right hand mage overseas as they screamed and ran for their lives. The duo strolled through the city to the travel platform with the Cheep Cheep blimp and the bullet train.

"So where exactly are you taking me, you old hag?" Bowser questioned.

"I've received reports of a great secret in the floating town of Glitzville!" Kammy said.

"Glitzville? Wasn't I just there a while ago?" Bowser mumbled as he scratched his head.

Ignoring her lord's aloud thoughts, Kammy looked around for a mode of transportation, even though she and Bowser can actually get around through the air with their own means. Spotting the massive Cheep Cheep blimp in the distance, she approached the entrance to the warp pipe leading to the airfield. The Cheep Cheep conductor glanced at them, only to gape his mouth open and closed repeatedly in fear like a fish out of water and gasping for air.

"You there! Two tickets to the blimp!" Kammy demanded. "One Great and Evil King! And one Sweet, Young Thing!"

To add to the title she gave herself, Kammy tried to strike an alluring pose, but with her old age, she wouldn't get a blade of grass excited. The Cheep Cheep shook, more focused on the bored Koopa King behind the elderly Koopa.

"B-B-Bowser!? The evil king Bowser!?" he exclaimed. "And a deluded old hag! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I HAVE TWO CHILDREN!"

Scared for his life, the Cheep Cheep conductor hopped away, bounding over the small fence keeping passengers from getting close to the tracks for the bullet train. Kammy stared at the fleeing conductor, feeling insulted that her charm didn't work on a youthful worker.

"...I must be losing my touch," she mumbled. "And did he call me a deluded old hag!? How dare you, you whippersnapper!?" Kammy turned around to complain to Bowser about how rude the youth of this generation was, but there was no sign of the towering, spike-shelled Koopa King. "Uhh, Lord Bowser? Where'd you go?"

Flying above her, Bowser sat in his patented Koopa Clown Car, smirking down at his advisor. "I'm heading up to Glitzville in style! You can take that wimpy blimpy while I take my own ride!" Bowser gloated. "I snuck into that place no problem. You just go easy on those old limbs of yours, grandma!"

Bowser laughed as he flew off, the rotors running his aerial vehicle whirring loudly and fading as he rose higher into the sky. "Wait! Lord Bowser!" Kammy called out, but he was already long gone. "Awww...Now my Special Dirigible Deluxe Brown Bag Kammy Lunch is going to go to waste..."

Further on ahead, Bowser sat comfortably in his clown car with his arms crossed, eyeing the massive floating city of fighting entertainment in the distance. "Ahh. I love flying menacingly through the skies," he sighed. "The wind blowing through my fiery mane, watching every single person beneath me as I fly over their terrified heads-" Bowser's train of thought was suddenly derailed when his copter car suddenly jerked and made unfortunate clanking sounds. "W-What the? That's...not a good sound." He began hearing sputtering, quickly glancing down at his vehicle's controls. "Uhh, that blinking light doesn't look good." The clown copter began to slow down, the engine letting out one final, dying sputter before his vehicle came to a stop midair. "...Oh no."

Bowser let out a roar as he and his ride began falling. He was unfortunate his clown car's technical malfunction barely got him out far enough out to Rogueport, and he was plummeting down in the middle of the ocean. Bowser fell into the water with a huge splash, sinking down into the water as he slipped out of his seat, his now waterlogged vehicle sinking all the way down to the bottom of the ocean. Blinking, Bowser's shocked daze turned into an annoyed scowl as he blew bubbles out his nose in a huff, only to realize he needed oxygen to breathe. Flailing his arms and legs, Bowser swam his heavy body up to the surface, breaching the water and letting out a huge gasp of air.

Hacking up seawater, he treaded water for a moment, wondering where his clown car crash landed. At least he wasn't too far from Rogueport, but it didn't help that he had to swim about a mile back to the docks. Grumbling, he let out a grunt when he felt something bite his tail. Ducking his head underwater, he found the culprit: a weird crossbreed of a fish and a Chain Chomp gnawing at his tail. Growling, Bowser grabbed the mechanically-built sea creature with his powerful claws, hearing it let out a yelp like a dog when he squeezed its head really hard. Giving it one menacing scowl, he let go of it, teaching its place in the food chain as he watched it swim away in fear. Even under the sea or high above the clouds, Bowser felt a little bit of an ego boost knowing he scares all sorts of creatures above or below ground level.

Panting heavily, Bowser swam back to Rogueport, already hating the ocean and wishing he could turn it into steam with his fire breath. He felt more of those biting fish, even had a Blooper or two tried to strangle his tough limbs, slowing him down and making his workout back to dry land more tiring. Finally, after an hour of struggle, Bowser made it to the stone docks. Grasping the ledge, he pulled himself up with a grunt, ignoring the sounds of terror coming from some of the dockworkers as they fled from his presence. Once he was back on dry land, Bowser heaved and wheezed, his arms and legs burning along with his lungs, collapsed on his belly.

"Ok...I think...I've had...my swimming in...for the rest of the year," Bowser panted. After catching his breath, he stood back up, wincing at his sore limbs with each movement. "What happened to my clown car? It was perfectly fine when I left the castle...Did I gain weight?"

"Lord Bowser!" Leering blankly, Bowser turned around, spotting Kammy Koopa floating down to him on her broomstick. She also brought with her some souvenirs from Glitzville, carrying several colorful balloons in her free hand and wore a paper headband that had Rawk Hawk's face, which were meant for the kids to wear while they watched the fits in the Glitz Pit. "I've been looking all over for you! Where have you been, Your Sogginess?"

Bowser silently leered at Kammy, blinking slowly, as if his drenched body gave enough of a hint as to what happened to him. "...Swimming," he grumbled sarcastically.

"Really? Neat! As for me...Glitzville was FANTASTIC!" Kammy cheered, ignorant of her leader's growing ire. "The matches I saw were so cool! I was overcome with excitement! Why, even at my age, I was shaking what my mama gave me! And then there were the hot dogs!" Kammy licked her lips at the taste of Glitzville's prized hot dogs. "I wished there was that secret ingredient they advertised added to it, but never change what isn't broken! How about you, Lord Bowser? Did you have fun?"

Bowser's eyebrow twitched, his voice rumbling in a low, frustrated growl, and his fists clenched tightly, straining the muscles in his tired biceps. Kammy was still unaware that her king was angry and irritated at her, barely concerned that his vehicle suddenly broke down and sent him crashing into the ocean. The grin on her face from her fun day finally made the Koopa King snap, letting out a roar and blew a powerful stream of flames out of his maw and toward Kammy. After half a minute of fire-breathing screaming, Bowser stopped, gritting his teeth, and glared at a singed Magikoopa, completely stunned. Her balloons popped from the intense heat, her little hat was burnt to ashes, along with her broomstick, and she fell over on the dock, twitching and groaning in pain.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK, YOU OLD PRUNE!?" Bowser exclaimed. "My clown car broke down on me and I fell into the ocean! I had to swim back here, and I got bitten by hungry, metallic, Chain Chomp cross-bred fish, wrangled by Bloopers, and I'm exhausted swimming back to shore!"

"...So, that's a no?" Kammy asked in her daze.

Bowser facepalmed, growling in frustration. "Great. I wanted to take a little bit of a break and have some fun, but no. It's over." Grabbing Kammy's arm, Bowser dragged the elderly Koopa witch behind him. "We're getting some more information on the Crystal Stars and Princess Peach. Of all the rotten luck for my clown car to break down. It's going to take a while for my minions to send a new one."

Kammy shook her head, barely phased by being dragged along by her king, but when she looked up, she thought she saw a familiar shape flying down toward them. "Hey, look! It seems like they heard your demands from across the seas, Your Grouchiness!"

"Hmm?" Coming to a stop, Bowser dropped Kammy, turned around, and looked up.

Squinting his eyes, he saw a vehicle that was similar in shape to his Koopa Clown Car, but it seemed a bit too small compared to his size. There was someone inside as they waved wildly, and the Koopa King's eyes widened when he heard a childish laugh of excitement from that person.

"Papa! Finally found you!" the rider cheered, making Bowser's jaw drop in surprise.

"J-Junior!?" he exclaimed.

The smaller version of the Koopa Clown Car hovered down and landed on the dock. Hopping out was a young spike-shelled Koopa who has a similar resemblance to Bowser. He had the matching scales and green shell, but his red hair was tied back in a ponytail, only the fang protruding from his upper left jaw was fully grown, and around his neck was a bib-like bandanna with a crude child's drawing of a mouth baring sharp fangs similar to Bowser's maw.

"Y-Young Lord Bowser Junior!? What are you doing here!?" Kammy exclaimed.

"Papa, you went on a fun adventure, and you didn't bring me with you!?" Junior exclaimed, stamping his feet in a tantrum. "That's not fair! You went after the Star Rod, and you left me alone at the castle all bored while you were with Princess Peach!"

Bowser sighed, running his fingers against the bridge of his nose. "Alright. Which one of the guards blabbed about the Crystal Stars to you?"

"I overheard everything the other day, so I just snuck out and headed in the direction of your Koopa Clown Car with mine when I had the chance!" Junior said proudly. Kammy looked like she was about to have a heart attack while Bowser seemed a little miffed having his son deciding to wander off to find and join him. Then again, with their luck so far, especially his, Bowser could use another set of eyes that didn't need magnified glasses to see better. "So, did you find any of those fancy Crystal Stars yet, papa?"

"No, not yet," Bowser said. "We were about to get back to searching, son. And if you want to help, then you don't wander too far. Mario and his little pet friends are in this region, too." Junior let out a retching sound. He heard about the ponies who helped Mario beat his dad last time, and their colorful features and their magic of friendship. "So if we run into them, I'm getting the first swing at Mario. Got it?"

"Ok, papa!" Junior said.

Junior hopped back into his mini-Clown Car, hopping excitedly in his seat as he gets to go off on an adventure with his dad. "L-Lord Bowser, are you sure about this?" Kammy asked under her breath, out of earshot of Junior. "What if he gets lost? I know he's a tough boy, but-"

"If it'll keep him from whining and throwing a tantrum for leaving him behind, I'm going to let him have fun," Bowser hissed back to Kammy. "Besides, if I can't have fun, then I'm not letting my son miss out if he's feeling ready to take on the mantle as my heir in the years to come. I mean, we got Mario arrested in Isle Delphino when we kidnapped Peach when she and Mario went on THEIR vacation, and he did perfectly fine on his own."

"Well, if you say so," Kammy sighed.

"Come on, Junior! We're going to gather some more info on the Crystal Stars!" Bowser called out as he marched into Rogueport.

Junior giggled gleefully as he followed after his father, Kammy slumping along behind them after her broomstick got burned away by Bowser's fire. "Maybe I'm getting too old for this..."

Mario and company trekked their way back to Twilight Town from Creepy Steeple after finally putting an end to the monster residing deep in the haunted church, the duplicating Duplighost, Doopliss. Thanks to Vivian, the former Shadow Siren helped clear Mario's name when Doopliss disguised himself as the plumber while stealing his identity and turning him into a shadow. As ditsy as she was, her ability over fire was very helpful getting them back to town. They soon arrived back in town and stopped by Mayor Dour's home, who was given a much needed rundown on who he personally thanked after everyone got tricked by Doopliss.

"I can't believe that was a fake Mario all that time," the mayor said, clearly embarrassed at the mistaken identity of the plumber he graciously thanked. "I'm so sorry, Mario. Can you forgive me?" Mario shrugged it off, completely understanding the mix-up with Doopliss if the same thing would happen if someone else was switched. "Oh! You are a much bigger man than I, Mario! A true hero! You and your friends have brought a shining ray of light to our dim little town!"

"Ironic, because sources of light can blind you very easily," Starlight mentioned.

"Please come back and visit whenever you can," Dour said to the group. "And, this time, it will be a feast truly dedicated for your heroism."

"With lots of fruit?" Scrappy asked, drooling slightly after eating the spread the mayor had before.

"And then some," Dour promised.

As eager as Scrappy was to sample some more delectable fruit, Fluttershy had to drag her adoptive Yoshi child back. "Just make sure to save some for everypony else," she reminded Scrappy.

The group said their goodbyes to Mayor Dour and made their way to the warp pipe leading back to Rogueport's sewers. "Time to head back to the Thousand-Year Door and see where the next Crystal Star is," Goombella said.

"Vivian, we're going to need to write your name down on you so you can pass through this particular warp pipe," Starlight said.

"Oh, that's ok. I wrote my name in my hat in case I lost it," Vivian assured. She took off her hat to show everyone where she wrote her name, startling her new friends when they got a look at her face without it mostly being obscured by her hat. "See? Right here...Uhh, what? Why is everyone looking at me?"

Not wanting to be rude, everyone quickly snapped out of their stupors and gave the former Siren a fake grin. "N-Nothing, darling! We're...just surprised by how...radiant you look without your hat on!" Rarity said.

"Oh," Vivian mumbled, embarrassed with a shy grin. "Should I leave it off?"

"No no no!" Flurrie quickly said. "I mean...I-I'm so jealous by how much prettier you look compared to the rest of us ladies! You wouldn't want to make other women jealous and try to steal your good looks, right?"

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Vivian placed her hat back on her head, completely ignorant to the relieved expressions on her new friends' faces. They didn't want to be rude to her like her sisters had been if they said the wrong thing. She was already sensitive enough about her self-confidence no thanks to Beldam and her senile insults. After her hat was fully adjusted, Vivian waltzed over to the pipe. "Let's get going."

After disappearing down the pipe, the others all sighed, dodging a bullet. "W-What did we just see?" Koops asked. "Is Vivian...Is she not really a-?"

"Nope!" Pinkie quickly shoved her hoof against Koops's lips, then looked out in the distance. "Vivian is DEFINITELY one hundred percent a girl! There is no proof in another translation of the game we're crossed over with hints at Vivian being anything BUT a girl!Sometimes, those little things lost in translation would only cause controversial issues back in the day when LGBTQ stuff wasn't frowned upon."

"I think Koops was probably talking about her lack of eyes," Rainbow said. "Even with all that pink hair, how does she even see?"

"...Yes! Let's go with that!" Pinkie said. "She has no eyes under her hat and she sees with her nose!"

Mario just shook his head at Pinkie's odd statement, reminding everyone to treat Vivian nicer now that she was a part of the group and their friend. Once they came to terms with whatever they witnessed underneath the former Shadow Siren's hat, the rest of the group jumped into the warp pipe to join up with Vivian. Just before they walked out of the room with Twilight Town's warp pipe, Mario's Mailbox SP began ringing a familiar ringtone.

"Hey, sounds like Peach and Twilight managed to send another message," Applejack said.

Pulling out his device, Mario flipped it open and read the new message aloud.

My dear Mario,

I have finally learned what the legendary treasure is. It is the spirit of a demon! The X-Nauts plan to revive this thousand-year-old monster and use its power to take over not only our world, but Equestria, too! They're collecting the Crystal Stars so they can open the Thousand-Year Door! But there is some good news: the Crystal Stars are not only able to release this demon, but they can also be used to lock it away! You must not let them get the Crystal Stars! Please, Mario...You must put a stop to their horrible plans!
-Princess Peach-

Everyone gasped at the unfortunate news of what this supposed treasure that laid behind the door they were trying to open. "A demon!? THAT'S what the X-Nauts are after!?" Starlight exclaimed.

"Are they crazy!?" Rainbow exclaimed. "And they think they can take over our world, too!? I'll show those dorks who they think they're messing with!"

"Ohh, Professor Frankly's gonna have a field day when he finds out about this," Goombella said.

As Mario put away his Mailbox SP, feeling just as on edge as everyone else was about the situation, he noticed Vivian was a bit lost in thought. Seeing how she and her older sisters were working for the X-Nauts, there had to be something that she knew about what else the X-Nauts were planning on doing once they gathered the Crystal Stars. Getting Vivian's attention, he asked her what she knew about the X-Nauts, gathering everyone else's attention toward her for some more information.

"Umm...I-I...don't know what else I can tell you," Vivian mumbled nervously. "Beldam never tells me her plans, and when she does, she...she just yells at me for being dumb...and I wouldn't understand."

"Well, anything would help if this evil Grodus leader wants to take over both of our worlds," Fluttershy said.

"Y-Yeah," Koops gulped nervously. "And I thought Hooktail would have been the least of our worries."

Vivian looked at her new friends, still worried about how they'd think about her after learning what she knew, but gaining their trust, she took a breath to steady her nerves. "All I've ever done was follow Beldam and do what she wanted, taking her verbal abuse all the while. We know Grodus wants to open the door, and hired us to help find and gather the Crystal Stars." She paused, bringing a finger to her lip and bit it nervously. "...B-Beldam...also lingered around Rogueport for a while, offering passersby a special treasure chest only able to be opened by a pure-hearted maiden...And...she pointed out to the X-Nauts who they needed to kidnap, which were both of your friends."

"Beldam helped kidnap Peach and Twilight!?" the Equestrians exclaimed in shock.

"T-Then you must know where they're being held!" Rainbow said.

"Right! You're somehow able to teleport to and from different places through the shadows!" Starlight said. "You have to tell us where they both are! We can save them, get those Crystal Stars, and prevent that door from ever being opened!"

Vivian backed up against the wall, already feeling overwhelmed. "I-I...I don't..." Whimpering, feeling disappointed in herself, Vivian lowered her hat over her face in shame. "I don't know where they're hiding."

"WHAT!?" Rainbow exclaimed, making Vivian wince and shed a few tears. "You gotta be kidding me! You've been to their hideout, and you don't know!? What's the matter with you!?"

"Rainbow Dash!" Flurrie scolded. "Don't pressure the poor thing!"

"And don't yell at her! She's had enough of that from those who were her own family!" Rarity added.

"I-I'm sorry," Vivian apologized, trembling slightly as she choked back a sob. "I-I only know where we m-met Grodus. Not where it really is, o-or where your friends are...I-I always f-f-followed Beldam and Marilyn wherever we went..."

Despite Rainbow voicing everyone's frustrations with an annoyed grunt, Applejack quickly yanked the pegasus back down to the ground. "Dash, don't push her around and treat her like she's dumb," she scolded.

"But she-!" Another hard yank made Rainbow yelp, getting really sick of being the only one having her tail harshly pulled to get her attention, holding her back, or shutting her up. "Will you stop that!?"

"Does Rainbow Dash need a time-out, Mama Fluttershy?" Scrappy asked.

"She might if she keeps upsetting Vivian when she's done as much as she can for us with her horrible sisters," Fluttershy said, giving her best friend a warning glare, otherwise she might allow Scrappy to trap Rainbow into an egg to get her to learn.

It might not have been her Stare, but Rainbow's fur stood on end whenever she saw Fluttershy seemed dead serious on her being put in "time-out". Rainbow kept her mouth shut, still unable to believe they had someone who worked for the enemy group now on their side, but have nothing useful to give them about their kidnapped royal friends. Mario went over to Vivian's aid, helping the distressed Shadow Siren calm down and gently rubbed her back. Thankfully being backed by her new bestest friend, Vivian sniffled and wiped away her tears.

"I'm really sorry, everyone," Vivian apologized again. "I really wish I could be more helpful."

"At least we know who was responsible for getting the princesses kidnapped," Goombella said. "And they had the map before mailing it to Mario, which shows where the Crystal Stars are located, and they're getting desperate now that we have four of them."

"And you're more helpful than you think," Rarity added. "You helped Mario get his identity back and rescued Pinkie from getting harmed by that dreaded Doopliss. Don't let what your sisters say always weigh you down. Be comfortable with yourself and do what makes you feel good."

Smiling, Vivian nodded her head. "O-Ok." She giggled sheepishly, a faint blush on her cheeks. "It's...really strange being complimented. I'm used to just...agreeing with my mistakes."

"Even though lot of them weren't your fault from the beginning," Starlight said.

"R-Right," Vivian mumbled.

"Let's head for the door and see where the map tells us to go next," Goombella said.

The group filed out of the small space of Twilight Town's entrance, though Vivian lingered slightly. "Behind that door...is a demon's spirit...Why...does that sound familiar?"

Shaking her head, Vivian brushed the strange thought aside and hurried after her new companions. Thankfully, getting a feel of where everything was within the sewers, it didn't take them long to reach the Thousand-Year Door. Vivian stared in awe as she looked at the massive red doors for the first time. While marveling at the doors and the etching all over it, Mario stepped onto the center dais, holding out the Ruby Star. The Crystal Star hovered out of his hand as the lights around the dais lit up, and the mystical star floated over its place in the circle. The map soon floated from Mario's backpack and hovered over the plumber, shining brilliantly to reveal the next location and also distract Vivian with its blinding light.

On the map, the next Crystal Star's location was south of Rogueport in the middle of the ocean. Waves began popping out, along with an island, some palm trees, and a stone skull with an eyepatch carved into the structure, clearly depicting possible pirate activity. Shimmering into existence on the map was the next Crystal Star in a blue sapphire color. The map floated back down in the plumber's hands, everyone gathering around him to see while Vivian rubbed her eyes from the surprising flashing lights.

"Oooh! It's out on an island!" Pinkie cheered. "Finally! We get to hunt for real treasure like pirates!"

"That's odd. I don't recall seeing islands anywhere south of Rogueport when we were cruising here a few days ago," Starlight mentioned.

"Maybe it's farther out than the map makes it appear to be," Goombella pondered. "Either way, let's get to Professor Frankly to see if he might have an idea about this island. And...tell him the bad news about this door."

Everyone glanced at the massive door, dreading to see what demon of similar size lies behind it.

"WH-WH-WHAAAAT!?" Frankly shrieked, left just as baffled and shocked as the others when Mario showed him Peach's latest email. "The legendary treasure is actually the spirit of an ancient demon!?"

"Yup. And the X-Nauts plan to use that demon to take over this world, and our own after that," Starlight said. "We may have the Elements of Harmony that could probably help stop it along with the Crystal Stars, but without Twilight as the Element of Magic, we're completely defenseless."

"Hmm...I see," Frankly mumbled. "...Sadly, it does seem to be consistent with what I've discovered."

"What do you mean, professor?" Goombella asked curiously.

"Well, it is a bit of a rather long lecture, so you'd best listen well," the Goomba said. He then glanced elsewhere, and behind his swirly glasses, much to Pinkie's surprise, he addressed to an invisible audience only she was able to see. "And you all out there reading this! You better keep them peepers focused on what I'm about to say, too! This is VERY important!"

Confused, the others looked around, having no idea what Frankly was talking about, or WHOM he was talking to. "Uhh, who are you talking to?" Koops asked.

Zipping over to the Goomba professor, Pinkie nearly bowled him over and looked startled. "You can SEE them!?" she exclaimed.

"Huh? See who?" Frankly asked as if he had completely forgotten he had just broken the fourth wall for a brief moment.

"The readers!" Her hooves shot out to the screen, violently shaking it to emphasize the mystery audience Frankly just advised. "Right here! Reading every single word written by the author! You know, everything I'm saying is being put in written form to tell the story we're in right at this very moment!?"

"What!? Are you calling me senile!?" Frankly exclaimed. "I'm not THAT old and delirious!...At least I hope not."

Pinkie let go of the invisible screen, awestruck by this new knowledge. "Discord and I aren't the only ones who can see the fourth wall after all..."

Starlight dragged Pinkie back with the group, giving Professor Frankly his personal space back. "I think what happened in Twilight Town has really messed with your head today, Pinkie. Why don't you take a nap or something?" Starlight said.

"N-No. I'm good. Pinkie will be good," the pink earth pony mumbled.

Clearing his throat, Frankly prepared to give his thesis to his adventurous colleagues about the ancient demon as the Thousand-Year Door's treasure. "Now, in the legend, there was a great cataclysm, and it might have referred to this very demon we're talking about." Grabbing the book about the legend, Frankly opened the pages to show an illustration of the former city beneath Rogueport and being destroyed by a mysterious demonic force. "It says that a monster destroyed the large town that once stood on in this very area. It ALSO says that the seven Crystal Stars were actually CREATED by this monster, AND it used their power to control the world."

Everyone gasped in shock. "Wait, that demon MADE the Crystal Stars!?" Rainbow exclaimed.

Mario pulled out the four Crystal Stars they already have from his backpack. He hasn't used their powers just yet after holding them in his hand, but he didn't feel any sort of evil force within them. The Crystal Stars were a boon and a bane to this monster, which only left more questions as to why this demon thought it was a smart idea to create the very gem stars that could defeat it.

"According to the legend, the demon was defeated in the end by four heroes," Frankly continued. "But only the beast's physical form was destroyed; it's spirit could not be eradicated. So the four heroes used the Crystal Stars, which they stole from the demon, and cast it into the depths of a vast maze, and sealed up the exit. From this description, I gather that the Crystal Stars cannot distinguish good from evil. So if they are all united, they could either seal away the demon or resurrect it."

"R-Right!" Goombella said. "Back in Glitzville, Grubba used the Crystal Star for his own personal gain to be younger and stronger by taking other fighters' lives!"

"And that Doopliss cretin used the Crystal Star he had in order to nearly permanently take away Mario's identity!" Flurrie added. "Anyone can use the Crystal Hearts, whether they have just one or more of them."

"They could be dangerous in anypony's hooves," Applejack uttered.

"Well, we have four of them. Why not just leave the rest of them alone and search for Peach and Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"I have pondered on that thought as well, but upon further analysis in my research, we can't stop collecting them," Frankly chimed in.

"Why?" Fluttershy asked. "The Thousand-Year Door can't open without all of them, right? So the demon won't escape?"

"Uhh, that is correct, however, there's a slight probability that the seal around the Thousand-Year Door is weakening," Frankly explained. "It seems that the Crystal Stars hold the power to seal the beast for a thousand years."

"And, knowing our unfortunate luck with one thousand year old legends, this year is probably the thousandth year, and that door will open one way or another," Starlight sighed. "Great. So we have to be prepared to face this thing, whether we stop the X-Nauts or find the last three Crystal Stars."

"And we have the next location pointed out on the map," Scrappy pointed out.

Mario put the Crystal Stars back in his pack, relieved to know that he'll use their powers justly, then pulled out the Magical Map. He laid it down on Frankly's desk for him to look over while he went to find a geological map of the region. While the Goomba triangulated the exact location of this island out at sea, Vivian inched over to the desk, noticing the book on the legend Frankly left out. She stared at the illustration of what the demon was depicted to look like. She thought the legend sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't put her finger on it as she was drawing a blank.

"Ok. According to the map, the next Crystal Star appears to be somewhere on Keelhaul Key." Frankly's voice snapped Vivian out of her daze, slowly shuffling back to join the others. "Not familiar with that island, though I have heard countless...unsavory rumors."

"Uhh...W-What kind of rumors?" Koops asked.

"Oh, the usual: vengeful spirits full of hatred, evil curses, bloodthirsty pirates possibly hiding there, etc." Koops grimaced, wishing he didn't ask as he slunk his head deeper and deeper in his shell. "If you want more information, I'd ask the sea salts down by the harbor. They're much more seaworthy than me."

"Awesome! We could run into pirates!" Rainbow cheered.

"Let's not and say we did," Starlight said. "Hopefully we'll get some of the harbor workers to give us some clue getting there without a ship to travel to Keelhaul Key."

"How about we try the inn first? Most of the sailors rest there after getting back to shore," Goombella said.

"And we can get ourselves a snack, too!" Pinkie added.

"Pinkie, we just ate back at Mayor Dour's place," Rarity said.

"But it's been almost a year since the last update in this story! I'm starving!" Pinkie whined, pouting like a sad puppy begging for food.

Everyone silently stared at Pinkie for a few awkward seconds. "...Right," Goombella mumbled. "Might as well stock up for the voyage to Keelhaul Key anyways. It'll probably take us a few days to get there."

"Yay! Food time!" Pinkie hummed and hopped out of Frankly's study, heading to the inn ahead of the others.

The rest of the group followed her, knowing Mario would probably want something to eat after Doopliss's body-snatching snafu. As they filed out, Vivian lagged behind, looking over at Frankly's desk where the illustration remained opened. Frankly noticed the former Shadow Siren eyeing the book with a distant gaze.

"Is there something wrong, miss?" he asked.

"H-Huh?" Vivian quickly shook her head, grinning nervously. "S-Sorry. Just...lost in thought."

She slipped into the ground, using her shadow warping to catch up with her friends. Vivian couldn't get that illustration of the demon out of her mind; what was this demon spirit, and why does it seem like she knew it in some strange way?

Navigator Delay

Pinkie bounded down the road with the others following after her. She was starving, and needed some good eats, along with preparing for a voyage overseas to Keelhaul Key, a rumored spooky isle never explored by seafarers. Pinkie finally stopped in front of the inn, walking inside and stepping up to the bar, where an elderly man with a literal bean-shaped head manned the bar area.

"Barkeep, you better have something to eat, because I'm as hungry as a griffon!" she announced. "But I am vegetarian, so some veggie options would be great, please and thank you."

"...Uhh, miss, we don't have a kitchen," the bartender said.

"...Oh. Well, poo," Pinkie grumbled. "I'll go see if Zess T.'s got some extra goodies to share, then."

She hopped away, confusing the others as they walked inside the inn. "Pinkie, where are you going now?" Rarity asked.

"I'm gonna visit Zess T. and try some of her recipes!" Pinkie said. "The inn doesn't have a kitchen!"

"Of course it doesn't," Goombella grumbled.

"Well, maybe we can see if a sailor might know a bit more about Keelhaul Key than Prof. Frankly," Starlight pondered. The bar had a couple of patrons, though one specific character stood out among them. Wearing a red uniform fit for a seafaring captain, a white plume feather sitting atop his hat, and yellow skin with a long nose and long, purple curls, he sat by himself at the far end of the bar, singing a song to himself, and on his table was a red crystal skull. Figuring he might have sailed past the island before, Starlight approached the table. "Hello. Are you by any chance a seafarer, sir?"

"Hmm? Oh, you might say that," he said. "I'm more of a trader. The richest man in Rogueport. The name is Flavio."

"Nice meeting you, Flavio," Starlight said. "I'm Starlight Glimmer, and I was wondering-"

"My monetary wealth gives me freedom, yes, and the wealth of spirit!" Flavio continued, completely ignoring Starlight. "And yet...why is it that a man whose life is unchained must always long yet for more?" Starlight stammered, unsure what kind of tangent Flavio was going on. "What am I missing from my life? It tears me apart inside! Tell me, lass, I must know! What do I lack!?"

"...Uhhhh...I don't know...The thrill of...adventure?" Starlight uttered.

"Thrills, you say?" Flavio hummed in thought, his hand reaching out to the crystal skull on the table. "Yes. I suppose one does need some thrills every now and then. There is nothing like the feel of being alone on a mountain, shivering to death."

"...Wait, what?" Starlight questioned.

Realizing what he was saying, Flavio quickly shook his head. "Ah! No! Foolish Flavio! Not CHILLS, you silly man! What I need are THRILLS!"

"And I regret starting a conversation with you," Starlight muttered to herself. She turned away to join back with her friends. "Pinkie Pie makes more sense than this guy."

"Wait! Hold the horses!" Flavio stood up, snatching his skull and placing it in his coat before getting in front of the unicorn's path. "An idea has struck me. I once heard of the treasure of Cortez, the pirate king...Yes, that is the answer! A hunt for pirate treasure! Why, it just shrieks of romance, thrills, emotion, and money!"

"Great. Glad I could help," she said sarcastically, using her magic to gently nudge the deranged sea captain out of her way.

"Have you not heard the tale?" Flavio asked Starlight, but she began ignoring him. "About the pirate king's treasure? Hidden on Keelhaul Key?" The mention of the island made Starlight freeze, her ears perking up. She looked back at Flavio, getting her attention. "Tales say that the pirate king, Cortez, hid his hoard of pirate booty there. For years, treasure hunters and ruffians have gone there in search of the loot, but not a single one of them has ever returned. People around here whisper that the ghost of Cortez attacks all who seek his treasure." Flavio shuddered at the excitement of the horror story. "The frightening rumor makes my back tingle, but that will not stop Flavio from venturing to Keelhaul Key! I will find the treasure there, and I will prove it! For I am Flavio! Trader extraordinaire, millionaire, sailor of the seven seas!"

"Treasure, huh?" Starlight asked. "Is one of those treasures something called a Crystal Star?"

"A Crystal Star?" Flavio asked. "I've never heard of such a thing. Why?" He suddenly got a bit defensive, keeping his coat held tightly where he had placed his crystal skull. "Are you wanting to take my treasure out from under my nose!?"

"No," Starlight groaned. "Look, my friends and I are trying to rescue a couple of our other friends who got kidnapped, and we're searching for these Crystal Stars. One of them happens to be on Keelhaul Key, and we need a ship to make it there. Do you have one, or are you going to waste my time being suspicious of me taking treasure that I'm not interested in?"

"Hmmmm...I can have a ship prepared for us," Flavio said, deep in thought. "...Do you have a map to the island?"

"We have a map that has the whole region, and Keelhaul Key is on there, but the exact location might not be accurate," Starlight said.

Flavio rubbed his chin. "...Now that I think about it, there might be a star-shaped treasure in Cortez's hoard," he mumbled. After some thought, he nodded his head. "Very well! Fate must be on Flavio's side! I shall accompany you and your companions to Keelhaul Key! You can keep the Crystal Star, but the rest of the treasure is mine!"

"Fine. Deal. Done," Starlight quickly said.

"I will go and get preparations done immediately! Meet me down at the port whenever you are ready, and I shall meet your companions on the vessel!" Flavio took his leave, unaware of Starlight's "companions" here in the bar as he passed by them, some of them overhearing their awkward conversation. "Skull captain casts his gaze~! Red jewel shines and plays~! Boom-bassa-boom festival~!"

As soon as the odd, rich adventurer left, Starlight let out an annoyed sigh. "What a narcissist. He's worse than Trixie on her bad days," she grumbled. She looked at her friends, who were just as perturbed witnessing their conversation. "...I take it you heard some of the good news."

"We have a way to get to Keelhaul Key, at least," Koops said.

"We'd better get Pinkie Pie and gather up some supplies for the trip," Applejack said.

Exiting the inn, they made their way to Zess T.' house next to the archway leading to the west side of the port town. Up on the balcony of the upper shop, however, a certain mouser's heart-curled tail tip flicked eagerly, watching the group passing by.

"Well, if it isn't my hunk of cheese and his compatriots." Flinching, Mario looked up, spotting Ms. Mowz casually staring down at them.

The rest of the group looked up, all but Vivian startled to see her again after seeing no sign of her back in Twilight Town. "Oh no. Not this floozy again," Goombella grumbled.

"Who's the cute mouse?" Vivian asked.

"Cute!?" Goombella and Flurrie exclaimed.

Ms. Mowz chuckled, hopping down from her perch, and as she landed, snuck a kiss right on Mario's cheek when he wasn't expecting it. "Gotcha, handsome," she said with a flirtatious wink, making the Goomba and wind spirit fume bitterly.

"I'd say we'd be surprised seeing you again, Ms. Mowz," Rarity said.

"We thought you'd be in Twilight Town looking for a treasure in the Creepy Steeple," Fluttershy said.

"Oh, sorry, darlings," Ms. Mowz apologized. "I may be a thief, but I also have a business to run. The badges I take aren't just for keeps. At least, most of them."

"Ya own a shop here?" Applejack questioned.

"Yes. Badges are all the rage," the mouser said matter-of-factly. "Although, I have gotten a little bored lately. And it's been ages since I've last had a run in with the famous hero."

"I'm gonna headbonk her so hard," Goombella grumbled angrily.

"And I couldn't help overhearing at the inn that you're off in search of a treasure on Keelhaul Key," Ms. Mowz mentioned. "I've heard the rumors, but I don't believe them."

"Were you spying on us from the second floor?" Flurrie questioned.

"I love snooping around, especially for a good haul," the mouse thief said. "But if there's a treasure to find, I can help sniff it out, and any traps that might be set for a pirate's cursed treasure. I can be a very helpful asset to your cause with the Crystal Stars, too."

"Absolutely not!" Goombella and Flurrie shouted.

"What is with you two?" Rainbow asked the angry Goomba and wind spirit.

"We just...don't want her to get us into trouble!" Goombella reasoned.

"Y-Yes!" Flurrie agreed. "And she would be a bad influence for Scrappy!"

The Yoshi blinked, glancing at Ms. Mowz curiously before looking back at Flurrie. "Uhh, she doesn't seem bad. She even helped us find King K. and Bandy Andy when they went missing."

Ms. Mowz tittered as she waltzed over to the two female fighters. "Oh, I think I know exactly why they don't like me; they're jealous I'm trying to steal the attention of their mustachioed hero." Goombella and Flurrie blanched, their cheeks turning red as they stammered for an excuse. It was obvious to everyone else, even when the two girls don't want to admit it, though Vivian was a bit confused by their reactions. "I can't help that I find a handsome devil of a man on my adventures and want to tease him. It's all in good fun. But if it bothers you that much, I won't steal a kiss from him...at least while you're watching."

Goombella and Flurrie grumbled at the sneaky mouse's plan, but they remained silent. "Well, we could use a bit more assistance, assuming you can fight as well as you can steal," Starlight said.

"I wouldn't search in dangerous locations if I weren't able to defend myself," Ms. Mowz said. "And I promise to behave myself." Despite given a several swift sneak kisses, Mario was willing to deal with Ms. Mowz if she doesn't wander off, or make things tense between Goombella and Flurrie and their jealous tendencies. The mouse looked around, noticing someone in the group was missing. "Say, where's the pink one? Did she get lost?"

"Oh, right. She's at Zess T.'s looking for some grub," Rainbow said.

"I hope she isn't giving her too much trouble," Fluttershy said.

They hurried to the cook's home, and as they opened the door, they saw Pinkie and Zess T. going on a cooking spree in the Toad's kitchen. "Yeah, yeah! We'll add a bit of this to give it some more flavor!" Zess T. said, aggressively chopping some vegetables while Pinkie was swirling batter messily in a large bowl.

"I need more flour!" Pinkie screeched. "Where's an evil Shy Guy carrying one around when you need one!?"

The group blinked as they watched the kitchen carnage. There were several baked goods, pastries, and fried snacks Pinkie and Zess T. had piled on a table, fit enough to feed a large crew on a ship for a couple weeks. They had no idea what sparked this cook off or cooperative cooking spree, but it all looked and smelled good.

"...Did we miss something?" Flurrie asked.

"I...have no idea..." Starlight uttered. "At least we've got snacks..."

After having to physically drag Pinkie away from Zess T. from their intense cooking and baking binge, they stored all the snacks for the trip, then went to the shop to gather some essential supplies for the ship ride to Keelhaul Key. With several bags in tow, the group headed down to the docks, spotting a ship that stood out from the slums of Rogueport. Coated with bright colors of yellow, green, and blue with stars lining the sides, it had two masts with white sails and was built to carry a sizable crew, along with the many passengers that would take part in the voyage. Flavio was seen on the deck, along with some other seafaring volunteers getting the ship ready. There were a few toads, a few in yellow overalls, one of them the shopkeepers from Rogueport's store, and one younger of the bunch in green overalls, who seemed pretty timid and nervous. There were a couple Bob-ombs as well, one blue with a blue and white striped bandanna on their head, and another who was slightly bigger with a purple body, a yellow and purple striped bandanna on top of theirs, an eyepatch over his left eye, and the windup key behind this one were crossbones instead of a normal key. The last of the crew they could see from the distance was someone different, wearing a black suit underneath a pair of yellow overalls, black boots, white gloves, a blue and white striped bandanna over his head with a pair of horns sticking out, though one seemed a bit bent downward, a pair of goggles, and a red scarf that obscured the rest of his face.

"Wow. That's a fancy boat," Vivian said.

"Why do we need to take a boat to the island?" Rainbow questioned. "Can't we just borrow that Cheep Cheep blimp to get there?"

"I doubt Keelhaul Key is a big enough island to land a hot air balloon, let alone a blimp," Goombella stated. "It's an uninhabited island. All the jungle foliage would make it hard to attempt a safe landing by air."

"How long will it take to get there by ship?" the pegasus dreadfully asked.

"A few days, depending on how far the island actually is from Rogueport," Goombella guessed.

Rainbow whined, having no patience to wait that long just to start exploring an island with booby traps and treasure. "Can't I just fly on ahead and find the Crystal Star myself?"

"And f-f-face the pirate king's g-g-ghost?" Koops shuddered.

"He's probably just a made up pony tale," Rainbow scoffed.

"And yet Boos are ghosts, and they are very real," Rarity muttered. "I don't doubt this Captain Cortez and his lingering spirit might still be around after learning about some ghosts with Bow."

"Let's just climb aboard and get to sailing," Starlight said.

Mario nodded and led the group down to the ship. They could hear some of the sailors talk among themselves as they prepped the ship for launch. Flavio spotted them, surprised by the number of friends Starlight had accompanying her after seeing them before at the inn.

"Ah, Miss Glimmer! I assume this is your...entourage?" Flavio asked.

"Yes, these are my friends," Starlight said. "This is Mario, and-"

"Yes, yes, nice to meet you lot," Flavio interrupted, making the unicorn groan in annoyance. "But feast your eyes on this vessel I have acquired! She is the S.S. Flavion, the queen of the countless ships of my personal fleet."

Ms. Mowz quirked a brow at the flamboyant ship captain, then the ship they were going to take. "If this is the queen of your fleet, I dread to know what the king looks like."

"This ship is a masterpiece," Flavio gloated, completely ignorant of his passengers not caring how great of a ship it is as long as it got them to their destination. "The raw majesty of her hull. The elegant curve of her prow! She tops any and all sailboats ever built by a master craftsman's hands! She can cut past even the harshest of-!"

"OY! They get it! Yer ship's fancy!" exclaimed the Bob-omb with the eyepatch. "You've been talkin' about it nonstop with us, and I'm sick of hearin' it for the hundreth time!"

Flavio leered at the Bob-omb, sticking his long nose up in the air with a huff. "Well, I never. I expected better of you, Pa-Patch."

Pa-Patch rolled his eye with a groan, ignoring his "captain" and focused on the passengers. "I would say climb aboard and prepare to shove off, but we've got a big issue. We don't have a navigator to help guide the ship across the waters, especially with Keelhaul Key's dangerous waves."

"No navigator?" Vivian asked. "What's a navigator?"

"Navigators steer the ship in the right direction from port to port, or to different islands," Goombella explained. "Some use different navigating instruments, but most expert sailors at night use the stars in the constellations to help them get from place to place."

"Yes, that was quite the conundrum I WAS going to explain to our guests, Pa-Patch, until you had ruined my detailed description of the S.S. Flavion's features," Flavio stated, which made Pa-Patch groan irritably.

"At least I'm not the only one getting sick of his attitude," Starlight muttered to herself.

"I do have someone in mind who might be perfect for the job," Pa-Patch said. "Word is, there's a legendary sailor livin' here in Rogueport. I think his name is Admiral Bobbery. A salty sea dog, by all accounts, but he's said to have the Helmsman's Touch; he can make any ship bow to his will."

"Bassa-boom, Pa-Patch! Why didn't you say something sooner!?" Flavio exclaimed. "We would have been shipshape months ago!"

"...There's a problem with that, Flavio; there ain't a soul wot's seen him on the seas for years," Pa-Patch added, giving a deadpanned leer at Flavio for interrupting him.

"You think he might be somewhere in Rogueport?" Starlight asked.

"If he is, as captain of this vessel, I hereby appoint Miss Starlight Glimmer to settle the negotiations with this Admiral Bobbery to guide the S.S. Flavion on our journey to romance, thrills, emotion, and money!" Flavio announced.

Everyone on the ship looked at Flavio, then to Starlight as she blinked in confusion. "...Me?" she asked. "I don't even know where he lives! Or if he's still alive!"

"Does anyone know what he looks like?" Fluttershy asked.

"Maybe he's a Bob-omb?" Pinkie pondered. "Bobbery sounds very close to a bomb name pun. Like Bombette!"

"That narrows the search down, but we still have a whole town to search," Flurrie said.

"Might as well get to searchin', y'all," Applejack said.

The group left their belongings on the ship, the crew helping take their snacks down to the hold for safekeeping. They headed back into town and split up in two groups to search the east and west sides of Rogueport. Mario took Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie to the west side, while Starlight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Scrappy, Vivian, and Ms. Mowz checked the east. The group searching on the east side probably wouldn't find many residents on that side, considering it was the more run down slums of the port town, but it couldn't hurt to check.

"Where do you think this Admiral Bobbery would live?" Starlight questioned. "If he's a well-renowned sailor, he would have probably picked a much better place than Rogueport to settle down in."

"You get all kinds of shady characters living here, or just average, everyday people making a living to keep a roof over their heads," Ms. Mowz said.

"Or an expert thief who has a knack for finding really valuable stuff," Scrappy said. "I bet you find lots of great treasures."

"Hmhmhm, oh, I do indeed, little Yoshi," Ms. Mowz chuckled. "But, my prizes are badges. Coins are a necessity, but rare badges that any collector would want, they bring them in by the boatload."

As they walked past Frankly's building and through the archway, they spotted a familiar looking Craw who swindled money from passersby. He winced when he saw Starlight, but as he turned around to walk away, the unicorn quickly grabbed him in her magic aura and dragged him over to them.

"Hey, what do you know? It's ol' fish bait!" Starlight sarcastically greeted. "How've you been? Not taking civilians' money unfairly as a toll both, are you?"

"Hehehehehe, n-no! No! I swear!" the Craw said sheepishly with a nervous gulp. "Just...walking? For my health?"

"Good. Good. Just what I want to hear," Starlight said. "I just have a little question for you."

"Y-Yeah, sure. W-What is it, m-miss?" he asked.

"We're looking for someone named Admiral Bobbery, and we need him to guide our ship to Keelhaul Key," Starlight said.

The Craw's fear of Starlight quickly turned to confusion. "...Keelhaul Key? You're going there? Why?"

Pinkie suddenly got in the Craw's face, wearing her fake mustache as she poked his chest. "Listen here, Birdy! If you don't wanna be sleeping with the fishies, you tell us where Bobbery is hiding!"

The Craw backed away slightly, unsure if Pinkie was really being threatening with the goofy mustache or not. "Uhh, never heard of the guy," he said, being sincerely honest by his tone.

Pinkie suddenly shone a flashlight over his head, bringing Vivian and Fluttershy over to "surround" him. "A wise bird, eh? Well, we can play good cop, bad cop until we get the answers we seek! Spill the beans! And not the actual beans! I want the scoop! But not ice cream! We want dirt! Not literal soil!"

The Craw looked baffled as his eyes crossed, unable to get what Pinkie was demanding anymore. Starlight dragged Pinkie away, leaving Fluttershy and Vivian with him while Scrappy and Ms. Mowz watched in amusement.

"We're not trying to be intimidating this time, Pinkie," Starlight said, ripping off Pinkie's mustache. "And where do you keep finding these weird mustaches?"

"I got emergency mustaches stashed around Rogueport in case of mustache emergencies," Pinkie said.

Starlight wanted to question how when they barely explored every single section of Rogueport during their time here over the last few weeks, but she shook her head. "Whatever. Just...stop with the mustaches."

Vivian looked at Fluttershy, still a bit confused. "Umm...Am I the bad cop now?" she asked. "I want to be the good cop."

Fluttershy shook her head in response. "I don't think so. Pinkie's just being Pinkie," she said, then faced the confused Craw. "Sorry about our friend, Mr. Craw. We're just looking for Admiral Bobbery. We think he's a Bob-omb sailor who lives in this town. Have you noticed any Bob-ombs living around here who look like an experienced sailor?"

"Hmmm...Maybe you can try this old codger who lives right here?" The Craw pointed to a house nearby, the leftmost building where the tight alleyway led to his and his group's "secret" hideout. "I've seen an old Bob-omb go in and out of there while I did my...former guard post. I didn't mess with him, because...well, he's a Bob-omb."

"We'll check it out," Fluttershy said. "Thank you for the help."

The Craw nodded, then slipped through the buildings that led to the Robbo Thieves' hideout. The group approached the door and tried to open it, but the door was locked. Starlight knocked on the door, hoping to hear a response, but there came none.

"Hello!? Is anypony home!?" she called out. "We're looking for Admiral Bobbery!" No response. "You think he might be out doing errands?"

"Or maybe he's hiding because he's shy," Fluttershy said.

"Then how do we get in if he's hiding?" Scrappy asked curiously.

"I can try to pick the lock on the door," Ms. Mowz suggested.

"We're not breaking and entering into somepony's home," Starlight said, shooting down the horrible idea. "Especially if it's a Bob-omb. He could get mad and literally explode in our faces."

"Hey, guys! He has a chimney!" Hearing Pinkie's cheerful voice above them, the group looked up, blanching in surprise as she waved at them from the roof of the house. "I'm gonna take a looksee and see if he's home!"

"P-Pinkie! I just said we aren't breaking and entering his house!" Starlight exclaimed.

"But I'm not going to break anything, silly! I'm gonna slide down the chimney and see if anypony's home!" Pinkie bounced away from the edge, making Starlight facehoof at her insane idea of "not" breaking and entering by climbing down the chimney. Pinkie flopped down on her belly and crawled like a lizard, or her pet alligator, Gummy. She managed to squeeze herself into the slat of the chimney stack, her flanks getting caught for a brief moment before wriggling through. She then let out a yelp and fell down, crashing down into the fireplace, covered in soot. Inside the house, a door to a room in the back opened up as the inhabitant came out to check on the noise. "Don't worry! I'm ok! Just a little dirty!"

"What are you doing crawling around my chimney!?" Pinkie crawled out of the fireplace, shaking off the soot coating her fur. Standing in front of her was an old Bob-omb, like the Craw mentioned. His body was a dark brown color with blue feet, wearing an old, worn out white navy cap with his fuse sticking out from the top, a ship wheel that spun around as his windup key, and sported a long, bushy gray mustache. He was clearly upset that someone broke into his home, and through the chimney of all places. "How did you even get up there!?"

"Well, I don't think the others noticed, but there were a stack of boxes by the house at the end of the road, so I hopped the fence, climbed up to the roof, leapt over to the other houses, and told my friends waiting by your front door that you had a chimney," Pinkie explained. "And now I'm talking to you!"

"...Terrific. NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" he shouted angrily.

"Oh, wait! We're looking for a navigator!" Pinkie said. "And he's an old Bob-omb like you! Maybe you've heard of him? His name is Admiral Bobbery!"

"Never heard of him, and I HATE the sea!" The Bob-omb went over to Pinkie Pie and began pushing her across his floor, though she was left a bit baffled. "Now leave! This instant!"

"Huh? But how come you're wearing a-?" The elder Bob-omb went around Pinkie and unlocked his door, opening it wide, only to freeze at the unexpected guests his breaking and entering delinquent mentioned.

Startled after hearing the commotion, Starlight grinned sheepishly at the disturbed resident. "Hi. I'm so very sorry about my friend, sir. I promise she won't try anything that dumb again," Starlight apologized.

"Next time I see any of you on my property, I'll blow you all up myself instead of waiting on the lazy authorities!" he promised, ramming Pinkie out of his house.

Pinkie squeaked as she flopped on the ground, followed by the Bob-omb slamming his door shut. "Well, he was home, at least," Fluttershy said.

"And we should probably leave before we get arrested for trespassing," Starlight mentioned, picking up Pinkie Pie and dragged her away from the angry resident's home before they got into more trouble.

"Define 'arrest' with the only law abiding officers are the Piantas in this town," Ms. Mowz said. "Although, Mario would be a much more alluring slice of gouda in uniform."

Starlight's group returned to the central area of Rogueport, meeting back up with the rest of their companions as they already finished their search. "You guys find this Bobbery guy?" Rainbow asked.

"Just an old Bob-omb who got really mad at Pinkie PIe for climbing down his chimney," Vivian said.

The others gaped in shock at what Pinkie Pie did. "Pinkie, that's breaking and entering!" Rarity exclaimed. "It's not like back home where everypony knows you pop in and out of weird places at the strangest times!"

"But I didn't break anything! I swear!" Pinkie whined.

"Ya barged into somepony's house without their permission," Applejack explained.

"You don't even know if that Bob-omb was going to blow up in self defense if he thought you were trying to rob him!" Goombella said. "And in Rogueport, I doubt he wouldn't give it a second thought with all the thieves around here!"

Mario shook his head at Pinkie's antics. They were back to square one and had no leads to where Admiral Bobbery might be, and there was probably a much slimmer chance of finding another experienced navigator to help them. Looking around, they were close to the inn. Knowing how reliable some places like inns or bars can be for information, he figured the bartender might know who Bobbery is and where he lives. The others agreed with his idea and decided to give it a try, making sure Pinkie didn't do anything else crazy or illegal to wind them up in hot water.

With the bar area more empty than earlier, the group approached the bartender. "Oh, back again? Did your pink friend find herself some food?"

"Yes, and wound up cooking like mad with Zess T.," Rarity said.

"Ah, yes. Zess T.'s got a temper as hot as her oven. Maybe more so," the bartender said with a chuckle. "Anything I can get for you all? We got a variety of Chuckola Cola flavors."

"Actually, we're not here to have a drink of...whatever Chuckola Cola is," Starlight said.

"It's obviously a very funny soda pop," Pinkie chimed in.

"...Anyways, we're trying to search for a navigator to help us sail out to a certain island," Starlight continued. ignoring Pinkie's description of the oddly named beverage. "His name is Admiral Bobbery, and being a bartender, you might have heard of him. Or maybe seen him come in from time to time."

The bartender suddenly wore a sad frown, looking down at the bar as he wiped it down. "...Yeah. I've heard of him," he said. "Seen him, too. He lives in a house to the east side of town." Mario asked what Bobbery looked like. "Well, he is a Bob-omb. The only unique part of him is that his key is in the shape of a ship's steering wheel, and he's got a long, bushy mustache."

Starlight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Scrappy, Vivian, and Ms. Mowz stared at the bartender in shock. "Wait, you mean that old Bob-omb WAS Admiral Bobbery!?" Scrappy exclaimed.

"You guys found him and didn't realize?" Koops asked.

"He never gave us a name," Ms. Mowz said. "That, and Pinkie broke into the old bomb's house. Much more clumsily than I would have done."

"I knew he had to be a sailor!" Pinkie said. "It was obviously his sailor's hat. I should have known!"

"Great! We found the old coot! So let's drag him down and get sailing!" Rainbow said.

"I don't think you'll be getting ol' Bobbery to head out to sea anytime soon," the bartender said. Everyone looked at him, wondering what he meant. "Where do you all intend on sailing to?"

"Keelhaul Key," Starlight said.

"...I see...An isle with deadly waves would leave any sailor to turn tail or meet their ends trying. But not Bobbery." Putting away his towel, the bartender glanced at his curious patrons. "Do you really want Bobbery to get back out at sea?"

"We need him to help us get there and find something important to help locate our missing friends," Starlight said. "Not sure if you ever noticed them, but they're both princesses. One's human like Mario, but the other's a pony like me and my friends, only she has wings and a horn, and purple fur."

The bartender nodded his head. "Yes, I have seen them before. Only once when someone offered to buy them a very expensive brand of Chuckola Cola, and I last saw them heading upstairs to go to bed." The ponies were a bit disappointed that he didn't see Twilight or Peach after that, but at least he saw them, and the X-Nauts must have kidnapped them during the night while they were asleep. "As for Bobbery...the reason for him refusing to go back out at sea is...quite a sad tale. Depressing, rather."

Everyone looked at each other in silence. They wanted to know what happened to Bobbery and why he dislikes going out to sea despite being a legendary sailor to many seafarers.

"...Can ya tell us what happened?" Applejack asked.

"Very well." The bartender let out a sigh, placing his hands on the bar while silently pondering where to begin. "Bobbery was once a married Bob-omb. He had a wife of enduring beauty named Scarlette. They were madly in love with each other, almost straight out of a fairy tale with how much they're devoted to each other. As a renowned sailor, Bobbery was away from home for long periods of time, but Scarlette never complained. She would always wait faithfully for his return. Even while he was elsewhere, his eye never drifted on any other girl; Scarlette was the only love of his life, truly and deeply. So they lived, and found happiness where they could. All was good...until one terrible, icy winter.

"During one of the harshest, bone-chilling winters in Rogueport's history, Scarlette fell ill." While being engrossed with the story, the moment Bobbery's wife had gotten sick, most of the group had a sinking feeling they knew where this tragedy was going to end. "None of us knew if it was a virus or a passing cold, but it got worse as time passed. Bobbery was on a long, lonely voyage at the time, and he didn't know anything about her illness. When he did return...Scarlette had succumbed to her illness; she was long gone days before he learned the hard, depressing news."

"Oh no," Fluttershy whimpered, hugging Scrappy as she and most of the girls had tears in their eyes.

"That's...that's horrible," Rarity uttered.

"Of course, Bobbery had blamed himself for losing her," the elder bean bartender continued. "'My loving wife perished because of me.' 'If I were not at sea, I could have nursed her to health.' He was overcome with such grief, it tore him up inside, haunting him in his sleep. Since Scarlette's passing, he has never been out to sea."

"...That's...the saddest story I've ever heard," Pinkie whimpered, then began bawling as her tears flowed from her eyes like waterfalls, splashing Koops and Mario with her powerful tear ducts.

"Yes. It was horrible," the bartender said. "I knew Bobbery well, more than just his status as a Bob-omb on the high seas. I was very close friends with them back in the day...before Scarlette's passing." As he took a moment to compose himself from retelling such a sorrowful tale of the heartbroken Bob-omb, he walked over to the far end of the bar and kneeled down, looking for something. He came back up a few seconds later, returning to his guests, holding an envelope, slightly worn by time, but was still in decent condition. "On her deathbed, Scarlette wrote Bobbery a final letter. I haven't opened it. I feel this is something only Bobbery himself needs to read. Her last request from her to me was, 'If I should succumb to this plague, and if my love should blame himself for my death...Then give this letter to him, so he may hear my voice.' But, seeing how distraught he was...I couldn't bear to give him this letter and depress him further." He then placed the letter on the bartop, sliding it over to the adventurers. "I don't know if he'll be able to change his mind, but if he reads her last words...you might be able to get to where you want to go, even if it's a horrible, dangerous idea."

Mario approached the bar after drying out his hat from Pinkie's tears. He took the envelope, willing to give it to Bobbery so he can have some closure with his loss, even if the hope of gathering him as their navigator would be fruitless. Leaving the inn, everyone followed Starlight back to the east side of Rogueport to Bobbery's residence. She did worry a little bit about him finding them at his door again, but she felt bad for the old bomb. Starlight gave a few knocks on the door, but there was no response.

"Hello!?" Starlight called out. "Admiral Bobbery, I know you're still inside!"

"Nobody's home!" the Bob-omb exclaimed.

"But...isn't he still here?" Vivian asked, scratching her head in confusion.

"You don't get out much, do you, dear?" Ms. Mowz asked the shadow girl.

"More like a former enemy whose sisters treated her like garbage," Goombella said.

"Ah. I see," the mouse uttered.

"Bobbery, we just want to talk," Starlight said.

She waited for another shouting response, only to be surprised when the door swung open, revealing the old Bob-omb glaring angrily at the intruders. "Why can't you take the hint and leave me alone!?" he shouted. "Whatever you want with this Bobbery, you're talkin' to the wrong Bob-omb! Now beat it before I blast the lot of ya in the ocean!"

He was about to slam the door, but Starlight quickly kept the door from closing and locked up tight with her magic. "Wait, please, just hear us out!" she begged. She could hear Bobbery's fuse lighting up as he growled. She didn't know how strong a Bob-omb's explosion would be, but she had her magic ready to cast a spell before he blew up. "We know why you don't want to go out at sea! We know about Scarlette!"

The hissing sound fizzed out, an eerie silence filling the air. Starlight let go of the door, letting Bobbery slowly open it up while giving the interlopers a dirty look.

"How do you know about her?" he questioned.

"An old friend of yours. He works at the inn," Starlight said.

Bobbery grumbled to himself. "Podley, you numbskull..." He turned away and walked back inside, leaving the door open. Unsure if it was an invitation to come in to avoid causing more of a scene than he already had, everyone followed him inside. He sighed, clearly not intending for them to walk right in his home, but he kept his back to them. "I don't want to be bothered. Whatever you heard from him, just drop it. I'm not going anywhere."

"But we need your help," Flurrie said.

"We need to get to Keelhaul Key," Goombella added. "We're looking for the Crystal Stars so we can try to keep the Thousand-Year Door from being opened. And...hopefully not stop a demon who created them and keep it from destroying the world after a thousand years being sealed behind that door underneath Rogueport."

"I don't care if you're looking for a death wish for a stupid star," Bobbery said. He turned around, staring down everyone, then approached Starlight, bumping the mare's leg with his face. "Now you listen, and you listen good. What Podley told you was personal. I want nothing to do with you, or whatever stupid ideas you have at going out to the most dangerous isle south of this rundown port town. Now, get out of my house, and don't bother me again."

There wasn't going to be any way of convincing Bobbery normally. Starlight looked at her friends, then back to the Bob-omb, letting out a defeated sigh.

"...Ok. We'll leave you alone," she said.

Bobbery grunted, satisfied to be left alone after the break in from Pinkie and getting the group out of his hair. Mario pulled out Scarlette's letter, walking up to the grumpy Bob-omb, and held the letter out to him.

"What is that?" Bobbery asked. Mario said nothing, letting him figure it out if the way his name was written on the envelope felt familiar to him. Bobbery took the envelope and stared at it, his leer quickly turning to shock at his name, and who wrote his name on it. "...T-This...This is Scarlette's handwriting...W-Where...Where did you get this?"

"Your friend had it," Starlight answered, mentioning the bartender, Podley. "Your wife asked him to give this to you on her deathbed, but he didn't know how to if it would upset you more."

Bobbery's eyes shook, switching between his unwanted guests and the very last letter of his late wife. Shakily, he began to open the envelope, slowly and carefully, afraid to tear up the last few words that Scarlette wanted to say to him. Once he freed the letter, he opened it up and read what was written to him to himself.

My love,

If you're reading this letter, then I am no longer by your side. Because fate had stepped between us, I have decided to write you this letter. If you're reading this, I must have passed away while you were out to sea...I can only assume that you will blame yourself for it, my sweet Bobbery. Although my life was short, you gave me more than a lifetime's worth of joy. Though you will mourn, I beg that you remember that time, like love, is a tide. You are one with the sea, as you were one with me. Do not lose both your life's loves.

With all my love, your devoted wife,
Scarlette

Everyone silently watched Bobbery, his eyes glued to the letter. Whatever was written out to him, the Bob-omb's breath hitched several times, tears beginning to form in his softened gaze. After several long minutes, Bobbery finally lowered the letter, staring off into space, though he was still aware of his guests standing before him.

"...A-A thousand pardons...I...I need...I need a moment..." Slowly, Bobbery turned around, walking off to the back room of his house.

"Bobbery?" Pinkie called out, but he tuned her out, closing the door behind him.

She desperately wanted to hug the poor Bob-omb from how sad he seemed, a broken bomb living alone as he blamed himself for leaving his wife to suffer and succumb to her illness. They didn't know if they should leave Bobbery alone and try to find someone else to navigate the ship, but it could take them weeks to find the perfect sailor to do the job, and they don't have much time to waste.

Inside Bobbery's back room, the old Bob-omb had an old bed and a small desk hidden from the main room. The desk had several different mementos, all of them reminding him of his love, Scarlette. The dam finally broke as his tears rolled down his cheeks, keeping her final words away from his face so his tears didn't stain the paper. He placed it gently on the desk, next to an old photo in black in white. The picture in the frame had two Bob-ombs posing together, a perfect happy couple. A young Bobbery with a much shorter mustache and his hat kept in pristine condition nuzzled up to a female Bob-omb, a small tint of a blush on her cheeks from the loving pose of her husband during the picture. Her fuse was long and braided while a normal windup key connected to her, though the brown colors of the photo made it hard to distinguish what color her body and fuse was.

The Bob-omb silently wept, letting all the pent up sorrow he held back for so long go when he heard Scarlett's voice speak out to him through her final letter. "Scarlette...My sweet, sweet Scarlette...How did you stay with me for so long while I was mostly gone at sea?" he asked himself, feeling unworthy to have met, fallen for, and marry someone who stayed that devoted to a sailor who's away at port for weeks or months at a time. "I was happy with you...and I was happy being on the ocean, sailing the seas...exploring new worlds..." He grabbed the picture frame, staring at the Bob-omb he happily married. "You were my greatest adventure...I wished I didn't leave that day...I could have been there for you." Fresh tears rolled down his eyes as he held the photo close to him. Through his tears, he looked at her last words to him. If she were to see him this broken, she would never forgive him for letting her death eat away at his heart and turn him into a bitter, old bomb. Her final wish for him was to not let losing her take away his passion for sailing, and he knew her well enough to know she would tell him to go on an adventure, and she would be waiting for him when he returns. "...I didn't deserve you...I would do anything for you, Scarlette...And if you want me to go back out to sea...I will honor your final wish."

For the first time since he lost Scarlette, Bobbery smiled. He looked at the photo again, the memory of that picture always fresh on his mind. He gave the frozen image of his late wife in the old photo a kiss, then gently placed the frame back on the desk. He gave all the mementos of Scarlette and their happiness before her passing a glance, wiping away his tears as he took a long, deep, calming breath. His steely gaze returned, but it wasn't as harsh and bitter as it had been; he was ready to embark on another adventure, and the dangerous waters of Keelhaul Key called him to take on the challenge.

The heroes were debating if they should leave, hearing Bobbery talking to himself for a while, but the door to his room opened, and he walked over to them. "You said you were going to Keelhaul Key, correct?" Bobbery asked.

"...Y-Yes," Starlight said after the group were puzzled by Bobbery's sudden change in demeanor.

"Well, what are we waiting for!?" he exclaimed. "Take me to your ship and let's shove off!" Taken aback, everyone looked at each other, thinking they must be talking to the wrong Bob-omb. "What, do you all not have your sea legs!? Let's get a move on! I ain't gettin' any younger!"

Bobbery then began to nudge everyone out of his house, having much more energy than Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Scrappy combined as he rushed them all to the docks. "Uhh, Admiral Bobbery, are you feeling ok?" Goombella asked curiously, and a bit worried that something snapped in him.

"Better than better! I ain't gonna let no water scare me!" Bobbery said. "I need to inspect that ship and make sure it's perfect for Keelhaul Key!"

"I think the grump finally went senile," Rainbow muttered.

"Hey, I ain't that old, ya blue bird!" Bobbery exclaimed. "I'm still in my prime!"

"We're ponies, actually," Fluttershy corrected. "But I bet Rainbow would be a pretty blue jay."

"And you wanted to be a tree," Rainbow grumbled.

"But Fluttershy isn't a tree," Vivian said.

"I'm sure there's some inside joke neither of us non-quadrupeds will understand," Ms. Mowz said. "Don't think too hard on it, dear."

With Bobbery's haste, they all returned to the docks. Some of the dock workers and sailors spotted them, staring in awe as they were looking at the famous Bob-omb sailor in the flesh. Even the hired crew on Flavio's ship spotted Admiral Bobbery with the group who were with the flamboyant captain on this expedition to the most dangerous isle in the middle of the ocean. As they climbed up the ramp and onto the ship, Bobbery took a look around to gauge the quality of the ship while Flavio approached them.

"Ah, you have returned!" Flavio greeted. "And this must be Admiral Bobbery! I knew enlisting you as our navigator was one of my greatest ideas."

"Oy! The idea was mine, Flavio!" Pa-Patch exclaimed. Flavio rolled his eyes, blowing off the hired hand's claim. Ignoring the annoying captain, the eyepatch-wearing Bob-omb walked up to the admiral. "Admiral Bobbery, an honor to meet you in person, it is. I've heard many stories of your navigational skills. I'll bet you had sailed through a typhoon and got naught a single scratch on the vessel ya commanded."

"Yes, yes. I know my name is well known throughout many a port," Bobbery said. "And speaking of, I've yet to have a typhoon deter me from my course, let alone scratch so much as the paint off a ship."

"Ahem, yes. That is all well and good, but...I'm sure Miss Starlight, as the negotiator to your acceptance into my crew, she has mentioned some monetary value for your famed work," Flavio said, making Starlight and her friends balk.

"What? Payment? You'd better be paying if you're the captain," Starlight said.

Bobber just shook his head at the offer. "No need. I may have been out of the game for a while, but I'm satisfied with traveling the high seas and exploring what the ocean has lying in store for us."

"Are you certain?" Flavio asked. "We're going to be acquiring a hidden treasure trove of the pirate captain, Cortez. You'll be compensated greatly for your duty to keep the S.S. Flavion safe."

"Keep whatever you find. I'm ready to begin sailing again," Bobbery said.

Flavio shrugged his shoulders. "Very well. Your loss," he said. "Alright, men! Preparations are all set! Let's get ready to raise anchor!"

"Ugh. Aye aye, 'Captain Flavio'," Pa-Patch grumbled.

As the crew for the voyage began to get ready to shove off, the party waited on deck to watch them sail out of the port. "This is gonna be a long journey," Starlight grumbled. "Flavio really expected me to barter with Bobbery and pay him."

"At least we're finally getting a move on," Goombella said. "We're running on a strict time limit before the Thousand-Year Door's seal disappears."

"You know, your little adventures sound pretty interesting after all our run-ins in the past," Ms. Mowz said. "You should catch me up on everything on the ride to Keelhaul Key since I'll be joining your entourage."

"Just don't try anything funny," Flurrie warned.

Ms. Mowz tittered, giving Mario a small glance before giving him a wink. At Flavio's word, the crew was ready to shove off. They raised the anchor, lowered the sails, and with Bobbery at the helm, they sailed off from the port and out into open waters. Bobbery missed this: the salty sea air blowing in his face, the sound of the gulls cries as they flew overhead, the waves splashing against the vessel. Since he was a young bomb, the ocean had called him, and he never wanted to stop sailing, until he met Scarlette. He still missed his love, wishing things had been different, but it couldn't be helped.

Sighing, the Bob-omb glanced back at Rogueport. As he looked back, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him when he saw something at the edge of the dock the S.S. Flavion. Leaving the wheel for a moment to get a closer look, as much as he could from the stern's railing. Squinting his eyes, he thought he could see a familiar Bob-omb standing there, watching the ship leave; his beloved Scarlette. Bobbery rubbed his eyes, believing he was already hallucinating seeing his late wife seeing him off. When he blinked and looked at the dock again, there was no one there. Whether it was his imagination playing tricks on him, Bobbery saw it as a sign that Scarlette would always wait for him, always being patient until the day he returns. He would one day be reunited with her when his time comes, but only when the sea would dare to part with him. He turned around and went back to his place at the wheel, turning it to steer them on their course to Keelhaul Key.

Back on the docks, however, someone had been spying on them from behind some cargo, watching the ship disappear on the horizon with a pair of binoculars. Lowering them, the X-Naut soldier pulled out a radio, turning it on with a slight crackling sound.

"This is X-Naut One here, come back, dude? I repeat, X-Naut One here, over," he said over the radio. He got a response, then clicked the radio's button again to communicate with the other member of the evil group. "Roger, reading you five-by. Infiltration is successful. X-Naut Black aboard vessel. Repeat: X-Naut Black is on board the vessel..."

Marooned on a Haunted Key

"Pinkie's log. Date...Today. We set off on the open seas to Keelhaul Key to find our fifth Crystal Star, bringing us one step closing to stopping a horrible calamity and saving our royal friends, Peach and Twilight. The skies are clear with a nice wind sailing us to the south...East? Southeast? Definitely not weast. Regardless, we head for the isle that holds treasures and spooky tales of a famous pirate captain I have never heard of. It may take us days, but we have plenty of snacks and lots of fun board games to pass the time. And I call the crow's nest! I'm good at spotting things, especially when playing 'I Spy'!"

"Uhh, Pinkie, why are you talking to yourself?" Fluttershy asked.

Pinkie blinked, looking toward her friends and some of the crew, who stopped what they were doing when they heard the pink earth pony talking to herself. "What? It's a captain's log, even though I'm not the captain. Hopefully somepony's writing this all down so if this ship ever crashes, everypony will know the tale of the great explorers who tried to reach Keelhaul Key."

"I'm not gonna let this ship sink to the bottom of the ocean!" Bobbery called out from the helm. "Have some faith in me, ya crazy pink puffball."

"Has she already got a case of sea madness?" Pa-Patch questioned the passengers worriedly.

"We're used to her randomness," Rainbow assured the Bob-omb. "Just let Pinkie be Pinkie."

The first day of their voyage was already meeting with smooth sails. No signs of poor weather in the near future as the cries of the gulls rang over the sea as they flew along with the ship. Vivian leaned over the edge of the rail, gasping in awe at the calm waves lapping at the hull of the ship and took in the vast ocean around them.

"So this is the ocean," she uttered. "I've never even been on a boat before."

"Just be careful not to fall overboard," Starlight warned.

"Yeah! We won't be rescued by a giant friendly whale this time!" Pinkie said as she popped up behind the rail next to Vivian.

"What's a 'whale'?" the shadow asked.

"Not a tuna, that's for sure," Pinkie answered, but her response only confused Vivian more.

"Uhh...what's a...tuna?" she asked.

"Pinkie, for goodness sake, don't confuse the poor girl," Applejack chided Pinkie.

Fluttershy hovered up to the rail, looking out to where the ship was going. "I wonder if there are other islands with cute Yoshis out here," she said with a squee.

Goombella looked over some maps of the ocean around Rogueport she had on hand. "I highly doubt there would be Yoshi settlements around these waters," she said.

"But what if there is, and one of those island was where Scrappy was taken from when he was still in his egg?" Fluttershy asked. "What if his family is really worried about him?"

"Ah, I don't mind it, Mama Fluttershy," Scrappy said. "I'd rather explore new places and protect you from danger."

The little Yoshi was scooped up by the yellow pegasus into a hug, which he gladly returned. Even though Fluttershy found herself as Scrappy's adoptive mother, she did worry about who his real family was after he was kidnapped by someone and got bought by the hot dog vendor in Glitzville. Even if they couldn't find his real home, she was happy to know he had found his family with her and the others, despite being a bit too young to really act like a guardian to her.

The voyage was smooth sailing as the crew and its adventurous passengers traversed the open seas. Bobbery kept the S.S. Flavion on course, even through the night despite some of the crew begging him to take at least a few hours of rest. The old Bob-omb refused, remaining stubborn and refusing to deny Scarlette's final wishes for him. There wasn't a lack of entertainment thanks to Pinkie coming up with all sorts of games for the crew to also take part in. However, the other source of entertainment that came from Flavio and the odd song he repeatedly sings while showing off his crystal skull was not as fun.

"Skull captain casts his gaze! Red Jewel shines and plays! Boom-bassa-boom festival!" Flavio sang at the bow of the ship on the third night of their voyage. "The 'Stache brothers, best of friends! Three times Red 'Stache lands on his end! Blue 'Stache's four times is whacked, so let's hear those fireworks go BOOM! At the boom-bassa-boom festivaaaaaaaaaal~!"

Pa-Patch grumbled in annoyance while most of the crew stared at him. "I'm gettin' really sick and tired of listening to that song," he muttered.

"Do you even know why he sings that?" Starlight questioned Pa-Patch.

"Don't know. Don't care. But I wish I had ears to yank out to not hear that nonsensical 'shanty'," the eye-patched Bob-omb said.

"Yeah, it's not all that catchy," Pinkie agreed. "I came up with other short songs back in season one, and they're much more catchy than that. Ooh! Like when I made a song about Zecora when we thought she was an evil enchantress! Who wants to hear that!?"

"NO!" Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity exclaimed, startling Starlight, Mario, and their other friends.

"I'm guessing that's a very bad song that insulted this Zecora person," Flurrie said.

"Yes, and we were also in the wrong mistreating Zecora, who happens to be a zebra," Rarity said.

"What's a zebra?" Vivian and Scrappy asked curiously.

"Imagine an earth pony, but with black and white stripes," Starlight explained. "The only zebra we know is Zecora, so it's pretty rare to see another visiting zebra from their homeland of Farasi."

"Sounds very exotic," Ms. Mowz said.

Mario nodded, having seen Zecora a couple times when she came to town, but was never officially introduced to her. It was odd for him to know she spoke in rhyme, which sounded difficult for him to try to do, and she was a very talented alchemist. Maybe she can come up with a potion that he can trick Bowser into drinking to forget about kidnapping Peach and taking over the Mushroom Kingdom.

After singing another round of his favorite song, Flavio put away his skull and pulled out a telescope. He adjusted the scope, spotting Keelhaul Key in the distance under the glow of the full moon.

"Aha! Land ho!" Flavio announced. "Keelhaul Key is just ahead! We made it in good time!" Putting away his telescope, he joins the others on deck as they leaned over the rail to see the island. "Nothing to fear, as expected! Mountains of treasure waiting for us to nab! I feel so excited, allow me to tell you all another of my tales of raw bravery!"

The crew all groaned as Flavio spouted a story about running into a sea serpent and fighting tooth and nail against it. "I don't know which is worse: his singing, or his storytelling?" the veiled crewmate, whose name was Four Eyes, questioned, getting a snicker out of Pa-Patch.

"Didn't we hear this story yesterday?" Koops asked.

"The real question is if any of his adventures are true," Applejack said. "Ah can tell he's makin' most of it all up just to be entertainin'."

While being bored to tears by Falvio's adventurous tale, the ship had come to a mysterious stop as the wind blowing the sails had stopped. Bobbery noticed as he looked up at the now hanging sails, the ship sitting idle on the eerily calm waters.

"Oh, this doesn't bode well," he uttered. "We've lost wind!"

The others looked up the sails, noticing the ship's stopped except for Flavio, who was still in the middle of his story. "That's odd. How is there no wind?" Starlight asked.

"If we've got no wind, I can make some," Rainbow suggested.

"Out around these waters, there should be enough wind for sails to blow, but it's completely vanished," Bobbery said. "Something's definitely not right."

"Oy! Flavio!" Pa-Patch called out to their captain. "The ship's stopped moving!"

Letting out a haughty grunt, Flavio leered at Pa-Patch in annoyance. "Stopping me in the middle of my grand venturous recap to tell me the ship is not moving?" he questioned. "It's your job to keep it moving, hmm? So take care of it!"

Pa-Patch let out a heavy sigh at their "captain's" obliviousness. "Aye aye, captain," he grumbled. "I swear, he can't see past that stupid nose of his."

"Is the weather gonna get any worse later this evening?" Rarity asked.

"Not sure, but I'll take a look," Pa-Patch said as he began climbing up the mast to the crow's nest.

"Hey, I wanna look, too!" Pinkie said as she followed Pa-Patch.

"You guys know Rainbow or Fluttershy could just fly up instead to get a much higher vantage point!" Starlight called out.

"I don't know. Something just...doesn't feel right," Rainbow said. "This world might not have complete control of the weather, but this lack of wind just feels...creepy."

"And...maybe the fog rolling in is just as bad?" Fluttershy asked as she shakily pointed a hoof out to the sea, where a thick fog was beginning to roll up around the ship.

At the top of the crow's nest Pa-Patch and Pinkie looked at different ends of the lookout, switching sides to double check if the other missed anything. "Oooooooh. We got some bad clouds coming in," Pinkie said. "Is it gonna storm?"

"I don't hear any thunder," Pa-Patch mumbled. With their backs turned, neither Bob-omb or pony noticed a blue flame with yellow eyes phase into existence between them. It hovered over to Pa-Patch and tapped his back. "Hey, if you're gonna look with me, don't distract me. Now's not the time."

The flame disappeared as he turned around, only to see Pinkie leaning over the railing of the crow's nest, barely acknowledging what he said. Confused, Pa-Patch turned back around, where the flame reappeared, then approached Pinkie and poked her flank.

"What is it Patchy? Find something weird?" Pinkie turned around to look at the Bob-omb, missing the flame as it disappeared again. His back was turned, making her pout. "Fine. Don't tell me if it's super secret."

"What are you talking about?" Pa-Patch questioned. "You're the one pestering me."

"No, you poked me and are being really rude not telling me what you saw!" Pinkie argued.

"Lass, there's nothing but sea and clouds! If you wanna play your weird 'I Spy' game, don't do it when the ship's stuck in the middle of the ocean!" Pa-Patch exclaimed.

"I'm being super serial right now! And we are playing a game: we ARE the game!" Pinkie exclaimed back.

"...Wha-?" Pa-Patch shook his head, ignoring the random pony and turned away. "Look, just head back down to the deck with your friends and let a real sailor do his job."

Pinkie crossed her forelegs and stuck her tongue out at Pa-Patch, blowing raspberries at him. Her spluttering quickly weakened and stopped when the flame that was bothering them popped into existence between the two, staring menacingly at her. Pinkie's eyes widened as she stared at the odd flame, recognizing running into these kinds of living blue flames on the star road leading to Star Haven back in the Mushroom Kingdom. She tilted her head, which mimicked her head movements while continuing their staring contest.

"...Uhhh...Patchy?" Pinkie called out.

"And stop calling me 'Patchy'! The name is Pa-!" Pa-Patch turned around, only to freeze when he spotted the blue flame hovering between them. It slowly turned around to look at the Bob-omb, letting out an ominous groaning sound. His eyepatch shot up, revealing his other eye as he shook in fright. "Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-AAAAAAHHHHHH! GHOST!!!!"

Pa-Patch scrambled over to the ladder and slid down the ladder, practically falling down to the deck with a painful thud, leaving Pinkie Pie alone with the ghost. "Ohhhhhhh. So that's why these things are blue. They're bad spirits! Makes so much sense back on Star Way," she said to herself with a nod, then screamed after a moment of silence and ran around the crow's nest, leaving the ghostly spirit bubble confused as it watched her. "GHOSTIEEEEEEES!"

Pinkie dove over the crow's nest, startling the crew along with Pa-Patch's swift drop as she wound up landing on top of Mario. "What in the hay is goin' on up there?" Applejack asked.

"G-G-G-G-G-Ghosts!" Pa-Patch stammered.

"Ghosts? What are you talking about?" Flavio questioned.

The fog suddenly got much thicker, making it hard to see the water, and several more blue flames appeared around the ship, letting out eerie wails. "Oh no. They're upon us!" Pa-Patch panicked. "The pirate ghosts! The rumors are true: Cortez's undead crew have come to haunt us!"

The rest of the crew began to panic as the spirits floated closer to them. Flavio, despite trying to put on a brave face, was shivering in terror as his yellow face went pale.

"N-N-No need to panic!" Flavio said, trying and failing to calm his crew and passengers down, though the passengers were ready to fight back against the spirits despite Pinkie overreacting earlier. "T-This is all...just a horrible dream, and we'll wake up any moment! L-Let's just...get the ship moving! Right away, please!"

Hundreds of ghosts suddenly appeared in the mist around the boat as more popped in on the ship. Flavio's face quickly turned blue as one hovered directly in front of him, causing him to scream like a girl and run around in a panic, thinking that ghost was the Pirate King Cortez. Things were getting out of hand as most of the crew was a panic-struck mess sans Four Eyes and Bobbery. Even though Mario and his own crew had some more fighting experience, these ghosts weren't like Boos; they were living flames and burned at the highest degree possible.

The whole ship began to rock, not just from everyone else running around in a panic, but the ghosts seemed to also be attacking the ship, wanting it to sink and take everyone down with it. "Everypony, try to remain calm!" Starlight yelled out, her words barely reaching everyone.

Flavio ran over to the unicorn and clung onto her, nearly bowling her over as he sobbed uncontrollably. "I'm too young to die! There's so much I wanted to live for! My treasure! Romance! I'm done with adventures!"

"Will you let go of me!?" Starlight exclaimed.

"Get off my ship!" Bobbery exclaimed. "I've faced tsunamis that made me cower worse than a bunch of-!"

One of the spirits rammed into Bobbery, making him yell and send him overboard. "Bob-omb overboard!" Goombella exclaimed.

"Hey! Listen!" Four Eyes said. "Stop panicking! If we can form an orderly line without running around shoving each other!" The boat shook harder, hearing some of the wood breaking apart from the attacking spirits as it started to take on water and sink. "...Oh, forget this! Makeway, people!"

Four Eyes shoved past everyone and dove into the water to escape. "This is getting worse and worse by the second!" Flurrie exclaimed.

"Where are the lifeboats!?" Applejack asked. "Don't these big ships have anythin' like that in case it sinks!?"

"What am I!? Made of money!?" Flavio questioned.

"You said you're a rich merchant, and you didn't bother to buy a ship with important safety features in case of a situation like this!?" Starlight exclaimed after peeling the "brave" captain off of her.

"I was hoping to get all sorts of riches, but that won't matter if I die at the bottom of the sea!" Flavio screeched. The ship shook harder and began to sink faster. "AHHHHHHH! ABANDON SHIP! EVERYONE BUT ME LAST!"

Flavio ran to the edge to jump overboard, but Starlight grabbed him with her magic, keeping him stuck on the dock with everyone else. "Oh no you don't! You're the captain, you go down with your ship!"

Panicking, Flavio took off his hat and placed it on Starlight's head. "I never said I was the captain! You're the captain!"

Starlight glowered at the cowardly merchant, but she didn't have much time to berate Flavio as the ship began to break apart. Everyone who was still on the ship quickly jumped off and fell into the water, swimming far away from the sinking ship to avoid getting sucked down with it. Bits of debris and cargo floated where the S.S. Flavion sank as the voyagers treaded water, the ghosts and the ominous clouds disappearing once it was completely sank.

Vivian panicked and splashed around in a panic. "H-Help! I-I don't know how to swim!" she cried out as she almost completely sank under the surface of the water.

Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Flurrie splashed out of the water and hovered around, Fluttershy grabbing Vivian's hand and helped her out with Scrappy seated on her back. "I've got you, Vivian!"

With so many people on the ship, there was no way the only few flyers of the group could get everyone to land on Keelhaul Key without exhausting themselves, or losing some of them in the process. It also didn't help that Flavio was clinging onto Starlight to avoid drowning, and Pinkie was doing the same with Mario to avoid the metallic snapper fish she had the misfortune to meet in the waters around the region. Shoving Flavio off of her once again, Starlight quickly looked around at all the bits of broken boards and pieces of the ship.

"I hope there's enough wood around to fashion a makeshift raft," she uttered to herself, using her magic to gather all the pieces she could see in the moonlight. Gathering each piece, not concerned about making sure the makeshift planks were even, she was able to build and keep them all together to make a sizable wooden raft that was enough for everyone to stand on without getting pushed off. "Everypony climb on! Quick!"

Everyone swam over to the raft and were helped up by Rainbow Dash while Fluttershy and Flurrie helped some that were unable to swim get on, like Vivian. As soon as Fluttershy helped Vivian onto the raft, she shook and coughed up some water, absolutely terrified.

"I don't like the ocean anymore," she whined.

"I thought you could float," Koops said, his shell thankfully making him buoyant in the water. When he glanced at the shadow's tail wisp, he grimaced when he saw that thin tendril connecting her to the ground was in the water. Far, far deep in the water, toward the sea floor. "...Oh...Not when your 'tail' is...literally connected to the ground...like a shadow..."

Slowly, but surely, everyone was helped and gathered onto the raft. With Starlight's horn still glowing, keeping the raft glued together, she glanced around for a headcount. "Anypony missing?" she asked.

"Well, obviously, your captain is still alive," Flavio said.

"Oh, shut your trap, Flavio!" Pa-Patch exclaimed. "Your ship's sunk! You ain't no captain anymore! Miss Starlight's a much better captain than you!"

"Mutiny already! See how I pay you any coins when we find Cortez's treasure!" Flavio argued. Growling, Starlight levitated Flavio off the raft and hovered him over the ocean. "Ahh! What are you doing!? My clothes are already ruined by seawater!"

"Worrying about your treasure is less important than the fact that we're shipwrecked, and we seem to be missing a few members of the crew!" Starlight said. "So either you behave, or you'll be shark bait until we get to shore!" Flavio gulped, keeping his big mouth shut as his expedition partner was planning to feed him to the fishes. Seeing he would behave for the time being, Starlight set him back down on the raft. "Now, we're missing Bobbery, Four Eyes, and that young green-spotted Toad. Did anypony see if the waves washed them away?"

"It was so foggy, it was too hard to see a few feet around the ship," a Toad crewmate answered.

"Maybe the waves helped push them to Keelhaul Key," a Bob-omb sailor pondered.

"Let's hope that's the case," Goombella said.

"It's too dark and we won't find any mainland being out this far at sea," Pa-Patch said. "Our only option is Keelhaul Key."

"Right. My magic won't be able to hold this raft for much longer," Starlight said. "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Flurrie, push us off to the island."

"Aye aye, Captain Glimmer," Rainbow responded with a mock salute, trying to make light of their situation.

"Aye. Captain Glimmer sounds much more reliable than Flavio," Pa-Patch said.

Flavio glowered at the Bob-omb as the two pegasi and wind spirit got behind the raft and pushed everyone present to Keelhaul Key. It took a bit of effort and careful pushing to avoid messing up Starlight's concentration, but they managed to reach the shore within half an hour. The moment they reached the sand, Starlight dropped her spell, mentally exhausted for connecting several pieces of the ship and holding a huge weight of people all at once. Vivian scrambled away from the sand and onto dry land, afraid to go anywhere near the water and risk having that same terrifying experience again.

Once everyone had recovered from the scare of drowning on a sinking ship, they all gathered inland, taking the pieces of debris with them to save for either a fire or to fashion into makeshift rooves for shelter if the weather gets bad. They made it to their destination, only to be marooned with no possible way of getting off the island, even if they bothered to search for Cortez's treasure and the Crystal Star.

Through the next couple days, the shipwrecked passengers tried to bring some form of temporary civilization on Keelhaul Key. Using bits of the ship they had along with the remaining wreckage that washed on shore, they built a few huts to protect themselves from the jungle climate. Many hope that a ship will come and rescue them, but after getting attacked by the hundreds of dangerous spirits, it would be impossible for even a modern ship made of steel to traverse near and meet the same fate as other ships that approached this cursed isle.

It didn't stop a certain cyan pegasus from trying. If they couldn't escape by sea, they could try by air. Sadly, everything's fair game with these ghosts. Standing by the shore, Mario, Starlight, Applejack, and Rarity looked out to the sea, watching Rainbow Dash flying around, trying to get past a wall of spirits keeping her from leaving the perimeter of their territory. They could hear the pegasus grunting and yelping, trying not to get singed by the living flames. Rainbow had been at it for half an hour, flying in different directions and at different altitudes, but the ghosts would not let her escape, popping in faster than even she could approach.

"These ghosts are really persistent, huh?" Applejack asked.

The other three nodded, continuing watching until Rainbow flew back to join them, exhausted and frustrated. "I can't slip past them! It's like they know where I'm gonna go and block me!" she exclaimed.

"They really don't want their victims to escape and keep this island from being invaded," Starlight thought aloud. "Maybe there is treasure here they're protecting and they don't want anyone to leave and take it with them."

"I can't believe we're marooned here," Rarity whined. "Twilight and Peach are in peril, the world's going to end from a dormant demon spirit ready to wake up from a thousand year nap, and I have no shampoo or conditioner to deal with the salty air ruining my hair!"

The others gave Rarity a blank stare as the unicorn emphasized her deflated curls in her mane and tail losing their heft. "...Rarity, Ah think survivin' on this island is more important than your hair problems," Applejack uttered.

"At least we're not trapped underneath those disgusting sewers in Rogueport," Rarity argued with a look of disgust. "I don't want to trudge around in dirty sewer water and...who knows what else is down there!"

Mario sighed, lowering his head and shook it. From the small path made through the thick jungle brush, Koops came rushing over to the ponies and plumber.

"Uhh, guys?" he called out timidly. "They're...at it again."

"Oh for the love of Celestia," Starlight groaned. "I'll handle this."

They headed into the jungle, the shore they stood on not too far away from where they set up their makeshift village. Some of the surviving supplies in barrels and crates were stored in a corner of their jungle "home", but none of the snacks Pinkie made with Zess T. survived, either ruined by the salty ocean water or eaten by the aquatic creatures making the S.S. Flavion their new home. The sails were used as makeshift canopies for a few tents with Rarity's stitching expertise, though her friends had to remind her to make them work to provide shelter, not beautify them. There was a flag stuck in the ground with the sunken vessel's flag, along with someone's underwear as a small prank. And a small firepit sat in the middle of the camp, a lounge chair next to it, which served no purpose for survival, but Flavio insisted on keeping it for thinking of a way to get them off the island.

The former ship captain, however, was distracted from his thoughts and standing in the middle of their shipwrecked village while arguing with Pa-Patch. Everyone was standing around and watching the two bicker, though the only ones missing from the group were Fluttershy, Pinkie, Scrappy, and Vivian, who volunteered to find some food deeper in the jungle.

"Ya really expect me to do all your dirty work when we're all doing our part!?" Pa-Patch shouted angrily at Flavio.

"I'm still in charge of this group, and if you don't do what I say, I'll keelhaul you!" Flavio argued back.

"Ya can't keelhaul someone without a ship, ya fancy pants idjit!" Pa-Patch countered, making Flavio balk at the insult.

"D-Did you just call me, Flavio, 'fancy pants'!?" he questioned.

"Yeah! I did!" Pa-Patch said. "You're no longer a captain of a ship, just the captain of fancy pants, fancy pants! Real captains don't fear danger, whether it be the sea or a bunch of ghosts!"

"Excuse me!? You also cowered in your shoes when they stopped and destroyed my beautiful ship!" Flavio exclaimed.

"At least I didn't scream like a lass who wet their knickers...fancy pants," Pa-Patch said with a scowling look.

Fuming, Flavio was about to fight the one-eyed Bob-omb, but Starlight teleported between the two, using her magic to shove them a few feet away from each other. "ENOUGH! I have had it with you two fighting with each other! We've been stuck here for three days, and your pointless bickering is not helping our situation!"

"B-But he's the one who-" Flavio tried to explain, but Starlight shoved his hat down over his head to silence him.

"I don't care who started it, because I'm ending it!" she shouted. Glancing at Pa-Patch, the smug Bob-omb stiffened and dropped his satisfied gaze, knowing not to cross Starlight Glimmer, truly respecting her as a leader better than Flavio. Taking a deep breath, she sighed heavily, trying to keep the peace between everyone despite the situation they wound up in. "Look, I know we're marooned here, but we need to work together to survive. There has to be some way to get off this island, and there has to be a way to get rid of all these-"

"GHOOOOOOOOSTS!!!!!!!" Speeding in from the jungle, Pinkie zipped into the village, dropping a few bunches of bananas from her saddlebags, the ponies' and Mario's packs surviving the wreck along with the rest of their supplies. As Pinkie hid behind Mario, her tail slightly singed, Fluttershy and Vivian appeared through the brush, followed by Scrappy as he hopped back, laying eggs and flinging them at a trio of ghosts chasing after them. "EVERYPONY RUN!!!!!"

The survivors panicked and hid while Flavio and Pa-Patch cowered with Pinkie behind Mario. "N-Not again!" Flavio cried out.

"Come on, you dumb ghosts!" Scrappy goaded, smacking one of the flaming spirits with one of his eggs. "I'm not scared of you! I bet you taste spicy!" Deciding to try swallowing them, Scrappy shot his long tongue out one of them, only to get the bulbous tip of his elastic organ burnt. Instant regret washed over his face as his tongue retracted back to his mouth, yelping and keeping his tongue out as tears of pain welled in his eyes. "OWW! Hath! Too hath!"

"They're living fireballs!" Vivian said. "I can't even touch them!"

"C-Captain Glimmer, please stop them!" Pa-Patch begged.

"Ugh. Fine," Starlight groaned. "At least these things aren't really ghosts if they got hit by an egg."

Mario quickly jumped in, his hammer at the ready, and to add a bit of protection to the ghost's fiery forms, he used the Lucky Star's protective enchantment to keep himself and his friends from getting burnt. He ran up to one ghost and smacked it hard with his hammer, stunning it, and leaving it open to getting bonked by Goombella. Koops ducked in his shell as Applejack bucked him hard, sending him crashing into the other two, then boomeranged himself back with the unique shell tossing technique from Petalburg. As the flames were knocked by the returning Koopa shell again, Ms. Mowz showed her capabilities in combat, trusting in the pink aura Mario granted her and her new comrades. Sprinting toward one of the ghosts, she leapt and dive kicked its face, backflipping away as it retaliated by shooting small fireballs out its hidden mouth, then jumped back in to give it a hard slap, making it spin about and make it dizzy.

"Nice try, darling, but you've got to be sneakier than that to touch me," she taunted.

Rainbow Dash swooped down and flew around in a circle, building up speed and creating a small whirlwind, sucking in the three flames and depriving their fire of oxygen. Trapped and stunned, Flurrie blew a powerful gust of wind, sending them flying off toward the sea. Neither flame could reorient themselves as they plopped into the water, letting out loud hisses as they evaporated into steam. Everyone relaxed as the threatening pirate spirits were dealt with, some of them gathering the bananas Pinkie dropped as she fled to safety.

"Phew. We sure showed them," Pinkie said.

"Pinkie, you didn't join in," Goombella said. "And you carry around a hammer. You could have just bonked them."

"I could have, but I had all the bananas," Pinkie reasoned. "Besides, the forced battle couldn't start unless they came over here, not in the jungle."

The ship crew stared at Pinkie and questioned her random logic for not joining her friends. "...What?" a Bob-omb sailor uttered.

"Ignore her. She doesn't have jungle madness," Goombella assured the confused sailor.

As everything settled down, Flavio began to grow a bit worried. "There might be more of those evil spirits lurking around searching for us," he said.

"Technically, those are Embers, not ghosts," Goombella stated. Flipping through the pages of her book, which somehow survived after being drenched in sea water when the ship sank, showing the flamboyant captain a page of said "spirit", along with a Lava Bubble on the other page. "It may be a spirit, but it's just a living fireball with a different color. And being blue, it's clearly much hotter than the red Lava Bubbles."

"At least this island doesn't have an active volcano like on Lavalava Island," Fluttershy said. "I can't imagine innocent, cute and cuddly Yoshis living on a scary island like this."

"I'm nah sthared oth no ghosths," Scrappy mumbled, his tongue still numb after carelessly trying to slurp up the Ember.

"Regardless, more of them will come and take us to their lair!" Flavio continued. "As the leader of this expedition, I shall remain here to keep watch of the camp while my lovely, and magically gifted, co-expeditioner and her companions explore the rest of the island to scare them off."

Starlight blankly leered at Flavio. "...Charming. Also, kissing up to me is not going to work," she said. "Plus, this expedition is no longer considered one when we're marooned. Besides, I was going to have us explore anyway because, not only are we searching for a very important jewel that'll save the world, but we're still on the lookout for the three missing crew members from your now sunken ship. They had to have washed ashore on Keelhaul Key with us, just somewhere else and are trying to survive like we are."

"...Well, it has been three days," Flavio trailed off.

"Oy! Admiral Bobbery was one of them, ya fancy pants wuss!" Pa-Patch exclaimed angrily. "Ya don't even care about the GREATEST sailor to have ever lived and even gave us the honor of sailing your ship!?"

"That is it, you one-eyed, walking, talking windup toy!" Flavio shouted as he pointed at Pa-Patch. "You and me! Hammers at high noon!"

"GUYS!" Starlight shrieked, silencing the bickering sailors as they winced. "If you two so much as pick a fight with each other while I am gone, I'm gonna keelhaul the both of you off this island myself!"

Flavio and Pa-Patch looked at each other, then back to Starlight. "...Umm...Y-You can't...keelhaul someone without a ship?" Flavio muttered weakly.

"I'll find a way, considering this island is called 'Keelhaul Key'," Starlight said, glowering menacingly at Flavio. He let out a loud, audible gulp, shivering in terror, keeping his mouth shut from now on. Pa-Patch was a bit annoyed that Flavio used his words earlier to correct Startlight, but he knew better not to correct the unicorn when she's ready to blast the both of them out into the ocean. Letting out a breath to calm her growing ire toward her "partner", Starlight turned to her friends. "Guys, we're going deeper through the jungle. Everyone else remain put. And if anypony sees Flavio and Pa-Patch getting into another fight while we're gone, you let me know."

"Yes, ma'am!" everyone else said.

Flavio was dumbstruck, hearing everyone give a respectful response toward Starlight and not him, the captain. He grumbled to himself, pouting and stomping away to his tent. With order finally back to the group, Mario led his friends deeper into the jungle, farther than they dared to explore after washing up on Keelhaul Key.

Prologue

It has been several months since the Mushroom Kingdom and Equestria had formed a neighborly bond with each other after the crazy adventure Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends had gone through to rescue Princess Peach and join forces with Mario and their fellow allies. Ever since the announcement at the party after Bowser was beaten once again, even with the invincibility gained by the power of the legendary Star Rod from Star Haven, the magic portal Twilight wished for that connected both of their worlds has been used frequently by citizens from both worlds. Ponies crossed over to see the new world, curious with how their Princess of Friendship described the delicacies in the Mushroom Kingdom and the people there, while denizens of the neighboring kingdom visit and got a look at the colorful world filled with magic and talking equines that were considered mythological creatures in their world. At first, the first meetings were a bit awkward, but eventually, the two sides quickly became friendly and got to know each other better.

During that time, the friends who helped Mario and the Mane Six stop Bowser came by on occasion to visit their pony friends and see the world for themselves. Granted, on both sides, they didn't dare venture further from the main towns where the portals were held, but that was all they needed. Goombario, Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry, Bow, Watt, Sushie, and Lakilester visited each of the mares' homes, meeting their families who were around on their visit, tasted the food they had, though they skipped anything involving hay or flowers since they can't digest flowers, and learned a lot more about their world than they thought they already knew from what they told them.

After only a couple months, word of mouth had spread throughout both worlds, there was a big demand for trade goods as they caught interest between traders. Twilight and Peach came to an agreement and allowed the transfer of goods from both sides, now ponies enjoying the delicacies of Mushroom Kingdom Mushrooms, either raw or cooked in recipes passed over from the kingdom, even giving them a try in their own pony recipes. The Toads and other residents in the neighboring kingdom in return would receive different kinds of gems, books, fashion ideas, and many more, both princesses making sure that both sides would get an equal amount of what they exchange, especially when it involved their different types of currency.

Now, Twilight was in the middle of chatting with Kooper as he stopped by again, giving her details of his expedition with Kolorado to the Crystal Palace...after the explorer was rightfully given a severe punishment from his wife after failing to yet again remind her of his latest expedition. "...and to make things more astounding, I visited Eldstar in Star Haven to get some more info, and it turned out that he was what interested the worshipers of the stars when he was just a Star Kid!"

"Seriously?" Twilight asked in astonishment.

"Yeah! He showed off his powers, which impressed the people that much that they built the Crystal Palace as a shrine to the Stars!" Kooper exclaimed, both eager learners excited about this great discovery.

"Wow! Even the eldest of leaders make some silly mistakes that greatly altered a civilization," Twilight pondered aloud.

"I kinda wish we discovered this sooner, but our expedition was put on hold when Pinkie sent out all those invites," Kooper said. "...And it was delayed because Prof. Kolorado...well-"

"He didn't tell his wife again," Twilight said, the Koopa nodding his head as the alicorn hit the nail on the head.

"Got in so much trouble that she had to physically tie him up in his own house and kept him at home for a month," he explained. "He learned his lesson after that...The look of terror on his face. If I ever marry a cute Koopa, I am never going to go behind her back without telling her where I'm going. And if she can beat me in a shell toss, then I know not to push her buttons."

As the two close friends talked, Spike was busy down in the foyer cleaning the floor. It was a surprise meeting the Toads who walk through the new portal when the treaty came into effect, but he got used to it quite well. He even enjoyed the Mushrooms Twilight brought when the girls finally returned home, sweeter than any other mushroom he's tasted, even trying out these strange fiery plants called Fire Flowers. They were said to grant someone the ability to shoot fireballs from their hands upon consuming one, though he was a dragon and could breathe fire, and the fact the flower did nothing but taste spicy. While humming a tune, a Toad walked through, dressed like an official as he held a letter in his hand.

"Welcome to Equestria," Spike said on instinct, usually the first to greet newcomers or returning guests from the Mushroom Kingdom. When he looked at the Toad, he recognized him as the messenger between Twilight and Peach. "Oh! Hey, Crier T."

"Hi, Spike," Crier greeted. "I've got a message from Her Highness, Princess Peach for Her Highness, Princess Twilight."

"You know, you can just call her Twilight," Spike said. "She doesn't usually assert her authority as a princess. And neither does Peach, actually." Crier giggled nervously, rubbing the back of his head as he forgot, though he knew it was rude not to address the princess without her title. "Twilight's in the throne room with Kooper. I swear, those two can be twins if they keep talking about those ruins in the Mushroom Kingdom they explored."

The Toad nodded and made his way to Twilight's throne room. He walked in and found the princess on her throne while Kooper sat in the one beside her as they conversed with each other.

"Excuse me, Princess Twilight," Crier said, getting the mare's attention. "The princess has asked me to deliver you this letter."

"Thank you, Crier T.," Twilight said, the Toad bowing to the alicorn before taking his leave back to the Mushroom Kingdom. She opened the letter, Kooper curious about what was written as he stood up and looked over Twilight's shoulder. "Peach finally found a place for our princess vacation!"

"Cool. You get to explore more of what our world has to offer," Kooper said, happy for the hard-working mare.

"And I definitely need one," Twilight uttered with a groan. "Being a princess is much more exhausting than running around an entire kingdom to save the day from a repeat tyrant."

"Probably a lot more fun, too," Kooper said. "What about saving your world from your own villains? Like that one pony bug thing. Chrysalis?"

"Ugh. That was a mess when she invaded my brother and sister-in-law's wedding," Twilight said. "I'm still a bit miffed that we got tricked by her again, but luckily, Starlight was able to save us and stop her along with Trixie, Thorax, and even Discord. And with the metamorphic change the changelings made, they're a much more peaceful kingdom. They're even adapting to some pony cultures and holidays and making them their own!"

"Well, if she shows herself or if any trouble comes, you can give us a call and we'll back you guys up," the Koopa promised with a wink. "So, where are you and Peach going to?"

"She said it was in another continent across the sea in your world," Twilight said, looking over the letter again. "The port town of Rogueport is where we'll land once we get on a ship. Dreary sounding name, but I'm sure whatever the land has in store, it's going to be the greatest vacation spot ever!"

"...This is the worst vacation spot ever!" Twilight exclaimed. After arriving in front of Peach's Castle, gathering their belongings, making their way to Toad Town's port, and a long boat ride on the princess's private vessel, they had arrived at the town of Rogueport. Just as the name had suggested, the town was pretty shady, a pure contrast to how it looked in the distance. The place was filthy with garbage floating around the port in the sea, the walls and homes were decrepit, even though they were still standing and the citizens living there still used them, while those same citizens looked shady and sneaky, most of the residents being Toads, Goombas, Bandits, and new kinds of people Twilight had never seen before. As soon as the group disembarked, the alicorn and Toadsworth let out a groan at the state of their vacation spot chosen by Peach. "I was expecting something like a fancy resort, not the slums of another kingdom!"

"I must agree with Princess Twilight," Toadsworth said. "Princess Peach, what on earth made you think that this disgusting port was the right place for a vacation deserving of royalty?"

"I want to go somewhere to relax, not be pampered like a princess," Peach reasoned. "Besides, if there were any other place in the Mushroom Kingdom we went to, none of us would be able to enjoy our time. So, I thought somewhere no one would recognize us would work, so I chose this place."

Twilight hunched over and sighed miserably. "So much for this being a fun and relaxing adventure."

"We can still explore the continent," Peach said. "I'm sure there's gotta be something exciting around here."

"Sure. Like catching a disease or being dragged in a dark alleyway by a vagabond threatening to hold you hostage for all the coins in your treasury," Toadsworth muttered, making sure to keep a close eye on the princesses so nothing bad happens to them. Stepping off the docks and making their way to the main square, passing by dock workers as they gathered shipments from across the globe, the got a better look at the junction leading to different sections of the town. In the middle of the road, of all things, was a gallows with a noose hung down from the wooden rafter, though it was thankfully not in use, some signs depicting which building was which ranging from inns to shops. Before getting any farther, a Bandit walked up to them, nudging Toadsworth and nearly tripping the old Toad over. "Hey! I say, watch where you're going!"

"I'm walkin' here!" the Bandit yelled back, then disappeared down the road on their right.

"Ungrateful hooligan," Toadsworth muttered. He grunted, suddenly feeling lighter as he searched his pockets. "W-What? Where's my wallet? Where did it-?...That thief! He stole my wallet! You two stay here while I chase that wallet snatcher!" The old Toad ran off as fast as his elderly body could, chasing after the Bandit who robbed him blind. "Stop! Thief! Where are the guards when you need them!?"

"Well, this is a great start," Twilight muttered. "Not even a minute since we've arrived, and one of us got robbed."

"Toadsworth may have lost his wallet...but he didn't lose his money," Peach said. Grabbing one of her bags, she opened up a small slot, revealing several coins packed neatly inside. "I knew something like this would happen, so while Toadsworth was napping, I snuck his money out and hid it for safekeeping. He thinks I splurge on my allowance, but he's the one who likes to spend too much on random things." Peach giggled at Twilight's shocked expression, zipping the slot back closed so no other shady people tried to pilfer their coins. "When you're kidnapped by Bowser, you come up with sneaky ways to get him angry."

"Thank goodness for that. At least that Bandit was a bit of a distraction to give us some alone time." Without their chaperone, both princesses decided to explore a little. There wasn't much to see in Rogueport that wasn't in dire need of repairs, along with the trash that littered corners of the port town and always being cautious around shady characters slinking around the alleyways. "I suggest we stay together. I don't know if we might get mugged or kidnapped by somepony."

"As long as it's not Bowser, I can handle myself," Peach said confidently.

After they checked themselves into the nearby inn while getting a good look at what Rogueport sort of had, they headed back outside to check the other side of town, where they heard there was a station with a train and a hot air balloon. On their way over to the western side of Rogueport, the duo spotted a mysterious salesperson concealed in a brown cloak. On a carpet were several trinkets and a couple chests, one of them standing out among the older baubles spread out in front of the seller.

"Hello, dearies," an elderly female voice said, beckoning the princesses over. "Care to buy anything? I have a wide assortment of knickknacks and doodads."

Peach and Twilight looked at each other at the strange offer, both really unsure about the random objects sitting before the elderly woman. None of them seemed even remotely close to being a worthy souvenir for their trip, and Twilight loved antiques if they had some history to them. Out of all of them, however, one stood out among them, which happened to be a chest, which could either hold a mysterious gem or something that might be of value.

"Ooh. What's in there?" Peach asked, pointing at the red chest.

"Ahh." The woman grabbed the chest and lifted it up to let them see it clearer. "It is said that this box holds a map that shows where a legendary treasure sleeps. But it has a magical lock on it, and it will only open for a pure and noble heart. As you two can see, it won't so much as budge if one such as myself touches it." She tried to open the box, but even with how hard she tugged, the top didn't open. "How about this? If the box opens for either of you, then you may have whatever is inside. It probably won't be of any use to me anyway." The woman held the box out to them allowing them to touch it. "Take this box in your hands and see what happens."

"I think I can try to open the lock with my magic," Twilight said. "Just let me examine the spell keeping the lock contained..." Twilight levitated the box out of the elderly woman's hands, probing the lock to get a feel for the magic seal placed on it. She stuck her tongue out, staring intensely as she tried to pick the lock while looking over the seal's algorithm, but gave up with a look of shock on her face. "...Oh my gosh...This seal is so complex. I think it would take me months to try to even crack it open just a tiny bit if we bought the box itself."

"Maybe I can try to open it," Peach suggested. Twilight gave her the box, she and the elderly woman watching as she placed her hand on the top. Surprisingly, it opened up for Peach, blinding the princess as the light from inside of it shone for a moment. Once it faded, she squinted her eyes and looked inside, reaching a hand in and pulled out an old map. On the map, it showed the locations of the continent they were on, Rogueport being the central location of seven other major locations: above the port town a forest of varying shades of gray with a giant tree at the center, a small town to the east with a castle looming over it on a hill, a posh city lead by a trail of train tracks south of that town, a big stadium floating above the sky, an island to the south of Rogueport that looked like the perfect spot for pirates to hunker down or bury their treasure, a creepy forest with an abandoned mansion in the background of the thick trees to the west, and north of that was a snowy town overlooked by the moon and a couple constellations, though there appeared to be a small base at the top left section of the moon. "Wow. It's a map of the region."

"Really?" Twilight asked. She took a look for herself as they both saw what other places were beyond Rogueport. "Wow. There are definitely so many other places that are better than this port town worth exploring."

"Well, I guess if we opened the chest, we can have this-" When Peach looked up to reiterate the elderly shopkeeper's deal, she was suddenly gone, leaving behind her belongings while the two princesses looked at the map. "...Where'd she go?"

"She just...left? And without her stuff?" Twilight questioned skeptically. It didn't appear that anyone else walking about in Rogueport even noticed the elderly woman after she vanished. Twilight spotted a Goomba walking by while reading a book, a female one by her pink skin, eyelashes, and orange ponytail, wearing a pith helmet with a light and a gray outfit with a red ascot. Curious about the legendary treasure the woman explained that could be found with said map, she hoped she would lead her to a library of sorts. "Excuse me, miss?"

"Hmm?" She looked up, then yelped in surprise as the person she didn't expect to get her attention was a purple pony with wings and a horn.

"Sorry to disturb you, but do you by any chance know if there's a library around here?" Twilight asked. "...And hopefully it's not as filthy as the rest of this town."

"Oh...Well, I was kind of on my way to see my professor on the east side of town," the Goomba said after recovering from the surprising shock of meeting the alicorn. "I'm sure he'll allow you to borrow a book on anything he might have."

"Great, lead the way," Twilight said. "Peach, wait for me at the inn. I'll be right back."

"Ok. Don't get too engrossed in their books," Peach teased, Twilight turning back to stick her tongue out at her before continuing on following the Goomba assisting her.

Inside the Rogueport Inn, Peach sat at a table in the bar on the first floor, Toadsworth having joined her after taking back his wallet from the Bandit when he didn't find any money inside. As grateful as he was for the princess to keep his savings from being stolen, he did chide her for taking his money without his permission, even if it kept him from being robbed. He began worrying about where Twilight went, but the alicorn had returned a second after exclaiming his concerns, now scolding her for walking off without the two princesses being together. Twilight rolled her eyes as she was treated like a filly, wondering if this is how Celestia had felt around her subjects in the past when she wanted to do something that wasn't acceptable for a princess to do. The Goomba who helped her found her a history book of the region, though her professor wasn't in his study at the moment, so she let her borrow the book until she was done.

As it got late, Toadsworth retired to the beds upstairs, professing his disdain for the poor state of the hovel with a dripping ceiling and small cracks in the walls before settling into one of the beds for the night. Twilight was busy reading through the book, Peach ordering them an odd drink none of them had ever heard of called Chuckola Cola, which was more like a bubbly soda than an alcoholic beverage since it was served in a bar. It was difficult for Twilight to read the important facts in the book when there was one odd looking guy in a red captain's uniform constantly singing some random song over and over, a red gem in the shape of a skull on his table as if showing off the sparkling gemstone.

"Mmm...This isn't all that bad," Peach commented as she took a sip of the new drink. "I wonder why it's called Chuckola Cola."

"Probably something Pinkie would make up if it actually did make her chuckle," Twilight said, both princesses giggling as the alicorn took a swig of her drink, intrigued by the flavor as well. In the book she borrowed, Twilight found a legend that had some relevance to the mysterious map the elderly woman gave them when Peach was able to open the box. "Well, at least that lady was being honest about there being a legendary treasure that can be found with this old map."

"Really?" Peach asked curiously.

"Yeah. There's a legend about Rogueport that ties with the map," Twilight said as she paraphrased what was written. "There was a prosperous town before this town today was even built, and it looked quite beautiful from the illustration." She showed the Mushroom Kingdom princess what this prosperous town looked like, where it looked more like a magnificent castle than a grand city of the past. As she flipped over to the next page, however, it depicted what had happened to it; lightning bolts raining down from the sky, waves crashing heavily against the sides of the magnificent castle, and possible quakes crumbling the towers and tearing the larger building in the background to pieces, almost like it was sinking to the bottom of the ocean. "There was some sort of cataclysm that destroyed the place, though, almost like it was the end of the world."

"Oh my goodness," Peach uttered in shock. "How did that happen?"

"It doesn't really say, but I have a feeling that this kind of natural destruction wasn't all that natural if it could destroy such a wonderful city like this," Twilight guessed, flipping over the pages to show some more illustrations, a small fishing settlement after the chaotic destruction of the apocalypse, then the town of Rogueport on the next. "After the town had sunk into the earth after that one night of weathered destruction, many years later, stories about the town were written as a fairy tale, and people began to build a town over it. Rumors have spread about there being the ancient city hidden beneath them, along with a magnificent treasure that laid deep inside its ruins. And if what that woman told us is true, then this map might actually lead us to the key to uncover that treasure."

"Wow. Did I pick the right spot for a vacation or what?" Peach asked, Twilight giving the princess a blank stare. "What? Don't you want some excitement?"

"I was hoping to relax, not go on another adventure," Twilight muttered. Looking back down at the map, she couldn't help admitting that discovering what this treasure was does sound fun, including exploring what could be ancient ruins of a grand city many years ago. "...Although...it could be fun discovering something about this ancient city."

"See? I knew you would love it," Peach said, then she had an idea. "Hey, why don't we invite Mario and your friends to come along? It could be dangerous, and having Mario to protect us could help us travel further beyond Rogueport."

"Maybe...You think Toadsworth will allow it?" Twilight asked.

"As long as someone strong enough can watch out for me, I'm free to go wherever I want as long as I'm within seeing distance." Peach let out a huff, taking another sip from her Cola. "I always hate being treated like a child. You get kidnapped a few times by a giant Koopa, and you can't go anywhere without a leash tied to your waist."

"You do have me, although with how difficult our first experience was, it might be tougher around here," Twilight pondered. "Let's send them a letter. With more of us in a group, we could convince Toadsworth to stop foalsitting us and let us enjoy our vacation." Twilight then levitated a few pieces of paper and her quill and ink set from upstairs. "Good thing I always come prepared for stuff like this, though I usually bring these for making notes and stuff for anything of interest, but I digress."

Peach giggled, taking a piece of paper and borrowing one of Twilight's quills as they both wrote a letter to their respected recipients; Peach writing to Mario and Twilight writing to Starlight. Once they finished, they sealed their letters in envelopes, another large pile Twilight packed for who knows what, then with her magic, she zapped them using the same kind of magic Celestia used to send her letters via Spike, although with Peach's letter, she simply sent it to the post office back in Toad Town, where it would be quickly sorted out and delivered by the mail carrier and dear friend, Parakarry. What Twilight didn't notice, however, was that Peach had also delivered the map to Mario in the letter as well, being cautious with how shifty some of the residents were in Rogueport and it could be easily stolen if they weren't careful.

While they spent the rest of the evening chatting, the bartender, an older, bean-headed person about as tall as a Toad with glasses and a gray mustache and owner of the bar, came over and gave them a couple more bottles of Chuckola Cola. "Here you go, ladies."

"Uhh, we didn't order another round," Twilight mentioned.

"Someone ordered you our special brand on them," he said. As he turned to see who ordered them their most expensive brand of Chuckola Cola, but couldn't find any sign of them. "Huh. Odd. He was just at the bar a second ago...Oh well, it's been paid for."

"Well, can't turn down a free beverage," Peach said with a shrug. The bartender placed their new bottles down and took their empty ones to throw away, both princesses taking one as they gave the special brand a whiff. "Oof! Wow, that smells pretty strong!"

"Yeah!" Twilight agreed, hacking a little as the scent hit her nostrils. "Is this even safe to drink?"

"If it's allowed to be sold, I believe it is safe to consume." Peach was just as unsure, but she was curious to know how this tasted if it was claimed to be better than the original. "...Well, here's to the future of our kingdoms."

"And our taste buds and intestines after drinking this," Twilight added, both princesses giggling at the last part of their toast as they clinked their bottles and took a sip. Despite the aroma, it was actually quite delicious, this brand of Cola probably worth a pretty hefty price for just a glass, let alone a bottle. "Mmm...Real fizzy. And a little fruity."

"Yeah. It's really good," Peach agreed as she took another sip. "If I could, I would love to import this soda and have it sold in the kingdom." They both soon downed their bottles, their thirst satisfied as they would love to order more of that kind of Chuckola Cola in the future. In only a couple minutes after drinking their second bottle, both princesses suddenly got sleepy, unable to stay awake despite it only being around ten o'clock in the evening. "Wow...Must be some strong Cola to make me drowsy."

"Mhmm," Twilight mumbled sleepily, letting out a yawn as her eyes drooped, almost nodding off and hitting her head off the table. "Oh goodness...I guess I'm more tired than I thought. I'm gonna head to bed."

"Me too," Peach said, rubbing her eyes to try to avoid passing out in the middle of the barroom.

Both princesses tiredly ascended the stairs, Twilight carrying the book she borrowed with her to bed. Ignoring Toadsworth as he slumbered, they both picked a bed and laid down, their eyes immediately closing as they dozed off, the alicorn cuddling the book like a stuffed doll as they fell into a very deep sleep. Hours later, when the bar was closed and most of the town was asleep, the trio were left alone in the inn as they slept. A door that connected from the inn on the second floor out onto a walkway that reached the roof of another building, the doorknob slowly twisted open, a wide, dark figure stepped inside, a pair of glasses glimmered under the moonlight as they snuck inside the inn. Letting out a chuckle, he loomed over both Peach and Twilight, gesturing his hand to the door in a beckoning motion, several more figures shorter than the first with similar glasses crept in to join their leader.

"There they are," the leader said. "Just like that witch said." The shorter followers surrounded Peach and Twilight, but the leader held his hand up, stopping a group from carrying Twilight. "Wait. She mentioned this one is able to use magic." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a ring, carefully approaching the sleeping alicorn as he pushed the ring through her horn. Once it was firmly set at the base on her forehead, the ring tightened, not too tight but snug enough not to cause discomfort, the mare mumbling as she shifted from the odd sensation. "There. The only way that's coming off is it's allowed by Lord Grodus. Now, to see if it works."

He gave the alicorn's horn a light flick to cause some sort of reaction, Twilight flinching as her sleeping instinct was to telekinetically push away whoever hit her horn. "No," she mumbled, her aura shimmering for a second before it failed, rolling over while hugging the book tightly to her chest. "You're not...taking my...Smarty Pants, Discord..."

The group around the alicorn looked at each other, having no clue what she's talking about, but her magic was sealed so she wouldn't cause any problems. Now that it was safe to take Twilight, both groups lifted the princesses over their heads and carried them out of the inn. They couldn't pry the book out of Twilight's hooves, so they let her hold onto it as the group left, their kidnapping of the two princesses pulled off without a hitch. The leader left behind a note by Toadsworth's bed, making sure he doesn't panic when doesn't find them anywhere in the room, or in Rogueport. As soon as he exited the inn, he let out a bellowing chuckle as he chased after his minions, the first step in their lord's plan only just beginning.

Petal Meadows, The Peaceful Plains...With a Dragon!?

Mario climbed up out of the warp pipe, their location quite a big change he and the girls would gladly appreciate after their time in Rogueport. The ponies and Goomba soon popped out from the pipe, staring in awe at the clean grass fields of Petal Meadows. Up ahead, there were a few rocks laid about in an oddly specific formation; the one in the center shaped almost like a warp pipe, two of them with a hollow carving of what looked like a sun and moon, and the rest were just normal stones. Far in the distance on a bed of hills was the castle depicted in the Magical Map, where the first Crystal Star was located.

Rarity took in a deep breath, finally able to breathe fresh, clean air, despite still feeling filthy from the ink all over her. "Finally. THIS is what I expected to see when we first arrived," she said. "I'd rather stay here than go back to Rogueport."

"This must be Petal Meadows," Goombella said. "Despite the awkward start, I'm actually kind of excited to go on this big adventure!"

"You should see the crazy adventures we went on back in Equestria, before we ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom!" Pinkie said. "We fought Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis and her changelings, Sombra, Tirek, diplomatic issues, running around in a comic book, through the Everfree Forest-"

"Ok, ok, I get it," Goombella interrupted. "You've gone on a lot of adventures...Wait, how exactly were diplomatic issues an adventure?"

Before Goombella got an answer, a roar from above startled everyone. Suddenly, an incredibly large shadow passed over them, the object blocking out the sun shocking the mares when they all looked up to see what was creating the shadow. Far above them and making their way to the castle in the distance was a massive orange dragon with a blue tail, flying up to the highest tower, where it looked big enough for the dangerous reptile to make its home in.

"W-W-Was that a d-d-d-d-dragon!?" Fluttershy squeaked fearfully, clutching onto Mario for dear life as they miraculously avoided getting spotted by the dangerous creature.

"There are dragons in this world, too!?" Starlight asked. "You girls said the only thing close to a dragon in this world was Bowser, and he's a turtle who can breathe fire!"

"This is a surprise to us, too, Starlight," Rainbow said. "I think that thing was bigger than the ones back in Equestria, too."

"Is this game SERIOUS!?" Pinkie exclaimed. "Our first main story boss is a giant dragon!? How is that supposed to be fair!? We're gonna get killed!"

Ignoring Pinkie, Mario was more concerned by the fact that their first Crystal Star might be guarded by that dragon if it was in that castle it inhabited. "So much for this land being peaceful," Goombella mumbled. "Maybe we should see if we can get some more info in the town. Shouldn't be that far away if the castle looms over it from the map's description."

"And a bath," Rarity added. "Ooh! Maybe even a spa?"

"I doubt the town would have a spa," Goombella said. "But a good cleanup does sound nice. Stupid gross Blooper ink..."

Making sure to keep an eye out for the dragon if it flew over them and avoid being its next lunch, the party made their way down the road past the stone formations. The road was just as peaceful as Pleasant Path was back in the Mushroom Kingdom for Mario, their foes in their way being the usual trio of Goomba enemies and a few Koopa Troopas. It was nothing the group couldn't handle as they had faced a whole army of Bowser's tougher minions sans Starlight and Goombella. There was a river that blocked their way across, but they were able to form a bridge with a switch that was found off on the hills in the distance and make it across safely, avoiding getting nipped by Nibblers if they weren't able to jump across.

They reached the entrance gates to the town, a peaceful little village with a few friendly Koopas and Toads going about their day. The homes were simple, light colored houses that expressed the bright and cheerful area in the calm environment it was built on, despite the fact that they lived several hundred yards away from a dangerous dragon. As the group admired the peaceful village, one of the Koopas spotted the traveling visitors and walked up to greet them.

"Greetings, travelers!" he said. "Welcome to Petalburg!"

"Quite a lot of enthusiasm for a welcoming committee," Starlight commented.

"Eh, too much?" the Koopa asked nervously. "Sorry, we don't really get many visitors...at least, we used to. But as soon as that dragon Hooktail showed up around here, it didn't really help much with tourism."

"So, you guys do know about that dragon we saw earlier," Goombella said. "And that thing's name is 'Hooktail'? Ptth. That's really intimidating."

"Yeah, try saying that when Hooktail loves to chomp down on us Koopas for lunch." The Koopa let out a shudder, turning a bit pale at the thought of being eaten by the dangerous dragon. "We never go anywhere near that castle if we don't want to turn into a pile of bones."

"Well, sadly, we kinda have to go there," Starlight said. She levitated the map from Mario's person, showing the ethereal Crystal Star hovering over the area of Petal Meadows. "We're searching for the Crystal Stars, and one of them seems to be in that castle. Do you think you can tell us a little more about them and why this one is here?"

"Hmm...The Crystal Stars, huh?" the Koopa uttered. "...Sadly, I don't know much about them aside from the fact that it's just a legend...Although, I think the elder in town might know a thing or two. He's pretty old...like really, really old, so he should know some things we don't. He lives in the pink house a bit further down the road."

"An elderly male Koopa living in a pink house?" Rarity questioned. "Egh...I think he should have his home painted a different color...Speaking of houses, do you mind if we borrow your restroom and freshen up? We are covered in Blooper ink when we went through that sewer, and I don't want this gunk to stain my coat worse than just being in Rogueport! Do you know how horrible ink stains on anything white!?"

"...Uhh, there is an inn right there," the Koopa said nervously, pointing at the nearby building while fearing what the unicorn would do to him if he didn't give her the right response. "Maybe they'll let you use their shower if you book a room?"

"Thank you, darling! You're a lifesaver!" Rarity approached their welcoming committee, giving the Koopa two thankful kisses, one on each cheek, then cantered off to the inn to request a bath.

The Koopa Troopa blinked a few times, confused by the gesture and Rarity's sudden mood change. "...Uhh, does she have...cleanliness issues?"

"Rarity's a neat freak and hates getting really dirty," Applejack said. "And it doesn't help that Rogueport's...not exactly the cleanest town we've ever been to."

"She even spent about a week in a haunted mansion with friendly Boos!" Pinkie added. "Better than getting stuck in the hot desert and forced to cut my adorably floofy mane and tail to keep cool, but I still look cute with short hair."

"...Ok..." The Koopa looked at the others after Pinkie's random storytelling, though the looks on their faces didn't assuage him as they silently told him to go along with it. "...Well, I hope you all enjoy your stay in Petalburg. And try not to go to Hooktail's Castle. We don't want anymore innnocents getting eaten, especially after what happened a few years ago. Poor kid had it rough after his dad was eaten by that monster."

"Thanks for the help," Goombella said, the group making their way to the inn to wash themselves off of the Blooper ink. "Wow, someone lost their dad to Hooktail. I can't imagine losing any of my family if something that tragic happened to them."

Starlight stayed behind, curious to get some more answers from their greeter. "Hey, I have another question," she said. "Have you by any chance seen anypony who looks like me and my friends? She's got purple fur, a horn and wings, goes by the name Twilight Sparkle."

"Uhh, no. Never heard or seen anyone like that," the Koopa said. "In fact, this is the first time I or anyone else has seen creatures like you around."

"R-Really?" Starlight asked nervously. "Are you absolutely sure?" The Koopa nodded silently, now greatly concerning the unicorn as she expected to meet up with Twilight somewhere in Petal Meadows. "...Ok. Then, what about Princess Peach? Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom?"

The Koopa let out an irritated sigh, slumping his head. "Yeah, everyone knows about her," he answered, giving Starlight some relief as Peach was thankfully around. "Unfortunately, the princess hasn't made her presence here in town unless you count the amount of Princess Peach memorabilia a certain neighbor of ours has." And her hope was dashed just like that. "Posters, dolls and dollhouses of the castle, even a random autograph he managed to spend a hefty sum of coins for. Don't get me wrong, it would be an honor to have Her Highness from across the sea visit, but I wouldn't want her near her 'number one fan'. I think he has a bit of an obsession with her or something..."

"...Oh. Wonderful," Starlight muttered. "Well, thanks again..."

She then made her way to the inn, letting out a sigh as the whereabouts of both Peach and Twilight were right back at square one. After everyone had a chance to clean themselves up, they wandered around Petalburg, getting to know the sights as they searched for the mayor's house. They passed by a silver Bob-omb wearing a commander's hat, staring off into space as he silently contemplated something, but they walked past him, thinking he was too busy with his thoughts to help them. It didn't take them long to find the mayor's house, spotting the pink house miles away as it was not like the other houses in town. Next door, there was a Koopa couple that stood out among the other friendly Koopas, both of them with green shells, the girl wearing pink sleeves and pants that stuck out from her shell, white shoes with a pink underside, and a light auburn ponytail tied in a pink hairband, while the boy wore a light blue sweater hoodie with blue shorts outside of his shell, similar white shoes as his girlfriend but with a brown underside, and he seemed to sport a bandage on his snout while one of his eyes seemed half-lidded, almost like he was given a severe eye injury in his youth that never recovered.

While the party made their way inside the mayor's house after knocking on the door, they didn't notice the sweater-wearing Koopa tell his girlfriend something, watching her head inside the building next door before sneaking over to the window of the mayor's house and peeked inside. Mario and his entourage of six ponies and one Goomba got a better look inside the elderly Koopa's living room, the mayor an evergreen-skinned Koopa with bushy white eyebrows that actually covered his eyes, a long white beard, and supported himself with a walking cane. There were some pictures of him in his younger years with a female Koopa, who must be his wife, though there wasn't any sign of the missus around.

"Excuse us, sir?" Goombella called out, startling the elderly Koopa as he stuttered and looked around.

"Wha-? Who's there?" he asked. "Who's barged into my home!? Thieves! Trying to steal my things!"

"No, sir, we're not-" Fluttershy tried to say, but the mayor seemed to have problems hearing as he continued rambling.

"I know you whippersnappers and your types!" he exclaimed. "Robbing a defenseless old Koopa like me for a quick coin!" Mario tried to explain that they weren't thieves, but yet again, he didn't listen. "No, it's hopeless. Take whatever you want...Take my antique shell, my wallet, but not my photos of me and the missus. Can't do without those memories..."

"Ah got this," Applejack said, having dealt with Granny and her hard of hearing when she was being stubborn. "Sir, we ain't gonna take your things! We aren't robbers!"

"Oh. Then why didn't you knock?" the Koopa questioned.

"We did," Rainbow said. "You didn't respond, and we wanted to speak with you."

"Well, if you wanted to interview me, my life's not all that impressive," he said. "My name is Kroop, just a simple mayor who had a passion for-"

"No, no, we want to know about the Crystal Stars!" Goombella said loudly for the mayor to hear. "Can you tell us about the one located in the castle nearby!?"

"Oh, then why didn't you speak up, missy!?" Kroop exclaimed. "We're just wasting time and I ain't getting any younger!" He sat down on the nearby couch, rubbing his beard as he hummed in thought. "Now, where did I hear about them darn things again...? Ah, right! Hooktail! That dragon's got one of those Crystal Stars you're after! Big, enormous, and ornery, and eats folks up. You know of Hooktail, right?"

"We've heard of it, and saw it with our own eyes," Rarity mentioned.

"Well, Hooktail's been going on brutal fly-bys, snacking on us all in its sights...So, are you reckless fools - er, I mean, GALLANT heroes off on your way to rough it up?" Kroop asked hopefully.

"Wait, what?" Starlight questioned, everyone looking at each other as the mayor expected them to kill themselves to stop Hooktail. "No, we just want the-"

That DOES sound promising!" Kroop interrupted, their complaints falling on nearly deaf ears and his failing vision didn't notice the shock on the party's faces. "Why if you can rid us of Hooktail, we'll shower you with gratitude and rewards!"

"We didn't even agree to-" Rainbow tried to say, but they were interrupted once again.

"What's that? You'll accept no reward?" Mario tried to explain that all they were after was the Crystal Star, not a dangerous monster neither of them had a chance of taking on without a lot more help, but yet again, Kroop didn't seem to hear him. "What an unselfish group of heroes! Noble, brave, and willing to do anything for the good of the people."

"He's not going to listen to us, no matter if we agree with him or not," Pinkie said. "Curse you dialogue tree that fails to be a dialogue tree!"

"Now, what were your names again?" Kroop asked. Mario introduced himself and the others after letting out a sigh, going along with it and hopefully strong enough to take on Hooktail if they do have to fight the dragon for the Crystal Star. "Hmm...Murphy, Twinkle Glitter, Ponkle Pizza, Bannanasmack, Rainy Flash, Butterfly, Granary, and Koopella...Fine names indeed." Despite the silly, random names Kroop gave them, making Pinkie and Rainbow snicker at the others, Mario calmly reiterated their actual names loud enough for him to hear. "Why yes, these are nice eyebrows. I appreciate the compliment, Murphy!"

The party sighed and hung their heads, giving up trying to get him to listen if his hearing's gone that bad. "Forget it," Goombella grumbled. "And Koopella? I look nothing like a Koopa!"

"Now, you all listen up," Kroop said. "If you intend on going to Hooktail's castle, there's a secret pipe near the village. I don't know exactly where it is, but I do know you'll need a pair of stone keys to use it. The keys are somewhere in Shhwonk Fortress, to the east of the village. Get those first."

"Ok, sounds like a plan," Goombella said. "Thanks for the help, mayor."

They soon left Kroop's home, the Koopa spying on them flinching before he quickly hid in a nearby bush before he was caught. He watched through the foliage, overhearing everything they talked about inside as he watched them make their way to the gate on the other side of town.

"So, we need to head to Shhwonk Fortress and get those keys," Rarity said. "First, I think we need to find Peach and Twilight and make sure they don't get themselves in anymore trouble."

"Well, we're not going to be that fortunate," Starlight said. "I spoke with the Koopa who greeted us about them, and there's no sign of them here."

"Are you serious!?" Rainbow exclaimed. "What do you mean they're not here!? Where else could they be!?"

"That's what I'm worried about," Starlight uttered.

"You don't think...Hooktail could have gotten them first?" Fluttershy asked. The possibility brought dread to the group, both important princesses in their own respective worlds eaten by a dangerous dragon who could have swooped down and gotten just about anyone for a snack. And the fact that the dragons in this world might be different compared to the ones in Equestria brought more fear to the mares than recently befriending the dragons thanks to Spike's friendship with Dragon Lord Ember. "...Oh dear. I hope I'm not right."

"L-Let's not jump to conclusions!" Starlight quickly said. "If the dragons in this world aren't as magic proof as the ones in Equestria, then Twilight might be able to stand a chance if Hooktail attacked them! They might have gone somewhere else instead! I mean, it's not like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would think of going to war with the Mushroom Kingdom if something were to happen to her here under the watchful eye of Princess Peach's caretaker, right?" Realizing what she was rambling about, Starlight's nervous grin turned into a frown. "...Ok, now I REALLY hope that doesn't happen."

"You know you and Twilight kind of are alike if you two love to freak out and over-exaggerate things," Rainbow said.

Mario sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance from the worst-case scenarios the ponies were imagining. He kept them focused on finding the Crystal Star, defeating Hooktail, and assuring them that Twilight and Peach were perfectly fine. They've both been caught in dangerous situations before, and Twilight had faced dragons before, so she has some experience dealing with them if worse came to wear. Leading the way once the mares were calm, they arrived at the other end of town, where the path leading to Shhwonk Fortress was located. There was a Koopa blocked the way, who acted as a guard to keep others from exiting this way for their safety.

"Excuse us, can we pass on through?" Goombella asked. "We need to find the stone keys to make the pipe to Hooktail's castle appear, and the mayor allowed us to pass."

"Mayor Kroop has, huh?" the guard asked. "Well, you all look like a pretty strong group. I heard there's a stone creature that lives there, so be careful out there."

The guard stepped aside to let them pass. As the group was about to trek further through Petal Meadows to Shhwonk Fortress, the Koopa watching them stepped out from the bushes, then approached them nervously.

"Umm...excuse me," he called out timidly, but they didn't seem to hear him. "Uhh, pardon me..." Despite speaking a little louder, neither of the party heard him. Mario, the ponies, and Goombella were almost right out the gate, the clothed Koopa swallowing and took in a deep breath to settle his nerves. "Please, wait a moment!!!"

The party yelped and turned around at the outburst. The Koopa quickly clasped his hands to his mouth, feeling embarrassed from shouting that loud.

"What's the matter?" Starlight asked.

"...S-Sorry for yelling," he mumbled. "I-I...I kinda panicked..."

The nervous Koopa continued muttering to himself, trying to sum up the courage to talk to them. "...Uhh, did you need our help with somethin'?" Applejack asked.

"Umm...How to begin...?" He took in another deep breath, his timidness and injured face concerning the others if he was a victim of bullying. "...M-My name's Koops...I heard...you were all traveling to Hooktail's castle. So...umm...I-I...have a favor to ask..." Nerves came back to Koops, his mouth opening and closer as he tried to ask them what he wanted. The others waited patiently for his response, the guard frowning in pity, knowing the timid Koopa longer than the visitors had. After a minute of waiting, Koops let out a miserable grunt and hung his head sadly. "...Oh, forget it...Never mind. Just ignore me...G-Goodbye..."

Koops turned around and sadly walked away, baffling the others from asking them a request and leaving in failure for not speaking up. "...Ok...that was weird," Goombella commented. "Sounds like somebody's got issues."

"He seems to be like Fluttershy with how nervous he was," Starlight noted, Fluttershy nodding in agreement as she saw herself in him from his shy and timid nature to the innocent, somewhat quiet tone of his voice.

"Poor Koops," the guard said, getting everyone's attention as the Koopa watched Koops sadly walk away. "That kid hasn't been the same when his father, Koopley, disappeared after he left for Hooktail's castle a few years ago. We assumed the worst and he was gobbled up by Hooktail."

"Oh my," Rarity uttered, Goombella feeling bad for unintentionally making fun of Koops.

"Poor Koops," Pinkie said, her mane drooping a little, feeling bad for the Koopa. "I think he needs a hug. A few years' worth of hugs."

"I guess he didn't really take losing his father all that well, huh?" Starlight asked.

"He was pretty depressed, and it didn't help that he was picked on a lot when he was growing up," the guard said. "Thankfully, it stopped, and his girlfriend, Koopie Koo, supports him. He's been afraid to speak his mind, and I had a feeling he was going to ask you to help avenge Koopley and slay Hooktail for him and every other helpless victim of that dragon."

"Somepony as timid as him wants revenge?" Rainbow questioned with a raised brow. "I don't think he'd last one minute outside Petalburg."

"Koops is actually able to handle himself well out there," the guard said. "We Koopas in Petalburg are able to pull off a special kind of shell toss that only we know. Without even needing to ricochet off a wall or hard surface, we're able to hold a toss, then fling ourselves backward and hit anyone that would have been behind us. Useful little defensive skill if someone bounces on us and tries to kick us like a soccer ball. They'll be in for a shock when we come right back and trip them up, or hit them in the gut."

"Whoa...That's...actually kind of cool," Goombella said.

"I bet Kooper would want to learn how to do that!" Pinkie said. "Too bad he's not here, though. He's probably having fun on another expedition with Professor Kolorado!"

"You all know THE Professor Kolorado!?" Goombella exclaimed excitedly. "Oh my gosh, I always wanted to meet him! He's, like, the most AMAZING explorer of the Mushroom Kingdom and discovered a lot of different artifacts from ancient civilizations!"

"Yup, we sure have," Rainbow said. "But don't press your luck, Goombella. He's a bit of a klutz when it comes to exploring. And he needed our help when finding the treasure in Mt. Lavalava while we were there to save one of the Star Spirits."

"I'll believe it when I meet him, get an interview with him, and get an A+ on an assignment involving our idols." Goombella stuck her tongue out at Rainbow, the pegasus rolling her eyes in response, unable to wait to see the day she meets the clumsy oaf of a Koopa who's more famous for getting in trouble with his wife.

Continuing on after Koops's attempted request, they exited Petalburg and made their way down the road leading to Shhwonk Fortress to find the keys they needed.

Koops walked into his house, shutting the door as he let out a depressed sigh. He rubbed his head, making his way to the living room, where his girlfriend was waiting for him on the couch.

"Done with your errands, Koops?" Koopie asked. He didn't respond, plopping down beside her and held his head in his hands. "What's wrong, baby?"

"...It's nothing," he said, but the female Koopa wasn't buying it.

"Koops, I know you," she said. "You've been thinking about trying to get to Hooktail's castle and getting revenge again, aren't you?"

"N-No, I swear!" Koops exclaimed. "...A-At least, not alone. Some visitors were asking about the Crystal Stars, I heard them talking to the mayor...and..."

"And they were planning on going there to find out if the legend is true, risking their lives for a fairy tale?" Koopie finished. Koops reluctantly nodded his head, making his girlfriend groan in annoyance. "Hon, I know you miss your dad. But going there, risking getting eaten because you want to get back at Hooktail...it's not worth it."

"B-But that's not-" Koops fell silent when Koopie placed her hand against his mouth.

"Just don't, Koops," Koopie firmly insisted. Her stern gaze toward him faded, leaning closer to him and giving Koops a loving kiss on the cheek. Koopie wrapped her arms around on of Koops's, gently laying her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to lose you. Don't be stubborn like Koopley after he couldn't deal with losing more friends to that monster."

Koops leaned his head against Koopie's, feeling her grasp his hand with hers, closing his fingers and holding it gently. He had no idea how he could have found someone like Koopie to be his girlfriend when he was such a timid wreck of a Koopa Troopa since his father's demise. If only he had more confidence in himself, had more courage to be bold, tell everyone the real reason why he wanted to confront Hooktail without everyone assuming he was signing himself up for a death wish. He wanted to prove to everyone, including himself, that he wasn't a wimp; an easy target that everyone can pick on.

Mario lead the group as they walked along the path, encountering some more Goombas and Koopas that got in their way. They reached a fortress that was surprisingly closeby, the stones of the ruined structure grayish purple. Inside was an empty room with only two pedestals, both of them holding what appeared to be Clefts, only they lacked the spikes the ones Pinkie and Rarity recalled seeing back in the Mushroom Kingdom and they were gray like normal stones. The exit was unfortunately barred off, and there wasn't a switch, lever, or button anywhere to open it up.

"Well, this is a fine pickle!" Pinkie said, suddenly in blue overalls, a pink shirt, a pink hat with the letter "P" on the front, and a fake black mustache on her upper lip as she wriggled it while she stood on her hind legs and held the straps of the overalls with her forehooves.

"Where the heck did she get that!?" Goombella questioned, throwing out the rule of Pinkie being Pinkie as she pointed at the Mario-esque outfit she was wearing.

Mario chuckled and facepalmed, amused by seeing this outfit again after it was destroyed by the Buzzar on Mt. Rugged. "What? Gotta have a callback to the Mare-io girl!"

While Pinkie laughed at her pun, Starlight looked around curiously, using her magic to probe anything in the room to lift up the gate. "There's gotta be a hidden switch somewhere around here." Her aura touched the pedestals, waking up the Bald Clefts with a grunt. Looking up, Starlight yelped as the one she was near almost dropped down on her, alerting the others to the trap she accidentally set off. "Those aren't statues! They're real!"

"Bald Clefts," Goombella said. "Not so dangerous without the spikes like their brothers, but their skin is literally hard as rocks!"

"Nothing but a little hammer action should do the job!" Pinkie said, both her and Mario pulling out their hammers as they stared down the Bald Clefts.

Both rock creatures let out a grunt before charging forward, a big mistake as they were swiftly smacked by the pair of powerful hammers and sent flying across the room. They didn't go down so easily, sturdy and stubborn like the rocks they were. They charged again, but with another hard swing from Mario and Pinkie, they were flung into the wall of the fortress again, then fell unconscious in a pile with a groan. Upon their defeat, the gate leading further down the road opened up.

"Well, that seemed pretty easy," Rainbow said. "If that's all we have to do to open up a gate, I wanna take on the next group of easy grunts!"

"Careful what you wish for, darling," Rarity warned. "It may be simple at first, but something's eventually going to throw us a curve ball."

"Wait, are we playing baseball or are we on an adventure?" Pinkie asked. "Don't change genres on me! I'm in the RPG zone right now!"

"Pinkie, can you please take off those clothes and get rid of that mustache?" Goombella begged. "You look really weird, and because you're pink, you could pass as Mario's sister if you didn't have the tail, hooves, and facial hair on your lip."

"But I just got this all fixed up after it got ruined last time," Pinkie whined. Goombella leered at the pink earth pony, the pleading eyes Pinkie gave her failing as she huffed, then stripped out of her clothing. "Fine. At least Pinkie Mario made a return...But, now that there's a portal open, I can bring whatever I want, whenever I want." Tossing her outfit in her bags, she then pulled out her portable party cannon, making the Goomba's eyes bulge out, baffled by the mobile cannon able to be held in such a small pair of saddlebags. "And this time, I am not going anywhere in this world without my party cannon! This baby would have been so much helpful against Bowser."

"...I-I...I can't...I don't even..." Goombella turned around and continued ahead. "I'm moving on. I'm not going to ask questions. There is no logic to be found with Pinkie logic. Just. Gonna. Keep. MOVING!"

"She'll get used to it eventually," Starlight uttered, the others quickly catching up with her as they continued along the path to another fortress, this one a grayish red, and on the pedestals this time were odd spherical stones with empty eyes and its sharp grin missing a tooth, spikes surrounding its body except for its face. "Whoa...What the hay are these?"

Goombella pulled out a book, detailing several different species that she couldn't explain at the top of her head. "These are...Bristles. They have a lot of pointy spikes all over them, protecting themselves from anything that might try to harm it."

"Except their faces," Rainbow said. Waking them up by kicking the pedestal, the two Bristles jumped down to the ground and faced the group. "I got this guys. Can't be hard to turn these Bristles into brittle pieces!" The cyan mare sped off and aimed a dive kick into one of the Bristles' faces. Unfortunately, the spiked stone ball seemed to be a bit quicker on its defense, turning to its side as Rainbow struck it, her hoof pricking on one of its many sharp spikes. "YEOUCH!"

Rainbow flew back, rubbing her pricked hoof with a wince. "Any physical attacks won't work against them," Goombella said.

"Not unless we have a hammer!" Pinkie said, waving her trusty weapon around. "Dashie, this is why you need something with reach instead of your own hooves."

"No, Pinkie, you can't get-!" Goombella tried to warn Pinkie, but the mare lunged at one of the Bristles with her hammer poised to strike. Sadly, Pinkie's plan failed as well as it turned on its side, and right as she got close, the spikes on its side shot out, knocking the mare back and pricking her chest as she yelped in pain and staggered backward. "...I tried to warn you. Absolutely NO contact, even with something with a bit of reach like a hammer won't work."

"Why didn't you tell us they could shoot their spikes out like they're throwing a punch!?" Rainbow exclaimed while Pinkie rubbed her chest with a wince. "Aren't you supposed to be a know-it-all egghead!?"

"Hey, I study archaeology and had a lot of notes to take for finals!" Goombella argued, waving her book around. "I don't have that much of a photographic memory! What, did you assume I was that smart to know EVERYTHING about ANYTHING!?"

"Well, there was a Goomba who was with us who knew a lot about the Mushroom Kingdom," Fluttershy said. "His grandpa told a lot of stories, and he has a really good memory of different places, dangerous creatures, even if he's never seen them before."

Goombella blinked, her cheeks turning a shade of pink as she began to grow interested in this intelligent Goomba. "...What's his name?"

"His name's Goombario," Fluttershy said, Rarity noticing the blush on the Goomba's face, practically eager to meet him.

While Goombella got to know more about Goombario from Fluttershy, Mario and Starlight dealt with the nearly impervious Bristles from a safer distance, the former flinging his hammer at one while the latter blasted the other with magic, knocking them out and opening the way forward. The last fortress before them as they left was a pale grayish brown. Inside was only one pedestal this time, and sitting on it was a large blue creature made of stone, the edges around it covered with gray stone spikes. Mario recognized what it was, swallowing a lump in his throat as he dreaded to see how the mares would react to having it rise up and stomp down on them. So far, there wasn't any future visions that came to him, which meant it was safe, at least for now.

"Wow. That's a pretty big rock," Applejack said. "Rarity, ya bet there are any gems in there?"

"Very funny, Applejack," Rarity grumbled, glowering at the farm pony while Applejack chuckled from her teasing. "If there were, my horn could easily pick up a beautiful gem in it. Besides, it has a face, which means it's either just a statue or a sleeping creature. And if it's sleeping, I probably wouldn't speak too loudly if it wakes up and gets hostile."

"It looks like a Thwomp," Goombella guessed, looking through her guidebook of different creatures for reference to make sure she was right.

Before she found the right page, the structure shook, surprising everyone as the sudden quake came from the pillar with the sleeping Thwomp. As soon as it stopped, the stone creature's eyes opened, its beady black eyes looking down at the group.

"Well, well, well, how long has it been since I've had new contestants?" the Thwomp asked himself, confusing the ponies, plumber, and Goomba.

"Wait, contestants?" Starlight asked.

"If you all have come this far to Shhwonk Fortress, you must want the stone keys," he said. "And if that is the case, you'll have to compete against me. If you win, I'll let you through to get the keys, but if you lose, then you'll suffer a terrible fate...And by 'terrible', I mean awful." The Thwomp let out a chuckle, his goading for the prize already winning them over. "So, what do you say? Care to take my challenge?"

Mario wasn't sure whatever challenge the Thwomp had for them, but if it was a fight, then it would be pretty difficult considering Thwomps are one of the toughest beings in his world. He wasn't sure if he could even make a crack in the Thwomp's body with his enhanced strength. The ponies looked at each other, unable to find any other option to reach the keys unless they took on the giant stone stamper's challenge.

"Well, we don't have much of a choice," Starlight said. "If we want to reach the castle quicker and without wasting too much energy if we have to fight Hooktail, we need those stone keys."

"I think we can take him," Rainbow said. "He can't even move, so if it's a fight he wants, he won't stand a chance if we can whittle him done to pieces." Mario tried to warn the girls that Thwomps were able to move, but Rainbow responded with their answer before he had the chance to tell them about the ironically stationary stone heads. "You're on, Stony!"

"Alright! But don't say I didn't warn you!" With a grunt, the Thwomp surprisingly jumped up into a hole above where he sat, shocking the ponies while Mario facepalmed.

"...Uhh...they CAN move?" Rainbow asked. She looked at Goombella, who slowly nodded her head, then looked at Mario, he moved his hand from his face and glared at the pegasus, shaking his head while explaining Thwomps can move, drop down from the ceiling as fast as she could fly at normal speeds, and possibly squish someone underneath their two ton bodies. "...We're in trouble, aren't we?"

"Where did he even go, anyway?" Pinkie asked curiously, looking up at the hole the Thwomp disappeared through.

A click was heard as the gate behind them closed, the sunlight shining in the room suddenly gone as it went dark for a brief second, then lit up again with neon walls blinking in an outstretched diamond of yellow, white, red, and blue. Everyone looked around in surprise, a small booth rising up from the floor near Mario that was used for game show contestants appeared, followed by a microphone stand near the platform the Thwomp was on.

"Uhh, what's happening right now???" Goombella questioned.

"Where did all these lights come from?" Applejack asked, looking around at the suddenly changed scenery.

Game show music suddenly began to play as the sound of stock audio played around them, the sound of an audience clapping and cheering as the Thwomp gently floated back down to the platform, now wearing a red and white polka dot bowtie. "Hello and good afternoon, ladies and germs!" he announced. "Welcome, everybody, to the 65th Super Fun Quirk Quiz!" The audience cheering repeated, the Thwomp looking around at the invisible audience while baffling everyone except Pinkie, the pink earth pony waving to the "crowd" as if they were really on a game show. "I know it's been a really long hiatus since the last show, but have we got a show for you!

"Let's meet our mustachioed contestant and his guests! What is your name, good sir!?" Confused, Mario pointed at himself, then awkwardly introduced himself. "Alright, Mario, here's how the game goes, so perk up your ears, including your furry friends', as I ask you several questions. Get five of them right, and you win! But get three wrong, you'll suffer an unfortunate punishment."

"The challenge...is a quiz?" Starlight asked quizzically. "...That...shouldn't be that hard..."

"Hope you got your thinking caps on, because we are about to begin!" The Thwomp cleared his throat as Mario stepped inside the booth, the music suddenly getting intense as the quiz began. "Now, for the first question: What's hidden in this place?" That question was really simple, the group searching for the stone keys they needed to get to Hooktail's castle. Mario answered, the dinging sound signalling he answered correctly, making the Thwomp spin around and grumble a little. "That's correct, but that one was an easy one! It's only going to get much harder from here on! Question two: What do one Mr. Softener and a Fire Flower cost at the shop in Petalburg? Total!"

"What the hay is a 'Mr. Softener'?" Applejack asked. "Ah've never heard of somethin' like that."

"Mr. Softeners are items that look like a pink worm with a face, weakening enemies defenses if it succeeds," Goombella explained. "Agh! I didn't think we'd need to head into the store when we got to Petalburg! I have no idea how much that or a Fire Flower costs around here!"

Mario sweat nervously, wishing they took the time to look in Petalburg's shop and see what other new items this region might have had. He had to take a wild guess as different towns sell similar items at a different cost, even in the Mushroom Kingdom. He guessed fourteen coins, only for a buzzer to ring out, his guess wrong as the stock-audience let out a disappointed groan and the Thwomp chuckling as he got one strike.

"Ooh! So close!" he said. "The correct answer is sixteen coins! Moving on to question three: What is the name of the mayor of Petalburg?" Thankfully, Mario guessed Kroop since they had luckily met with the old mayor to get some answers for their Crystal Star search. "Urgh...Correct. Onto question four: Where is the Crystal Star?"

"Are you sure these are supposed to be harder?" Pinkie asked, scratching her head curiously. "I don't think you're even trying. At least Peach's time on a quiz show while she was trapped had some questions that actually got her stumped."

Mario answered Hooktail's castle, guessing right from the ringing bell, even though they've known before entering Petal Meadows where their first Crystal Star was located. "Agh! Correct! Question five: How can one get from Petal Meadows to Rogueport?" Again, the answer was easy as the "contestant" answered the warp pipe, frustrating the Thwomp as they've gotten four questions right and needed one more, and with only one wrong guess. "Right again! That's four questions already!? That's it. I'm making the last two impossible! Question six: Which of these following creatures have...hands?"

Appearing down on the small console in Mario's booth, there were pictures of four creatures: a Koopa Troopa, a Goomba, a Cleft, and a Fuzzy. Even Starlight could see the obvious answer, and she had less experience with what species exist in this world. Mario answered the Koopa Troopa, and with one final successful ring for the correct guess, the "audience" cheered as confetti rained down on them, and it didn't come from Pinkie's party cannon. The Thwomp let out a yell in defeat, spinning around in frustration.

"So much for that being a difficult quiz," Starlight muttered. "I think any of us could have played and won."

"I can't believe you answered five questions correctly!" the Thwomp exclaimed. "I don't believe this! And I had a good final question before you got struck out!"

"What was the last question going to be?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

The Thwomp blinked a few times, stammering a little as he didn't expect them to even make it up to the last two questions. "...Uhh...T-The last question was...what number question it was." The party all let out a groan of exasperation, Mario falling out of the booth from how lazy the last question was. The Thwomp grumbled, then leapt up through the hole in the ceiling, the lights disappearing as a click echoed, turning the old fortress ruins back to normal while opening up the entrance and sinking the booth and microphone stand. He returned a moment later, slamming down on the pedestal. "I guess rules are rules. You can enter the deeper part of Shhwonk Fortress and find your keys."

The Thwomp spun around, his movement moving his pillar back, revealing a small panel where a warp pipe rose up from after his perch slid into the back wall. With a grunt, he shut his eyes and went back to sleep, waiting for another future victim to torment if they stumble across the fortress.

"...Well, we beat him," Rainbow said, earning a punch in the shoulder from an irritated Applejack. "Ow! What!?"

"Maybe instead of assumin' somethin' in this world is easy if they offer a challenge, we should be askin' the ones who know more about them than jumpin' the stable," Applejack said.

"Applejack's right," Rarity agreed. "After witnessing something that large and heavy able to practically fly up to the ceiling, it could have easily crushed all of us without a single thought! Are you going to do the same thing if we run into that awful dragon when finding that Crystal Star?"

"Heheh...Sorry," Rainbow apologized. "No more picking fights against anything from this world without getting advice from the experts on them."

Mario leapt up onto the pipe, leading the way first while giving Rainbow a warning glance as he slid down. The girls then followed down after him, standing in shallow water beneath the Shhwonk Fortress where two different paths split up from where the pipe lead them.

"Oh, please tell me this isn't another sewer," Rarity begged, keeping her fabulously curly and recently cleaned tail out of the shallow water.

"I think this is part of the fortress," Goombella said. "Probably an underground water channel from the rivers around here. Being a fortress and possibly having soldiers, they would have needed fresh water to drink."

"And they're tainted by my filthy boots after walking around Rogueport," Rarity added as she continued holding her tail slightly up.

"Let's see," Starlight muttered in thought. "There's two pathways, which must mean one of the keys has to be at the end of these channels. We can split up in teams of four, search a path, and come back with a key."

"Sounds like a good plan to me!" Pinkie said.

They split up in two groups of four and began trudging their way across the water down each path: Mario, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack to the left, and Goombella, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Starlight to the right. They had expected to find no signs of life in these abandoned channels, but that wasn't the case as they encountered a couple groups of Fuzzies on their passages, the round, furry black creatures bouncing around trying to jump on everyone and suck away their energy with their "kiss of death" as Pinkie called it. Mario was kind of relieved Twilight wasn't here, otherwise they would have tied her up in their webbing and hang them on a tree. They were quick to deal with as they easily knocked them out, and at the end of each path were the key stones they needed, Starlight's group finding the key in the shape of the sun with a red center and yellow rays and Mario's finding the key in the shape of a yellow moon. They were ambushed by a group of Fuzzies waiting for them, but like their brethren back in the previous rooms in the channel, they were easily dealt with.

They regrouped back to the junction of the channel, they were suddenly ambushed as a Gold Fuzzy landed on Mario's head, knocking him down and bouncing off him as the gold-colored Fuzzy landed between the groups. "MEEEEEOOOOOOORK! Hey, what are you suspicious types doing here!? This is our place! And you're stealing our things!"

"There's no way you Fuzzies 'own' these keys!" Goombella said. "We need them to get to Hooktail's castle, so beat it, you pest!"

"Oh, a pest, am I?" the Gold Fuzzy asked. "I'll show you! MEEEEOOOOORK!"

The Gold Fuzzy bounced toward Goombella, latching onto her ponytail as she tried to avoid him. "AHH! Get this thing off me!" she screamed.

"Hang on, Goombella! I got it!" Pinkie said, pulling out her hammer and tried to slam it on the Fuzzy. She missed as Goombella ran and shook her head, trying to shake him off her hair. "Hey! Hold still! I wanna smash it!"

Mario got back up, his front half completely soaked from crashing in the water from the Gold Fuzzy as he shook himself dry. He and the others watched Pinkie chasing after Goombella, all while the Goomba ran and jumped around, trying to make the Gold Fuzzy lose his grip, but it was holding on tightly. As she ran past him, Mario quickly grabbed the Fuzzy, squeezing him hard and making it gasp and let go of Goombella without painfully tugging her hair. He tossed the Fuzzy in the air, then roundhouse kicked him hard, sending him skipping of the water and into the wall. The Gold Fuzzy wasn't as weak as the black ones, shaking off the hit as it leered at the group now surrounding it.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Rainbow asked with a smirk, rearing to fight what she and the others know as a weak enemy. "There's one of you and eight of us!"

"Oh, you really think it's just me?" the Gold Fuzzy asked, letting out a chuckle. "I'm not all alone here! Alright, everyone! GET THEM!!!!"

There was a sudden cry of Fuzzies screeching from all corners of the channel, and as the group turned around to see where it was coming from, they were suddenly swarmed by hundreds of black Fuzzies. Mario, the mares, and Goombella were completely overwhelmed, forced to the ground as dozens of them jumped on them, Rarity screeching as she didn't want to get dirty again.

"I just got cleaned!" Rarity whined. "I don't even know what else is in this water with you jumping round balls of itchy fuzz infecting it!"

Rainbow broke free and tried to fly over the Fuzzies, only for a large group to climb over each other and make a tower, then crash down on her. "AHH! I can't even fly away!"

Starlight managed to focus enough and create a bubble around herself, preventing the Fuzzies on her to pummel her. "Just how many of these things are there?" Looking around while keeping her shield up, she spotted the Gold Fuzzy laughing as he watched her friends getting swarmed by his army. Growling, she marched over to him, forcefully pushing Fuzzies or bowling over them, grabbing the leader and snatching the different-colored Fuzzy in her barrier, squishing him under her hooves. "Call off your friends or you're going to get it, you fuzzy parasite!"

"MEEEOOOORK! Get offa me, you...whatever you are!" the Gold Fuzzy exclaimed, his struggles finally stopping when Starlight aimed her glowing horn in his face. "W-Whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa! What's with the glowing pointy thing on your head!? Not in my face!"

"I'm giving you to the count of three to tell those Fuzzies to stop hurting my friends, or I'm going to blast you through the wall and into the earth!" Starlight warned.

"Ok! Ok! I'll get them to stop!" the Gold Fuzzy quickly said. "Guys, lay off or else I'm gonna get blasted to bits by this mutated Magikoopa!"

"A mutated what?" Starlight questioned in irritation, her eye twitching at the rude description of her species. The Fuzzies stopped, suddenly growing worried for their leader as they backed away from the group. The others got up, Rarity smacking some of them away with her tail for getting her soaking wet. "Now, you are going to let us leave with these keys. We won't do more harm to you and get out of your territory. Is that a good enough deal?"

"Y-Yeah, sure! Whatever!" the Fuzzy quickly agreed. Starlight let the Fuzzy go and dropped her shield, who immediately bounced away from her. "Let them go! I'd rather not turn to ashes from whatever weird magic that thing has!"

The Gold Fuzzy yelped as Starlight shot a magic beam right where it stood. "We're ponies! Not 'things', or mutated anythings in this world!"

The other Fuzzies muttered quizzically at the odd term for the mares, but the hum of Starlight's horn ready to fire another warning beam got them to agree and call them ponies. They bounced away peacefully through the channel, the cramped room now more free as the hundreds of Fuzzies left.

"Well, that could have gone better," Goombella grumbled. "At least we got the keys."

"Where exactly do we put them?" Rainbow asked.

"Ah think there were places in them stones back where we first came out when we got to Petal Meadows," Applejack said. "Maybe that's where that pipe is that reaches Hooktail's castle."

"Can we please stop in town and get another shower?" Rarity begged.

"Rarity, you're fine," Starlight said. "Let's just get out of here before those Fuzzies decide to-" She paused when she looked at Fluttershy, who was surprisingly unharmed during the swarm as she held onto a small group of Fuzzies. "...Fluttershy...Why are you holding them?"

"Well, they're actually kind of cute," Fluttershy reasoned. "We did invade in their territory, and they did have a right to defend it...Can we-?"

"We're not keeping any of them," Starlight said blankly, disappointing the yellow pegasus as she let the confused Fuzzies go.

They let out their squeaky noises and bounced back to their brethren. With both the sun and moon keys in their possession, they made their way to the warp pipe and rose back up to the surface, heading back to Petalburg and return to the rock formation they saw near the entrance to the area.