-BEGIN LOG. MULTI-PERSPECTIVE.-

Planet Mushroom: Mushroom Hill
[Mario's POV: Third-Person]

Mario bounced into a couple hovering golden boxes with big white question marks welded into them. As he did so, they became plain brown blocks and spat out their contents. One block contained a stash of golden coins, while the other one contained a flame-coloured flower. Jumping on top of the blocks, Mario stuffed the coins, including a large 10-Coin, into a small bag and took a large bite out of the flower's fiery bloom. His red shirt and hat became white, with the red M still sewn into the front. His blue overalls became red, and his gloves and shoes made no change. He thrust his hand forward, throwing a medium-sized ball of fire at a few incoming Goombas and a Koopa Troopa. Each enemy hit vanished in a puff of white smoke as they were carried back to Bowser's Castle in order to re-spawn.

"Phew..." Mario said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Some days, this-a gets pretty tiring." He then noticed his brother Luigi, clad in his own Fire getup, fighting a few Koopa Paratroopas and Koopa Bombardiers*. Luigi was taller, but slightly younger than his twin brother, and also wasn't quite as chubby. His Fire getup was similar to his bro's, but with green overalls instead of red and an L stitched into his hat. He threw green fireballs instead of red, but appeared to struggle.

"Hey, bro! A little help would-a be appreciated!" he yelled, throwing another fireball at an incoming Bob-Omb to detonate it. Mario sprang over and touched down on a Paratroopa's head. It's wings popped off of it's shell, and it fell to the ground as Mario leapt off of it's head and onto the next. Luigi tossed a fireball at it the second it touched down, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke. The process was repeated on each Paratroopa, until each one had been sent back to re-spawn.

"Well, we've-a faced a lot more Bowser enemies recently," Mario said.

"As opposed to what? The Guardians? Dharkron AND Negaton's forces? We never see anything else these days. Heck, even the Twilight realm was more-a varied!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Let's-a not talk about those, Luigi," Mario replied. "Sometimes, I just want to take a quick break from fighting. Even for-a one day..."

"Well, the kingdom needs us, Mario," Luigi said. "If we left, who was gonna defend it from the Koopa Troop's onslaught?"

"Fair-a point, Luigi." Neither bro, however, noticed a dark portal forming in the sky, far above Bowser's Castle.

-Planet Mushroom: Bowser's Castle
[Bowser's POV: Third-Person]

Towards the east of the Mushroom Kingdom, a looming volcano stood. Within that volcano, a grey castle with a godzilla-sized spiked shell welded to the top. This was Bowser's Castle, home to Mario's arch-rival, Bowser. He was a large, turtle-dragon hybrid with a spiky shell, a neck choker, two spiked armbands per arm and orange hair atop his green scalp and for his giant, bushy eyebrows. His castle was surrounded by all kinds of technological weapons, gadgets and gizmos, most of them heavily unfinished prototypes. Security cameras watched over every hallway and room in the castle, with the exception of the bedrooms, bathrooms and living quarters belonging to each of the Koopalings and Bowser.

"Lord Bowser! We have a small problem," one of the Koopa lookouts said, wandering into Bowser's throne room and approaching the mighty Koopa king. "A strange anomaly has formed above the castle."

"What kind of anomaly?" Bowser asked. His voice was deep and menacing, like it should be.

"Some sort of...portal?" the lookout replied.

"Alright, do we have any information?"

"No, other than it's power level is off the charts! Maybe we should send someone through it?"

"If anyone's going through, it's gonna be me. Junior!"

"What is it, Dad?" Bowser Jr. asked, running into the throne room from his own. He looked just like his dad, but a lot shorter and not nearly as developed. He wore a white bib with red fangs painted onto it, and he never took it off. He only had one armband per arm, and no neck choker to make room for the bib. He was the heir to the Koopa throne, as he was Bowser's only biological son, unlike the Koopalings.

"I need to check out an anomaly. You're in command until I return," Bowser told him. "Just...don't get into trouble."

"I promise, Dad. Won't let ya down!" Junior called as Bowser left the room. He then took a seat on the oversized throne, which suited him very well.

-Planet Mushroom: Anomical Portal
[Group POV: Third-Person]

The troop raised their king using a remote-controlled crane that extended 100 feet, 5 feet above the height of the volcano. The crane was built to carry 100 troops, which was just under Bowser's weight, but only a select few could join him on this quest. Bowser had gathered his most trusted lieutenants, fastening each one to a very long cable. Safety harnesses were used, obviously. Bowser then hooked himself up to a harness, then gave his orders.

"Alright then. So, you're jumping first, Lieutenant Pyro." he commanded. "If it's safe, let us know and we'll follow. If not, tug the rope and we'll pull you out. Alright?"

"Yes, sir!" Pyro yelled, leaping through the portal.

-Planet Equis: Ponyville Portal
[Pyro's POV: First Person]

As I leapt through that portal on my King's orders, I came out on the other side relatively unscathed. All I saw in the beginning was darkness, but when my vision cleared, I was nowhere near the Mushroom Kingdom anymore.

"Uh, guys? Can you even hear me?" I asked into the portal's black abyss.

"Not very well, but yes!" was the response.

"Alright, well I think it's safe here. Come on through!" I said, ever so wanting to tug the rope. Bowser said something to the Koopa holding my rope, and I found myself shooting downwards. Upon touching down on the ground, I removed my harness and the other Lieutenants, plus Bowser, appeared out of the portal. They were lowered down at the same pace as I was, removing their harnesses on touchdown. They were all pulled back through the portal, causing it to close. Well, not fully, of course. It was still visible, but only a Wisdurm could possibly squeeze through there. Bowser even swallowed one once...it wasn't pleasant.

"Well...where are we?" Lieutenant Frost asked.

"GPS ain't picking up any sort of signal. No clues here," Bowser replied.

"The mini-map's getting no data back either." Lt. Hammer said. "I can't get a decent connection!" In that moment, I noticed that another portal formed. It wasn't the same colour as the one we went through earlier, that one being purple. The one that showed up there was cyan, so there was only one owner for that: Diamond.

[Group POV: Third-Person]

"Yo guys. What'd I miss?" Diamond asked. His portal closed behind him as he walked through it to prevent others using it.

"Not a lot, Diamond, other than we're stuck in an alternate world with no clue how to get home!" Bowser answered.

"Welcome to Planet Equis, Koopas," Diamond said. "The Celestial System is home to the Equine species, who have NEVER seen your kind before."

"So, what do we do?" Lt. Blast asked. "Obviously we can't "act natural," since we don't belong here OR have the right form."

"Allow me," Diamond said, firing his magic at the Koopas. The dark magic coated his targets, becoming a hurricane large enough to obscure the view from both inside and outside.

Bowser and the Lieutenants felt Diamond changing them as alternate DNA was entered into their blood. Each Koopa emerged different when the dark and purple gusts cleared, but all of them had something in common: their yellow fur, the mane and tail styles and colour and the lieutenant gear.

Lt. Hammer was a unicorn. He had a green, spiky mane, not that you could see it very well. He had a green helmet and shell similar to his Koopa form, and wore green boots on each leg. His main form of magic was conjuring hammers, but he also knew the simple unicorn spells like levitation and shields. His cutie mark was a hammer that resembled the ones he used in his original form. He also had a green Koopa shell behind it.

Lt. Pyro was also a unicorn. He had similar features to Hammer, but his shell, helmet and boots were red instead of green. He was a master of flame magic, as well as knowing simple levitation spells. His cutie mark was a large fireball with a red shell behind it.

Lt. Frost was a pegasus. Unlike the others, he didn't need a unicorn horn to create his icy projectiles, but he had a curved horn attached to his left and right flank. One burst of air into the horns could call a snowstorm or a hailstorm at will. Like the others, he had a Koopa helmet, shell and boots which were light blue. His cutie mark was an large ball of ice with his Koopa shell behind it, not that you could see it very well.

Lt. Blast was an Earth pony. He had a bomb bag attached to his left flank, which he could draw Bob-Ombs from at any given moment, which would be a little awkward to do at first. He also had mines in his shoes, which he could drop at will every few seconds. Like the other Koopa Lieutenants, he had a helmet, shell and boots in black. His cutie mark was an explosion with a black shell behind it.

Nothing compared to Bowser, though. He, of course, was a dragon. He had a spiked neck choker, spiked wristbands, a green, spiky shell and his incredible orange hair. He could call a storm of fire at any time, as well as knowing very complicated Alicorn magic on top of his fire mastery, which he could cast with his hands. He could also still breathe fire like normal, and was stronger than even Princess Celestia. He had a golden symbol embedded into his chest, showing off his brilliant Bowser symbol.

"Gotta say, Diamond. This...is awesome," Bowser said, spreading his wings proudly. "But why did I get dragon DNA while the others got ponish?"

"I mixed in a little draconian DNA with the rest, giving it to you and the Equine DNA to your lieutenants." Diamond answered. "Might as well, since you are sort of a draconic hybrid."

"I'm gonna see if I can get these wings going. You guys see if you can get used to your new body," Bowser said, flapping his wings. They immediately grew in size, ending up about twice his own, allowing him to take off with ease. As he did, however, he noticed another portal opening in the distance, in the middle of the Everfree Forest: most likely in the Castle of the Two Sisters.

"Alright, looks like another anomaly showed up just now. They've been everywhere recently," Diamond said. "What you say we go check out that crash site?" He quickly drew his sword and dashed off, transitioning into a run.

"Let's move," Lt. Hammer said, able to work his body. "This is pretty easy to use. Just walk on all fours, since we are like horses. As for the magic...well, that might get complicated." On Hammer's command, the Lieutenants began to gallop after Diamond, while Bowser began to glide over to the castle to meet his troops and Diamond there.

-The Castle of the Two Sisters
[??? POV, First-Person]

"Hey, Link! Get up!" called a voice I knew all too well. That was Navi, my faithful fairy companion. She was mainly just a glowing cyan ball with wings, but she was like an annoying little sister. I liked having her around, since she was my only family ever since I left the Kokiri Forest and found out I was a Hylian. "Come on, Link!" she said.

"Alright, Navi. I'm getting up," I replied, gaining my footing back. My sword, shield and other items had been dislodged from my possession in the crash, and as far as I know, they're all over the planet. "Looks like my load's a little light."

"A little? You've lost EVERYTHING, Link!" Navi said. "Unfortunately, I don't have anything to go on here, so who knows where your items were. The only thing I can salvage near here is your Boomerang and that Sheikah Slate. No Sheikah Towers here, but I think Diamond can download some map data."

"Whatever. I just need a weapon."

"Why not use that tree over there to make one?" Navi flew towards the tree she specified and used her surprisingly sharp wings to cut down a large branch. I then found a carving knife on the floor and used it to fashion up a wooden sword and sharpened it using a hammer. I then used the same tree to carve up a Boko Shield and used a leather strap to fasten it to my shield arm. I gave the sword a couple swings, a little but unimpressed with the craftsmanship.

"Not the greatest thing ever, but I think I can make it work." I said, fastening the sword and shield to my back. I then pocketed my Boomerang and fixed the Slate to my side. "Now...the rest of my gear."

[Group POV: Third Person]

"Yo, Link! What's up?" Diamond called. Link drew his sword, ready for a fight, only to see Diamond burst out from the bushes.

"Oh, it's you, Diamond," Link said, sheathing his sword and shield again. "Lemme guess, those guys with you are Bowser and his lieutenants?"

"Good guess, Link. Here, gimme the Sheikah Slate," Diamond stated, holding out his hand. Link handed the slate over, allowing Diamond to download a map of Equestria and reactivate the runes.

"Sweet. Uh...any leads on my missing items?" Link asked, taking back the slate.

"I DID see a sword on the way here..." Hammer said. "I mean, I never picked it up, but..."

"Out of our way, guys!" Navi said, guiding Link to the Master Sword.

"Hang on one second! I've got another item of yours!" Diamond yelled after them, chucking Link's Ocarina of Time towards them. Link caught it and placed it safely back in his pouch, then resumed following his fairy.

"Well...what now?" Lt. Hammer asked.

"Why don't I introduce you to some of the residents?" Diamond suggested, and didn't wait for an answer before dashing out of the forest. The Lieutenants decided to follow him anyway, but Bowser didn't care for the Equines as much.

"I'll catch up with you guys," he said, taking off towards the Dragon Lands.

-The Darkness of Space
[Onyx POV: Third Person]

Onyx was the anthropomorphised form of pain, suffering and even death. He had powers that could create dark portals on whichever planet he wanted to, and even transcend dimensions. His dark powers rivalled the combined abilities of even Diamond, the Crystal of the Day AND the Harmony Strike. He saw all planets and dimensions, and was planning to destroy them all to build up his own empire. Planet Dark had been long gone for years, and he was the only surviving resident of that planet when it's core was destroyed by...a certain individual. He now lived on Starship Onyx, a battleship constructed by his own people right before the planet blew up. It had everything he needed, including magic and technology alike.

"Finally...I have you RIGHT where I want you," he said to himself, viewing Diamond and co. through one of his Magic Mirrors. "You shall pay for what you did to my people, and eventually I will make you fade into a legend never to be seen again." He laughed maniacally, ready to put his plan into action.

Author's Note

*I know Koopa Bombardiers don't exist, but it's been 5 years, remember. Bowser could have trained his troops to handle Bob-Ombs, which is what I can envision.

The Planet Mushroom section of this chapter acts as a sort of teaser for the yet-to-be-released Mario All-Stars Battle™ series, envisioned, planned and developed by me. Brought to you by ©GemTech Games Ltd.

This is EASILY the longest prologue to a FIMfiction I've ever written. Can't tell if you guys like long chapters or not, but I'm just putting that out there.