Mario & Luigi: Of Ponies and Plumbers

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Side Chapter A
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Hi There Everypony!
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

"Come on, Rarity, we're going to be late!"

"I'm sorry, dear, but I simply cannot find a thing to wear!"

Five friends stood outside the sixth's bedroom door, and had been for the better part of twenty minutes.

"Then don't wear anything!" Twilight said, getting a bit frustrated with her fashionista friend. "Just come on! The royal carriage is waiting!"

"Oh, alright," Rarity said, opening the door and stepping out. Behind her was a room, with dresses of every shape and size scattered all around. The white unicorn hesitated for a moment, and then bolted back inside. A second later, she came back outside, wearing a simple yet elegant sunhat. "There, how do I look?"

"Stunning," Twilight said flatly. "Now can we go?"

A short while later, a carriage was travelling along the dusty road that had led out of Ponyville, pulled by two golden armoured stallions. Inside, Twilight Sparkle and her friends were chatting away.

"So, what exactly are we doing, anyway?" Rainbow Dash said. "I was still half asleep when you were shaking me awake and saying we had to go."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I told you, Princess Peach is coming from the Mushroom Kingdom to meet with Princess Celestia, and we were asked to be her official welcoming party."

"Riiight..." Rainbow Dash said. "...Who's Princess Peach?"

"What's the Mushroom Kingdom?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"And why is this Princess Peach comin' to meet with Princess Celestia?" Applejack queried.

"Didn't anypony read that book I gave you all on kingdoms beyond Equestria?" Twilight asked. When she was greeted with blank stares and a couple of head-shakes, she sighed, and launched into her explanation.

"Princess Peach Toadstool is the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, a kingdom west of Equestria," Twilight began. "A long time ago, Discord controlled the entire world with his chaos, as you all know. When Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony to defeat him, most of the world was cleansed of his magic. However, some regions to this day still have lingering traces of his touch. The Mushroom Kingdom is one of those places, and because of this, there are certain natural resources available there that aren't available anywhere else. Of course, not a lot of ponies know of the Mushroom Kingdom here in Equestria, as there generally isn't much contact between the two kingdoms, save for the small Earth Pony/Toad settlement along the coast of Equestria, Mareshroom Beach. That's where we'll be meeting the princess."

"Toad?" Fluttershy asked. "You mean there are toads living with ponies?"

"They're not the kind of toads you're thinking of, Fluttershy," Twilight explained. "They're more like walking, talking mushrooms. You'll see when we get there.

"Anyway," Twilight continued. "About a month ago, a bunch of strange leaves blew into Equestria-"

"Ooh! I remember that!" Pinkie said suddenly. "I found one on the ground outside Sugarcube Corner, and all of a sudden, I was in a racoon costume! And I could fly! Dashie's face was priceless when I popped up out of that cloud!"

"Actually, I think it was a tanuki costume..." Fluttershy said quietly.

"Yes, well, as it turns out, those leaves, called Super Leaves, came from the Mushroom Kingdom, after a huge storm blew them off of their Tanooki Tree. When Earth Ponies and Unicorns found them like Pinkie did, and were suddenly able to fly, there was suddenly a huge demand for them in Equestria. The only place equipped to receive shipments from the Mushroom Kingdom, though, is Mareshroom Beach, and being such a small town, they can't receive a lot at a time, so their supply can't keep up with the demand. Princess Peach is coming to Equestria to talk to Celestia about the possibility of expanding Mareshroom Beach, and make it able to handle the huge demand for Mushroom Kingdom products."

Twilight looked around as she finished her explanation. Fluttershy seemed to be the only one listening now, as Pinkie was talking with Applejack, Rarity was examining her hat, and Rainbow Dash was hanging out the carriage window.

"Wow, Twilight," Dash said with a laugh. "You managed to talk us all the way there!"

The others all moved to the windows, and sure enough, they were passing by a sign reading "Welcome to Mareshroom Beach, Gateway to the Mushroom Kingdom!"

As they stepped out of the carriage onto the cobblestone street, they looked around taking in the atmosphere. The town seemed to consist of two perpendicular streets, one lined with various homes and shops, the latter of the two all decorated with signs like "Authentic Mushroom Kingdom Flowers and Fungi", "Royal Shroom Tea Shop", "Toadles' Mushroom Kingdom Fashion", and "The Yoshi Shop; Yoshis Imported Straight from Yoshi's Island". The intersecting street, which seemed to have embedded lights, was bare along the sides, save for a building at the end with a sign reading "Equestrian International Airport".

Wandering the streets were Earth Ponies, as Twilight had said on the carriage ride. Mingling among them were short little creatures, which walked on two stubby legs, and almost universally wore vests. Their defining features, however, were the bulbous, spotted caps that sat atop their heads, which nearly doubled their height. As the six Ponyville residents marvelled at the small town, two figures approached, a lime green mare with a yellow mane and tail, and a mustachioed Toad wearing a mayoral sash, with purple spots decorating his cap.

"Welcome to Mareshoom Beach!" The Toad said with a rich, deep voice. "I am Toadimer, the mayor of our little town, and to my left is my assistant, Citrus Splash."

"If there's anything we can do to make your visit more enjoyable," Citrus Splash continued, "please don't hesitate to ask."

"It's nice to meet you both," Twilight said as the mayor and assistant greeted them. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia asked my friends and I to come and meet with Princess Peach on her arrival."

"Ah yes, Miss Sparkle!" Toadimer exclaimed. "Princess Celestia sent word that you would be arriving. Well, we've received word that Princess Peach has just left the Mushroom Kingdom, so she should be arriving here in Mareshroom Beach within the next hour and a half."

"In the meantime," Citrus Splash continued. "Feel free to tour the town. We'll have someone come find you all when the Princess is about to arrive."

"Thank you," Twilight said, with a nod and a smile. She and her friends dispersed throughout the town, seeing what Mareshroom Beach had to offer.

A while later, everyone had gathered near the airport building, everyone having spent their share of bits. Twilight had purchased a few books, mostly detailing the Mushroom Kingdom's history, mythology, and famous figures. Fluttershy had spent her time and money at the Yoshi Shop, purchasing a manual on Yoshi care, as well as some food. She had also applied for a certificate allowing her to raise Yoshis in Equestria. The beast itself would have to wait for another visit, when she wasn't pre-occupied. Rainbow Dash had obtained a few varieties of mushrooms and flowers, for use in some of her stunts. Rarity, after visiting Toadles', had elected not to purchase anything there, and instead had made a similar purchase to Dash, for inspiration in her designs, which Toadles himself had agreed to possibly stock in his shop. Pinkie, being Pinkie, had purchased a large number of novelty sweets and pastries, and Applejack had bought some work clothes at Toadles', a thick shirt and overalls (fitted for ponies), apparently inspired by one of the Mushroom Kingdom's greatest superstars. The six ponies gabbed and chattered away before Toadimer and Citrus Splash approached them again.

"We've just received word that the Princess and her travelling companions will be arriving shortly," Toadimer stated with a grin under his mustache. "Miss Splash, if you could activate the runway lights?"

"Of course, sir," Citrus replied. She trotted inside the airport building, and a moment later, the lights in the street sprang to life, flashing in sequence down toward the building at the end. Toadimer admired the street, and then turned to the Ponyville ponies. "Now, this will be the first time you all have seen an airplane, correct?" The confused looks from all but Twilight told him as much. Toadimer smiled. "Well then, you're all in for a treat. Just keep your eyes on the skies." Toadimer gestured up into the skies above, and as the ponies looked up, there seemed to be something large and pink headed in their direction.

"You see, the Mushroom Kingdom ships all of its products by air. This is why Mareshroom Beach is the only place in Equestria that can receive products from the Mushroom Kingdom; it's the only place with an airport!" Toadimer gestured proudly to the runway and airport building. The ponies looked only somewhat impressed, which seemed to make Toadimer feel a bit put out. "Humph. Well, we'd best clear the runway; the Princess's plane will be landing shortly."

Everyone backed off from the flashing street as the pink plane began its decent, the roaring engines growing louder as it got closer. After a couple of minutes, the tires touched down on the far end of the runway with a loud screech, and it slowed to a stop just at the end near the airport, the mayor, and the ponies. A few Toads and ponies wheeled a set of steps up to the flying machine. A door opened on the plane, and a figure stepped out. As the figure walked down the steps, Toadimer cleared his throat.

"Ladies, allow me to introduce you to Princess Peach Toadstool, ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom."

Everyone gave a bow to the princess, and Twilight stepped forward. "It's an honor to meet you, Princess. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy." Each pony nodded her head as she was introduced. "On behalf of Princess Celestia, we welcome you to Equestria."

Princess Peach dipped her head in greeting to Twilight and her friends, a sweet smile on her face. "Thank you; it's a pleasure to meet you all."

"If I may, Princess,” Toadimer cut in. "I was informed that you were travelling with others."

"That's right," Peach said. "In fact, they should be out in just a moment."

Everyone turned to the plane door, and suddenly, there was a loud "Wahoo!" as someone jumped out of the plane, completely ignoring the steps. The red clad figure landed beside the princess, and with a spin, introduced himself in the signature fashion. "It's-a me, Mario!"

"Ladies and gentlemen," Peach said. "Meet Mario, Superstar of the Mushroom Kingdom, and my personal saviour more times than I can remember." She bent down and kissed Mario on the cheek, who's face went beet-red behind his iconic moustache.

The ponies all greeted Mario, while Toadimer seemed beside himself with excitement. "Imagine that! The Princess AND Mario himself, visiting my humble little town!"

"Mario," Peach said. "Wasn't Luigi coming out with you?"

Mario seemed puzzled for a moment, then turned to the plane and called out to his brother. Someone staggered out of the plane, but whoever it was, they were obscured by a large stack of suitcases that they were carrying. They neared the top of the stairs, but mis-stepped, sending them and the luggage tumbling down to the ground. Everyone stared as the green-clothed Luigi got to his feet and laughed nervously.

Twilight looked at all the scattered bags. "Let me help you with those, Princess," she offered.

"Oh, no, that's perfectly alright," Peach said.

"Please, I insist." Twilight said. Her horn began to glow, and the various bags were bathed in the same purplish glow. They all levitated over on top of the carriage sitting nearby, stacked neatly according to size. Princess Peach, Mario, and Luigi al seemed to be impressed by the simple levitation spell, and lightly applauded.

Twilight blushed a bit, embarrassed. "You all thought that was impressive? That's something just about every unicorn can do."

"Then I suppose it goes without saying that just about every unicorn is quite talented," Peach said sweetly.

"You're too kind, Princess," Twilight said. She looked up at the sky in order to judge the time. "We should probably get going, if we want to reach Canterlot by nightfall."

Peach nodded, and then turned to Toadimer. "I wish I could visit with the town for a while longer, but I have important business in Canterlot that needs to be attended to. Please give my regards to the townsfolk."
Toadimer bowed. "Of course, Your Highness."

Everyone began climbing into the carriage, and as it pulled away, Rarity kicked off the conversation. "I must say, Princess, that really is a lovely dress. You simply must tell me who designed it..."

"...so we'll have the party after you're done your stuff with Princess Celestia. I'll even make a really big cake for everyone!" Pinkie said as the carriage came to the castle.

"I'd love to help you with it, Pinkie," Peach said. "Baking happens to be a passion of mine; I couldn't tell you how many cakes I've made for Mario."

"That would be fun! Of course you can help!" Pinkie said, beaming.

"Hey, we're here!" Dash said, hanging out of the window once again. There was a red carpet leading up to the castle entrance, with armored stallions lining each side. Standing at the entrance was Princess Celestia herself, and at her side stood her sister, Princess Luna.

"Well, we mustn't keep the Princesses waiting," Peach said. At that, the carriage door opened, and Princess Peach climbed out, followed by Mario & Luigi, and finally, the six Ponyville ponies. A fanfare sounded out as they walked up to meet the Equestrian princesses, and Celestia and Luna dipped their heads as Peach ascended the steps up to them.

"Princess Peach," Celestia said. "It's good to finally meet you."

"And you as well, Princess Celestia," Peach replied, dipping in a formal bow. Mario, Luigi, and the ponies followed suit.

"We welcome you and your companions to Canterlot," Luna said. Twilight chuckled internally. Even if she was still using the old vernacular, it was a relief to know that she had learned to switch off the ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE.

"Please, everyone, come inside," Celestia said. "We've had our chefs prepare a banquet for your arrival. One of our attendants will take your things up to your rooms." As if to confirm this, the carriage pulled away with everything still on top. Everyone followed the Princesses inside, and the guards returned to their normal posts.

In Peach's room, the buscolt had just finished bringing the last of the bags up. "Man," he said to himself, panting. "Why do all the guests’ rooms have to be up so many stairs?" He sighed, and exited, muttering "They don't pay me enough for this..."

A few minutes passed, with nothing in the room stirring. Finally, a muffled voice sounded out. "Private Goomp, status report."

"I'm in a suitcase, sir. It's very dark and cramped," a second voice said. "Based on previous events, I believe that you and Corporal Paraplonk are also in suitcases."

"No, I mean, is there anyone nearby?" the first voice said.

"I'm not sure," the second voice said. "The silence leads me to suspect that there isn't."

Suddenly, three suitcases clicked open, and three figures popped out of each. A Goomba, a Paratroopa, and a Shy Guy. They all looked around, attempting to figure out where they were.

"Wow, it actually worked," Paraplonk said. "One of Bowser's ideas actually worked."

"Well, now that we're in, let's have a look around. Bowser wanted us to scout out weak points in the castle, remember?" Sergeant Guy said.

"Why don't we try the gardens?" Goomp suggested. "That's one of Peach's castle's weak points."

"Good thinking, Private Goomp," Paraplonk said. "Alright team, let’s move out!" The three soldiers marched out of the bedroom.

A short while later, Goomp, Guy, and Paraplonk were wandering around the royal statue garden, examining the various sculptures.

"You know," Goomp said. "These are pretty nice statues. I don't think there's anything as good as these back at Bowser Castle."

"That's because King Bowser doesn't care about art," Guy noted. "Not unless he's the subject."

Paraplonk seemed to share Bowser's views, as he merely seemed bored. "This is getting us nowhere. Come on, let's go check out another-"

"Hey, guys, come look at this one!" Goomp said. Guy and Paraplonk hurried over.

"Would you keep it down!?" Guy hissed. "You're gonna get us caught!"

"Sorry," Goomp replied. He then turned to the statue that had grabbed his attention. It was of a strange looking beast, which seemed to be a mish-mash of several different creatures. "Pretty weird-looking, huh?"

"'This statue, depicting a creature known as a draconequus," Paraplonk read aloud, "represents discord, or a lack of harmony among ponies. It serves as a reminder that while things may seem hopeless at times, friendship and harmony can topple the largest obstacles and defeat the greatest foes. Note: Please do not cross the rope surrounding this statue.'"

While Paraplonk read, Goomp walked under the rope and approached the statue.

"Goomp, don't touch it!" Guy hissed. "Didn't you hear Paraplonk? You probably just set off some kind of silent alarm!"

"Relax, I'm just getting a closer look," Goomp said. "Besides, what am I gonna touch it with?"

Guy rushed under the rope and attempted to push Goomp away from the statue. Goomp resisted, and the two got into a shoving match. Paraplonk looked up from the sign and noticed the two fighting minions.

"Knock it off, you two!" Paraplonk said. He flew over the velvet rope and attempted to break the two up. "You're gonna get us caught!"

As the three began to fight, cracks began to form along the statue. A small chunk flew off and hit Guy on the head. He looked up and noticed the missing piece.

"... Nice going, Goomp!" Guy said. "You broke it!"

"I didn't break it! You did!"

"Guys, stop, we've gotta get back to work!"

"You did break it and you know it, Goomp!"

"Are you three about finished?" I'd like to get a word in."

All three stopped at the sound of the fourth voice. They all turned to look at the statue, only it wasn't there anymore. Instead, sitting on the pedestal, surrounded by fragments of granite, was the creature the statue had depicted.

"Now, why don't we start with our names, hm?" The creature said. He snapped the fingers of his taloned claw, and with a flash of light, he appeared behind the three. "I am Discord. And you?"

"P-P-Private G-Goomp."

"C-Corporal P-Paraplonk."

"S-Sergeant Guy."

"Oh, military men!" Discord clapped his paw and talon together. "You don't look like Celestia's forces though... Ooh! Did I miss an invasion?"

"N-n-no," Goomp said, shaking. "We're King Bowser's men."

"King Bowser?" Discord repeated. "Hm... he isn't here in Canterlot, is he? I'd like to thank him for sending you three out here and freeing me."

"No, h-he's back in the Mushroom Kingdom, readying his airship armada," Guy said.

"Well, let's go see him then!" Discord said. "If he plans to invade, he could use my help." Discord snapped his fingers, and he, Goomp, Guy, and Paraplonk vanished in a flash.

Chapter 2

The next day, Celestia, Luna, Peach, and all their guests were seated in the main conference room, discussing the Mareshroom Beach situation. Twilight was incredibly attentive, having offered to take the official record of the meeting, though all the other non-princesses’ interest varied, from the polite focus of Mario and Fluttershy to the near comatose states of Rainbow Dash and Luigi.

“We’d certainly like to put more money into expanding the airport in Mareshroom Beach, or even build more throughout the kingdom,” Celestia explained. “But Equestrians typically don’t rely on machines like airplanes for traveling and shipping by air, especially seeing as approximately one third of the population is capable of flight naturally.”

“I do see your point, Celestia,” Peach said. “But the flight from Equestria to the Mushroom Kingdom is somewhat long. What few pegasi have travelled there have noted on how tiring the journey was. If you were to expand the airport, you could receive many more shipments from not only us, but from several other regions as well. And travel between the two kingdoms would be more feasible for Equestrians and Mushroom Kingdom citizens alike.”

“We see your logic,” Luna said, “But our currency doesn’t stretch quite as far as it used to. To pursue such projects would require us to increase our taxes in Equestria greatly, and our subjects would not care for that very much.”

“What if the Mushroom Kingdom were to contribute some funds to the project?” Peach suggested. “Our economists in the Mushroom Kingdom have calculated that the predicted gains from increased trade would be well worth such an investment.”

“That seems like a reasonable proposal…” Celestia considered. “Of course, I wouldn’t feel right if you were to completely fund it by yourself. We would contribute our own money to the project as well-“

Suddenly, the doors burst open, and a member of the royal guard came rushing in, frantically. “Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! It’s an emergency!”

Celestia rose, a concerned expression on her face. “Captain, what’s going on?”

“It’s an invasion, your highness!” The guard said. “An entire fleet of airships suddenly appeared at Canterlot’s border, and they’re getting closer to the castle with each passing minute!”

“Sound the alert!” Celestia said. “The invading forces must not breach the castle! Seal off all entrances, get all guards to their positions!”

“Yes, your highness!” The guard said. He quickly rushed back out, the door shutting behind him and magically sealing. Celestia turned to the other attendants, who were all standing at the ready, save for Fluttershy and Luigi, who seem to have vanished.

“Everyone remain calm,” Celestia said. “You are currently standing in the safest room in this castle. There is virtually no chance that whoever’s attacking will get in-“

“KNOCK KNOCK!”

Suddenly, the doors were reduced to splinters as an earth shaking slam impacted the other side. Standing amidst the rubble was a hulking beast, with a vicious spiked shell, gigantic scaled arms, and a sneer that practically radiated heat.

“So, you thought you could hide in this castle forever, Peach?” The brute snarled. “Ha! Nobody can hide from me when I’m gunning for them!”

“Bowser!” Peach said. “What is the meaning of this?! Kidnapping me on Mushroom Kingdom soil is one thing, but an invasion?! You’ve gone too far this time!”

“Hah! Says you!” Bowser said. “Besides, who’s gonna stop me?”

In answer to this question, Mario leapt forward, landing right in front of Bowser, poised to fight.

“Mario! Oh man, you really wanna pick a fight with me today?!” Bowser said with a chortle. “Bring it on! After I’m done wiping the floor with you, I’ll take Peach, AND those two horse princesses too!”

“He’s not the only one you’ve gotta worry about, buddy!” Dash shouted, readying herself to dart over to Bowser. However, she was held back by Applejack grabbing onto her tail.

“Hold on there, sugarcube!” Applejack said. “This guy looks like he means business; we’d better leave this to the professional.”

“Applejack is right, Rainbow,” Twilight agreed. “I’ve read a lot about Mario in my book, and he’s beaten this Bowser countless times. I’m sure he can handle this.”

Mario spun on the spot and gave a reassuring thumbs up. He then turned back toward the invading King Koopa and leapt forward, kicking off the fight.

The battle was afoot, Mario standing across from Bowser. However, before things commenced, Twilight stepped up to Mario’s side.

“Be careful Mario,” she said. “I know you’ve fought him before, and I’m sure you can handle him now, but that doesn’t mean you should forget the fundamentals. I’ve read up on some basic combat routines, do you want me to refresh your memory?”

Mario shook his head, and Twilight nodded. “Okay, sorry, I should’ve known better. You’re the professional here. Go get him!”

Twilight stepped back, and Mario leapt forward, planting his feet directly on Bowser’s noggin. He jumped back to his original position, and Twilight stepped forward again. “Great job! Remember, with a bit of timing, you can really dish out some damage! I read all about it in ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Timed Hits’-“

“Hey! Egghead! Outta the way!” Bowser shouted. Twilight suddenly zipped backward, and Bowser stepped forward, releasing a puff of flame. Mario got scorched, and Bowser moved back to avoid retaliation. At this Twilight stepped forward once again.

“Ouch, that’s gotta hurt!” Twilight said. “Sorry if I distracted you. If you like, I could tell you how to avoid his attacks! I noticed a key gap in his attack that you can use to avoid taking damage!”

Mario shook his head again, and Twilight nodded. “Right, you’re the pro here; I’ll leave you to it.”

“Hey! Yappy! Beat it! This is between me and Mario!” Bowser shouted at Twilight again, causing her to back off once again. Once Twilight was clear, Mario and Bowser traded blows, Mario jumping on Bowser’s head and Bowser spraying fire everywhere. As the fight went on, Bowser seemed to be looking worse and worse for wear. After a while, he seemed to be down for the count.

“Humph. As usual, Mario managed to beat you, Bowser,” Peach said as Bowser fell to the ground weary from the fight. “Now why don’t you get out of here before you get pummeled further?”

Bowser merely groaned on the floor. As the five ponies moved forward to drag Bowser away, a voice echoed throughout the room.

“Well, this is turning out to be a huge disappointment.”

Mario and Peach looked confused, though all the ponies in the room seemed to freeze at the voice.

“No…” Celestia said. “It can’t be…”

“Hello, Celestia, how are you?” The voice said again. “You know, you’d think you’d learn not to keep me out in public like that after the last little mishap.”

“Discord!” Twilight shouted. “Show yourself right now!”

The voice laughed, and its owner, Discord, materialised, floating just above the fallen Koopa King. “Oh, hello Twilight Sparkle! Fancy seeing you and your friends here!” Bowser groaned again, and Discord looked down again. “Oh really now, is a little head trauma really all it takes to keep you down?” He snapped his fingers, and Bowser suddenly opened his eyes, and straightened right back up.

“Haha! I feel great!” Bowser shouted.

“Of course you do,” Discord said. “And, a word of advice, invest in a helmet. For now, though, let’s wrap things up here.” Discord snapped his fingers, and Mario’s shoes suddenly stuck to the floor with a loud squelching sound. As he struggled to free himself, Discord snapped again, and the three Princesses were suddenly rendered immobile, save for their heads. Celestia’s and Luna’s horns disappeared as well. With a third snap, Twilight, Applejack, Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie were all sealed under some sort of glass dome.

“You’ll never get away with this, you two!” Celestia shouted.

“Oh, come now, Celestia, you’re not going to start with that, now are you?” Discord said, tweaking Celestia’s nose. “Come one, just take your defeat graciously, and-“

“TOO MANY WORDS!” Bowser shouted. He stomped forward, and scooped up the three princesses. “Let’s get this show on the road, okay!”

“Alright, alright,” Discord said. “Go ahead and ruin my fun…” Discord snapped his fingers again, and he, Bowser, Celestia, Luna, and Peach disappeared in a flash of light. The dome surrounding the ponies disappeared, and Mario fell over as his shoes were un-stuck from the floor.

“My word!” Rarity exclaimed. “Can you really believe the nerve of that brute? Just barging in like that?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter now,” Twilight said, helping Mario up. All that matters is that the princesses have been kidnapped.”

“Well, what’re we gonna do?” Applejack said. “There’s no tellin’ where Discord took the princesses!”

At that, a note suddenly appeared out of thin air. Twilight ran forward and grabbed it, and began reading aloud.

“’Dear pesky ponies,” Twilight began. “’Bowser and I have taken over Equestria and the Mushroom Kingdom! The princesses are now permanent guests at Bowser’s Castle! I dare you to get them if you can!’” She lowered the note, and looked over to her friends. “We’ve gotta find the princesses!”

“And you’ve gotta help us!” Pinkie said, running over to Mario.

Everyone paused for a moment, and some sort of whimpering noise was coming from somewhere in the room. “Hey, what’s that sound?” Dash said. Mario walked over and lifted the table covering, and they found Luigi and Fluttershy holding each other, shaking under the table. They both snapped out of it as they noticed everyone looking at them, and they climbed out.

“W-w-what happened?” Fluttershy stammered.

“Celestia, Luna, and Peach were just kidnapped!” Dash exclaimed. Luigi gasped, and Fluttershy looked alarmed.

“Oh my…” Fluttershy said. “What are we going to do?”

“Well, first off,” Twilight said. “We’re going to go to Ponyville and retrieve the Elements of Harmony. If we want to stop Discord, that’ll be our only chance.”

“Why would they be in Ponyville?” Dash said. “Isn’t that where they were last time?”

“That’s right,” Twilight answered.

“Why the hay would he hide ‘em there again?” Applejack said. “That don’t make a lick o’ sense!”

“Exactly,” Twilight said. “That’s why it’d be the best place to start. This is Discord we’re dealing with; not making sense is what he’s all about.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Pinkie said, bouncing up and down, “Let’s get going!”

Mario jumped a couple time, shouting “Wahoo!”, and Luigi rushed over behind him. Mario, Luigi, and the six ponies stepped through the ruined door, and made their way out of the castle doors, kicking off their adventure.

Chapter 3

As the group stepped through the castle doors, the scene was somewhat unexpected. Unexpected in that Canterlot looked, for the most part, completely normal. With Discord free, the ponies had expected that he would’ve started messing with everything, turning buildings upside down, making night and day switch wildly. However, things seemed as normal as ever.

Well, save for the Koopas, Goombas, and various other members of Bowser’s forces wandering around.

“Look at them all…” Fluttershy said. “How in Equestria are we going to get past them all?”

Mario gave a reassuring thumbs up, a gesture that seemed to tell Fluttershy that he was completely confident that this wouldn’t be a problem. Fluttershy nodded, and everyone moved forward, easily fighting their way through Bowser’s lower grunts.

It didn’t take much effort for them to bust through the forces surrounding the castle, and the city itself seemed to be devoid of soldiers. However, the streets were somewhat bare of normal citizens as well. Only a few ponies seemed to be out and about, and they seemed somewhat distressed.

“Perhaps we should talk to some of these ponies,” Rarity suggested. “It seems like they could use some reassuring words.”

The group approached a unicorn colt, with a blue mane and white coat. As he saw them approaching, he suddenly began to smile. “Why, if it isn’t Miss Rarity and her friends! And a pair of new faces!”

“Hello Fancypants,” Rarity said, dipping her head in greeting. “It’s quite a pleasure to see you again.”

“I agree, though I wish it could have been during happier times,” Fancypants said. ”Did you see those ships that suddenly appeared overhead? They practically filled the skies, and all manner of beasts came pouring out of them! And just as quickly, they vanished! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Mario started uttering a stream of Italian-sounding gibberish, though Fancypants seemed to understand what he was saying.

“Mushroom Kingdom, you say?” Fancypants said. “Bowser Koopa? Why in the world would he come here?”

“Because Princess Peach, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, was visiting on diplomatic business,” Twilight explained. “Bowser stormed the castle and kidnapped Peach, Celestia, and Luna. Mario, Luigi, and my friends and I are going to track him down and rescue them.”

“Oh, how marvelous!” Fancypants said. “I wish you all the best of luck! Though, if you’re going to be travelling, there’s something you may want to see…” Fancypants lead them all over to a platform which overlooked Equestria from Canterlot. Everyone looked over the side, and gasped.

It seemed that Equestria hadn’t been entirely spared of Discord’s touch. The regions of the kingdom all seemed to have been scrambled about, stretched, squashed, and generally changed around. The most prominent, though, was the Everfree Forest, which had swelled drastically. It seemed to form a circle, and right in the center, was unmistakably Ponyville.

“He’s changed everything!” Twilight said. “Discord’s completely changed Equestria!”

“It was the darnedest thing,” Fancypants said. “I looked out over the kingdom once the ships appeared, to see if there were any more incoming, and everything seemed so different! No doubt these two events are related. Well, I’d advise that you all prepare yourselves before venturing onward, things seem dangerous out there. Most shops closed once the invasion started, though, quite peculiarly, the one shop that always seems to be closed suddenly opened!”

Fancypants gestured over to the square, where most of the doors seemed to be closed to the public. However, one stand stood in the middle, and behind the counter was a purple pony with cloud-like, purple and white hair. She wore a propeller beanie on her head, and her eyes were swirling spirals. She smiled as the group approached.

“Hi!” She said cheerfully. “Welcome to Screwball’s Emporium! How can I help you?”

“Uh… Screwball?” Rainbow Dash said.

“That’s me!” She said. “…I think. Hold on a sec.” She suddenly ducked down behind the counter, and a fountain of objects erupted upward as she rummaged through them. She finally got what she was looking for, a spoon, and she stared at her inverted reflection in it. “…Yep! That’s me!” Screwball said proudly, tossing the spoon behind her.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Twilight said. “Why open your store now?”

“Look around!” Screwball replied. “Everyone else is closed! That means that anyone that wants to buy something has to come to me! Pretty clever, huh?”

“I… guess…” Twilight said. She and Mario exchanged looks, and the portly plumber stepped forward, requesting a few items.

A moment later, they had obtained some supplies for their journey. With a wave goodbye to Screwball and Fancypants, they proceeded through Canterlot. As they got closer to the city limits, they were forced to fight through some more of Bowser’s underlings, but they proved to be a simple challenge for the Mario Brothers.

“Alright,” Twilight said, as they came to the city gate. “If I remember correctly from that glimpse we got, there should be a mountain path leading down to the Everfree Forest. Once we get there, all we have to do is reach the center of it, and we’ll be in Ponyville. Now come on, time’s a wasting!”

The eight of them moved to go through the gate, but they all stopped as a voice sounded out behind them.

“Well, well, well. Twilight Sparkle. So we meet again.”

Everyone turned around, and standing behind them was an azure unicorn with a silvery blue mane and tail. She wore an iconic purple wizard’s hat and cloak, both decorated with stars, and a smug grin.

“Trixie?” Twilight said. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s the Great and Powerful Trixie to you!” She snapped. “And the Great and Powerful Trixie has some unfinished business with you!”

Chapter 5

The walk down the mountain path was not a particularly leisurely one. Many sections of the path had broken away, leaving Mario and Luigi to resort to their platforming prowess. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a hindrance to them, but they also had to wait for their equine companions to navigate the terrain as well. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy could fly, and Pinkie Pie’s bouncing rivalled the brother’s own leaps, though Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight had something of a harder time keeping up. Mario and Luigi were mostly tasked with clearing the path, though, by smashing boulders with their hammers, and make it easier for the others to get through, so they weren’t completely slowed up.

The biggest factor contributing to their slow pace, however, were the myriad of creatures ready to impede their progress, mainly consisting of Bowser’s forces, though there were a few Dig Dogs waiting to trip them up as well. Clearly, they had wandered into Diamond Dog country.

After a particularly nasty scrap with a Dig Dog that had elected to side with a pair of Monty Moles, they came to a small clearing with fairly even terrain.

“Twilight, must we keep trudging along like this?” Rarity said, bringing up the rear. “My hooves are simply aching, and this wind is making my mane all dusty…”

“We’ve got to keep moving,” Twilight said, looking back at everyone after she had taken the lead, everyone else starting to show signs of fatigue. She was answered by a collective groan from the rest of the group. “Come on! We won’t get to Ponyville any faster if we get lazy-“ Twilight suddenly stopped as she ran into a large rock that stood in the middle of their path. Shaking her head, she looked up at the monolithic stone that stood guard over the road.

“Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, do you think you’re able to carry everyone over this?” Twilight asked the pegasi. Rainbow Dash flew overhead to get a look, then floated back down, shaking her head.

“No can do, Twilight,” Dash said. “It looks like this thing is blocking a cave, and the gap between the rock and the mouth is too small for anyone to fit through.”

“Hm…” Twilight thought, then she looked down around the base of the stone, and saw a small hole going underneath. She bent down to inspect it, and saw a small glimmer of light, perhaps from a torch. “Mario, Luigi, maybe one of you could crawl underneath and find some way to shove this rock aside.”

Luigi volunteered himself, being the skinnier of the two, and attempted to crawl through the small burrow. He soon found himself stuck, however, and waved his legs pathetically in the air, moaning pitifully. His brother hurried over and pulled Luigi out, sending him through the air a few feet before landing face-first in the dusty ground.

“No luck, huh?” Twilight said. “…Fine, let’s take a break while we try and figure out how to get past this thing.”

After a relieved sigh from everyone, they sat and put their minds to work on getting past their latest obstacle. Pinkie had attempted to push it up by inflating a balloon under it, but the rock was too heavy and the balloon ended up popping. Twilight and Rarity tried together to simply lift it out of the way with their magic, but their seemed to be something keeping their magic from working on it. Stumped, they all sat around for what seemed like ages. Not much activity happened, other than Pinkie trying to start up a party to cure the boredom, and Luigi looking mildly uncomfortable, as though he had some sort of heartburn.

Luigi’s heartburn seemed to worsen over time, until Fluttershy took notice. “Um… Luigi… is something wrong?”

Luigi simply shook his head and thumped on his chest, trying to get rid of the pain. Suddenly, his expression turned to one of extreme pain, and he clutched at his chest, collapsing on the ground. Everyone stood up in alarm and rushed over. Twilight kept them at a distance, shouting “Give him some air!”, before she went to the plumber and tried to figure out what was wrong. Suddenly, he let out a loud belch, and green flames escaped his mouth, singeing his ‘stache.

Rainbow Dash laughed as Luigi tried to recover from the experience. “Ha ha! Man! Talk about heartburn!”

The ponies all looked at Rainbow Dash, prompting her to ask “What?” Mario, however, was more focused on the scroll that sat on the ground a foot away from his brother. He picked it up, and examined it curiously. Twilight looked over, and gasped. “That’s the royal Equestrian seal!” she exclaimed. “It’s a letter from Princess Celestia!” Twilight quickly took the scroll from Mario, and unfurled it.

“Well c’mon! What’s it say?” Applejack said as Twilight read silently.

“Oh, sorry,” Twilight said. She then cleared her throat, and began reading.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle,

Firstly, I’d like to apologize for the crude methods I had to use to send this letter. I noticed that Spike was not with you when you arrived in Canterlot, so I had to make due. Please extend my personal apology to Mr. Luigi.”

Luigi was still panting from his receiving the letter. However, at this point he simply seemed to be hamming it up. Twilight continued.

“Secondly, Princess Peach, my sister and I would like to give you our deepest, most heartfelt thanks for your efforts to rescue us. We overheard some of Bowser’s minions receiving a report that their forces in Canterlot had been dispatched, and we knew immediately that you were coming to rescue us.

“Do not worry, the three of us are quite safe. Discord’s insistence on making as little sense as possible has worked in our favour for once; our cell is very well furnished, and we are attended to quite-“ The letter seemed to cut off for a moment, before continuing down the page.

“Princess Peach has just informed me that this is how her cell typically looks. It seems that with the frequency Bowser has kidnapped her, she had some of her personal affects moved in to make her “visits” more pleasant. I personally question why Bowser would allow something like that, but no matter.

“Anyway, we have decided to try and help you in your quest in any way we can. We have managed to obtain a spell book from one of the Magikoopa guards, who, admittedly, seems to be quite negligent in his duties. Through this spell book we have discovered a spell or two that may come in handy. Enclosed is a page describing this first spell. We will send you more as we read through the book further.

“Your devoted teacher,
Princess Celestia”

Twilight finished reading the letter, and looked at the page that had been included. It pained her a bit to see literature destroyed, but it was serving a greater purpose. Detailed on the page was a size-changing spell, to be used on others.

“Wait, this is just what we need!” Twilight exclaimed. “I can shrink Mario, and then he can go in and somehow get this stone loose!”

Mario nodded, and moved in front of Twilight as she studied. “…Okay, I think I’ve got it.” She looked up at Mario, and concentrated on him, her horn beginning to glow. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light from both Twilight and Mario, and when it faded, Mario stood at about half his original size.

“It worked!” Twilight shouted triumphantly. “Now, go down in that hole and try to knock that stone loose!” Mario nodded, and leapt down into the hole under the giant boulder.

Mario leapt out the other side, and looked around with what little light the convenient torch on the wall provided. After examining the walls, he noticed that there seemed to be some sort of switch on the wall to his right. He took out his hammer, and whacked the switch into the wall.

Back outside of the cave, the ground began to shake underneath all of them. There was a loud crashing sound, and a large stone piston suddenly erupted from the cliff beside the cave and slammed into the giant boulder, toppling it over and kicking up a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, a miniature Mario stood at the mouth of the cavern, looking proud of himself. Twilight rushed over and restored Mario to his standard size. “Nice job Mario!” She said. “Now we can keep moving!” Mario gave her a thumbs up, and went to go help up his brother (who had fainted when the boulder was knocked aside).

Rainbow Dash looked at the comatose Luigi and snorted. “Wow, and I thought Fluttershy scared easy!” Everyone looked at Dash once again, causing her to look around and say “What?”

After Mario woke Luigi up, the eight heroes proceeded into the dark cavern, bracing themselves for the dangers that lie ahead.

Chapter 6

The eight heroes ventured deep within the dimly lit tunnels of what they all had come to the agreement was the Diamond Dog Caves. The walls were mostly barren, save for the torches that served to light the paths, though there were spots here and there that showed exposed gemstones that the dogs occupying the underground region had evidently missed. It was all Rarity could do to keep from getting distracted and prying them out from the walls, but they were taking a long time as it was.

Of course, their travel was met with opposition down here as it had been above ground. Armoured Dig Dogs were all over the place, and though the group did their best to avoid them, they did occasionally have to fight their way through. To make things harder, it seemed that they had allowed some of Bowser’s minions, notably Monty Moles, Chain Chomps, and Hammer Bros. outfitted with mining equipment, to patrol some of the tunnels as well.

The non-living opposition came from the various gates and walls that impeded their progress. Twilight’s newly acquired size-changing spell was getting a workout, as Mario was sent through leftover tunnels to access switches that would move these doors aside.

The eight adventurers came to yet another stone wall, with showed signs of movement that pointed to it being yet another door. They looked around for another burrow to send Mario through, yet oddly, there seemed to be none.

“What gives?” Rainbow Dash said. “Where’s the switch?”

Rarity, having the eye for detail that was required as a fashionista, eventually located a clue as to the switches whereabouts. “Look, there’s a burrow over here,” she said, “but it seems those dogs are starting to catch on.” She indicated a mound of disturbed earth, which seemed to be yet another tunnel, though this one was filled in.

“What do we do now?” Applejack said, “If we can’t get to the switch, then we’re basically stuck down here!”

“Hold on girls, I think I’ve got an idea,” Twilight said. She pointed at the wall above the filled hole, and indicated that there were some hairline fractures running along it. Mario rushed over to it, and started hitting the cracks with his hammer. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to give.

“No luck, huh?” Twilight said, watching Mario stop to catch his breath. “Anyone else have any ideas?”

“Ooh! Ooh! I do!” Pinkie said suddenly. She then pulled out her patented Party Cannon from whatever hammerspace she kept her things in.

“No offense, darling,” Rarity said. “But I don’t think a party is going to get that wall to crumble.”

“Well of course not, silly!” Pinkie said. “I’m not done yet!” She rushed over to Luigi, who was sitting in the corner, rolling a few stones around in a bored manner, and, much to his surprise, tossed him onto her back. As he looked around in confusion, she rushed back over to her cannon, and tossed Luigi off of her, with him landing feet first in the cannon.

As everyone watched in alarm, she wheeled it over to the cracked wall, and backed off when it became clear what she intended to do. Luigi, currently staring down the wall from the interior of the cannon, the mouth of which wasn’t more than three feet away from the hard rock, merely held his hammer ahead of him and whimpered, in a feeble attempt at avoid a concussion. Pinkie slammed down on the igniter, and Luigi was launched from the cannon in a burst of streamers and confetti, slamming right through the wall with a cavern shaking crash. Everyone grouped around the newly made hole to see if Luigi was okay, and he sat in a daze on the other side, streamers draped all around him and confetti littered around him.

“There! Wasn’t that clever? Huh?” Pinkie said, beaming. “I call it the “Green Missle”!”

“That was… um… impressive, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “And hey, there’s the switch!” Sure enough, the switch was mounted into the wall just next to the dizzy Luigi. With a shake of his head, he straightened up and hit the switch with his hammer. Sure enough, the wall blocking their progress slid into the ground. They all regrouped, and marched onward.

After a few more enemies, a few more doors, and a few more almost-head injuries for Luigi, the group came to what appeared to be the exit. Sunlight streamed from the mouth of the cave, but as they stepped towards it, a wrought iron gate shot up from the ground, blocking the exit. As they frantically looked around, three patches of dirt began to shift wildly, before three figures leapt out of the earth. A short, squat canine, a large, burly mutt, and a tall, lanky dog all laughed wildly.

“Hahahaha! Stupid little ponies! You think we let you go that easy?” The middle Diamond Dog said.

“You ruffians!” Rarity said, stepping forward. “What is the meaning of this?!”

“You trespass on our territory!” The burly one said. “We take you prisoner now!”

“Listen, we don’t have time for this!” Twilight said. “We’re on an important mission, and you need to let us through!”

“You trying to rescue princesses?” The shortest of the three said.

“That’s right!” Rarity said. “And you three are putting the whole kingdom in jeopardy by delaying- wait a minute, how did you know the princesses were kidnapped?”

“We visited by big turtle-dragon!” The leader of the three said. “He say he give us help digging gems if we stop moustaches and ponies from getting through!” He squinted at Mario and Luigi for a moment. “Hey… you two are moustaches! You the ones turtle-dragon told us to stop!”

“Hahaha!” The burly one laughed, wringing his hands together. “We stop you, we get all kinds of gems!”

“Please, you three brutes aren’t going to stop us,” Rarity said. “Now, let that gate down! We’re in a hurry!” Her voice seemed to start to escalate in pitch, as if she was on the verge of a tantrum.

“You think whining will work twice?” The leader said. “Ha! Diamond Dogs, put on ear protectors now!” The three dogs retrieved three pairs of fluffy pink ear muffs from the holes beneath them, and slapped them over their ears. “Ha! This end of road for you all!”

The three dogs rushed forward, and the battle was afoot.

Chapter 7

As the battle kicked off, the three Diamond Dogs grouped together in a huddle, muttering quickly. As they planned their attacks, Pinkie Pie inexplicably popped up in the middle of the group, first right side up, then tail end in the air, and finally right side up again. The dogs didn’t seem to notice her, however, and when they clapped their hands and separated, she was nowhere to be found.

The three dogs dove into the ground, and tunnelled towards the brothers, who had their hammers at the ready. The first of the three, the shortest, popped up in front of Mario and tried to swipe at him, though he received a mallet to the head for his efforts, forcing him to retreat. The second, the burly one, leapt out in front of Luigi, but he too was knocked back by the plumber’s mallet. Finally, the third popped up in front of Mario to attack, though his efforts were thwarted by a well-timed mallet swing.

It was the brothers’ turn to attack, though as Mario readied himself to jump at the Diamond Dogs, Twilight rushed over and stopped him. “Wait!” She said. “I’ve got an idea!” She then hurriedly whispered into her ear, and Mario flashed her a thumbs up. Twilight took position behind Mario, and her horn began to glow. Mario was coated in the purple aura, and, rather than shrinking down, he began to grow to a massive size. When Twilight stopped, he leapt up into the air, prompting Luigi and Twilight to back off. When he landed back down, the whole cavern shook, and a visible shockwave ripped through the ground, which tripped up the three Diamond Dogs.

Luigi watched this with interest, and when his brother finished, a light bulb went off in his head. Turning around, he placed his gloved fingers at the corners of his mouth and whistled. Pinkie Pie came rushing over, and Luigi jabbered away in what seemed to be Italian, though Pinkie got the message. “Roger that!” she said, and she retrieved her party cannon from nowhere. Luigi hopped into it, and Pinkie swivelled it over to point at the leader of the three dogs. She slammed down on the ignition, and Luigi burst forward on a blast of confetti and streamers, tucked into a small, spinning ball. He planted his foot on the dog’s head, redirecting himself straight upward. He then came down to land directly on top of the unfortunate canine, before bouncing back to his original starting position.

The Diamond Dogs regrouped after the assault, and the leader of the three stepped back while the larger one grabbed the shortest. He shaped the small dog into a ball, and lined himself up with Luigi, who held his hammer at the ready. The burly mutt hurled the small dog at Luigi, who swung his hammer, knocking the flea-bitten projectile up and away. The smaller dog arced toward Mario, who raised his own hammer, and, just as he was about to get hit by the dog, he swung his hammer, launching the small dog at his point of origin, being the larger canine. The dog was knocked back into the leader, the three crumpling in a heap.

The battle raged on, kicking up all sorts of dirt and dust, until finally, it stopped. When the dust cleared, Mario and Luigi stood triumphantly over the three bruised and battered Diamond Dogs.

“Please! Mercy! Mercy!” The leader of the three cried. “We let you go! Just please stop!”

The small dog burrowed down into the ground, and suddenly the gate blocking the exit sunk back into the ground.

“Go rescue princesses if you want!” The leader continued. “We not stop you! All gems in the world not worth this!”

“Thank you for understanding,” Rarity said with a coy smile. “And, a word of advice, dears, try to find a shower of some sort. Soon.”

The three dogs quickly dug into the ground and fled, and the eight heroes waltzed out of the cave.

The sun shone bright overhead as they exited the cave’s mouth, and they had to squint to shield their eyes while they adjusted. Looking around, they saw that the rough terrain of the mountain path only continued for a few feet, before suddenly giving way to the lush grass that lead up to the Everfree Forest. The dense wood stood only a few feet farther, and looking into it from where they stood, it seemed just as dark as the caves they were just in.

“Well, everyone,” Twilight said. “Just through these woods is Ponyville. A word of caution, though, particularly to Mario and Luigi, the Everfree Forest is filled with all sorts of nasty creatures, and even the plants themselves can be hazardous. Do you think you guys are ready to move on?”

Mario looked through their supplies just to make sure. Unfortunately, they seemed to be running pretty low. Applejack peeked over his shoulder and saw this for herself.

“Shoot,” she said. “Don’t really seem smart t’just waltz in there without many supplies.”

“And the nearest shop is all the way back in Canterlot!” Rainbow Dash added. “Are you telling me we have to back-track all the way back there?”

At Dash’s comment, however, there was a low hum sounding through the air. Everyone noticed it, and frantically looked around for its source. Everyone looked up, and they saw the familiar looking stand floating through the air, a propeller on top letting it glide through the air. They watched as it touched down just in front of them, and the familiar crazy-eyed mare popped up from behind the counter.

“Hi there!” Screwball said. “Fancy seeing you all here!”

“Uh, hi there Screwball,” Twilight said. “So… I see you decided on a change of venue.”

“Sure did!” The loony shopkeeper replied. “I was sitting there in Canterlot after you all left, thinking, ‘Boy, the streets sure are empty today! Maybe being open with everypony else closed wasn’t so clever after all!’ Then, it hit me!” She held up a snow globe with a noticeable crack in it, and lifted her cap to show a rather prominent bump on the head. “Nopony’s buying anything because they’re too used to the shops around here! So, I decided I’d move where there weren’t any shops! I flew around for a bit before I saw the perfect place to touch down! Right here!” She looked around at the heroes, a wide smile of her face. “Pretty clever, huh?”

“Uh… yeah, sure, clever, let’s go with that,” Rainbow Dash said.

“So, did you all want to buy anything?” Screwball said. Mario stepped forward and restocked their supplies.
With a wave behind them, and a moment to mentally prepare themselves, the octet made their way into the perilous Everfree Forest.

The forest was, predictably, full of creatures waiting to impede their progress. It seemed as though Discord saw fit to change the flora and fauna around a bit, because among the usual Timberwolves, Manticores, and the like, there were also large Wigglers and all varieties of vicious plant life, from Piranha Plants and Venus Fire Traps to even small, white Nippers. Of course, no matter what variety of foe they came across, the brothers were always able to fight their way through.

Eventually, they came to a large stone wall, not unlike the ones they had encountered in the mountains. However, there were no tell-tale cracks or holes to tell them where the switch to open it might be. Also, it seemed there was actually a key hole in the center of the wall. A sign was posted next to the wall as well, evidently posted by one of Bowser’s minions.

“Attention Soldiers in King Bowser’s Army,

“The road has been closed off in order to protect the interests of King Bowser, and to impede the progress of any would-be heroes. If you need to proceed past this point, please seek out a Monty Mole, as the key is currently hidden in an unmarked location, which only I personally know.

“General Brole Mole”

“Well, that’s great,” Rainbow Dash said dejectedly as Twilight finished reading. “How are we supposed to get past? The trees are too thick for Fluttershy and I to carry you guys over.”

“Well… we could just ask one of the moles nicely to help us…” Fluttershy suggested.

Applejack shook her head. “Not after the whoopin’ we gave ‘em back in the mountains. ‘Sides, they put this wall here because we’re tryin’ t’get through.”

“Oh… right…” Fluttershy quieted back down.

“I think I saw a fork in the road back this way,” Twilight said. “Come on, let’s see if it takes us arou-“

Twilight suddenly stopped as Luigi started clutching his chest again. “Oh! It must be a letter from the princesses!” Twilight exclaimed. After a few moments of agony, Luigi finally belched up the green flames, and the scroll rolled out onto the grass. Twilight promptly scooped it up and began to read.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle,

“I hope that you and your friends are proceeding without too much difficulty. I’ve overheard some of Bowser’s soldiers discussing their operation in the Equestrian Mountains being thwarted. Apparently they were planning on enslaving the Diamond Dogs living in there and seizing all the gems for Bowser’s personal treasure horde. It’s nice to hear that you put an end to their scheming there.

“Anyway, we have just discovered a new spell that may help you in your journey. However, we feel that it may be more within Miss Rarity’s area of expertise. We hope this helps you on your journey.

“Your devoted teacher,
Princess Celestia”

Twilight took out the included page from the letter, and handed it over to Rarity, who began to read.

“Ingenious,” Rarity said as she finished. “It’s a spell that utilises my gem-finding spell to create a general dowsing spell!”

“Really? We can use it to find the key!” Twilight exclaimed. “Come on Rarity, give it a try! It may not be too far from here!”

Rarity closed her eyes, and concentrated hard. She focused on the image of a key in her mind, and her horn began to glow. After a moment of walking around the clearing, a glow started to shine out from one of the trees.

“There! It must be in there!” Rarity said. She stopped, and the glow faded. Fluttershy peeked into the tree, and looked around.

“It’s too thick, I can’t see it…” Fluttershy said. “I’m sorry…”

“That’s alright, sugarcube,” Applejack said, walking up to the tree. “Way I see it, a key in a tree’s no different from and apple!” She turned around to face away from the tree, and slammed her back hooves into the trunk of the tree, causing it to shake and lose a good deal of leaves. Among those leaves was a glint of silver, and the key landed on the ground with and earthy thump.

Mario immediately went and picked up the key, and went to put it in the hole in the wall. He inserted it, and turned it, and with a click, the wall sank into the ground.

“Excellent!” Twilight said. “Now we can keep moving!” The group all proceeded through the wall, and headed deeper into the Everfree Forest.

Eventually, the group came upon an interesting sight. Just off the main road was a path cut into the thick foliage, by something that had apparently crashed through it. Looking down into it, they could see a pillar of smoke rising up some ways down, and two figures moving around within it. From a distance, they appeared to be ponies, but it was hard to tell whom they were specifically.

The group looked between each other. Should they head in and investigate, or continue on with their quest and let the two ponies sort it out for themselves?

Side Chapter A

The group decided to investigate the wreckage, and proceeded to down the wrecked path. Eventually, they began to hear a pair of voices through all the smoke.

“Careful now, Derpy, careful!” A male, British sounding voice said, before a loud metallic clang sounded out. “Ugh, blast it, I can’t see a thing through all this smoke!” It almost sounded like he had something held in his mouth.

“Sorry Doctor…” A second, female, sort of simple sounding voice said. “I can maybe try and clear some of this smoke!”

“Hold on, don’t-“ But the frantic voice was too late, as there was a gust of wind that drove the smoke away. “You must learn to listen, Miss Hooves! You just blew away some vital components!” The group could now see the ponies the voices belonged to. One was a brown, Earth Pony stallion with an hourglass for a Cutie Mark, and the other was a wall-eyed, grey, Pegasus branded with a set of bubbles. They were both examining some sort of blue metal box.

“Oops, sorry Doctor…” The Pegasus, known to be Derpy, said. She looked up, and noticed the group of heroes watching them. “Oh, hi everypony!” She said, prompting the stallion to look up.

“Oh, hello there everyone!” The Doctor said, he tromped over. “What are you all doing out here?”

“Hello Doctor,” Twilight said. “We were just passing through, and noticed you two down here. Is everything alright?”

“Oh, what, this?” The Doctor replied. “This is nothing serious, just a bit of trouble with the TARDIS is all.”
Twilight, and by extension almost everyone that had met the Doctor since he came to Ponyville, still wasn’t exactly sure what this TARDIS was, but they knew at the very least that it was the flying blue box that he and Derpy were always traveling around in.

“I see,” she replied. “Well, is there anything we can do to help?”

“Actually, there is,” The Doctor said. He then pointed down in the direction that Derpy had blown the smoke. “You see, a few components of the TARDIS got blown down that way, but I have to stay by the old girl, make sure she doesn’t try to scamper off on me in her condition.” He seemed to be referring to his machine. “Would you all be sports and go collect them up for me? There were about four of them!”

“Sure thing!” Twilight said. “Come on everyone, let’s go!” Everyone went down into the thick foliage, while the Doctor and Derpy stayed by the police box.

Rarity’s new dowsing spell proved invaluable in finding the pieces, and within a few moments, the group had returned.
“Brilliant!” The Doctor said as he collected up the pieces from them. He then returned to his device, and practically dived into the open panel, buzzes and sparks sounding out from it. Derpy decided to keep the conversation moving while the Doctor worked.

“So, what brings you all through the Everfree forest?” Derpy asked. “I don’t think this is the kind of place your just take a walk through for no reason.”

“Well, you see,” Twilight explained, “The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach, came to visit Equestria on diplomatic business. In the middle of her meeting with Princess Celestia, Discord somehow broke free of his prison, and helped Bowser, a tyrant from the Mushroom Kingdom, invade and kidnap the princesses! My friends and I are helping Mario and Luigi,” Twilight gestured to the brothers, who tipped their caps to the walleyed pegasus, “travel back to the Mushroom Kingdom and rescue the princesses!”

“Did you just say Discord’s loose?” The Doctor said from inside the TARDIS’s panel. He straightened up and closed the cover, uttering a “There, finished,” as he did so.

“That’s right,” Twilight said. “Why?”

“Well, that would explain why the TARDIS is acting up,” he replied. “Last time he was loose, the old girl was completely out of control! It dragged Miss Hooves and I halfway across time and space before he was dealt with! Thank you for that, by the way,” he added.

He trotted over to the group. “Well, thank you all for your help,” he said, dipping his head. “I’d love to repay you for your troubles, and just take you where you need to go, but I’m afraid it’s just too risky to travel in the TARDIS, what with all the ambient chaos in the air that comes with Discord being free.”

“Oh, perish the thought,” Rarity said. “It was our pleasure to help, darling!”

“Well, alright, if that’s how you feel-“ he began, though he was suddenly cut off by the sudden sound of movement. As everyone looked around to find the source, a group of Monty Moles suddenly burst up from the ground, with a particularly large one bursting up from in front of them all, adorned with a soldier’s helmet.

“ATTENTION MAGGOTS!” The lead mole shouted. “YOU ARE GUILTY OF THE CRIMES OF THEFT, TRESSPASSING, AND THREATENING THE INTERESTS OF KING BOWSER! BY ORDER OF ME, GENERAL BROLE MOLE, YOU ARE TO BE SIEZED AND MADE PRISONERS OF BOWSER’S ARMY! MEN, ATTACK!” The military mole and his entourage all pulled themselves fully from the ground and rushed forward to meet the group.

As Mario and Luigi stood in front of the ponies, keeping the ponies protected, the Doctor came up to Mario.

“Blimey, look at them all!” he said. “You’re gonna have a hard time keeping them in check, mate.” He seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, before he suddenly seemed to have a stroke of inspiration, and ran back to his TARDIS, dashing inside. Suddenly, the police box sputtered to life, before floating over beside Mario, and lowering down to a position about an inch off the ground.

“Right, I’ve got an idea, but it is bloody dangerous. Climb in, I’ll explain everything inside.” Mario hopped into the TARDIS, and it ascended to a few feet above the Monty Moles. Suddenly, the machine began to spin wildly in the air, and it seemed to rain copies of Mario of all different ages from the spinning machine, all of which bounced off the heads of the Monty Moles below before leaping into duplicate TARDISes that appeared and disappeared for each different Mario. The assault didn’t let up until all the Monty Moles were gone, at which point the original TARDIS floated back down to where it started.

“Right,” The Doctor said as he and Mario climbed out. “I guess that’s a way I CAN help you all.” He thought for a moment before continuing, turning to everyone. “Okay, so, as thanks for helping me repair the TARDIS, I’ll help you whenever you’re in a bit of a sticky situation. Sound alright to you all?”

“That’d be great!” Twilight replied. “We can use all the help we can get!”

“Brilliant!” The Doctor replied. “So, just flag me down whenever you need me. Don’t worry if you can’t see me at all, I’ll be able to find you just fine.” He then turned to his assistant. “Now then, Miss Hooves, I’m going to try and fly the TARDIS into Ponyville. I need you to stay outside and make sure she stays steady.”

“Okay Doctor!” Derpy replied. As the Doctor stepped into the TARDIS, Derpy fluttered into the air and hovered just beside the machine, hooves out to help guide it. The machine lifted into the air, and with a bit of a wavering path, the police box headed in the direction of Ponyville.

“Bye everypony!” Derpy called out, waving to the eight heroes. The TARDIS took a dangerous dip to the side, prompting the Doctor to call out “Careful, Derpy!”

As the heroes waved goodbye to the pair, they all turned to each other.

“Well, that wasn’t a complete waste of time,” Twilight said. “At least we’ve got someone helping us now.”

Rainbow Dash seemed to realize something. “Hey, wait a minute; he said he was flying to Ponyville! Why didn’t we ask him to take us there?”

“Darling, do you honestly think all eight of us would have fit in that tiny booth?” Rarity said. “I’m surprised Mario was able to fit in with him just now!”

Mario was about to point out that it was actually quite spacious on the inside, but Twilight cut him across. “Whatever, let’s head back to the main path. Ponyville can’t be too far from here, right?” The eight heroes nodded, and they walked out of the wrecked path, and back onto the main path, so that they could continue through the Everfree Forest.

Chapter 9

The group continued onward through the Everfree Forest, the path being predictably treacherous, lined with numerous foes and traps. As they ventured onward, however, they noticed that some of the plant life (barring the Piranha Plants and similar vicious flora) seemed atypical, even for the Everfree Forest. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that some plants indigenous to the Mushroom Kingdom had taken root in Equestria, or at least the Everfree Forest.

Twilight was having a bit of fun with this, identifying and explaining the characteristics of the plants with the reference guide she had obtained in Mareshroom Beach (how she was able to keep all these books with her was a mystery, perhaps she had managed to access whatever hammerspace Pinkie Pie used.), and she seemed to think that everyone else was just as interested. Mario and Luigi, however, were already familiar, and everyone else just didn’t care.

Eventually the group came to a clearing, with a large mass of vines littering the ground in the middle of it. Dotting these vines were several red and yellow peppers, which seemed to radiate with intense heat. The group all decided to sit for a moment and catch their breath, leaving Twilight to read on. Mario sat upon a convenient log, while Luigi, not having a place to sit, elected to simply rest on Pinkie’s back. The pink mare didn’t seem to mind, as she was too busy poking at the peppers.

“Now, these are pretty interesting, according to the book, these vegetables are known as “Offendas Piperis”, or more commonly, the “Dash Pepper”,” Twilight began. “They grow in some of the warmer, southern regions of the Mushroom Kingdom, such as the Isle Delfino and the tropical Yoshi’s Island. It says that, unlike most Mushroom Kingdom plant life, they don’t have any extraordinary affects upon consumption by most races, beyond being extremely spicy. This makes it an ingredient in several Delfino dishes. However, when consumed by a Yoshi, the seeds dissolve within their saliva and release large amounts of a caffeine-like substance, which spreads through their system, changing their pigmentation to a vibrant red colour. This causes a sudden burst of energy within them, causing them to dash forward at unbelievable speeds, a reaction which gives the Dash Pepper its name. This burst of energy is short-lived, however, and the Yoshi will tire out quickly, unless of course it consumes another pepper while dashing.”

“Um… does it say what happens if a pony eats one?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“Hmm…” Twilight scanned the page over a bit. “It doesn’t, though I guess that ponies would fall under “most races”. Why?”

“Well, um… it’s nothing really… but… Pinkie’s about to eat them all right now.” Fluttershy said.

Twilight looked over to her pink friend, and sure enough, she had picked them all off the vine, and was just raising about six or seven of them to her mouth.

“Pinkie, don’t!” Twilight said. “You’re going to kill your tongue eating them all like that!”

“No I won’t!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “I love spicy stuff, and I need to test them before I can figure out whether I can make Dash Pepper Danishes or not!” Before Twilight could object, Pinkie tossed them all into her mouth, and began crunching. Luigi watched with amazement from atop her back as she was seemingly unphased by the intense flavour that was undoubtedly flooding her mouth.

Everybody watched Pinkie Pie closely as she munched and crunched the peppers, a cheerful grin on her face. “Mm!” Pinkie said through a mouthful of pepper. “S’kinda sweet, actuall-“

Pinkie suddenly stopped as her pink coat and mane suddenly turned into a fierce orange and red. She leapt into the air and seemed to float in place for a moment as her legs flailed wildly underneath her. Luigi merely held on to the pony for dear life as everyone looked on in surprise and alarm.

“SPICYYYYYYYY!” Pinkie cried, tears streaming from her eyes due to the intense heat. With that, she suddenly rocketed into the thick of the forest, Luigi still clinging onto her back.

“Oh no!” Twilight said. “Who knows what’ll happen to them in there on their own! We’ve gotta go after them!”

“Leave it to me!” Rainbow Dash said. She landed on the ground, and took a stance not unlike a sprinter, her wings fanning out beside her. Before she took off, Mario leapt onto her back, ready to rescue his brother.

“Good idea!” Dash said. “I’ll keep my eyes on Pinkie, and you keep an eye out for anything that I could run into.”

“Be careful in there, Rainbow!” Applejack said. “That forest is mighty thick.”

“Relax, guys, we got this!” Rainbow Dash replied. Rainbow Dash rocketed into the thick forest after her friend, Mario in tow to watch out for obstacles.

Chapter 10

The forest whipped by in a blur as Rainbow Dash and Mario chased down the runaway Pinkie. Because of Pinkie’s unusual Pinkie Sense, she was able to swiftly navigate between the quickly oncoming trees, keeping herself and Luigi out of harm’s way. However, the fact that they were running through a particularly thick part of the forest was not good for the pursuing pegasus. Mario was having a hard time watching for obstacles, however, he found there was a certain rhythm to the task, as the trees and rocks that blocked their path were arranged in something of a pattern. Once he got into it, he was able to direct Dash through the trees with ease.

After a matter of moments, they were upon the burning red Pinkie Pie and her hapless passenger. Rainbow Dash smirked triumphantly.

“Alright Pinkie, let’s get you back to the others!” Rainbow Dash said. She moved up slightly, ready to pounce down on the runaway pony. However, just as she was coming down, Pinkie’s coat suddenly turned back to its natural colour, and she stopped dead in her tracks, Luigi tumbling off as she did so. As a result, Rainbow and Mario slammed hard into the ground as they overshot their target. They both tumbled and rolled on the forest floor, before they finally stopped.

Well, at least Rainbow Dash stopped. Mario instead sailed through the air, landing in the middle of a large patch of blue flowers.

The rest of the group rushed over to Rainbow Dash’s side, helping her up. They all looked over to where Mario had fallen, and everyone was silent for a moment. Finally, Twilight spoke up.

“This isn’t good…”

They all rushed over to the fallen plumber, careful to skirt around the patch of Poison Joke. When they were as close as they could get, Twilight lifted Mario out of the plants, and as they lowered him down, they were all shocked with what descended before them.

Mario had turned into an infant, diaper and all.

“Um… Mario? Are y’all okay?” Applejack asked.

Suddenly, Baby Mario started bawling, a cry that shook the very trees around him. Everyone tried to cover their ears to shield themselves from the painful whining.

“Sweet Celestia!” Rarity cried. “How in the world can a baby make that much noise?!”

“Fluttershy!” Twilight shouted over the crying baby. “I need you to take Luigi and go find Zecora! She should have an antidote!”

“Okay, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, her shouting being what most would call a normal speaking voice. “But, if you don’t mind me asking, why me?”

“Because you know your way around the forest better than anyone else here!” Twilight explained. “The rest of us have to stay here and make sure nothing happens to Mario! Now hurry!”

“Okay,” Fluttershy said. “Let’s go, Luigi.” The green plumber nodded, and the two of them headed off while the other ponies did their best to stop the baby’s crying.

Luigi and Fluttershy ended up taking one of the more out of the way routes to Zecora’s hut. As such, there weren’t so many creatures out this way, though Luigi still had to step in a few times and protect the meek pony. After a bit of travel, the hut came into view.

“Okay, Luigi, this is Zecora’s home,” Fluttershy explained. “Here, we’ll be able to get the Poison Joke cure from her, and we’ll be able to help your brother.”

Luigi nodded, and the two approached. However, there was suddenly a rustling in the bushes beside the road, and Luigi and Fluttershy jumped back, both of them shaking. After a tense moment of wondering what kind of horrible monster was lurking, a cyan figure stumbled out from the bushes. The pony and plumber held each other, eyes shut tight. They slowly opened them and standing before them was…

A Yoshi.

Fluttershy immediately let go of Luigi, who tumbled to the ground, and approached the Yoshi. “Hey there little guy…” Fluttershy said softly. The Yoshi seemed to be afraid, something had spooked him. “It’s okay… don’t be afraid… what’s wrong?”

The Yoshi glanced over towards the hut behind him, and began jabbering away in his typical Yoshi-speak. Fluttershy, however, didn’t seem to understand, and neither did Luigi, who had stood back up.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of… that’s just Zecora’s,” Fluttershy explained. “Zecora’s really very nice, she just seems scary if you don’t know her well… We were just about to see her, would you like us to introduce you?”

The Yoshi shook his head franticly, and tried to keep Fluttershy and Luigi from getting any closer to it.

“Please, we really need to see her,” Fluttershy said. She and Luigi got past the Yoshi, and made their way to the door. They knocked, and the Yoshi watched tentatively from behind.

A loud, angry shouting came from behind the door.

“Who dares to disturb me?! Go away, I’m quite busy!”

“Zecora?” Fluttershy asked quietly. “It’s me, Fluttershy, we really need your help…”

“I’m in no mood to help you out!” Came the response. “Can you not tell from my shout?!”

“Please, Zecora, our friend fell into a patch of Poison Joke, and we need a-“

“That’s your problem, I just don’t care! Go! Get lost! Get out of my hair!”

“Zecora, is something the matter?” Fluttershy asked. She slowly opened the door, and peeked inside.

Much of Zecora’s shack had been trashed. Beakers of various solutions lay shattered on the floor, tribal masks were in splinters, and the cauldron had been overturned. The zebra which owned the place stood facing away from them, seemingly shaking in rage.

“Zecora? What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked, as Luigi and the cyan Yoshi stood behind her.
They all jumped as Zecora whipped around, her face contorted with rage. The thing that startled them, however, was the swirling, multi-coloured pattern in her eyes.

“How dare you intrude on my privacy! I want to be alone, you see?! I have no want or need for you, so leave me now, or you’ll be through!” Zecora suddenly charged at the three of them, and Luigi, Fluttershy, and the Yoshi now faced a former friend in combat.

Chapter 11

Within the forest hut, Luigi stood in front of the yellow pegasus and cyan Yoshi, defending them from the crazed Zecora. The zebra started things by lobbing a few different bottled elixirs at the plumber, but they were all knocked back thanks to Luigi’s skilled hammer swings. Luigi quickly countered with a nimble jump, planting his feet on Zecora’s noggin. Fluttershy winced at this, and called out to Luigi. “Try not to hurt her too badly! I know she doesn’t seem very nice right now, but this isn’t how Zecora usually is! Something’s wrong with her!”

Luigi nodded, and he turned back to Zecora, awaiting her next attack. The zebra grabbed the tipped cauldron, and rolled it swiftly at Luigi. He knocked it back toward her easily enough, though she immediately spun on the spot and bucked it hard enough to rival Applejack’s kick. The pot sailed through the air, but once again, the plumber knocked it back. It landed overtop of Zecora, trapping her underneath. It was here that Luigi got an idea. He promptly rushed over to the pot, and swung his hammer on top of it, producing a loud, ringing clang. A shout came from inside, before a short silence. Then, Zecora’s voice came out from beneath it, calmer than it had been before.

“What’s going on? I cannot see! Who’d do such a thing to me?”

“Zecora, are you alright?” Fluttershy asked tentatively.

“Fluttershy, my quiet friend, my mind has yet to fully mend,” Zecora stated. “Discord’s taint is still on me, though another ring might set me free!” There then came a bit of groaning from inside the cauldron. “My lucidity is close to its end, so quickly; help me, my dear friend!”

Suddenly, there was an angry shout from Zecora, and the pot flew off of her. There she stood, her eyes still swirling in a hypnotised haze. She once again produced a few flasks, but lobbed them at Luigi a bit faster this time. Luigi managed to knock them away, one of them flying back and hitting Zecora. Furious once again, she didn’t wait for Luigi to attack. She retrieved the cauldron, and rolled it at him once again, hesitating for a moment in an attempt to throw him off. The trick didn’t work, however, and Luigi sent it back at Zecora, who bucked it back at him. He sent it to its sender once again, and it landed on top of her once again. Luigi rushed forward and hit the pot with all his might, causing another loud clang to sound out. Zecora shouted again, and everything was still for a moment.

Zecora’s voice sounded out once again. “Fluttershy, if you would care, please lift this pot up, I need some air.”

“Oh, of course,” Fluttershy replied. She walked over, and she, Luigi, and the Yoshi lifted the pot up and tossed it aside.

“Thank you dear, and I apologize,” Zecora replied. “That ‘me’ was caused by Discord’s lies.”

“Don’t worry, Zecora, I know how it feels,” Fluttershy said.

“Your sympathy means a lot, for sure, put I fear that I’m not fully cured. In the meantime, though, I’m curious, you see: Why did you come out here to see me?”

“Well, a friend of mine fell into a patch of Poison Joke, and we need a cure.” Fluttershy said, before she looked around the trashed hut. “Though I suppose that if you had any, it’s gone now…”

“Not to worry, Fluttershy,” Zecora said. “The cure is hidden from the eye.” Zecora moved over to the one standing shelf, and took out a book. Upon opening it, she revealed a medium sized bottle. “The ingredients attract many beasts. It’s inconvenient, to say the least.”

“Oh, thank you, Zecora!” Fluttershy said. “Let’s go give this to Mario. Twilight will be with him, and she can get rid of that spell Discord put on you for good.”

“Thank you, dear, but let’s make haste,” Zecora replied. “Each minute we talk is a minute we waste.”

“Oh, right,” Fluttershy said. She then looked to Luigi and the Yoshi, and they followed Fluttershy and Zecora out the door.

The group of four followed the sound of crying, and made it back to the other ponies, who were trying frantically to calm Baby Mario down. The Yoshi gave a start as Mario came into view, and immediately dashed over to the baby. Before anyone could react, the Yoshi had scooped Mario onto his back, and the temporary infant immediately stopped crying. Luigi, Fluttershy, and Zecora followed in its wake.

“Where the hay did that thing come from?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I think the thing that’s more curious is how he managed to get Mario to stop crying,” Rarity said, lowering her hooves from her ears.

“Um… actually,“ Fluttershy spoke up. “Yoshis are extremely protective of infants of any species, and will go out of their way to pacify any crying infant it hears.”

“How did you know that?” Twilight asked. “I know you know a lot about animals, but I didn’t think you knew about Yoshis.”
Fluttershy took out her Equestrian Yoshi handling liscense that she had obtained in Mareshroom Beach. “I learned a lot about them at the Yoshi Shop.”

“As interesting as this may be,” Zecora said. “I’m beginning to lose control, you see.”

“Oh! Right!” Fluttershy said. “Twilight, Discord put a curse on Zecora. Do you think you could get rid of it like you did with all of us before?”

“I think so,” Twilight said. “Though it has been a while…” Twilight stepped towards Zecora, and shut her eyes. Her face screwed in concentration, and her horn began to shine. She touched it to Zecora’s head, and after a bright flash of light, the two separated. Zecora stood silent for a moment, before smiling.

“Thank you Twilight, my dear friend,” Zecora said. “Discord’s taint has met its end.”

“I guess Discord brainwashed you to slow us down,” Twilight said. “Celestia knows how many others he’s done this to…”

“Ya think maybe Trixie was one o’them?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t think so,” Twilight replied. “She didn’t seem to be acting too differently from what I remember of her.”

“So being a jerk just comes naturally to her.” Dash chimed in. “Figures.”

“I think we’re getting off track here,” Twilight said. “We’ve still gotta help Mario.”

“Do not worry, Miss Twilight,” Zecora said. “I have a brew to set things right.” Zecora took out the bottle, and walked over to the cyan Yoshi and its diminutive passenger. She uncorked the flask, and poured it over the baby plumber. Before their eyes, Mario seemed to rapidly age, going from baby to toddler to child to teenager and finally back to adulthood. Mario seemed confused as he sat atop the Yoshi, looking down at himself and everyone around him. Luigi quickly ran forward and hugged his brother, relieved to see him back to normal.

“Okay, now that that’s sorted out, we need to get to Ponyville,” Twilight said. “Zecora, do you any paths that will take us out of here as quickly as possible?”

“This forest has been changed, that much is true,” Zecora said. “However, I can guide you all quickly through.” She turned around, and began to walk along the path, before turning and beckoning them to follow her.

A few minutes, later, they stood at the edge of the forest, about a stone’s throw from Fluttershy’s cottage. Fortunately, Discord didn’t seem to have messed with the town or animals, as everything looked the same as when she left.

“Well, my friends, it is here we must part,” Zecora said. “Thoughts of your safety will be in my heart.”

“Thank you for everything, Zecora,” Twilight said. As the zebra nodded and headed back into the forest, Twilight turned to the rest of the group. “Now then, if my hunch is correct, the Elements should be back at the library, in the same book they were in before.” Everyone else nodded, and they proceeded into town.

The streets seemed oddly barren for the time of day that it was. Maybe everyone was hiding out after seeing the Everfree Forest suddenly wrap around the town. However, this seemed unlikely, as the forest wasn’t even visible from the town.

“Where is everyone?” Pinkie asked. “Ooh! Maybe they’re planning a surprise party for someone! Maybe it’s us!”

“Pinkie, it ain’t anyone’s birthday,” Applejack said.

“Maybe it’s Mario or Luigi’s birthday!” She said excitedly, she turned to the plumbers, a hopeful smile on her face, but they both shook their heads.

Twilight pondered. “The only times they’ve hidden away like this are when Zecora came to town and when Applebloom got the Cutie Pox…” she noted. “So whatever’s going on, this can’t be good…”

Suddenly, a loud cackling sounded out from behind them.

“Hello, foals!”

Everyone spun around on the spot, and they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“Nightmare Moon?!”

Chapter 12

The eight heroes all looked on as the fearsome alicorn, the malicious embodiment of the night that the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony had defeated what seemed like so long ago. The very foe that had brought the six together as lifelong friends.

Twilight simply stood there, mind boggling at how this was possible.

“But… how?!” Twilight said. “We… and then you… and Luna… This doesn’t make any sense!”

“Uh, Twi, sugar cube,” Applejack said, walking up next to the lavender unicorn. “I think you just answered yer own question.”

“What do you mea-“ Twilight started, then she came to the conclusion that everyone else had. “Discord…”

Nightmare Moon simply stood there, laughing. “Yes, it’s true. Discord granted Nightmare Moon her freedom, with the condition that she would remove you foals from the picture. Oh, and before you go and try to warn Nightmare Moon about working with Discord, she has no intention of actually leaving him in one piece when this is all over.” The alicorn’s horn began to glow, and a book levitated to her side, encompassed in an azure glow. A brief glimpse of the spine informed Twilight that the title was “The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide”. The book opened up, and there, in its interior, were the six pieces of jewellery that brought the eight heroes to Ponyville in the first place.

“The Elements!” The six ponies exclaimed.

Nightmare Moon laughed. “That’s right, foals! Once Nightmare Moon has dealt with you, she will use the Elements of Harmony to destroy Discord, and then claim the world for herself!” The fearsome alicorn laughed again in triumph. As she did so, Applejack sidled up to Twilight.

“Uh… Twi, does anythin’ seem… off… with Nightmare Moon t’ya?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know…” Twilight said. “But whatever’s going on, we can’t let her take the Elements of Harmony!” She turned to Mario. “Mario, I have to warn you, Nightmare Moon is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Do not underestimate her, okay? And remember that we’re all here to help you.” Mario gave a reassuring nod, and then leapt forward to challenge the night terror.

“Good luck, Mario and Luigi!” Twilight said, but she stopped. “Uh… Luigi?” Everyone stopped for a moment to look for the green-clad brother, and noticed a bush outside the library shaking violently. By this point, it had lost most of its foliage, revealing a very scared Luigi within its branches.

Twilight rolled her eyes, and levitated Luigi out of the bush, dropping him down next to Mario. “Quit goofing off!” She said. “We can’t let her get away with the Elements of Harmony!”

Luigi managed to scrape together a bit of courage, and turned to face Nightmare Moon, determined but slightly shaky.
Nightmare Moon laughed again. “You two believe you have a chance against I, the great and powerful Nightmare Moon? Very well then, you two have just sealed your fate!” Suddenly, a dark cloud burst behind her, and a few blasts of dark energy flew out from it. One, slightly tinted red, flew towards Mario, and the other, tinted green, came at Luigi. The two brothers nimbly leapt over them, but they looped upward and came at them again. Still, they managed to avoid the attack, and the blasts disappeared in clouds of dark smoke.

Mario though for a moment, and suddenly, inspiration struck. He turned and whistled Applejack over. The orange Earth pony trotted over. “What can I do ya for, Mario?” Mario quickly explained his idea, and Applejack wore a nervous expression. “Really? I mean, buckin’ apples is one thing, but that?” Mario gave a reassuring thumbs up, and she nodded. “Alright, if you know what yer doin’…” The pony took her postion behind Mario, and he turned around and began charging up a fireball. Once he had charged his fire sufficiently, he began flinging a steady rhythm of fireballs towards the orange pony. Applejack spun around and bucked each one towards Nightmare Moon, the fireballs safely bouncing off of her hooves and sailing toward the alicorn.

As the assault let up, Nightmare Moon seemed relatively unharmed… aside from the fact that her coat was smoking. She didn’t seem to notice… at least, part of her didn’t. Her face showed no signs of pain, but her front hooves were stamping wildly and her wings were flapping urgently. One could almost hear a gruff voice cry out in pain. Eventually, the rest of Nightmare Moon noticed the cause for alarm, and her horn began to glow azure, putting out the blaze.

“Settle down! You’re going to give us away!” The alicorn hissed to… herself? Her legs and wings seemed to calm down, and she returned her attention to the brothers.

Luigi seemed to be cooking up his own scheme, and he waved Rarity over.

“Yes, darling?” The fashionista asked. Luigi quickly explained what he wanted, and Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Gems, dear? Well, I could see, but I can’t imagine why any would be here…” The alabaster unicorn’s horn began to glow, and several spots around Nightmare Moon began to glow. Several gemstones were uprooted, and Rarity levitated them to the brother. “Well, that’s a surprise! But whatever do you need them for?”

Luigi rattled off his idea, and Rarity gave a slight gasp. “Ingenious!” Rarity said. “Very well, I shall assist as much as I can!”
Rarity levitated the stones in a sort of path, leading from Luigi’s feet to above Nightmare Moon, as Luigi‘s hands began to spark with electricity. Once they were both ready, Luigi leapt forward onto the lower of the stones, and leapt up each one until he was high above Nightmare Moon. Once he reached peak position, he leapt up, and, while lined directly over her, he clapped his hands together, sending a bolt of lightning down onto the alicorn. As her body shook from the temporary stun, he landed down, planting both feet on her hindquarters, before leaping back to his starting position.

Nightmare Moon’s rear legs buckled, and her rump landed on the ground. She whipped her head around, and saw what had occurred. “Get up! Get up this instant!” She hissed. And then, strangely, one of the Night Mare’s wings folded backward at an unusual angle, and struck her own flank. The rear legs immediately sprung back upward, and a faint, muffled, nasally moan sounded out.

Nightmare Moon was done with sitting by and letting herself get hit, and she disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. As Mario and Luigi raised their hammers to defend themselves, a faint azure glow appeared before Luigi. Suddenly, Nightmare Moon reappeared, and she sharply turned, swiping at Luigi with one of her wings. Luigi didn’t see the blow coming, and he was sent dizzy by the surprisingly forceful blow. Nightmare Moon vanished again, and reappeared in front of Mario. He was ready, however, and swung his hammer with all his might.

The blow sent Nightmare Moon reeling backward, her body twisting in three different directions. Her forelegs and back seemed to twist around completely, and suddenly, there was a loud ripping sound as she tore clean in two.
Everyone gasped in surprise. Not because of the fact that they had just torn a goddess of night in two with a hammer. In fact, they hadn’t even done that.

In fact, they had just torn a costume of Nightmare Moon in two. And poking out of the rear end was a pointed, pink nose and a wiry moustache. As the heroes were trying to figure out what was happening, two figures crawled out of the front half. A fat, muscly-armed man wearing an ensemble resembling Mario and Luigi’s, and an azure unicorn that was all too familiar to the group. As the obese Mario doppelganger walked over to the rear end and pulled his lankly, purple-clad partner in crime out of the costume, Trixie berated the two of them.

“You two are imbeciles!” Trixie shouted. “You can’t even handle a small burn or a tiny bump on the head! Trixie regrets ever agreeing to work with you two!”

“What’s going on here?” Twilight said, as everyone looked on in confusion. “You three put on that costume? But why?”

Trixie turned and glared at Twilight. “Well, after Trixie humbly let you all by in Canterlot,” she began, prompting Rainbow Dash to roll her eyes. “Trixie made her way here, to learn how she might defeat Discord. On her way here, she ran into these to imbeciles,” Trixie jerked her horn toward the two she had been in costume with, who were arguing between themselves, “Wario and Waluigi, as they call themselves, in the Everfree Forest. They informed Trixie that they had suddenly appeared in the woods, and had no idea where they were. Trixie brought them into town, and after explaining how phenomenally powerful Trixie was and what she was doing, they wanted to assist, especially when Trixie brought up the prospect of fame and fortune.

“As we neared Ponyville, Trixie realised she would need a disguise, as the residents here are completely ungrateful for Trixie’s assistance in vanquishing the Ursa Major, and honestly believe that she was to blame for it!” Trixie paused for effect, as if the pervious statement was completely unbelievable and ridiculous. “So, Trixie came up with the Nightmare Moon costume, so that we could travel to the library without any foals trying to get in our way. It worked well enough: the instant one of them saw us, they sent the town into a panic, and eventually everyone shut themselves inside. So, we got to the library, and after a bit of searching, found a reference guide on the Elements of Harmony. Trixie heard that these were used to put Discord away in the past, so she figured she could use them to enhance her already astounding abilities.

“Imagine my surprise when Trixie found the Elements themselves stashed away inside the book! Happy with this bit of luck, we donned the costume to take our leave, and that’s when YOU showed up.”

Trixie scowled at Twilight and the others, before sighing. “Well, Trixie supposes you’ll be wanting the Elements now. Trixie shall surrender them to you, she is nothing if not honourable.” Ignoring a snort from Rainbow Dash, she trotted over to the costume, and rummaged around inside it for a moment. She eventually pulled her head out, looking confused. “That’s odd… Trixie could have sworn…”

Suddenly, the group heard a commotion going on just behind them, and they all turned to see Wario and Waluigi trying to beat a hasty retreat, with the book containing the Elements tucked under Wario’s arm. However, blocking their path were three little fillies.

“Hold it right there!” Applebloom shouted up at the two. “Jus’ where do y’all think your goin’ with Twilight’s book?”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo shouted. “You better drop it right now, if you know what’s good for you!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders all took aggressive stances, and Wario and Waluigi simply stared at the fillies before cracking up.

“What’s so funny?! We mean it! Give us that book now you big stinky meanie!” Sweetie Belle said, before charging at Wario and attempting to knock him down. However, with his generous girth and Sweetie’s small stature, she merely bounced off his gut. Wario gave a hearty guffaw, before roughly picking Sweetie up by the scruff of her neck and leering at her. Sweetie struggled against his grip, legs flailing wildly, while Applebloom and Scootaloo backed up nervously. “Hey! Let me go you big jerk!”

Wario simply laughed again, though Waluigi seemed to be looking behind him, looking as frightened as the school fillies. Noticing his partner in crime, Wario turned as well, to see what was up. He didn’t turn around soon enough, however, to see the mass of white and purple slam into him, knocking Sweetie and the Elements clean from his grip. Sweetie landed on something soft, and looked up to see that she had landed on Rarity’s back, who was looking furious with Wario and Waluigi.

“How DARE you touch my sister with your grubby hands!” Rarity shouted. Her horn began to glow, and all manner of nearby objects began bouncing off of Wario and Waluigi, from apples to rocks to even a couple trash cans. As Wario and Waluigi shielded themselves from the assault, Rainbow Dash and Applejack came racing toward the scuffle, each carrying the ends of a rope. Applejack skidded to a halt, while Rainbow quickly circled around the two, trapping the two crooks together within the rope. As she stopped, Applejack spun on her hooves, and promptly bucked the two, sending Wario and Waluigi sailing away into the Everfree Forest.

“An’ don’ you ever let me catch y’all hasslin’ my little sister again!” Applejack shouted after them. The three fillies raced forward to embrace their saviours.

“Thanks for rescuing me, Rarity!” Sweetie said, hugging Rarity tightly.

“Don’ get too sore ‘bout me gettin’ in trouble, sis,” Applebloom said. “We just saw those two runnin’ with Twilight’s book, an’ we wanted to stop ‘em from stealin’ it!”

“That was so cool, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo gushed. “The way you tied those two guys up before they even knew what was going on!”

As the Crusaders thanked the three for rescuing them, the others turned to Trixie… only to discover that she wasn’t there. Twilight frantically looked around for the azure unicorn, and eventually spotted her running down the street to the town exit.

“So long, Sparkle!” Trixie shouted as she galloped away. “You may have the Elements, but Trixie won’t need those trinkets to stop Discord!” She laughed as she disappeared from view.

Twilight merely sighed. “Well, we won’t be dissuading her anytime soon. Let’s just hope she doesn’t get into too much trouble.”

“Speak for yourself,” Rainbow Dash said, as she, Rarity, and Applejack returned to the group, the Crusaders running off, saying something about being “Cutie Mark Crusader Item Sellers”.

The group idly looked around for a moment, and noticed that some of the ponies (and Spike) were starting to come out, seeing if “Nightmare Moon” had left yet.

“Well,” Twilight said, “I suppose we should go tell everypony there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“We should head over t’ Sweet Apple Acres after all that,” Applejack said. “’Tween Discord, Bowser, Trixie, and those goons of hers, I wanna make sure nothin’ bad’s happened t’ Big Macintosh ‘r Granny Smith.”

Mario and Luigi both nodded, and the group began to explore Ponyville.

Chapter 13

The eight heroes stood in the middle of Ponyville, watching its residents slowly start to re-populate the streets. Behind them, Spike walked out from the library, rubbing out the sleep from his eyes.

“Hey Twilight…” Spike said sleepily, before yawning. “What’s going on? You’re back from Canterlot already?”

“Spike!” Twilight said, spinning around. “Are you just waking up?”

“Uh… yeah,” Spike said. “But don’t worry,” he said, turning back towards the library and opening the door. “I cleaned up the library as soon as you left yesterday, so-“ Spike stopped as he saw the inside of the library. Books were tossed all over the place, only a few still remained on the shelves. “Wh-what happened?! I swear I cleaned it Twilight! There must’ve been a storm inside or something-“

“Spike, settle down!” Twilight said. “We know what happened, Trixie was here looking for information on the Elements of Harmony.”

“Trixie?” Spike said, pondering for a second. “You mean that unicorn that came into town that one time and brought in an Ursa Minor? Why would she want to learn about the Elements of Harmony?”

“It’s a long story,” Twilight said. “To summarize, Discord’s loose again, he’s teamed up with an evil king from the Mushroom Kingdom named Bowser, kidnapped Princess Celestia, Luna, and Peach, and we’re all trying to stop him. Trixie’s trying to beat us to the punch and take the glory for herself.”

“D-D-Discord’s loose?” Spike stammered. “Uhhhh… I’d love to help, Twi, but see, this library isn’t gonna clean itself, y’know? So, I’d better-“

“Hold on, Spike,” Twilight said. “I need you to take a letter for me.”

“Oh, uh… sure, Twilight,” Spike said. He quickly went inside, and came out with a scroll and quill.

“Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight dictated. “I am writing to inform you that we have located the Elements of Harmony, and are on our way to rescue you. Please do not worry, as we will be there as soon as we can.”

“Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle. There, did you get all that, Spike?”

“Sure did, Twilight.” Spike nodded, rolling up the scroll. “So, you want me to send it?”

“Of course,” Twilight said. Spike nodded, and took a deep breath, before blowing a small, green flame that incinerated the parchment almost instantaneously. The smoke trailed off into the distance, heading to the west.

“Well,” Twilight said, watching the smoke trail away. “That at least gives us some idea of where to go.”

The group waited for a moment, the Yoshi that had been following them jabbering away at Spike, who he seemed to think was a small Yoshi of some sort. As everyone laughed as Spike tried to get away from the dinosaur, Luigi suddenly doubled over again.

Spike stopped and looked at the plumber. “What’s wrong with him?”

“It must be the Princess,” Twilight said, as Luigi started coughing. “She’s been using Luigi as sort of a stand-in you, at least as far as receiving mail is concerned.”

“Hey, as long as it gives me a break,” Spike said. “Getting letters from the Princess does not feel pleasant.”

At that moment, Luigi belched loudly, green flames spewing from his mouth. As the flames disappeared, a scroll rolled out onto the grass. Twilight promptly picked up the scroll, unfurled it, and began reading.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle,”

“We are all very happy to hear that you have located the Elements of Harmony. If we ever had any doubts of you all succeeding before (which we didn’t), they have been erased completely. I’m certain that you all will be here before very long, and when you stand up to Bowser and Discord, you’ll make short work of them.

“I feel that I should inform you of some strange goings-on here, however…”

Princess Celestia lay on the floor of the (quite nicely furnished) cell, writing out the letter to her faithful student. She paused for a moment, glancing over at Peach, who was walking over from the bars of the cell, having attempted to talk with the guards.

“I just don’t know what the matter with them is,” Peach said, sitting down beside the Equestrian princess. “I’ve gotten to know the guards quite well with all my visits here, I’ve even met a few of their families…” She looked over to the guards, who stood straight as boards, stern looks on their faces. “But now, they won’t even talk to me, they just shout for me to get away from the bars.”

“Perhaps that shelled miscreant has revised his training,” Luna suggested, joining her cellmates.

Peach shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like the Bowser I know. He’s been using the same tactics for years now, despite repeated failure. He’s too stubborn to admit his own strategies aren’t working, and blames it on the soldiers’ competence instead.” She glanced over at the guards again. “And… it may just be my imagination or the lighting… but do they look somewhat… grey to you?”

They all stopped as they heard angry shouting coming from somewhere above. Which was impressive, considering that above them was foot-thick stone.

“Hm. Something seems to be upsetting Bowser…” Peach noted.

“WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA, GOAT-FACE?!” Bowser shouted, fuming. He glared up at Discord, who was currently sitting in Bowser’s throne.

“Oh, I’m sorry, is this your seat?” Discord said with a grin. “Sorry about that, I’ll move if it’s upsetting you that much.”

“It’s not that! Of course, now that you mention it, you can get out of my throne, too!” Bowser shouted. “It’s about my soldiers!”

“Whatever do you mean?” Discord said. “I happen to think that they’re working quite diligently, don’t you?”

“That’s the problem!” Bowser said. “They’re not using any of my strategies! The Goombas aren’t just marching forward! They’re actually jumping! The green-shelled Koopas are actually turning around at ledges! Those aren’t my strategies! And they’re all grey and junk!”

“Oh, yes, that,” Discord said. He disappeared in a flash, and reappeared next to Bowser. “Well, I may have revised a few of your strategies, and had a talking to with some of your soldiers-“

Bowser grabbed Discord around the throat. “Listen up, buddy! You and I gotta get a few things straight! First, nobody but me changes my troops’ orders! Second, I’m the one in charge here, I make the decisions!”

There was another flash, and Bowser was left holding a long balloon, which popped in his clutch, causing him to tumble back in surprise, falling onto his rump. Discord reappeared in front of Bowser, looking him in the eyes. “You? Make decisions? Don’t make me laugh. You barely have the brains needed to choose what you want for breakfast!”

“Watch it, pal!” Bowser growled. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to!”

“Ah yes, the mighty King Bowser!” Discord said sarcastically. “What exactly are you king of, anyway? All I see around this castle is rock and lava. Not the best land for building a kingdom, if you ask me. Not to mention the fact that you frequently have your shell handed to you by a blue-collar slob! You can’t even get a girlfriend without shoving her in a prison cell!”

“You… you shut it!” Bowser said, his rage faltering.

Discord’s eyes began to swirl with dizzying rings. “Face it, you’re nothing but a joke. You can’t run an army, you can’t defeat your foes, you can’t get the girl; what are you king of? Nothing. You’re King Nothing, ruler of nothing. And when you rule nothing, you can’t even be a king! What does that leave you as? Why, if you guessed nothing, you’d be absolutely right, for the first time in your sad, little life!”

“You’re… you’re right…” Bowser said, his eyes swirling to match Discord’s. “I’m nothing… I’m weak… I’m stupid…” Bowser blinked, and the colour seemed to drain from his scales, his shell, everything. “I can’t do anything right…” Bowser simply hung his head, sitting on the stone floor.

“Glad we got that sorted out,” Discord said. He snapped his fingers, and two greyed out Koopas rushed into the throne-room. “Would you mind escorting our guest out? He’s starting to depress me, and I have important business to attend to. Try to find a nice ditch to dump him in, he deserves that much.”

“Of course, Lord Discord,” The Koopas took Bowser under the arms, and slowly dragged him out of the throne room. With that, Discord snapped once again, and disappeared from the throne room.

Author’s Note: Hope you’re all enjoying the story so far! I’m going to be taking a break for a bit, maybe a couple weeks, but don’t worry, I’ll be back after That’s cute, really, that you think anyone actually cares about your little story.

… Alright, I need to be getting to bed. I’m starting to see Please stop typing for a moment, I’m trying to talk.

… That’s better. Now, as I was saying, do you honestly think anyone’s actually reading this? Honestly, this has to be the worst story I’ve ever read. And I’ve read the entire Twilight series cover to cover. You’re a hack, to be perfectly honest. You seem to think of yourself as this great writer, but really, you’re no more special than those fourteen year-old girls that write slash fiction all night and day. Really, if I were you, I’d quit while you’re… No, that wouldn’t work either, as you can’t even say that you’re ahead! So, I guess I’d just quit.

Be seeing you!

Author’s Note: Actually, that break is gonna last a lot longer than a week. As of now, Mario & Luigi: Of Ponies and Plumbers is cancelled. I doubt you actually care, but whatever, it’s a shitty story anyway, and it’s been eating up too much of my time. I’m gonna go play some TF2 or something.

Chapter 15

“…We’re not entirely sure what’s happening, but it would be best for you all to be on your guard at all times. It’s impossible to think exactly like Discord, so be ready for absolutely anything.

“Remember that we still have total faith in all of you.”

“Your devoted teacher,
Princess Celestia”

Twilight lowered the note as she looked around at all her friends. “Well, like she said, we should be prepared for anything. We have the Elements already; is there anything that anyone wants to get before we head out?”

“I’m good,” Dash said.

“I don’t think I need anything either,” Fluttershy continued.

“Ooh! Can we stop by Sugarcube Corner?” Pinkie said, jumping up and down on the spot. “I need to pick up some more Party Cannon cartridges, and while we’re there, we might as well get some cupcakes, and candies, and pies, and cakes, and éclairs, and doughnuts, and-“

“Alright, alright, Pinkie,” Twilight said, cutting her across. “Rarity, Applejack, anything you need?”

“I’d like to stop by the Boutique, if it’s all the same to everyone,” Rarity said. “I want to make sure everything’s still in order since we left. Between Discord coming back and Sweetie Belle being left unattended, I shudder to think what’s become of the place.”

“We can stop by Sweet Apple Acres on our way outta town,” Applejack said. “Ah’m pretty sure it’s on our way anyhow.”

“Alright then,” Twilight said. She turned to Mario and Luigi. “What about you two, are you ready to go?”
Mario and Luigi both nodded. “Okay then,” Twilight said. “We should probably make sure everypony in town is okay after that “Nightmare Moon” scare.” At this, the octet proceeded through Ponyville, chatting up the locals.

The heroes stood in the middle of town a short while later. They had talked to just about everypony, and they all seemed relieved that Nightmare Moon turned out to be just Trixie in disguise. Rarity was in for a bit of a shock when she discovered that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had commandeered her boutique to start up an item shop, though they had managed to assemble a respectable stock, so the group took advantage of the situation, buying most of the items available.

“Alright, so that’s just about everything,” Twilight said. “Now, we just need to hit Sweet Apple Acres, and then we’ll be on our way to Mareshroom Beach.”

“Ah hope Granny Smith’s been okay since ah left,” Applejack commented. “All this Discord ‘n’ Bowser business can’t be good for her heart.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine, darling,” Rarity said. “Big Macintosh is surely looking after her.”

“Ah hope so,” Applejack said.

The group followed the trail leading away from town and over to the apple farm. However, when they arrived at the gate, something seemed amiss.

“Uh, is it just me,” Rainbow Dash said. “Or does Sweet Apple Acres seem a bit… overgrown?”

“’Tain’t Sweet Apple Acres no more!” Came a frenzied shout from the barnhouse. Granny Smith poked her head out from behind a bale of hay.

“Granny Smith?” Applejack said, unlatching the gate and leading everyone through.

“Applejack! You’n’ yer friends hightail it over here right quick!” Granny Smith called out. “Yeh got two o’them bugaboos tailin’ yeh!”

“What’re you talkin’ about, Granny?” Applejack asked, though the answer wasn’t given verbally. Granny Smith ducked back behind the bale, and re-emerged a second later, an apple in her hoof. With the speed and accuracy of a professional baseball player, she hurled the apple directly at Luigi’s nose, who was knocked on his rear end, clutching his injured face.

“Granny Smith!” Applejack shouted. “What’re you doin’? That’s Luigi, he an’ his brother have been helping me and my friends!”

“Wuzzat? Oh! Ah’m sorry, child! Yeh should’ve said somethin’!” Granny Smith said, completely coming out from behind the hay bale, and trotting over.

“He’ll be fine, he’s been through worse,” Twilight said, in spite of Luigi clutching his nose and whimpering. “Now what did you mean this isn’t Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Ah mean it’s been infested past recognition” Granny Smith said. “One minute, ah’m mindin’ mah own business, helpin’ git ready fer Cider Season, the next, trees’re poppin’ up all to and fro in th’middle of the North, South, East, and West fields! All sortsa varmints’re crawlin’ ‘round in them trees, t’ain’t safe t-go apple-buckin’ no more! Big Mac wen’ in t’try ‘n’ make sense of it, ain’t he ain’t been outta there fer near two hours now!”

“What’re you sayin', Granny?” Applejack said.

“Ah’m sayin’ it ain’t Sweet Apple Acres no more!” Granny Smith repeated. “What y’all’re lookin’ at Everfree Acres!”

Author's Note: Sorry, bit of a short chapter this time, but I'll try and make up for it next chapter. And thanks again, everyone, for all your kind words earlier. It's good to know that I have readers as supportive as you.

Chapter 16

Applejack looked at Granny Smith quizzically. “Everfree Acres?”

“That’s right!” Granny Smith said. “Th’Everfree Forest done went ‘n’ grew over all over our land! All sorts’a critters been thievin’ our apples ever since, what with the extra cover they got now. Big Macintosh went in ‘bout a couple hours ago, an’ he ain’t come out yet! I sent Applebloom t’go play with her little friends, so she wouldn’t have t’worry ‘bout her big brother.”

“He hasn’t come out?” Applejack inquired. “I hate t’think what could’a happened to him.”

“Relax, AJ,” Rainbow Dash said. “Big Mac’s a big guy, he can take care of himself.”

“All th’same, we oughta go in after him, and do somethin’ ‘bout the overgrown forest.” Applejack said. “I can’t rightly go on knowin’ that this is happenin’.”

Twilight nodded. “I don’t know that we’ll be able to do anything about the forest growing over,” she said, “At least not until we deal with Discord, but we really should help Big Macintosh.” She turned to Mario. “Sorry about the delay, but this is pretty important.”

Mario nodded in understanding, while Luigi simply sat bored, idly picking at the hay bale Granny Smith had been hiding behind.

“Alright then, Granny Smith, don’t you worry,” Twilight said. “We’ll have Big Macintosh out of there in no time.”

“Celestia bless all o’ ya,” Granny Smith. “In all my life I never met a group o’ braver ‘r more carin’ ponies than you darlin’s.”

“It’s nothing, Granny, really,” Twilight said. She turned to her companions. “Alright everyone, let’s move out!” The eight heroes turned, and proceeded into the thick trees now known as Everfree Acres.

Everfree Acres wasn’t nearly as warm and inviting as Sweet Apple Acres had been. It was as dark and uninviting as the regular forest, but the apple trees interspersed throughout the forest gave the place a twisted sense of familiarity that only served to unnerve the ponies more.

The extra greenery was not all that had changed, either. The terrain had changed in some places as well, with cliffs, pits, boulders, and the like impeding the progress of the ponies every now again. Even more treacherous were the enemies interspersed within the forest. The typical Everfree fauna were encountered, though it seemed that Bowser’s forces had reached even this part of the forest. Goombas adorned with harnesses carrying baskets of apples, Piranha Plants, Venus Fire Traps, and even a few Nippers were interspersed within the groups of enemies.

Eventually, the group came to a rather wide crevice. They were about to turn and search elsewhere, when Applejack suddenly cried out.

“Big Macintosh!”

Everybody turned, and walking through the forest was none other than Applejack’s older brother, Big Macintosh. He seemed to be walking in a daze, however, as he didn’t seem to hear his sister. In fact, he completely failed to notice the eight standing at the other side, and walked straight into a thick bush. However, he failed to emerge from the other side.

“What in the hay?” Applejack said. “What’s goin’ on?”

“I’m not sure,” Twilight said. “But we need to get over there quickly before we lose Big Macintosh again.”

“Hold on a moment,” Rarity said. “How do you propose we all get over there?”

“Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy can carry us,” Twilight said, turning to the pegasi. “Right?”

“It looks pretty wide…” Fluttershy said, peering over the edge and seeing it was a long way down.

“And I don’t think we could carry everyone across without getting tired out… hey, wait a sec!” Rainbow Dash said, she fluttered up slightly, to get a better view of the other side. “I think I see a switch or something on the other side!”

“Hmm…” Twilight pondered. “Maybe you could carry Mario over, and he could activate the switch for us. It might help us get across!”

“It’s worth a shot,” Rainbow Dash said. She turned to Mario. “Hop on, I’ll get you over there in nothing flat!”

Mario seemed to be a little uneasy, since the disastrous end his last flight took, and Rainbow Dash caught on. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna crash again. Pinkie just caught me off guard last time when she suddenly stopped, that’s all.”

Mario seemed to be convinced, and decided to climb on. True to her word, Rainbow Dash promptly took off, and almost instantly touched down on the other side. Climbing off, Mario went over to where Rainbow Dash had spotted the switch, which was protruding from a tree, no less, and smacked it with his mallet. The earth seemed to shake, and an earthen bridge slid out from the cliff face, giving the rest of the group a path to the other side.

Everyone hurried over, and went over to the bush Big Macintosh had heedlessly strolled into. Luigi peered into its branches, and seemed surprised. He promptly told Mario what he found.

“Well?” Twilight asked. “What is it?”

Mario reported Luigi’s findings to Twilight. “A tunnel? Really?” Twilight went over to the bush, and spread the branches apart. Sure enough, there was a tunnel leading underground. A greenish light seemed to radiate from within, making everyone somewhat uneasy.

“What do you think’s down there?” Fluttershy asked everyone nervously.

“Ooh! Maybe it’s a dance party!” Pinkie said suddenly, jumping up and down. “That looks like the same kind of glow that some of my glowsticks make!”

“A dance party, really?” Twilight said. “Underground, in the middle of an overgrown apple orchard?”

“Can you think of a better place for a dance party?” Pinkie asked.

“Several,” Twilight said. “No, whatever’s down there probably isn’t friendly, but we saw Big Macintosh going down there, so it’s our job to go after him. Now, who’s with me?”

After a few nods of agreement, the group proceeded down into the tunnel, bracing themselves for what they might find.

Chapter 17

The underground tunnel system the heroes now found themselves in was a tad unsettling, to say the least. The walls were coated in some sort of luminescent slimy green substance, and translucent cocoon-like sacks of what they could only assume was the very same slime hung from the ceiling at uneven intervals, like a set of insect-inspired lanterns. The glow all this goo gave off bathed them all in its sickly green glow, which gave them the same sort of haunting, otherworldly appearance.

Rarity, of course, was put off by the place more than everyone else. She absolutely refused to walk through the various puddles of slime that littered the ground, so the group was forced to navigate around it. This wasn’t to say they were gung-ho about swimming in the stuff themselves; nobody really wanted to touch it.

Occasionally, they came across wide crevices filled with rivers of the stuff, though thankfully Rainbow Dash was able to fly Mario over these pits, whereupon he could knock over a convenient stalagmite or slab of stone to form a bridge for everyone else.

Unusually, though, there didn’t seem to be anyone or anything about, despite evidence of recent activity within the slime about the place. Whatever occupied these caverns obviously preferred to dwell deeper within.

Eventually, the group came to a rather wide chamber. They all looked around, but there was no sign of Big Macintosh anywhere, which worried the group.

“Where in the hay is he?” Applejack asked.

“I’m not sure,” Twilight replied. “I’m positive that this is the only possible route that he could have taken, and this is where the route stops.”

Every stood silent for a while, pondering the conundrum, and that was when they heard a deep rumbling sound. Looking around, they saw the source of the noise.

In the light of the slime, it would be mistaken for normal rock at a passing glance. However, its true nature was revealed with a more focused look. Sitting erect, blocking a passageway, was a creature of living stone, a Whomp. For the moment, it seemed to be sleeping.

The group approached it, and Twilight tentatively tapped it with her hoof. “Um… excuse me, sir?”

The Whomp remained undisturbed. Everyone seemed to be at a loss for what to do, and for a moment, everyone simply stared at it. However, Luigi eventually stepped forward, and after a moment of thought, promptly smacked its face with his mallet.

Immediately, the Whomp’s pitch black eyes shot open. “Abuduh… whuh?” The stone slab sputtered. “What’s going on?! Who are you all?!”

As the Whomp boomed, Luigi immediately darted behind his brother. Twilight decided to step forward and talk to the beast. “Um… hello sir, my name is Twilight Sparkle. We think a friend of ours might have gone by here, and we need to get by.”

The Whomp stared down at Twilight, and gave a hearty guffaw. “Hah! As if! You think I’m dumb? You just want my choice sleepin’ spot!”

“Your sleeping spot?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yeah!” the Whomp said. “Everybody knows that tunnel entrances are the best places to take a nap. That way you don’t have to sleep on your face, where everybody can walk all over you, and there’s always a cool draft to soothe your achin’ back… point is, I ain’t movin’! It took me ages to find this spot, and I’m not movin’ just so you and go and take it!”

“That’s ridiculous!” Rarity said. “Why on earth would we want to take a nap in the middle a slimy cave, on the dirty ground?”

“Hey, you know what this ground’s made of?” The Whomp said. After some confused looks, the Whomp slammed his stone hand on the ground. “That there’s granite! Coziest rock in the world, right after marble!”

“Look, mah brother is in there,” Applejack shouted. “We ain’t tryin’ to take your nappin’ spot, we just need t’get through this tunnel, so move before we put the hurt on ya!”

“Ha!” The Whomp laughed again. “You? Put the hurt on me? A pack of puny ponies and a pair of portly plumbers?”
Pinkie giggled at the Whomp’s comment. “Haha! I love alliteration! Smooth sentence structure with similar sounds slipped in slyly!”

Everyone looked at Pinkie for a moment, before the Whomp spoke up again. “Anyway, I ain’t movin’, so beat it!”

It was then that Fluttershy stepped forward. She shuffled her hooves nervously. “Please… we really need to get through… our friend is in there, and we need to find him before he gets hurt…”

“The cute little pony junk doesn’t work on me,” The Whomp said. “Now get out of here, before I really get steamed."

Fluttershy clenched her eyes shut, and her legs started to shake. “Oh no… please, I don’t want to have to do this to you… please, move, it’s for your own good…”

The Whomp just laughed. “Oooh, I’m really scared!”

“Please… just move… please…” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Make me!”

Suddenly, Fluttershy’s eyes shot open, and she lifted herself of the ground, and right up to the Whomp’s face. She stared intensely into the Whomp’s eyes, nay, his very soul. “Now you listen here, mister!” Fluttershy scolded. “We need to get through right now, our friend is in there and he might be hurt, and all you care about is your precious sleeping spot? Shame on you!”

The Whomp was at a loss for words, as he merely cowered under Fluttershy’s Stare. “Now, you stand up right this minute, and move over, so my friends and I can pass, understand.”

The Whomp scrambled to its feet, stammering. “Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-yes ma’am!” It shuffled sideways in a panicked fashion, the passage becoming open to the group.

Fluttershy calmed down as the Whomp stepped aside. “Oh, I’m sorry I had to do that,” she promptly apologized. “But thank you for moving for us, we really appreciate it.”

“N-n-n-no problem…” The Whomp said, clearly still afraid of Fluttershy. “I-i-it’s my pleasure, really!”

Fluttershy patted the Whomp on top of its head with her hoof, and touched back down to follow the group through. The Whomp watched her go through, and sighed with relief.

“Geeze, now there’s someone you don’t wanna meet in a dark alley…”

The tunnels were more treacherous as they continued onward, and for good reason. They soon discovered what exactly it was that was occupying the caves.

Evidently the group had happened across the Changeling hive. The creatures were scattered about practically everywhere, and they didn’t take kindly to the group being there. Battles were something of a confusing affair, as they attempted to confuse Mario and Luigi by taking on the appearance of either brother, or their pony companions. However, it wasn’t enough to stop them, and any opposition they met was dealt with promptly.

After a long and treacherous excavation, they found themselves in front of a pair of high doors, which bore resemblance to the cocoons that lined the walls. Like the cocoons, the doors were translucent, and everyone peered through them, trying to see what was going on inside.

“It seems like there’s a lot more Changelings in there…” Twilight said in a hushed tone. “There’s a lot of black shapes…”

“Do you think that Queen of theirs is in there?” Rarity asked. “The one that disguised herself a Princess Cadence and had her swarm invade Canterlot?”

“Well, it’s not out of the question…” Twilight said. “I think there’s a slightly taller shape in there that could be her… hold on a second… I think there’s someone else in there… I think it’s Big Macintosh!”

“You think so?” Applejack said. She peered through the door intently, and she could make out a reddish shape amidst the sea of black. “It is him! But how’re we gonna get in there an’ get him out?”

“Well...” Twilight began to think. “…Maybe I could put some sort of invisibility spell on us, and we could sneak in without them seeing us…” As Twilight pondered their next course of action, a thought occurred to Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, if we can see them through the doors,” Rainbow said. “Then what’s to stop them from seeing us?”

The group suddenly fell completely silent, and they realized that the same had occurred on the other side of the doors as well.

“This isn’t good…” Twilight said.

“Guards, could you please open the doors so that our unexpected guests might join us?” said a voice on the other side. It was at that moment that the large double doors opened, and the heroes could clearly see who was on the other side. As expected, there were hundreds of Changelings lining either side of the wide hall, and standing up on some sort of stage was none other than the Queen of the Changelings herself. Standing a few feet away from her was Big Macintosh, evidently in some sort of trance. Everyone backed up a step, in something of an attempt to escape, but they were promptly stopped by several Changelings moving behind them. At this point, there was no option but to move forward, into the wide chamber.

“Well, if it isn’t Twilight Sparkle and her little friends,” Queen Chrysalis said. “It’s been some time since the wedding, how is your brother?”

“Can it!” Applejack shouted. “What’d you do to mah brother?”

“Right to it, are we?” Chrysalis said. “Very well then. After the little incident in Canterlot, my swarm and I had to come up with some other form of sustenance. We began to look into other pony colonies to infiltrate, and we discovered that our hive was no more than a stone’s throw from a sleepy little town just outside the Everfree forest.”

“Sleepy little town…” Rarity said. “You’re talking about Ponyville, aren’t you?”

“Ah, so you know of it,” Chrysalis said with an evil smirk.

“’Course we know about it!” Applejack shouted. “That’s our home!”

“Really?” Chrysalis said. “I wasn’t aware of that…” She seemed to be telling the truth, but the news seemed to please her. “Well, we would have come to… greet you sooner, but we’ve had a bit of trouble actually getting Changelings into town.”

“And why’s that?” Twilight said. As the conversation was going on, Luigi had slipped away from the group and was currently trying to sneak through the crowd of Changelings. It was fairly obvious to everyone what he was doing, but they simply chose to ignore him.

“Because everypony knows each other too well in Ponyville!” Chrysalis said, momentarily looking upset. “There’s nothing better to a Changeling than somepony that nobody knows much about. It makes it so much easier to blend in without anypony noticing. Of course, there’s no such luck with your town.” By now, Luigi had managed to work his way to the front of the crowd, and was trying to climb up onto the stage.

“So without being able to enter Ponyville to feed on the citizens’ love, our swarm was sure to starve… until a short while ago,” Chrysalis’s bad mood had subsided, and returned to a devilish grin.

“You still ain’t told me what happened t’Big Macintosh!” Applejack said. Luigi had managed to get onto the stage, and was now trying to push the large red stallion away from Chrysalis. He had no such luck though, as Big Macintosh stood strong.

“Well, you see, earlier this morning, a pair of our scouts discovered a pair of very interesting changes in the Everfree Forest.” Chrysalis said. “Firstly, the Everfree Forest had expanded into some sort of apple farm-“

“MAH farm,” Applejack said bitterly.

“Your farm?” Chrysalis repeated. “Hm. Another little happy coincidence. Anyway, the forest had expanded, and one of the forest’s rivers had changed. The liquid in it had changed from water to what we’ve identified to be love poison.”

“Love poison?!” Twilight said. She had a fairly good idea where this was going.

“Yes, love poison,” Chrysalis. “The very same love poison our ancestors had created in a desperate attempt to feed their starving hive. As I’m sure you all know, a long time ago, a pony prince had given the poison to a princess, in an attempt to make her fall in love with him.”

“Of course,” Twilight said. “It’s how Hearts and Hooves Day was created.”

“Ah yes, Hearts and Hooves Day,” Chrysalis said. “My hive really does love that day, it’s so easy to get a good meal. Well, what history may have left out was that the prince hadn’t made the poison himself. He instead purchased it from a disguised Changeling. They plotted to force the prince and princess to fall in love, and then exploit it by disguising as the Princess and invading the kingdom on their wedding day.”

“Boy, Changelings sure get points for originality,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes.

“Well, when we discovered the River of Love, as we’ve named it,” Chrysalis said. “We promptly began harvesting it and storing it. We very nearly have enough to move on with our plan.”

“Your plan?” Twilight asked.

“Of course,” Chrysalis said, beginning to pace around. “After a bit of testing, we discovered that the artificial love created by the love poison can nourish a Changeling almost as well as true love.” She stopped in front of Big Macintosh, staring down at Luigi. The tired out plumber looked up at Chrysalis, and promptly scurried away. Smirking as Luigi hurried off, she returned her attention to Big Macintosh. “Isn’t that right, dear?”

Big Macintosh grinned up at Chrysalis deliriously. “I love you, my little monkey-wunky-puddin’ pie…”

“Yes, of course you do,” Chrysalis said. As she turned back to the heroes, a thin, green whispy trail came out from Big Macintosh’s chest and was drawn in to Chrysalis’s horn.

It was all Applejack could do to stop herself from jumping up on stage. “You slipped Big Macintosh some o’that love posion junk?!” she shouted, enraged.

“He was trespassing, much like you all are now,” Chrysalis said. “At least now he’s making himself useful to our cause.”

“Anyway, as your brother has so kindly demonstrated for us,” Chrysalis continued. “Love poison works just as well as the real thing. And, it has the pleasant by-product of allowing us to cloud a pony’s mind enough to easily disguise ourselves as them without causing suspicion. All we have to do now is spread the love poison among the citizens of Ponyville, and we’ll be able to feed and feed until we have enough power to move on to the next city, and so on until we take over all of Equestria!”

”So that’s your plan,” Twilight said. “Why are you telling us this so readily?”

“I thought it’d be obvious,” Chrysalis laughed. “You all are going to bring the poison into Ponyville for us!”

“Ha! As if we’d do that!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Perhaps I misspoke,” Chrysalis said. She turned to the crowd of Changelings. “You six, come here!” Six Changelings separated themselves from the crowd, and came up onto the stage. “Now then, as I was saying, you’ll bringing it into Ponyville for us… at least, that’s what it will look like.” On cue, the six Changelings took the forms of Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. “Now then, I fear I haven’t been a good host, so while they deliver the poison for you, you’re all free to stay and relax here. Perhaps you all would care for a drink?”

The crowd turned to face the eight heroes, and several came out, a few carrying stone cups filled with some sort of pink liquid; the love poison. The heroes fought their way out of their would-be captor’s arms, and rushed the stage, leaping up to face the Queen on more even footing.

“You ain’t gonna poison mah town, missy!” Applejack said. “An’ I sure as shoot ain’t gonna let you get away with poisonin’ mah brother!” The six ponies lined up behind Mario and Luigi, who struck battle ready poses.

“Well, if you aren’t going to help give me more power,” Chrysalis said, with her own six ponies lined up behind her, “Then I suppose there isn’t much use keeping you all here.” She stepped forward, her horn glowing green, and the trail between it and Big Macintosh intensifying.

“Go get ‘em, sugarlump!” Big Macintosh called out, in his love poison-addled stupor.

“Hey! Just whose side ‘re you on, Big Macintosh?” Applejack shouted.

Chrysalis merely chuckled. “Don’t worry, dearest, I won’t let you down!” she called mockingly. She then charged forward as Mario and Luigi leapt into battle.

Chapter 18

Author's Note: A quick shoutout to those of you that have come to this page via the TVTropes MLP Fanfic Recommendation page, which I've just discovered contains this story. Thanks guys, that means a lot to me! Next stop, EQD! Also, I noticed that the story made it onto the "The Fourth Wall Won't Protect You" page, and it seems like a great opportunity to go into that little bit in more detail. Though not here, look for my explanation in the comments section. Anyway, on with the show!

Mario and Luigi leapt forward to engage the Changeling Queen, but to their surprise, their six pony friends took position just behind them.

"We're not going to just sit back and watch you two do all the work this time around," Twilight said.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed. "If that giant bug thinks she's laying her hooves on Ponyville, she's got another thing coming!"

"How quaint," Chrysalis said. "You're saving me the trouble of having to deal with you afterward. I suppose I'll have to even this fight out, though." At that, the six changelings that disguised themselves as the ponies took position before their queen. Then, without warning, the copies of Applejack and Pinkie Pie charged at the brothers, though their efforts to ram them were wasted, with Mario nimbly leaping over "Applejack", and Luigi bouncing off of "Pinkie's" back.

As the Changelings retreated, Rainbow Dash came up behind Mario, and whispered in his ear. After a resounding "Oh yeah!" of approval, Rainbow Dash began flying rapidly around Mario, as he got out his hammer. The wind began to pick up around the red-clad hero, and he was eventually obscured by a tornado. Rainbow then stopped suddenly, and moved behind the miniature twister, which faded, leaving Mario hanging in the air, spinning rapidly with his hammer outstretched. With one last mighty flap of her wings, Dash blew a gust of air at the whirlwind of a plumber, sending him soaring toward Chrysalis, who barely had time to widen her eyes in fear before she received a flurry of hammer blows to the head. Mario finished his assault by kicking off of Chrysalis's head as he slowed down, somersaulting to his original position.

Luigi watched this maneuver with an awestruck expression, and turned to Fluttershy, jabbering excitedly.

"You want me to do that?" Fluttershy said. "Oh no... I couldn't... I'm nowhere near as fast as Rainbow... sorry..."

Luigi hung his head and sighed, turning back to face his opponents. What he didn't expect, though, was a whole squad of Koopa Troopas charging at him. As he ducked down and cowered, though, Fluttershy leapt between him and the five incoming Koopas, and unleashed a Stare that froze them all in there tracks. Luigi saw them standing stock still, and was suddenly inspired. He leapt forward and slammed the ground with his hammer, the resulting tremor launching the five Koopas into the air and startling them into their shells. As they arced toward Luigi, he smacked each shell at the changelings, the projectiles bouncing off the copycat's faces and back to wherever they had come from. Fluttershy gave her head a shake, and saw that the Koopas were gone. "Oh, um... glad I could help..." she said quietly, as she retreaded back behind Luigi with Rarity and Pinkie.

Chrysalis gave her head a shake, still slightly dazed from Mario's assault, and glared at the heroes. "Oh, so that's how you want to play, is it?" There was a flash of green light, and after it faded, in Chrysalis's place stood an exact copy of Mario, though with glowing green eyes and a wicked grin. "Fine. We'll-a play it your way."

Twilight's double moved behind Chrysalis-Mario, and her horn began to glow as the rest of the changelings scattered. The fake Mario grew to massive proportions, and gave a (relatively) short leap, causing a visible shockwave as she came crashing down, which came at the real Mario and Luigi. The brothers were able to avoid it by simply leaping over it, however, causing Chrysalis to glare as she returned to normal.

The battle raged on, with Chrysalis copying more of the team's tactics, before Chrysalis abruptly gave a short laugh, her changeling support whittled down to four.

"It seems that you're a lot hardier than I anticipated," Chrysalis said. "Would you dare attack your own friends, though, I wonder?"

Pinkie gave a giggle. "That's silly, they know that's not really us over there, we're all over here!"

Chrysalis grinned. "Is that right?" Suddenly, Chrysalis's horn flashed, and Pinkie's eyes glazed over, the pink pony staggering a bit.

"Pinkie?" Twilight said, worried, as the seven of them looked to Pinkie, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Be a good girl, now, and come protect your queen," Chrysalis said, smirking.

"Okie... dokie... lokie..." Pinkie said, as she bounced wearily over, her friends to flabbergasted at what was happening to stop her. The four remaining changelings all changed to look like Pinkie, and crowded around her. When they separated, it was impossible to tell which was the true party pony.

"Wh-what the..." Applejack stammered.

"How dare you!" Rarity shouted. "You let Pinkie go this instant!"

"As much as I hate to say it," Twilight said to Mario and Luigi, "you may have to hit Pinkie to snap her out of Chrysalis's mind control. Just wait, maybe she'll do something to expose herself as the real one."

"Enough talk," Chrysalis said. "Now, charge!"

At Chrysalis's command, the five Pinkies all rushed forward, forcing Mario and Luigi to jump or be trampled. However, the middle Pinkie's eyes flashed green momentarily, and she tripped, failing to reach the brothers. She quickly righted herself, and returned to her position, the other four following suit.

Acting on a hunch, Mario leapt forward, jumping on the center Pinkie's head. Sure enough, Pinkie's eyes re-focused, and she scurried back behind Luigi.

Chrysalis attempted this gambit a few more times as the battle continued, but Mario and Luigi quickly rooted out the real pony each time, especially as the number of changelings fell. Finally, only the Queen stood before them.

Out of desperation, Chrysalis loosed a few bolts from her horn at the brothers, but they were easily avoided. Eventually, Mario and Luigi triumphed over the Changeling Queen.

"Enough! Enough! I surrender!" Chrysalis cried. "Just take him and go! I grant you all safe passage from our hive, just leave me be!" As the changeling queen pleaded, her horn flashed green, and Big Macintosh's eyes re-focused, before rolling upward and closing as he passed out.

Chapter 19

After a long hike out of the caves and through the thick orchard-turned-forest, the heroes eventually found themselves back at the farm. Granny Smith rushed over to welcome them back as quickly as she could, and followed as Mario and Luigi helped Applejack bring the still comatose Big Macintosh into the farmhouse. They brought him upstairs and helped him into his bed, while the group explained just what had happened to him.
“Durn bugs,” Granny Smith said. “I’d love t’go in there an’ give ‘em what fer, I tell you what, but these ol’ bones jus’ ain’t what they used t’be.” She grinned. “’Sides, from what you kids’ve told me, you already taught ‘em a lesson they won’t be fergettin’ anytime soon!”
“Those varmints shouldn’t be givin’ us any more trouble,” Applejack said. “But until we give that Discord ‘n’ Bowser a whoopin’, I don’t think Sweet Apple Acres is gonna return to normal anytime soon…”
“Shoot, I ain’t too worried ‘bout that, deary,” Granny Smith said. She went over to the bed and looked at Big Mac. “I’m just worried ‘bout yer brother right now…”
“He’s been like this for a while…” Twilight said. “Ever since we left the hive. He still hasn’t properly recovered from the love poisoning; we’ve still got another fifteen minutes or so to go.
“It’s a good thing he’s unconscious,” Applejack said, joining them “Or he’d be tearing this place apart to try and get back to Chrysalis.”
“I’ll be sure t’keep an eye on ‘im,” Granny Smith said. “In the meantime, though, I might as well tell you kids what I’ve been up to while y’all were gone.” Granny Smith turned and headed downstairs. “Meet me down in the cellar, an’ I’ll explain everythin’”

A few minutes later, the group was crowded in the cool, dark cellar, with Granny Smith before them. “Now when y’all went trompin’ in after Big Mac, I couldn’t help but think that there had t’be somethin’ I could do to help y’all. That’s when I noticed somethin’ funny growin’ on one o’ the trees by th’edge o’ the forest. So, I give th’tree a good swift kick, an’ wouldn’cha know it, a Zap Apple came tumblin’ down!”
“A Zap Apple?” Applejack said. “But that’s impossible, it ain’t Zap Apple Season yet!”
“That’s what I thought too,” Granny Smith replied. “But, with all the kooky business been goin’ on recently, I decided not t’question it. I took it inside, not sure what t’do with it, seein’ as I hadn’t made any preparations fer th’Jam, and then I remembered a little recipe one o’ yer great uncles came up with one year. Called it Zap Apple Syrup!”
At that, Granny Smith produced a small bottle filled with a translucent, rainbow colored liquid. Everyone examined it closely. “Now, it ain’t much fer taste, seein’ as how there ain’t much o’ the hard work that goes inta th’jam, but it’ll cure what ails ya in a jiffy, and leave you feelin’ strong as anythin’!”
Granny passed the bottle onto Mario, who stored it away with their other supplies.
“Thanks, Granny Smith!” Twilight said. “I’m sure it’ll be a big help!”
“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful,” Rainbow Dash piped up. “But couldn’t you have made more than one bottle?”
“Well, t’be honest witcha, no…” Granny Smith replied. “Ain’t much y’can do with jus’ one apple. O’ course, I got a feelin’ that ain’t the only out-o’-season Zap Apple out there. If’n y’all happen t’spot one, y’all should bring it back t’me, an’ I can make y’all s’more syrup!”
“Sounds like a plan, Granny!” Applejack replied.
The group walked up out of the cellar, and said their goodbyes to Granny Smith. “Make sure y’tell Big Mac we said hi, okay?” Applejack said. With that, they all moved to their group huddle to discuss their course of action.
“So what now?” Rainbow said.
“Well, I think we’ve done about as much as we can around here,” Twilight said. “Our best bet now is to head to Mareshroom Beach. Once we’re there, we can see about getting to the Mushroom Kingdom, and to Bowser’s Castle.” Mario gave a nod of agreement, and they all turned to press onward.
However, just as they exited the gate to Sweet Apple Acres, Spike came running to them, looking frantic. He stopped in front of them, out of breath.
“Spike?” Twilight said, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“You gotta come quick!” Spike said. “There’s an emergency at the library! Come on!”
Not wasting a minute, Twilight scooped Spike onto her back, and they all rushed back to Ponyville.

The heroes all burst into the library, and Twilight nearly fainted at the sight that beheld her.
Torn apart books and pages littered every inch of the library floor. Virtually none of the books survived the damage, empty covers strewn about all over the place among the massacred novels and encyclopedias. Notably, several were covered in saliva, and broken eggshells were littered all over the place.
“About an hour or so after you guys left, that dinosaur thing suddenly wigged out and started tearing the whole library apart!” Spike said, looking around nervously. “I managed to lock the door to the basement so he didn’t mess up the machines downstairs, but he was still in here last when I ran to get you guys.” He continued to glance around, shaking. “I think he’s hiding somewhere.”
Everyone was flabbergasted, sure, but probably the only one who came anywhere close to being as distraught as Twilight was Fluttershy.
“Oh no, oh no oh no oh dear!” She said. “This isn’t right at all! Yoshis aren’t anywhere near this violent!”
“Tell that to the one that did this!” Spike said.
Twilight eventually came to her senses, and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. “Okay, okay, let’s just relax. Now, let’s spread out, we need to find that Yoshi and figure out exactly what happened.” Everyone nodded, and the nine of them spread out among the library, searching high and low to find him.
After a good few minutes of searching, Luigi called out to the others. They all rushed over, and Luigi pointed into the cupboard he had been looking in. Sure enough, the Yoshi sat hunched over in the cupboard, facing away from them. Fluttershy slowly pushed past her friends, speaking softly to the creature.
“Hey there little guy…” Fluttershy said. “It’s okay, nobody’s going to hurt you…”
Suddenly, the Yoshi sharply turned to look at them, causing them all to stumble back in shock. Shock caused by the fact that the typical cheerful, big-nosed face had been replaced by a long, bearded, goat-like grin.
“I’d be more concerned about you being hurt if I were you.”
With a flash, Discord disappeared from the cupboard and into the center of the room, back in his normal lanky form. Mario and Luigi immediately took battle-ready positions, the ponies taking position just behind the brothers.
“Discord!” Twilight shouted. “What are you up to now?!”
“My, my, Sparkle, such a temper on you,” Discord said cheerfully. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you and your friends weren’t happy to see me!”
“Can it!” Rainbow Dash said. “If you’re not here to give yourself up and return the princesses, then get ready to get stomped!”
“Give myself up? Oh, now what would be the fun in that?” Discord said. “I just thought you might like to help me with a bit of babysitting!”
“What on earth are you talking about?” Twilight demanded.
“Well, you see, Bowser’s feeling a little… down and out at the moment,” Discord grinned a bit before continuing, “So, the task of looking after his boy has been delegated to yours truly. Of course, I’ve got a few things I need to take care of,” Discord snapped his fingers, and suddenly, the Elements of Harmony were floating above him. They all gasped, and the draconequus continued. “So, I was wondering if you could watch him for a little while.”
With another snap of his fingers, there was a bright flash of light, and another figure appeared in the library. The little terror looked a lot like Bowser in miniature, sporting a spiked shell, red hair, and steely black bands on his wrists. One difference, however, was a bandana-like bib around his neck, with what seemed to be a set of snarling fangs drawn on with crayon.
Another key difference was the fact that he seemed to be slightly grayed out, and looked livid.
“Alright then, I’ll leave him with you all. Bed by seven, no sweets before dinner, yada yada yada, so long everyone!” With a flash, Discord was gone, leaving the heroes with the little Koopa Prince. Bowser Jr. gave an angry screeching roar, and charged at Mario and Luigi.

Chapter 20

The battle in the library was soon underway, as Bowser Jr. quickly tucked into his shell and bolted at Mario. He was easily batted away with the plumber’s hammer, though he pulled an abrupt u-turn as he was sent spinning away and targeted the other brother instead. Luigi was caught off-guard, and the kiddy Koopa prince bowled him over, before he returned to his position across the room. Moving quickly, Mario called over Twilight, and the purple pony magically made him grow, whereupon he leapt up and unleashed a massive tremor which knocked Junior off his feet. By the same token, Luigi called over Rarity, who tore a collection of gems out from the ground, providing a staircase for him to ascend and leap off the top, sending a bolt of lightning crashing down upon the brat below.

As Luigi returned to his position at Mario’s side (after bouncing off of Junior’s skull), the little prince was sent into a tantrum. “No fair!” he whined as he stomped around on the ground. “How come you jerks get horses and I don’t?!” He growled, and shouted at the brothers. “Give ‘em, they’re mine!” Before they could stop him, Junior charged right past them, and roughly seized Rarity, wrestling and dragging her over as she struggled against him.

“Unhand be you ruffian!” She shouted out, kicking out and biting at him. Unfortunately, his scaly hide proved difficult to bite through and inflict pain.

“Do that thing with the gems, now!” Junior commanded, tugging on her tail. With a yelp, Rarity’s horn involuntarily lit up, five or six red and green gems being ripped up from the ground. With another tug, the gems were sent hurtling at Mario and Luigi one by one, though they managed to smack them away with their hammers. The gems smacked Junior instead, causing him to lose his grip on Rarity, letting her run back to the group.

Mario and Luigi both made their counterattacks, and Junior was livid again, a deep red glow building in his mouth. He spat a pair of fireballs at Mario and Luigi, and they nimbly avoided them with a jump each. Not through with his assault, he ran past and seized Twilight this time, dragging her back as she kicked and protested. He tugged roughly on her tail, and her horn sparked red, sending a bolt of magic at Mario, which he was struck by. Another tug and she sparked green this time, a bolt hurtling at Luigi a split second later, though he managed to leap over it just in time. Twilight managed to teleport out of his grip a moment later, going back to the brothers and her friends.

Eventually, after many traded blows, Junior was beaten into submission, the group panting a bit as they collected themselves.

“What do we do now?” Rainbow Dash said. “That jerk stole the elements, there’s no way we can fight him now!”

“We’ll just have to come up with another plan,” Twilight said, pacing about, looking rather frazzled. “Come on, think, Twilight, think! The princesses are counting on you!” She whined and paced a bit more as she worried herself, as everyone watched, before Mario went over and stopped her, pulling her into a comforting hug. He said a few comforting words, and Twilight sighed. “I guess you’re right,” Twilight said. “I’m not doing myself any favors getting wound up like this.” She took a deep breath and sighed again. “We just need to calmly step back and-“

Twilight was cut off as the ground began to violently shake, sending everyone tumbling about everywhere. “Earthquake!” Twilight shouted. “Everyone brace yourselves, quick!”

Everyone quickly braced themselves as instructed, but just as suddenly as it started, the earthquake stopped with a violent crashing thud. Everyone exchanged uneasy looks, before Applejack chimed in.

“How much y’all wanna bet Discord had somethin’ to do with this?” After a moment, they decided to exit the library and inspect the damage themselves. Upon exiting the library, however, a terrible and confusing sight beheld the eight heroes.
Ponyville was no longer decorated with the thick forest backdrop that the Everfree Forest provided. Instead, surrounding the town were five entirely different locales of clashing climate. A few were familiar to the ponies; the swampy terrain of Froggy Bottom Bogg, the flat desert plane that led to Appleoosa, and the wooded trail leading through White Tail Woods. However, two others, a lush tropical jungle and a tall, snow-covered mountain, were completely foreign to the ponies. Mario and Luigi, however, were quick to recognize them, and quickly informed the others.

“Cool, Cool Mountain? Yoshi’s Island?” Twilight said. She promptly took out an atlas of the Mushroom Kingdom, acting on a hunch. Sure enough, the two locales showed up on the kingdom map, and Twilight gulped a bit.

“Everyone, I think I know what’s happened…” Twilight said. “Discord’s completely mashed Equestria and the Mushroom Kingdom together!”

As everyone looked about, still in shock at the sight that beheld them, a note floated down in their midst. Twilight was quick to scoop it up, and everyone gathered together as she read aloud.

“Dear pesky ponies,” Twilight read. “Do you like what I’ve done with the place? I figured it would be so much more convenient to rule if the kingdoms were a lot closer together. It’s a bit slap-shod right now, sure, but I’ll be sure to smooth it out once I deal with you all.

“Now, I’m sure you’re wondering what’s happened to your little toys, the Elements of Harmony. While I could just keep them here with me, I can’t have you all pounding on my door to get them. So, I figured it’d be a lot more fun to watch you scurry around my new kingdom looking for them. As for what’s where, I thought it’d be fun to put it in the form of a little riddle. So, here it is:

“Past the deep jungle where the dinosaurs roam,
The cross-kingdom junction’s where Kindness calls home.
The wild west to your east holds a familiar face,
And Honestly, the place after is a scary fun place.
Climb, climb, climb the slippery hill,
But if you don’t have wings at the peak, you’re in for a Generous spill.
The thick, dreary marsh may spook you to your core,
But Loyalty lies after, amid an explosive war.
The autumn leaves fall so beautiful and slow,
But if you want a good Laugh, the busy city after is where you want to go.
These twists and turns aren’t quite my master plan,
But if you want your Magic, head back where you began.”

Twilight lowered the note, and looked among everyone, who in turn looked amongst each other.

Pinkie grimaced a bit. “That wasn’t a very good riddle, was it?” She said. “I mean, he pretty much just said where we need to go.”

Twilight nodded. “I’m a bit thankful for that, Pinkie. The question is, where do we go first?”

Everyone looked around at the five paths before them, trying to decide where they should head off to first.

Atuhor's Nose: Story progression will now be turned over to you, the reader! Simply vote in the comments below for which area you think the group should head to first!

Hi There Everypony!

Hello? Is this thing on?

Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! Of course, I bet a lot of you already knew that, seeing as this whole site is made for stories about me and my friends. How cool is that? I mean, it’s really super neat that you guys would want to write about me and my friends! Thanks!

Anyway, I’m just coming here to explain what happened! That meanie Discord pulled his tricks on EverSoNitro, so now he doesn’t want to write the story anymore! That means that me and my friends can’t go to stop him, so that means he can do whatever he wants now! It’s a really sneaky trick, I know, but don’t worry! I’m gonna get Twilight out here, so she can talk to EverSoNitro and try to bring him to his senses! Hold on though, it might take a little while!

Oh, and ESN, if you’re reading this, sorry about breaking into your account, but I just had to let everyone know what’s happening, because they might get super-duper worried! They really like this story, no matter what that meanie told you! Don’t worry, we’re going to help you out!

Hug and Kisses!
Pinkie Pie

Chapter 4

“What are you doing here in Canterlot?” Twilight asked the traveling magician.

“Well, if you must know,” Trixie said with her usual air of superiority, “after you cruelly and unjustly humiliated Trixie in Ponyville-“

“Cruely and-“ Applejack repeated,. “Twilight was jus’ tryin’ t’protect her town Ursa Minor, she weren’t tryin’ t’show you up at all!”

“The Great and Powerfult Trixie had the situation completely under control!” Trixie shouted. “If Sparkle hadn’t butted in, she would have easily dealt with it. Anyway, after that fateful evening, Trixie began roaming Equestria, trying to rebuild her hard-earned reputation. During her travels, Trixie learned that the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom was to come to Equestria. So, Trixie came to Canterlot to meet her, and astound her with Trixie’s fantastic feats of magic. If she did that, then it would be simple for her to rise to superstardom in that kingdom instead, and she could leave all you foals behind to become the greatest celebrity the Mushroom Kingdom has ever seen!”

“Well, sorry to burst your bubble, Trixie,” Rainbow Dash said, though with an air that suggested that she wasn’t sorry in the slightest. “But you happen to be looking at the biggest superstars in the Mushroom Kingdom!” At this, Mario and Luigi both struck impressive looking poses, their moustaches gleaming in the sunlight.

Trixie merely scoffed. “Those blue-collar slobs? You have got to be joking.”

“It’s true!” Twilight said. She retrieved the book she had gotten from Mareshroom Beach, and opened it to the entry on Mario and Luigi (the latter merely being a foot-note). She levitated it in front of Trixie, and the boastful showpony began to read.

“…most prolific residents… saved the kingdom from peril… hmm…” Trixie seemed to be considering something as Twilight took the book back.

“See? Now if you could please let us get going, we’re in the middle of-“ Trixie started, but Trixie cut her off.

“Just a moment, Trixie isn’t through with you yet.” At this, the horn under her hat began to glow, and the city gates suddenly slammed shut. As Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy rushed over to try and force it open, Trixie continued.

“If you two are really as great as that book claims, then surely someone greater would sail to stardom overnight,” Trixie said, addressing the Mario brothers directly.

“Trixie, what are you getting at?” Twilight said warily.

“Mario and Luigi, superstars of the Mushroom Kingdom!” Trixie said, ignoring Twilight. “Your fifteen minutes of fame has met its end! Prepare to witness the brightest star any kingdom has ever seen! Prepare to face… The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Mario and Luigi struck battle-ready poses, and the fight was afoot. Trixie immediately started things off by letting off a burst of magical fireworks. A pair of red and green ones headed for Mario and Luigi, but they were easily avoided with a pair of well-timed jumps. However, a third, grey coloured one sailed directly upward, just as a grey pegasus was passing overhead. She was startled as the explosive whizzed past her, causing her to drop a satchel she had been carrying. Not noticing the lost cargo, she continued onward.

The satchel fell at the brothers’ feet, and a pair of large mallets spilled out. They quickly scooped them up, and proceeded with the battle. Mario leapt forward and bounced off of Trixie, his brother promptly following suit.

As Luigi retreated back beside Mario, Trixie vanished with a green flash. As Mario raised his new hammer, Luigi simply stood there, frantically searching for the pony. Suddenly, Trixie appeared in front of him, spinning around and bucking the taller brother in the gut. She disappeared quickly, and appeared in front of Mario, though he was ready for her, knocking her away with the mallet. Scowling, she vanished and returned to her initial position.

The three traded blows for a while, until Trixie was finally incapacitated. She lay sprawled on the cobblestone street, eyes spinning. The gate swung open as she shakily got to her feet.

“Trixie… was merely holding back…” she panted. “She wanted to leave you in one piece… so she could… uh… ask what you and Sparkle were up to!”

Despite Trixie’s obvious excuse making, Twilight answered. “Princess Celestia, Luna, and Peach were kidnapped, and we’re on our way to the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue them. So, if you’re done wasting our time-“

“Kidnapped?” Trixie asked. She seemed genuinely concerned for a moment, and then a sly grin spread across her face. “If Trixie were to rescue them… then she would be praised as a hero in Equestria AND the Mushroom Kingdom… Everyone would know her name… “The Great and Powerful Trixie, Saviour of Equestria, Champion of the Mushroom Kingdom”!”

Trixie snapped out of her vocalised train of thought, and looked to the eight heroes. “Well, this has been fun, but Trixie must be off. She has princesses to save and kingdoms to adore her. Farewell!” Suddenly, she seemingly disappeared in a puff of smoke, though she was plainly seen dashing through the open city gate and down the mountain path leading to the Everfree Forest.

Everyone watched her run off, before Rarity spoke up. “Why do I get the feeling she’s going to be more of a hindrance than help?”

“Nevermind her,” Twilight said. “She’s cost us enough time here as it is. This mountain path should take us to the Everfree Forest, and through there we can get to Ponyville. We’ll figure out what to do from there.” Twilight walked through the gate, and everyone followed, their quest picking up once again.