Prologue: A Rogue's Welcome - PT.1
Ahem! Today... I'm going to tell you the story of the Thousand-year Door.
An awfully long time ago... In a strange far off land, a big, bustling town thrived.
It was a town where all people lived very happy lives. And it was said that the town was very prosperous.
But one day... Tragedy befell this blessed place. A great cataclysm struck the town and it's people.
Darkness filled the skies, and the earth roared and shook. It was as if the very world had come to a violent end.
And in but a single night...
The town sank into the depths of the earth...
Many moons rose and set... Stories of the town passed into the pages of fairy tales...
And when the towns site no longer had relics of it's past... People and creatures of all manner gathered at that spot to build a new town.
But word soon spread among the people who moved in... That an ancient city lay deep underground... And that a magnificent treasure rested there.
Indeed...
This is the tale of the fabled treasure of Rogueport.
Yes, this is where it begins, in the sea town of Rougepourt.
The tale of the quest for the legendary treasure... Including the Thousand-Year Door... Starts here, with two princesses....
"Now now princess, you must remember that were only stopping to refuel! I highly suggest not going deeper into town!" Toadsworth said with slight exasperation, earning a small groan from said princess.
"Don't worry Toadsworth, I'm only going to go to the town square, I just want to have a quick look!" Responded the princess.
The two individuals currently bickering were named Princess Toadstool, also known as Peach, and her steward and assistant, Toadsworth.
Princess peach was a human female who ruled over the Mushroom Kingdom, a vast place that was mostly inhabited by toads, a peaceful race of small people with mushroom like attributes, mainly their large head.
She had blonde hair, wore a pink dress, alongside pink heels and white gloves.
And of course, a crown. You can't be a princess without one after all!
Toadsworth was her assistant, serving dutifully ever since the woman became a monarch.
He was one of the many toads of the mushroom kingdom, but was much older than the princess, and whore a purple button up shirt, alongside a purple vest and a red tie.
He also had a pair of glasses, a cane, and had a white mustache.
"But what if something happens to you!? Nobody knows you are here, so-" Toadsworth began to say, before getting cut off by peach.
"Exactly, nobody knows I'm here, not even Bowser! You don't need to worry about him"
"I'm not just referring to Bowser princess, were in rougepourt! All sorts of hoodlums and troublemakers reside here, and master Mario isn't here to protect you!" Toadsworth said as he crossed his arms.
"I'll be fine toadsworth, I can fend off a pickpocket" Peach began to say as she started making her way into the town.
"I'll be back before you know it!" She said as she hurried off, not giving her assistant another chance to stop her.
"That girl..." Toadsworth said with a sigh as he held his head.
"Finally! I have a minute without Toadsworth watching over me! He's so paranoid!" Peach said out loud as she entered the town square.
"I came all the way here on holiday... Only to be stuck with Toadsworth! It's so stifling!" She continued.
"Once in a while, i'd like the chance to look around on my own and see what I want" She finished, before a sudden female voice spoke to her.
"Is your assistant overprotective too?" It said.
Peach turned towards the direction the voice spoke from, and came face to face to a white unicorn.
It was around peach's height, with a pink mane and tail.
"Oh! Heh, yeah, something like that" She said, still a bit surprised by the fact a unicorn was speaking to her.
She had never seen something like that, but had heard that Rougepourt, and a few other places had a mix of all types of races, including intelligent equines.
Infact, according to Toadsworth, the equines had a kingdom of their own!
"Apologies if I startled you" The unicorn said.
"Oh, it's no problem" Peach started to say.
"My name is princess Peach, nice to meet you!" She said with a smile as she offered the unicorn her hand.
The unicorn reciprocated the smile and shook peach's hand with her hoof.
"Nice to meet you as well, my name is princess Celestia" She said, earning a small gasp from the human.
"Your a princess too?"
"Yes, and in fact, I'm here much like yourself, on vacation" Celestia started to say.
"Im currently wearing a disguise, since my companions were adamant I wear one, but I see that it was infact not necessary, if you are any example" She finished with a chuckle.
"A disguise? Are you staying here for a while?"
"No, are you?"
"I'm not either, my boat just stopped here to refuel, and well, I was curious about this place" Peach started to say as both royals looked around the square.
"But, now that I'm here, all I see is that this town has a very, um... Distinct flavor..." She finished as both of their sites stopped at a gallow placed directly on the middle of the square.
Both princesses shuddered at what that gallow has possibly been used for.
"Oh ladies... Ladies..." A new voice said, making both females turn towards the direction the voice came from.
It was a robed figure, who had a rug with various items in front of him.
Both princesses quickly looked at each other before approaching the odd stand.
"Won't any of you buy something? I have a wide assortment of knickknacks and doodads, but this is a special favorite" The robed individual said as he presented a small chest to the two girls.
"Well, that's a pretty box! What's inside it?" Peach asked.
"This box holds a map that shows where to find treasure... But the box has a magic lock on it that will only open for a pure and noble heart" The figure began to say.
"As you can see... It won't so much as budge if one such as me touches it..." The figure continued, emphasizing his point by trying to open the box, failing to do so.
"Ooooh..."
Celestia arched an eyebrow, wondering where this was going.
"If the box will open for either of you, ladies, then you may have whatever is inside, free of charge"
"Mmmwee hee hee hee... Go on. Hold it..." The figure quietly said, as he handed peach the box.
"I suppose I could try opening it... Right?" Peach asked, mainly herself but also Celestia.
"Why not?" Celestia said.
Peach went to open the box, but Instead of finding it locked, she was surprised to see that it opened effortlessly.
The box opened, releasing a bright beam of light and a powerful gust of wind.
The figure began giggling to himself, with the two princesses standing in astonishment as the box continued to glow brightly.
In the Mushroom Kingdom, at the outskirts of toad town, was the Mario residence.
Who lived here? Well.. the Mario brothers.
They were known wide and far throughout the kingdom as the saviors of it, defeating the evil king Bowser every time he wrecked havoc or kidnapped the princess.
It was an early morning when a paratroopa mail carrier left a letter at the brothers mailbox, shouting "Mail call!" Before promptly taking off again.
The front door to the house opened, revealing the younger of the two brothers, Luigi.
He was a human male, who had brown hair, a moustache, wore a pair of blue overalls and a green shirt.
His attire also included brown boots, white gloves, and a green cap with the letter L in the front of it.
He walked over to the mailbox and opened it, taking the pink enveloped letter out, and walking back into the house.
"Hey, bro! Check it out! A letter from Princess Peach arrived for you!" He shouted, as he and his brother made their way to the dining area.
His brother was the oldest of the two, but was shorter than Luigi.
He also had brown hair, alongside a moustache of his own.
He also wore blue overalls, brown boots and white gloves, but instead of green, he wore a red shirt underneath, with a red cap that had the letter M on it.
It was Mario!
"I'll just read it to you, how's that sound?" Luigi said as he opened up the letter.
"Ahem! Now let's see here..."
Hello there, Mario! I am now on holiday, traveling in the Mushroom Kingdom, specifically places I haven't really seen myself.
Even though I haven't even arrived at my final destination, I have seen some very interesting things!
Did you know that there is a far off kingdom populated by intelligent equines? Well there is! I met their princess here in Rougepourt! She's very lovely.
On another note, i came into possession of a mystical map... A treasure map, actually.
It was inside a box I got from an old merchant here in Rougepourt. But since it would be too difficult for me to try to go find treasure all by myself...
I thought you could help me hunt for it! You will, of course, won't you? I've included the map with this letter, so please bring it with you when you come.
I'll meet you at Rougepourt. (That means you MUST come!)
-Peach.
P.S, The princess I mentioned earlier invited her personal student to come with us. You don't mind right? I'm sure they'll be plenty of treasure to share!
"And that's it, what'd you think of my peach impression bro? Getting better right?" Luigi asked, as he finished reading the letter.
Mario just rolled his eyes, ever since Luigi had to wear that dress, he's gotten impressively good at mimicking the princess.
"Hey! What do you know? It's true! There's a weathered old map in here with the letter" Luigi said as he took the map out.
"Check it out!" He said, handing Mario the map.
Mario took it, and upon examination found that it centered on the town of Rougepourt, alongside the neighboring towns and cities.
"So is it true? Does it lead to treasure?" Luigi asked.
Mario shrugged as he stashed the map into one of his pockets.
"Well, we should get ready no? From the looks of it Rougepourt is far from here, and I don't even know when the next boat leaves!" Luigi said as he rushed to their bedroom, looking for any items they would need for the trip.
Mario followed his brother, thinking about the letter the princess had sent him.
Elsewhere, in the magical land of Equestria, specifically, the town of Ponyville, was a very peculiar library.
It was a large hollowed out tree, with its lower level being filled to the brim with books.
But in the upper level, lived the librarian.
Her name was Twilight Sparkle, and she was a unicorn.
She had a lavender coat, alongside a dark blue mane and tail, that also had a pink highlight.
She was currently cleaning the library, alongside her assistant, Spike.
Spike was a small baby dragon, he was purple in color, with a green underside from his chin to his tail, and also had green scales on the top and side of his head.
The two have practically grown up together, ever since Twilight hatched spike during her entrance exam at Celestias school for gifted unicorns when she was a filly.
"Here spike, hold these for me" Twilight said as she handed a handful of books to spike with her magic.
"Ok- oof!" Spike exclaimed as he was handed more than a few books, and almost fell to the ground due to the weight.
"Once I move these around..." Twilight began to say as she moved several books from one row, to another.
Spike just stood there, patiently waiting for twilight to finish whatever she was doing.
Well, as patiently as he could.
"Are we almost done twi? We've been going at this for a few hours now, and I kind of had something to do today..."
"Don't worry spike, were just about finished" Twilight said as she turned around to grab the books that were on spikes hands.
Before spike violently burped out a scroll, dropping the books he was holding, and almost scorching twilight in the process.
"A letter from the princess? She hasn't sent one in a while, what do you think it could say?" Spike asked as he picked the scroll up.
"I'm not sure, go ahead and read it spike"
"Ok, let's see here..."
My most faithful student.
I apologize heavily for not sending a letter sooner, but I am currently on what you could refer to as a secret gateway.
Luna heavily suggested it, since I've apparently been "stressed" lately.
I was somewhat opposed to the idea, but now that I'm here, it's been surprisingly enjoyable!
I am currently in the town of Rougepourt, wich is in the Mushroom Kingdom.
This Kingdom is quite the spectacle, and I haven't even seen a quarter of it! According to a new friend I've made. but that's not the reason I've written this letter to you.
Including with this letter is a map i acquired from a very peculiar merchant, and from what I've been told, it could lead to treasure.
I've decided to search for it, and once it is found, I shall return to Equestria.
And I've decided to invite you! It has been quite some time since we've spoken in length together, this could be a good chance to catch up.
I'm currently waiting for you in Rougepourt, try not to take too long!
-Princess Celestia
"That's it, hey, what do you know? There is a map!" Spike said with growing excitement as he unrolled the map.
He didn't see the worried look on twilight's face.
"Whoa... The Mushroom Kingdom, this place looks crazy!" Spike continued to say as twilight began to lightly shake.
"I wonder what the treasure could be, hopefully this place has big gems! That'd be great" Spike finished as he patted his belly.
"Or maybe it's very powerful spells? What do you think it could be twilight?" He asked as he looked up from the map to the lavender unicorn.
"Uhh, twil-"
"SHES ALREADY WAITING FOR US!!??" Twilight screamed, almost blowing the map away from spikes hands.
"That means we're already late!" Twilight exclaimed as she began to frantically pack a saddle bag.
In a matter of moments, Twilight had shoved every essential she could into the saddle bag, picked up spike with her magic, and bolted out the front door.
"Excuse me... Gentlemen?" The voice of the captain spoke to the two slumbering plumbers.
...
"Gentlemen! Time to wake up!" The captain spoke again, clapping his hands all the while.
"Huh? Wha?" Luigi idly said as he groggily woke up.
"The town you two have been speaking of has come into view. Look! That's Rougepourt!"
"Oh, really? We're already here? Well that was fast huh bro?" Luigi asked as he got off from his seat, and admired the view from a window, as his brother opened his eyes, annoyed that he was awoken from his nap.
"Yes, you see? We'll arrive shortly. Please prepare to disembark" The Captain said, as the two brothers proceeded to prepare for the day.
"I must apologize gentlemen. Our arrival was delayed just a bit by rough weather..." The captain apologized, as the small ship the brothers were traveling in arrived at a dock.
Said brothers reassured the captain that there wasn't a problem, but the captain continued.
"Are you quite sure you want to disembark here?"
"Of course! We wouldn't have paid for the trip if we didn't want to" Luigi said as he adjusted a pack he had over his shoulders.
"I... Did tell you all the sordid takes about Rougepourt on our way here, did I not?"
Mario nodded his head.
"So... Why come here?" The captain asked.
"The princess is waiting for us!" Luigi answered enthusiastically
"What's that? I'm sorry? You're saying there's a princess waiting here for you?" The captain asked.
Both brothers nodded their head.
"Is that so? Er... Of course, gentlemen. Well, if that's what you think, then I won't stop you. But, uh... You two be careful, don't say i didn't warn you!" The captain said, bidding his farewell as the Mario Brothers stepped off the boat into the dock.
"Well, we've made it to Rougepourt! Did the princess say where exactly she would be waiting for us in her letter?" Luigi asked, receiving a head shake from Mario.
"Oh, well no use standing here and doing nothing right? We should look for her" Luigi began to say as he placed his hand on his chin.
"How about you ask some of the locals if they've seen her? I'll skip ahead to the nearest inn and ask there" Luigi proposed, to wich Mario agreed.
"Great! Guess I'll see you later bro!" Luigi exclaimed as he quickly went to the town square.
Mario went ahead and asked a nearby toad if he knew anything.
The toad had yellow spots on his head, and wore a heavily worn pair of yellow overalls.
"What you want, pal? Huh? A princess in a pink dress? I ain't seen nothing like that, no. I'd remember a princess, probably. Why you want this chick anyway, pal? Owe you money? Or is she yer girlfriend?" The toad answered.
Not being of any help, Mario left to speak to the next individual, this time, it was a pony.
It was a bit strange to Mario at first, but he remembered what peach had said in her letter, and the fact that he was a ways way away.. from home.
He was bound to see something new.
The pony in question was a stallion with a grey coat, and a black mane and tail.
"A princess? No, I haven't seen anything like that. Eh... Are you sure you aren't being swindled pal? Princesses don't usually hang out around these parts you know" The stallion answered.
Upon receiving another useless answer, Mario went ahead to ask the next individual.
But before he could...
"Hey! What do you want?! Get away from us, freaks!" A female voice shouted, catching the attention from everyone nearby.
Mario looked to see who had screamed that, and spotted three individuals.
One was a pink goomba, who had a blonde pony tail and wore a hard helmet with a light on the top of it.
The other was a lavender unicorn, and the last looked like a baby Yoshi.
But if Mario had to guess, it was some other type of reptile, maybe a dragon?
"Oh come off it! I know you two are nosy book nerds, so don't play dumb with me!" A new voice said.
Mario looked over, and noticed four other individuals.
The first, and the one who had spoken was a relatively large man.
He wore black boots, white gloves, had a black shirt with a white X over it, a red cape, a pair of goggles, and lastly, a purple hood, that covered his head and horns.
Mario was guessing that those horns were for dramatic effect.
There were two smaller men, similar to toads, minus the large head, who each wore white boots and gloves, a red shirt with a black X over it, a pair of goggles, and a white hood.
An the last figure, was another pony.
She was rather tall, had a dark purple coat, alongside a dark pinkish mane, which she had as a mohawk, and tail.
She was wearing a light suit of black armor along her body, wich was adorned with a white X on her flank.
But her most notable features, was the scar that ran across one of her eyes, and her broken horn.
"I've seen you walking around town asking for information about the Crystal Stars. Well, now I'm doing the asking, so how about you two be good little students and tell us what you know! Right. NOW! The man exclaimed, as the goomba and baby dragon stood behind the lavender unicorns legs.
"Please, we don't want any trouble-" The unicorn began to say, before the goomba shouted over her.
"Never! I don't have anything to say to you creeps! Eww!"
The man laughed, saying "I suppose it wouldn't be right if a pair of little dames like you met with an untimely demise..."
"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh!! Boys, and girl" The man started to say, as he received an eye roll from his partner.
"We're taking these firebrands to our fortress!"
The purple pony nodded her head, with one of the two smaller men saying "As you command, Lord Crump! We're on it!"
The four aggressors took a step forward, with the other three taking a step back.
"N-no! Stop right there, you weirdos! I'll scream! Really!" The pink gonna exclaimed, with a defiant look on her face.
"What do we do twilight?!" The baby dragon exclaimed, holding tightly onto one of the unicorns back legs.
"I don't know spike..." The unicorn replied, a worried look etched on her face.
It was days like these she wished she would've studied those combat spells.
All the while, Mario looked on, with the yellow toad from earlier saying "Another fight? I swear, you hardly get through a morning stretch before someone throws a punch in this town"
Mario shook his head, and walked over to the commotion, hoping to be able to diffuse it.
The first individual to notice Mario approach was the purple pony, but he didn't notice that.
The goomba, baby dragon, and unicorn noticed the plumber approach, and immediately hid behind him.
"Like I'd go anywhere with smelly losers like you! Hmph!" The pink goomba said in defiance.
"Yeah!" Spike said, trying to be brave.
Lord Crump was confused.
"Whuh?"
Then angry.
"What do you think YOU'RE doing, chump? You think you can screw up my plans?!"
Mario was flabbergasted! He wasn't even a part of this!
"Gah! It's always something..." Crump began to say, anger boiling inside of him.
"Looks like I'm going to have to give you a little taste of the old CRUMP-A-BOMB!!" Crump finished as he proceeded to rush Mario, much to the plumbers surprise.
The purple unicorn shook her head towards the bystander, feeling an ounce of sympathy.
Wrong place, wrong time.
Said sympathy vanished when the plumber dodged Crumps attack, and retaliated by jumping and stomping on his head.
Crump was only able to exclaim "Gah!" As Mario landed on the floor, pulled out a wooden hammer from his pocket, and swung at his chest.
The hammer connected, sending crump tumbling backwards.
Crump quickly recovered, standing back up and swinging his fist towards his head.
Mario crouched under the attack, then punched Lord Crump on his stomach, sending him back again.
"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh! Ok, you got a couple decent shots in, I'll give you that." Crump started to say as he dusted himself off.
"But... Unfortunately for you, that means..." Crump continued.
The purple pony was about to take care of this meddling outsider herself, taking a step forward towards him.
But before she could, Lord Crump shouted-
"ITS GO TIME!!"
At the top of his lungs.
The pony groaned, she hated when he did that.
Suddenly, around a hundred more soldiers showed up, seemingly out of nowhere, surrounding everyone.
"PUNISH HIM!!"
And just like that, every single soldier jumped Mario.
Lord crump laughed to himself, that'll teach him.
His partner however, wasn't exactly thrilled.
Of to the side, The goomba, unicorn and baby dragon effortlessly sneaked out of the soldier mass.
"Quick! This way!" The goomba yelled towards Mario.
"C'mon Mr Man!" Spike yelled.
Mario joined the group, genuinely surprised and wondering to himself as to how none of the soldiers were even able to graze him.
How was that even possible?
"Phew! What a bunch of bozos! Let's just sneak out of here, what do you say?" The goomba asked.
She received no objections from anyone there.
The group of four quickly made their way to the town square, as crump was still relishing in the beating Mario was taking from all of his men.
...
"Crump?" His partner asked.
"Buh? What is it tempest?"
"There gone"
"Buh- HUUUUUH?!" Crump exclaimed in confusion.
"STOPP!" He screamed in a panic, hoping that Tempest was lying.
All of the soldiers ceased their attack, and returned to the way they were, surrounding Mario and the others.
Except, there was nobody there anymore.
Tempest sighed, this happened every time.
"Where'd they go?! Huh? You! Johnson! Did you see them? Did anyone?" Crump asked.
Everybody just shrugged.
"Uh... Crud! They bolted!" Crump exclaimed.
Tempest slapped her forehead with her hoof.
Prologue: A Rouges Welcome - PT.2
The group made their way to the town square, and stopped Infront of a gallow.
"Wow, mister! You... Totally saved us! Thanks! The names Goombella. I'm a junior at the University of Goom. Nice to meet ya!" Goombella said with a smile.
"And I'm Spike! I gotta say, you were awesome back there! How you dodged his attack, then wham!" Spike enthusiastically said as he moved his arms around as if he was holding a large hammer.
The lavender unicorn giggled at her assistants antics as she walked over to Mario, offering her hoof to the man with a smile.
"Hello! Thank you for helping us back there, my name is Twilight Sparkle! And you are?" Twilight asked.
Mario shook it, as he stated his name to the group.
"Mario? Well.. Nice to meet you Mario!" Twilight said as Goombella spoke up.
"Wait, Mario? Like, that famous guy? Wow! I can't believe the chances of meeting you here!" She exclaimed.
"Famous?" Twilight and spike asked in unison.
"Yeah, he's pretty famous. Pretty sure he saves royalty from evil tyrants every other week" Goombella answered.
Twilight and spike looked at Mario, not quite believing that a simple looking man could accomplish such feats.
But... They did just see him easily fight off that weirdo crump guy...
Mario just nodded. He didn't want to seem rude, but he did have a princess to look for.
"Whoa..." Spike idly said in astonishment.
This Mario guy was sounding pretty cool!
"Anyway, no offense, but what are you doing in a town like this?" Goombella started to say.
"Cuz I don't know about you, but I HATE it here! There are freaks and weirdos EVERYWHERE! It's nasty!" She continued.
As the two conversed, Twilight and spike couldn't help but notice a scuffle happening nearby.
From the little that Twilight saw, it looked to be two different groups, one comprised of anthropomorphic birds, and the other of... Tree... People?
She wasn't quite sure.
There were two of each in this squabble, with one of the birds already down.
"Stay down bro!" Said the other bird, presumably his buddy.
"Da boss sends his greetin's!" said one of the tree people.
"Hope that road tasted good punk!" said the other, as the two left.
Twilight decided to not pay attention to the scuffle any longer.
She was basically left speechless. Never had she been in a town as violent as this one!
And all Spike had to say was "Geez... Those guys look like jerks"
Twilight really hope they wouldn't have to deal with that group...
"I mean, i know the place is called Rougepourt, so I guess I should have expected it, but sheesh!" Goombella continued, bringing Twilight and Spike back to the current conversation.
"I'd never even had come here it it weren't for the legendary treasure that's hidden here" Goombella finished, As Mario, Twilight, and spike all looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Wait, treasure? We're looking for treasure too!" Spike said.
"Well, were actually looking for my mentor, so we can accompany her to find treasure" Twilight said, correcting her assistant.
Mario thought that this was a very interesting coincidence.
Was this Twilight Sparkle the student the princess mentioned in peach's letter?
"And what about you Mario? Are you also looking for the legendary treasure?" Goombella asked.
Mario nodded.
"Seriously?"
Another nod, and this time he decided to show them his map.
He took it out, presenting it to the other three.
They all gawked at the map, with Goombella saying "Whoa bucko! Is... Is that a map?! Omigosh! You HAVE to tell me where you got that!"
Spike pointed at the map, exclaiming "Hey! That looks just like our map!"
"You're right spike!" Twilight said, about to ask the plumber if they could compare their maps, to see if they were infact the same, before a new voice spoke up, interrupting her.
"Great hoogly-boogly! If it isn't Master Mario!" The voice said, coming into view to be Toadsworth.
"Bit if a coincidence to bump into one another in this sort of place, hm? Ho ho!" Toadsworth started to say, as he gestured to the three individuals with Mario.
"And who might these folks be? New friends of your's?" He asked, receiving a head nod from the plumber and waves from said folks.
"Hm, quite interesting... So! Tell me, Master Mario, what in the world brings you to this wretched little burg?
Mario responded, to Toadsworth surprise.
"Hmm?! Ah, Indeed?! Princess Peach sent you a letter and a treasure map? And she told you that she would meet you here in Rougepourt?! Intriguing..."
Mario decided to ask Toadsworth the question of the day.
"Hm? You're asking me where the princess is? Erm... I was about to ask you that"
It was worth a shot.
"We stopped in this town to acquire a spot of fuel for our ship, don't you know... And well, I only took my eye off her for a moment, but as soon as I did, she vanished!" Toadsworth said, receiving gasps from all four individuals.
"You know how headstrong she is Mario, infact, from what I saw, she had already made a friend during our short time here! I just assumed she wouldn't take too long and would return momentarily... But at this point, I fear we must embrace the possibility that she may never return." Toadsworth stated somberly, bringing the mood of the group down.
"But I'm feeling better now that your here, Master Mario. Surely we'll find her! Surely! But I know my place, Master Mario... And this is not it. I leave this task to you and your new compatriots" Toadsworth said, as he started making his way to the nearby inn.
"Well, i believe I'll recline at the inn right over here and enjoy a spot of tea, perhaps. I bid you farewell!" Toadsworth finished as he left the group.
"Huff! I say..."
"Huff! I say...
"Wait, your also going to meet a princess here?" Spike asked Mario as Goombella spoke up.
"Did that guy mean Peach as in, like, the Mushroom Kingdom princess?! The one you rescue?" She asked.
Mario nodded to both questions.
"This is wild! Your telling me the PRINCESS sent you that map?" Goombella asked, as Twilight joined the conversation.
"I know this could be just a coincidence, but..." Twilight began to say, before Spike finished the sentence for her.
"A princess also sent us a map and invited us to join her in a treasure hunt"
"Really? No kidding" Goombella said with surprise.
"Yeah, but we haven't been able to find her!" Spike continued.
Mario placed his hand on his chin, going into thought about the entire situation.
Two missing princesses... Maybe that Crump fellow has something to do with it?
It can't be Bowser, he only has the hots for peach.
"You think maybe they got sick of waiting and went to find the treasure themselves?" Goombella asked.
"Maybe, I mean our boat was delayed a bit" Spike answered.
Twilight sighed. She was late! And the princess got tired of waiting for her!
"Well, since it seems like we're all coincidentally looking for the same thing, why don't we go together? One of my professors is here researching that treasure, we can show him the maps! If we start looking for the treasure now, then maybe we can find some clues about the missing princesses!" Goombella proposed.
Mario and Twilight thought it over...
The plumber gave a thumbs up, agreeing to the proposition.
"We might as well, maybe Princess Celestia didn't leave, and has gone missing like Peach!" Twilight exclaimed, with a rising sense of dread within her.
"I'm sure she's fine Twilight, she's the princess! Nothing can stop her! Most of the time" Spike said, in an attempt to be reassuring.
"Great! We're all good then! Let's go, guys!" Goombella happily exclaimed as the group made their way deeper into town.
"First off, we gotta go find my professor. The thing is, since I just got to town myself... I, um, don't actually know where he's at" She continued.
"He's not missing too is he?" Spike asked.
Goombella shook her head, saying "No, just don't know where that old geezer lives"
"If your certain that he's here, than we can just look for him right? What does he look like? Twilight asked.
"His name's Professor Frankly, and he looks like this" Goombella answered, as she pulled out a photograph of the man, and showed it to the group.
It showed an older looking goomba, light brown in color, who grey hair and eyebrows, and a pair of ridiculous looking blue glasses, that had a hypnotic design.
"He shouldn't be too far i think, this town isn't that big, maybe someone here knows something" Goombella said as she placed the photo back into her pocket.
With the image of the individual they're looking for in their head, the group made their way to the nearest Rougepourter's to ask them of the professors whereabouts.
Mario and Goombella approached a unicorn, who was holding a bag of coins with his magic.
The unicorn had a yellow coat, with his mane and tail being brown.
"Hm? Frankly? The old guy? Last I remember, he lived on the east side" The unicorn answered, without turning towards Mario, as he shoo'd him away with his hoof.
"Now scram, I'm headed to the parlor. and nothings stopping me this time, lucks on my side!" The unicorn said triumphantly as he left.
Mario shook his head, disappointedly.
"Yeah... He says that every week, from what I hear"
Twilight and spike approached an anthropomorphic dog, who had brown fur, wore a yellow jacket over a white tank top, a pair of blue pants and black boots.
"Excuse me sir? Would you happen to know anything about Professor Frankly?" Twilight asked.
"Professor Frankly? Actually, I think a guy by that name lives over on the east side... Just go east from where your at right now, his place should be on the right" The dog answered.
Before either of the two could thank him, he continued.
"So, what about him? Did this guy steal something important from you? I can get it back... For a price of course" He finished with a grin as he showed Twilight his balled fist.
"Oh, uh.. No, there's no need for that" Twilight said with a sheepish chuckle.
"Eh, whatever you say" The dog said with a shrug, as he left.
"Sheesh, is everypony just looking for a fight in this town?" Twilight asked herself as she and spike made their way back to Mario and Goombella.
"Who knows, this place is a whole lot different than Equestria..." Spike muttered as he caught a glimpse of a newspaper article on a bulletin board.
Turf war between the Pianta Syndicate and the Robbos heating up! Apparently!! Best stay indoors!
"You don't say..." Twilight said as the met back up with the others.
Once the group... Regrouped, they made their way to the eastern side of the town.
And the second they went past the short tunnel connecting the areas...
A hooded pony galloped by, bumping Mario and Twilight away as she snatched the plumbers wallet and an item from Twilight's saddle bag with a red magical aura.
"Hey! What's your beef, pal?! YEAH, IM TALKING TO YOU!" Goombella screamed, but the hooded pony ignored her.
"Well that was rude! What's their problem?" Spike asked as Mario patted himself down, checking what had been taken from him.
His wallet. Great.
"I don't know.. what exactly did they do?" Twilight asked, not aware of the missing item from her saddle bag.
Mario explained that it was a theft, much to the unicorns shock.
"Theft?! In broad daylight? Sweet Celestia..."
"Some people are just like that around here" Goombella said as the group approached a small house, and entered it.
The inside looked magical... At least to Twilight.
The entire house was encompassed by multiple bookshelves, each filled to the brim with books, maps, blueprints, loose papers, and notes.
There was only one desk, with the goomba they were looking for standing behind it.
"Oh, hi! There you are! Professor Frankly!" Goombella exclaimed.
"Whuzzuh? Who's there? Who wants me?" Frankly asked as he looked towards his homes entrance.
"Ah. Yes. You. Now, you. Uh... Hold on... Er, wait for it... Just a moment... Don't tell me, now! Silence! All of you! I'll get it right!" Frankly began to say, as the four stood there, rather awkwardly.
"Umm... It's not Goonbriel... Errr... It's not Elizagoom..."
"HRRRMMM... ERRRRMMM..."
spike was about to tell him, since it looked like he wouldn't get it right, but suddenly...
"Ahaa! I've got it! You're Goombella, aren't you? You were in my archaeology class last year, am I right?"
"Wow, yes! Sir! That's me! I'm Goombella, a junior at U Goom!"
"Of course I remember you. Not to toot my horn, but I'm pretty good at remembering" Frankly said, proudly.
The group was not impressed.
"You though... You stick out in my mind because you were such an exceptional student. And that guy behind you is..." Frankly began to say, as he gestured towards Mario.
"Marvin!"
Mario was so floored, he fell.
"Ah! Mario, are you alright?" Twilight asked as she helped the plumber up.
"Not Marvin, Mario! Professor, he's Mario! You know... The famous one!" Goombella said, correcting the professor.
"Oh! My apologies. I'm such a bookworm, I haven't a clue about what's hip right now" Frankly apologized.
"Don't worry, Twilight here's the same" Spike teased.
Twilight huffed. She wasn't like that! Right?
"In any case, what sort of errand brings you folk all the way to a pace like this?" Frankly asked.
"We were hoping you'd tell us about the legendary treasure said to be below Rougepourt! I thought that if anyone knew about it, you would, Professor Frankly..." Goombella answered.
"Of course I know about it. The reason I came to this town was to study that very subject. But why would you tykes want to learn about the legendary treasure? You know that most say it's little more than a fairy tale, don't you?" Frankly asked.
"But individuals of our professions have to search for truth in those fairy tales though!" Goombella answered, gesturing to herself and Twilight.
"Me, I believe the legendary treasure truly does exist! And I REALLY want to find it!"
"Same here! I mean, who doesn't want to find treasure?" Spike pitched in.
"Good point! And well made! In that case, I'll cooperate with you however I can. First of all, we should start by addressing just what the legendary treasure exactly is..." Frankly said, as he began listing what people have said about the treasure.
"Some say it's an infinitely vast treasure hoard, while others say it's a magical item, or an amulet that gives you immense power. Some books say it's actually a monster, while others claim it's nothing but an empty chest, or a dusty old library..."
All five imagined each of those vastly different possibilities...
Most sounded amazing... Except the monster, and the empty chest.
That one would just be disappointing, at least the library would be somewhat interesting...
"So many different theories... Obviously, it's impossible to devine the truth among them. But all of them do agree on one point... To find the treasure, one must have the Crystal Stars!"
"The crystal stars?!" Goombella exclaimed.
"To find the treasure of yore, take the seven Crystal Stars to the Thousand-Year Door. That's how the old saying goes" Frankly said.
"Why do all of these old tails have to rhyme?" Spike asked, genuinely curious.
"Because if your tale goes by rhyme, means fewer chances of truth being arye" Frankly answered, in an attempt to rhyme.
The group had unreadable reactions.
"Ahem, therefore, if you want to find the legendary treasure, you first must collect the seven Crystal Stars" He finished.
"Oh! Hey! I researched some of the written lore behind the treasure, and it kind of matches that old saying..." Goombella started to say, as she recited a line of text.
"Hold the magical map aloft before the entrance of the Thousand-Year Door. Then the stars will light the way that leads to the stones of yesterday." She finished.
"Those stones of yesterday, are those referring to the crystal stars that you mentioned?" Twilight asked the professor.
"It must be! And were in luck, It seems the Thousand-Year Door is located somewhere beneath this very town! He answered.
"Really? How do you know?" Spike asked.
"Trust me, it's down there. But the critical piece of the puzzle, the magical map... Is lost. If only we had that map!" Frankly exclaimed.
"Oh! We have the map!" Spike said excitedly as he climbed up to Twilights back, and began rummaging through her saddle bag.
"You do?! Impossible!" Frankly said.
"We do! It's right... Uh... Twilight? The map isn't in here" Spike said as he stopped looking through the bag.
"What?!" She exclaimed as she took off the bag, and proceeded to dump all of the items onto the ground.
Everything else they had brought was there... Except the map.
"Oh no! Where did it go!? I was sure the bag was secured... What happened?!" Twilight exclaimed, exasperatingly.
Mario thought about it for a moment...
Must have been the thief.
That's the reason for the maps disappearance he proposed at least.
"The... Thief?" Twilight asked, almost finding it impossible to believe.
Once she considered it the most plausible reason, she fell to her haunches, with a whine.
"I lost the map Princess Celestia sent me... She's going to be so upset..."
"Aw cheer up! I'm sure she'll forgive you eventually" Frankly said reassuringly.
It didn't work.
"However, we are going to need to track that thief down, that map is irreplaceable! so-" Frankly began to say, before Mario interrupted him.
By placing his map on the desk.
...
"WHAAAT?? Hummina hubbity hubbida hippity hoobida hammala huffala hoofala HUUUH??" Frankly blabbered out.
"So... Did you not have the map after all?" He asked Twilight.
"I did, it looked exactly the same as that one!" She answered.
"Intriguing, there's only supposed to be one..." Frankly said as he walked over to his desk.
"In any case, could I... Take a quick look at this map here? If you don't mind?" He asked Mario.
He nodded.
"Thank you... Hm... Astounding! This is it! The real thing! The one and only Magical Map!" He said as he returned the map to Mario.
"You, son, are my HERO! You're great! Fantastic! WONDERFUL, even!" He praised.
Twilight was a little jealous of the plumber in that moment, she would've liked some praise from the professor...
"With this map... We can locate the Crystal Stars just by holding it up in front of the Thousand-Year Door!"
"Right on, Professor!" Goombella said.
"Good golly, what are we doing just sitting here, then?! Goombella! Twilight! Mario! Spike! Let's take the Magical Map to the Thousand-Year Door!" Frankly exclaimed as the group started leaving the house.
"Off we must go, this instant! I'll lead the way to the sewers underneath the town!" Frankly began to say as the group exited the house.
Once the group was outside, Frankly approached a fence that was across from his home.
"I bet you didn't know this rotten thing came off, did you? Heh heh" He said as he lightly kicked the fence, resulting in an entire section of the fence just falling off.
He excitedly approached a large green pipe, exclaiming "We can use this pipe to get down under the city streets! Come on! All of you! Let's get moving! Chop chop!"
The group followed, hopping on the pipe, and entering it.
Twilight was a bit hesitant at first... But after receiving reassurance from Mario, she confidently entered.
The group exited out the other end of the pipe.
The scenery was rather interesting, it didn't actually look quite like a sewer.
It looked more akin to a ruined and abandoned town...
"Wait, this doesn't look like a sewer" Twilight said as the group looked around.
"Well no, this is what's left of the original town that was once here, before it got destroyed by a great cataclysm" Frankly explained as the group walked towards a set of stairs.
"Fascinating..." Twilight muttered, imagining all the possible ancient artifacts or texts that could reside here.
Her daydreaming was interrupted when a male voice angrily shouted "Hey! Hey man! What's up? You think it's cool to just waltz your way into OUR underground?"
The group looked forward, and spotted three goombas approaching them.
It was a normal one, one with wings, and one with a green helmet with a large spike on it.
"Typical! You surface-level snobs are so stuck-up. OoOoh, i get to see the sun! I like to breath clean air! OoOoh!" The winged goomba attempted to taunt.
Mario was not impressed.
Twilight and Spike were just confused by that insult.
"Heh! Yeah! Come on over here, scruffy mustache man... We're gonna teach you some proper manners..." The spiked goomba threatened, mainly to the plumber.
"Leave him alone! Can't three academics, a baby dragon, and a world-famous hero wander the sewers of a port town in peace? If this is your usual greeting to visitors, then you must have learned it down here... Because IT STINKS!" Goombella exclaimed.
"Ouch! That was cold!" The regular goomba said.
"What, you trying to say that you're too good for a fight?! If you ain't looking to tussle, then stay out of the sewer!" The winged goomba exclaimed.
"Nobody doesn't start a fight with us! Nobody! Let's get 'em!" The spiked goomba added in as all three rushed the group.
Before any of the three could attack, Goombella went ahead and head bonked the regular goomba, quickly taking him out.
Mario pulled out his hammer, winding up and swinging down on the spiked goomba, before he jumped and stomped on the winged goomba.
And in a matter of seconds, all three goombas were already defeated.
"Owieeeeeeeeeeee!!" Whined the goombas, as they ran ahead, away from the group, dropping a handful of coins in the process.
"Ha! Later on losers! That felt AWESOME!" Goombella exclaimed as Mario began collecting the coins.
"Are all of you ready? They'll be plenty more where that came from, and they'll have it in for all of us" Frankly said, gesturing to the entire group.
Mario and Goombella nodded, confident in their abilities to fight off any aggressors.
Twilight and Spike however, not so much.
To them, this entire debacle was proving to be far more dangerous than they thought.
The group continued forward, hopping on a moving platform that took them to another green pipe.
They entered it, going one level deeper into Rougepourt's underground.
Throughout the groups trek, they encountered several other goombas, but they proved to be no real threat as Mario dispatched each of them, weather it be by jumping on them, or whacking them with his hammer.
They also encountered several question mark blocks.
Obviously, the Mushroom Kingdom natives knew what they were and what they did.
So it came as a surprise to the Equestrians when Mario hit one with his hammer, and a large mushroom popped out of it.
"Whoa!" Spike exclaimed as Mario grabbed the mushroom.
"Did that... Just come out of that?" Twilight asked, gesturing to the mushroom and the block.
"Yes... Oh, are you not from here? Those are mystery blocks, there rather common around the kingdom, and they give you items when you hit them" Frankly answered as Mario destroyed two large yellow blocks with his hammer, revealing a third pipe behind them.
"Oh..." Twilight said as the group entered the pipe.
They exited, now being even deeper under the town.
The group took a few steps forward, and spotted a little creature.
It was... Well, little. Having four tiny little black feet. A grey body, with two large dark grey stripes adorning it. A pair of large eyes, and an antenna with a fuzzy green ball at the end of it.
Spike approached the creature, saying "Hey there little-"
Before the creature noticed them, and promptly scurried off into a crook in the wall.
"Guy..." Spike finished.
"Guess the little fellow was afraid of us" Frankly said as he continued forward.
He had only taken another few steps before Twilight exclaimed "Look out!" And pushed him out of the way.
Just as a small green twister narrowly hit him.
"Blimey! A spinia!" Frankly exclaimed as he stood back up.
The spinia stopped spinning, allowing the group to get a better look at it.
It was a strange creature made up of thin, papery boards. Had two large eyes, and buck teeth.
The spinia started spinning towards Frankly and Twilight, but was intercepted by Mario jumping on it.
The spinia staggered, long enough for Twilight to turn around, and buck the creature.
The spinia fell back, it's boards falling to the ground, as it perished.
"That was close... What was that thing?" Spike asked.
"That was a spinia, nobody really knows anything about those creatures" Goombella answered.
"It would be great to study them, if they weren't so violent..." Twilight said as the group continued onward.
Eventually, the reached a dead end. And a switch.
Mario hit the switch with his hammer, and the bare wall that was next to them turned it's page, revealing a set of stairs.
They began ascending the staircase, with spike spotting a small black key on the floor.
"Hm?"
He grabbed it. You never know when you'll need a key!
At the end of the staircase, was the entrance to a large room.
And inside said room, was a large black chest.
They had barely stepped inside of the room, before the chest began to shake.
"Hey! You! Can you hear me?" A male voice asked from inside the chest.
Mario responded with an affirmation.
"You can?! That must mean you're the hero of legend!"
Mario pointed to himself, in confusion.
"Only the great hero of legend can hear my voice. Yeah! Everybody else? Nada."
"I can hear you" Spike said as he also pointed to himself.
"Then that's because there's two heroes of legend. Didn't you hear me?" The voice started to say.
"Anyway, listen... long ago, an evil spirit cast a curse on me, locking me in this chest. It was a real drag. I've been here ever since, waiting a long, LONG time for the heroes to come by!" The voice started to say.
"So, yeah, anyway, big guy... What brings a couple of heroes like you to a place like this?" The voice asked.
"Er, Mario... A word with you? I'm not exactly confident that we can trust this... Chest." Frankly said.
"I agree, this chest seems... Suspicious" Twilight added in.
"Right, I think it may be best not to mention that we're looking for the Crystal Stars" Frankly mentioned.
...
"Drat. I just said it out loud! What's wrong with me?" He finished.
Mario sighed.
"Oh, yeah? Searching for the Crystal Stars, are you, Now? So y'all really are heroes. In that case, you're DEFINITELY gonna need my help if you hope to get those bad boys. So, the first thing you should do is look for the key to this chest. Then use it to let me out. Definitely." The voice said.
"Not sure how this dude would know anything about the Crystal Stars... What do you think we ought to do?" Goombella asked.
"Well, I know MY vote goes to you finding that key. Im sure it's around here somewhere. It's small, and black. You can't miss it" The voice answered.
The group thought it over... For about ten seconds.
"C'mon! Being stuck in a box is no picnic! I'm counting on you, O Great Legendary Hero!"
"I mean, I have the key right here" Spike said as he handed it to Mario.
"Whoa, what?! You guys already found the key! Oh man, I owe you BIG!"
The plumber inserted the key into the lock, and opened it.
"YESSSSSSSSS!! Thank... Ha! Thank NOTHING BOZOS!" The voice exclaimed.
"WHEE HEE! FOOOOOOOLS!!!" The voice screamed as the chest sprung open, and a glowing yellow hand grabbed Mario, and dragged him inside.
He fell into a purple void, with a pair of glowing yellow eyes and mouth appearing above him.
"Oh BOY, did you fall for it! I BURNED you! What, you thought I was gonna help you?! Ha! Instead, I'm gonna spread a little of the suffering I've endured in that stupid box! Yeah! Sorry pal, but those are the breaks! I'm gonna cast an evil, terrible curse upon you! Buggly-wuggly-WOOOOOO! You're cursed now, idiot!" The face taunted, as a bright white lightning bolt struck the plumber.
"Whee hee hee hee hee! Enjoy that curse, sucker! You get what you deserve!" The face continued, as Mario tried to discern what exactly has been done to him.
The face, seeing his confusion, spoke up.
"You wanna hear all about the sweet curse I just dropped? Then listen well buddy! From now on, if you stand on certain areas, you'll turn into a paper airplane!"
Mario arched an eyebrow. That didn't sound too bad...
"Whee hee! Trembling yet? Good! Because you're going to suffer the rest of your days under my terrible curse! Whee hee hee hee hee! Oh, I can't help but chortle! You're DOOMED!!" The face said as a platform suddenly appeared inside of the void.
It was grey, and had an illustration of a paper airplane on it.
"This curse is pretty rough though, so I suppose I owe it to you to explain it. So, basically, if you stand on a panel like this one, it'll begin to glow." The face began to explain, as Mario stepped onto the panel.
"Yeah, ok. You're on the panel, good. Now just concentrate, and then, bam! Paper airplane!"
Mario did just that, and suddenly, his papery body folded into an airplane.
"Nice. So you'll control your tiny paper-plane self by tilting forward and back! It's pretty simple.
Mario glided, quickly getting used to controlling his airplane form.
"Alright, once you've had enough of aerodynamic shame, just concentrate again to deplane and return to normal!
Mario did that, returning to his regular form.
"So, be honest. Do you fully understand the peril this curse has bestowed upon you?" The face asked.
Mario gave a thumbs up.
"Perfect! Farewell, you foolish fool! WHEE HEE HEE HEE!" The face exclaimed, as the purple void disappeared, and spat Mario back out.
The chest spat Mario back out, to the relief of his friends.
"Mario! Your alright!" Twilight exclaimed.
"What was THAT guy's beef?" Goombella asked.
Mario shrugged it off, as the group left the room.
The group made it to the edge of an airplane platform.
Mario turned around, explaining to the group what he was about to do.
"Wait. What?" Spike muttered out as Mario folded his body into an airplane.
Everybody else each folded enough times to be able to fit on the plane.
Mario glided towards a room that was previously unreachable.
One he landed on the ground, everyone de folded and returned to normal.
Twilight and spike stood there for a moment...
"Wow, I almost forgot we were able to do things like that" Spike said as he patted his own papery body down.
"Ugh..." Was all Twilight said.
The group ventured forward, entering the doorway.
Inside, was a very large room, with multiple pillars and a large circular platform in the middle.
But what caught everyone's attention... Was the ginormous door Infront of the platform.
"Oh! Mario! Twilight! Goombella! Spike! Look...at...That! Frankly said as they descended a short set of stairs.
"Is that the Thousand-Year Door?! I can't believe it's real!" Frankly explained, almost not believing that he was standing Infront of the real thing.
"So the tale was true? Then c'mon! Let's check it out!" Spike said as the group approached the door.
They all hopped on the platform, with a smaller one being in the middle.
Mario hopped on that one, and suddenly... It began to glow!
Alongside the entire platform.
"Professor! What's going on?" Goombella asked.
But before he could answer... Marios map began to float out of his pocket.
The map continued to ascend, as it and Mario began to glow brightly.
And after a moment... It stopped, and floated back down onto Mario's hands.
Everybody else huddled around him, wanting too see what had happened to the map.
The once gray map suddenly received color, mainly Rougepourt, and a nearby town. Additionally, a large castle appeared on one of the hills near the town.
"This really is a magical map..." Spike muttered.
"Professor! What was with all those strange lights?" Goombella asked.
"Hrmmm... This looks like information related to the location of the Crystal Star... And those shining lights... It looked as if a mysterious power was given to Mario..." He answered.
"What do we do now?" Twilight asked.
"Well, we should return to my place and study the map closely." He suggested.
Everybody nodded.
"Hrmmm... Aha! I see!" Frankly exclaimed.
The group was back at the surface, in Frankly's house.
"You understand it, professor?" Goombella asked.
"Of course I do... And I shall explain! The first thing to know is... THIS MAP IS TRULY ASTOUNDING!"
Everybody blanked. That was obvious.
"Somehow, this map contains radar-like functions! It's showing us the location of a Crystal Star! And it looks like the first one is to be found in a place called... Petal Meadows"
"Petal Meadows?" Goombella asked.
"Yes. The area is a vast meadow that lies to the east of Rougepourt. To tell you the truth... I've never really liked the place. Always thought it was suspicious. However, the name Petal Meadows did come up from time to time during my research." Frankly answered.
"Ok, fine. So we'll go there" Goombella asked.
"How exactly will we though? Does any pony know how?" Twilight asked.
"I'm fairly certain that somewhere beneath the city is a pipe to Petal Meadows. If you could just find that, you'd get there instantly. Pipe travel's petty efficient! Frankly answered as he closed a book on the subject at hand.
"Say, by the way, Mario... I'm curious. How did you get that map, anyway?" Frankly asked.
Mario answered, explaining the reason he came here.
"From Princess Peach? Really? Her highness sent this to you, Mario?"
The plumber nodded.
"Hrm... And you, Twilight, you mentioned a Celestia... Is she a princess too?"
"Yes!"
"Hrmmm... These two individuals..." Frankly began to say, as he started drawing on a loose piece of paper.
"Wouldn't happen to look like this, would they?" He finished, as he showed his drawing.
It was of Princess Peach, and Princess Celestia, one to one.
Mario and Twilight both nodded.
"I KNEW IT! They both came to see me the other day, they wanted to learn about the treasure... I told them about the Crystal Stars and my suspicions about Petal Meadows... It doesn't seem likely, but perhaps they tried to go to Petal Meadows on their own..." Frankly said.
Mario thought about it... It didn't seem very likely.
"Y'know, Professor, there was another suspicious group asking about the same thing." Goombella said.
"Oh yeah! That crump guy right?" Spike asked.
Frankly nodded.
"Hrmm... But I can't imagine any of the princesses getting involved with THEM... Alright! It's settled! Off to Petal Meadows you four go! If the princesses indeed went there went ahead on their own, then it's your first priority to catch up with them. Collecting the Crystal Stars is a means to an end... And that end is two princesses!" Frankly said as he handed the map back to Mario.
"Aren't you coming, professor?" Goombella asked.
"No no, I'll stay in town and ask around about Princess Peach, Celestia, and that suspicious gang. Besides, I doubt a shriveled old goomba could handle the trials of the road. Of course, I'm always here to help out in any way I can." Frankly answered.
"Alright then professor, I guess we're off!" Goombella said.
"Hold on, before you go... Here" Franky said as he handed Mario a stronger hammer.
"Mario, it's scary out there. Take this with you"
And Twilight a book.
"What's this?" She asked.
"It's a book of combat spells, the very basics. You'll need em" Frankly answered.
"Oh, thanks!"
"Well, here's hoping you find that pipe to Petal Meadows!" Frankly finished, as he stepped back inside his house.
The group made their way back underground, to look for the pipe that would lead them to Petal Meadows.
Once the group returned to Rougepourt's underground, they ventured into an area they couldn't before, now that Mario could turn into a plane.
They entered a room, that ended with a large body of water. And sticking out of it, was a white tentacle.
Mario approached it.
"Maybe if we-" Twilight began to say, before Mario interrupted her by hitting the tentacle with his hammer.
"Never mind..."
The tentacle shook, with a sound coming from under the water.
"Bloop! BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOP! (Ouch! That HURT!)"
Suddenly, a huge blooper broke the waters surface, and hopped onto the platform the group was standing on with an angry look on its face.
The blooper was white in color, with black coloration around his eyes, making it look like a mask.
"Bloobloobloobloop! (Who just walks up and hits someone like that?!)" The blooper exclaimed.
"What's he saying?" Spike asked.
"Who knows" Goombella answered.
"Blooblooop! BLOOOP! Blooblooop! Bloobloobloop! (Someone with some serious moxie, that's who! And would you look at that! It's some saucy mustached guy!)" The blooper continued.
The group just stood there, watching the blooper... Bloop.
"Bloopity bloop! Blooooo! (He's in a WORLD of hurt!)" The blooper exclaimed as his tentacles suddenly lunged at the group.
Mario jumped over a tentacle that was headed straight for him, and whacked it with his hammer. Making the tentacle retreat.
"Whoa!" Twilight exclaimed as she narrowly dodged an incoming tentacle.
She lit up her horn, shooting a purple projectile at the tentacle. It hit, making the tentacle retreat.
A third tentacle went after Goombella and Spike, with it attempting to come down and crush the two, but missed.
Goombella head bonked the tentacle, and spike used his tail as a jackhammer, pummeling it, forcing it to retreat.
The blooper, having endured too much damage to his tentacles, fell onto the ground.
Taking the chance, all four begin hitting the blooper with their attacks. And to finish it off, Mario winded his hammer back... Then swung down.
The blooper staggered back, falling into the water with a "BLUH-BLOOOOOOOP!" With X's over his eyes, as the blooper suddenly shot into the air, hit his head in the roof, and fell back into the water.
Once the blooper was nowhere to be seen, several platforms floated up.
"That was a close one!" Spike said as the group jumped over the platforms.
The final one, was actually a grassy platform, with a grey pipe sticking out of it.
The group stood atop the pipe, and entered it...
Author's Note
I know this story isn't the best, and that there's another Paper Mario TTYD story, wich is most likely better than this one...
But I really just wanted to write some Mario Bruh.
