Paper Mario: The Thousand year Door

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.