SSBD Preview · 1:04am Apr 9th, 2014
"Wait!” Twilight shouted, jumping up next to Samus and accidentally jostling some of the controls on the dashboard. The ship lurched from side to side as the little pony’s hooves landed on several buttons and switches. The other passengers stumbled a little as the ship rocked and bumped. The bounty hunter quickly pushed her away and regained control, glaring at her.
“Knock it off!” Samus snapped. “Are you trying to get us to crash?”
“Put it down!” Twilight shouted, ignoring her. “Put the ship down over there!” she pointed at a massive spire of a mountain below them, jutting out of a grassy plain. Waterfalls cascaded down the sides of the mountain, forming rivers that snaked out away from the source.
“What’s down there?” Samus asked, an eyebrow raised.
“Fly around to the other side,” Twilight explained. “You’ll know where to put it down.”
Samus looked to Mario and Link and shrugged at the both of them. The two of them shrugged back, Link nodding to signal that she follow what Twilight said. With a sigh, the hunter banked the ship left, cruising in an arc around the tall, steep mountain. As the ship crested the mountain, Link and Mario gasped, and even Samus raised an eyebrow.
Sitting on the side of the mountain was an alabaster white city carved into the stone; a vast metropolis of tall buildings of whimsical architecture and colorful structures. A huge marketplace sprawled out below them, filled with bustling activity, indistinct figures moving from place to place in a hurry. Observatories sat atop massive schools and universities, the telescopes swiveling around, presumably to peer at the ship that the group approached in. Towers and turrets speared the sky from the massive castle at the center, their stained glass windows reflecting the sun in a rainbow of colors and lights.
“Canterlot...” Applejack and Fluttershy both gasped.
“Is this your home?” Mario asked, sounding a little concerned.
Twilight stood on her hind legs and put a hoof on Samus’ shoulder. The hunter grunted threateningly, shoving the little unicorn off, but she paid her surly attitude no mind. Instead, she pointed out the window towards the castle, directing the pilot to a grassy courtyard sitting just below the tallest tower. “There!” Twilight shouted. “Put it down there!”
Samus looked to Mario who shook his head. “Not a good idea.” Samus said, looking at Twilight pityingly.
“What?!” all three of the ponies shouted.
Mario sighed. “Look, Twilight, it isn’t a good idea to go down there yet. There’s something that you gotta know about the Sma- wah!” Mario was cut off as Twilight practically tackled the plumber, slamming both of her hooves on his shoulders, her face getting a little too close to his.
“That’s Canterlot, though!” She explained. “I grew up there! If I can get to Princess Celestia, we can clear up everything! The girls and I can drop out of the tournament, you can get some better fighters from the military, and my friends and I can just study from the outside! We have to go down there!”
Mario sighed. “No, Twilight, we can’t.”
“But...” Twilight stuttered, her lower lip trembling, “but the Princesses can help!”
“They can’t help us here, Twilight.” Mario shook his head sadly. “They’re back on your world.”
Applejack stamped a hoof. “But Canterlot is right there!” she shouted. “What are y’all trying to pull?!”
“If you’d let me explain-” Mario started to say, only to duck as Twilight’s horn started to glow a fierce purple. He, Samus, and Link all ducked for cover, expecting her to attack them when suddenly there was a dazzling light and a loud “pop!” When the stars cleared from their vision, they saw Twilight was gone.
“Where the hell did she get to?!” Samus snapped, looking at the scanners on her ship and only finding five life signals. She was just about to open her mouth and ask another question when Link tapped her on her shoulder and pointed out the windshield at the castle. There, on the highest balcony, they saw a tiny purple figure picking itself up off the ground and stumbling into the castle.
Mario sighed. “Merda...” he whispered, stepping up towards Samus. “Come on, we need to follow her.” Samus nodded and put the ship in gear, lowering the craft down to the courtyard.
Fluttershy tugged on Mario’s pant leg. “Um...” she asked quietly, “why can’t we ask Princess Celestia for help?”
Mario groaned. “Well... let me explain.
* * *
“Princess Celestia!” Twilight shouted, stumbling into the throne room. Her voice echoed around the empty chamber, not a soul in sight as she roamed the vacant halls of Canterlot Castle. The purple unicorn was becoming increasingly frantic and discouraged. The balcony she’d teleported to had led directly into Princess Celestia’s personal chambers and she wasn’t there. Nor was she in her study, her observatory, or the royal kitchen. In fact, Twilight hadn’t seen hide nor hair of anypony anywhere in the castle.
And now to discover, the throne room to be just as void of life as the rest of the castle, well... let’s just say that Twilight’s mane was beginning to curl a little bit.
“Oh... where could she be? Where is everypony?” Twilight trotted in place nervously. A thumping noise came from outside the castle but Twilight paid it no heed. She was too wrapped up in trying to locate her missing mentor.
“Could she be in the garden?” Twilight asked nopony in particular. “I know she likes to take her tea there, but that still doesn’t explain where everypony else is!” Another thump. Twilight continued to pace around the throne room. “Maybe she’s still in Ponyville?” Twilight tapped her chin. “But that still doesn’t explain the staff and I didn’t see Ponyville from the air!” She pulled on her mane. “Uuughhhh! Where could she be?” She whirled her head to the wall. “And what in Equestria is that thumpi-”
That was when the giant cockatrice smashed through the wall.
oooo
..Oh yay, Twilight! You do what you always do and rush!
Gah, for being so smart, she can be an idiot.
1993294
Celestia's always been a blind spot for her.
But then, you should never look directly at the sun.
Why do people have a tendency to irrationalize and jump the gun on things?
And why am I being such a hypocrite on this?
This was great, Dusty, and it certainly has me looking forward to the next chapter all the more.
A couple of suggestions for improvement are:
I'd cut this little bit out, as it's repetitive when Samus does it again a few lines later.
Forgot a quotation mark on the end there.
Not trying to be nitpicky here, just wanting to offer my help to make this as perfect as it can be.
All the same, keep up the good work.
~The lizardman has spoken
This is really interesting. I wanna see how this chapter comes out.
And I want to thank you for making a story like this. I have actually been thinking for a long time of doing a story similar to the teen titans winner take all episode, which is a lot like this in a way. Hope to have that out and we will have rival battle fics
hahaha
Boss Battle?
This preview looks great!
And this is where they find out that parts of the Smashworld have been reshaped to look like their home worlds for battle stages.
Not to sound impatient, but is there an ETA with this update?
1994029
Not at the moment. I'm still in the process of moving in so I really don't know. If I had to guess I'd say it may take about a week to a week and a half? Something like that. It's been very busy around here.
1994081
Don't worry. I know some stories who take years to get one update.
Aw man, this is gonna be good. *grabs popcorn*
1994081
No worries, mate. Waking Nightmares took nearly half a year once to update due to IRL crises.