The inner sanctions of Canterlot Castle were in outright terrible conditions if not the outside exteriors weren’t a clear sign. Many of its windows have shattered letting in passing breezes that carried the smell of burning fire and tainted smog. The passages of hallways are in need of new reconstruction for its many torn walls that have been punched clean through into other connected rooms. The once pristine flooring is now covered with chunks of debris and fallen parts of the castle in all angles. Canterlot Castle, once a place that is a sight for sore eyes, has become a hollow shell that’s empty of any life form…with the exception for two beings.
Mario slid away from the larger Changeling Queen assaults. "You’re strong, powerful even. I can taste it! Your rage…the righteous fury!" Chrysalis taunted the plumber. "Your strength and your emotions, they feed me." The Crystal Heart glinted in dim light of the destroyed throne room.
Mario frowned deeply; his fist shook as they began circling one another, a predatory glint in Changeling’s eyes being mirrored by the anger in the plumber’s. "I don't care; I made Princess Mi Amore Cadenza a promise!" Mario quickly withdraws and swung his hammer, just as Chrysalis sent a black crystal sized cannon ball straight at him, deflecting the crystal elsewhere. "Nothing you say will change that!" He promised her defiance, evident in his tone.
She chuckled slightly. "You can't win; we're in a super conducting loop."
Mario quirked a questionable eyebrow upward at that statement. "A what?" He asked simply.
Chrysalis replied by slamming her hoof onto the ground. Mario had no time to react as a formalized hoof crystal arm burst from ground. Mario was flung high into the air by the impact, arcing straight into a upper part of the throne room’s wall with a resounding 'Bang' . Mario then looked up just as ten basketball sized crystals hit him like a freight train. The wall caved, flinging the plumber into garden. The red plumber rolled across the ground, groaning slightly as he came to a stop. He shook his head and got to his feet. "You don't understand plumber." He looked up at Chrysalis flying towards him. "The more you fight the stronger your emotions and the more powerful I get."
Suddenly, a ray of light pulsing with magic emitted from the distances caught both their attention. "So the little sister’s power is finally showing its potential." Chrysalis muttered to herself. Taking this advantage, Mario closed the gap, leaping towards his assailant. A shockwave shook the garden when Mario's fist smashed into the thick crystal barrier that the gangly Queen summoned.
Mario then kicked off the shield, fluidly landed on the ground with a handstand, and then springs himself away from the five thick darts of black crystals that Chrysalis formulated and shot at him. He landed on the balls of his feet and parried to left with practiced ease. Mario dove and ducked behind a tree as a large spike skewered through it, the tip only an inch above the mustachio’s head.
LUIGI
Luigi faced down the tyrant King Bowser, the wind became calm for this moment of tension. He clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles cracklings with electricity. The Koopa King paid no mind to the fallen lunar princess nor the collapsed chaos god. "Green cap." Bowser greeted simply, taking two earth quaking steps towards the plumber. In a bright blue flash Luigi closed the gap. But this time Bowser was prepared with a back hand, sending the green cap bouncing into the street. Sliding to a stop hundreds of feet away in a smoldering mass, Luigi quickly shot up to his feet. Feeling the earth quaking foot falls of Bowser’s approach, Luigi jumped back avoiding a cleaving claw. He then jumped up and placed a solid kick to Bowser’s nose, making him flinched away. The large Koopa roared loudly, sending a river of flames out of his maw.
Luigi cart wheeled behind a stone. Closing his eyes he felt intense heat quickly spreading and the boulder began darkening. Luigi looked around; he saw a beam of stone half hanging out of a damaged building. The youngest brother crossed his arms in front of his face and focused, a pale green bubble formed around his being. He then jumped out from behind the stone, jumping straight at Bowser with purpose, his newly formed barrier protecting him from the blazing flames. Luigi landed a powerful left hook sending the massive Koopa to roll across the street and smashing shell first into a building. "Greenie!" Bowser shouted as he looked up; balancing atop a beam stood Luigi.
Bowser shook himself loose and shot into the air. Luigi reacted and jumped off the beam soaring upwards, his hands crackled with electricity. "Thunderrrr!" Luigi proclaimed. Bowser smashed through the stone at this point, flying straight into the cyan lightning bolt. Bowser was slammed back into the ground violently shaking the surrounding area. A sudden loud snap and creaking emitted. He looked up, just in time to witness the very same house he crashed into slowly collapsed on top of him.
MARIO
The red cap man ran straight at Chrysalis. He front-flip over a jagged spike and slammed foot first into the thick crystal wall. A sharp kick from Mario sent himself back-flipping away from a series of spires erupting from the crystal barrier being produced by the Changeling. He landed on the soft earth before rolling away twice in session, dodging boulders made of crystals. Mario’s thoughts ran a mile per second as he formulated a plan while keeping his pace to avoid getting speared. He came upon a water filled fountain and jumped over it, the Changeling Queen followed his lightning fast movements. "What are you doing, plumber?" She tauntingly asked the running Mario. The red cap looked back as he long jumped through a broken window leading back inside one of the castle’s corridors. She followed, pursuing the human through the window…only to fly straight into a flying kick sending the Queen into the fountain, destroying it into pieces and rubble, splattering water everywhere. She got up, shaking her drenched long mane and soaking wet body. "That won't work again, plumber!" Chrysalis spat displeasingly.
Mario threw out his hand creating a fire ball in his palm. "Fire!" He chanted loudly. He tossed it across the gap. Chrysalis smiled as she casually batted it back with a large chunk of a crystal. Mario pulled out his hammer and swung into the fireball, sending it back at a faster pace and making it larger in the process. The red hot flame bounced between the two, every retuning hit from Mario got the fireball larger and faster. In a bright flash of gold, red, and orange Chrysalis was over taken by the massive flaming orb. An explosion shook the foundation.
TWILIGHT, SUNSET, & SONATA
The Alicorn, Unicorn and the ponified blue Siren galloped through the dungeons of Castle Canterlot. Most of the torches where out, however the remaining few were still lite casting large shadows which danced on the walls and floors. The trio have been travestying for a good while. Fortunately, they haven’t stumble across any invading forces of both Bowser’s and Chrysalis’s armies, making their destination simple with no insignificant distractions. "The book of Tartarus is kept in the deepest dungeon." Sunset Shimmer explained to Sonata Dusk.
Twilight Sparkle watched dust fly from every crevices of the castle’s underground cavern as a sudden shockwave ripped through it. "We should hurry up." They stumbled as the shockwave shook loose bricks and mortars from the castle. "Sunset, the castle can't survive much more of their battle!" The purple Alicorn voiced her concerns.
Sunset coughed in the clouds of mortar. "We have to trust Mario, he can beat her." Sunset replied confidently.
MARIO
The red capped plumber dusted himself off as the dust cleared and the miniature fire spread snuffed out. The moment he lowered his guard a fist sized crystal barreled into Mario's belly, flinging him backwards on the dirt ground. He rolled back to his feet instantly, but fell down on a knee and clenched his stomach as he starts to slowly regain his lost breath. He looked up straight into the large black shell of the Queen. Remarkably, she looked almost unfazed. A few noticeable deep scorch marks that almost blended with her exoskeleton, but nothing major of results came from his fire attack.
"I am done toying with you, plumber!" Chrysalis seethed through her teeth. Mario’s eyes lock-on to a incoming funnel cloud of Changelings with a sense of trepidation. Mario felt a tingle travel down his spine and he rose his foot just as Chrysalis screamed her command. "My Changelings, attack!" A Changeling in front of Mario was blasted back by his powerful kick to its head, denting its armor-like exoskeleton.
"Fire!" Mario yelled, knocking back a second Changeling with an explosive flaming palm strike. "Mario.... Tornado!" He then jumped high into air, flying into the centre of the funnel cloud. One by one Changelings flew out of the cloud as Mario beat them with rapid series of kicks and punches. With a sudden punch by one of the swarm members Mario was sent crashing to the earth. Without delay, the plumber was instantly backed on his feet with two balls of flames in his hand. "Mario Finale!" Two swirling streams of flames shot high into the air, the force of the attack pierced through the swarm. Cries and screeches went off like an alarm in Mario’s ears from the unfortunate ones to get caught in the blast and started dropping like flies. But as soon as the fire dispersed a wave of Changelings hit him, pinning the red plumber to the earth beneath him. Laser beams, jabs, kicks, and feral snarls hit Mario in all angles in quick session, his vision so obscured by these blacken bug-horses he was blind. The plumber swung wild hay makers, knocking them back for space, but nothing seems to make the pileup less dense.
Mario swung his fist in front of his face forming a crimson bubble, offering him a slight reprieve from the mass of black assaults. He had very little time to relax, the adrenaline in his veins giving him slight fuel to hold the barrier and he can feel his heartbeat starting to increase. The plumber looked around himself for any weakness in the swarm; their glinting fangs and blue eyes peer at him with all intentions to break through his shield, and they grouped themselves all around the miniature dome, their buzzing insect wings still very audible to hear. With little choice, Mario knew of one possible outcome. He smirked and released the barrier and quickly followed up with a spin. The Changelings took the bait and tried to latch themselves onto the plumber, only to receive painful contacts on their faces as swinging fists and swung kicks flew all around within each Spin Jump. With a twist and a loud, "WaHOOO!", Mario forced himself to spin harder and spun into a small tornado, knocking them back without giving away an opening.
"ENOUGH!" The cloud of Changelings dispersed instantly at the command. Mario stopped the moment the swarm backed away and took deep breaths regain some lost energy. He looked around, the Changelings stood in place awaiting their next orders as they surrounded Mario in a wide circle. "Plumber!" Mario looked up and frowned at what he saw; a crystal ball almost the size of a single house and beneath the ball flew Chrysalis. A simple plus of her magic and slowly the ball began moving.
"Oh no!" Mario swung his hands upwards. The crystal ball slammed into his open palms. His hands shook as he just barely managed to keep it from plugging into the castle grounds, the cracks underneath him stretched far, as the castle foundations struggled to keep the weight of the ball from collapsing the floor beneath Mario.
TWILIGHTS, SUNSET, & SONATA
The three mares stopped as the castle shook violently, large cracks stretched down the walls and across the ceiling. "What's happening?" Sonata squeaked out.
"Look out!" Twilight Sparkle tackled the frighten Siren as chunk of the ceiling collapsed. The two rolled out of the way in the nick of time. "We need to head up. If the castle collapses we could...."
"No if that Bowser gets the book...." Sunset Shimmer spoke up, her eyes glancing down. "We'll lose more than a couple cities if he frees the creatures in Tartarus." The orange pony finished. She looked down the winding maze like structure of the dungeon knowing full well what she would risk if she kept going. "Go." She said simply. "Take Sonata."
Twilight flinched away from Sunset Shimmer’s words. "Sunset…what about you?"
"I'll keep going, get the book, then hopefully the teleportation block will collapse and go I'll straight to mom." Without another word, Sunset started to galloped.
Twilight Sparkle watched the Unicorn for a split second before she chased after her, with Sonata trailing after them. "I'm not letting you go alone." She told the surprised Unicorn. "I've came face to face with dying too many times to leave a friend because of it."
Sunset Shimmer smiled slightly. "Thank you, Princess Twilight."
The three jumped over a portion of the ceiling which had completely collapsed. Making a left hand turn they came to a long hallway which stretched far down to a single wooden door. The door itself was half opened. A long stream of lights coming from the room was the only light in the hallway. Sunset lite up her horn in cautiousness. "Someone beat us…", she looked at the stone in front of the door. "…Mom once put a wall in front of the door…". Sunset slowly trotted down the hallway. After a quiet two minutes towards the door Sunset squatted down. She crept towards the door slowly, Twilight and Sonata following after her. She moved her head to look through the crack when...
BOOM
The door exploded, flinging the hapless Unicorn into the Siren, knocking them both aside. Out of the room flew a spinning pink shell. Twilight didn't have time to react as the shell hit her square in the muzzle.
"Oh!" A feminine voice echoed down the hall with disappoint in her voice. "I was hoping for my green capped mustachio…" Twilight looked up at her attacker. The pink princess of the Koopas swung her wand in small circles. She had a pink shell and large golden earrings and bracelets on her wrist, and atop her bald scalp was a large pink bow. She had large pink glossed lips and sharp baby blue eyes. Her red heels clicked against the ground as she walked towards the frozen in place Sonata. The young Alicorn princess spotted a large brown, leather bound book slung under her arm. The Koopaling slapped the Siren viciously. "Daddy won't be happy to hear that you betrayed him!" She looked down on the quivering blue pony. "But he will be happy I brought you back." She reached down towards Sonata. "Really, did you think a Unicorn and a Princess stood a chance against me?" She grabbed the Siren’s mane and dragged her across the cold stone flooring, avoiding cracks as Sonata was powerlessly to protect herself. "Really, that Mario is pushing that Changeling Queen this far!" She sighed loudly. Then the Koopaling’s expression turned dreamy. "Luigi, my green cap…" She casually tossed Sonata down the long passageway before gleefully dancing towards her. "My greenie, how I-" She stopped abruptly, a faint green aura around her body. "The Unicorn!" As if fired from a cannon she was thrown back into the room, shattering the glass case the once held the Book of Tartarus.
Sunset trotted into the large cavernous room. Suddenly the only female Koopaling jumped out from behind the pedestal, swinging her wand with a broad stroke and sending a beam straight at Sunset, but the Unicorn was prepared, creating a bubble of green energy around her body. "Sunset Shimmer!" Twilight stood by her side as the Koopaling landed.
Sunset glared coolly at Wendy O. Koopa. "What's with the face?" Wendy taunted, tapping the ground with her wand, the jeweled tip omitting a glow of magic. Cold air crashed into Sunset and Twilight, making them have to resist the urge to shiver from sudden temperature drop. A layer of ice formed and spread around the room’s floor. "You should've let me go." Ice skates then popped out of Wendy’s heels. "Really, I'm not one for fighting, but it seems fighting is the only way to get my darlings attentions." She skated around the room sending small multi-coloured spells towards the two in the form of pinkish fireballs. "So, I've gotten pretty good...-" She suddenly doubled her speed, casting larger spells and moving along the ices in quicker pace. "-at it!" The two were shocked when she skipped off the wall, twisting as she withdraws into her shell.
Twilight created a barrier in preparation. Wendy smashed into her shielding, the impact produce sparks and shook the ground slightly. Smiling to herself, the Koopaling bounced straight at the unsuspected Sunset Shimmer. "Look out!" Twilight screamed a little too late. Sunset skidded across the ice, flying headfirst into the wall.
The fiery mane pony was dazed for a second before she looked over at the worrying Alicorn. "Twilight!" Sunset shouted back. The pink shell bounced back into the now defenseless purple pony who was momentarily distracted. Twilight was flung in the opposite direction and slid into the wall. Wendy spun in place for a split second. She popped out of her shell and looked at the two ponies on opposite ends of the icy room with a devilish smile.
MARIO
The ground beneath Mario's feet crumbled away under the combined weight of the massive crystal and his own. He was barely holding up the rapidly growing crystal ball. "Just give up!!" Chrysalis screeched.
"No!" Mario replied defiantly. The soles of his shoes sunk into the ground beneath him.
"Look around you plumber, we're winning!" Chrysalis taunted. 'What the...' She felt his emotions pour into her body, fueling her magic. 'He isn't giving up!' She flew next to the steadfast plumber until she could meet eyes with him. "Determined?" His bright blue eyes met her own greens, and for the first time in her life she felt a chill rattle her spine. 'He isn't stopping!' The cracks spread across the garden, uprooting chunks of earth from the sheer pressure of the expanding crystal. The Changelings fell out of formation due to the landscape breaking apart and took to the skies. Mario felt the giant black stone continues to give, his entire feet buried by the stone. 'More crystals. He can carry it, but the castle can't.' Chrysalis hissed at herself. She flew above the crystal and feed more of here magic into it, forcing Mario to sink a bit more into the earth up above his knees. He felt the crystal expand further underneath his palm.
'Crack' Mario heard it, a ringing fissure broke out from beneath. "Oh NO!" The ground beneath him finally collapsed, swallowing him up. Chrysalis watched the plumber disappear with a smirk of satisfaction on her muzzle.
TWILIGHT & SUNSET
Sunset slipped and slid across the ice, firing a series of green magic shots. Wendy laughed as she dodged the beams effortlessly with twist and swirls. "Twilight!" She called out. Twilight obliged and skidded behind the Koopaling in order to gain an edge.
"Nope." Wendy slammed her wand into the ground propelling her high into the air and dodging the dark purple flashes coming from Twilight’s horn.
Sunset found her footing and quickly aimed her horn at the flying Koopaling. "Got you!" Sunset hissed silently. A green beam erupted from her horn heading straight for the female Koopa. Wendy instantly swung her wand and followed the orange pony’s example. Green Unicorn magic collided with multi-coloured Koopa magic, the two beams created shockwaves that cracked the icy ground.
Twilight focus and telekinetically grappled the Koopaling just before she landed back on the ice. Her horn glowing brilliantly a mantegna hue. "I have her Sunset!" Wendy's body became draped a pale cloak of purple as she vigorously fought and yelled to break free. Twilight was straining to keep her hold on the apparently stronger Koopaling and at the last moment has apt to fling her away to disrupt her balance.
Wendy flew across the room and smashed shell first into the wall. She screamed just as a green beam slammed her farther into the wall, leaving big opening. "Is she done?" Twilight cautiously asked as she trotted towards the hole that Wendy was buried in.
Sunset approached the princess "I think so-"
Wendy burst out of the wall, spinning in her shell aiming directly towards the ponies. Twilight reacted first and threw a shield spell to protect the two. However, Wendy wasn't finished. She skipped across the ice, rebound off a wall, and headed straight for Twilight’s flank. Just as she was about to make impact a green barrier wrapped around Twilight, courtesy of Sunset. Wendy bounced into the air and popped from her shell, wand in hand. "Got you!", she yelled. The two ponies, simultaneously, fired a brilliant magic laser from their horns. Meeting mid flight the three spells clashed into an explosion. Wendy dropped down landing gracefully, glaring at the two through the outburst of smoke created from the collision.
The entire castle shook more violently then before, turning the heated battle into a standstill. The layer of ice collapsed from the walls and ceilings, the ponies and Koopaling stumbled around due to the quaking force. Suddenly the ceiling opened up revealing a crystal ball half the size of the room they were in. Wendy ran to the wall, and both Unicorn and Alicorn instinctively teleported just as a aura collapsed from around the castle. The room was deathly quiet as the dust settled and the thick smoke of debris disappeared.
Twilight looked up to witness an all too familiar tall figure floating towards the crystal. "Chrysalis!" Without a second thought she flew straight at the Changeling Queen.
A segmented chunk of a black rock rocketed off the massive crystal ball, intercepting the Princess of Friendship with a crack. "I'm stronger now, princess!" Chrysalis stated condescendingly as Twilight nose dived back to the ground.
"Twilight!" Sunset teleported straight into the Alicorn and grabbed her before flashing back to her original position.
Twilight rubbed her aching wing tenderly. "Thanks, Sunset."
"No problem. Where's Mario?" Sunset replied quickly. The movement from the crystal ball caught her attention as it began to shift ever so slowly. "What the...?"
"Impossible!" Chrysalis hissed out in disbelief as the ball rose higher.
Twilight met eyes with the plumber; his face beat red and sweat pouring down his body soaking his slightly torn red shirt. "So strong…" The awe stricken princess gasped. She can practically see the pulsing of his muscles from her viewpoint.
"Mario!" Wendy screeched at the plumber upon first sight.
"Wendy!?" Mario grunted under the weight of the crystal.
"Go, Koopaling, I'll finish these three!" Chrysalis commanded quickly.
"But Mario, I should stay and help!" Wendy grumbled.
Mario tossed the large crystal ball, shaking the entire castle as it came crashing down on the ground "Look at him; he's dead on his feet." Chrysalis pointed her hoof at the dead tired plumber taking deep breathes after lifting the giant black crystal off him. "I can beat these three."
Wendy frowned deeply. She kicked the ground before jumping high into the air. "Fine!" She yelled as she wall jumped higher for the opened ground ceiling. "But if you get your butt kicked daddy won't be happy!" The Koopaling disappeared into the castle, her voice echoing down towards them.
Chrysalis focused her attention on her three adversaries, her wings spread out wide. "Ok, now that we're all alone, let's put an end to this fight."
Mario raised his hand. "One second!", he quickly replied.
He jumped over to Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, forcing them to into a huddle. He whispered lowly, gesturing to the Changeling Queen. "You want to what!?" Sunset snapped at the plumber.
Mario continued his hushed whispers. "Are you sure that will work?" Twilight asked the plumber, gave a quick nod in reassurance.
The two ponies looked at one another and in unison gave a sharp nod. "Let's a go!" Mario jumped back and pointed at the Changeling. “We're going to beat you", he took his fighting stance. "In one move!" He added confidently.
"Yep!" Sunset aimed her horn towards Chrysalis.
"You shouldn't have forced our hoof." Twilight stated calmly.
"Twilight!" The two smacked her on the head lightly.
"What?! I was just warning her, I don't like fighting!” Twilight defended herself.
"Fair enough!" Mario laughed. Despite being pushed over his limits he found some remaining inner strength thanks to the helping hands from these ponies. He jumped from foot to foot, stretching out some stress from his tired legs. "So, what do we call this? Not ‘Bros Move’ since we're not Bros…" He cast a sideways glance at the two. Suddenly, inspiration struck his mind. "Oh, I know! Since you're ponies; a ‘Brony Move’!"
LUIGI
Luigi looked at the collapsed building with trepidation, he knew that Bowser wasn't finished by something so, so…small. The green cap kept his fist at chin level in anticipation. The building exploded outwards revealing a charging Bowser. "Green Cap!" He closed the gap with a powerful forward leap.
"Bowser!" The plumber retaliated with a jump of his own into the air. The two met fist mid-flight. For a mere second they looked evenly matched, before Luigi was catapulted backwards by the superior force from Bowser’s strength. The green cap skidded to a stop on his back, but Bowser was instantly on top of him before he can get up, his large size casting a large shadow over the plumber. "Luigi's..." Luigi twisted on spot. "Spin!" A multi-coloured wave erupted from his left arm upon impact with Bowser’s body. The Koopa slid away from Luigi, glaring at him hatefully.
Bowser roared fireballs high into the air before taking two steps towards Luigi. "You…you're just a wannabe hero", the plumber noticed light being cast from above him, "your brother’s shadow." Luigi bounced back as fireballs came raining down upon him.
Princess Luna watched with fascination, everything in the younger human’s body language showed how little he wanted to be here. Every flip, every step, every block and parry; they all ended with a small tremor of fear. "…he needs help." She looked at the battered and bruised chaos god.
Luigi kept dodging and avoiding being narrowly hit by wild strikes. He was being pushed back with ease, occasionally landing a few successful attacks on opened opportunities. "Bowser!" Luigi suddenly exclaimed. He jumped into an uppercut on the Koopa King’s maw, making him stumbled two steps. However, the plumber made the mistake for lingering too open in his attack.
The Koopa King shot straight at Luigi and clothe-lined him. "Got you!" Bowser lifted the plumber up at arm’s length by the throat. "You're finished!!" Bowser threw the helpless human into the ground. He stepped on Luigi's throat, his mouth glowing with flames.
A bright blue bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere and crashed into the Bowser’s chest, flinging the tyrant away from the plumber. Luigi hyperventilated for a good moment until his eyes settled on a midnight blue color pony. "Princess!" Luigi jumped to his feet, racing to the exhausted princess side. "You should go, you're too tired."
Discord limped towards two, joining the moon princess’s side. He was too worse for wear, but he’s able to hold himself up. She regarded him with a nod before going back to Luigi. "No, this is my city. The ponies, they're my little ponies. We're finishing this together!" Luna stood tall, her eyes brimming with will power and determination.
"We'll need to end is quickly." Discord began floating slightly. He then giggled like a school girl when an idea came to his mind. "I know, I know; a ‘Bros Move’!" He said proudly. Bowser was steadily moving towards the group, his deep red eyes glint with destructive purpose. However, Discord paid little attention as ponders some more. "Wait, no…not a Bros Move..."
Luigi and Discord smirked at each other. "A ‘Brony Move’!" The two stated in unison.