Super Smash Bros: Harmony Rising

by Lance Skyes

13: Royal Showdown

After some time walking, Twilight, Captain Falcon, Dedede, and Alph had reached the base of the icy mountain that Marth was apparently located at.

“Please tell me we aren't doing any climbing,” King Dedede said while panting. “My feet haven't hurt this much since that time Kirby blew me out of my castle and I had to walk through a desert to get back home.”

“I kinda figured we'd fly,” Alph replied. He then shooed his three Pikmin away, all three of whom saluted before running off into the forest. Alph then reached into the ground and pulled up two more Pikmin, except these two were pink and had blue eyes, as well as wings. “At least, I assumed most of us could fly.”

“I can sort of fly,” Dedede said.

“Same here,” Twilight added. She then looked back at her wings with an unsure expression. “Still a bit new to it, but I can manage.”

All three of the combatants then looked to Captain Falcon. “Let me guess,” Alph said. “Odd one out?”

“Yeah,” Falcon replied. “I usually rely on my Blue Falcon on race tracks and the Falcon Flyer when it comes to traveling long distances, like through space. Don't really have anything for going up a mountain.”

After Captain Falcon said this, the others, including Alph's Winged Pikmin, all looked between each other. The question on all of their minds: “Who's carrying him?”

“I fly by inflating myself, so I can't hold onto him,” Dedede said.

“The Winged Pikmin can barely carry me and three other Pikmin,” Alph explained. He and Dedede then turned to Twilight, who just sighed.

“Alright, hop on, Captain,” the alicorn said. Captain Falcon replied with a nod and quickly got onto Twilight's back. The only issue with this, however, was how much taller he was than her, so he sat rather awkwardly. Plus there was the fact that he was much heavier than Spike, so Twilight struggled a little to stay upright with Captain Falcon on her back.

“You sure you're alright, Twilight?” Dedede asked as he looked at the two curiously.

“I'm perfectly fine,” Twilight said while forcing a smile, despite how evident it was that she was struggling. “Come on. We should be moving.”

“Alright,” Alph said with a nod. He then turned to his Winged Pikmin and blew his whistle. The two small creatures replied with nods before flying around, picking the explorer up by the back collar of his suit, and lifting Alph into the air.

“Interesting little things, those Pikmin,” Dedede said as he watched Alph get lifted into the air. “Stronger than they look.” With a shake of his head, Dedede inhaled, puffing his body up like a balloon, and began flapping his arms and inhaling more so that he was able to lift himself into the air after Alph.

Meanwhile, back on the ground, Twilight was flapping her wings, but gaining no altitude. “Ugh, it's no good,” she said while panting. “I'm sorry, Captain Falcon, but I don't think I can fly with you on my back.”

“Oh,” Falcon said. “Hey, I saw you do some pretty interesting stuff with that book of yours. Any chance it can help us?”

“Actually, the book doesn't do that much,” Twilight replied. “Most of my abilities come from my…” Immediately, a light bulb went off in Twilight's head. “That's it!” Twilight then examined the face of the mountain. “Hold on, Captain. This ride's probably gonna get bumpy.” Twilight then lit up her horn and concentrated before she and Captain Falcon disappeared in a flash of light, reappearing on a small platform on the side of the mountain several yards above the ground.

“Woah…” Captain Falcon said with a dizzy expression. “That was…”

“Yeah, teleportation isn't something you get used to in one go,” Twilight replied. “But you're gonna have to tough through it. I'm teleporting us the whole way up this mountain.”

“I knew I should have just chanced riding on Dedede's back,” Falcon groaned. Ignoring this comment, (or possibly keeping it in mind), Twilight continued teleporting from cliff face to cliff face, each teleport seeming to make Captain Falcon queasier and queasier.

Quite a ways up the mountain, King Dedede had just caught up to Alph. “Hey, isn't Twilight with you?” Alph asked the king, who seemed to be struggling to gain altitude. Unable to speak, Dedede simply shook his head. “I hope she was able to carry Captain Falcon.”

“Don't worry, I found a way,” Twilight's voice came from behind Alph. He turned around to see Twilight standing on a cliff face with a dizzy-looking Captain Falcon on her back. “It was hard to fly with him, but teleporting proved to be much easier.”

“I'm… impressed, actually,” Alph said. “I did not know you could do that.” The explorer then looked up. “Looks like we're nearing the summit. Just a little ways further.”

Twilight turned her head and looked up. “Hm… I might be able to get up there with one last teleportation,” she said. “We'll meet you two up there.” With that, Twilight and Captain Falcon disappeared in a flash of purple light.

Alph and Dedede then looked at each other for a moment before silently coming to the consensus that it wasn't worth pausing to question this pony before they resumed rising the rest of the way up the mountain.

Meanwhile at the summit of the mountain, the Hero King Marth was, indeed, still there. The only problem was that he was currently under attack by a giant yellow turtle-like creature with a spiky green shell, razor sharp claws, a menacing expression that was complete with horns, red hair, and sharp fangs for teeth, and black wristbands and a collar, each of which with added white spikes on them.

Marth tried to strike with his sword, but his opponent blocked the attack by kneeling and letting the sword hit his shell before quickly rising back up and striking Marth with a powerful punch that sent the swordsman flying backwards. He was able to regain his footing, however.

“Just give up now, Marth,” the Koopa King said with a laugh. “You've been at this long enough. It's time to give up and come quietly.”

Marth got up and wiped the bottom of his lip. “Watashi wa, anata ni kuppa o teishutsu suru koto wa arimasen.” he said sternly. Bowser, on the other hand, simply laughed at this.

“I don't know what you just said, but whatever it was supposed to be, I've got other plans,” Bowser said. He then charged forward and spewed a massive column of fire from his mouth. Marth took shelter from this attack by raising a blue shield of energy, but this left him open to Bowser running up and grabbing him before leaping into the air, doing a front flip, and then preforming a body slam, smashing Marth between him and the ground. When Bowser got up, rather than the regular Marth, now what remained was the trophy depicting Marth. Bowser grinned evilly as he picked the trophy up. “Well you put up quite a fight. I'll give you that much. But I'm afraid-”

“MAGIC SPARK!” a voice from Bowser's right shouted. The Koopa King turned around just in time to catch a blast of magic right to his face. Of course, Bowser was barely fazed by this hit, but still he growled and turned around to see Twilight Sparkle standing at the edge of the summit. (Unnoticed by Bowser went Captain Falcon, who was sitting on the ground, attempting to stop the world around him from spinning.)

“Who dares to attack me?” Bowser asked as he dropped Marth and turned around to face Twilight.

“I am Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria,” Twilight replied with an intense expression as she flared her wings. “I'm looking for someone called Marth, and if the way you were holding that trophy just now is any indication, I'd say that was him, and you're looking to use him for dark purposes.”

Bowser laughed at this. “Well well well, it seems someone's rather observant,” he said. “You're right about almost everything. Only thing you missed was my intentions.” Bowser paused for a moment before continuing. “So you're this Twilight Sparkle I've been told about, eh? Well, it seems royalty enjoys company. Allow me to introduce myself. The name's Bowser, King of the Koopas and soon to be the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. Getting Marth here to my recent employer will get me one step closer to finally getting that last title, at least.”

“I don't know about the Mushroom Kingdom, and I've only recently learned what a Koopa is,” Twilight said, “but from the way you carry yourself, it's obvious somepony needs to put a stop to you.”

“'Somepony'?” Bowser asked with a laugh. “Is that what you just said? My, where are you from to be using such strange language?” The Koopa King then grinned and clenched his fist. “Those kinds of questions are meaningless right now, though, aren't they? There's only one kind of talking we need to do right now.”

“I think that's something we can agree on,” Twilight said with a nod as she summoned her book. She and Bowser stood there staring each other down for a moment before the Koopa King made the first move and began charging forward.

“No way!” another voice shouted. Twilight looked up just in time to see a Gordo flying over her head before it flew forward, bounced once and struck Bowser, knocking him backwards a bit. Twilight turned around to see King Dedede floating the rest of the way up before coming to a rest next to Twilight. Alph joined the two shortly after that.

“Sorry about the wait,” Alph said to Twilight as he plucked three new Pikmin, these in the colors Red, Blue, and Yellow. “Dedede had to catch his breath.”

“You realize I barely breathe while I'm floating, right?” Dedede asked while shooting a glare towards Alph.

“Grr… I should have known you'd show up, Dedede,” Bowser said as he recovered from the hit the Gordo gave him. “Still campaigning to stay one of Master Hand's favorites?”

“That has nothing to do with what I'm doing,” Dedede replied. “You knew exactly what Tabuu had planned for our worlds.”

“After Ganon betrayed me,” Bowser growled under his breath. He then turned back to his foes, who were just then being rejoined by Captain Falcon. “Face it, Dedede, you and all your friends from Dreamland have always been favored by Master Hand. It's a corrupt system. Why do you think I want to help Overlord V change it?”

“So you are in league with Overlord V!” Captain Falcon shouted.

“And I'm willing to bet my entire castle that this 'changing the system' isn't the real reason you're helping him,” Twilight added.

“Why, of course it isn't,” Bowser replied with an evil grin. “Just ask your friend Dedede. He knows firsthand why us villains came to the Super Smash Bros tournament in the first place.”

“It's true, I did want to rule Dreamland with an iron fist at one point,” King Dedede replied while clenching his fists. “But when I joined the second tournament, I'd already seen the error of my ways. My real intention for being there was simply because Kirby invited me.” Dedede then pointed his hammer at Bowser and raised his voice. “And you saw what I did in the last tournament! I saw right through what Master Hand promised you all while he was being controlled by Tabuu. All of you, including Ridley, were fools to believe his words. This situation with Overlord V, can't you see it's the exact same thing? It doesn't matter how hard that shell of yours is, you're still going to get stabbed in the back just like last time!”

For a long while after Dedede finished his monologue, everyone on the mountain was silent, the only noise coming from the breeze. Then, after a while… Bowser began laughing and sarcastically applauding. “Wow, way to go, Dedede,” the Koopa King taunted. “You've gotten a lot better at preaching since we've last met, haven't you?” Bowser then ceased clapping, but never lost his grin. “I don't think you quite understand the scope of today's situation. Overlord V, he's no higher power like Crazy Hand or Tabuu. He's not even a monarch like you or I. He's just really good at raising an army, which is exactly what he did. No more Polygons, no more Wire Frames, no more Subspace Army. This time around, we've got a legitimate army, and it's bigger and more diverse than ever before. My army, Ganon's army, the Underworld Army from that Pit's world, forces no one has ever seen the likes of before! We're all fighting for one thing, and that's power.”

Dedede simply shook his head. “You're as stubborn and hard-headed as ever, Bowser,” he said before readying his weapon. “It's a shame. When we first met, I thought we really could be friends. I thought the Subspace War had changed you and the other villains. But now I see how difficult it is to teach an old dog new tricks.”

“Did you just call me old?” Bowser asked with a growl.

“You heard me,” Dedede replied with a smirk.

“Grr… you and all your little friends are gonna pay for that!” Bowser roared.

“How?” Twilight asked. “It's four against one. It might be a better idea for you to just surrender Marth so we don't have to hurt you.”

“Aw, we can't just hurt him a little?” Captain Falcon asked.

“Oh don't worry,” Bowser said. “There's no way I'm surrendering.”

“Then you leave us no choice,” Twilight said as she and the others readied themselves for battle. “We will defeat you, Bowser.”

“Now that I'd like to see,” Bowser laughed. He was about to charge forward, but he stopped when another loud roar echoed through the air. Everyone on the mountain looked up to see what looked like an orange dragon flying through the air at high speed towards the group. It made one pass over everyone before circling around, coating itself in flames, and flying straight towards the ground and crashing powerfully at Bowser's side with a burst of flames before flipping and landing on its feet, seemingly ready for battle. “Charizard!” Bowser shouted. “I had this situation completely under control.”

“Charrargh,” Charizard growled in reply. “Char Charizard.”

“Seriously?” Bowser asked. “One little mishap thanks to some pirates and V wants everyone to regroup?” Charizard nodded. “Fine, but I'm not leaving without Marth, and these four are in the way.”

“Is that a dragon?” Twilight asked as she eyed Charizard.

“Technically no,” Dedede replied. “That's a Pokemon called Charizard. It's commonly referred to as a pseudo-Dragon, but not actually a Dragon-type.”

Twilight was about to reply to this, but she stopped when she sensed a strange chill come over her. Like there was an unknown presence near her. “Hey… does anyone happen to know why exactly Charizard did that circle maneuver?”

“I think so,” Captain Falcon replied, feeling the same presence Twilight felt. He then quickly turned around and tried to deliver a powerful jab towards the presence. However, he only saw his target, a small green plush toy, for a moment before he sent it flying miles away. “I know exactly what's here with us!”

Captain Falcon was about to explain the situation, but before he could say anything, there was a puff of white smoke, and before Twilight knew it, there was a giant blue frog-like creature flying right at her in kicking position. The alicorn had no time to react before she took the full force of the flying kick right to her face, sending her spinning onto the ground. She was able to pick herself up just in time to see her assailant in rest position right in front of Bowser and Charizard. The creature then slowly got up and turned to glance at Twilight and the others from the side. “Greninja…” it said.

“What the hay is that?” Twilight asked as Alph and Dedede helped her up.

“Greninja,” Alph said coldly. “Another Pokemon. This one's a Dark-type, so it's no wonder he's working with Overlord V.” While clenching his fists, the spaceman added, “He's also the one who took Olimar.”

“Nin?” Greninja asked, looking down at Alph with a curious expression. “Ja, grenin. Grenin Greninja.”

“What is it saying?” Twilight asked.

“I can translate,” Dedede replied. “'Hm? Oh, it's you. The other tiny human.' I'm guessing he remembers you, Alph.”

“I hope he does,” Alph said, striking a combative stance. “I'm gonna make sure he pays.”

“Ja Greninja,” Greninja said with a sinister laugh. “Grenin Grenin.”

“Charizard,” Charizard added. “Charrarugh Char.”

“She's got a point, Greninja,” Bowser said with a shrug.

“Okay, this is getting annoying,” Twilight said. She then focused and lit her horn up with magic before firing a wave of magic all across the summit, passing over everyone but harming no one.

“What was that?” Dedede asked.

“Translation spell,” Twilight replied. “A truly gifted unicorn never goes traveling without knowing one. Granted, I didn't expect to travel today, but still, you never know.”

“Ah yes,” Greninja said with an accent similar to that of a serpent. “I keep forgetting that most Smash Bros combatants are unable to understand Pokemon. Sad, really.”

“Woah, I understood him that time,” Alph said. “Does that translation spell of yours work for all of us?”

“Well, you could say that,” Twilight replied. “The way it works is that the spell taps into the mind of anyone I use it on, maps out that person's known language, and, if that person hears a language they're unfamiliar with, the spell will alter the function of the ear drums so that rather than hearing what's actually spoken, whoever has the spell active will instead automatically hear what the phrase heard meant in their native tongue.”

There was a moment in which no one spoke after Twilight completely nerded out with her explanation. After a while, Bowser turned to his allies and spoke up. “Did Overlord V send only you two?” he asked.

“No,” Charizard replied while shaking her head. “We've got one more on his way. It's-”

Charizard was cut off when she heard a faint noise behind her. All the villains turned around to see the source of the noise, which had soon increased in volume to the point where it could be identified as a kind of mechanical whirring. The culprit was a small toy-like device that seemed loosely modeled after Bowser, except it was incredibly short, and rather than spikes on the shell, there was a turnkey that spun as the toy walked. Everyone silently watched as it walked past the villains and up to King Dedede, who stared down at the toy curiously. As the monarch bent down to pick the toy up, it suddenly turned orange and began giving off sparks before exploding in his hand, sending Dedede onto his back.

“Are you alright, Dedede?” Twilight asked as she and Captain Falcon helped him up.

“I'm fine,” Dedede replied as he got back to his feet. “But I think I know who just showed up.”

Right as King Dedede said this, there was a noise coming from the far side of the mountain that sounded like an engine revving. Everyone turned around just in time to see what looked like a kart made up to resemble a clown speeding towards the location, piloted by a strange creature who also looked similar to Bowser, except younger and more adorable. He drove his kart right up to the center of the encounter area and did a doughnut maneuver before the wheels on his kart disappeared and were replaced with a small green propeller while the pilot drew a hammer, rested it on his shoulder, and looked towards the heroes with a smug look.

“Hope I didn't miss any of the fun,” he said in a voice that sounded like a high-pitched Bowser.

“Well!” Bowser said with a laugh. “It's good to see you again, son!”

“Son?!” Twilight asked with a shocked expression.

“Well, it seems someone isn't quite familiar with me,” the Koopa Prince said. “The name's Bowser Junior, little pony. But don't compare me to my father, 'cause trust me, I'm way more trouble than him.”

“Excuse me?” Bowser growled. “That's still up for debate, don't forget.”

“Tch, whatever,” Jr said with a roll of his eyes.

“It doesn't matter who's more evil than whom,” Charizard growled. “The point is that we're leaving as soon as possible, and we're taking Marth with us.”

“The hell you are,” Captain Falcon said as the heroes prepared themselves for battle. “We've come a long way to retrieve Marth, and we're not leaving until we've gained him as an ally.”

Greninja chuckled softly but sinisterly at this. “And how do you plan to do that with us standing in your way?” he asked. “Oh, and I politely request that you make your answer 'by fighting us.'”

“That was gonna be the answer from the start,” King Dedede replied.

“Good,” Bowser said while hitting his fists together. “I've been waiting for a fight where I don't have to dodge a sword every five seconds.”

“You'll still be dodging something,” Captain Falcon replied, ready to charge. “Trust me on that one.”

“Was that meant to be a comeback?” Greninja asked. “If so, it wasn't clever.”

“Enough talk,” Dedede said. “It's time to fight!” The monarch then began running forward, the other heroes following suit.

“The first strike, eh?” Bowser asked. “I guess Dedede hasn't gone soft.” With that, he motioned for the villains to charge forward as well, and so they did head-first into the heroes.

Author's Note:

Could it be any more obvious that Marth's line was straight from Google Translate? I was going to get help from my Japanese teacher on that, but the school year ended before I could consult him. Sorry for that, and the fact that you're gonna have to wait another two chapters before you see this battle.
...
Just kidding on that second thing.
The reason the chapter ends here is because the fight was originally going to be part of this chapter, but the whole thing ran longer than I wanted it to, so I cut it into two parts. You'll get the fight scene in the next chapter.
Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the chapter. We'll go ahead and skip the "Miyamoto vs Sakurai" joke I put in here that everyone got instantly. Oh, and to those of you who aren't big fans of the relapse Bowser did when it was obvious that he was reformed(ish) in Brawl, I've got something in store...
Anyway, that's all I wanted to say for now. Look forward to the next chapter, in which another new character will be introduced.

Comments

[VampDash]

TIME FOR BOWSER TO TAKE A LEVEL IN BAD ASS.... and probably get his ass kicked.

[HB_DS2013]

I wonder if Twilight is perfect for noob players...

[Lance Skyes]

6171212 I know. I bought both Battleground Z and Ultimate Angler.
I was considering adding characters from those games, but it'll be later on down the line because I don't yet know how I'll handle introducing them.
I think I'll introduce them alongside my Flower Town rep.
6171621 I always felt like she'd be a cross between Pit, Diddy Kong, and Robin. Slow and middleweight, making her a little difficult to use but excellent in the right hands, (Pit), able to set traps, thus allowing her to trap foes in powerful combos, (Hoo Hah), and have quite a variety in attack types, (Robin).

[HB_DS2013]

6175401 Hoo Hah? Don't you mean Snake?

[Lance Skyes]

6176025 Oh right! Sorry, I didn't play Brawl much, and I never played Snake. (Once, and I got my ass kicked.)
And while I'm thinking about it, I think Rainbow Dash would be a better character for noobs. Her attacks don't launch far, making for easier combos, especially in the air. (Translation: Button masher's paradise.)