Out in a secluded area of a small forest, not too far from Toad Town, there was a house built in the middle of the area. Above the front door was the name "Mario", which just so happens to be owned by the heroic plumber himself and his brother Luigi. Though the Mario Bros. home is secluded, there was a green warp pipe not too far on a small path that takes them to the town whenever they needed to run some errands, like saving the princess from Bowser or getting groceries. They do need some time to unwind after their heroic deeds and get away from some of their beloved fans a warp pipe away.
The sound of wings flapping down toward the cozy looking hut came from a Paratroopa, a Koopa Troopa with a pair of wings. He had an aviator's cap and goggles worn on his head and a mail bag, his shell cyan, and wore brown boots. Despite wearing shoes, he hovered over to the mailbox in front of the Mario Bros. house, pulling out a letter addressed to them from his bag and stuck it inside.
"Mail call!" he announced before flying off to deliver more letters across the kingdom.
A moment later, the front door opened, Luigi stepping out and walked down the steps to retrieve the mail. He was a tall and skinny man wearing blue overalls and a green long-sleeved shirt, a green cap with the letter "L", a black mustache, white gloves, and a pair of brown boots. Even though he's taller than his brother, it was confusing for some when they think he's the oldest because of his height. The younger Mario Bro grabbed the letter and stepped back inside the house.
There were only two rooms in the small home, but it was enough for the two of them. Upon entering the front door was the living room, a simple wooden table with a couple chairs, a wood burning stove, a vine growing out of a pot and up to the ceiling, and a cupboard with various items. The other room was their bedroom, the brothers sleep in a bunk bed: red sheets on top for Mario while Luigi had the bottom bunk with his green sheets. There was also a dresser, a small table where they store their mail, and a small window at the back of the room. There were a few floor panels in their room that were completely out of place, which happens to be Luigi's "hidden" basement where he sometimes writes about his days in a journal he keeps down there.
"Hey, Mario!" Luigi called out, his older brother coming out of their bedroom to see what he wanted. Mario dressed similarly to Luigi, though he instead wore a red cap with an "M" on the front and his shirt was red, standing a bit shorter than his brother and a slight pudge, but he's more athletic than he appears with his jumping abilities. "We got a letter from Princess Peach!" Catching the hero's interest, Luigi opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. "Let's see here..."
Dear Mario and Luigi,
I'm throwing a party at my castle today, and I would be honored if the both of you could attend. Many guests from across the Mushroom Kingdom have come to visit and hope to see you. There will be all kinds of sweets and fun entertainment for everyone! I hope to see you here soon!
Sincerely, Peach
"A party!? What are we waiting for!?" Wasting no more time standing around, Mario and Luigi headed off to Peach's castle and attend the party.
Making sure their door was locked as soon as they were out, never being too careful if anyone finds their place without using the warp pipe, they ran over to said pipe, Mario jumping in first while Luigi followed suit. Using these pipes around the kingdom is pretty handy for quickly traveling from one location to the other, some even leading to secret areas that might be filled with lost coins. They soon leapt out of the end of that pipe at the entrance of Toad Town in the northwest part of town, right outside of a library. This section of the town also had a dojo, a shop next to it, and a small pond where a warp pipe stood out on a small island on the water.
They passed by many of the Toads, many of them with different or similar colored spots on their white mushroom heads, all of them waving as they saw the Mario Bros. off on their way. The next area was a bit bigger, where a building with a spinning roof stood on the left side of the large blue door with a star that lead to the castle, below that was what looked like a store was being built, on the right of the gates were a post office and a Toad House, where weary travelers can take a snooze as they relaxed from their trek around the kingdom, and beneath that a small garden with an archway in the center, a toad girl tending to some of the flowers. Mario and Luigi headed up past the gates and made their way to the castle.
The outside was as grand, the walls white while the roofs and the towers' spires were red, a fancy water fountain outside that added more appeal to the castle. The Mario Bros. walked inside, already hearing the guests striking conversations with one another just from the first floor's foyer alone. They were both surprised to see just how many came to the party: some Toads from different towns in the kingdom, penguins from the north in Shiver City, even some friendly Koopa Troopas from the village east of the town. Inside, the castle had checkerboard floor tiles, some red carpet leading to a pair of short stairways on the sides to other rooms, and a stairway leading up to the second floor behind a brown door with a yellow star, the ones on the sides blue. The walls looked like they were still outside, depicting the sky with some clouds here and there.
"Wow. This is some party, eh, Mario?" Luigi asked. His brother responded with a nod of his head. They could smell all the different foods Princess Peach's royal chefs had made for the occasion, both of them practically drooling as their taste buds desired to try everything. "Uhh, hey, bro? How about you find the princess while I mingle? She's probably waiting for you somewhere in this big crowd."
Mario was about to ask Luigi why he should, only for his younger brother to run off and "mingle" with the crowd. The plumber sighed, knowing his brother was sort of right. Peach was expecting him to be here, and he didn't want her to be cross with him if he stuffed his face without seeing her first. He began making his way up the stairs to the second floor, finding no sign of her on the first floor. The second floor was the same as the previous floor, though the way up higher had two stairways leading up to the door, the carpet before him leading to where Peach's bedroom was, a Toad guard standing in front of it to keep guests out of her private chambers.
"Master Mario!" From the many guests, Mario spotted Toadsworth approaching him. "Good to see you yet again. I'm sure the princess had invited you on the guest list as well." The plumber nodded his head. "Well, speaking of her Highness, I seem to have lost track of her in the crowd. Knowing her, she must have snuck off somewhere in the castle to hide from me." The old Toad let out a heavy sigh in exhaustion. "Ever since she was a baby, she had always given me so much trouble, and being kidnapped by Bowser threatens to give me a heart attack. If you find her, please bring her back down so she can tell me where she's going next time so I don't worry."
Mario nodded again, sharing his worries whenever the princess winds up getting kidnapped by the fire-breathing Koopa. Toadsworth wandered around to speak with some of the elder guests while the plumber decided to check higher up in the castle for Peach. Walking up more stairs through the longer hallway beyond the next door, he stopped as he heard voices come from the next room. Pressing his ear against the door, he could hear the princess giggling a fair distance away, along with six other feminine voices. Wondering who Peach was speaking to, he opened the door, blanching in surprise when he saw six equine creatures with the princess, sitting in a circle as they talked.
"-and that's when Starlight finally realized that she can't use magic to solve everything, especially when it comes to learning about the magic of friendship," Twilight said, finishing another moment in their lives to Peach, the other mares grimacing at what had happened to them.
"Oh my. No wonder she was so nervous when making friends," Peach said. "I feel pretty bad for her after what she almost did to ruin your world." She then sighed and huffed. "Now, if only a certain Koopa can actually redeem himself instead of being such a selfish and spoiled brat."
"You mean this 'Bowser' guy?" Rainbow asked.
"Yep. The King of the Koopas. Always kidnapping me and trying to get me to fall in love with him while also terrorizing my kingdom. I get so sick of it sometimes, being a damsel in distress to the same villainous jerk who thinks he even stands half a chance of taking my hand in marriage." Peach stood back up, brushing down her dress as she turned around. She gasped when she saw Mario standing there, looking really confused and cautious as his eyes looked behind her to the Mane Six. "Oh! Mario! You're here!"
"Wait, THIS is your knight in shining armor saving you from that dreaded monster, Bowser!?" Rarity exclaimed in shock.
"Well, I didn't say he was a knight or anything, but he is my hero." She ushered the stunned plumber over, slowly making his way toward them as he scratched his head, both nervous and wondering what the six ponies were. The mares took notice of his clothing, looking more like a plumber or a gardener with the overalls he wore than a hero. "Girls, this is Mario. My savior as well as my kingdom's protector. Mario, these are my new friends from another world: Princess Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity." Mario was utterly speechless at the mention of them being from another world. He looked at the princess, demanding answers to her confusing introduction. "It's a bit of a long story. Twilight can use magic, and a spell she was using ended up backfiring, which wound her and her friends here in our world."
"Technically, all six of us have magic, though where Rarity and I can use different spells, Pegasi can control the weather, and earth ponies have a better understanding of cultivation and tending the earth. So, we're kind of stuck here until I can figure out how to bring us back home a lot safely." Mario slowly nodded his head, able to process Twilight's explanation on their magic, but it was still a bit overwhelming.
"Ooh! Neat hat!" Pinkie said, suddenly swiping Mario's cap off his head. Surprised, he pressed his hands over his head, revealing his brown hair that wasn't black like his mustache, wondering how the pink mare managed to move that fast. She put the hat on her head, most of her poofy pink mane sticking out underneath the cap, now wearing a fake mustache she somehow pulled out of nowhere. "Now I'm-a Mario! Whoo-hoo!" Mario's head already started hurting, but before he was able to question how she knew how he talked and where that mustache came from, the pink pony suddenly bounced on him. "So, how do you beat the bad guys if you don't have a super cool weapon!? What's the difference between mushrooms you can and can't eat? What kind of pasta do you like!? Ever had a cake made out of noodles? I wanna make one and try it!"
"Ok, Pinkie, don't overwhelm him," Twilight chided as she dragged Pinkie Pie off of the flustered plumber. She took Mario's hat off her, her mane somehow matching his hairstyle before popping back to its usual floofy style, levitating it back to him. "Pinkie Pie's...well, a bit harder to explain than who we are and where we came from."
"Just take our advice and don't question Pinkie Pie, sugarcube," Applejack said, the hero quickly taking it as he placed his hat back on.
"So, what exactly do you do to stop bad guys?" Rainbow asked curiously, hovering around Mario and inspected his short and average body.
"Mario actually uses plenty of different ways to stop Bowser and his minions," Peach said. "Most of the time, he jumps on them, or uses a Fire Flower to shoot fireballs from his hands."
"Magical flowers that give somepony the ability to shoot fire?" Twilight asked, desperately wishing she had something to write with and take notes.
"And he can jump pretty high, too," the princess added, Mario nodding his head with a prideful grin.
"How high?" Rainbow asked. Mario jumped, surprising the mares as he had managed to reach about halfway up to the ceiling, and in one bound. And as he landed, he still stood after falling from that height without crouching to lessen the force of the somewhat dangerous landing. "...Sweet Celestia...I can barely jump that high without taking off when I fly...That's awesome! You think you can shoot some fire for us now? Cause that'd be twenty percent more awesome!"
"...That's amazing," Twilight muttered. "He jumped five times his own height, and without breaking his legs...That's practically impossible to land without getting injured at a fall like that."
"He's fallen from higher heights, even when carrying me after rescuing me," Peach said.
"I was expecting somepony a lot more handsome to be your rescuer, Peach." Rarity's comment made Mario groan in exasperation as he slumped forward. "But, he does have a lot of courage to stand up to the brute who kidnaps you. And Mario does have a certain charm to him. The mustache is well groomed, but his clothing...I think something more noble will fit that 'hero' status nicely."
Mario just sighed, feeling like Rarity had insulted and complimented his choice of style at the same time, Peach giggling at the unicorn's critique of his outfit. "Despite his looks, I still think it suits him perfectly." The plumber chuckled and rubbed the back of his head at Peach's compliment. "Well, I think I should be getting back to the party. Maybe I can convince Toadsworth to let you stay, as long as he doesn't complain about you girls being 'dangerous', and we'll see if we can bring up some food for you."
The plumber's stomach rumbled, dying to taste some of that food downstairs as the girls laughed at his drooling expression. "Just remember we're vegetarians. Nothing with meat."
"Right. We'll remember." Peach and Mario began to head back down to the party and rustle up some food for their otherworldly pony guests. Before they even reached the door, the ground suddenly began to shake violently, making them panic at the sudden quake. "Ahh! W-What's happening!?"
"A-An earthquake!? Does your kingdom have seismic activity you didn't tell us about!?" Twilight asked, but her question wasn't answered as the ground shook more, making everyone fall over, having no choice but to wait it out while screaming in fright.
Outside the castle, some of the guests on the first floor ran out in fear as the quake hit. Luigi was one of them, helping some of them get away before the ground could collapse around them. Unfortunately, not everyone would be able to escape as they saw what was causing the earthquake. Even the denizens of Toad Town saw it as something rose up underneath Peach's castle: a giant fortress somehow got underneath the castle, rising it up into the sky, along with a piece of dead land with a lava moat separating part of it from the fortress's entrance, a Bowser head statue poking up that was as bland as the land as it leered with yellow eyes. Everyone began panicking as Bowser was attacking again, only this time stealing away the castle as it all rested on top of a giant vessel that looked like the Koopa King's clown copter, two swinging flails constantly swaying after it finally floated up from the ground.
"Oh no!" Luigi exclaimed as he and everyone else watched as Peach's castle was being sent up to the sky. The devastation around Bowser's floating fortress was horrifying, the quake destroying the fountain and leaving a massive pit where the castle once stood. "Bowser...Well, at least Mario is with the princess this time. He can keep her safe."
Both structures disappeared as they floated up higher, practically reaching the atmosphere as sunlight faded, leaving nothing but the stars in the sky and what little light there was beneath them.
After the earthquake finally stopped, Mario, Peach, and the Mane Six waited a moment before getting up, unsure if there was going to be another wave that'll come out of nowhere. The hallway was a bit darker than it was earlier as they stood up, Mario making sure the princess wasn't hurt.
"Is everyone alright?" Peach asked.
"My hoofsies are in place, my tail's still all poofy, but I think my eyes went bad," Pinkie said. "Did somepony turn out the sun? Is Nightmare Moon here!? Quick, girls! Into formation!"
"Pinkie, this isn't Equestria, and Nightmare Moon's gone," Twilight said. The alicorn lit up her horn to illuminate the area, thankfully seeing no signs of fallen objects. "That was a surprise. Do earthquakes happen in the Mushroom Kingdom?"
"No. That's the first time that's ever happened." Peach looked out the window, gasping in surprise. "Stars? Why are there stars out when it's the middle of the day?"
"The Mushroom Kingdom sunk and the planet is ruined!" Pinkie screeched, quickly grabbing Rainbow Dash and squeezing her tightly. "We're doomed!"
"Pinkie, get off!" Rainbow pushed the mare off her. "This world isn't gone. I think during that weird earthquake, I felt like we were also being lifted off the ground."
"Rainbow Dash, that is absolutely absurd," Rarity said.
"Uhh, actually, Rainbow is right," Fluttershy said, pointing down out of one of the windows. "We're...really high up..."
Everyone looked down through the large window in the center of the hallway, all eyes growing wide as they looked down at the Mushroom Kingdom far above the sky. "What!? How is this possible!? We're about halfway above the stratosphere!"
"Whoa...This place looks pretty cool from up here," Rainbow said as she looked down at the different places around the kingdom. Applejack elbowed the pegasus in the side, snapping her out of her awe and remind her of the troubling circumstance they were in. "Uhh, but yeah. This is bad."
Pinkie gasped, her tail suddenly twitching erratically. "Twitchy tail!"
"Twitchy what?" Peach asked, both she and Mario confused to see the mares running for cover as if something would fall on them.
"One of Pinkie's odd abilities that not even I could try to figure out because it's impossible!" Twilight explained. "Something's going to fall!"
"That's a bit odd." Mario spotted a glint in the peripherals of his vision from outside and looked up.
He saw something coming straight for the window, and it was going to smash through. He quickly grabbed Peach and dove away right in time, the object crashing through and shattering the window, along with something smaller behind it. Twilight and her friends quickly ran up to them to see if they were ok, felling the ground shake as something large landed on the floor from above.
"Peachy-poo, guess who's back!?" Standing before them was none other than Bowser, smirking with a sharp-toothed grin. Behind him, flying in on her broomstick was his right hand magician, Kammy Koopa, climbing off her broom and stood beside her lord. The Koopa King opened his mouth to make a remark, only to pause when he saw the six ponies staring at him in shock and fear. "...Uhhh...Since when did you get strange pets?"
"Pets!? We're ponies!" Rainbow Dash shouted, stomping her hoof to prepare giving the large, spike-shelled Koopa a beating.
Kammy's eyes widened in surprise, not by the fact that they were able to talk. It was the magical energy that she sensed coming from them, Twilight's more visible than the others' as it felt subtle.
"...What the heck are ponies?" Bowser asked. He looked down at Kammy, hoping she had an answer since he wasn't really all brains. "You know what those four-legged things are, Kammy Koopa?"
"...I-I don't have a clue, Your Grace," Kammy said. "But whatever they are, they have some kind of strange magical power not of this world..."
Peach stood up, glaring spitefully at the Koopa who had crashed into her castle. "Bowser. I should have known you had something to do with this! What did you do!?"
Looking away from the ponies, he grinned as he looked at his princess. "Why, yes, this was all me. Right now, your castle is directly under my specially designed fortress, floating high above the sky where no one can save you. Not even that pasta loving rival of mine can jump high enough to even reach the bottom!"
"Funny you should mention him." Mario leapt over the girls, putting his fists up as he leered at Bowser.
"Huh!? He's here!?" Bowser exclaimed in shock, only to grin, no longer surprised to see him already inside Peach's castle. "Well, I guess that just makes things a whole lot easier for me. Saves me the trouble of having my minions hunt you down."
"And he's got backup!" Rainbow said as Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity stood their ground, Fluttershy cowering behind them at the scary monster's presence.
Mario held a hand out in front of them, looking back at them and shaking his head. "Don't worry, girls," Peach said. "Mario can handle Bowser on his own. And he's going to win and bring my castle back down to the ground where it belongs."
"Then we can be his sidekicks!" Pinkie exclaimed. She pulled out a pair of overalls from behind a pillar, along with a pink cap with the letter "P" on it. She put on her Mario-esque costume, placing her fake mustache on her upper lip as she stood on her hind legs, thrusting her forehooves forward while letting out fighting sounds. "Super Pinkie, ready to back Super Mario!"
The hall was silent, Bowser and Kammy staring at Pinkie, having no words to express what she was doing, why she was so strange, and how she pulled something out of nowhere behind something that clearly couldn't have hidden anything. The mare's friends all sighed at her silliness at a time like this, Mario pinching the bridge of his nose as he told himself not to question it.
"...I think I just got a headache," Kammy said.
"Well, I find that thing annoying," Bowser said. "And too pink."
"Hey! Everypony loves pink!" Pinkie argued. "Peach is wearing a pink dress, and you apparently like her!"
"...Then you're the only pink thing that I don't like." Before Pinkie could retort, Twilight began wondering how Bowser could have lifted the princess's castle with his fortress.
"Wait a minute. Your fortress was underneath Peach's castle," she stated. "Has that been there all that time? Did you dig a large tunnel and build it from the ground up? And just how is it possible for that to happen when you and your soldiers would have to be somewhere near the castle, where you could have easily gotten-"
"SHUT UP!!!!" Bowser roared, stomping his hoof down to get the alicorn to stop rambling. "Great Galloping Goombas, you're such a nerd! As if I'm even going to tell you how it worked! I'm not telling you weird animals anything!" He growled and looked back at Mario, the plumber ready to fight. "I have a score to settle with this mushroom munching plumber after all the times you foiled my plans! I won't let you stop this one, because this time, I'm not going to lose!" He flexed his claws, brandishing his dangerously sharp nails as he crouched low. "Let's go, Mario! Show me what you've got!"
Mario ran forward as Bowser stomped forward, the watching females stepping back to avoid getting attacked. The plumber was smaller and faster than the heavy Koopa King, his swipes missing the hero by mere inches. Mario landed a few punches to his soft underbelly, making Bowser wince from the blows before smacking him away. Mario flipped back on his feet and charged forward again, leaping up into the air with his impressive jumping ability, stomping down on Bowser's head.
"Go, Mario!" Peach cheered. "You can beat him!"
The mares cheered as well, amazed to see how well the shorter man was able to outclass the large beast of a Koopa with his agility and jumping power. Mario leapt off of Bowser's head, falling back down to slam his fist down on his head. Bowser grunted and staggered back, receiving a hard kick in the stomach, followed by an uppercut to the jaw. The plumber flipped back and gave Bowser a little break, saving him from being humiliated from a few colorful ponies and Peach too much.
"Whoo-hoo! Mario is super awesome!" Rainbow cheered. "He's beating the hay out of Bowser with just his hooves!"
"Actually, humans have hands, so Mario's fighting with his fists," Twilight corrected. Before she went back to joining her friends' cheers, she noticed Kammy Koopa, who was watching with them, didn't look at all concerned. In fact, she was absolutely calm, yet her ruler was getting beaten. "Wait, why isn't she worried?"
"That old witch?" Rarity asked, noticing the same calm expression on Kammy's face.
As soon as Bowser shook off the daze he was in from the uppercut, he looked at Mario, who was grinning as if he had just won the fight. "Not bad, plumber..." He soon began to chuckle, Peach and the rest of the mares ceasing their cheers as they heard him laughing. "But I'm not done yet. I said I wasn't going to lose, and I mean it this time."
He reached behind his shell and pulled something he had hidden from them. In his hand was what looked like a wand with a star shaped crystal gem on top, the handle brown with a white spiral running around it clockwise.
"A wand?" Applejack asked. "He can use magic?"
"Oh, it's not just any magic wand," Bowser said with a sinister smirk. "This is the Star Rod. Stole this baby from a place called Star Haven. And with this powerful wand, I will finally get what I've wished for after Mario trounced me time and time again! I have the power to finally beat my nemesis, and he will never rescue the princess!"
"What!?" Peach and the ponies exclaimed in shock, Mario taking a step back in surprise, but he wasn't going to back down.
"That's cheating!" Pinkie shouted.
"So what!? I don't play by the rules, and there are no rules when it comes to taking over this land and beating Mario once and for all!" Bowser thrust the wand up in the air, unleashing its magical power as the star gem began glowing a bright yellow.
Twilight gasped as she felt powerful magic being pulled into the wand, creating three spinning stars made of magical energy to sink into it. The Star Rod shined brighter for a moment, the same three magical stars rising up from the ground around Bowser. His body began to glow brighter and shift into an assortment of bright colors like an aurora borealis. The spell was complete as the evil Koopa laughed, flexing his muscles as he felt immeasurable strength coursing through his veins. Kammy grinned as they have easily won now that her king was unstoppable.
"That magic," Twilight said aloud. "...Was that...the same power I felt when I tried casting my spell?"
"Bah. He's just a glowing night light now," Rainbow scoffed. "Really scary magic. At least now we can see him better."
"Heheheheh." Bowser twirled the Star Rod in his hand, coaxing Mario to attack him as he taunted him. "Come on, linguine-breath. Hit me again. I dare you." Growling, Mario ran forward, wanting to end this fight for good. Bowser purposefully puffed out his chest as the plumber punched him, only for Mario to wince and back away, rubbing his arm as it felt like he had punched solid steel. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was that supposed to tickle?" Mario shook his sore arm and decided to jump on Bowser's head instead. He landed down hard on the Koopa's cranium, but like before, it didn't do anything to him. Mario began to grow nervous, punching, kicking, and jumping every vulnerable spot on his enemy's body, but he didn't inflict any damage. "You done? Good." Bowser grabbed the exhausted plumber in his claws and lifted him up. "My turn."
The spike-shelled tyrant reared an arm back then thrust it hard, punching Mario out of his other hand. He sent the hero tumbling across the carpeted floor, the girls gasping in horror as they watched him roll about like a rag doll. The punch had nearly knocked the plumber out, getting up on his knees as he coughed, feeling the wind knocked out of him.
"W-What the hay just happened?" Rainbow asked.
"He didn't even leave another mark on him," Applejack said. "He didn't even feel a thing."
"That's right!" Bowser said, pulling out his cheap magic artifact. "With this Star Rod, I'm even more powerful than Mario! Gwa ha ha ha ha!"
"That's not fair!" Rainbow shouted. "You can't even take Mario on in a fair fight!? You're an absolute jerk!"
"And proud to be one!" Mario stood back up, not giving up as he tried to beat Bowser up again. But his attacks were futile, not even making him flinch. Chuckling gleefully, Bowser grabbed Mario's arm as he tried to punch him again, tossing him up high and slamming him into the ceiling. The heroic man fell, getting slashed by the Koopa's sharp claws as he tumbled back across the hall. "Give it up, Mario! It's over!"
Mario didn't, slowly getting back on his feet, panting heavily as he wasn't able to last much longer. Peach was in tears, hating to see her hero in this much pain, but the mares, even Fluttershy, leered at the cheating Koopa.
"He doesn't know when to give up," Kammy said. "It's impossible for you to win, Mario. Face the facts."
The plumber shook his head, wincing as he took a knee, struggling to get back up on both legs. "Alright. I've had enough fun toying with you. Time to end this and take what should have been mine so long ago!"
Bowser took in a deep breath and unleashed a powerful blast of flames from his mouth. The fire breath headed straight for all of them and would burn all of them. Twilight quickly cast a protective barrier around her friends and Peach, but she was too late to expand the barrier to save Mario as they heard him cry out in pain.
"No!" Twilight shouted as the girls watched in horror as Mario was being burnt alive.
As soon as the flames stopped, the mares were surprised to see the plumber was still standing and only scorched, apparently far more resilient than they thought he was. Peach did say he had survived getting hurt by many things, including spikes, fire, being frozen, struck by magic, etc, but his whole body was covered in scorch marks, though his clothes were completely unscathed. Mario couldn't stand for long, the torrent of flames too much for him as he fell on his knees, then collapsed on the floor unconscious.
"Mario!" Peach cried out as her tears flowed, Twilight dispelling her barrier as the princess ran to the beaten man. She knelt beside him and turned him over, cradling his head as she tried to shake him awake. "Mario, please! You have to get up!"
"GWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Bowser laughed triumphantly, his body still glowing a myriad of colors as he jumped and pumped his fists in the air in victory. "I did it! I defeated Mario! I win!"
"Congratulations, Lord Bowser," Kammy said. "This will surely be a memorable moment of your reign for centuries to come."
"Of course, as long as I have this Star Rod," Bowser gloated as he held the wand in his hand.
As Peach weapt and the evildoers gloated about their victory, Twilight and her friends had enough. Bowser was worse than Discord; even though the draconequus was able to control chaos and do whatever he wanted, his law breaking was a thing he always did as he bent reality to his will and he never did any physical harm to everyone in Equestria. Bowser was the pure definition of a selfish monster, using the power of a magical wand to cheat his way to beating his archenemy. They may have used the Elements of Harmony in the past to best the likes of Nightmare Moon, Discord, and even Tirek with their new Harmony powers given to them by the Tree of Harmony after opening the chest, but used them to bring peace back to Equestria, not abuse their power.
"That's it. Now it's our turn." Twilight looked back at her friends, all of them nodding their heads, ready to unleash their new forms and unleash the power of Harmony on the dancing Koopa King. "Bowser! You haven't won yet!" He turned his head to the ponies as they stepped in front of Peach and Mario. "Now you're going to deal with us!"
Bowser immediately burst into uproarious laughter, falling back onto his back as he held his sides. "Oh, that's rich! I'm going to get beaten up by a bunch of rainbow colored things! I'm so scared!"
He laughed even harder, rolling side to side, even though his spikes on his shell should have kept him from moving around on his back. Kammy shook her head as their plan to fight back for Mario was pointless, but before she could lecture them, she noticed the ponies were beginning to glow. Lights matching their coat colors began to shine, shrouding the six mares as they transformed into their harmonious rainbow form. Bowser stopped laughing and watched in confusion as he sat up, while Kammy stared in shock, feeling the overwhelming magical energy that came from them.
The bubbles of light around them popped in a flash of light, the Mane Six's bodies changed in their new forms. Their manes and tails were longer, some styled differently like Rainbow's hair being swept back, adding colorful highlights in their hair, even giving Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy's wings colorful highlights on their wings. The mares began hovering in the air, Peach looking up at them in awe, even as she held Mario in her arms.
"You have no idea who you're messing with, Bowser," Twilight said. "In our world, we're known as the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, using their power to bring peace back when somepony threatens to destroy our home! These powers we have now were given to us by the Tree of Harmony, who created the Elements and gave us this gift to keep our world safe from monsters like you!" The six mares joined hooves as their magic melded together, creating a powerful aura of rainbow light between them. "Let's see if your enhanced strength can withstand the power of the magic of friendship!"
The aura grew bigger as the rainbow light inside it shined brighter. Kammy shrieked and ran away as fast as she could for her age to avoid getting blasted by the powerful magic. Bowser sat there, raising an eyebrow in confusion at Twilight calling their combined power as the magic of friendship. The harmonious light fired and struck the Koopa King, engulfing him in aurora-like rainbow beam. Peach gasped in awe, sort of afraid incredible magic like that would kill Bowser, but their use of the Elements of Harmony when they told her earlier would only purify or weaken their foes in a certain way that leaves them powerless.
After giving him what seemed to be enough to defeat the Koopa King, the Mane Six ceased their magical beam, only to gasp in shock as it had no effect on Bowser at all. He still sat there, feeling absolutely nothing, his body still shimmering with his buffed up power. He looked down at and around himself, scratching his head in confusion. Kammy looked around behind a pillar she hid behind for cover, just as surprised as the ponies to see her king still standing.
"Was that supposed to do something to me?" he asked.
"W-What...?" Rarity uttered.
"How did that not work!?" Rainbow asked. "That should have worked! He's evil!"
Bowser chuckled and stood up, looking down at the Star Rod in his grip. Twilight's jaw dropped, now realizing why it had failed; Bowser used the Star Rod to make himself invincible. That explained why Mario wasn't able to hurt him anymore, and not even magic would be able to do them any good either if their most powerful magic from their friendship didn't leave so much as a scratch.
"Well, so much for that 'magic of friendship' you praised!" Bowser mocked. "Nothing can hurt me with the Star Rod in my hands! You're just as weak as Mario now! I am completely invincible!"
"N-No...This...This can't be!" Twilight exclaimed. "We...We can't stop him..."
The old witch approached them, knowing their power was completely useless toward the invincible Koopa King with the Star Rod in his possession. "Such strange magical power," she muttered to herself. "There isn't any magic in friendship...What are these creatures?"
"Now, let's take out the trash!" Bowser lifted the Star Rod, the gem shimmering brightly for a moment.
He fired a bolt of lightning down on the unconscious Mario, shocking Peach as the bolt missed her by mere inches, gasping in horror as she watched him get knocked back out through the window Bowser crashed through. "NOOOOO! MARIOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
The mares tried to fly out and save him, only for Bowser to aim the Star Rod and shoot a beam of electricity at them, trapping them in midair as the energy continuously shocked them. "Wait, Lord Bowser!" Kammy shouted. "Do not kill them!"
The mares screamed in agony as they slowly began to fall to unconsciousness, Peach helplessly watching as she was going to lose both her hero and her new friends. Bowser chortled as he took care of the six mares who thought they could easily beat him. Just as he was about to send them flying out with Mario, he grunted in confusion as he watched their bodies begin to glow brightly. The lights, each mare glowing with the colors of their coats, blinded the sorrowful princess, the invincible tyrant, and the elder witch. They reverted into bubbles of their respective light colors, shrinking down to the size of a small orb, then shot out of the window, falling back down to the Mushroom Kingdom with Mario.
After a moment of stunned silence, Peach began to weep, her hero gone and likely plummeting to his death, while her new friends had disappeared as orbs of light, unsure if they were alive or not. Bowser was completely baffled, his jaw dropped in surprise as he stood frozen in place, aiming the Star Rod at where the Mane Six hovered. Kammy's eye twitched behind her glasses, slowly turning her head to look at the large Koopa that was her king.
"...W-What...What just happened?" Bowser asked.
"Your Nastiness, what did you just do!?" Kammy shrieked. "Why did you get rid of them, too!?"
"Hey, it wasn't my fault!" Bowser argued. "I was just shocking them and was just about to throw them out myself with Mario!" The witch facepalmed, unable to believe how the mindless, brute of a leader thought it was a good idea to throw out creatures never before seen in their world. "Well, at least they're gone and won't annoy me. Especially that purple one. Her questions gave me more of a headache than that pink one."
"...L-Lord Bowser, do you not recall you were blasted by powerful magic the likes of which neither of us has ever seen!? Without that Star Rod keeping you invincible, it could have killed you!" Bowser began to think, but he stopped processing everything after only a few seconds, not even caring since he was completely invincible. "And if you had killed them, we wouldn't be able to study how their magic differs from what I or any other Kamek and Magikoopa in the world and your forces have! We could have had more magical power in our arsenal against our enemies!"
"We don't need them," Bowser said, making Kammy gasp in bafflement. "All we need is this Star Rod. Mario's beaten, those things aren't of any concern to me, and Peach and her castle are now mine. All my wishes are granted...except for one." The Koopa King walked up to the princess, her face covered by her white gloved hands as she cried, brushing his fiery red mane back with a claw as he leaned down to her. "Your kingdom is mine, princess...and so are you. Forever."
Peach slapped Bowser hard in the face, actually hurting him as he had disabled his invincibility after the mares suddenly disappeared, the sound echoing in the long hall. Kammy's jaw had dropped, having witnessed the young woman slap her king right as she was about to call for their soldiers to escort her to her bedroom. Peach glared at the stunned Koopa, stifling her sobs as tears still streamed down her face, never forgiving him for what he did.
"You're a monster," she said, turning away from him as she sadly approached the shattered window, finding no sign of the seven fallen victims down below.
Bowser rubbed the red hand mark on his cheek, grumbling angrily. "You'll think differently in the future, Princess Peach. All of my wishes will be granted, and you will eventually see things my way."
Bowser stomped his way down to the lower floors of Peach's castle, his minions downstairs already taking hostages from the party and having them taken to his floating castle's dungeon cells. As he left, Kammy let out a shrill whistle, calling forth a couple of her king's strongest of soldiers. Two gray armored Koopa Troopas, wearing black, spiky shells and a spiked helmet, ranked as Koopatrols in Bowser's army, both loyal soldiers saluting to the witch.
"Yes, Kammy Koopa, ma'am!" they both said.
"Escort Princess Peach to her bedroom," she commanded. "By King Bowser's command, she is not to leave her chambers for anything. Guard her door to make sure she doesn't try to sneak out."
"...Uhh, permission to speak, ma'am?" one of them asked, the witch nodding her head to let him talk. "Why do we need to guard her door? Her castle's on top of Lord Bowser's, and we're up high in the sky. She doesn't have a chance of escaping."
"It's a precaution," Kammy explained. "Peach is a smart girl, and she could find her way out if she's given the chance." She walked over to one of the windows, looking down at the kingdom. She saw six glints of light through the clouds, which she figured must have been the six ponies Bowser "accidentally" tossed out, whether on purpose or not. "I just have a big feeling in my gut that's telling me Lord Bowser hasn't really won yet. The battle is won, but the war is not over."
"But, Lord Bowser defeated Mario," the other Koopatrol stated. "That means we did win...right?"
"...We'll just have to see. Now, you have your orders. Get to them." The two elite guards saluted and approached the princess.
Even though they were evil minions, the Koopatrols were gentle with the grieving princess as they guided her back down the hall to her bedroom on the second floor. Despite their victory, they weren't that cruel to do any harm to Peach when Bowser doesn't want a single hair on her head harmed when she is captured. Kammy continued looking out the window for a while before she made her way through the castle to find Bowser, a little surprised he didn't blow up on Peach for that hard smack like a kid having a temper tantrum. She began to grow worried, the magic from the Mane Six far more powerful than she expected.
Mario fell after getting knocked out of the castle by Bowser, slowly reaching the ground at the dangerous height above the clouds. There was no chance of him waking up in time and try to slow his descent, his mortal foe beating him with unimaginable power that could actually destroy the toughest Thwomp in the Mushroom Kingdom. As he fell through the clouds, the Mane Six now six bright orbs of colored light had caught up with the plumber, falling along with him as they too had been beaten, their rainbow form's magic saving them from Bowser's power enhanced by the Star Rod.
With the last of the magic used to help the mares flee, each sphere shot a small beam at Mario, concealing him in an anti-gravity bubble that slowed his descent a little. The spheres then shot off, spreading out to different parts of the Mushroom Kingdom down below, separating from each other into unknown lands they have no knowledge of, while the unconscious hero of the Mushroom Kingdom floated somewhat safely down to the ground.