//------------------------------//
// Over the Mountain... 
// Story: My Little Paper Mario 
// by Codex92 
//------------------------------//

	After a relatively short ride across the tracks, the train finally slowed to a halt as it reached its destination: Mt. Rugged. The locomotive rolled up into the station, letting out a whistle upon its arrival as Toads wandered about the platform, some impatient visitors waiting to get home while some sold wares for travelers wishing to climb past the mountain range and Dry Dry Desert on the other side.

"Mt. Rugged Station!" the conductor announced.

The group boarded off the train and stepped foot on the base of the mountains. The humid air was not as bad as the desert, but Twilight could feel it as she already began to sweat.

"Ugh. It's already too warm," Twilight groaned. "I feel like shaving off all my fur just to make this heat slightly bearable."

"Maybe you should get yourself a cloak to help protect you from the heat," Kooper suggested. "I...don't want to imagine what you would look like as a hairless pony."

"And seeing the prices of some of the traveling gear, it's actually a pretty good deal," Goombario said.

Twilight went over to the station's stand and got herself a simple brown cloak using the coins this world uses as currency. She tore a couple holes around the back for her wings, keeping them free so she could fly in the air while wearing it if she needed to. It did keep her cool a little bit, but she was sure the hot desert air would only bring the unbearable heat back as soon as they step onto the sands. Now that they were properly prepared, mostly Twilight, Mario lead the way as they began climbing up the mountain. They didn't get far before they heard someone ahead of them.

"Oh no, oh my!" a male voice said worriedly. "Where did I drop them!? Ohhhhh, I'm in so much trouble!"

Up ahead was a cyan shelled Paratroopa wearing a satchel over his shoulders and a flight cap with a pair of air-resistant goggles on his head, flying backwards as he seemed desperate to look for something. Not paying attention to where he was going, he was about to bump into Mario, but Twilight stopped him with her magic.

"Sir, are you ok?" the alicorn asked.

"Huh?" The Paratroopa turned around, gasping in surprise as he saw Mario among the group of five. "Oh my gosh! It's Mario! Pop me out of my shell, it's an honor to meet you!" He finally realized he wasn't moving as he flapped his wings, noticing the lavender aura around his body. "Uhh, how am I hovering without moving?"

"That would be me," Twilight answered, lowering the flying Koopa down to the ground. "You were about to run into us when your back was turned."

"Oh. Oops." The Paratroopa fidgeted his hands nervously. "W-Well, I'm looking around for something. My name's Parakarry, and I'm the mail carrier for the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Nice meeting you, Parakarry," Twilight greeted. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and that's Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette." The other three waved or nodded at Parakarry as they were introduced to the mail carrier. "Now, what exactly are you looking for?"

"...Uhh, this is a little embarrassing, but...I lost some letters that fell out of my bag," Parakarry said, rubbing the back of his head with a nervous blush on his cheeks. "I've been looking all over Mt. Rugged for three of them that I dropped, but I can't find them anywhere. I mean, I'm supposed to be a professional postman, and I had to go flying around with my mailbag not even fully closed." Parakarry whined, bringing his hands to his face. "I'm going to be fired for sure..."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Goombario said. "We'll help find your missing mail."

"Really!?" Parakarry asked, Mario nodding his head as he looked at the plumber. "Oh, thank you! You guys are life savers! I'll start looking around here if they fell in this area."

"Ok. We'll meet up here with you after we find the three letters you lost." The group began heading on through Mt. Rugged, leaving Parakarry near the station as he began looking around the bushes for his missing mail. Kooper pulled out the map as he looked over the mountain range. "So, if Parakarry lost his mail around Mt. Rugged, it shouldn't be too hard to find if his route for his rounds flew over the traversable sections of the mountain."

"I think our best bet is to split up into groups to find them," Goombario said, quickly jumping up onto Twilight's back. "Since Twilight can fly and I'm light enough for her to carry, we'll go together and take the skies to get a birds-eye view of the mountain."

"And we'll take the ground path," Bombette said. "Let's hope things go smoothly for us on this rugged mountain."

"Just be careful of any suspicious looking rocks," Goombario warned. "There's supposed to be Clefts that live on Mt. Rugged. Don't jump on them since they also hide spikes on their heads. And watch out for Monty Moles that pop out from the ground and walls around here, too. They love to ambush travelers."

"Got it. As if we'll let some rocks and moles stop us." They split up in their groups, Twilight flapping her wings as she flew into the air with Goombario while Mario, Kooper, and Bombette continued their way on foot to search for Parakarry's letters.

"Hopefully those letters will be easy to spot," Twilight said. "With how many levels there are on this mountain, it could be hiding underneath the side of a cliff, or stuck between any of the foliage that thrives in this range." As the alicorn slowly flew over Mt. Rugged, being careful not to let Goombario fall off since he didn't have arms or hands to hold onto, she spotted a bridge in the distance. Beyond that was Dry Dry Desert, where all she could see was sand, cacti, and a searing heat that would melt an ice cube in mere seconds. There was also a suspicious looking vulture resting on a nest, keeping a close eye on the bridge for any passersby. It was pretty big for any normal avian Twilight had ever seen with a lone feather sticking out on top of its bald head. Down by the cliff near the start of the bridge, she spotted what looked like an envelope laying on the ground. "I think I see one."

Twilight flew down and landed on the ground, unaware of one of the rocks shifting slightly as a pair of eyes spotted her. She picked up the envelope with her magic, her back turned to the stone as it slowly shuffled toward her.

"Yup. That's definitely mail issued for the post office," Goombario said. "This must be one of the missing letters Parakarry lost."

"Good, that's one down." The rock suddenly began to change, revealing a clefted face, a pair of feet, and spikes appearing on its head from its camouflaged state. "Just two more left to-" The rock creature rammed into Twilight's plot, pricking her backside as she winced and leapt up into the air in surprise and pain. "YEEEEOW!"

Goombario yelped and fell off Twilight's back, landing on his feet as he saw what startled the alicorn as she rubbed her pricked rump. "It's a Cleft! Sneaky little rock monster!"

While the Cleft laughed, its beady yellow eyes cock-eyed at the hilarious reaction he gave to Twilight, the alicorn looked down when the pain subsided. "What the...? THAT's a Cleft!?" She growled and hovered back down, leering at the prankster rock creature. "That is not funny!" Using her magic, she levitated the Cleft up in the air, ceasing its mocking laughter as it began whimpering, flailing its legs around to try to touch the ground. "That really hurt, you walking boulder!"

Twilight turned around and gave the Cleft a swift buck in its cleft chin, sending it flying across the ground and smacking hard into the wall of the nearby canyon. Its eyes spun around in its head as it slid to the ground, plopping onto its side as it saw stars floating around it. Twilight winced, a big mistake to kick something as hard as stone as soon as she put her hind legs back down. At least she aimed underneath it and not the top of its spiked head.

"Ow. That looked like it hurt," Goombario said. "Your hooves ok, Twilight?"

"Just a little sore," she said. "I'm not like Applejack or Pinkie with their overwhelming strength. I think I'll be ok." Twilight rubbed where the Cleft pricked her, wincing a little as she growled in irritation. "I better stay in the air if anymore of those things decide to sneak up on me."

"And if we land, we better keep a close eye out for any rocks that are that Cleft's size," Goombario warned. "They blend in really well with the mountain. At least we haven't run into any Monty Moles. They can pop out of the ground and throw rocks at you. Though, those probably hurt a lot less than a harsh poke to the butt."

Twilight grumbled as Goombario climbed back onto her back, gripping onto her mane with his mouth just in case she gets startled like that again. Twilight lifted off the ground again and continued her search for the other two letters from the air. She didn't get far when she spotted something down below. It wasn't a letter, but it was a small blue flower that looked just like the pink one from that Bub-ulb back in Toad Town. Taking a closer look, she hovered down to where it rested, an impossible feat to make for anyone to get over with a gap that was far too wide for someone not like Mario to jump across.

"Is this another one of those Bub-ulb things?" Twilight asked.

"Bub-ulbs? Those guys live in Flower Fields, or anyplace with fertile soil," Goombario stated. "Kinda hard to find anyplace fertile near a desert region. They aren't like cacti since they need water to survive."

Overhearing them, the flower popped up in front of Twilight and Goombario, which just so happened to be another Bub-ulb underneath. "Well, I never thought I'd find visitors around here. Kind of an odd place for me to set myself, but the little Goomba is right. And this little spot has the perfect soil to grow plants, far enough away from those dreadful Monty Moles. Always digging through the ground, even tearing out the roots of the flowers if any grew." The Bub-ulb shuddered in fright at the thought of meeting a Monty Mole's claws while buried in the ground. "We sometimes get some vermin infestations from their cousins in Flower Fields."

"I don't think Fluttershy would appreciate moles getting killed to protect the flora in your home," Twilight said.

"Flutter-who? Is that some kind of butterfly?" The alicorn was about to respond, but the Bub-ulb shook its head. "Oh well. That doesn't matter. Anyway, for seeing me, I'll give you one of my seeds." It pulled out a blue seed similar in size to the pink one Twilight received from the pink Bub-ulb back in Toad Town, handing it to her. "Make sure to plant it somewhere safe and far away from those Monty Moles."

"Right." The Bub-ulb gave a bow and hopped back into its hole, burying its body back into the dirt while leaving it's flower up above ground. "Odd creatures, Bub-ulbs. And now I have two different flower seeds."

"We can't exactly plant them right now when we're in the middle of saving the kingdom," Goombario said. "Might as well hold onto those Bub-ulb seeds. Maybe someone who loves flowers will take care of them."





Mario, Kooper, and Bombette traversed the mountain range, avoiding getting struck by stones tossed by the mischievous Monty Moles that poked their heads out of the ground. They were low enough in the ground to get whacked by Mario's hammer or tackled by Kooper and Bombette, though they always appeared in groups whenever provoked into a confrontation. Along the way, there were slide-like slopes around parts of Mt. Rugged, mostly used as a shortcut to reach certain heights of the mountain range while on land or making it back to the train station quicker.

As they made it halfway across the area, Mario spotted something up on a high ledge. Leaping up to it after knocking out a few more Monty Moles in the wide open area, he found one of the three letters Parakarry was looking for. He showed it to his two companions as he leapt back down toward them.

"Great! One down, two to go!" Kooper cheered.

"I don't know how he missed that one," Bombette said. "I bet Twilight could have seen that easily, although it may be because she's got bigger eyes. Or Parakarry needs to clean those goggles of his if they're dirty."

"I'm not sure if Twilight can see better than we can with eyes as big as hers," Kooper pondered. "I didn't want to be rude and ask her. But she does have a keen eye, so that might be the reason." They looked around to figure out where to go next. The Koopa spotted one of the slopes high above them that lead over to another section of Mt. Rugged above where they entered. "Let's check over there. Maybe one of Parakarry's letters wound up in that upper area."

"So, we're going to be sliding down that slope and hoping we fly far enough to land on that platform up there?" Bombette asked.

"Yeah. It kinda looks fun," Kooper said, the pink Bob-omb giving him a blank stare. "What?"

"Do you live for danger?" Bombette questioned. "Because after you lit yourself on fire taking on the Koopa Bros., I have a feeling you like getting into trouble where every bone in your body could get broken."

"Well, if I'm going to be an explorer, you need to take your chances on any expedition. That's what Mr. Kolorado Koopa says." Kooper began bouncing up and down excitedly. "And he's somewhere in Dry Dry Desert! I can't wait to tell him I'm teaming up with Mario to travel around the Mushroom Kingdom and help save the princess!"

"You're quite the fanboy, aren't you?" Bombette sighed and shook her head. "Granted that is dangerous, but if it's the only way to go...unless we ask Twilight to search up there."

"Nonsense!" Kooper exclaimed. "Down the slope we go!"

The Koopa ran on ahead as he climbed up a slanted slope to reach the higher point of the mountain where the slide started. Bombette and Mario hurried after him before they got ambushed by more Monty Moles or any Clefts, being wary of any strange-looking rocks on the ground. Once they reached the top, Kooper was already sliding down, letting out a whoop as he pulled himself inside his shell and flew off the curve, landing on the upper ledge down below. Mario went down next, sliding off and making a huge leap over, overestimating his landing as he landed on his feet, then flopped onto his stomach from the momentum.

"Oh boy," Bombette muttered. "I hope I make it across..."

Steeling her nerves, Bombette ran forward and began sliding down, but with her round body, she began rolling uncontrollably down the slide. She flew off the lip, screaming and flailing her legs wildly as she spun rapidly, unable to land properly as she began to get dizzy. Kooper quickly got under the Bob-omb and caught her before she hit the ground, her eyes turning into spirals as she moaned deliriously.

"You alright, Bombette?" Kooper asked.

"I think I'm gonna throw up...and I don't have a mouth. Or a stomach." Kooper let her down, finally finding solid ground as she stumbled about. "Next time, one of you guys carry me so I don't rumble and tumble like steep slopes like that again."

"Heheh. Will do." Kooper looked over at Mario, dusting himself off before giving him a thumbs up.

After Bombette got her bearings, the trio continued their search for Parakarry's lost mail. They explored the  beaten path of the trail, avoiding a nearby Cleft as they made their way over to a spring that helped them up on another higher cliff. With a higher view, they looked around the area for any sign of an envelope. Mario spotted it on a cliff where they entered this section of Mt. Rugged, and it was yet another sliding jump across. As they slid down and over, Kooper made sure Bombette was secure in his grip as they made it over, Mario grabbing their second letter.

"That's two down," Bombette said. "Let's see if Twilight found the third one."

The party soon regrouped with each other a moment later, Mario's group spotting Twilight and Goombario hovering around as they looked around. The hero of the Mushroom Kingdom let out a whistle, alerting the alicorn to their location. She flew down and landed before them.

"We found a letter over by the bridge," Goombario said. "You guys got any luck?"

"Yeah. We found the other two," Kooper said as Mario held up the two of three letters Parakarry dropped.

"Cool! We found all three!" Twilight levitated the letter she and Goombario found over to Mario.

"Hopefully this will ease his worries," Twilight said. "...And if he's a mail carrier, maybe he's seen where my friends are on his routes!"

"Hey, maybe he has," Kooper said. "If Parakarry delivered any mail across the kingdom, then he's sure to have at least seen one of your friends the past few days."

Reunited, they headed back to the station, where they found Parakarry fluttering about, still searching the area for his missing letters. He spotted them coming back, flying up to them in desperation.

"Did you find them yet?" he asked, practically begging with his hands clasped together. Mario pulled out the three envelopes, the Paratroopa immediately recognizing them as he swiped them out of the plumber's hand. "Yes! These are the ones I was missing here! Oh, thank you, guys! You're all lifesavers!"

"It was no-" Goombario paused, thinking he misheard Parakarry. "Wait, did you say 'the ones missing here'? What does that mean?"

"...Uhh..." Parakarry giggled nervously with a sheepish grin. "W-Well...I did say there were only three letters I dropped around Mt. Rugged...But I also lost other letters all around the Mushroom Kingdom, too."

Mario, Goombario, Kooper, Bombette, and Twilight comically fell over and let out a loud groan of exasperation. "Are you serious!?"

"Heheheheh. Yes, unfortunately," Parakarry said. "I didn't realize it until I felt my bag was so empty. I just don't know what went wrong."

Twilight sighed heavily, Parakarry's clumsiness reminding her of a certain pegasus mailmare back home who delivered mail to Ponyville, and was also the cause of the heavy falling objects from a delivery while she was observing Pinkie and her Pinkie sense. "Next time, before you fly, secure every! Single! Pocket! In your bags!"

"S-Sorry," the Paratroopa apologized. "I was in the middle of a panic when Her Highness Princess Peach's castle was lifted into the sky while delivering newpapers of the event. I at least gave everyone their news...T-That counts, right?"

"Dude, you need to organize yourself a little better," Goombario suggested. "That way you won't freak out about losing your job."

"R-Right. But, I at least got three of them back." Parakarry placed the envelopes in his bag, double-checking to make sure it was closed tightly and nothing was going to fall out. "I'm really sorry for making you run around and find the things I lost...I can make it up to you, if you want. Since you guys are with Mario, I'm betting you're helping him find a way to save the princess, right?"

"We are," Bombette answered. "You can fight?"

"Of course. As a mail carrier, I travel to all sorts of dangerous places to deliver mail." Parakarry ducked inside his shell, his wings keeping him hovered in the air. He then shot off almost as quickly as Kooper does, flying off in one direction at high speeds until he smacked into a nearby rock. He managed to leave a crack in it, flying back to the others. "No wind, sleet, snow, hail, or wild creatures stops me from delivering news and letters to all of the Mushroom Kingdom. And if you need a lift over far distances or gaps, I can carry you across. There is part of the broken bridge leading to Dry Dry Desert that was taken out recently, and it's a far leap...Though, probably not for Mario."

"Well, Twilight and I did find the bridge where one of those letters was located," Goombario said.

"And if I had to fly everyone over who can't jump far distances, I'll end up exhausted, even if we don't find Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy to help me." While Twilight pondered over inviting Parakarry to join them, she also remembered to ask him about her friends after nearly forgetting from his carelessness with his duties. "Oh! Parakarry, by any chance, have you seen others that are like me, though with just wings, just a horn, or none? Long story short, my friends and I are from a different world, we came here by a complete accident with a spell, and got separated when Bowser attacked us."

"Oh. I was wondering who you were, but I was so worried about finding my mail that I didn't notice..." Parakarry didn't really think long, giving Twilight a sad look. "...But, I didn't see any others that looked like you, Twilight. I was really busy, and I was looking for my letters...Sorry."

"Oh," Twilight uttered, lowering her head dejectedly. "No matter who I ask, I can never get any leads on where my friends are..."

Mario comforted the alicorn, patting her head, reassuring her that her friends must be somewhere out in the kingdom. He didn't need anymore convincing from Parakarry, allowing the Paratroopa to come along with them and help him.

"Really!? Oh, thanks, Mario!" Parakarry said gratefully. "And if we find any letters out in the kingdom, I'll deliver them to the right person if we're in the right place we travel to...At least, I hope we'll find all of them."

"Just make sure not to lose them," Kooper reminded Parakarry, the mail carrier nodding his head with a nervous chuckle.

With Parakarry joining the group, they continued on their way to the desert, reaching back to the bridge Twilight and Goombario had flown by where one of the Paratroopa's letters was found. On their way, Parakarry got to know a bit more about Twilight and who she was, along with the description of her friends that were scattered somewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom. He did feel bad he never saw any other ponies in the last few days since the castle was lifted by Bowser's floating fortress after seeing how disappointed Twilight was knowing he didn't offer any help. If only he was more observant to his surroundings during the busiest of days of his job he's ever had in his life, maybe he would feel more useful for her than being a clumsy Paratroopa who can't keep track of his missing mail he accidentally lost and relied on Mario and his other companions to find them for him.

They eventually reached the bridge, and just as Parakarry said, there was a large gap between them and the bridge. Down below, there was the Cleft that rammed into Twilight earlier, still in a daze from getting bucked in the jaw by the irritated alicorn.

"Wow," Goombario uttered. "That Cleft is still knocked for a loop after it pricked you with its spiked head, Twilight."

"That Cleft hit you?" Kooper asked.

"That thing is lucky I didn't throw it over the cliff for ramming into me," Twilight grumbled, leering angrily at the Cleft with her cheeks puffed out.

"Where exactly did it hit you?" The alicorn instinctively pressed her tail down against her rear, blushing heavily as she looked away from everyone. Just from her reaction to Parakarry's question, they could take a guess the general area where she was struck, Mario rubbing his own hindquarters with a wince as he made a few accidental mistakes trouncing spiked foes or falling into spike pits. "Oh. Never mind..."

"Let's just get to the desert before I take out my frustration on that sentient rock thing." Twilight picked up Goombario, placing him on her back as she hovered in the air and grabbed Bombette in her forehooves.

She flew her two charges over to the other side while Mario simply jumped across and Parakarry carried Kooper across, the mail carrier flapping his wings hard as they crossed the gap. The Paratroopa didn't look strong, but he was able to lift a Koopa like Kooper easily, but with someone heavier like Mario, it would exhaust him more since his wings were smaller than Twilight's and not as strong. Once they got across, they walked over the wooden bridge across the canyon, Dry Dry Desert not too far away.

Eyeing the group on a nest resting on a lone pillar of earth, the vulture pulled out a slip of paper hidden under the thick twigs and branches. On the back was Bowser's insignia, which happened to be a silhouette of his face laughing maniacally, and on the front was a detailed picture of targets the Koopa King wants taken care of and/or captured. The only one on the "kill" section was Mario's portrait, and beneath that were the pictures of the six mares requested to be captured and reported to Kammy. Though the ponies' pictures were drawn out as best as possible, the buzzard shifted its eyes from the page to the group walking across the bridge, unsure if those were the targets Bowser wanted to be dealt with.

"Hey! Hold up there!" The party stopped as they looked out to the vulture, flapping its wings out of its nest and flew up to them. Blocking their path, it examined them, mostly Mario and Twilight as it pulled out Bowser's wanted list. Upon seeing Bowser's insignia, the group let out a quiet gasp of shock, figuring the buzzard worked for Bowser. "Mhmm. Yup. Very similar lookin'. Two of y'all are on this here list for King Bowser; Mario and one of these here odd lookin' critters from some other land or somethin'." The vulture put the list away in its feathers, readying to attack them. "Now, who are y'all!?"

As they tried to figure out a plan to get out of fighting the bridge watching avian, Goombario already had an idea the moment it mentioned Mario. "Wait, you really think this guy is Mario?" the Goomba questioned.

"Well...it looks like him from the picture," the buzzard said. "Clearly that has to be Mario!"

"No it's not," Goombario said matter-of-factly. "This is obviously Mario's younger brother, Luigi." The avian raised a brow, cocking its head in confusion. Mario, Bombette, Kooper, and Parakarry quickly caught on with Goombario's plan, nodding their heads to confirm the Goomba's lie. "I know it's hard to tell, but this isn't Mario at all. Maybe it's the mustache, since they both have them."

Miraculously, the buzzard fell for the trick as it let out an understanding squawk. "He does look like Mario...Ah guess Ah can let him pass...but this creature..." It flapped down and landed in front of Twilight, the larger bird towering over the alicorn. Twilight gulped, keeping quiet as it leered at her with its beady black eyes. "This here looks like one of these six here animals Lord Bowser needs to be captured."

"What kind of animal?" Goombario asked, feeling confident in tricking the buzzard even further.

"No idea what it is. Some of them have a horn, or wings, with big eyes and lookin' like somethin' that came out of a little girl's colorin' book." The vulture pulled out the list again, taking a closer look at the six described equines for reference.

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about. You clearly haven't seen a Poochy before." The bridge sentry looked up, even more confused.

"The hay-feathers is a Poochy?" the buzzard asked.

"This is a Poochy," Goombario said, confusing everyone along with the buzzard. He leapt up on Twilight's back and pat her with his foot. "I don't know what Bowser's looking for, but if it's a Poochy, then I think you're wasting your time. And this Poochy's been a part of my family ever since I was little. She even knows a few tricks. Lay down, girl!" Having no idea what was happening, Twilight lowered herself down on the ground. Goombario hopped off of her and approached her ear. "Just play along and act like a dog. I think this lackey of Bowser's is all that bright if he can't tell the difference between Mario and his younger brother Luigi, who actually wears green." Now understanding his plan, Twilight played her part as the Goomba's pet, hoping her acting would be good enough to convince the vulture. "Alright, girl, sit up!" The alicorn sat up on her haunches, lolling her tongue out and panted like a dog. "Now speak!"

"Arf arf!" Twilight barked.

"Good girl!" Kooper, Bombette, Parakarry, and Mario tried their hardest not to laugh, amused by Twilight's acting.

The vulture brought a wing up to its beak, seemingly convinced that the alicorn wasn't one of the six creatures. "Hmmm...Well, it says here they can also talk...and it barked instead of talkin' like us...Alright, then. Y'all can pass. Sorry for the inconvenience."

It flapped its wings and flew back to its roost to continue looking out for Mario and the six ponies. Now free to pass, the group quickly made their way forward, stopping right at the entrance of Dry Dry Desert by a small wooden water tower nearby. Once they were out of the buzzard's eyesight and earshot, the others couldn't hold back their snickering at the little show Twilight performed.

"Wow, Twilight. I think you deserve a treat for that little trick with Goombario," Kooper teased, everyone except Twilight laughing, both at her acting and how easy it was to fool the guard bird.

Twilight growled in annoyance, turning into a groan as Mario scratched her head like a dog. "At least that ended up working by some miracle," she said, swatting the plumber's gloved hand away from her ear. She looked down at Goombario, who was smirking at her cheekily. "Goombario, I don't know whether to say your quick thinking was brilliant or ridiculous, so I'm going to take the middle route and say that was insanely genius."

"Well, at least saying Mario was Luigi was a smart idea," the Goomba gloated. "But pretending you were supposed to be a Poochy was a shot in the dark when that buzzard was a bit colorblind to tell the difference between red and green."

"You just went along with that!?" Twilight exclaimed. "What if it failed!? We would have had to fight our way across!"

"But it did work," Parakarry noted.

"By sheer luck," Twilight added. "And what exactly is a 'Poochy'? I've never seen anything called that in any of Kooper's books."

"It's actually more dog than pony," Goombario said. "They're pretty rare to find as they mostly live on secluded islands far from the Mushroom Kingdom. Not many people have ever seen or ever heard of one, so I figured that'd be a perfect alibi for you with any of Bowser's more incompetent men."

"But, maybe we should give the big puppy a tweat," Bombette teased. "Who's a good, wittle Poochy!? You are!"

The others began laughing again as Twilight leered at them. She let out a sigh, her lips curling into a grin, knowing they were just picking on her a little.

"Ha ha, very funny," she said. "This 'Poochy's' done acting. We've got my friends to find and a kingdom to save, remember?" After everyone's laughing fit died out, they prepared themselves to travel through Dry Dry Desert. Twilight pulled out the many canteens from her bags, making sure each of them was filled to the brim with water and filling up any that were empty or barely full with the nearby water tower. "I'm probably going to end up drinking all the water from these...Dry Dry Desert sure does live up to its name; I'm already starting to get dehydrated, and we haven't set hoof on the sand yet."

"As long as we stay straight on the brighter dirt path, we should make it all the way to Dry Dry Outpost," Kooper said. "Hopefully, the desert isn't that wide to cross."

"I just hope there are plenty of oases out there..." Twilight looked out at the burning sands, wiping several beads of sweat from her forehead. "If one of my friends wound up lost in this desert..."

"I'm sure there are some desert travelers around Dry Dry Outpost who may have found any of them," Kooper assured, patting the worried alicorn's back. "We'll find them, Twilight. If your friends can handle dangerous threats from villains in your world, I think they can handle a bit of hot air."

"Try having a fur coat and already start feeling sweat mat your hair down on you before we climbed Mt. Rugged," Twilight grumbled. She let out a sigh, knowing most of her friends could take care of themselves, though not all of them have survival skills in the desert. "I hope somepony on the other side of the desert found them if they are out there..."