As the group walked into the main foyer of the haunted mansion, everyone got a pretty warm welcome sight with the old and worn out decor. Above them, floating around the ceiling, Twilight and Pinkie's skin crawled as they all saw hundreds of Boos aimlessly hovering around. From the ground floor, they were able to see the third floor, but there wasn't a flight of stairs leading up to it, just to the second floor.
"Well, that's just great," Twilight said. "How are we supposed to reach the third floor with no way up? I doubt Parakarry and I can fly everyone up there with all those Boos flying around."
"Yeah. They might try to send us back down," the Paratroopa said. "Best to stay grounded so they don't attack us."
"Some mansions back then had many different stairways in separate hallways and rooms," Goombario pondered. "Maybe we'll find a flight somewhere on the second floor...That is, if the blueprints when building this place made it that way."
"Might as well take a look around," Kooper said.
Starting with the second floor, they began climbing up the stairs, being wary of the Boos above them if they decided to swoop down and startle them. They didn't see a hallway on the next floor that lead to any stairs, just two doors with two picture frames on the opposite ends of the wall. The first portrait showed a gentlemanly Boo with a top hat and a mustache, though it didn't seem to look like Bootler. As they reached the other end of the floor, they reached a dead end, though this frame didn't have a picture on it at all.
"Dead end. We might have to search through the rooms." Before they went to check on the rooms on both this floor and the first one, they heard the empty frame shake.
"Oh, hello there," a voice said, startling everyone.
"AHH! Talking pictures!" Pinkie shrieked. "...But it's empty..."
"Yes, well, it looks like the master is testing you and took away my face," the frame said with a sigh. "Always toying with guests to give them a scare. Or annoy them into leaving. Depends on who interests her."
"Your master actually peeled off the portrait on this picture frame?" Twilight questioned.
"Correct," the voice said. "And if you can find it somewhere in the mansion, I'll be able to help you reach the third floor. There are no stairs that lead up to the upper level anywhere, so this is the only way to do it if you can find my face."
"Ok. So, we find your face, you can get us up there to meet with your master?" Pinkie asked. "...Sounds legit to me! Time to go face hunting! Let's see if there's a face in this room!" She hopped over to the doorway next to the empty picture frame. When she opened the door, a Boo flew out, letting out a shriek as it jumped right into her face. Pinkie screamed and fell over on her back, her heart literally pounding against her chest as she tried to breathe. After she calmed down, she pulled out her list of scary things to expect in the mansion. "Actually surprise jump scare that wasn't expected at all; check!"
The others facepalmed, proving Goombario's earlier theory with Pinkie finding this all as a game. "Pinkie, can you finish your checklist of random stuff until after we're done here?"
"But if I don't, then I'll end up forgetting about all the spooky, scary, creepy things that an actual haunted mansion should have! I wanna plan the next Nightmare Night back home, and if I want it to be super scary, I need research!" The Goomba just sighed and shook his head as Pinkie bounced back up and walked through the opened, jump scare-less door.
"It's gonna take a while to get used to Pinkie Pie after only one day of being around her," he uttered.
"It took me a couple years," Twilight said. "You get used to it from time to time."
Inside the first room Pinkie chose to look through first, it was pretty empty aside from an old bed and three cabinets, two of them red while in between them was a white one. There weren't many places to search for a portrait of a Boo in the room as they approached the three cabinets.
"So, anyone else feel like these cabinets are suspicious?" Bombette asked.
"Let's see what's inside them!" Pinkie bounced over to the left red cabinet and tried to open it. The cabinet was locked firmly in place, no matter how hard the pony struggled. "Wow! These must be locked on the inside if they-"
Suddenly, the cabinet tipped over and crushed Pinkie underneath it, the sound of Boos laughing echoing in the room as it lifted itself back up, revealing a Pinkie pancake. "Pinkie! Are you ok!?"
"...Owie," she uttered. Pinkie weakly moved her hoof, pressing it to her mouth and blew hard. Like a balloon, her body re-inflated back to normal. She sat up and shook her head, apparently unharmed even after getting crushed by a heavy piece of furniture. "Didn't expect that, but that could have hurt somepony."
"...You mean that didn't even hurt you at all?" Parakarry asked, a little surprised and also baffled.
"Nope!" she answered. "And that means the other red cabinet must mean that will fall on anypony as well...Or is it all a trick, making us think the white one is safe and the other red one is actually the safer one?" Pinkie shook her head and tsked. "Nice try, ghosties, but I'm onto your game! Which means...the other red one is safe!" She bounced over to the other red cabinet, only for it to fall on top of her again and squish her. "...Or I was wrong..."
The group sighed and shook their heads. "Pinkie, just let Mario handle any dangerous stuff. Especially in a haunted mansion."
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie waddled away from the cabinets, this time grabbed her head with her hoof and pulling her squished body back to normal.
Mario went to check on the cabinets this time, opening the middle one. The doors actually opened up, but there was nothing inside. Before the plumber closed the cabinet, several Boos flew out and began circling around the room in a clockwise formatin, surprising everyone as they all backed away from the ghosts. One Boo hovered in the middle of the circle, holding onto what looked like a record player.
"Welcome, living guests," the Boo greeted. "I take it you're all here to try to get this here record to try to get to Lady Bow, eh?"
"Actually, we're looking for a portrait," Goombario said.
"Ain't got no portrait on us, but you will be needing this music disc," the Boo said. "Lady Bow is wanting to test you guys, and we can't let you have this. Unless you're able to figure out who has it."
"Well, you have it, silly," Pinkie said.
"That doesn't count." The Boo holding the record floated up to the edge of the circling Boos and began floating in the opposite direction above them. "Guess which one of us has it, and you can keep it. Guess wrong, and you'll have to play all over again." Keeping the vinyl record hidden behind his back as all the Boos kept facing their direction, he eventually dropped it down on one of them, the new holder keeping it hidden behind him as they continued moving in a circle. "So, care to guess who has it?"
Seeing as this game was far too easy, Twilight used her magic to zap the Boo holding onto the record, making him drop it. "That was a bit too easy."
"...Oh crud. Lady Bow's gonna have a fit with us when she finds out we lost so quickly!" The Boos disappeared and faded from sight, not before letting out a shriek and giving them a creepy face.
"So, this really is some kind of test," Twilight said, levitating the record from the floor. "We don't have time for any of their games. And who knows where this is supposed to go to."
"Let's check the other rooms to see if there's a record player around," Kooper said. "Maybe playing whatever's on this thing will open a secret passage."
The party left the room and headed into the first door they passed on the second floor, no Boo showing up unexpectedly to surprise them this time when they opened the door. Luckily for them, there was an old phonograph in the corner of the room, along with a small dining table with a couple chairs, a fireplace with some singed wood still burning, and a bored Boo standing guard in front of a treasure chest.
"Ugh, finally," the Boo said with a yawn. "I finally got some company after standing here for who knows how long. But I can't let you get whatever's here in this chest. Lady Bow's orders."
"The other Boo mentioned Lady Bow as well. Is this Bow the master of this mansion?" Twilight asked, the Boo nodding his head in response. "...Is she really that mean if she punishes you for failing?"
"She's strong, and no one speaks ill of her, otherwise you'll get a furious smacking around," he said. "With her fan, too...She's got a really good arm."
"With the same stubby limbs you all have, I could believe that," Goombario said. "I've got no arms, and I can certainly do some serious damage with my skull alone."
Since the Boo guarding the chest wasn't going to budge, they decided to check on the old record player to see if it still functioned. Pinkie bounced over to the fireplace, still feeling some warmth left from the remains of the burning wood.
"Ooooh. Somepony was still using the fireplace, and it's all nice and-" Soot suddenly shot out from the pit, along with the giggling of mischievous Boos waiting for their next victim. The cloud of ash disappeared, revealing Pinkie covered head to hoof in blackness, the mare's blue eyes blinking in shock and confusion. She shook the soot off her and coughed, taking a few steps away from the fireplace. "Ok, I should just not be near anything. Today must be 'Pick on Pinkie Pie Day', because I'm getting pranked a lot!...But that was kind of funny."
"I'm a little scared to find out if this phonograph's going to come to life and try to eat us," Parakarry said.
Taking the vinyl record, Twilight lowered the large disc into position and placed the needle on its surface. "It's weird how there isn't even a label for the song it plays on it. Or it was peeled off. Wonder what kind of song it is..."
Mario was curious as well as he grabbed the crank and began winding it. The horn began playing the song recorded on the disc, the sound a little staticky, but it was still clear enough to hear. The plumber couldn't help but feel like he's heard this song before, though he wasn't sure if it was all in his head or he heard it a long while ago.
"Hey! That's actually kinda catchy!" Pinkie said as she began swaying to the tune.
While Mario kept cranking the record player, none of them noticed the Boo was listening as well as he began bouncing a little to the beat. It was the only kind of entertainment he's ever gotten since he was assigned to guard that chest, and he was so bored, he just wanted to do something. With disregard to his duties for his master, he began dancing away from the chest to hear the music a bit more.
Kooper looked around the room to see if some kind of secret entrance opened, only to stare in shock as the Boo guarding the chest was dancing beside Pinkie Pie, the mare oblivious to her new dance partner. "What in the world...?" The others looked at the Boo and Pinkie, seeing the guard away from the chest and giving them clear access to what was inside it. "Mario, keep cranking. I'll find out what's in that chest."
Mario nodded his head, keeping the phonograph going while the Koopa snuck around the dance floor Pinkie and the Boo decided to make as they began dancing together. Just watching the duo dancing made it tempting for the others to join in, but they had a mansion to go through and meet with Lady Bow to see what she knew about the Star Spirits. Kooper opened the chest, half expecting to find the Boo portrait inside, but instead, he pulled out a gray weight with a hook to hang onto something and keep it lowered.
As soon as he held up the weight for the others to see, Mario stopped cranking the phonograph as they stared at the treasure, the music slowly dying out. "Was that really what was in there?"
"Yeah; just a weight," Kooper said.
Pinkie and the Boo stopped dancing, freezing in place with their arm/foreleg pressing against the other. "Hey, who said the party had to stop?"
"Yeah, it was getting good!" the Boo whined. He soon realized where he was floating, looking at his dance partner, then the others, and back to the opened chest. He gasped in shock, trembling fearfully. "Oh no! Lady Bow gave me one job, and I screwed it up! I'm in so much trouble!" He began biting his stubby arms nervously, his nerves slowly dying as he looked at the weight. "...W-Well, at least you guys have no idea how to use that thing. Maybe I'll still be ok..."
The worried Boo disappeared and flew elsewhere. "Aww. I didn't get his name. We were good dance buddies."
"So...now we have a weight." Twilight telekinetically held the weight in her aura, judging the odd "treasure's" actual weight. "What are we supposed to do with this?"
"Well, there is another room on the first floor we haven't checked," Kooper said. "That weight felt heavy enough to put enough pressure on a switch or button."
"Seems like we're getting farther away from the third floor than we should be going," Bombette noted, Parakarry and Goombario nodding in agreement.
After leaving the music room, as Pinkie decided to name it, they headed back downstairs and entered the last door they could reach. Like the other two rooms, there wasn't a lot of furniture or any objects for decoration. There was a chair with a sheet draping the backrest, a few wooden crates, and a large vase. In the middle of the floor, there seemed to be a hole as it was covered with wooden boards, which seemed to be new compared to the rest of the old, worn out flooring of the mansion.
There didn't seem to be anything around the room that could be used with the weight, which left them with no other answers to where it goes to. Exiting the room, they looked around the foyer, no longer bothered by the massive amount of Boos floating around the ceiling.
"Ok, what can be held down with this weight?" Twilight asked rhetorically as she paced around. "There has to be something in these rooms where it can be useful."
"Otherwise it'd be 'dead weight'?" Pinkie asked with a giggle, laughing at her own pun. No one else did, not even the Boos in the foyer, her friends groaning at the terrible joke. Pinkie sighed and walked over to the old green couch, taking a seat on the oddly miscolored seat. "It's like a graveyard in-HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!!!!!"
The couch cushion suddenly sprung up, flinging the pink pony up into the air. Everyone looked up as they heard her scream, watching her fly up to the chandelier, quickly grabbing onto the bottom of it as she swung back and forth. While hanging on for dear life, the ceiling lights creaking as it swung, before Twilight or Parakarry could carry her down, the chandelier began to lower. The clanking sounds that came from it as it was pulled down caused a green cabinet on the first floor to move aside, revealing a white door leading to more of the mansion.
"I knew there was a secret passage!" Kooper exclaimed. "...Although, I wasn't expecting it to be a tug from a chandelier hanging that high from the ground."
"That explained the oddly off-color couch cushion," Twilight said. "But that could be dangerous. What would happen if somepony didn't grab onto the chandelier if it wasn't there? They could end up getting hurt!"
"Uhh, does anypony know how long I should be holding on!?" Pinkie asked. "Can't really hang on forever, you know!"
"How about the weight?" Parakarry suggested. "Will that be able to hold the chandelier down?"
"Hopefully it's heavy enough to weigh this thing down," Twilight said.
Using her magic, the alicorn kept the chandelier held down while Pinkie let go and fell back on the ground. Taking the weight, she hooked it onto the bottom of the decorative ceiling fixture, keeping it down as well as the hidden doorway. Walking through the door, they found a stairway leading down to the basement of the mansion, though the room was empty aside from a treasure chest sitting in the middle of the room under another chandelier.
"Another chest, but no guard this time," Bombette noted. "I smell a trap."
"And you don't have a nose!" Pinkie said. Mario stepped forward to check on the mysterious chest, but as he opened it up, Pinkie's tail began twitching. "Twitchy tail!"
The plumber quickly looked up just in time, falling on his back as the chandelier dropped on him. It stopped just shy of Mario's height, though, a trap more meant to give anyone a scare than actually harm them. Mario let out a sigh of relief, thankful for Pinkie's warning as he watched the chandelier rise back up in its proper place.
"Ok, these Boos are insane!" Twilight exclaimed. "I think they really want to kill somepony with these traps! And I don't mean scaring us to death with how dangerous THAT trap is!"
"So far, they haven't yet," Goombario said. "Besides, if this Lady Bow wanted to meet with Mario, she probably wouldn't order the Boos here to harm us."
"Let's just keep moving and avoid opening anymore chests sitting out in the open," Kooper said. "We've got more mansion to explore, and I have a gut feeling that portrait is somewhere in the basement."
Ignoring the chest, seeing as there was nothing inside it but a surprising trap, they headed downstairs into the cellar. After climbing down the stairs, they noticed a few stored away objects that picked up dust for several years, one of which being a large grandfather clock that had stopped working ages ago. There was also a crack in the wall on the opposite end of the room from the stairs, though they didn't bother blowing it up with how rotted the building seemed and the Boos might not appreciate having their home getting destroyed. Finding no sign of a portrait of any kind, they walked down into the next room through the only door in the room, which was bare aside from a couple boxes and another door.
Through the next door, they saw a couple more stacked boxes, another boarded up part of the floor in the middle of the room, and a large treasure chest similar to the one back in the Dry Dry Ruins that held Mario's currently wielded hammer. "How many more rooms are there in this mansion?"
"Not sure, but we must have explored every single room...I hope." As everyone began walking toward the treasure chest, the door they walked through fell on the floor, the doorway mysteriously disappearing and trapping them inside. Slowly, all eyes turned to the fallen door, tricked by the Boos as they walked into an inescapable room. "...Ok. That's a bit creepy."
"How is that even possible!?" Twilight exclaimed. "It has to be an illusion. A trick. There's no way these Boos can just manipulate a room if they're just-" The alicorn tried to walk through where the door used to be, only to smack her face into the wall. She stared at the wall as she rubbed her nose, so many questions running through her mind as to how it happened. "...Ok. Not a trick...Why does all logic that I know not make any sense in this world???"
"It's another one of their tricks, but that doesn't mean we're actually trapped in here," Kooper said. "Maybe they stashed something in that chest that can help get us out."
"What if that chest is also booby trapped?" Goombario asked, which made Pinkie Pie laugh. "...Uhh, what's so funny?"
"You said 'Boo-bee trapped'! Because the Boos might have set up a trap in that chest!" Goombario realized what he said, pulling his hat down over his face as he groaned in exasperation.
"That was completely unintentional, Pinkie Pie," the Goomba grumbled.
"Anyway, someone's gotta open up that chest," Bombette said. "...And I vote for Mario! All those who agree, say 'aye'!"
"Aye!" Twilight, Goombario, Kooper, Parakarry, and Pinkie quickly said, not even giving Mario a say in the situation.
With a sigh, the plumber carefully approached the big chest. He opened it up, leaning far enough back as he could to avoid any surprises that would spring up to smack him unexpectedly. A moment later with nothing happening, several Boos flew out from inside, looking like the same ones that were back in the other room where they had the vinyl record. Their guess was right as the Boos began floating around in a clockwise circle again in the center of the room, the ringleader of the group of ghosts floating above them in the middle of the circle.
"Well, hello again!" the Boo said, holding up a pair of green and yellow boots that seemed to be Mario's size. "Seems like you're all trapped in here. But, there is a way out, and these here boots will help you out. Only this time, it's going to be a little bit harder to find them this time."
"Why don't you just give us the boots instead?" Twilight argued in annoyance. "You ghosts challenging us is a complete waste of time."
"We can't make it easy for you to make it through our mansion," the Boo stated. "Lady Bow would smack us to life if we failed again, so deal with it!" They began their little game, only this time, the Boo tossed the boots over to one of the ghosts in the circle. They continued tossing it back and forth to other Boos, throwing them faster and faster to confuse them, but the party was able to keep their eye on it. After one final toss, the mischievous spirits moved closer to each other, shrinking and expanding their hovering circle to make it even harder to tell who had the boots. "Try to figure out who's got the-!" Twilight once again zapped the correct Boo, making them drop the boots. "...Aww, come on!"
"Yeah. Like I said: waste of time." Twilight levitated their second prize from the Boos over to Mario, keeping her blank stare at the ghosts.
"We practiced so many times with that routine!" the Boo whined. "Let's get out of here, Boos. Maybe Lady Bow will forgive us."
"We doubt it," the others said simultaneously as they faded away, this time not making an exit with a scary face.
"Hopefully, that's the last time they try to play that stupid game with us." Now with the new shoes for Mario, the plumber took off his old pair and tried them on.
They fit him quite well, even though the green and yellow didn't fit with his attire. "If those boots are like Mario's recently obtained hammer, he could probably do a lot more damage if he jumps or kicked anyone." Kooper looked around the room, all of them still trapped inside with no way out. "How the heck are those shoes supposed to help us get out of here?"
Pinkie looked inside the chest, finding a slip of paper inside that Mario didn't notice when he opened it. Grabbing the page, she read it to herself, humming curiously at what was written on it.
"'Behold, the Super Boots; Mushroom Kingdom's latest in footwear,'" she read aloud. "'Off for a run? Trouncing Goombas? Jump as high as Mario? Then you will love what these shoes can do for you. Not only are they fitted with tougher materials to make your feet feel like they're pumping iron, but they also allow you to do the hip drop; just jump in the air, flip around, and fall on your hindquarters to create a powerful thump. Useful for breaking tough boxes a hammer won't be able to smash, and even break through wood flooring that looks suspiciously out of place in your home. Wearenotresponsibleforanyinjuriesonyourbehindsifyougetanysplintersorbruiseyourbehinds.'"
"...What is a 'hip drop'?" Twilight asked.
"It's also known as a ground pound," Goombario said. "You just jump in the air, somersault, and drop down to the ground on your butt like a rock." He walked over to Pinkie and took the instructions, reading them to himself in case she was making things up. "So much for these being the latest footwear in the kingdom. These haven't even been on shelves at all. Probably due to the ground pounding thing actually being dangerous if anyone thought it would be fun dropping on their butts."
"I wish they were in my size," Pinkie said. "I think it would be fun!"
"I'm actually curious to see how exactly a ground pound is done, though I doubt it can give one enough force to break through something as hard as wood," Twilight said. Seeing no other option to get out of this room, Mario began to test out his new shoes and their enhanced abilities it gave him. Standing over the boarded up floor, he jumped into the air, stayed in place at the peak of his jump as he flipped over, then fell back down hard, crashing through the boards with his behind and fell down into the hole it covered. He landed in a second basement, which had a lot more stored items, along with a Boo and a makeshift shop. "...Well, I guess that works."
"At least we have a way out of this room." Everyone followed after Mario, dropping down the hole and into the second basement. Unfortunately, there were no stairs to help lead them back up, still trapped beneath the ground floor of the mansion. "And back in another inescapable room."
"No, it's not really hard to escape," the Boo hovering beside the row of items on the shelves said. "Just look around. You'll find the way."
"Are you...selling items?" Parakarry asked.
"Hey, us Boos need to make a living, too," he said. "But, due to Lady Bow's orders, I'm not allowed to sell anything to you guys."
From the look of the items the Boo had for sale, they were in pretty good condition unlike the mansion. Their main concern though was finding a way out, so shopping wasn't on the list until they got out, and if Bow would allow them to buy any of their wares. Everyone looked around for some kind of switch or lever to pull down a flight of stairs, Pinkie spotting a blue exclamation point button sitting by an old bookshelf.
"Oooooh!" She bounced over to the button and looked at it curiously. "What's this button do?" Pinkie pressed the button, making it disappear as another fell down beside her. "What's this one do!?" She pressed the second one, making a much larger button fall down beside her, making the whole manor shake as it hit the ground. The others looked at the large blue button, wondering where that came from as Pinkie looked up at it. "...What does that one do?"
"Where did that button even come from?" Bombette asked.
"I think the right question to ask is how we're supposed to push that thing," Twilight said.
"I think a ground pound should do the trick," Goombario said.
Mario leapt up onto the large switch, his own weight alone not enough to even budge it down. He performed a ground pound, slamming down hard on the button and pushing it down, making the mansion quake as a flight of stairs popped down from the ceiling.
"Looks like you found the stairs," the Boo shopkeeper said, slowly clapping his hands in applause as he grinned amusingly. "Good thing Lady Bow didn't assign me to deter you guys. Have fun figuring out what to do next."
"Gee, thanks," Kooper said with irritation. They began heading back upstairs, still unable to find the missing portrait the talking picture frame needed. "Ok, so we're finally freed, but we still haven't found that portrait yet. Where else haven't we looked?"
"Wasn't there a boarded up section of the floor back in that one room with that large vase?" Parakarry asked. "There might be another room we haven't checked."
"Well, it's worth a shot." Climbing up to the first floor, the party headed back into the main foyer, ignoring the booby trapped chest seeing it had been reset by other Boos.
Back in the room with the large vase, Mario ground pounded through the boards, falling straight down into the next room. The others waited as he looked around, winding up in what seemed to be a sealed away library of sorts, landing on one of the large shelves as he crashed through. As ironic as a place where it could be, Mario was able to find the Boo portrait they needed, sitting on top of one of the shelves in this sealed off room. Twilight hovered down into the room as she dropped through the hole, gasping in awe at the sealed away library in the mansion.
"Oh my gosh! These Boos have a library in here!?" She looked through the shelves, finding several years worth of dust coating every single book the Boos had kept. "Why in the hay would they just hide all these books away!? Look at all this dust! And the pages are so rotted that there's barely any reading material left in any of them!" Before Twilight could get into a tirade and zap more Boos for ruining any educational books that they had stored in this room, Mario caught her attention as he held up the top hat-wearing Boo portrait. "...Oh. Of course they would hide it down here."
"Hey, is there any way for Mario to get out of there!?" Goombario called out through the hole.
Twilight and Mario looked around, spotting a cracked wall. "I don't think we can carry Mario back up that hole, but there is a crack in the wall over here."
"That's a job for me!" Bombette said as she jumped down. "I'll try not to blow up too hard and take out the whole wall."
The Bob-omb leapt down off the shelf and approached the wall. Lighting up her fuse, she created a minor explosion strong enough to break open the wall enough for them to walk out while not making it too strong to blow the entire wall to pieces. Ironically, the hidden library lead to the foot of the stairs that lead to the basement from the ground floor. Mario, Twilight, and Bombette quickly climbed back upstairs to meet with the others in the foyer, then made their way up to the second floor. They approached the empty frame, Mario holding up the portrait in his hands, everyone watching it disappear from the plumber's hands and reappear on the frame.
"Ahhhh. That feels a lot better," the portrait said. "Thanks for putting me back in my frame! That library was a bit too musty."
"So, how exactly are you able to get us up to the third floor?" Pinkie asked. "Is there a secret staircase behind you? A bouncy spring? A wing cap in a red box?"
"Just jump into the frame and I'll handle the rest." Twilight had a lot of questions as to how jumping into a frame mounted on the wall would help them, but after getting trapped in a room where the Boos were able to make a doorway disappear, she was willing to go through with the portrait's method. One by one, everyone jumped into the frame, disappearing through some invisible portal inside of it, reappearing up on the third floor in front of a similar looking picture frame. Looking down at the edge of the hall, they could see the foyer from a higher point than the second floor. "Say hello to Lady Bow for me when you meet her."
"...I guess that explains how that works...and why there were no stairs leading up here," Twilight uttered.
Now that they were on the floor where the master of this mansion was, they entered one of the white double doors and into Bow's room. It was pretty empty with no furniture, just a small stairway up to a section of the room with strangely refurbished curtains hanging over the columns. They didn't wait long for their host to finally show herself, the green Boo with red ribbons on her head appearing with the elder Boo, Bootler.
"Well, you all took your sweet time making it up here," Bow said. "Hopefully you got a good enough tour of my mansion while solving all those tests I made for you. Those slackers better have made it tough, otherwise I'll give them all a wallop until they wished they were alive."
"Wait. You're Lady Bow?" Goombario asked.
"Indeed. And this is Bootler, my butler." Bootler bowed his head, silently greeting them. "If he didn't spot you all in Toad Town, then you wouldn't be here."
"Yeah. Bootler did tell us you had some information about the Star Spirits and something else you had that was important to me and Pinkie," Twilight said. "Though, getting up here was annoying, and you almost got us killed a couple times. Not to mention trapping us in a room!"
"Ugh, you whine just like her," Bow said with a roll of her eyes. "Without those wings, you might as well be her sister, only dyed purple."
Her statement confused the alicorn and earth pony. "Wait, what?"
"M'lady, I don't think we should tease these two with one of the surprises we have for them," Bootler said.
"Oh, very well," Bow sighed in annoyance, looking at one of the curtains. "Come on out and show yourself to your friends."
"You know, Bow, if you're supposed to be a lady, you can at least act like one to guests." Twilight and Pinkie's ears perked up as the voice that spoke up sounded familiar.
Stepping out from behind the curtains was their unicorn friend, Rarity, the mare happy to see them as she trotted down the steps. "Rarity!" Pinkie was the first to move, tackling the fashionista and pulling her into a death grip of a hug. "This is an amazing surprise!...And you are all dusty."
"Yes, I'm glad to see you two are ok," Rarity said, ignoring the comment Pinkie made of her lack of hygiene. She pried herself out of her pink friend's hooves, only to be caught in a hug by Twilight. "The others aren't with you, are they?"
"No," Twilight said. "But they have to be somewhere out in the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser and his soldiers know where two of them are, but we don't know the exact locations."
"Oh, I hope Fluttershy isn't one of them," Rarity said worriedly. "The poor dear can't handle that brute. I can't imagine what Peach must be going through being trapped in her own castle by that monster."
"Thankfully, she isn't. We have a little Star friend who's helping both us and the princess." At the mention of Twink, Twilight winced, hoping he wasn't searching around for them in Toad Town while they were out so deep in Forever Forest. "Maybe it was a bad idea to come here just to hear what Bow knows about the Star Spirits."
"Well, funny you should say that," Bow said as she appeared between Rarity and Twilight. The alicorn yelped and leapt back, the unicorn grumbling in annoyance as she got used to the ghosts appearing and reappearing around the mansion. "That's the second little surprise I want to show you. Bootler! Lower the cage!"
"Yes, m'lady." Bootler complied and pulled a lever on the wall.
Everyone looked up as they heard clanking, watching a cage slowly drop down in front of them. The others gasped as they saw one of the Star Spirits locked away in the cage, Skolar looking bored and slightly embarrassed in his predicament.
"You have one of the Star Spirits!?" Kooper exclaimed. "You mean you actually work for Bowser!?"
"No we don't, you brainless turtle!" Bow yelled. "I'd rather go to the afterlife than be associated with the likes of that fire-breathing blowhard!"
"What Lady Bow is saying is that this Star Spirit had managed to escape from his true captor, but is in our hands now," Bootler explained.
"...Well, that's great...?" The party was a bit confused, but now that they had the third Star Spirit, they could quickly move on to finding the next one. "So, you're going to give it to us, then?"
"Hah! As if getting this is going to be as simple as baking a cake!" Bow said.
"There's cake!? Where!?" Pinkie asked, popping up in front of the female Boo, managing to grab her body with her hooves despite being a ghost and shook her. "Where's that cake!? Don't tell me the cake is a lie!"
"Get off of me!" Bow shouted, giving Pinkie a hard slap in the face that sent her spinning wildly out of control until coming to a slow, dizzying stop.
The pink mare fell over, her eyes spinning in her head with a small red mark on her cheek matching Bow's small limb. "Bow, you didn't have to slap my friend!" Rarity exclaimed. "Though, I should have warned you Pinkie Pie was a bit...random."
"She's fine. I only slapped her once. With my hand. Imagine how painful it would be if I used my fan." Bow pulled out her red fan, giving it a small wave to emphasize her point. Turning back to the others after Pinkie's head stopped spinning, she continued her reason as to why the Star Spirit was held in a cage. "As I was saying, I'm not giving you the Star Spirit so easily."
"I do have a name, you know," Skolar said, finally speaking up. "I am Skolar. We are not just average stars you see in the night sky. That is, if there were any stars to view through the thick canopy of this forest."
"Why not?" Parakarry asked. "The whole kingdom is at stake, and you're being a little selfish keeping it."
"It's not like we have any need for wishes," Bow reasoned. "Even if you passed by my manor, you probably would have been on your way to Gusty Gulch to take it anyway. Basically, it's a 'scratch my back, we scratch yours' scenario. Bootler, please give them the rundown."
"Of course, m'lady," Bootler said. "As you can see, we Boos are in a bit of trouble. We understand if you don't believe it, but it is the truth. To the east of here is Gusty Gulch, and at the top of the hill is a manor owned by the previous captor of the Star Spirit, Skolar. He is a monster named Tubba Blubba, and he occasionally comes to the village of Boos at the foot of the hill and even here to eat us Boos."
"There's something in this world that eats ghosts?" Twilight asked.
Goombario grabbed the map and looked at the area around Gusty Gulch, a mansion definitely depicted on the kingdom's map. "One of Bowser's men actually lives up there?"
"Correct, but there's a problem we had faced since Bowser's attack on the castle," Bootler continued. "After he ate a few of our fellow Boos, we've sent others to try to stop him, but each group who went, not many of them made it back. The ones who had that fought back said they didn't even leave a scratch on him. He's practically invincible."
"What!?" Twilight, Pinkie, Goombario, Kooper, Bombette, and Parakarry exclaimed in shock while Mario winced, needing to take out yet another invincible foe.
"You mean there's somepony else who invincible like Bowser!?" Twilight asked.
"Afraid so...But, there was a rumor one of our Boos had heard when they were up at Tubba Blubba's manor," Bootler said. "Some sort of secret that he's protecting might just be the key to his invincibility; a weak point hidden away somewhere."
"That's why we need your help, Mario," Bow said after Bootler explained everything. "Find this secret of that tubby fatso, beat him, and you'll get your Star Spirit."
"After all the trouble you gave us with your little test!?" Twilight exclaimed. "You nearly killed some of us with your traps!"
"We don't kill anyone unless we actually want more residents around here. And I'm not going to just sit around and watch more Boos get swallowed by that invulnerable, bloated Clubba! Either you stop him, or no Star Spirit!" Twilight growled as the selfish Boo only cared about what she wanted rather than how the rest of the kingdom was faring.
"She does have a point, Twilight," Rarity said, surprising the alicorn. "Since I was found here, there was one day where this Tubba Blubba stormed into the mansion, surprising the Boos in the foyer. I watched in horror as he just grabbed one of them and ate one whole." The unicorn shuddered at the disgusting scene, hearing the Boo cry out for help before being gobbled by the Clubba. "Just think what would happen if that horrid beast were to cause trouble in the rest of the kingdom. And if he's invincible like Bowser, nothing can stop him without finding out what that secret is."
"But-...But she's..." Twilight couldn't find the words to counter the argument. Granted, they would have had to fight Tubba Blubba for the Star Spirit anyway, but how Bow behaved, it seemed like she didn't seem to care about anything else besides herself. She and the others couldn't imagine what Tubba Blubba would do if he wasn't ordered to stay in Gusty Gulch to keep watch of Skolar. "You actually trust her? Didn't she torture you with fright for the last week?"
"Well, the moment I met her, she scared the daylights out of me, but it's relatively nice here," Rarity said. "...Aside from the dirty, musky state of this mansion, the Boos aren't really all that bad." The unicorn ignored the angry pout Bow gave at her comment on her home, but she let it slide. "I was treated like a guest here. Although, Bow could take a few lessons on courtesy from the others, like Bootler."
"Hey, at least I let you stay in here rather than out in the Forever Forest," Bow grumbled. "Be grateful for that."
"I am, and I know you've been under a lot of stress because of all this, but everypony here deserves a reason why this is important for you and your friends." The Boo leered at Rarity for a moment before her gaze softened a little as she let out a sigh. The unicorn turned back to her friends, Mario, and their new companions. "It wouldn't be right for me to just leave without at least giving something back for Bow and the Boos in return for their hospitality. And stopping that monster from terrorizing them seems like enough."
The group looked at each other, neither of them unsure of what to say. Despite the pointless game Bow played on them just to reach them, the Boos were pretty harmless. They could even see on Bow's face just how much she wanted this madness to end and cared a lot about her own kind. And if she didn't want Rarity around, she could have kicked her out of the mansion days ago.
Mario made the decision for them after much thought, agreeing to help Bow and the rest of the Boos stop Tubba Blubba in exchange for the Star Spirit. Bow's face brightened at the answer, the others a bit reluctant at first, but with how dangerous Tubba Blubba was, he did need to be stopped before Bowser ordered him to do something else.
"I knew you couldn't say no, Mario," Bow said as she fanned herself, wearing a cheeky smirk as she eyed him. "You can't help but save the damsels in distress. But I'm no damsel, and I did say I wasn't going to just sit around and watch my fellow Boos get eaten. I'm coming with you to teach Tubba Blubba a lesson as well."
Bootler was startled by Bow's claim, staring at his master in terror. "W-What!? L-Lady Bow, you're actually considering going up to Tubba Blubba's manor!? I-I forbid it! I will not allow you to go somewhere that dangerous!"
"Can it, Bootler!" Bow yelled, the elder Boo cowering at her raised voice while her joining them was a surprise to the others. "I'm sick and tired of doing nothing while watching other Boos suffer! When we find out what that secret to his invincibility is, I'm going to give Tubba Blubba such a beating that he won't see straight for weeks! And you can't tell me what I can and can't do!"
"...T-Then...then I, Bootler, will accompany you," the butler said. "I was sworn to watch over you and see no harm fall onto you."
"Ugh! I am not a little kid anymore, Bootler!" Bow argued. "I can practically take care of myself, so quit babying me all the time. Besides, someone needs to stay here and take charge while I'm gone, and you're the only Boo I can trust who isn't incompetent enough to mess up a direct order."
Sadly, Bootler wilted and gave into his master's word, letting out a sigh as he couldn't bear to imagine what would happen if Bow got eaten by Tubba Blubba. "...Y-Yes, m'lady..."
"Good." Bow hovered over to the group, Rarity joining them as they prepared to head out. "Now, let's get going. Tubba Blubba's going down!"
"And how exactly are we going to stop him?" Bombette asked.
"Figuring out that secret of his. Duh," Bow said. "When we get to Gusty Gulch, we're going to get ourselves some extra Boo power from the Boos living in the village. If we're going into Tubba Blubba's mansion, we're going to need to sneak through his security. Since I'll be giving Mario stealth, we're going to need seven more Boos to help us."
"How does that even work?" Twilight asked skeptically. "Don't ghosts only turn themselves invisible?"
"Maybe back in your world." Bow chuckled as she approached Rarity, grabbing her back with her hands. She then turned invisible along with the unicorn, debunking whatever thoughts Twilight had. "We Boos can turn anything invisible when we touch something. And even make you intangible so anything coming your way would pass through you completely." She reappeared again with Rarity, wearing a smug grin on her face. "Tubba Blubba would have to be blind to realize you were standing right in front of him before he walks off like an idiot."
"Hey, make me invisible!" Pinkie begged. "That would be perfect for playing peek-a-boo with Pumpkin and Pound Cake!"
"...Yeah, we'll find you a volunteer instead," Bow said, already annoyed by Pinkie Pie, and a little surprised to see how quickly her cheek had healed after getting slapped by the Boo. "And the important key to staying invisible is to keep quiet. So when we're sneaking, zip it. Got it?"
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said.
As they left the room, Bootler sighed, unable to help but worry about Bow's safety. "Lady Bow, please be careful..."