Kammy Koopa hovered around Shy Guy's Toy Box, placing the remaining guards at the other two chests in the separate station areas. She rendezvoused with the Shy Guys that held a specific item needed to be kept watch. The one chest with a frying pan placed inside was guarded by a Hammer Bros., and the chest with a dictionary that can help translate the Shy Guy language was protected by a Koopatrol.
"There. The much better choices in stopping Mario in his tracks," the old witch said to herself. "The princess is getting a little too bold for being a captive, almost as if she knows she'll be saved in no time...And how in the world is Mario even knowing where the other Star Spirits are located? Unless our troops are blabbing about everything, then something really strange is going on..."
Shrugging the thought aside for now, Kammy finished placed Bowser's strongest of minions at their posts in the toy box, teleporting outside and returning back to the castle. The Koopatrol had overheard her as he stood before the chest, letting out a sigh.
"I guess I'm gonna get it with all those early breaks on our shifts in the library," he mumbled. "Fighting Mario now and getting the beating over with rather than later if he makes it to the castle...But how can he reach Lord Bowser's fortress in the sky without any means of getting there from the ground?"
Down at the entrance of the toy box in front of Blue Station, Wiggy landed on the spring and bounced safely to the ground. He moved away as Rainbow came next, this time managing to land on her hooves after bouncing off the spring now that she knew how far she would fall from her exit out of the Shy Guy hideout.
"Ha! Nailed it!" Rainbow cheered, too busy gloating to hear Wiggy warn him about the others. The rest of the group fell in, Mario bouncing off and leaping over the pegasus while the others screamed in panic, not expecting the drop to be so high upon entering. Rainbow noticed too late as one by one, everyone dogpiled on top of her except for Bow and Parakarry, the both of them hovering in the air after hitting the spring. The pile groaned, Pinkie the only one giggling at the fun drop, the pinned pegasus poking her head out from underneath Kooper's. "Urgh...I need to stop acting cocky."
"Wow. Rainbow Dash saying she needs to stop showing off. That's the first time I've heard her admit it," Twilight groaned from somewhere in the pile.
Wiggy let out a sigh and shook his head as he did warn Rainbow Dash about the expected pileup. They eventually got themselves untangled and got a better look at the enemy's base.
"Whoa. This place is like every little kid's dream," Kooper said. "Everything's a giant toy in here."
"Well, this place is called Shy Guy's Toy Box," Rainbow said. "Everything except for the Shy Guys are made of toys."
"So, where exactly is the leader's base?" Goombario asked Wiggy.
General Guy's base is located in Red Station to the left on the tracks. Unfortunately, the tracks for the railroad connecting the four stations are flipped over, and the toy train that was here is hidden away in the shop close to the house where the toy box is hidden.
Wiggy pointed at the train tracks nearby, where everyone noticed how one section of the tracks was blocked by broken tracks going left. And there wasn't a train parked in front of the station, which mean traveling from station to station on foot would take too long, even if they ran.
"Ok, so, we're basically going to have to go around on this train to get to each station," Twilight figured. She then noticed a switch for the tracks right across from them before examining the map of the stations. From the bottom going counter-clockwise, the stations went from blue, to pink, to green, and then red. "Say, can that switch over there change the tracks so we don't have to go around in a huge circle to get to Red Station?"
Wiggy nodded his head, but as he wrote something down, Rainbow hovered in the air with a scoff. "Then this'll be way too easy! I'll be right back!" She flew off and reached the switch, Wiggy looking up in shock mid-sentence. The pegasus rubbed her forehooves together with a smirk and grabbed the lever for the switch. Unfortunately, as she tried to move it, the lever seemed to be jammed. "What the...?" Rainbow grunted as she pushed and pulled harder, but it didn't budge. Gripping onto it tightly, she flapped her wings as hard as she could as she strained to pull it down. Wiggy let out another sigh, muttering something in his Shy Guy language as he continued writing. Rainbow flew back as she gave up, landing in front of the pink Shy Guy wearing the rainbow wig in her mane style. "Hey, what gives!? The thing isn't even budging!"
He looked up at the pegasus, giving her a blank stare through his mask as he showed them his words.
Yes, but it's locked by a mechanism whereWell, if you let me finish writing, I was going to tell you all that that lever is locked by a mechanism. Until we can fix the tracks for Pink and Green Station, that switch won't activate until we set the train specifically at that platform. There's a pressure system under that section of the tracks to unlock it, so until we get the train, we'll have to go around regardless.
"Don't give me any sass, Wiggy," Rainbow said, knowing the Shy Guy well enough that he was leering at her with a blank look behind his mask. "Next time, say something before I do something embarrassing."
"He's writing because none of us can understand him at all, Rainbow Dash," Twilight reminded the pegasus. "But at least we know where the train is located. And the key's not too far away from here, right?"
"Yeah. It's down this path," Rainbow said, pointing a wing down the right path. "I don't know what's down the other way. Maybe some more random stuff the Shy Guys stole."
"Then we should probably split up into groups if there are different paths," Goombario suggested. "We don't know just where exactly they could be hiding everyone's belongings back in town, and we don't know if they took anything else when they invaded."
"I volunteer to join with Dashie!" Pinkie quickly said as she raised her hoof in the air. She pulled out her hammer and stood beside Rainbow, placing a blue cap with the letter "R" on the front on her head while Pinkie wore her pink one from her matching outfit of Mario's. "The Super Pony Sisters will help save the day!"
"...Pinkie, we're not sisters," Rainbow said, flipping the hat off her head.
"But we can work together as a team! You take out the aerial enemies, while I smasha baddies with mah hamma! And hooves, too!"
"Ok, guess that's settled for us ponies," Twilight said. "Mario, you, Bombette, and Parakarry go with Rainbow and Pinkie to get the key. Kooper, Bow, and Goombario will come with me and Rarity to see what's down the other way."
"What about Wiggy?" Parakarry asked, the alicorn completely forgetting about the friendly Shy Guy accompanying them.
"He's coming with my group," Twilight said. "He knows this place a lot more than we do, and Rainbow knows the path where the store's key is located. If there's an ambush he knows about, then we'll have an advantage getting back at them." Wiggy let out a confused sound, shrugging his shoulders. "Wait, you mean you don't know of any ambushes?" He responded with a shake of his head. "...Weren't you a part of this army?"
"He was kicked out because of his enjoyment of wigs," Rainbow answered for the pink Shy Guy. "That General Guy is pretty strict from what he's told me. Or, written, actually."
"And leading an army of Shy Guys means he might actually be pretty smart leading his forces," Goombario said. "At least he'd be a lot smarter than the Koopa Bros., Tutankoopa, and Tubba Blubba along with any brute force he throws at us. Best be on our toes."
The two groups set off down their separate paths to gather the shop's stolen key and discover where else the Shy Guys took everyone else's belongings.
Rainbow lead her group down the path toward the guarded key, though where she easily flew over the walls, the rest of her friends who were bound to the ground unlike her and Parakarry had to use the jack-in-the-boxes nearby to bounce up and over the first two high walls. They couldn't avoid the patrolling Shy Guys that well, especially the Fly Guys floating around with balloons tied to their waist as they fired rocks from their slingshots at them. There were also the Medi Guys that were also a nuisance whenever around other allies, healing their companions if they get hit too hard with something they keep in their hovering vehicles.
"Sheesh. Those flying Shy Guys are annoying," Bombette said. "If I could jump high enough, I'd blow up on them and pop those balloons of theirs."
"As much as I don't want to pop balloons, even for a party, I want to pop them too," Pinkie said. "But how do they get their rocks if this place is filled with giant toys?"
"Maybe they stockpile them when they go outside?" Parakarry asked in thought.
"Ask questions later," Rainbow said as they approached the toy houses. She poked her head up over the wall barring their way, the only way across was by climbing up the stairs of one of the toy buildings and jumping over the toy block wall. The pegasus spotted the Clubba standing guard, looking bored and almost ready to fall asleep. "There. The chest is just over that wall."
"Good thing there's these conveniently placed stairs for us to climb to the tippy top!" Pinkie said, bounding up each step until she reached the roof.
With the others following after her, the flightless party leapt over to the next building and over the wall. The Clubba noticed them, trembling slightly at the sight of Mario being there with him. He was outnumbered five to one, and he stood no chance against the Koopa trouncing plumber, even if he fought him on his own.
"Oh no! Why did he have to be here now!?" the Clubba exclaimed in fright. "U-Uhh, y-you'd better stay back! I'm tougher than I look!" The two ponies, plumber, Paratroopa, and Bob-omb surrounded the guard, the latter three and Pinkie having experience dealing with the club wielding minion. "...Meep."
"Heads up, weirdo!" Rainbow dashed off and rammed into the Clubba hard, knocking the wind out of him. He dropped his mace as he doubled over in pain, gasping for breath. The pegasus grabbed the handle of the heavy weapon with her mouth and lifted it up. "You guys get the key. I'll take on fish lips."
"Uhh, you sure you're able to-?" Bombette was interrupted as the brash pegasus let out a battle cry, speeding off as she carried the heavy mace with her. With a hard swing, she bashed the Clubba hard in the face, sending him flying into a wall, knocking him unconscious before hitting the floor with a thud. "...Ok. Nevermind."
Rainbow dropped the blunt weapon and whooped, flipping around in the air before punching her forehooves forward. "Man, that felt good to finally do something! Who's next!? Maybe more of those Fly Guys? Another of Bowser's cronies who want to mess with the Dash!?"
"Aww! I didn't get a turn to whack anything with my hammer!" Pinkie complained. "I call next baddie I smash like a whack-a-mole!"
"I guess Rainbow Dash can hold her own in a fight," Parakarry said, scratching the back of his neck after witnessing how tough, and cocky, Rainbow can be. "Let's just hope her ego doesn't get in the way of things."
"After being cooped up in a small room for a few days, I would lose it after day two," Bombette said. "And I was locked in a prison cell by those four annoying Koopas for weeks."
While Rainbow cheered, Pinkie pouted, and Bombette and Parakarry talked to each other, Mario approached the treasure chest. He opened it up and pulled out the key to the store a Shy Guy took earlier. He had to pulled Rainbow's tail to get her attention, reminding her they needed to return this and find the train they were searching for to access the next station. The group made their way back to regroup with the others, or if they weren't back yet, return the key to the owner and get the train.
On the other side of Blue Station, the other group walked down the wider hall, Wiggy leading the way as he knew the toy box well like the back of his hand. There were Groove Guys that got in their way along with normal Shy Guys, which became a problem when just watching them spin around began making them dizzy and left them open to getting attacked by the other enemies. They were able to deal with them after trouncing the Groove Guys and continued on without too much damage.
Along the way, the pink Shy Guy let out a startled yelp as he noticed a certain Shy Guy up ahead that wore all black, even his mask was pretty menacing. Noticing the group, it walked in front of a treasure chest, keeping his eye on them as he blocked it. Sweat beaded down the wig-wearing Shy Guy's masked face as he froze in fear.
"Hey, what's with that Shy Guy?" Kooper asked.
Wiggy was paralyzed in fear to even write a response. He knew the Shy Guy was staring at him, his legs finally moving as he hid behind Twilight. "What's wrong, Wiggy? Is this Shy Guy dangerous?" He nodded his head rapidly, keeping eye contact away from him. "He looks like any normal Shy Guy. Just in black."
"Well, looks can be deceiving," Goombario stated. "Case in point: Jr. Troopa with wings."
The group continued moving forward, Wiggy huddling close to Twilight's back legs like a timid child clinging to their mother. While walking past the chest, the Shy Guy made sure to block them from touching it as if there was a priceless treasure of his that he didn't want anyone to steal. They were finally out of the hall with the awkwardly creepy Shy Guy, who surprisingly didn't try to attack them when he spotted them, entering a large room with Shy Guys hoarding a plethora of random items that they stole on their invasion or random outings in the past.
"That is quite a lot of stuff they stole," Rarity said. "The nerve of these thieves taking things that don't belong to them."
"Speaking of thieves, there's the one who took Rowf's calculator!" Goombario pointed out.
Wandering around with the calculator in its hands, a red Shy Guy was messing around with the keypad as he put in random math problems with no ending result, rarely clearing it when the solutions came up as an error. Looking up from the screen, the Shy Guy let out a scream of surprise and ran away from them.
"Oh, no you don't!" Bow floated over to it faster than it could run, hovering in his path and gave him a hard slap in the face. The force of her small, incredibly strong arms sent the Shy Guy spiraling through the air, even knocking his mask off his face. She grabbed the calculator, thankfully unharmed as she smirked. "These Shy Guys aren't even all that tough."
The Shy Guy stood up in a daze, revealing what lies under their mask it got knocked off. Twilight, Rarity, Goombario, and Kooper gawked in utter horror at what they saw, unable to look away while stunned by their true faces.
"Oh sweet Celestia! What in Equestria is that!?" Twilight exclaimed.
"It's hideous!" Rarity shrieked.
"My eyes!" Goombario screamed, grabbing his hat and pulling it down over his eyes to avoid looking at the maskless Shy Guy. "Agh! I can't unsee that!"
"I need brain bleach and eye surgery after seeing what they look like now!" Kooper exclaimed, hiding in his shell to stop staring at the Shy Guy, though it didn't help with the hole in the neck of his shell aimed at him.
"What? What's so ugly about their face?" Bow asked curiously. She hovered over to the Shy Guy, now snapped out of his daze before grabbing its face, letting out a surprised yelp as his mask was gone. The Boo grimaced, blinking a couple times at what she saw. "...Oh...wow...I don't think I can even replicate a face like that...Would be good to scare others with it, though."
The Shy Guy ran away, grabbing his mask as he fled in embarrassment. The others looked down at Wiggy, wondering if he had the same face they saw on the enemy Shy Guy. He simple nodded, answering their thoughts while making sure his own mask was secured tightly around his head.
"Ugh," Rarity shuddered. "I think I was close to vomiting. That face made Bow's manor look enticing to live in for a year."
"Oh, gee, thanks for the compliment!" Bow said sarcastically, floating back to the group. "It's nothing but a dead end over here, but at least we got that calculator that Doogan salesman needed back."
"Might as well return back," Twilight said. "...And avoid knocking off Shy Guy masks."
The others voiced their opinion at the second option, dreading to see that face from any of the other Shy Guys as they walked back, avoiding the black Shy Guy eyeing them while protecting his treasure.
Both groups met back in front of the train station with what spoils they did manage to find. Having both the store key and Rowf's calculator, they needed to stop General Guy and his army first before returning everyone's belongings. Mario decided to head back to return the key back to the shop owner on his own, seeing as Blue Station was pretty safe. Jumping out of the toy box, he left the "abandoned" house and jogged over to the store nearby. Inside, he saw a few of the items the Toad working here sold that could be pretty useful, but shopping would have to come later when Toad Town was on the verge of being invaded by a bigger force of Shy Guys.
The clerk noticed the plumber, slightly surprised despite his discouragement. "Mario! Fancy seeing you here. If you're looking for something, I'm afraid I can't sell you anything. One of those darn Shy Guys barged into my store and swiped the storeroom key off me." As a hero always saving anyone, whether the problem was big or small, he pulled out the key and handed it to the Toad. "W-Whoa! The key! Mario, you're a life saver and a half!"
"Please, take whatever you need in the storeroom as your reward!" Mario was about to protest, not needing anything for bringing back a simple key, but the Toad unlocked the back room upon taking his key back.
Shrugging his shoulders, Mario went to the back and went inside the storeroom. He found a few items laying around that could be of use, but his eye was on the toy train sitting in the corner. Wiggy mentioned there was supposed to be a train that was a part of Shy Guy's Toy Box, and if it was anything like the inside, it would obviously be a toy train. Taking his "reward", he left the store and returned back to the gift box in the "abandoned" house.
Seeing how they shrunk when they jumped in, the toy train could shrink with him if he brought it inside the moment he jumped on the spring. Mario opened the lid of the present, dropping the train inside, hoping it would land on the tracks.
Inside the toy box, the others waiting by the station for Mario to return, the toy train dropped onto the tracks with a heavy thud. The impact caused the entire area to quake, knocking everyone with legs off of them as they yelped in surprise. Mario jumped down a moment later as they stared at the train, a windup key on the mushroom shaped roof, two levers on the sides meant to pump in and out alternatively to move the train, and it was big enough for all of them to fit inside.
"Wow! That's the train!?" Pinkie exclaimed excitedly.
"You know, there was a possibility that train could have crushed us or missed the tracks, Mario." Mario balked, chuckling nervously as he didn't think ahead on that.
"Well, it's there. So let's get on board and continue onward," Kooper said.
Everyone boarded the train, controls to activate the train ironically inside the empty space despite it being a toy. Wiggy took charge, pulling a few levers as a toy whistle rang out around them. The pumps outside the train began squeaking as they moved, making the train move right as they made their way to Pink Station. The railroads between each station were a lot bigger than they expected, stretching out to maybe a couple miles of railroad as it slowly curved. Eventually, they reached Pink Station, Wiggy slowing the train down at the station as the rails were blocked by a broken set in front of them.
"End of the line!" Pinkie announced, somehow wearing a train conductor's uniform as she held out a pocket watch. "Next stop: Green Station!"
"We need to switch the tracks around first, Pinkie," Twilight reminded, looking around and spotting a pink lever on the other side of the tracks by the left path. "And that must be our ticket to get farther."
"Is there some random mechanism thing for that one as well?" Rainbow asked Wiggy. The Shy Guy shrugged his shoulders, honestly having no clue if there was. "Then I'm not going to make myself look like an idiot trying to pull it this time."
Seeing two different paths just like in Blue Station, they figured they should split up into groups again. Wiggy interjected with the idea as he wrote something to tell everyone.
I don't think we can even get over to the switch on foot. If you didn't notice as we passed a crossroads there, aside from other Shy Guys, there's one in particular who's quite...unique? His name is Gourmet Guy; not much of a fighter, but he is pretty...food crazy, if that's the nicest way to say it.
"'Gourmet Guy'?" Rainbow asked. "Don't remember you mentioning him, Wiggy. So, is he some kind of food critic?"
The wig-wearing Shy Guy shrugged, the pegasus's guess neither right or wrong. He didn't really know much about him aside the fact he enjoyed food and no other Shy Guy talked about Gourmet Guy. Not even General Guy had much to say about him before Wiggy was kicked out of his army.
"Wait...Is this Gourmet Guy actually really fat and he's blocking the way to reach the other end of the tracks to get that lever pulled?" Goombario asked. Wiggy reluctantly nodded his head in response. "Ugh...What is his purpose being a part Bowser's army? Eat all the Mushrooms so Mario doesn't get any?"
I don't even know myself, and I'm the one who got kicked out.
"I guess we're just going to have to head down the other path to see if we can find another one of the items they stole from Toad Town," Twilight said with a sigh.
"Ooh! Can I go see Mr. Gourmet Guy!?" Pinkie asked. "If he likes food, then maybe he can give us some juicy information if he likes what anypony makes him!"
"By yourself?" Rarity asked. "Pinkie, we're in enemy territory."
"I got a hammer," Pinkie reasoned, pulling her mallet out from inside her mane.
"That's not what I mean, darling. What if you run into a Shy Guy ambush over there?" Rarity asked. "The four of us just got back together, and we still need to find Fluttershy and Applejack."
"Rarity's right, Pinkie," Twilight said, agreeing with the unicorn. "We know you can handle yourself in your own way, but it's not safe for any of us to go out on our own in this world."
"I could," Rainbow said, earning a glare from Twilight and Rarity. "What?"
Wiggy approached Pinkie and stood beside her, saying something in his language before tapping his hand against his chest. "Looks like Wiggy's volunteering to go with Pinkie," Kooper said. "But if you run into too much trouble, run back here to Pink Station and wait for us."
"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said with a salute before bounding off down the path leading to the pink switch on the other side of the tracks.
Wiggy hurried after her before he was left behind while the others went in the opposite direction to see what laid in wait for them.
Down the path leading to the switch to flip the railroad tracks on the other side of the station, Pinkie bounded over the blocks in the middle of the narrow road, Wiggy hot on her tail as she avoided getting caught by a Spy Guy. Despite them wearing camouflage gear, they stick out like a sore thumb in the colorful toy box world that was their base. She could see them carrying a slingshot and a hammer, well-versed in long range and close quarters combat. Taking a big leap with a battle cry, she caught the Spy Guy's attention right as she landed down on him hard with her hooves, knocking him unconscious with her heavier weight on top of him. Knocked unconscious, Pinkie continued bounding on her way to the crossroad while Wiggy slowed down to look at the downed Shy Guy, his mask lopsided as he heard him groan.
"Not very good for being a spy," Pinkie said to Wiggy as he caught up with her. "I can be a much better spy than that. Although, I did get compromised back in the Crystal Empire when trying to get intel on the kingdom. Oh, and don't put on night vision during the day! All I saw was blinding light!"
Reaching the crossroad, they saw a really big Shy Guy blocking the way, his large gut looking like it could snap the belt around his weight. Along with the usual red outfit Shy Guys wear, he also had some napkins tucked in the collar of his cloak that would prevent any food from spilling onto his chest, along with a fork in one hand and a knife in the other. He noticed them as Pinkie stared up at the overweight Shy Guy curiously, Wiggy staring back at him though with less curiosity and more confusion.
"Hello," he said.
"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie greeted.
"I'm Gourmet Guy...or, that's what everyone else calls me," Gourmet Guy said. "Don't know why. I'm just a food-loving Shy Guy." His stomach suddenly began to rumble, which could have ended up being heard all the way from the station. "Ugh. I'm really hungry."
"Well, Mr. Gourmet Guy, can you please move so we can get across?" Pinkie asked. "We got a kingdom to save, and I need to flip a switch so we can get the train tracks back to normal and we can get to the next station."
"I'm so hungry, I don't think I can move at all," Gourmet Guy complained, his stomach growling again. "I'm famished! I need a sweet, sweet cake! With frosting...and cookie crumbles..."
The fat Shy Guy began drooling as he thought about the delicious cake he wants so badly. Even Pinkie began salivating, just imagining how it would look and taste. Wiggy let out a groan and shook his head, never able to understand Gourmet Guy and his odd eating habits. Pinkie's ears shot up as she had an idea.
"Ooh! I think I can make a cake like that!" she said. "Gimmie just a few minutes! Brb!" Pinkie suddenly sped off, jumping over the guard rails and onto the train tracks as she ran all the way back to Blue Station within a minute. Wiggy and Gourmet Guy looked at each other, the former shrugging his shoulders. They didn't wait long before Pinkie returned, carrying a few baking ingredients before setting them on the ground. "Now I just need to build a makeshift oven and find a heat source! And I saw a Shy Guy running around on fire!"
She zipped off again, jumping over the rails and on the other side. Wiggy really didn't know if there was a lock on Pink Station's rail switcher, only knowing about the one for Blue Station. He wondered why Pinkie didn't just go over to the lever right now while she was over there instead of baking this cake for Gourmet Guy.
"Because, Wiggy,-" Wiggy and Gourmet Guy yelped as Pinkie returned faster than they blinked. "-if I just jumped over and tried to pull the lever to keep us going, then we would be skipping over the roadblock that's highly important to the plot of the story in this chapter! That explains why Mario can't just jump over the rails, because if he could just jump over everything, it would be too easy to make it through each new place with high walls or chasms filled with lava and end the chapter all too soon!"
Beside her was the makeshift oven she made, already mixed the ingredients in a bowl as she poured it in a cake pan and put it in the opened oven door. Beside it in a glass box was a Pyro Guy, highly confused as to how he managed to get caught while he was on fire, his flames used to bake the cake in the other box beside it. Wiggy's eyes nearly bulged out of his mask when Pinkie answered the questions he was thinking of, rubbing his head as he thought too hard on how she managed to do that, getting a migraine in the process.
"...Uhh, what?" Gourmet Guy said aloud, already lost.
"Don't worry about it, Gourmet Guy!" Pinkie assured. "But once this cake is done, you're gonna love it! And so will we!" A moment later, a timer went off with a ding. Pinkie grabbed the tin with a pair of oven mitts she pulled out of nowhere, setting the finished on top of the oven for it to cool. "Thanks for the fire, somehow-on-fire-yet-not-burning-alive Shy Guy!" Grabbing the glass box connected to the temporary oven of the pink earth pony's, she opened it up to let the Pyro Guy out. "Be free, little fire creature! Be free!"
Weirded out by the pink pony and her antics, the Pyro Guy ran away, fearing what else Pinkie could end up using him for. Once the cake cooled down, Pinkie hovered over the cake as she frosted it, adding a few decorations and toppings to make it super delicious. Gourmet Guy and Wiggy looked at each other after seeing their fiery brother flee, then back at the pink baker as she unveiled her masterpiece. It was an average sized cake with white frosting, some strawberries planted on top with plenty of whipped cream in the center, a few frosting flowers patterned around the strawberries, and some cookie crumbs sprinkled on top for a bit of crunch and taste.
"Whoa...That looks amazing," Gourmet Guy commented. Pinkie sliced up the cake for her, Wiggy, and the food-loving Shy Guy, handing the latter two their slices.
"Let's dig in!" Pinkie cheered, stuffing her slice whole into her mouth while chewing noisily.
Wiggy took a bite of his slice next, letting out enjoyed sounds in his language as he savored everything that hit his taste buds. Gourmet Guy followed Pinkie's example and took the whole slice in his mouth. He stopped chewing, dropping his fork and knife in utter shock.
"Oh," he moaned. "Ohhhh, mmmm...OHHHH!!!!! DELICIOUUUUUUUS! THIS IS LIP-SMACKING GOOD!!!!!!!!"
Surprised at the exclaimed praise, Pinkie and Wiggy watched as Gourmet Guy suddenly began running around, cheering ecstatically for the cake the earth pony made. He stopped back where he was blocking the crossroad, letting out a loud whoop as he jumped high into the air, an incredible feat for someone of his weight. Dropping in front of them, the food-loving Shy Guy dropped what appeared to be a cookbook of sorts, whether by accident or a reward was up to them.
"Wowie zowie," Pinkie said. "I didn't think it was that good...Was it?" Wiggy took another bite after recovering from the odd occurrence, nodding his head as the taste was still incredible. "He really must love cake, then. Oh well! Onto the switch!"
Grabbing the cake after putting it away in a box she pulled out from her random hammerspace, Pinkie walked across the tracks and continued on the other side's path toward the lever. Wiggy stayed behind as he enjoyed his snack, hearing the tracks back at the station flipping back over a while later. Pinkie returned as soon as the wig-wearing Shy Guy was done with his slice of cake, the duo returning back to Pink Station to meet up with everyone else.
Mario lead the rest of his companions down the other end of Pink Station, Rainbow Dash constantly trying to fly ahead and take down the next guardian of the stolen goods from Toad Town. He can see she's an adventurous mare with the speed and strength necessary for survival, but her reckless nature can lead her to getting captured or caught off guard. Luckily, Twilight and Rarity always remind the pegasus to not let her victories over the grunts get the better of her.
Rainbow dive-kicked a Fly Guy out of the strings of his balloons, sending him soaring straight to the ground with a painful crash. "Take that! Nopony can handle the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria! I guess that also makes me the fastest pegasus in all of the Mushroom Kingdom, too!"
"Rainbow Dash, chill out!" Twilight scolded, grabbing the pegasus's tail with her magic, sending her plopping down to the ground. "If you gloated like that if we were in a stronghold where we're supposed to be sneaking around, you'd alert the entire fortress and get us all killed!"
"Hey, I deserve to blow off some steam after sitting around in a small room for over a week!" Rainbow argued. "Because of Bowser and that Star Rod, my wings were messed up and I couldn't fly! It was like what happened when I sprained my wing in that accident while practicing my stunts!"
"Be that as it may, if we rescue the rest of the Star Spirits and find a way to infiltrate Bowser's fortress, all of us need to stick together and not split up," Twilight reasoned. "After what happened to all of us, I am not risking that happening again when we're reunited with Applejack and Fluttershy."
Even though Rainbow Dash wanted to argue about the matter, just looking at the worried looks on Twilight and Rarity's faces made her remember just how worried she was about them. It was scary enough to know they were in another world, but split apart from one another after Bowser attacked them was like a nightmare. She lowered her head with a sigh, scuffing her hoof against the ground.
"...I get it, Twilight," she said. "How do you think I felt wondering where the hay you all were? I mean, I know we've faced worse, but being in a new world we don't know next to nothing about? The one I'm worried about more is Fluttershy. Who knows where she ended up!? She may have gotten braver, but not when it comes to being stuck in someplace dangerous! There could be giant reptiles that could swallow her whole, or plants that could strangle her!" Rainbow began to panic, worrying greatly over her best friend's safety. "She might be tortured by two-legged dinosaurs before they sink their sharp, jagged teeth into her, limb by limb!"
"Ok, little Yoshis," Fluttershy said, watching over the Yoshi kids for the adults while they gathered fruit. "What do you want to do today?"
"Let's explore the jungle!" Red Yoshi Kid suggested, the other four cheering in agreement.
"Oh, no. Your parents said the forest is too dangerous," the yellow pegasus said. The Yoshis all let out disappointed groans, stuck inside the boring village to play another boring game again. "How about something else? Something much safer."
"But it's boring," Yellow Yoshi Kid uttered. "You're just as strict as Mrs. Sushie when she babysits us, but you're more nicer."
"Who is Sushie?" Fluttershy asked.
"That would be me." Turning around, the pegasus spotted the owner of the older, feminine voice, though who it came from shocked her. It was a large fish, somehow able to breath on land, a purple body with a white underbelly, an orange dorsal fin and tail with white pectoral fins. She did have eyes, though they seemed closed as she stared at the pegasus before her. "Goodness, dear. I've never seen anything like you before."
"...Are...you a fish?" Fluttershy asked, both curious and awestruck. "And you're...breathing on land???"
"Well, I am a Cheep Cheep," the aquatic creature said. "Though, seeing as you're a new species I haven't seen outside of a storybook, I'm not surprised." She looked at the Yoshi kids, all five boys wincing at the look she gave them. "You boys better not have been giving her a hard time while I was on vacation with my daughter. Have you?"
"No, Mrs. Sushie," the boys said simultaneously.
"Good," Sushie said. "Now, go and play around in the water by the shore. And don't drift any further out beyond those rocks." The boys obeyed and walked out to the beach, beginning a splash war with each other when one of them started the water fight. The Cheep Cheep sighed and shook her head. "Those boys can be quite troublesome at times."
"They weren't all that bad," Fluttershy said. "They always want to go out into the jungle, but the Yoshi Chief said it was dangerous to go out there."
"And for good reason, but boys always want to do something reckless at that age." Sushie flopped around to look back at Fluttershy. "Now, where are my manners? I'm Sushie."
"My name's Fluttershy," the mare said. "I hope you don't think I'm taking over your job foalsitting those boys."
"Nonsense. I thought the Yoshis here would find a substitute sitter while I was away, but now I've got another set of eyes to help me watch those little troublemakers." Both Cheep Cheep and pegasus giggled, already well acquainted with each other as Yoshi Village's babysitters for the Yoshi kids. "So, Fluttershy, what are you? And where are you from?"
"Well, it's quite a long story..." While the young Yoshis were busy wrestling around in the water, Fluttershy took the time to tell Sushie about herself and where she came from, not leaving out any details on what happened to her and her friends as well.
"She's doomed!" Rainbow cried out. "Doooooomed!"
"Rainbow, snap out of it!" Twilight shouted, slapping the cyan pegasus in the face. "I'm sure wherever Fluttershy is, she could have ended up somewhere safe like we had."
"Twilight, Pinkie ended up in a desert, I was in the middle of a dark forest in a haunted mansion, and Rainbow ended up in here," Rarity said. "Out of all of us, so far you're the only one who ended up in a safer place than us."
"Oh, my mansion wasn't safe enough for you? Gee, thanks, Rarity," Bow said sarcastically. "That's the thanks I get for letting you into my home?"
Ignoring the female Boo's sarcasm, Rarity approached Rainbow, now calmed after Twilight's wake-up slap. "Fluttershy might have a better chance out there if she can befriend just about any animal in the wilderness. And Applejack tough enough to handle whatever comes her way." She then looked at Twilight, acting as the more sensible pony between the overly worried alicorn and pegasus. "All we can do right now is believe they are ok, that they really are safe somewhere just like we were. All of us were worried about each other, but we'll be together once again. For now, let us focus on dealing with these thieving Shy Guys and help everypony in Toad Town with this crisis."
"Rarity's right," Kooper said. "The four of you were found by someone who helped you when you woke up: me bringing Twilight in my house, Moustafa saving Pinkie out in Dry Dry Desert, Bow and the other Boos letting Rarity into the mansion, and that Shy Guy, Wiggy, protecting Rainbow Dash from the other Shy Guys. Applejack and Fluttershy could have been found by someone who helped them."
"If destiny lead the six of you into being friends and heroes to your own world, then I wouldn't be surprised if the six of you wound up safe and sound after Bowser nearly killed you," Goombario said.
Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other, both of them still worried, though they were assured enough to believe Applejack and Fluttershy are still ok. Eased from their thoughts slightly, the group continued onward, Rainbow keeping her ego in check as they ran into Shy Guys. After making their way through the hall, passing over a wall by using the jack-in-the-boxes to bounce into the background and back on the path and making their way through a revolving wall where Shy Guys seemed to run through to try to stop them while failing miserably as they passed them, they reached the end of the path where one of the stolen goods was held.
"Not so fast!" Standing before the chest with his hand held out was something most of the group ended up fearing encountering: a Hammer Bro. Unlike the Clubba, this hammer-toting Koopa was far braver, being one of Bowser's more elite guards. "I'm not letting any of you get what's in this chest by Kammy Koopa's orders!"
"What kind of Koopa is that?" Twilight asked Kooper.
"A Hammer Bro.," the blue-shelled Koopa Troopa uttered. "One of the toughest types of Koopas we'll eventually have to fight in Bowser's stronghold if we get there..."
"Why is he called a 'Hammer Bro.'?" Rainbow asked.
"Take a wild guess," Parakarry uttered.
"Mario, if you think fighting me with such a big entourage is enough to scare me, then you better think again," the Hammer Bro. goaded. Reaching behind his shell, he puled out two wooden hammers, twirling them around in his hands with a cocky grin on his face. "I bet you can't take me head on by yourself. If you manage to do that, maybe I'll look the other way and give you this chest."
Mario grimaced, having his fair share running into these types of Koopa Troopas in the past. One of the more annoying members of Bowser's army with their infinite supply of hammers, tossing them in arcs that could land on his head, only for them to be a distraction as he ended up either getting hit by one anyway or running straight into the Hammer Bro. Even if they outnumbered the Hammer Bro., Mario took the challenge, pulling out his own hammer as he stepped forward.
"You sure you can handle him by yourself, Mario?" Bombette asked, the plumber responding with a nod as he crouched into a fighting stance.
"If he can take on Bowser, he can clearly handle a talking turtle with hammers and needs to wear a helmet," Rainbow said.
"The helmet's actually part of a Hammer Bro.'s outfit," Goombario corrected. "You'll see just how dangerous they can be."
"A wise warning to give to these four-legged animals," the Hammer Bro. said, pointing one of his hammers at the Goomba. "After I beat Mario and knock all of you out, I'm going to take those three back to Bowser's fortress with me. He's sure to promote me to a general in no time at all! Although, being chosen as a king is out of the question, considering his six nephews and niece, though I don't recall him ever having siblings..." He juggled both of his hammers in one hand, bringing the other to his chin as he thought more about his king. "Where did those seven Koopalings even go to, anyway? Didn't see them in the kingdom before Bowser teleported his fortress. Are they in school, or what?"
"And he's broken off into a tangent," Twilight groaned. "He has Rainbow Dash's ego, but the fleeting attention span of Pinkie Pie."
"Hey, at least I finally decided to stop after that talk we had earlier!" Rainbow complained.
"Oh well, that's not important, anyway." The Hammer Bro. snapped out of his thoughts, catching both his hammers as he widened his stance. "I'll show you who the master of hammers really is!"
Throwing one of the wooden mallets at Mario, the plumber knocked it away with his own as the Hammer Bro. rushed him. Both hammers slammed together, the hammer-wielding Koopa's holding up against Mario's stronger hammer despite it being wooden. The two struggled for dominance, pushing each other back before rushing toward each other and swinging their hammers to hit their opponent.
"Come on, Mario!" Rainbow cheered. "Beat this guy in ten seconds flat!"
"I think ten seconds had already passed by now," Parakarry said.
"...Then beat him in under a minute!" the pegasus said.
"That's gonna be quite a problem," the Hammer Bro. said, pulling out another hammer from behind him. Now dual-wielding his hammers, he began swinging them around, catching Mario off guard as he went from offense to defense. Seeing another hammer surprised the three mares, the other one Mario blocked laying far from the battle in front of them. "Must not be as strong as you used to be after Lord Bowser knocked the pasta out of you, huh!?"
"Where did that other hammer come from!?" Twilight asked.
"Hammer Bros. have an infinite supply of hammers at their disposal," Kooper answered. "You could say they have enchanted hammers that come back to them by their will, but with how many they can throw at one time, I'd believe that just by them being called 'Hammer Bros.'"
"They're also one of Bowser's elite soldiers, just like Kameks and Magikoopas," Goombario added. "And Mario's dealt with Hammer Bros. many times in the past. Even he has some trouble with them."
Mario quickly backflipped away from a double hammer slam, throwing his hammer at the Hammer Bro.'s face. He ducked just in time to avoid it, but the plumber levitated his mallet back to him, his gloves glowing purple as he pulled his arm back. The returning hammer struck the Hammer Bro. in the back of the head, his helmet cushioning the impact, though it did make him stagger forward in surprise.
"Oh, so you have some tricks with a hammer, huh?" he asked after recovering, cracking his neck while righting his helmet back in place. "How about a little hammer storm!?"
Flailing his arms around, the elite Koopa soldier began flinging dozens of hammers up high into the air. Everyone screamed in panic as all the falling hammers began raining down on them, all of them scattering to avoid getting a concussion from the dangerous tools.
"Take cover!" Kooper shouted.
"Someone cover me!" Goombario shouted. "I'm all head! I don't want to get squished!"
"Hey, you said it was supposed to be one-on-one!" Bow exclaimed angrily, not worrying about the hammers as she easily phased through them.
"You're talking to a minion of the greatest overlord in all the Mushroom Kingdom!" the Hammer Bro. said, still throwing hammers as his arms continued windmilling around. "I lied! We don't play fair when it comes to winning!"
"Then let's make it fair!" Rainbow easily avoided the raining hammers with her speed, already having enough of the dangerous storm of infinitely spawning hammers. As she charged forward, she rammed her shoulder right in the Hammer Bro.'s gut, knocking the wind out of him while slamming him into the wall. Now that the volley of hammers stopped, the others took a breather, Mario running forward to join the pegasus to take out one of the worst of Bowser's minions. "Let's double team this jerk!"
Quickly turning around, Rainbow leapt up and bucked her hind legs in the Hammer Bro.'s chest, pushing off him as he wheezed in pain. She shot off toward Mario, quickly shooting up into the air at a ninety degree angle. The plumber jumped after her, grabbing onto her hind legs as the pegasus began flying around in circles, flying faster and faster until there was nothing but a rainbow and red and blue blur spiraling in midair.
"Ugh," the Hammer Bro. groaned, clutching his sore abdomen after peeling himself off the wall. "Didn't see that coming." Looking up, he saw the duo flying around at mach speeds. Growling, he began flinging hammers at Rainbow and Mario, but the pegasus shot the hero of the kingdom down as he somersaulted rapidly, his hammer smacking away each hammer flung at him. "Oh no..."
The Hammer Bro. was too slow to dodge, Mario's hammer smacking down on top of his head hard as he came to a sudden stop. The impact sent the Koopa's head slamming into the ground, his helmet shattering from the force of the swing with the added momentum the plumber had. The Hammer Bro. was down and out within seconds, stars floating around his head while his eyes spun around in his head.
"That takes care of that," Rainbow said, hovering down and landing beside Mario. "We make a pretty awesome team, Mario. Hoof bump!" She raised her hoof up to the plumber, bumping it with his fist, unable to deny they did make a pretty impressive team with that maneuver. "Now, let's get what's in that chest."
Without waiting for the others, Rainbow Dash flew up to the chest and opened it. She pulled out the frying pan that belonged to the popular Toad chef, Tayce T. Stowing the cooking utensil away in Twilight's bag, they made their way back to the train station to join up with Pinkie and Wiggy if they were successful with getting anything from Gourmet Guy, like if the switcher for Pink Station had a locking mechanism on it.
Upon returning, they were surprised to see the lever was pulled and the tracks leading to Green Station were normal now. Pinkie and Wiggy sat on the steps of the toy block station, the former waving her hoof wildly at them.
"Pinkie? What happened?" Twilight asked.
"Well, I made Gourmet Guy this really delicious cake, which we saved enough for all of us," Pinkie said, pulling out the contained cake she just made. "He loved it, said it was delicious, ran around crazy going all-" She began squealing excitedly while running around like Gourmet Guy did earlier. She ran back and forth, diagonal and upside down in midair for some odd reason, then stopped in between everyone as they watcher her, letting out a loud whoop and jumped up high in the air. She dropped the cookbook Gourmet Guy left for her, not leaving out any details of her encounter with the fat Shy Guy. She dropped back down, picking up the book as she continued her story. "-then he left and dropped a cookbook! I managed to pull the lever and switch the tracks, so we can keep going!"
"...Did he say anything else about the toy box? Or anything else we should watch out for?" Bombette asked.
"...Oh. I forgot to ask." The others let out a loud groan and fell over in exasperation. Wiggy let out a sigh and shrugged, forgetting to ask as well mostly because he didn't think getting to know anything about Gourmet Guy would lead to anything he didn't know. "At least I made cake. Anypony want some?"
"...After we stop the Shy Guys," Twilight said. "Let's just move on to the next station."
Everyone boarded the toy train as Wiggy fiddled with the controls, sending them off to Green Station and continue taking back the stolen items, defeat General Guy and his army, and free the next Star Spirit the leader's holding captive.