//------------------------------// // 04: Cutie Map Meeting // Story: Paper Mario: Elements & Stars // by ThePegaKris //------------------------------// 30 Minutes Earlier Tartarus Wednesday ”Ooh, my head... I can’t get up.” ”Luigi, this is not the time to give up! We need to get out of here and go find Mario!” ”Bowser, if you get out of here, you’ll just be going after Princess Peach again, won’t you?” ”Look, we’ll talk about that later.” He replied. “Maybe one day, I will learn to stop threatening you guys and kidnapping the princess. I’m just tired of being sucked into another world like this.” ”What are you trying to say?” Luigi asked. ”We need to work together to stop that unicorn, get Peach, and go back home, but we first have to break out of this prison and find Mario!” Bowser replied. ”Fine, but you have to promise to keep your word.” ”Done deal. How high up are we anyway, Luigi?” Floor 50 Cell Block G15 ”Hey you two, no talking!” A guard unicorn shouted. “I may have never seen you both before in my entire life, but the rules here are always the same for those who end up down here! Now, be quiet!” ”S-Sorry!” Luigi panicked. ”Haaahhh!” as Bowser breathed fire. “It’s no use. These iron bars are immune to fire, which means we can’t break out of these cells. Even if we do, the way to the top is heavily guarded, from the looks of it.” ”Wait a second.” Luigi whispered. “These guards haven’t confiscated my items! Check your pockets to see if we have anything to use to break out.” ”I’ve got a couple of Bob-ombs and hammers.” Bowser confirmed. “What can we throw these at, though?” ”Okay, I know this is going to sound crazy, but we need to set these other prisoners free. Maybe they can start a riot and take over the prison, and then we blend in with the crowd.” ”I like the sound of that, but even I’ll admit that something is bound to go wrong.” Bowser doubted. “I would think twice about pulling off a stunt like that.” ”Pssst! Hey, over here!” A pony whispered to the duo. ”What do you want?” Luigi asked. ”My name is Hunter. I’m a Changeling that can break you out of here. You have to trust me.” ”Why would we do that?” Bowser scratched his head. “We just happened to be in this stupid cell for no apparent reason, and we don’t even know you.” ”What the heck is a Changeling?” Luigi asked softly. ”A Changeling can shapeshift into anypony he sees...or in this case, I can copy your weird appearances.” Hunter replied. ”Okay, but how exactly will that help us?” Luigi interrogated. ”The guard on this floor doesn’t seem to have that big of a brain. He thinks he knows everything, but he’s actually new. I can trick him very easily by shapeshifting into another guard. Then, I can also break free by shapeshifting into one of you guys, which will fool the guard completely.” ”I mean, that would be really appreciated, but what exactly are you planning to do once you break out?” Bowser minded. ”I need to find this reformed Changeling named Thorax, because I believe that he’s willing to make me feel not so evil and he could be the only one who could save us from our old ruler, Queen Chrysalis.” ”Oh, I see.” Luigi hummed. “Maybe we’ll help you find this Thorax if you promise to bust us out, Hunter.” ”Don’t worry, I will. Okay, here goes nothing!” Within a flash, Hunter faced his cell wall and shapeshifted into a guard pony, complete with a uniform, glasses, and a hat. He had no weapons like the guards, but definitely looked the part. At last, he whistled at the dumb guard to draw his attention. ”Hey buddy, when did ya get the brightest idea of locking me up in here?” Hunter demanded. ”Oh no, I’m sorry!” The guard apologized. “I-I’m still a bit new to this job and everything!” ”You don’t want to deal with the Warden, do you? Unlock my cell and I won’t be so hard on you!” ”S-Sir yes sir!” as the guard grabbed his keys. “There, now please don’t punish me!” ”I won’t, but if this happens again next time, it’ll be you who’s ending up in the cell!” Hunter confronted. ”It won’t happen again, sir!” “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have my orders to release this green guy and turtle over here. Their jail sentence is finished...” ”...And that’s how we escaped from this so-called Tartarus!” Luigi explained. ”You...forgot...the part where we...had to CLIMB... SO. MANY. STAIRS!” Bowser coughed. ”I’m just glad to see you both alive and well again!” Mario cried. ”Ditto!” The ponies and the rest of Mario’s team. ”It’s too bad you had to miss out on Mario’s awesome training!” Cappy exclaimed. “He learned some really cool moves with Twilight over here!” ”Yeah, and y’all were lucky that I didn’t lose my mind.” A.J said. “If she used any of my hard earned apples from Sweet Apple Acres, I would’ve lost it the second I saw one of them!” ”Anyways, where is Hunter now, Luigi?” Twilight asked. ”I could’ve sworn I saw him going inside the castle.” ”GUYS, GET IN HERE QUICKLY!!! ”Follow me!” Twilight commanded. Hunter’s voice came inside from Twilight’s map room. When the group rushed to him, he was freaking out about the fact that dark clouds started to swirl up on the table and covered the entire thing. These were the same dark clouds Mario and Luigi saw back in the Mushroom Kingdom Cryystalllsss... ”Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Mario shouted. ”King Sombra!” Twilight’s group called out. ”How are you still alive?” Twilight exacted. “Spike used the Crystal Heart to defeat you!” You haven’t completely destroyed me yet, Princess Twilight... Every time a piece of my horn remains, I still find a way to build back my power... This is only just the beginning of a new revolution... ”What have you done with Princess Peach?” Mario demanded. The clouds started to change images and the next thing Mario left him completely shocked. ”You possessed her???” ”Hello Mario! You may stand a chance against Bowser, but I don’t think you have what it takes to defeat me! You may also call me ‘Shadow Peach,’ by the way! I will completely turn you and Luigi into nothing but pieces of obliterated ashes!” ”N-no...” If you don’t obey me, Mario, then you will never see your beloved princess ever again returning to her normal self! What you have to do is very simple... ”Not a chance, Sombra!” Fluttershy intervened. “Twilight and Spike will show us the way to defeat ya once again!” Oh really? Well luckily for the Princess of Friendship, she also has a nice reward waiting for her if she does my bidding, too! ”What are you trying to play at?” Twilight minded. The dark clouds changed images and this sight left Twilight even more shocked than Mario. ”M-Mom, D-Dad???” ”Twilight, honey, come save us from this evil abomination!” Twilight Velvet cried. ”We know you can do it, Twilight!” Night Light pleaded. “We love you so much!” ”I-I love you guys, too! Don’t worry, my friends and I will be there to rescue you!” Try and come at me, Princess! However, if you fail to do my tasks, your parents will die when I leave them out to freeze in the Frozen North... ”WHAT DO YOU WANT???” Mario and Twilight yelled. Bring me these following items: the Elements of Harmony, the Sun Journal, the Memory Stone, the Ring of Destiny, and the Pillars of Old Equestria... I will give you updates on my location every time you acquire one of these items... King Sombra out... The dark clouds started to dissipate and the cutie map returned to normal, showing all the places in Equestria to be fully lit. However, both team leaders started to shed a tear after witnessing what just happened. ”A-Are you two okay?” as Cappy approached Mario. ”I wasn’t expecting that at all!” Hunter exclaimed. “I just wanted to find this map and make my way to Thorax! I’m really sorry, Your Highness...” ”It’s not your fault, Hunter.” Twilight said. “At least I know you’re not on Queen Chrysalis’ side anymore. I’m fine, you guys.” ”Me too.” Mario added. “Thank you for saving Luigi & Bowser, Hunter.” ”You’re welcome. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find my new brothers and try to avoid the cops looking for me. Good luck on your journey, my friends!” ”Bye Hunter!” Everyone else waved off as he left the castle. ”So what’s the plan, you guys?” E. Gadd asked. “We need to come up with something fast!” ”Maybe, these other items are possible to give up, but we are NOT going to give up the Elements of Harmony!” Twilight exclaimed. “Without them, Equestria would be done for!” ”Aren’t we also going to talk about them Old Pillars?” A.J asked. “They’re ponies, not items!” ”What if Sombra was just talking about their artifacts?” Fluttershy wondered. ”Star Swirl the Bearded’s book, Mage Meadowbrook’s mask, Flash Magnus’ shield, Mistmane’s flower, Rockhoof’s shovel, and Somnambula’s blindfold...” Twilight reminisced. ”Did you catch any of that?” Luigi whispered to Bowser. ”Nope.” ”We need to get Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Spike here right now!” A.J proposed. “Strength in numbers, y’all!” ”Let’s split up, shall we?” Twilight asked. “Mario and I will get Spike at the hospital. Fluttershy, you alone will get Rainbow Dash up in her cloud house. Applejack, you and Cappy will go to Carousel Boutique to find Rarity. Luigi, Bowser, and Professor E. Gadd will then get Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner. Everyone got that?” ”In case y’all get lost, this map right here will help y’all out.” A.J pointed out. “It’s got the names of everywhere we visited in Equestria.” ”Let’s-a-go!” as Mario jumped determinedly. While everyone else was leaving in their respective teams to find Twilight’s other friends, Mario stopped the Princess of Friendship herself in her tracks. ”Twilight, I just want you to know that it’s going to be an honor working together with you. Thanks for doing for this for me.” ”And I want to thank you, Mario, for accepting my offer to work with me. We may be from different worlds, but I think I’m already looking at a new best friend.” ”Same here.” Mario added. “Also, I’ve been meaning to ask you this ever since I got here, Twilight. What exactly are the Elements of Harmony?” ”Great question. I actually have a book about it right here, if you want to know their origins. Go ahead and open it up, Mario.” ”Thanks.” The origins of the elements are unknown, but their first recorded appearance was in the hooves of the sisters, Princesses Celestia and Lunq, who used the power of the elements to seal the despot Discord in stone. Ironically the next time the element’s power was needed was in a battle between Celestia and Luna, now transformed into the genocidal Nightmare Moon. Celestia was unable to redeem her sister and was forced to use their power to seal Nightmare Moon within the celestial object she was named after, this apparently the last time she used their powers. To better describe them: The Elements are a place filled with colors, The gentle cream yellow color filled with kindness. The pink that adores laughter and happiness. The courageous cyan of loyalty. The orange that is dependable and described as honesty. The white of beauty and generosity. To top it off, there's the lavender filled with knowledge and magic. Most ponies have speculated that it was Star Swirl the Bearded himself who made the Elements of Harmony, but no answers were found. He still had a lot to learn about friendship, as he continued his studies with the rest of the Old Pillars of Equestria. Wherever they went, ponies always try to follow them on their paths to glory and honor, but Equestria still awaits its new heroes.