//------------------------------// // 09: Decision Number One // Story: Paper Mario: Elements & Stars // by ThePegaKris //------------------------------// 8:00PM Unknown Location Wednesday I’m back, my love... ”Ah, it’s good to see you again too, dear.” Shadow Peach said. “Have you found the unicorn with the broken horn yet?” Not yet, but I’ve learned something interesting that can help her snatch the royal couple’s infant child... The one known as Sunburst, is always left in charge of taking care of their baby at this time while they go out to run errands, and his power level is calculated to be nowhere near as strong as Tempest Shadow’s... ”Okay, but how is she going to sneak into the castle unnoticed? You can’t just rival speed with more power, it’s imbalanced.” I just explained to you earlier that she has the necessary abilities to make it inside the castle... She’ll be perfect... ”Who knows?” Shadow Peach minded. “She might find Mario and the others first before us, that could be possible. We have to find Tempest Shadow immediately.” Now is not the time to rush our plans, my love... We can only do so much in one day... ”But, we have a good chance to attack now! These fiends seem to be attending some kind of concert and there’s a lot of ponies in the audience that we can gather up to do our bidding!” Sorry, but that just contradicted one of your previous statements... If we cause chaos immediately, we’ll be outnumbered by the Royal Guard and the Princesses of Day and Night... ”Alright, I’ll give it to you on that one, dear.” Shadow Peach said. “But, you better not use your power for nothing once you reclaim it.” 10:00PM Twilight’s Castle Wednesday ”Oh boy, that concert was a fun experience!” Mario exclaimed. ”That song was so catchy, I felt like we’ve heard it before...” Cappy wondered. ”I’ll be sure to give y’all copies of the photos that we took together with Rara.” A.J said. ”Pinkie, I know what you’re going to say next.” Twilight smirked. “We’re not doing that.” ”Hehe, what are you talking about, Twilight? I was totally NOT going to put the photos in the Mirror Pool! That’s silly talk right there!” ”Either way, those photos would make fabulous souvenirs for you guys, would they?” Rarity winked at Mario’s team. ”They sure would, even though the majority of them had me lying down on the ground so that I could fit in.” Bowser acknowledged. ”Well, we still got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.” Professor E. Gadd declared. ”We should probably get off to bed, Twilight.” Rainbow Dash snored. ”Yeah, we should go ahead and use the time machine to get back to the Mushroom Kingdom.” Mario suggested. “We’ll come back and see you girls in the morning, okay? Thank you all so much for today, by the way!” ”Woah, wait a minute, Mario!” Twilight halted. “I was wondering if you and your friends would be interested in spending the next few nights in the castle with us! I’m guessing you’re all already feeling homesick, though, huh?” ”This calls for a slumber party!” Pinkie cheered. “What do you think, pals?” ”If so, then I’m always down to eat warm s’mores!” Rarity agreed. ”I call sleeping by the kitchen as usual!” as Spike raised his claws. ”Mario, it’s your choice.” Cappy said. ”Where do you want to sleep, bro?” Luigi asked. ”You know what? Okay Twilight, I guess we’ll be staying in the castle from now on! Thanks for your hospitality, by the way!” ”Then it’s settled.” The princess confirmed. “Before we go sleep, I want you all to please follow me into the map room.” ”Got it!” Everyone else responded. ”Now where did Pinkie hide her stash of marshmallows?” Rarity whispered aimlessly. ”I almost forgot to ask you something, Twilight.” Mario said. “What are those tattoos painted on your...flanks?” ”I’m glad you asked that, Mario! These are what we call ‘Cutie Marks.’ They’re a unique representation of a pony’s special skills, talents, or abilities that is carried on for his or her life.” ”Forrevvverrrr!” Pinkie howled. ”Exactly.” Twilight came back in. “I earned my Cutie Mark after passing my magical entrance exam at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” ”I got my Cutie Mark after I saw the ground for the very first time and earned the ability to communicate with animals!” Fluttershy reminded. ”I was the one who accidentally made Fluttershy fall from the clouds that day.” Rainbow Dash admitted. “I’m still sorry about that... Anyway, my Cutie Mark is a reminder of the day when only I was able to pull off a ‘Sonic Rainboom,’ which was the move that I combined with Luigi’s missile attack to make the ‘Sonic Raindoom!” ”As you would expect from a fashionista like me, I certainly am glad that I earned my Cutie Mark after sewing some dazzling costumes for a school play.” Rarity brought up. ”I was just a little filly back then, who tried to make a big break by living with my Aunt & Uncle Orange in the city of Manehattan, but I realized that life on the farm was where I belonged.” as A.J took off her hat in pride. ”I also had a farm life, but ny family and I thought it was depressing to find nothing of purpose on a rock farm.” Pinkie sniffed. “But at that very moment, the Sonic Rainboom that Rainbow Dash pulled off was the one that brought us all together! I realized that my special talent was to make sure that everypony laughs, smiles, and have fun!” ”Those stories...were so beautiful.” Bowser sniffed. ”Are you actually crying right now?” Cappy raised an eyebrow. ”What? No, of course not! I just...forgot to blink, hehe, that’s all!” ”Uh-huh...” Mario hummed. “Anyways, what do we do now, Twilight?” ”Tomorrow, we’ll be splitting up into different teams in order to find the next remaining items on the list. Rarity, Professor E. Gadd, and I will be avoiding detection from any of King Sombra’s minions by going invisible using magic. However, there’s a risk that we might be accidentally uncloaked if we bump into another pony or even each other.” ”Right.” Rainbow Dash said. “Fluttershy, Cappy, Luigi, and I will be finding the items while flying through the skies. Twilight knows a spell that allows anypony to walk on clouds, but there’s another risk of you missing your jumps since there’s going to be a lot of gaps in the clouds.” ”Pinkie Pie, you’re with me, sugarcube!” A.J decided. “We’ll be bringing Bowser and Spike with us on the ground, and now we got extra firepower, but there’s obviously going to be a darn problem because we’re going to be directly exposed to King Sombra’s goons and what not.” ”What about me?” Mario asked. “Who do I get to go with?” ”It’s your choice, Mario...” Twilight replied. ”I’m taking it to the skies!”