After Queen Chrysalis was left lying, beaten down on the ground by Bowser, him and his friends were approached by the Pillars of Old Equestria. They were all carrying their artifacts in unison.
”I now understand the way you fight.” Star Swirl the Bearded said. “It is not merely old-fashioned like our combat, but it is quite effective. I was beginning to have doubts about you, Your Highness, but I see that you are capable of holding your own and defending these artifacts with your life. Let us get you and your allies back to Princess Twilight’s castle.”
”Thanks...” as Bowser followed him. “How many times have you guys encountered Queen Chrysalis, by the way?”
”Twice before, and we had to rely on somepony else to save us both times.” Spike replied.
”We got our cupcakes handed to us by the worst party crasher ever!” Pinkie cried.
”Looks like you managed to do just the same this time, partner!” A.J winked.
”Yeah, but...I couldn’t have done it without you ponies.” Bowser said. “I think we did our part for now, but let’s just go find Mario in the meantime.”
”Everypony, gather around.” Star Swirl instructed. “We’re about to magically transport ourselves to Princess Twilight’s castle. Hold on to the artifacts, I say!”
The Old Pillars’ artifacts consisted of Star Swirl the Bearded’s spell book, Mage Meadowbrook’s mask, Flash Magnus’ shield, Mistmane’s flower, Rockhoof’s shovel, and Somnambula’s blindfold. Without further hesitation, the wizard’s horn glowed white again as he used a bit of effort to gather everyone in the area and teleported away.
Poof.
9:00AM
Twilight’s Castle
Thursday
Poof.
”Hey, do you guys hear something?” Mario asked. “It sounds like someone’s here.”
”We’re back, everyone!” Bowser called out. “Look who we managed to find..”
”The Pillars!” Twilight’s team shouted.
”We heard you ponies were in need of some proper assistance!” Meadowbrook gloated.
”Yes, but mostly this guy.” as Twilight pointed to Mario.
”So, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that ‘M’ on your cap means you’re Mario, right?” Star Swirl guessed.
”Yeah, that’s me. You’ve already met Bowser, so I’d like you to also meet my brother, Luigi, Cappy, and Professor E. Gadd!”
”Hello!” Mario’s team greeted.
”Ah, hello there!” Star Swirl returned. “It’s always fascinating to see beings from another world, and finally ones that don’t mean any harm. Would you mind telling us about this Mushroom Kingdom you come from?”
”Sure, but I’ll try to make this as brief as possible.” Mario replied. “It’s a pretty peaceful place inhabited by people known as Toads. Things also seemed to get...tense between me and Bowser, but in times like these, we seem to work together nicely. I’m what Toads consider to be their hero, mostly their ruler, Princess Peach, who’s been kidnapped by King Sombra. Now, we finally have the items that we need in order to find their location.”
”Does he really mean that?” Bowser thought to himself.
”Princess Peach unfortunately got possessed and turned into Shadow Queen Peach, which isn’t the first time this has happened to her.” Mario explained.
”We gotta move fast or we’ll never find the princess ever again!” Luigi sobbed.
”It’s a good thing Daring Do gave us the Ring of Destiny to start off with.” Cappy said.
”I’m still sorry about what happened to your ship, Captain Celaeno.” Fluttershy gloomed.
”Nah, it’s not the end of the world. I really appreciate you letting me stay here with my crew until my ship gets fixed though, Twilight!”
”You’re welcome! Rarity, Professor E. Gadd, and I managed to obtain the Memory Stone from Princess Celestia. I also got the Sun Book from the library ready.”
”And we have the artifacts ready in hoof.” Somnambula commented.
”Uhh, Twilight?” as Spike poked her.
”My Cutie Mark! It’s glowing again!”
”Mine too!” Twilight’s friends uttered.
The Mane Six’s Cutie Marks were all glowing and a projection of them was pointing to Twilight’s castle on the Cutie Map. Twilight’s Cutie Mark was the one star surrounded in the middle by her friends’ Cutie Marks. However, a dark cloud started to swirl up on the table.
Mario...
”King Sombra!” Everyone yelled.
”Greetings, travelers!” Shadow Peach smirked. “And how especially wonderful it is to meet you again, Mario!”
”Peach, I know you’re in there somewhere! You must break free from his evil spell! You can be pure as ever again!”
”What are you talking about?” Shadow Peach asked. “There is nothing wrong with me, I’m perfectly fine. Besides, your lovely Princess Peach doesn’t exist anymore!”
”N-no...” Mario heaved.
”We finished your stupid list, Sombra!” Twilight exclaimed. “Just tell us where you’re hiding so you can give my parents and Princess Peach back!”
I guess you actually have my items... Well, a deal’s a deal, but...I’m not quite satisfied yet...
”What is the meaning of this, you fool?” Star Swirl demanded an answer. “How do you keep coming back? You know what we do to ponies who put innocent lives at risk, don’t you?”
”It’s time we get some darn payback, lads!” Rockhoof nodded.
Honey, why don’t you explain to our servants what they’ll be doing next?”
”Certainly, my love.” Shadow Peach replied. “Mario, you must reach the top of Mount Aris with Princess Twilight and her friends. However, if you bring Luigi or any other of your friends, then say goodbye to Princess Peach and Twilight’s parents! Bring the list of items with you as expected. I will meet you there by myself. You must arrive before tomorrow. Do you understand completely?”
”...Yes, Peach.”
”Crying is definitely not going to bring Princess Peach back!” Shadow Peach bickered. “It’s only going to make things easier for when we finish building the Shadow Empire!”
”Fine, but don’t pull off anything suspicious while we get there!” Twilight solicited.
We won’t... Anyways, you ponies better get a move on if you know what’s good for Equestria... Sombra out...
”What a big jerk...” as Spike crossed his arms.
”Hey Mario, where are you going?” Luigi interrogated.
”I’m going home... I can’t deal with this right now...”
”But Mario, we all need you!” Twilight encouraged. “I need you!”
”Yeah, what she said!” Rainbow mentioned. “Cheer up buddy!”
”You can’t give up on your friends, right Mario?” Cappy wondered.
”Well, I really appreciate everything that you’ve done for me, but...I just want to be alone right now... Professor, can you show me where the warp pipe is?”
”S-Sure...” E. Gadd frowned.
Mario slowly waved off to everyone as he left the castle with Professor E. Gadd to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Everyone was in complete disbelief at the moment.
”Is nobody going to stop that boy from leaving?” as A.J gave a dirty look.
”No!” Luigi exclaimed. “We can’t force Mario to feel better, he has to take it slowly. I would go after him, but seeing him like that makes me feel the same way.”
”Maybe I can cheer him up.” Bowser insisted. “I know I always haven’t gotten along with Mario, but...maybe it’s time for that to change.”
”Are you sure you know where you’re going with this?” Rarity asked.
”Just trust me.” Bowser reassured. “You never know what could happen...”