//------------------------------// // 17: The Other Unicorn With the Broken Horn // Story: Paper Mario: Elements & Stars // by ThePegaKris //------------------------------// ”How long is he gonna be sitting here like that?” Spike asked calmly. ”No idea, Spike, but let’s just let Luigi take the time to remember his brother.” Twilight suggested. “I’m really going to miss him too.” ”It’s a shame that this is the first thing to experience as our first time in the Mushroom Kingdom.” Rarity sighed. ”This is so not awesome.” Rainbow lamented. ”Bummer!” Pinkie frowned. ”Aww shucks, I wasn’t expecting this either.” as A.J took off her hat. ”Poor Mario...” Fluttershy weeped. ”We can’t just leave him there like that!” Bowser exclaimed. “He needs a proper funeral like most other heroes, even though I don’t believe that he’s actually dead.” ”Hey look, it’s Toadsworth!” Cappy pointed out. ”I-Is it over?” The steward asked. “I don’t feel any earthquake, so I’m assuming it’s safe to go outside!” ”We took care of some of Mario’s old foes, but unfortunately, Mario didn’t make it.” Twilight confirmed. ”Master Mario is dead?” Toadsworth freaked out. “That can’t be possible!” ”Even I feel bad to say that he’s actually gone now.” Bowser soaked in. “He’s down that crater, where he got crushed.” ”I see that Master Luigi is obviously having the hardest time right now.” Toadsworth added. “The poor boy certainly isn’t finding anything worth to lighten the mood up.” ”Mario was the only one that can lead us to save Princess Peach, and now, it is up to us to finish what he’s started.” Twilight proposed. “Let’s go back home.” ”Madam, I guess I must thank you and your friends for stopping these massive attacks on Princess Peach’s castle.” Toadsworth declared. “And you too...Master Bowser.” ”Uhh, no problem, hehe!” Bowser chuckled. ”It is our pleasure, Toadsworth.” Twilight replied. ”Oh, before you leave, may I have your permission to look over Mario? I know that he’s not probably going to resurrect any time soon, but I’ll see what I can do to bring him back.” ”You would DO that?” as Luigi rushed over and got down on his knees begging. “Oh Toadsworth, please, you must do whatever it takes to bring Mario back!” ”I’ll try my hardest, Master Luigi, but it won’t be easy. If I must honestly speak, I would give my life to save this kingdom’s greatest hero.” ”Princess Peach isn’t going to be happy about that once we bring her back.” Cappy said. “She wouldn’t want to lose another important person in her life.” ”We’re running out of time!” Rainbow lamented. “Maybe it’s too late to save Mario, but we can definitely stop King Sombra and free Princess Peach from his spell!” ”I don’t know about that either.” Twilight mentioned. “Mario did fight Princess Peach when she got possessed the first time, so it seemed like he knew what to do, but now that he’s gone, we can’t stop the Shadow Queen without him.” ”Is there anything we CAN do?” Spike worried. ”If all else fails, we might as well use the Crystal Heart.” A.J suggested. ”King Sombra might see that coming from a mile away.” Rarity said. “We have to be faster than him or we’ll never get our chance of success.” ”I know somepony who can help.” Twilight thought. ”Ooh, who is it?” Pinkie begged the question. “Is it somepony famous? A comedian? An athlete?” ”No, it’s Tempest Shadow.” Twilight replied. “She can definitely help us easily! I can call her by using that potion spell that she’s been using to call the Storm King in the past.” ”I had to sweet talk her into lending that spell for you, Twilight!” Pinkie winked. ”Thanks Pinkie. Everyone, gather around me.” ”So, what’s the game plan?” Rainbow asked. ”We must get a ride on Tempest’s airship to Mount Aris before nightfall.” Twilight explained. “I say we must gather the Old Pillars & Captain Celaeno’s crew so we can all team up against Sombra & Peach.” ”Don’t forget about the Elements of Harmony & the other artifacts.” Fluttershy reminded. “We would feel powerless without them.” ”Wait, King Sombra is mostly looking for Mario.” Rarity forgotten. “He’s going to notice that he’s actually gone if we don’t bring him.” ”Mmm...” as Luigi stopped crying. “Isn’t Hunter able to turn himself into anybody? Bowser and I were able to escape prison because of his shapeshifting.” ”He probably found this Thorax by now.” Bowser thought. “Can’t we go get him to copy Mario?” ”That could work, even if it means a bit of a time being lost.” Twilight said. “I’m not sure if King Sombra is still watching us, though.” ”I have a bad feeling he’ll catch on real quick.” A.J gulped. “M-Maybe we all should we wait for Toadsworth to look after Mario.” ”Like I said before, it’s not going to be easy bringing him back.” The steward brought up. ”I wonder if my parents are still okay right now...” Twilight implored. 10:00AM Mount Aris Thursday King Sombra and Shadow Queen Peach were both standing at the top of a really high mountain with a long set of steps leading to the top. Inside was what looked to be a destroyed kingdom, with a gate symbol of some griffon-hybrid species. The ocean waves all the way down below were fierce as a storm was in the evil couple’s midst. Now, we shall wait for that pesky plumber... ”Mario has no idea what’s about to happen.” Shadow Peach said. “This battle will be over before he can even blink!” ”You two are monsters!” Twilight Velvet cried. ”Just please let us free!” Night Light begged. ”Oh, we will!” Shadow Peach exclaimed. “In fact, we only kept you around so that we can lure your daughter into our trap. It is SHE who will be dying instead of you two, hahaha!” ”NO, don’t you touch our Twilight!” Twilight Velvet weeped. “You can take our lives instead, but just don’t hurt her!” ”Don’t you dare lay a hoof on our daughter!” Night Light bickered. Sacrifice yourselves all you want, but it won’t do you any good... You see, the Princess of Friendship’s magic will be useful to us, unlike yours once we kill her and extract her magic from within... ”NOOO!!!” Both of Twilight’s parents screamed. Shadow Peach actually had her own giant shadow claw that was keeping Twilight’s parents tightly grasped. Obviously, they couldn’t break free from her unmatched strength. ”It seems that Bowser has gotten rid of that putrid Chrysalis earlier.” Shadow Peach pointed out. Yes, indeed... Even if she got rid of him, she and her Changelings still wouldn’t stand a chance against us... Only you and I will have complete power over all these ponies once we succeed... ”Absolutely, my love. It is only a matter of time before the heroes make their way here...” It’s too bad we weren’t able to get ahold of that Tempest Shadow... ”Let’s get back to the castle first.” Twilight said. “Toadsworth, please take good care of Mario.” ”Certainly. Oh wait, Master Luigi!” ”Yeah?” ”I found these Ice Flowers in Mario’s pockets.” Toadsworth added. “Use them wisely if you need to.” ”I will not let Mario down.” as Luigi grabbed the flowers. ”Back to the warp pipe, everybody!” Professor E. Gadd instructed. ”The Mushroom Kingdom is counting on you!” Toadsworth shouted. While the steward was carrying Mario out of the crater, Mario’s friends ran back inside the still-dark castle and raced down the stairs leading to the basement. Bowser lifted some of the debris that was covering the warp pipe and was the first one to jump in, but not without a bit of a tight squeeze. ”Luigi, are you feeling all right?” Twilight paused before jumping in. ”Yeah, I guess, but I still can’t believe Mario died right there in front of us.” ”I know.” Twilight reminisced. “But once we defeat King Sombra and save Princess Peach, we’re going to find a way to bring your brother back to life.” ”Thanks Twilight, but I also think that it’s not going to be easy.” ”Well, we’ll have plenty of time to talk about it after we kill Sombra, okay? Let’s go, Luigi.” The green plumber and pony princess now both jumped into the pipe to get back to Equestria. As bright as the world was, the sun wasn’t shedding that much light on the Everfree Forest, which is where the warp pipe leads to. 10:05AM Ponyville Thursday ”Let’s get going, shall we?” Rarity configured. ”Did somebody say something about an airship?” Bowser asked. “There’s a giant one behind the castle!” ”That’s gotta be Tempest’s, then!” Twilight exclaimed. “This way, follow me!” ”So much...for that potion spell.” A.J huffed as she dashed towards the castle backyard. ”Twilight, hey, there you are!” A deep female voice called out. ”What’s up, fellas?” A male voice spoke. On the landing platform of the airship was a unicorn pony with a rose red mane and tail, wearing what appeared to be some suit of body armor with horns for a symbol, and much like King Sombra, she had a broken horn. Next to her was also a male pug-faced hedgehog with gray hair and a tail, who was eating a sponge cake joyfully. Not surprisingly, he was very short like most hedgehogs. ”Is that a...unicorn?” Cappy wondered. ”I think so, but...what happened to her horn?” Luigi minded. ”Hehe guys, I know what you’re thinking.” The unicorn giggled. “I’m in no way related to King Sombra, don’t worry. My name is Tempest Shadow, and this is my best friend, Grubber.” ”’Sup fellas!” as the hedgehog swallowed his food. ”I’m Luigi, and this is Bowser, Cappy, and Professor E. Gadd!” ”So, you’re the ones Sombra and his lady are looking for, right?” Tempest inquired. ”How do you know all about that?” Spike asked. ”Tempest and I were flying after midnight to come visit you guys today for a little relaxation, until that punk ran into us!” Grubber chomped. 4:00AM South Luna Ocean Thursday ”I think I’m gonna go back to bed now, Tempest.” Grubber yawned. “Good night...” ”Okay, but if I’m flying from now on, I’m going to have to lay you off of your favorite snacks!” Tempest smirked. ”Zzz... H-Huh? I don’t remember the weather forecast calling for a storm!” ”Something’s not right here...” Tempest suspected. “We have to keep moving faster to Ponyville!” Tempest Shadow... In the dark skies of Equestria, the unicorn put the airship on autopilot and got ready for combat. Only the flash of lightning bolts & lanterns intensely lit up the skies. Then up on the deck, a dark cloud started to swirl in and spawned none other than King Sombra and Shadow Queen Peach. ”That’s not what I had in mind...” as Grubber’s eyes dilated. ”You...” Tempest gritted her teeth. “Haven’t you already been stopped before enough times? I see no point in you continuing to live!” ”Calm down, madam.” Shadow Peach tempted. “We’re not looking for confrontation with you, but we need your set of skills to help us.” Tempest Shadow... The Storm King’s greatest soldier gets afraid of him and now she turns to the light? What an absolute shame... ”You don’t know anything about me!” Tempest yelled. “Why should I serve you in the first place?” ”You will bring to us a red plumber and green plumber named Mario and Luigi, who are also called the Mario Bros.” Shadow Peach explained. “Bring them along with their friends and we shall reward you greatly! But first, you must retrieve the Crystal Heart from the Crystal Empire.” ”I may be powerful, but that doesn’t mean I abuse that power like a tyrant such as you, King Sombra!” Tempest exclaimed. “I will not bow down to another power-hungry fiend like you!” Why waste your power doing ridiculous deeds of friendship when you can use it while breathing in the smell of Equestrian domination? You can go back to the way you were and start your life of reign and terror all over again... ”She’d never do something like that!” Grubber butted in. ”Oh well, I guess you leave me no choice, but to put you back right where you belong!” Tempest argued. “You too, lady!” ”W-Wait, think about what you’re doing here!” Shadow Peach stuttered. Altough King Sombra was in spiritual form and Shadow Queen Peach was an almighty human, they both had faces of regret when Tempest fired a devastating magical beam from her broken horn at both of them, inflicting some critical damage. Hhrrgh... You...really are an excellent fighter, but for now, I...will show you what a real shadow can do... ”Hey, l-let me go!” as Tempest was grabbed by Peach’s big shadow claw. ”Tempest!” Grubber called out. ”I wonder what’s in that mind or yours, hehehe...” Shadow Peach giggled. ”Go...ahead, see what happens...” Tempest betted. A dark aura started to surround the female unicorn as she had her eyes closed. This was the same dark aura that Sombra used to possess Trixie yesterday. Once Tempest was fully enclosed inside, the dark cloud started to dissipate and the Shadow Queen let her free. ”Join the Shadow Empire, Tempest! You are now under our possession for eternity, and it shall remain this way!” ”...Never.” What is the meaning of this? Why aren’t you under our spell? ”I may be broken, but the dark side is NOT the one that gets to decide who I am! Take this!!!” ”GAHHH!!!” The shadow couple was immobilized as Tempest shot lightning bolts at them. ”I-I’ll get this thing going again!” as Grubber took the wheel. This...isn’t over, Tempest Shadow... I may not have my full power yet, but when I do, I will teach you how it’s done! Let’s get out of here, honey... ”F-Fine...” Shadow Peach coughed. “Y-You haven’t seen the last of us, Tempest Shadow...” The two evil rulers disappeared into the sea of dark clouds and retreated off of the airship to return to wherever they were hiding in. While Grubber was flying, Tempest dusted herself off like it was nothing and continued traveling with her little friend for the night. ”I’m surprised you were able to stand up to him.” Bowser thought. “It’s too bad he got away, though.” ”Our little vacation here has now turned into the battle of our lives.” Tempest said. “Twilight, I can help you defeat King Sombra once he regains full power!” ”That’s exactly what we needed you for! Can you give us a lift to Mount Aris? That’s where King Sombra and Shadow Queen Peach will meet us.” ”I remember that place.” Tempest said. “I would do anything to help you and your friends out in this time of need!” ”What she said!” as Grubber finished his food. ”Let’s get onboard, everyone!” Twilight instructed. ”Wait a minute...” Tempest halted. “Luigi, you’re the green one?” ”Yeah, that’s me.” ”Where’s Mario?” Tempest asked. ”He didn’t make it...” Bowser gulped. “We lost our greatest friend today during a fatal crash landing.” ”I’m sorry to hear about that...” Tempest shed only one tear. “Wherever he is right now, I promise that he will not die in vain fighting for you! Let’s get on the ship and go after that tyrant!” ”YEAH!!!” Everyone else chanted.