My Little Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

by Codex92


A Very Puni Rescue

Back at the Great Tree, the group returned with the newly joined wind spirit, Madame Flurrie. Flurrie hovered up to where Punio climbed up on the root, observing the location where the secret entrance was supposed to be.

"Ah, I see," Flurrie said, letting out an amused chuckle. "I thought the secret entrance was camouflaged to others who would want to harm the Punies."

"You can see the illusion?" Starlight asked, astounded. "I could feel the magical enchantment, but I just can't seem to get rid of it. It's so powerful that not even my own magic alone isn't enough to even breach a fraction of it."

"Oh, it's magical alright," Flurrie said. "But, even if your own unique magic might be strong, it's nothing compared to illusion spells like these. Tell me, Starlight, did the illusion 'feel' strange when you probed it with your magic?"

"Yeah. It was actually kind of frail and light, almost like a sheet of paper, but when I tried to erase it or pull it, it felt like it was superglued to the area, and no amount of powerful adhesive could get it unstuck if it was possible." Starlight emphasized her explanation, trying to pull off the thin illusion, but it wouldn't budge. "I'm just as powerful as our friend Twilight, and she's an alicorn, ponies with far stronger magic than average unicorns."

"Mhmm...Well, none of you have ever seen illusions like this, so it's perfectly reasonable," Flurrie said. "As a spirit, some of us can do incredible feats. Wind spirits like myself can create powerful winds, mostly blowing away adoring fans." She laughed at her little pun, then regained her composure when she didn't get a chuckle out of the others. "But our breath can also reveal some of these hidden illusions, which might have been cast by someone who got their hands on such a trick to hide other entrances to their homes, important treasures they don't want others to take, or just to pull a prank and confuse unfortunate victims when they bump into something they can't see. These are nothing for a powerful spirit like myself."

Flurrie hovered up to the illusion and took in a deep breath. When she exhaled, she released a powerful stream of air, rustling some of the branches of the Great Tree even though her powerful breath was not even aimed at canopy of the large monochrome tree. The gust of wind began to reveal the illusion for everyone else, making it flutter like a piece of paper slightly before it was blown off, drifting away until it disappeared. The others gasped in awe, not even looking at the small hole that was revealed that had a neon sign that read "SECRET ENTRANCE" above it as they saw how easily Flurrie got rid of the paper-like illusion.

"You mean all we have to do is blow air into them, and they disappear like that!?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "I call dibs on blowing away the next fake illusion thingie!"

Flurrie laughed in amusement as she floated back down to the pink earth pony. "No, no, no, my dear, not just any simple blowing of air will do," she reiterated. "My power alone is able to get rid of them. I know you have your own kind of magic, and yours is..." Flurrie paused as she stared at Pinkie, the pony blinking her eyes with an eager gaze, which made the wind spirit nervous with the exact words she had to think over so as to not hurt her feelings. "...incredibly unique, but some specifically unique magics can cancel other unique magics."

"Ohhhhh...Well, darn," Pinkie said, slightly disappointed. "I was gonna try to use my party cannon if it had enough of a blast to blow it away. Or up. Whichever comes first!"

"A party what?" Flurrie asked. Pinkie pulled out her special cannon, shocking the spirit after dragging it from out of nowhere. "...Where did you-?"

"Don't ask!" Goombella exclaimed before the other ponies could explain Pinkie. "Please, Flurrie, if you love your sanity, do not ask how she does the things she does, because you will never figure it out!"

Flurrie looked at the others, a bit startled by the reason, but willing to take the frantic Goomba's word for it. "Well, since the secret entrance is revealed now, I'm gonna open up that metal door," Punio said, balancing his way across the thin branches, then crawled into the secret entrance.

Pinkie put away her party cannon, saving it for her next unfortunate foe in need of a blast of confetti, or a party needing to be set if that comes first. "So, Flurrie, what do you do for a living?" Rarity asked to pass the time until Punio got them inside. "You don't look like the camping type with how lavish your home is."

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I used to be a rather famous actress," Flurrie said.

"Whoa, really?" Koops asked in surprise. "You acted in movies?"

"More like theater, dear Koops," Flurrie said. "I was known as Madame Flurrie the world over; a diva on the stage. But I stopped because of the filthy air outside the spotlight."

"Ah, I see," Rarity said. "I can see where you come from. The same is said for me and my own boutiques in Canterlot and Manehattan. As sophisticated as those cities might be and how much business I get, it can get a bit frustrating dealing with certain customers while I oversee them at times. I prefer my Carousel Boutique in Ponyville because of how rustic the town is. That and being my home since I was a filly."

"Which is the exact reason I came out here to these woods," Flurrie continued. "And soon enough, I glimpsed the beauty of these Punies and their pure little hearts...It reminded me of my own innocence as an actress." She sighed, feeling nostalgic as she thought back on her first days as a young upcoming star. "That made me realize how much I love the stage. I must have the spotlight shine down on me again, oh how I must! These little Punies helped me find my true self, which is why I must help them before I go on my own adventures."

"But can you defend yourself, or did you only have experience 'fighting' in your acts?" Rainbow asked curiously.

"Ho ho ho, can I defend myself?" Flurrie repeated, highly amused by her new friends' curiosity of her life. "I may be a diva, but I'm no slouch when it comes to beating back ruffian fans who thought I was a sham."

Before Flurrie got into details of some scuffles she got into with some disrespectful hecklers, they heard the sound of a beep by the electronic door. The red light above the door now turned green, then slid open and Punio walked out.

"Hey, guys! I managed to get it opened from inside!" Punio said ecstatically. "Come on, let's hurry!" Punio scurried back inside the Great Tree, the others following after him with the door sliding closed behind them once they all walked through the entrance. The interior of the tree wasn't exactly how the visiting members expected, streaks of blue along the black bark that seemed to look like the tree was underwater with bubbles flowing up in the out of place sections of the walls. There were some gray bushes scattered around, two large, curved black gourds with white markings between a pedestal with a Puni in the middle, a wooden warp pipe on the other side of the room, and another electronic door that was locked near the warp pipe. "Huh? Weird. Normally, everyone's right here. Helloooo!? Elder! Anyone! Come on out!"

"Are they hiding because we look scary?" Fluttershy asked, greatly concerned that they startled the other Punies.

The door on the other side of the room unlocked, where two goons in red and white walked out to check on the commotion. Surprised by who was intruding, the duo ran toward them, their appearance shocking Goombella, Mario, and the ponies, recognizing the outfits they wore.

"Hey, how did you guys get in here!?" one of them asked.

"You guys again!?" Goombella exclaimed.

"You know who these guys are?" Koops asked.

"Know them!? They ambushed us in Rogueport with that guy in purple!" Rainbow said.

"Don't tell me these guys are the X-Nauts are the same ones who attacked us at the port," Starlight grumbled.

"Whoa, check it out!" the other X-Naut said, pointing at the red plumber. "Isn't he that Mario guy?"

"He totally is!" the first one said. "We better get him, then!"

"But, dude, Lord Crump told us to tell him IMMEDIATELY if we found Mario!" the second X-Naut said, reminding his friend their orders.

"You idiot! Use your head!" the first X-Naut scolded. "If we capture him, we'll get all the credit, man! Duh!"

While the two X-Nauts talked with each other over how capturing Mario would earn them bragging rights, Flurrie hovered in front of her friends, leering at the duo who intruded on her little friends' home. "So, you must be the nasty brutes who are hurting my adorable little Punies, eh?"

"Huh? Who the heck are you?" the second soldier asked.

"Who cares!? Just get them!" the first one scolded, then yelled and charged forward. Flurrie blew out a powerful gust of wind, sending the X-Naut spinning rapidly as he screamed. As soon as she stopped, he slowed down and staggered, his head spinning with his eyes rolling around behind his goggles. "Whoooaaaaaa! Stop spinning the world, mommy!"

"Time to feel the might of the Madame Flurrie!" Flurrie announced, launching herself and let out an opera-like wail.

She landed on the dazed X-Naut with her entire body, squishing him while he let out a painful grunt. The other X-Naut winced, backing away slowly as Flurrie floated over his crushed partner. She peeled the flattened X-Naut from the ground, then wound her fist up and punched him back into his friend. The others watching were amazed to see just how well the wind spirit actress could hold her own in a fight, especially her body slam able to squish her foes into pancakes.

"Uhh, ok, I think it's best to tell Lord Crump instead!" the conscious X-Naut quickly said, carrying his friend with him as they ran back through the door and locked it.

Flurrie scoffed, dusting off her hands before placing them on her hips. "I'll bet there's more of them hiding somewhere. How dare they defile such a beautiful tree with technology, and harm the Punies as well?"

Starlight heard rustling nearby, looking over at the large gourds and statue, where she caught a glimpse of something gray before it skittered behind the statue. "Uhh, I don't think we're alone still," she said.

Punio turned to the gourds, spotting an antenna sticking out from one side. "There you guys are!" he said. He skittered over to another Puni, this one definitely fitting the description that was in Prof. Frankly's book. "What are you guys doing hiding back here!? I brought us some powerful friends who can help us! Come and meet them!"

Slowly, one by one, eight more normal Punies poked their heads out, muttering worriedly as they stared at the group. They also spotted Flurrie, feeling a little more confident as the nine regular Punies slowly came out, though they kept their distance as they stood at Punio's side opposite of the visitors.

"Wow, they look just like the ones in Prof. Frankly's book," Goombella said in awe. "I guess there are some Punies who have a different skin pattern or antenna than the usual ones."

"Is this really all of you?" Punio asked, slightly confused as he counted the nine other Punies. He noticed his friends were still a little frightened, especially when they saw the awed look on Fluttershy's face at the increased numbers. "Hey, relax, guys. They're not dangerous. In fact, they're going to save us. Let me introduce you to them. That is Mario, and that's-"

"Hold on a minute!" a voice called out from behind one of the gourds. Yet another Puni came out, only this one was a bit bigger, almost like it was fatter with its chubby cheeks, though it had an orange antenna than the regular Punies' yellow. "How do you know they're our allies, Punio? For all we know, they could be working for those X-Nauts!"

"Puniper, they're not with those bad people!" Punio argued. "With Mario, Starlight, and everyone here, we can take back our home and kick out those X-Nauts!"

"Hah! Big, bad Punio. Listen to yourself, trying to sound all important. You have no idea what we've been through since you left to find help!" Puniper came out of his hiding spot, shoving Punio aside and confronted the group. "How can you be so sure we can trust-?"

"Awww, he's so cute!" Fluttershy squealed, grabbing Puniper and squeezed him in a hug, surprising the chubby Puni. "And so squishy! Ooh, chubby Punies are more adorable!"

"AHHH! Help! I'm gonna get eaten!" Puniper shouted, wiggling his feet trying to break free, but it was no use.

"No. She just thinks we're cute and tries to snuggle us to death," Punio joked as he chuckled, watching his friend squirming out of the animal-loving pegasus's grasp. Fluttershy finally let Puniper go, the fat Puni skittering far enough away from her to avoid getting hugged to his demise. "But what's going on here? Why are there so few of you, anyway?"

"What do you think!? They've been captured!" Puniper said. "Everyone, the elder...even your sister."

Punio gasped in horror. "WHAT!? Petuni!? Not my little sister!"

"She'll be fine," Puniper assured the panicking Punio. "She was taken with the others. All because we wouldn't tell them where we hid that crystal thing they kept asking about. We told them we never heard of it, and they didn't believe us."

"I have to go find her!" Punio said.

He tried to scurry away, but Puniper blocked his friend's path. "Are you crazy!? We can't do anything to them! And even if we could, they have the cursed Jabbi tribe working with them! With these X-Naut guys invading, they plan on taking over our tree once we're driven out!"

"What in Equestria is a 'Jabbi'?" Applejack asked.

"Umm...Let's see," Goombella muttered as she flipped through the pages of her mighty almanac to find what a Jabbi was and what it looked like. While Punio tried to continue convincing his skeptical friend to fight back, the studious Goomba found the page. It looked like a gray mosquito of sorts, though seemed slightly off with its curved body, large wingspan, and cocked eyes. "Eww. That's a Jabbi?"

"Yes, indeed," Flurrie said. "I caught a glimpse of one of them when I visited the tree one day. A bit of a rivalry between the Punies and Jabbies, but I prefer aiding the Punies since this has been their home for centuries."

"Oh, do we have to fight these little guys?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "I don't want to hurt any of them."

"If they're working with the X-Nauts, I don't think we'll have much of a choice, Fluttershy," Rainbow said.

After Punio and Puniper finished their arguing, Punio skittered over to his non-Puni friends. "Ok, Puniper doesn't seem to understand, but if we can convince him to get a revolution started, he'll join us in taking back the Great Tree."

"Then let's start a revolution!" Pinkie cheered. "They may take our tree, but they can't take our cute adorableness!"

Mario approached Puniper, backing away a little out of worry, but the plumber reassured him that he and his friends will help save the rest of the Punies and liberate the Great Tree from the X-Nauts. "...Good luck with that, then," Puniper said, then skittered over to the other Punies, who were torn between helping or hiding.

"I'll show you, Puniper," Punio promised, leering at his friend before skittering over to the nearby warp pipe, the others following after him as they went through and went up another level in the tree.

"Puniper's not really a nice Puni, is he?" Koops asked.

"I don't really blame him for being afraid," Punio said. "But I can't sit around doing nothing knowing my sister's captured by those jerks! I'm sure if we can at least rescue the elder, he'll change his mind and join us, and so will the other Punies."

"Let's hope they weren't taken away from the tree," Starlight said.

The group continued onward, passing by a mysterious pedestal that had the number ten on it, along with a panel near it that looked like some kind of pressure plate, both objects black and white just like the rest of the region's setting. Passing it, they entered the next warp pipe, going up further and running into more X-Naut troops. Along with them, there were strange X-shaped mechanical foes that shot circular beams at them while also popping out small triangular ones that created a barrier to protect the bigger one. Once they were beaten and they were safe for the meantime, they went through another pipe leading to the upper ledge in this room, only to run into another one of these machines firing at them. Flurrie took care of this one with her body slam, crushing it and saving them from being blasted.

"What in Equestria were those things?" Applejack asked.

"Maybe it says something in Goombella's magical book of tattling," Pinkie suggested.

"'Magical book of tattling'? My books aren't-" Goombella tried to say, but Pinkie snatched her book and flipped through the pages. "Hey!"

"Hmmm...Hey, here it is!" Pinkie cheered. "See? I knew it was a magic tattle book. It has info on all the baddies we face when we first see them!...But why couldn't we see their hit points?"

"Gimmie back my book!" Goombella scolded, swiping the book away from the party pony.

"Yeah, she's definitely our backup Twilight if she loves her books that much," Rainbow teased, earning a raspberry from the Goomba.

Looking at the page Pinkie was on, she was surprised to see information on the mysterious X-shaped machine. "...They're called a 'Yux'...And the little things that come out of it after it attacks are 'Mini-Yux'...They're obviously machines the X-Nauts built just from their shape alone." Goombella slowly closed the book, putting it away, and let out a heavy sigh. "Maybe it is magical because Pinkie's weird magic rubbed off on it, because that book is meant to hold info on creatures DOCUMENTED in specific areas of the region."

"Well, if it helps us discover our enemies' weaknesses, I won't complain one bit," Flurrie said.

They continued on and reached another pipe leading up, Goombella finally giving up trying to figure out how Pinkie Pie was able to pull off the weirdest things, especially with her own book she's kept since she arrived in Rogueport.


Meanwhile, in a storage room inside the Great Tree, an X-Naut stood watch over the supplies they had brought for their search. "Ugh...This is so boring," he grumbled. "When are we going to find that stupid Crystal Star? Those puny Punies don't even know where it is. And they live here!" He then sighed, leaning against a crate of supplies, bored and irritated with his post. "After all this pointless searching, I think we might be looking in the wrong place..."

Suddenly, jumping down from a hidden hole in the wall, a mysterious rodent-like shadow jumped down near the X-Naut. He turned to see who it was, only to let out a grunt as he was struck hard in the abdomen. With the air knocked out of him, he fell unconscious with a wheeze, falling to the ground. The attacker snickered, then turned to the treasure chests in the makeshift supply room for the X-Nauts.


Up through this pipe, the party found what appeared to be holding cells, clearly not naturally made in the Great Tree. There were two large cells; one blue and the other red. Punio gasped when they saw what was in the red cell, the one closest to the pipe.

"Elder!" Punio called out, skittering over to the bars.

Inside was an elderly Puni, her upper body a darker gray while the lower part was a bit lighter, wrinkles lined around her snout, and her antenna was drooped slightly with a purple orb. "Punio, is that you?" the Puni Elder asked, slowly walking over to the bars to get a closer look at Punio. "You're looking quite well today."

"H-Huh!? Why are you so calm!?" Punio exclaimed. "You're trapped! We're here to rescue you!"

"Oh, a rescuing, is it?" Elder Puni asked. "Well, thanks, I suppose. Those are quite exciting." She then glanced over to the others, barely batting an eye at the mysterious rescuers unlike the other wary ones back near the entrance to the tree. "And you brought friends. But I think you should rescue the others before me."

Punio sighed in annoyance at the elder's nonchalant behavior, the others approaching the cell to get a better look at the leader of the Punies. "So, you're the elder of the Puni Tribe?" Starlight asked.

"Yes, she is indeed, and not like the other Punies when it comes to bigger strangers," Flurrie said, giving the elder a small wave.

"Where are the other Punies?" Goombella asked.

"Punio!? Is that you!?" a young, feminine voice called out from the next cell.

"Petuni!?" They moved over to the next cell, the whole group sans Flurrie and Punio staring in shock at how many Punies were trapped in the blue cell. There were dozens of normal Punies holed up together, shocking them at how possible it was to trap so many of them in one big cell, but one stood out from the others as a pink orb floating among the yellow swung about as a Puni pushed through the others. Appearing in front of the cell before Punio was a younger Puni, most of her body gray with a few darker gray spots on her back. "Petuni! Oh, thank the Stars you're here! And safe!"

"I knew you'd come for me!" Petuni said, both brother and sister nuzzling each other through the bars.

"Of course I would," Punio said. "And I brought some pretty tough friends to help us."

Petuni looked behind her brother, finally noticing Mario, his new allies, and the six ponies, ignoring the gushing look on Fluttershy's face after watching her nuzzle Punio. "Wow...That's a lot of help. I like the one with the rainbow hair. It's pretty!"

"Yeah, Rainbow Dash definitely stands out more than everypony in Boggly Woods!" Pinkie teased, the prismatic pegasus rolling her eyes in response.

"Don't worry, guys! Just sit tight and we'll find a way to get you all out," Punio promised.

"Ok!" Petuni said while the others silently nodded, putting their faith in Punio.

"There's not really much else to explore if we can't get through that mechanical door," Applejack thought aloud. "Only other place Ah see that we can look for some kind of jail key is in the next room over there."

With no other option, the group headed over to the next room to search for a key to either of the two cells. There were a lot of crates stacked nearby, clearly belonging to the X-Nauts with their signature "X" insignia. They expected at least one guard looking over their supplies, and they found him, but instead of standing, he was knocked unconscious.

"What happened to this guy?" Rainbow asked.

They heard some rummaging on the other side of the room, where they could see a familiar heart-shaped tail wagging around. "Ms. Mowz?" Rarity called out.

The tail stiffened, and poking her head out from the chest she ransacked, she stuffed her stolen goods away and walked out to reveal herself. "Well, well, well, fancy meeting you all again," Ms. Mowz said. "We must stop meeting up like this."

"I'm sorry?" Flurrie asked questioningly. "Do you all know her?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately," Goombella grumbled, giving the mouse thief a leer.

"Is she a friend of yours?" Flurrie asked. She looked at Ms. Mowz as she slowly walked over to them, her tail swaying back and forth as she eyed Mario. The wind spirit's gaze drooped to a leer as she got a good understanding why Goombella didn't appreciate her appearance. "Oh...I see...And I most certainly do NOT approve..."

"Let me guess: more badges for you to swipe?" Starlight asked.

"And you found a doozy of a badge, too!?" Pinkie asked. "Can we have it this time?"

"Sorry, dearie, but finders keepers is the rules," Ms. Mowz teased, making the pink pony frown sadly. "I didn't expect to run into more trouble than I expected." As she passed the unconscious X-Naut she knocked out, she gave his side a small kick with her red heel. Her eye glinted when she looked back at Mario, the plumber preparing himself for what was to come as he readied himself. Ms. Mowz swiftly lunged toward him, and Mario was ready to block his face, only to not expect her to slip through his legs, use her tail to send him off balance, then backflipped, giving him an upside-down kiss on the cheek before passing him and landing back near the X-Naut. She giggled at Mario's shock and all but Goombella and Flurrie's awe at her moves, the Goomba and wind spirit fuming over the mouse's flirting over red plumber. "Lovely to see you again, though, Mario. A bit too slow to expect the same results."

"Wow. That was actually kinda sneaky," Rainbow commented. "Hey, why don't you join us?"

"Absolutely not!" Goombella and Flurrie exclaimed simultaneously.

"Oh? Do I hear a hint of jealousy from you two?" Ms. Mowz teased, wiggling her hips and giving the two clearly jealous party members a wink. Goombella and Flurrie huffed in response, Koops slowly sidling away nervously to avoid taking the brunt of their frustrations if they couldn't catch the mouse thief. "Don't worry. I've had my fun, and I got what I was looking for anyway." Ms. Mowz bounded up the crates and up to a higher ledge, where she found her way inside the Great Tree. She looked down at the group, giving them a little bit of a hint if they were here for the same reason they were in Hooktail's Castle. "The precious Crystal Star you're all looking for is at the bottom of this tree, if you're curious."

"H-How do you know there's a Crystal Star here?" Koops asked, shocking everyone.

"You're here for a reason like me, right? So I figured you were looking for one that was here, and most of these types of treasures are always hidden at the highest or lowest section of certain locations," Ms. Mowz said with a laugh. "Besides, I overheard these guys talking about searching for a Crystal Star and started searching all over this tree for it. Good luck getting it before these strange wannabe thugs. And take care of yourself, my handsome 'stache superstar." She winked at Mario, the plumber still reeling from the brilliant maneuver she pulled while rubbing his kissed cheek. "Let's get together again real soon."

Ms. Mowz finally made her exit with her treasure after blowing Mario a kiss. "I really, really don't like her," Goombella grumbled. She then leered at Rainbow Dash for her earlier comment. "You really want her to join us? Why in the name of all Mushrooms and Fire Flowers did you think suggesting her to join our expedition!? She's a thief, and the moment our backs are turned, she's gonna swipe what Crystal Stars we find!"

"Didn't sound like she was fibbin' to me when she said she found what she needed," Applejack said. "And she did help us figure out how to beat Hooktail with that sound makin' badge in that castle."

"She may be a thief, but you can always count on a thief class to steal some goodies!" Pinkie said. "I say we recruit her the next time we see her!"

"I still don't trust her," Goombella growled.

"Are you sure you two aren't just jealous of her?" Koops asked. His question earned two deadly glares from the Goomba archaeologist and the wind spirit actress. Gulping nervously, he giggled timidly with his hands up in defense, backing further away from the two obviously jealous females and hid behind Starlight. "N-Never mind..."

"Ugh..." The unconscious X-Naut began to wake up, grunting in pain as he sat up while clutching his abdomen. "That really hurt...What happened?" Looking around to find the attacker, he spotted Mario and his entourage, thinking they were the ones who sucker punched him. "Hey! You guys are real dirtbags for hitting me from behind! Real fair!"

"Shut up and go back to being unconscious!" Goombella said, letting out a yell and charging into the X-Naut with a headbutt in his gut.

He let out a wheezed grunt, mercilessly pummeled by the fuming Goomba girl as she headbonked him repeatedly until he was knocked out again. After taking out her frustrations on the enemy, Goombella felt a lot better as she let out a stress-relieved sigh.

"Feeling better after unleashing your jealousy on an unfortunate soul?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, and I'm not jealous! At all!" Goombella kicked the downed X-Naut while denying her jealousy, hitting a key out of his pocket. Humming curiously at what she hit, she picked up a red key that seemed to fit the lock for the red cell holding Elder Puni. "Well, at least we can free the elder."

"And have Puniper rally with us to get our home back," Punio added. They headed back into the prison room and approached Elder Puni's cell. Mario took the red key from Goombella and unlocked the door, opening it for Punio to enter and get his elder to safety. "Elder, you're free! Let's head back to-!"

"FOOLISH CHILD!!!!" the elder screeched, somehow growing bigger and towered over Punio for a moment before shrinking back down to her original size. "Punio, sit down this instant and shut your mouth!"

"H-Huh? What? Why? What did I do?" Punio asked nervously, his friends watching with shock at how gargantuan Elder Puni got. "Why are you mad at me?"

"Stop your mumbling and mind your elders, whelp!" the old Puni scolded. "How could you just abandon your poor sister and run off like that!? Absolutely shameful!"

"B-But...I went to find help...to rescue you guys..." Punio muttered pathetically, terrified of the Puni elder.

"Oh, stop with the whining! You never interrupt an elder mid-lecture! NEVER!" Elder Puni continued lecturing Punio, nervous sweat beading down his head as he was reprimanded for trying to save his tribe. Everyone else watched, feeling pity for Punio, and they had a feeling they would get scolded by the elder if they tried to interrupt her as well. Her rant felt like it went on forever as an hour passed, the outsiders having fallen asleep while Punio was wide awake, still hearing out her lecture while also being reminded of his future, why other Punies called him names, everything about his life he already knew that he didn't need to know. "...or else! You got that? From now on, you've got to get your act together, Punio!"

"Y-Yes, elder. Yes, I understand," Punio said.

"Bah! Only answer ONCE!" Elder Puni scolded again. Punio quickly nodded his head, understanding perfectly. "...By the way, why are you here, anyway?"

Punio let out a heavy sigh, dreading getting a repeat lecture for running off to find help. "I was just telling you...We came to rescue you, and we...started with you since you were more...important?"

"Oh! Well why didn't you just say so!?" Punio let out another sigh, shaking his head in disbelief. "In that case, get me out of here already! This cell is cold, which isn't good for the old back, and this damp stench is making me nauseous..."

Elder Puni continued rambling about her captivity as she walked out of the cell, climbing over the sleeping ponies in her way, waking them up with her tiny feet tickling them. Mario, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie woke up as well, watching the elder slowly scurrying away, finally leaving after scolding Punio.

"How long were we asleep for?" Koops asked tiredly.

"About an hour," Punio said. "At least the elder's free. Let's just head back before she lectures me about not being there to escort her." After letting out a shudder, fearing getting more of an earful from Elder Puni, he walked over to the other cell with the rest of his captured tribe. "Petuni, don't worry. I'll be right back to get you and the others out."

"Ok, big brother," Petuni said, the siblings giving one last nuzzle before Punio rejoined Mario and co. back near the entrance, hurrying after the elder before she got hurt by the X-Nauts that might check on the patrols in the latter areas.

Quickly making it back to the other freed Punies, luckily without running into more X-Naut troops, they found the elder had surprisingly made it back safely. "Well, if it isn't Punio," Puniper said with a grunt. "Can't say I expected you to save the elder that quickly."

"I told you I could do it!" Punio said.

"Don't get a swelled head!" Puniper exclaimed. "That doesn't mean I'm accepting you as our leader, and I'm still not gonna trust these guys you're buddies with, either."

"Are you kidding me?" Punio questioned angrily.

"You haven't found a way to rescue the rest of our tribe. I am not lifting an antenna to help you until you do." Behind the pudgy Puny, the elder leered at Puniper and approached him.

"YOU STUBBORN MULE!!!!" she scolded, growing big again and startling Puniper, shrinking back down after getting his attention. "Deplorable! How DARE you talk like that, knowing what we're up against!? We must stand together now! We must take back our tree! Do you understand that!?"

Puniper trembled, swallowing nervously as he tried to speak very carefully. "B-But...but elder..."

"Shut your trap, Puniper!" Elder Puni interrupted, making the fat Puni flinch. "And mind me, you hear? You'll help Mustachio here..." She began mumbling to herself, trying to recall what the plumber's name was. "What was your name again? It was...Marty, right?"

"It's Mario," Starlight corrected. "I'm Starlight Gli-"

"Ah, yes! I knew I was spot on!" Elder Puni interrupted, Starlight staring blankly as she sighed and hung her head in annoyance. "All of you, help Marty-o clear out our tree! That includes you, Puniper."

Mario pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a groan, hearing yet another senior creature mistakenly pronounce his name wrong. Puniper grumbled, but kept his mouth shut, otherwise he would face the verbal wrath of Elder Puni again.

"Oh, alright...I'll go," Puniper said. He then turned to Punio, who was still mad at his Puni brother for going back on his word if they found the elder. "To be honest, I'm worried about Petuni as much as you are, Punio. I'm not that heartless."

"Sure didn't sound like it when you went behind my back after I promised to at least free the elder," Punio grumbled.

"...Sorry," Puniper apologized. "But you're right. We don't have a choice. We must fight! We must take our tree back from those thugs! Right, everyone!?"

The other Punies voiced their agreements, their morale risen as they joined Punio in liberating their home from the X-Nauts. "Thanks, guys," he said to his friends, then looked at Puniper. "But...do you still think I won't do well as a leader? Even after I left to try to find help AND found it before anything worse happened?"

"W-Well...I was a bit jealous, but I'm too much of a coward in the elder's eyes to even lead a revolution," Puniper admitted with a small laugh. "She did pick you to be our future leader, after all...so, whatever you say, we'll follow your word."

The other nine Punies nodded and agreed, lightening Punio's mood a little. While he discussed what they'll do to free the others, Flurrie floated over to the elder to speak with her.

"Elder, if you have a moment?" Flurrie asked. "We are looking for a lovely gem called a Crystal Star. Do you by any chance know where something like that could be around here?"

"Hmmmmmm...Yes, perhaps," Elder Puni mumbled. "Hidden down, down, down at the bottom of the tree is a funny-colored stone." Flurrie restrained herself from growling, surprised to know Ms. Mowz's hint on the Crystal Star's location was accurate. "What do we do with it again?...Oh, yes: 'Guard it from evil and give it to a pure heart...' Generations of elders have passed this down to their future leaders."

"It must be a Crystal Star if it's that important to protect," Flurrie said. "Thank you, elder. I swear on my acting career that we'll do all we can to get rid of these brutes from your home, and keep the Crystal Star from their clutches."

"Oh, wait, Madame Flurrie, before you and your friends go, I forgot to give you something." Elder Puni pulled out a sun-shaped orb, giving it to the wind spirit. "Before you can get to the Crystal Star, you'll need to rescue all the Punies first, and you need the Puni Orb. Can't get to it without that orb and every single Puni in the tribe. It is also the symbol of our leader."

"I see," Flurrie said, observing the sun orb like it was a delicate gem.

"If you place the Puni Orb in the pedestals you see around the Great Tree, the Punies will gather toward it," the elder continued. "Just make sure to take it with you when you're done using it, otherwise everyone will just stay in one place and stare at it."

"Ah. Understandable," Flurrie said. "Thank you, Elder Puni. This will surely come in handy."

She bowed her head to the elder, then floated back to the group. Flurrie told everyone what the elder informed her on, giving Mario the Puni Orb to use and help them reach more of the Great Tree. They headed back through the pipe with an army of eleven Punies in tow to the pedestal they passed earlier. Holding out the Puni Orb in front of the indented space in the pedestal, Mario could see that the orb would fit inside. He placed the orb in the pedestal, causing a light to shine around the platform it was connected to. The Punies all suddenly began skittering onto the glowing platform, mesmerized by the bright glow as they muttered in awe at the attractive lights. Once the counter had reached zero, the platform sank a little into the ground and the tree shook slightly. A warp pipe rose up from the ground near the pedestal, granting them access to more of the Great Tree.

"Wow, that's pretty neat," Starlight said. "Even though we had more than enough Punies, we really did need that orb to help reveal more passages to go further into the tree."

"And in order to do that, we're going to have to protect them if we run into more X-Nauts or anything else crawling around here," Koops added.

"Sounds like a good old fashioned roundup Ah can handle," Applejack said. "Herdin' these Punies shouldn't be harder than heardin' them cattle that nearly trampled Ponyville years back."

"If you can handle herding one hundred Punies without losing any of them, I would be very impressed," Flurrie commented.

"Time for a Puni roundup!" Pinkie said. She pulled out a lasso from her bags, along with a goofy ten gallon hat with an arrow sticking out, then pointed to the warp pipe. "Giddyup, little Punies! To the bottom of the tree!"

Pinkie continued standing in her pose, but the Punies didn't seem to pay attention. The others stared at Pinkie, then the distracted Punies.

"...Uhh, Pinkie, I don't think they heard you," Fluttershy said.

Looking back, Pinkie scowled, then marched over and grabbed one of the normal Punies. "Come on, guys! You wanna save your home, don't you!?" Right as she pulled the Puni away, he managed to squirm out of Pinkie's hooves and rejoin the rest of the hypnotized Punies. "Hey!"

"The elder mentioned taking the Puni Orb out once these pedestals have been activated, or else they'll just stay put and stare at the orb," Flurrie reminded the pink earth pony.

Mario pulled out the orb, making the light around the sunken platform fade, snapping the Punies out of their daze. "Ahh! I always hate that!" Puniper complained.

"Well, you're going to have to get used to it, because there's definitely going to be more along the way," Punio said.

The group went down the newly appeared warp pipe, going back down and into what would have been the next area to walk into if it weren't for the electronic door. Taking care of the X-Naut guarding the door, Mario unlocked the door with the nearby console, changing the light from red to green to let them know it was now opened. In the rest of the area, there was a pretty wide gap with a tall gray stump as a method of getting across, a small pond down below filled not with water, but a soapy rainbow liquid that made bubbles occasionally float up from it. There were two of these pedestals for the Puni Orb as well: one nearby, and another on the other side.

"What is that stuff?" Goombella asked, looking down at the soap-like goo down below.

"Bubble ponds," Punio said. "These are actually kind fun for us, touching the ground and putting us in bubbles, making us fly up until it pops on the ceiling. We use these to get across, but we need a bit of a gust of wind to make it to the other side."

"Sounds like fun!" Pinkie said, jumping off and cheering, only to grunt as she hit the ground, too big to be trapped in a bubble. "...I'm ok!...Owie..."

"I have a feeling we'd be too big to be put in a bubble, seeing how we can just jump across," Starlight pointed out as she looked at the stump between the gap.

"We did before in Flower Fields with that Bubble Plant," Applejack said. "Only problem is we don't have any bubble berries."

"And we're not really good jumpers," Puniper added. "Plus, I'm afraid of heights."

Pinkie rejoined everyone using the warp pipe that was close to the one they used to get into this room as Mario put the Puni Orb in the pedestal, distracting the Punies as they huddled in the glowing spot in front of it. Flurrie got the idea to help move the Punies to the other side, using her powerful wind breath to blow them over the edge, barely phasing them as they rolled over, then began floating up while trapped in bubbles. She then blew them across to the other side, Mario taking the Puni Orb once all of them had been blown over. Puniper had wondered what happened when he realized they were on the opposite end of the room, leering at Mario for using that orb again just to distract him, but it at least worked as they continued moving further down into the Great Tree.

While continuing to head down, they ran into more Pale Piranha Plants that seemed to reside in the tree, and encountered new monochromatic enemies called Piders. The grayed spiders slide up and down on a string of web, avoiding getting hit from the ground while spitting out balls of webbing from their maws. Flurrie and Rainbow handled them when they climbed up near the ceiling, trying to get away when Koops, Goombella, or Applejack tried to hit them while lower to the ground, taken care of before they hit them or the Punies they were escorting.

After exiting another pipe they found, the walkway hovering over the ground on this floor zigzagged from one side to the other, both with pathways to enter. Nearby, they heard a strange buzzing sound, and when they turned to the noise, the Punies gasped when they saw a Jabbi. It let out a startled noise, speaking in a strange tongue as it fled down the nearby passage.

"Was that one of those Jabbi things?" Goombella asked.

"Yeah, and they're helping the X-Nauts take over our home," Punio said. "For many years, our tribes have been enemies. Every time we meet, we fight...a lot." Punio looked down and sighed sadly. "...But I used to get along with Jabble..."

"Jabble?" Puniper asked skeptically.

Punio winced, realizing he's been found out, ignoring Puniper's squinted leer. "...He's...a Jabbi."

"Oh! Gee! I wouldn't have been able to guess by the name!" Puniper exclaimed.

"We were friends since we were little," Punio argued. "We always hung out in secret if we weren't busy dealing with stuff in our own tribes." Puniper huffed, but Punio ignored him and the other Punies' odd looks. "...I really hope I don't have to fight Jabble..."

"Let's take care of those Jabbies and take back our home!" one of the Punies exclaimed, the rest of the group ignoring their future leader's worried gaze as they charged on ahead.

Punio swallowed nervously, hoping his friend wasn't going to fight with the Jabbies. He already felt bad wanting to get into a conflict with them while the X-Nauts were here, but he wouldn't have much of a choice when the Great Tree was the Punies' home first. He hurried after the others with his tribe's saviors following behind him. Little did he notice, down below, a Jabbie watched the group while hiding in the bushes, looking younger than the one detailed in Goombella's book, lacking horns and had normal pair of eyes. He let out a sad buzzing sound, feeling the same pain his secret best friend was expressing.

The room the rogue Jabbi ran in had a wide space, a giant gray hive resting on the other side with a red alarm light hanging under it. As soon as the Punies got halfway across the room, the alarm began to light up and blare, alerting the Jabbies as ten of them filed out of the tiny hole big enough for both tribes to squeeze through, buzzing angrily as they stood in a "Y" formation.

"Should we do something to help them?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "Can't both tribes settle living in the tree together without fighting?"

"That's up to the Punies and Jabbies," Flurrie said. "Besides, this is between them. I don't think we should interfere...even though I know all of us want to help the Punies."

Punio joined his tribe, staring down the ten Jabbies as they outnumbered them by only one. Luckily, his best friend wasn't among them, so he didn't worry about losing his friendship with someone from their enemy tribe.

"You're not losing your nerve, are you, Punio?" Puniper asked, keeping his gaze on their opponents.

"As long as Jabble's not fighting with them, I'll live," Punio said. Before Puniper could argue with his future leader's idea befriending the enemy, Punio glared at him with almost the same kind of intensity Elder Puni had, startling him. "I'm not fighting my best friend, Puniper! In fact, the reason why I found him a better friend was because of you and the other Punies who made fun of me, saying I don't have what it takes to be a good leader! At least he understands me more than you!" Puniper cringed, looking away from Punio's judgmental gaze. "We'll talk about all this AFTER we take our tree back. Let's get them!"

Punio lead the charge as both sides yelled, Punies and Jabbies ramming into each other while trying to overpower each other. Though they had the advantage in numbers by a slim margin, it was all about teamwork and working together to defeat their enemy. The others in the background could only cringe and watch as the small monochrome tribes duked it out, but the fight was about to end as the Punies were winning with five of them left standing while chasing down the last two Jabbies as they retreated, Punio being one of the Punies still up and fighting. After knocking the last ones out, the Punies came out victorious, and the ones that were knocked down got back up.

"Aww, that wasn't a fun battle," Pinkie whined. "All they did was bump into each other like they were playing tag. Boooooooriiiiiiiiiing!"

"Pinkie!" the others scolded, making the pink pony wince.

"Alright, everyone! Let's take down this hive!" Punio said, rallying the Punies as they filed into the Jabbi hive, then, to everyone's surprise, blew the entire natural fortress up, revealing a passage hidden behind it.

"Whoa! What did you use to blast that Jabbi hive!? Dynamite!?" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Actually, we broke down the support structures that held the rock wall of the hive, then let gravity do the work with a good enough slam into the weakened supports," one of the Punies said, his voice nasally as he explained. He got odd looks from the group helping them take back their home. "It's not really all that strong on the inside, so anyone trying to break in from the outside's not gonna have any luck."

"Thank you, Punedexter," Puniper groaned irritably. "We didn't need a lecture on how the Jabbi's hives are built. Just say they crumbled."

"Know your enemy to defeat them easily, as they say," the nerdy Puni stated, making Puniper grumble.

"Let's just see what was behind that hive," Starlight said, getting back on topic as they continued on, stepping over the beaten Jabbies as they let out buzzes that sounded like groans.

The hidden room had a bridge of pillars with Puni statues and a large block matching the monochrome landscape from outside. On the giant slab of stone were four squares, each of them with a picture that looked really important. In the squares, from left to right, were a Puni, a star, a crescent moon, and a sun. Mario took a mental note of the slab before jumping down to the lower section, passing a black-boarded part of the ground he was familiar with in the past, but he left his Ultra Boots back home and switched back to his old pair before their trip out to Rogueport. Chastizing himself for forgetting his special board-breaking boots, he walked over to the nearby treasure chest, which held the blue jail cell key.

"Alright, we found the other key!" Goombella cheered. "Let's head back to the cell and free the rest of the Punies!"


Back in the blue cell, the rest of the locked up Puni tribe waited to be rescued, though some of them were a bit annoyed by Petuni's optimism. One of them had spoken up and lectured her on how hopeless they are, even though they had no idea how strong the helpers her brother found were.

"...and they'll never come back, and that's that and what's going to happen to us." Even though the Puni was done ranting, Petuni shook her head in defiance, her brother coming back with outside already proving him wrong. And they had just freed the elder, so it was only a matter of time before they were freed. The Puni shook his head, then noticed something Petuni was holding something since they've been captured. "Hey, what is that?"

"Hmm?...Oh, this?" Petuni pulled out her held item, which was a Dried Shroom. "It's a Mushroom."

The Punies looked at each other, muttering to themselves as they tried to come up with a nicer way to tell them that Mushroom was too dry to even be considered edible. "Uhh...I don't mean to be rude...but that looks all dry, wrinkly, and gross."

"Yeah, I know," Petuni said. "I picked it so I could give it to my brother to eat. It dried up, and it had to be when those invaders showed up and trapped us in this cell when I wanted to give it to him."

"...Oh..." The Puni who complained to Petuni felt bad, not wanting to dash her happiness if she decided to give Punio that dried up Mushroom. "...Well, all my complaining aside, I'm sure Punio will be right back."

"And as I promised, we're back!" Petuni gasped when she heard Punio. He and the rescue party appeared from around the cell bars, Mario holding the cell key to their freedom in his hand. He unlocked the door and opened it, everyone stepping back as the imprisoned Punies all filed out. They all split up and let Petuni reunite with Punio, where the siblings nuzzled each other. "I'm glad you're safe, sis."

"I knew you could do it!" Petuni said. "I got you something, big brother." She gave Punio the Dried Shroom, the older brother clearly disgusted by the dried fungus. "I know Mushrooms are your favorite. But...well, this one got all dried up..."

"Uhh...Well..." Punio stuttered, seeing the disappointed look in Petuni's eyes.

"It's not good anymore, is it?" she asked.

To her surprise, he steeled his stomach's nerves and began eating the Dried Shroom. Resisting the urge to gag or cough it up, Punio consumed the entire Mushroom, being the best big brother he is by making his little sister happy. As sweet as it was, the party watching should have just admitted it was bad, but appreciated the thought, and promised to eat the next one she found for him. After swallowing the last of the Dried Shroom, Punio cringed, feeling his stomach churn in disdain for having that disgusting fungus dissolving in his guts.

"Mmmmm! D-Delicious!" Punio exaggerated, letting out a belch that almost made him throw up his "snack". "T-That was...super...yummy...!"

Petuni could tell Punio was lying, his cheeks turning green and looking quite sick. "Are you ok, big brother?"

"GIMMIE A HUG, PETUNI!" Punio leapt over to Petuni and hugged her, making the younger Puni squirm in embarrassment while his hug distracted her from the look on his face.

"Hey, quit it, Punio!" Petuni protested. "Everyone's watching! And I know you didn't like the Mushroom." Punio winced, pulling away as his white lie was quickly discovered by his smart little sister. "It was icky, and you looked like you were sick."

"Heh. I just...didn't want to upset you," Punio admitted. "But I appreciate the gesture, Petuni."

"Aw, it was nothing!" Petuni said. "And next time, I'll find you a juicier Mushroom to make up for you eating that bad one!"

"You don't have to, Petuni, but if it gets dried out, I am not gonna eat another one of those again." Petuni giggled and nuzzled Punio.

Fluttershy squealed from the cute moment, alerting the other Punies to their saviors' presence. "So cute!"

"Oh, if only they weren't able to talk, I would love to have one of them as pets," Flurrie added with a giggle.

Puniper began to regret making fun of Punio. All the Punies were free, and Punio was the one who braved leaving Boggly Woods and finding help. He had more optimism than he had taking back their home. He even lead the charge against the Jabbies, even though he learned he made friends with one of them. He was clearly a better leader than he thought, far better than himself when he wanted what remaining Punies were still safe to hide in fear instead of getting off his pudgy butt and doing something to take back what was rightfully theirs.

"Now, everyone, if you're willing to help join the fight, I think we can beat back those X-Nauts invading our home, and show them we're not as helpless as we look," Punio said to his tribe, acting like a true leader with his motivational speech. "What do you say? Should we hide? Or should we fight?"

"I'll fight!" Petuni immediately cheered.

"Me too!" one of the Punies from the small group earlier added.

Soon, every Puni began to cheer, rallied up to fight for their home and kick out the intruders threatening to destroy it for something all but the elder knew of the Crystal Star they were searching for. Now the army of Punies was at one hundred and one, Mario and his friends needing all of them to help them traverse the rest of the Great Tree and gain the Crystal Star hidden far below. Hopefully, they'll find it before the X-Nauts do, having no clue what their intentions of opening the Thousand-Year Door. And if they find where they're group is hiding out, they'll rescue Peach and Twilight from their clutches.