After a long trek back down to where the group encountered the first Jabbi hive, Mario and co. headed down the winding path to the other side of the massive room with their army of one hundred and one Punies. To keep the Punies from getting startled by the dangerous creatures in the Great Tree, Fluttershy and Rarity made sure they didn't get hurt while the others went on ahead to deal with the Piders that slinked down from their webs. In no time at all, they reached the other end and found the next Jabbi hive, sounding the alarm as they entered.
Flittering out from the hive were, to the visiting heroes' surprise, one hundred Jabbies, standing in a five by twenty wall formation to protect their last hive. "Whoa. And I thought there were just a lot of Punies," Starlight commented.
"We're not gonna let them get in our way and take over our home!" Punio said. "We have one more of us over their hundred, so we have the advantage!" The army of Punies got into a similar formation, staring down their foes while the Jabbies all buzzed intimidatingly. "CHAAAARGE!"
Both sides rushed each other, meeting halfway in the wide battlefield-like room and crashing into a flurry of ramming and sending both Jabbies and Punies flying out of the massive cluster of gray creatures. The others watched, believing in the Punies that they would come out victorious, and after a few grueling minutes, the Punies were winning, the ones still kicking chasing down the weakened Jabbies and tackled them into a daze on the ground with the rest of their kind. With the battle won, Punio rallied his group, helping others that had fallen back on their tiny feet and lead them into the hive. The hive was destroyed once they found the weaker supports, unveiling another passage to let their saviors continue onward through the Great Tree.
"Oh, dear," Fluttershy murmured sadly, feeling sorry for all the Jabbies. "I do hope they don't go homeless with their hives destroyed."
"I'm sure they can build more, but the Great Tree does belong to the Punies," Flurrie assured.
Punio looked around at the fallen Jabbi army they fought, thankfully no sign of his friend, Jabble during the fight. "He must be hiding," he said to himself. "Good...Sorry I had to hurt your family, but they were working with some bad people..."
Continuing on, everyone entered the next room where they found another Puni Orb pedestal next to a wooden floor, though without Mario's helpful ground-pounding shoes, they weren't able to drop down to the lower level. Luckily, there was a warp pipe nearby behind a Pale Piranha, which Mario quickly smacked with his hammer before they went down. The lower section had a large stump with a warp pipe going down, the wooden flooring above the tall gray stump to drop down onto once they found a way to break through it. The next room was a dead end with yet another pedestal and another wooden panel next to it.
"Hmm...Now what?" Goombella asked.
"Is there a hidden veil concealing something you could blow away, Flurrie?" Starlight asked.
"I don't see anything around to reveal," Flurrie said after looking around the room.
"Maybe there's a secret panel hidden in the ground that all the Punies need to stand on," Pinkie theorized, pressing her face to the ground in front of the pedestal, "searching" for the hidden floor panel for the Punies to gather around to activate.
"I guess there's only one way to find out," Koops said.
Mario nodded in agreement, taking the Puni Orb and placing it in the pedestal. The Punies gathered in front of it in their daze, huddling together, but there didn't seem like anything changed in the room. Right as the others were about to voice their confusion, a cage suddenly dropped down on them, startling them as they were trapped behind iron bars, even the awestruck Punies as a huge majority of them were once again captured.
"Gah! It was a trap!?" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh!" Dropping down from the ceiling where the cage was hanging, two X-Naut soldiers and their leader, the same X-Naut who tried to capture Goombella back in Rogueport, landing in front of them. "Man, you guys are dense!"
"Y-You!" Goombella shouted. "You're the creep who was harassing me back in Rogueport!"
"And you fell for the most obvious trap ever!" Crump gloated. One of the X-Nauts walked over to the side of the cage, pulling back a camouflaged sheet that hid a warp pipe they could have gone down. Flurrie was shocked that she didn't see it, considering it didn't have any magical enchantment that kept it hidden. "We saw you sticking that stone in those pedestals, so I made a fake one. Pretty impressive, eh?"
"Ooooh! Just you wait until we break out of here, you monster!" Flurrie growled. "You're already destroying the Punies' home just to find the Crystal Star! I won't stand for it!"
"Ah, blow it out your tailpipe, you bag of wind," Crump said. Angered, Flurrie did just that, floating toward the bars and letting out a strong gust of wind, sending the X-Naut general and his two lackeys with him flying back with a yelp, smacking into the wall with a grunt. "Urgh...I didn't mean it literally, but I'm glad it wasn't from the other end."
"Stand back, everypony. I'll break us out of here." Starlight charged up her horn, everyone backing away from the unicorn to give her some space. She unleashed a powerful beam at the bars, but instead of busting through, the bars began glowing as it absorbed the magical energy. "W-What!?"
"Uhh, was that supposed to happen?" Puniper asked.
Crump laughed as he stood back up, rubbing his sore back from getting blown back by Flurrie. "Good luck trying to break out of those reinforced bars," he taunted. "We know about you creatures and your special kind of magic power from the Mushroom Kingdom. It took a lot of testing, but now we can cancel out any kind of spell, whether from a lowly Magikoopa to your conical-foreheaded kind!"
"We're called unicorns," Starlight growled, only for her and the others to grimace, their enemy knowing a lot more about the ponies and Equestrian magic than they thought. "And...with Twilight captured, you sealed her magic, too?"
"Darn right, we did!" Crump said. "Now that you're out of the picture, we can take our sweet time hunting the Crystal Star in this tree!"
He began to laugh, his two X-Naut soldiers joining him with their mocking laughter as the trio left the room and continued their search. Shocked and beginning to panic, Starlight fired more magic beams into the bars, each shot getting absorbed by the technically advanced bars.
"T-This can't be happening right now," Starlight uttered, ceasing her attempts to blast the cell's bars out before using up all her energy.
"Looks like these X-Naut fellas are smarter than they look," Applejack said. "Ah don't think Ah can even buck our way out of this metal cage without hurtin' mah hooves."
"Have you ever bucked metal before?" Goombella asked.
"Nope, and Ah don't plan to," Applejack said.
Mario approached the bars, making his hands glow orange to enhance his strength and either punch through the metal bars or bend them enough for them all to squeeze through. The moment his hands touched the bars to try the latter option, the aura dissipated and left him to his normal strength, foiling one plan as the Equestrian magic from his Lucky Star would be absorbed as well. There was one other idea he had in mind; being in a barred cell, his transparent blessing could be used to phase through, but he didn't know if a purified curse would suffer from the same result as any normal magic spell.
It was the only choice he had, and he was willing to risk it. Activating his blessing, only on himself, the others watched the plumber as he took a running start, startling the Punies while his friends wondered what he was doing. Mario ran through the bars, his body still transparent as he managed to succeed in escaping without losing its power.
"Or that can work," Starlight said. "It makes sense, since his body's technically not touching the magic-sucking bars."
"Ok, now get us out of here now, Mario!" Rainbow said.
"Yeah, I'd like to not be stuck in another cage for the rest of my life!" one of the Punies complained.
Mario looked around the cage, but didn't find a cell door, or any kind of switch to shut of the magical absorption for the bars. He doubted his blessing could stretch out to everyone, especially with their being one hundred and one Punies adding up to the six mares, Goomba, Koopa, and wind spirit. He looked at the warp pipe the X-Nauts hid from them, wondering where it led to. And with that boarded up floor in the cage, if he found himself a pair of Super Boots, he could phase back inside and break through to free everyone. He let his friends and the Punies know he'll be back as he went down the pipe into the room beneath the cage.
There was a black switch in the middle of the room, and against the wall were four pillars, each one with a different symbol that looked like a clue to something. From left to right, the symbols were sun, moon, Puni, and star, Mario jotting down a quick note of it in his Mailbox SP just in case. He then pushed the switch, making the tree shake, hearing the others upstairs panic from the sudden quake that hit them.
"Ahh! Mario, what was that!?" Punio asked.
He expected something to happen after pressing the switch, but nothing appeared in the room. He was going to have to check elsewhere in the Great Tree to see if anything had changed. He went back up the warp pipe, but the change didn't occur in this room either. As much as he hated to leave his companions, he could easily handle Crump and the other X-Nauts in the tree by himself. That, and he had no way of getting the Punies out without finding a way to break through the wooden panel in the cage. He told everyone he hit a switch in the lower room, but nothing happened and he was going to see what changed.
"Ok, we'll watch the Punies," Flurrie said. "You be careful out there. Who knows what dirty tricks that horrid brute has up his sleeves."
"He dealt with a cheating Bowser before, he can beat a tricky cheater X-Naut...guy?" Pinkie said. "...What do they even look like under their clothes???"
Mario trusted his friends with watching over the Punies and hurried out of the room to find a way out for them. Backtracking through the previous rooms, he made it back to mysterious podiums with the same symbols he found in the one with the switch. There was a change in this room now: four white switches stood out a distance from those four podiums with the symbols. Taking a guess that each switch changes the symbols, he pressed them until they stopped in the correct order in the mysterious switch's room: sun, moon, Puni, and star. The whole tree shook again, but when it stopped, the podiums sank into the ground, revealing a hidden passage that was behind it while the switches disappeared.
Taking a look inside, he found a large chest, which could only mean one thing if he treks throughout the Mushroom Kingdom were any indication. Opening it up, he found just what he needed: a pair of Super Boots. Now he can ground pound through the boards and get them out of the cage. Crump wasn't all that smart if he didn't think fate would lead him to something helpful out of any situation they put him or his friends in. Quickly swapping his old boots with his second pair of Super Boots, Mario quickly ran out of the room and tested it on the boards where the switches used to be.
Jumping in the air, Mario flipped in midair, then slammed down to the ground on his rear, smashing through the wooden planks and dropping into the lower floor on a pedestal. Using the warp pipe leading back up, Mario ran back to the cage, using his magically enhanced speed to quicken his pace. Within ten seconds flat, he returned, using his blessing to phase through the bars and reunited with everyone.
"Well, anything to help get us out of here?" Starlight asked. Mario lifted up his foot, showing off his new shoes. Starlight sneered, giving Mario a blank stare. "A pair of shoes? Seriously? At this rate, I would have expected your hammer to bust through the bars."
"Hooray! Super Boots!" Pinkie cheered.
"Pinkie, this isn't a time to be celebrating over somepony's new hoofware!" Starlight scolded.
"Actually, Starlight, these boots are anything but a fashion sense," Rarity explained. "Mario, show her how useful those new shoes of yours can be."
Mario nodded, then walked over to the wooden panel, the Punies skittering around to give him some space. He leapt up in the air and hip-dropped, smashing through the boards and creating an escape route for them. Starlight blinked in surprise, then poked her head over the new hole in the ground.
"...Ok...and he couldn't do that by himself without the shoes?" Starlight questioned.
"It's probably got some magic to it to help him break through wooden stuff with his butt," Goombella said.
"Or, uhh, maybe it enhances his jumping skills more than he already has?" Koops theorized.
"It's actually a helpful upgrade to not only increase Mario's jumping power, but also help us continue on through the dungeon," Pinkie said. "Too bad about Toadette not giving us a tutorial since we all know what the Super Boots do anyway, and the transitional learning aspect wouldn't make much sense in this story." Everyone blinked, staring at Pinkie with uncertainty over her answer. "...Oh! I mean, what Goombella said! Yeah, that's obviously it! Whatarewedoingstandingaroundherelet'sgo!"
Pinkie quickly dove down in the hole, surprising Mario as everyone heard him yelp, then grunt when Pinkie landed on him. "...Ok, then," Goombella said. "Anyway, let's get everyone out of here."
It took a while, but the rest of the group and all the Punies jumped down the hole, then gathered around the warp pipe to climb back up to the cage room and continue on. "I'm kinda wondering if that Crump fellah put up that wooden board to block our escape route if he was plannin' on cagin' us like a wild critter," Applejack pondered.
"Not with those boots Mario found," Rainbow said. "Maybe I can borrow them so I can kick that tubby X-Naut's plot for tricking us!"
"Oh, I most certainly agree, and I don't have any legs," Flurrie said with a light chuckle at her little joke about herself.
Making their way back up to the other Puni pedestal, one that wasn't a fake, and Mario broke through the boards that lead to the tall stump with a warp pipe. After dropping down and making sure non of the Punies fell off the edge of the stump, they went down the pipe and continued onward, fighting more X-Nauts and Yuxes along the way. The next floor leading down lead to a small lake, though with no way of getting across unless they want to get eaten by more of the Nibblers that infest the waters of this region. The only thing sticking out of the water was a blue switch that rested on a platform, along with a similarly colored pressure switch on the other side.
Rainbow flew over and pushed the switch, causing the water to drain out into the lower level down below. "Well, we can sort of get across," Rainbow said.
"Hmmm...Why do I have deja vu about this kind of predicament?" Pinkie asked herself, rubbing her head while sticking her tongue out in deep thought.
Mario had a similar feeling as well, everyone using the nearby warp pipe that lead down into the area the lake was drained out in. Luckily, there was a pathway across the new lake with the pedestals and gray lily pads floating on the surface, which was surprisingly strong enough to hold everyone as they walked across the safe path in a single file. With no need to go through the pipe going back up, they went down the next pipe going further down in the Great Tree, leading to yet another Puni Orb pedestal next to a pillar with the number 101 on it.
"Just how far down does this tree go?" Goombella asked. "It's like this tree was built as a dungeon the moment it was a sapling."
"We must be getting close by now," Starlight said. "It can't be much farther...at least I hope."
Gathering on the floor panel in front of the pedestal, Mario placed the Puni orb in the slot, making it glow while the Punies gathered around in their trance. The counter nearby began counting down until it reached zero, counting how many Punies were standing on the platform. They heard a click and the platform shudder a bit, startling everyone as it lowered down like an elevator to yet another floor down the massive tree of Boggly Woods.
"Oh, so this is what the elder meant when she said we needed all of us," Punio said. "I think we're getting close."
"Then let's not waste any time," Starlight said. "If the X-Nauts are still searching, we better get it before they do."
Ironically, in the next room, Crump wandered around trying to find the Crystal Star. In the center of the room was one of the Puni Orb pedestals in front of an octagonal platform, sitting before several Puni statues circling against the walls of the room, one of them holding a black bowl with white patterns etched in it, along with the same counter at 101 like the previous one Mario and Co saw. He made it to the deepest part of the tree faster than his adversaries he thought he locked away via a warp pipe on the other end of the room, where he and his X-Nauts blocked the shortcut to this sanctum of sorts with the electronic doors they set up.
"Hmmm...This thing's gotta be here somewhere..." He stopped his search when he heard voices coming from the "dead end" on the opposite end of the room. "Buh...huh? Whuh-oh. Sounds like a mob! Better clear out..."
Crump quickly hid behind one of the statues, watching in shock and awe as Mario, his friends, and the army of Punies waltzed right in, having somehow escaped from the planned out trap he set up. The group that entered stared in awe at the statues, the mysterious room definitely holding something secretive.
"I wonder how long the Punies have lived here if there's so many statues and pillars of them," Koops thought aloud.
"A pretty long while," Punio said. "Longer than the elder, at least."
"Let's see what you all do with the Puni Orb in here," Goombella said.
Mario pulled out the Puni Orb and placed it in the pedestal. The Punies gathered on the platform, dropping the counter down to zero. The tree shook, not surprising at this point, though the quake lasted a bit longer than the last few after gathering the right amount of Punies for the Puni Orb platforms. When it finally stopped, they all heard a sparkling sound come from the Puni statue holding the ornate bowl. Everyone looked up, and rising up from the bowl was the Emerald Crystal Star.
"There it is!" Rainbow cheered.
"Oh my. So that's a Crystal Star," Flurrie uttered in awe, watching it rise up and lower down to the ground, hovering a few inches as it waited to be claimed.
"At least we don't have to fight a terrifying dragon to get to this one," Rarity said.
"Hang on a second. This feels too easy," Pinkie said, humming in thought. "Usually, we face a toughie after crawling through a long dungeon, fortress, or ruins before we get the important thingamajig we need to save the day."
"Why, Pinkie Pie, that is absolute nonsense," Flurrie said. While everyone was distracted, looking at Pinkie after her odd suspicions, Crump took his opportunity to swipe the Crystal Star right in front of them. As he triumphantly laughed, everyone quickly turned around, yelping in surprise and shock, seeing the Crystal Star in his hands. "Ohh! Oh no! That brute! Where did he come from!?"
"Hah! I knew it!" Pinkie cheered. "You all owe me twenty coins!"
"We didn't make any bets about anything, Pinkie!" Applejack scolded.
"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh! Am I lucky or what?" Crump gloated. "'You say you need the Crystal Star, Lord Crump?' BOOM! Falls right into my lap!...But this is humiliating. You shouldn't have even been able to escape that cell."
"You clearly underestimated Mario, you fat jerk!" Goombella said.
"Give us that Crystal Star right now, Crump," Starlight warned.
"Finders keepers, little four-legged candy cane," Crump said. "And for insulting my trap, I'm gonna repay you with a little present."
"Ooh! A present!?" Pinkie asked. "I love presents!"
"Then you're going to love this." Crump chuckled, pulling out a remote from his pocket as he walked over to the warp pipe. "It's something I like to call a REMOTE TIME-BOMB DETONATOR!"
"WHAT!?" Crump laughed at their horrified expressions, then clicked a button on the remote, activating the time bomb.
"Enjoy your final moments inside this dank old tree as you and these squirmy Punies are buried in rubble!" Crump said. "And with that...pow! I'm gone!"
"Oh, no you don't!" Starlight fired a beam at Crump, missing him as he escaped through the warp pipe. "Darn it! We can't let him get away!"
"When did they even have time to set up a bomb to destroy this place!?" Rainbow questioned.
"Save the questions for when we beat the stuffing out of him and snag that remote and the Crystal Star from his grimy hands!" Goombella said.
Quickly taking out the Puni Orb, Mario led everyone through the pipe after Crump, the Punies panicking as their home was about to be blown to pieces from the inside. While the group tried to keep the Punies corralled as they exited, they saw Crump running off and disappearing behind a metal electronic door, guarded by two of his X-Naut troops.
"We're not gonna let you-!" one of them shouted, only for Mario to smack one out of their way with his hammer while the other was slammed into the wall via Starlight's telekinetic magic.
"Not the time for you idiots to get in our way!" Starlight said. "You're not stalling us to let this tree blow up!"
The door was locked, but luckily, there was a control panel nearby. Mario hastily pressed the keys, the red light turning green above the metal door and unlocking it for them. Making their way through as it slid open, they found themselves back in the wide crossroads room between the two Jabbi hives, which meant the X-Nauts had found the faster route to where the Crystal Star was, but without the Punies, they couldn't have found it no matter how hard they looked. With no time to spare, the group quickly made their way back up and chase Crump. Punio had stopped, his peripherals catching something shaking in the bushes where they exited. Jabble poked his head out, terrified of the massive army of Punies and feared getting attacked, but luckily, Punio's tribe didn't see him. He was glad his friend from the enemy tribe was safe and stayed out of their fights, though he felt bad for destroying their hives.
"Punio, come on!" Petuni called out. "We can't let that meanie get away!"
"R-Right! Coming! I thought I...saw something." Punio looked back at his friend, the two silently promising each other to meet again after all this madness was over.
He quickly caught up with the rest of his tribe, going through pipe back up to the entrance of the tree. After crossing the stump over the bubble lake while the Punies were blown across while stuck inside bubbles, they finally reached the main entrance, where they found Crump being blocked by the Elder Puni.
"Oh no! He's gonna hurt the Elder!" Fluttershy said.
"No, I think she's got this," Puniper said. "You've seen how scary she can get."
"You won't be going any further this-a-way!" the elder said to Crump defiantly.
"What!? Are you nuts!?" Crump questioned, both irritated by being blocked by a creature in their senior years and anxious to get out before his bomb blows up. "Move it, you old geezer!"
"WHAT!?!?!?!?!?" The Elder Puni grew bigger in her "scary" scolding mode, making Crump balk in shock before shrinking back to normal. "Did you just call me an 'old geezer'!? Where do you get off talking like that!? Disrespectful brat! Don't think my age has a thing to do with my might! Even if it kills me, I won't let you through! ELDER POWER ACTIVATE!"
"...Uhh, what?" Crump said. "What's your problem, Gramma? Got an ear hair tickling your brain or something?"
"Oh! Ooh! What the...Can't...take...another...step..." Elder Puni tried to move, only for her back to make a cringeworthy crack, making everyone wince at the sound. "Oooooogh. What a time for my stupid back to start acting up..."
"Bah! You hotheaded old coot!" Crump laughed. "You think you can really stop me? I could shine my boots with you!"
"You will do no such thing!" Flurrie exclaimed. Lunging forward, she flew over Crump, snatching up the helpless elder while blocking the way for the Puni. "If you think you're going to get away that easily, then you're going to stay here and get blown up with all of us!"
"Along with any of your other X-Naut friends ya planned on ditchin' so y'all could escape with the Crystal Star!" Applejack added.
"Yeah, so hand it over before we whack you around with hammers, put a boot to your head, and mount your tushie on our fireplace!" Pinkie said, waving her hammer around like a baseball bat with the intent to maim the X-Naut.
"Umm, why would you do that?" Petuni questioned.
"Are you guys forgetting about the bomb he set off!?" Goombella exclaimed. "We need to get that remote off him FIRST before taking the Crystal Star!"
Crump growled, digging into his pockets and pulling out the remote. "You guys are absolutely nuts," he said, pressing a button to stop the timer. At least he was sensible enough to stop the bomb, not willing to blow up the Crystal Star if they kept him from escaping. "Ok, you pests. You ordered one pummeling? Well, you're gonna get one...with extra fists!"
"Just give it up! You're completely outnumbered!" Rainbow said. "You couldn't even beat Mario even with his arms tied behind his back!"
"When I said 'fists', I meant metal fists!" Using the same remote in his hand, Crump pressed a different button. The others expected another bomb or something smaller to blow up in their faces out of nowhere, but instead, behind them, an egg-shaped capsule-like ship hovered down from the ceiling. Distracted by the mysterious vessel, Crump ran past the heroes and jumped inside the capsule, pressing a few switches on the console before him. As it rolled around, four pink metal blades shot out, forming an "X" shape. "Awake, Magnus von Grapple! Time for a technological thrashing!"
The blades turned over and set themselves dead center around the middle of the capsule Crump was sitting in, then lowered down until they joined together, forming a robotic body. Two panels on the sides opened up, releasing a pair of elongated metal arms, along with a pair of legs from underneath. The front of Crump's machine lit up, creating a white "X", the signature mark of the X-Nauts, completing the mech's transformation.
"W-What in Equestria is that!?" Rarity exclaimed.
"A metal monster!" one of the Punies shrieked, causing the rest of them to panic and flee from the technological mech.
Punio, Puniper, and Petuni rushed over to Flurrie, the wind spirit gently lowering the Elder Puni down to them as the trio carried her out of what was going to be a tough fight. "We'll watch out for the elder and the other Punies!" Punio said. "Beat that Crump guy and his metal thing!"
"Uhh, easier said than done," Fluttershy whimpered.
"Is fighting a robot considered a step down after beating Hooktail?" Koops asked. "It should be a piece of cake...right?"
"Depends on what this giant hunk of metal has in store for us!" Goombella said. "But if we beat a dragon, we can beat a robot!"
"Good luck trying to trash Magnus von Grapple!" Crump taunted, moving his robot forward as its heavy legs thumped against the ground with each step.
Punio, Puniper, and Petuni scurried away with the Elder on their backs, avoiding Magnus von Grapple as Crump's main focus was on Mario and his friends. Mario wasn't dissuaded by facing a giant mech, though this one was quite better than the Koopa Bros. poor recreation of the parade float shaped like Bowser they tried to use on him, Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette back then. He cracked his knuckles and took the lead, ready to face down Crump and his robot. The others were right behind him, even though the ponies had no idea how to fight against something like this.
Magnus von Grapple stomped toward them, lifting its giant, steel-plated foot up, and began aiming for one of them to squish. Mario's foresight kicked it, watching that foot slam straight down on Starlight as she stood behind him. Reacting quickly, he pushed Starlight out of the way, then used his enhanced magic strength as he lifted his hands over his head, blocking the mech's foot and holding it up. Crump let out a confused grunt and looked down, yelping in surprise.
"Thanks, Mario," Starlight said. "Now, let's see if this hunk of junk is magic proof like that stupid cell of yours!"
Lighting up her horn, Starlight shot a beam right in the mech's chest, causing a bit of damage as it staggered backwards once Mario let go. "Whoa whoa whoa!" Crump exclaimed, trying to keep his machine balanced.
Koops ran up to Mario, ducking in his shell as the plumber smacked him with his hammer, sending him crashing into Magnus Von Grapple and toppling it over. It wasn't down down for long as the machine got back up, irritating Crump as he charged forward.
"Fists of fury!" the X-Naut general shouted, thrusting his mech's fists rapidly.
Flurrie took in a big gulp of air, then blew a hurricane of winds at the robot, halting Magnus's advances as Crump struggled to power through the wind spirit's power. Rainbow had a crazy idea, even while they were in such a cramped space. Taking a running start near the entrance of the tree, she flapped her wings and zoomed forward, diving into Flurrie's powerful wind currents, increasing her speed up to mach levels as she immediately blasted forward, releasing a shockwave of rainbow lights in the room, tackling Magnus von Grapple into the wall on the other side. The sonic rainboom nearly knocked everyone off their feet, including the Punies as they all hid in the background.
"W-Whoa! What was THAT!?" Goombella exclaimed.
"Rainbow's specialty: the sonic rainboom," Applejack said. "But next time, Rainbow, do somethin' like that when we're outdoors!"
Rainbow fell to the ground, completely dazed after slamming into solid steel as they crashed into the wall. "Ugh...Shoulda thought about that plan more," she muttered deliriously.
Crump managed to pull his robot's limbs out from the imprint made from the sonic rainboom tackle, groaning himself as he felt whiplash from that attack. "Ooogh, you creatures are pretty talented. Too bad we're not interested in all of you. At least, not yet." He rose Magnus's foot up, the others gasping as he was about to squish Rainbow Dash. "Your purple friend's a mix of all three of your kind, so nixing one of you won't make much of a difference!"
"Oh, no ya don't!" Applejack dug into her bags and pulled out her trusty lasso. Twirling it around over her head, she gave it a hard toss, wrapping it around Magnus's raised leg tightly. Mario, Koops, and Flurrie grabbed the rope, helping Applejack tug hard, making the robot slip and fall over while Crump screamed and grunted from the fall. "Rarity, Fluttershy, get Rainbow out of the way while we hogtie him!"
"Right! We're coming, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said as the two mares quickly got to their downed pegasus friend while the rest of the group ran toward Magnus and began tying its legs.
As Rainbow was carried off, Pinkie decided to distract Crump, leaping onto the robot's chest, and with her hammer in her mouth, she slammed it repeatedly on the dome. "Ring ring ring ring ring ring! Hammer phone~!" Pinkie sang, every hammer slam making an actual ringing noise that grated Crump's ears along with the constant thudding.
"GAH! You irritating pest!" he cried out. Reaching his hands out to the console, he pressed a series of buttons, making Magnus's arms extend forward. The metal fists connected to the flexible metal limbs shot up in the air, thrusters behind them propelling them through the air. Pinkie stopped smacking the dome, looking up at the hovering, rocket-like fists, which were aiming right at her. "Chew on this, you giant living piece of bubble gum!"
Hitting a button, both fists dove down straight toward Pinkie. She shrieked and leapt over them, jumping off Magnus's body and ducked low to avoid the swift rocket arms swirling around trying to punch her lights out.
"His hands are alive!" Pinkie screamed. "Everypony run!"
The others ducked from Pinkie's warning, barely finishing tying up the mech's legs as Crump finally got control of its legs, untying the unfinished knots while the rope was still lassoed around its leg. The hands looped back around, the left going for the ponies missing as Starlight redirected its trajectory with her magic, but the right one aiming at Mario, Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie struck true, sending all four of them flying back across the room. Crump laughed, maneuvering Magnus's flying fists back to his side.
"Ok. This robot has a lot of tricks up its sleeve," Goombella groaned. "They really are smarter than we thought..."
"Can we even beat such a monstrosity?" Flurrie asked. "He could have used this robotic menace to level the whole tree instead of that bomb he tried to use."
Mario stood back up, straightening his cap before getting back in the fight. "Give it up! You'll never be able to match the might of Magnus von Grapple!" Crump taunted with his signature laugh.
"You clearly haven't met Bowser if you're honestly making such a claim," Rarity said.
"And you don't know exactly what we've faced," Starlight added, standing beside Mario. "Give us your worst."
"Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh! Have it your way!" Crump said. "Rocket arms, FIRE!"
Both arms aimed at the unicorn and red plumber, launching themselves toward the two. Simultaneously, Mario and Starlight stopped each arm, the former with his magically enhanced strength while the latter enveloped the other arm and poured all her mana into freezing it in place. Crump growled, increasing the rockets' thrusters to full power. Mario grunted as his feet began to skid back, keeping his fist from sending him into the wall and get crushed, while Starlight struggled to push hers back, straining her magic as her head began to pound painfully.
"Come on, you two!" Flurrie cheered on. "You can do it!"
"Send those fists straight back at him!" Goombella said.
Mario and Starlight looked at each other, the Goomba's idea perfect as any construct's weakness can also be it's own if used against others. With all their strengths, they flipped the arms around, keeping a firm hold on them before letting go and aiming for the giant metal target.
"H-Huh!? W-Wait, no!" Crump begged, beginning to panic as he pressed buttons on his console to stop the arms' thrusters.
In perfect sync, Mario and Starlight let out a heavily exerted grunt as they flung the rocket arms back at Magnus. Crump fumbled with his controls, unable to stop the fists as they struck Magnus von Grapple hard, denting its chest as it slammed back into the wall again and fell over. Even though Starlight was exhausted, Mario had enough to take out the robot. With his hands still glowing orange, gripping his hammer tightly, Mario rushed the downed mech, leapt up, and fell down with a heavy swing, slamming down on the dome and nearly cracking it open from the impact. Crump grunted as his face slammed down on the console from the whiplashing impact, alarms blaring as his controls began sparking dangerously.
Magnus von Grapple began to short circuit from the damage it took, the electrical sparks reaching the core of its body and exploded. The blasts blew the robot to pieces, flinging Crump out of the cockpit and toward the entrance, slamming his head into the ground with a painful groan. The Crystal Star he stole fell out of his pocket, landing beside Fluttershy as she fed Rainbow a Mushroom to heal her injury after her crazy stunt earlier.
"Oh! The Crystal Star," she said, scooping it up with a wing, holding it tightly so it didn't get snatched away from them again.
Crump let out a groan, rubbing his head as he stood up, wincing in pain after getting tossed from the explosion. "Buh! No! Magnus von Grapple! How could we lose!?" The X-Naut general turned around, heavily outnumbered and defenseless as he faced the remaining group still standing and ready to continue fighting. He panted heavily, noticing the Crystal Star in Fluttershy's wing, but he wasn't going to risk getting whooped again after an embarrassing defeat. "I'll remember this, losers!" he shouted before fleeing from the Great Tree.
Rainbow finally snapped out of her daze once the Mushroom's healing effects sunk in, rubbing her head with a groan. "What happened? Did we win?"
"Lord Crump summons us!" From the other end of the room, all the X-Naut troops who were with Crump ran past everyone and chased after their leader.
One of them had lagged behind, tripping over his own feet comically and hit the ground with a thud. Rainbow couldn't help but get a feeling a deja vu at the scene as the fallen soldier got back up and hurried after his team.
"...I think I'll take that as a yes," Rainbow said, the answer given to her without any verbal confirmation.
"Hooray! They saved us all!" a Puni cheered, rousing the rest of the tribe to join in, celebrating their heroes rescuing them from the intruders.
"Yes, and now our tree can go back to being the peaceful place I remember," Elder Puni said. "Marty-o, you can take the Emerald Star, the Crystal Star that resided in this tree."
Mario was about to correct the old Puni that she pronounced his name wrong like Mayor Kroop in Petalburg, but disregarded it since there was going to be no point. Fluttershy walked over to Mario, holding out the Crystal Star.
"Good thing it didn't break when that Magnus thingie blew up," she said as Mario took the star from the pegasus.
The Crystal Star flew around Mario the moment he touched it, giving them their second out of seven while also being granted a second power, Clock Out, in a spectacular shower of sparkles. After giving Mario his new ability, it floated back in his hand, where he kept it safely secure in his backpack.
"That's two for us, and zip for the bad guys," Rainbow gloated."
"Ya sure contributed in that fight pretty well, Rainbow," Applejack sarcastically said.
"Unfortunately, we didn't get any information from that guy about the princesses," Goombella said. "We don't even have any idea where their base is, or even if it's anywhere close by."
"Next time he shows up, we're going to get some answers," Starlight said. "And if won't talk, a little magic shock torture could get him to flap his gums."
"At least they're finally gone, and the Punies' can live peacefully again," Flurrie said, bringing their attention to the tribe. "I'm just glad none of you are too badly hurt. But there's the matter of that bomb that distasteful Crump fellow hid in the Great Tree."
They heard a chirping sound, and to everyone's surprise, they saw Jabble flittering toward them. "It's another Jabbie!" one of the Punies said.
"Get him!" others shouted, terrifying Jabble.
"Wait, stop!" Punio exclaimed. "Don't hurt my friend!" The Punies all gasped in shock at Punio's claim, watching him skitter over to his panicked Jabbie friend. "Yes. I admit it. I made friends with one of our enemies. But despite how different we are, we know more about each other AND our tribe more than any other Puni or Jabbi. And if you all think it's wrong for me to have fun with someone who isn't like me, then I'm going to change our ways and try to befriend the Jabbi tribe with Jabble at my side!"
The Punies muttered to each other with this strange idea coming from their future leader. Even if they didn't agree and would protest, Punio didn't care, wanting to make this change since the Great Tree is a home for both their tribes. Puniper approached Punio and Jabble, the innocent Jabbi squeaking frightfully and hid behind his best friend. He could tell Jabble was different from the rest of the Jabbies, about the same age as Punio and smaller than the ones they fought, but his eyes didn't show much spite or hatred, mostly fear as he was greatly outnumbered by approaching his enemies. Seeing how much Punio had changed compared to back when they were younger, he swore he would follow his new leader and agree to any new ideas and changes he wants to make to better their tribe.
"If you're gonna try to make friends with the Jabbies, you're gonna need me as your ambassador," Puniper said. "I have a way with words, after all."
Punio snickered at the thought. "Yeah, right. You'll only get them to swarm you with your big mouth."
"Give me a chance, boss," Puniper begged.
"I'll think about it." Punio stepped aside, making Jabble squeak, his body quivering as his wings were about ready to help him flee. "Jabble, this is Puniper. He was a bully of mine, but I consider him a friend...unless he picks on me again."
"I'm just gonna ignore that, but nice meeting you," Puniper said.
Jabble nervously greeted him in his own language, the other Punies seeing the interaction helping them see Punio's point of view and give the Jabbies a chance, assuming they weren't too mad having their hives destroyed. Before Punio could introduce his friend to the others, Jabble squeaked, telling Punio about something he overheard when he followed them.
"Huh? You mean you know where that bomb is that almost blew up the tree?" Punio asked, Jabble responding with a nod. "Whoa! That's amazing! We can finally get rid of it, and our home will really be safe and sound!"
"Of course it would make sense," the nerdy Puni, Punedexter, stated. "Considering how the Jabbies teamed up with the X-Nauts, they would show them where the best location would be to break down the Great Boggly Tree from the inside in a giant explosion, wiping all of us out, including the Jabbies despite their help taking over the tree."
"Well, let's not stand around!" Petuni said. "Let's follow Jabble and find the bomb!" The other Punies agreed, a majority of the tribe gathering around Jabble while Petuni approached him. "Any friend of my brother's is a friend of mine! And he's cute for a Jabbi."
Jabble let out a startled squeak, his cheeks turning a bit darker in a blush when Petuni gave him a friendly nuzzle. Punio gave his Jabbi friend a warning glare, the overprotective side of him not wanting his sister to get THAT close to Jabble, even with their future treaty and uniting both their tribes.
"Well, as much as we love to stay and help, we've got to get going," Starlight said. "We've got to find the five remaining Crystal Stars before the X-Nauts do."
"Thanks for all your help, everyone," Punio said. "And come back to visit us whenever you can!"
"Oh, of course we will," Fluttershy said. "Maybe if we take a detour after finding another Crystal Star?"
"We'll think about it, dearie," Flurrie said. "Ta-ta, my adorable little Punies!"
The tribe said their goodbyes as they waved their heroes off. Mario and co headed off out of the tree and began their trek back to the warp pipe connected to the Rogueport sewers, hoping for the best between the Punies and Jabbies, and they move that bomb safely away from the Great Tree before it goes off unexpectedly. So far, there were no leads on where Twilight and Peach were, only the fact that the X-Nauts have them held hostage and weren't planning letting them go, even for a ransom if they gave up the Crystal Stars.
"What!?" Back in Grodus's lair, the X-Naut leader had just heard some unfortunate news from one of his soldiers, this X-Naut wearing a white coat over a blue uniform while holding a clipboard, being one of his more intellectual scientists in his army. "What do you mean you can't get in touch with Lord Crump!?"
"We are investigating the dilemma now, Sir Grodus," the scientist said. "We should hear from him at any moment..."
A red-suited X-Naut soldier walked in, saluting as he made his presence in front of his leader. "Sir Grodus! Please allow me to enter!"
"What is it?" Grodus asked, allowing the soldier to approach him.
"I have a report, sir!" he said. "The Crystal Star in the Boggly Woods has apparently been taken by Mario!"
"WHAT!?" Grodus exclaimed in shock. "You can't be serious!? What about the Shadow Sirens and Lord Crump!?"
"Uh, I'm sorry, sir! Unfortunately, Mario and his entourage of sidekicks laid a beating on all of them!" the soldier explained, making Grodus grumble.
"How disturbing," Grodus uttered to himself. "Just how strong is this Mario and those other equines he has with him..." After pondering the determination from the Mushroom Kingdom's hero and the ponies from another world, he brought his attention back to he soldier who just entered. "What of the status on the other Crystal Stars?"
"I apologize, sir!" the red-suited X-Naut replied. "We are still searching for the other Crystal Stars! Unsuccessfully, sir!"
"We know of three of them: Hooktail Castle, Boggly Woods, and the one we found in Rogueport," Grodus said. "There are only four Crystal Stars left out there...and we WILL have them! Keep searching so Mario won't beat us to the punch!" The X-Naut soldier nodded, gave Grodus their signature salute, then took his leave. "As I suspected, there's no reason to doubt Mario has the map..." He looked at the scientist still in the room, awaiting more orders. "Keep a close eye on Mario and those friends of the alicorn princess."
"Yes, sir!" the scientist said with a salute, then walked out of the command room.
Grodus growled to himself as soon as he was alone, despising Mario for getting in the way of his plans. "Mario...I loathe you..."
Meanwhile, in what was considered the prison cell for the royal pair, Peach paced around nervously while Twilight sat in her bed, her eyes boringly tracing through the words of the book she had with her. "...I'm starting to get bored of reading already," Twilight grumbled, closing the book on the legend of the One Thousand-Year Door after reading it for the umpteenth time. "If I were stranded on a deserted island, and I could only bring one book with me, I would already lose my mind. They can't provide us with anything else to entertain ourselves if we're treated like special prisoners?"
"At least we're not being held in a cage," Peach said. She continued pacing, sighing heavily. "I hope my email got to Mario."
"I'm starting to have doubts trying to trust that computer if it works for our kidnappers," Twilight said. "He probably was sending it, then erased it, or sent it to a different address to give us false hope."
"I don't think TEC is all that bad if he's curious about us. Besides, he's the only way we can contact Mario and the others right now." Twilight sighed, plopping her head on her pillow as she leered at the ceiling, too bored to argue. "Oh, I wonder how everyone's doing at the castle...Will I ever dance at the Mushroom Ball again?"
"I'm wondering if there's any other reading material they can give us so time can pass by quickly," Twilight grumbled.
Thankfully, something stirred out Twilight's boredom as their door opened up, both princesses looking down the hallway. "Is this TEC's doing?"
"What does he want from us this time?" Twilight asked.
"Let's find out." Peach and Twilight made their way down the hall into TEC's control room, both princesses walking up to the monitor, the camera above looking down at them.
Hello, Princess Peach, Princess Twilight, TEC greeted.
"TEC, that mail sent to Mario...Did it go through?" Peach asked.
Yes. I can confirm that Mario received the mail. Twilight was about to question if TEC really did send the email like he promised, but the monitor lit up, showing the message had indeed been sent to the right person and in full.
"...Ok, so I guess TEC did keep his word," Twilight uttered to herself. "So, what do you want from us today? Lessons in friendship? Love? More history about Equestria to store outside of your 'programming'?"
Princess Peach, you expressed regret earlier that you would not be able to dance at a ball, and Princess Twilight has been restless due to no activity to keep her entertained while imprisoned. TEC shocked the princesses, overhearing them in their room.
"You were eavesdropping on us!?" Twilight exclaimed.
I am sorry, TEC apologized. I have been ordered to keep survellience on both of you.
"...Please don't tell me you 'survey' us if we're using the restroom next door," Peach said, making herself and Twilight feel awkward when the only chance of privacy was going to be breached by security cameras.
There are no cameras in the restrooms at all in the base, as it is an invasion of privacy if anyone needs to use the facilities of any kind. The relieved both princesses, although they're going to check every corner of their bathroom just in case. But...it is odd...
"Finding it odd having no cameras to watch us while we shower or use the toilet?" Twilight questioned irritably.
I meant about the ball Princess Peach mentioned, TEC elaborated, making Twilight feel silly making an assumption like that. When you said that, I had an impulse to dance with you as well. How my CPU would produce this impulse is inexplicable. I must find what caused it.
Peach and Twilight looked at each other awkwardly, finding it odd that something like a computer wanted to dance with Peach. "...Ok...? But, there's no reason behind such a feeling, TEC," Peach said. "Wanting to do something together...It's part of love."
Princess Peach. Please dance with me. TEC's request made the princesses balk in surprise and confusion.
"Y-You want to WHAT!?" Twilight exclaimed. "How is that even possible!? You're a...a computer! Dancing involves movement, and you're...kinda stuck against a wall!"
"Twilight has a point, TEC," Peach agreed. "It sounds a bit bizarre."
Would this be an acceptable dance substitute? The lights in the room dimmed slightly as TEC revealed his substitute for Peach to dance with.
Appearing before Peach and Twilight was a holographic image of Peach herself, shocking the princesses at the perfectly created illusion made by the laser lights around TEC's room. "Is...is that me!?" Peach asked.
"H-How did you do that?" Twilight asked, both curious and a little terrified seeing a double of Peach standing before them. TEC created another holographic image beside Twilight, which happened to be a copy of herself. She turned her head to look at the odd lights in her peripherals, yelping in surprise at herself. "A-And now one of me!?"
Did you not wish to dance as well? TEC asked.
"Uhh...Isn't it a bit weird trying to dance with yourself?" Twilight questioned. "Plus, I can't dance. I have four left hooves."
I assume that phrase is an iteration to "having two left feet" from your world, TEC stated out of intrigue. Maybe another time.
TEC dismissed the Twilight hologram, leaving the Peach one beside the real princess. She did want to help TEC understand what love is and befriend him if he was willing to help them escape, though the latter seemed impossible since he was a computer and had specific priorities set in his programming.
"This is going to look so awkward," Peach said to herself as she approached her double, holding her arms out to it.
The see-through double mimicked her movements as they joined together, and with music provided by TEC, they began to dance a simple waltz around the room. As strange as it was, Twilight watched the real and holographic princesses, stepping in time with the tempo and spinning around on occasion. Peach seemed to have more experience in ballroom dancing with however many balls her kingdom hosted, though the alicorn wondered when she had the time when Bowser would try to kidnap her every few months. Once the song ended, the two Peachs' stepped away from each other and curtsied, the see-through creation disappearing and the lights in the room brightening back up.
"...Looked fun," Twilight sarcastically stated.
Thank you, Princess Peach. That was very fun. Peach giggled nervously as TEC's robotic voice contradicted his actual feelings after the short dance. Just a moment...........Fun? Is this impulse I feel the concept known as fun?
While TEC was processing the elation he just felt, Peach and Twilight looked at each other awkwardly, scared to know if it was going to break him. "Uhh, TEC?" Twilight called out, apparently snapping the super computer from his silent observation.
...I will fulfill my promise to you, TEC said. Use the keyboard to send whatever message you want.
"Ok." Peach approached the console and began typing her next message for Mario, sadly unable to gather anymore intel at the moment aside from their slight boredom. "I'm finished, TEC. Can you send it?"
The princesses watched TEC send Peach's email to Mario, successfully sent with a series of beeps. The message has been sent. Please go back to your room. I want to analyze the data from this dance immediately. The data that I thought was fun...
"...You are a weeeeird computer," Peach commented, Twilight snickering as she agreed in silence.
No. You are mistaken, TEC said. I am the world's best and only perfect computer.
The princesses rolled their eyes, then made their way back to their room. "Not exactly perfect if he doesn't know anything about love or friendship," Twilight said, only to wince, almost forgetting TEC could hear them with all the cameras in the base. "I hope he didn't take offense to that."
"At least he's on our side, and we can give the others hints about where we are or where else they're able to go. It's too bad we're unable to sneak around like I was able to back when my castle was abducted by Bowser." Peach and Twilight were back in their room, back to waiting until Grodus wants to interrogate them or TEC wants some more of his questions answered. "...So, do you want to play I Spy?"
"Metal walls," Twilight said, giving an answer before Peach's attempt at entertaining each other with a game as the alicorn plopped back down in her bed.
"...Drat," Peach muttered. "Should have picked another thing. Your turn."
Twilight groaned in agonizing boredom, burying her head underneath her pillow. "I need a new book or something exciting to happen!" she whined.
Down in Petal Meadows, Bowser and Kammy had finally reached the continent where they heard Peach was kidnapped, the witch content to stay on her broomstick while the Koopa King decided to hoof it. "Ok, I'm sure this is the right place," Bowser said.
"Right as usual, Lord Bowser!" Kammy said. "We had gotten word that Princess Peach was spotted in the town up ahead."
"Gwa ha ha ha ha! Good! Now I can take back my princess, and Mario won't even realize he's been looking in the wrong place all this time!" Bowser gloated, slamming his fist in the palm of his hand, cracking his knuckles. "And I'll give the wannabe copycat taking MY beloved princess a whooping before I torch his hide to a crispy, charred black!"
The duo made their way down the path, eventually arriving in Petalburg, not dismayed by the Goombas and Koopas on the road as Bowser's mere presence made them run and hide in fear. Bowser didn't like the bright and colorful land, looking almost like Flower Fields in the Mushroom Kingdom.
"Hello, and welcome to Petal-" the Koopa near the entrance began to welcome the Koopa King and his right hand witch, but the moment he saw Bowser, his heart stopped and began to sweat, knowing exactly who was entering the peaceful town. "AAAAAHHHHHH! EVERYBODY HIDE!!!! IT'S BOWSER!!!!!!!!"
The other townsfolk turned to see the Koopa King at the entrance, causing a panic as everyone screamed and ran away from him as he made his way down the path, searching for his princess. "What a bunch of wusses," Bowser muttered to himself. "Run and hide! I'm not even interested in any of you anyway! I'm searching for-" Looking at one of the buildings, standing at the window sill, was who Bowser was looking for, wearing a grin as she spotted her "savior". "Ah! And there she is!"
"What a stroke of luck, eh, Lord Bowser?" Kammy said.
"Luck has nothing to do with this," Bowser chuckled, licking his hand and running it through his hair to slick it back, marching casually up to the building with a cheeky grin. "Oh, my beloved little Peachy poo! Your future king is here to save you from the clutches of fakers pretending to be me!" Where he expected either a retort or, in his mind, elation from the princess of his daring rescue, Peach was silent, still in the same grinning pose. "...Ah. I see. So stunned to see me whisk you off your feet that you're rendered speechless. I know. I am amazing...And I could live with you being silent. That's your choice, just so long as I'll hold you in my arms."
"NOOO!" Snapped out of his suave, "romantic" wooing, a Koopa near the building trembled as he tried to stand defiantly against the terrifying Koopa King. "M-M-My life's treasure! I'd rather die than give up my life-sized Peach poster!"
"...What?" Bowser asked, highly confused. He was about to retort when the Peach fan screamed in terror, running up to the window, and took off what was actually a poster hung up against the window and carefully rolled it up before fleeing. Bowser was incredibly shocked, flabbergasted, and utterly embarrassed as he was practically talking to a poster of the princess his heart desires. "A-A-A...A poster??? I...was trying to sweet talk...a poster??????"
Kammy blinked a few times, taken aback after witnessing her ruler making an embarrassment of himself. "...Well, I didn't see that coming." Bowser's eye twitched, his shock slowly turning to irritation, glaring in the window at what appeared to be the Peach fan's house, where there were all sorts of Princess Peach memorabilia: pictures, figurines, artwork, everything a diehard fan of anything would want to worship a person, show, etc. Kammy looked in the window, seeing where their intel had gone awry with all the belongings inside. "Oh my...Seems like someone has a thing for the princess as much as you. But, at least no one else saw you trying to win over a poster with your smooth talk than the smaller pictures in your bed chambers."
"Oh, great. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kammy," Bowser sarcastically said, growling angrily. "Now I just humiliated myself by being the king of TALKING TO POSTERS!!!!!!!" After fuming at his embarrassment, Bowser hung his head in shame with a heavy sigh. "Back to square one..."
"But, since we are here, do you want to take a break and enjoy that picnic I mentioned back out in the fields?" Kammy asked. Her answer from the Koopa King was a deadly glower, his nose steaming as he was about ready to breathe fire on the purple-robed witch. "...Heheheheh. O-Or not?"
Bowser grumbled, stomping out of the village and back to his copter with a huff. "We're gonna search elsewhere. I am not going to take a break until I find Peach and take her back home! And if you mention anymore picnics, I'll roast you, Kammy Koopa!"
"Y-Yes, my lord!" Kammy quickly obeyed nervously, floating after Bowser before losing sight of him.