Grodus waited in his main chamber impatiently, disappointed in his minions for failing to find the Crystal Stars. So far, from what information some of his competent soldiers have discovered, Mario now as three of the Crystal Stars, and obtaining them far faster than they had within less than a month. He didn't have to wait long when he heard the Shadow Sirens warp up from the ground before him.
"Finally," he grumbled. "Beldam, you'd best explain why I should keep you and your sisters. You STILL haven't taken care of that Mario character, nor any of the other ponies."
"Yes. My apologies," Beldam said. "They were quite tougher than we thought at first, but next time, we'll be prepared for them."
"You do realize that we X-Nauts must open the door first, do you not?" Grodus questioned.
Beldam let out a small cackle, understanding the X-Naut leader's intentions. "Well, rest assured that I will definitely nail them next time. We have a weapon that will bring them to a swift end."
"Destroy Mario, but not the ponies," Grodus warned. "Whatever kind of magic they have has more potential than that meddling hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. Understand?" The Shadow Sirens silently nodded. "I am rapidly losing my patience. Find them, and take whatever Crystal Stars they have in their possession."
"Just leave it to us, sire," Beldam said with another cackle, then turned to her sisters. "Let's away, my lovelies!"
Beldam phased through the ground first, then Marilyn. Vivian hesitated for a moment, dreading another future scolding from her older sister with whatever plan Beldam had. She followed them, hoping to maybe impress her elder sister and be on her good graces, assuming there were any to bother gaining.
Peach laid on her bed, hanging upside down from the edge with a bored look on her face. Twilight walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, one towel wrapped clumsily around her hair while another draped her back, just finishing up with a shower.
"Well, if there was anything I learned from my first Winter Wrap-Up in Ponyville, the lack of magic to do mundane tasks is much more difficult without it," Twilight grumbled. Part of the towel over her head came undone, flopping over her face. She growled, ignoring trying to dry her hair normally and just rubbed it dry with her hooves, leaving her hair sticking out after pulling it off. "And this stupid inhibitor makes it more complicated when I can't shower properly! Not to mention no brush to straighten my mane or tail!" As she fumed after her rant while drying the rest of herself off, she noticed the bored look on Peach's face. "...You ok?"
"I'm just bored," Peach said. She sat up with a grunt, getting off the bed and walked over to Twilight, helping straighten out her mane. "At least when I was held hostage in my own castle, I had my library of books to read. They don't give us anything, and the only time they come in is to check on us, your inhibitor, and asking us more questions about the map that we can't answer."
"I just hope the others are doing ok," Twilight mumbled worriedly. After Twilight was dried and her mane was in decent order thanks to Peach, the door to their "prison" opened on its own. "Looks like TEC wants to see us again."
"Finally. I needed something to do today," Peach said.
The two princesses left their room and entered the supercomputer's room, wondering what TEC wanted to ask them.
Hello, princesses.
"You should probably try to give us a warning if you decide to guide us to your room," Twilight said as both princesses approached the terminal. "What do you want to know from us this time?"
I would like you to go to Sir Grodus is and ask him something.
TEC's request baffled Peach and Twilight, looking at each other, then back to the supercomputer. "You want us to do what?" Twilight asked.
"And what exactly do you need us to ask him?" Peach added.
I recently obtained specific information that brought an...issue to my attention.
"But aren't you the main computer in this place?" Peach questioned. "Why do you not know what it is?"
I am unable to know things that are not entered in my CPU or otherwise recorded. That is why I want to know what Sir Grodus is thinking about this issue.
"I don't know if your CPU remembers the fact that we're his prisoners!" Twilight exclaimed. "We can't leave, otherwise he'll do unspeakable things to us!"
"Or escort us back to our room while giving us a scolding," Peach theorized after her own experience last time. "I highly doubt wherever we are, we won't be able to leave so easily."
Peach's guess is quite accurate. But you will find a soldier's room one floor up. Take the elevator. Once there, please obtain a soldier's uniform and change into it, avoiding detection. You will go see Sir Grodus looking like a soldier.
Both princesses gave the computer a blank look, neither of them clearly able to pass as an X-Naut soldier between their height, or species in Twilight's case. "I highly doubt that'll even fool anyone," Peach said. "And I used a magic umbrella that let me transform into whoever I aimed it at."
"Wished you brought that along if you had a sixth sense that lets you know when you'd get kidnapped by Bowser," Twilight grumbled.
"Kammy Koopa broke it with her magic when she found me out," Peach said, making Twilight sigh heavily in exasperation. "At least we can inform the others about their plan. What do you want us to ask Grodus, TEC?"
TEC gave the princesses the questions he desires, the human and pony curious about why he wanted those specific "issues" resolved. They exited the computer room and approached the elevator,activated thanks to TEC as the glass doors opened up, allowing them access. The doors closed and rose up a couple floors, but the doors didn't open just yet.
Please wait a moment. There are currently soldiers in the vicinity.
Twilight and Peach were a little startled hearing TEC's voice outside of the terminal he was located in, wondering what he meant. Through the glass, which was barely able to distinguish anyone from either side, they heard an X-Naut soldier whistling while walking down the hall. He passed by the elevator, unable to see the princesses hiding inside, then disappeared further down the hall. Once the coast was clear, the elevator opened up, letting both Peach and Twilight out.
"Wow, that was close," Twilight said. "I guess, aside from seeing us everywhere, TEC can communicate with anyone everywhere in here...So, how come you don't talk to us when we're in our room?"
The room you two are imprisoned in prevent me from speaking with prisoners. That, and not wanting to intrude in the private conversations you might have, I would not have spoken to you even with approval.
"Well, it is rude to eavesdrop regardless if you can talk to us or not," Peach implied.
Understood. The room you two should enter the room with the green lamp on. It is very close to the elevator.
Looking around, the door TEC mentioned was to their left from exiting the elevator. Quickly making their way inside before other soldiers wandered about, the princesses entered a locker room with two changing rooms. The curtains for the small rooms were ironically pink in color, a huge contrast to the gray, metallic setting of the X-Naut base.
"Since this is a locker room, one of the X-Nauts should have a spare uniform in one of the lockers," Twilight pondered aloud, walking over to the row of lockers. Forced to use her mouth to open the doors, her hooves barely able to grasp the latches on the handles to lift and pull, she found a uniform hanging up in one of them. Peach stood beside Twilight, staring at the gaudy outfit, and how small it seemed compared to the two of them. "If Rarity was forced to wear one of these, she'd rather burn this and walk around nude than wear this thing." Peach silently nodded in agreement, then reached in the locker and grabbed the uniform. Peach and Twilight looked at each other, the alicorn clearly unable to wear something meant for a biped, and if it was meant for a pony, she would definitely stand out in the base. "...Well, you did say you were bored..."
"Ugh. Of course..." Peach grumbled, then sighed, left with no other option. "Might as well get this over with for TEC." She headed over to one of the changing rooms, opened and closed the curtain upon entering while Twilight waited outside. She heard the Mushroom Kingdom undressing, then struggled to get the X-Naut uniform on. "Ugh...OOF! Goodness!"
"Is it that bad putting it on?" Twilight asked curiously.
"It's a bit of a tight fit...And it kinda smells a bit," Peach said, making Twilight scrunch up her nose at the disturbing aspect of the obviously used outfit. After a couple minutes, Peach let out a sigh of relief, then opened the curtain to reveal her disguise. Despite the small size, she was able to fit in it, looking just like an X-Naut. "I can barely breathe in this thing, but I managed to make it work. How do I look?"
"...Like a...slightly bigger than average X-Naut, but so far, so good," Twilight said.
"I just hope this works. I'll be back in a moment." Peach straightened out her disguise's cap, keeping her blonde hair from being seen, then made her way out of the locker room while Twilight waited for her return.
As soon as Peach stepped outside, she gulped when she saw more X-Nauts out in the hall. There were some in the same uniform she wore, others that were white and blue and held clipboards, and some that looked a lot tougher in black and red. Playing it cool, she walked down the hall, the large room she remembered where they met Grodus was beyond the doors nearby. She spotted the X-Naut leader at the other end, looking greatly irritated as he paced around anxiously. Gulping nervously, she approached Grodus, copying the soldier's X salute, getting his attention.
"Uhh, excuse me...Sir Grodus?" Peach asked, lowering the pitch in her voice to sound a bit masculine to avoid being detected.
"Yes, what is it?" Grodus asked. "Speak!"
Peach gulped again, steeling her nerves and prepared for whatever answers she would get with TEC's specific questions he needed to know. "W-Well...It's about Princess Peach and Princess Twilight Sparkle," she said. "What do you plan to do with them going forward?"
Grodus raised a brow, leering at the "X-Naut". "...Is there something wrong with your voice?" he asked, making Peach worry about her masked voice not good enough to hide her identity. "...Maybe I have a throat lozenge." He looked around his person, making the princess silently sigh in relief. Grodus couldn't find a lozenge, letting out a hum in thought and slid the odd voice out of his mind. "Oh well, never mind. But I have no interest in what either of them have to say. Just keep them locked in their room, and do not rough up Princess Peach, understand? You make sure to tell the others this."
"A-And...the pony?" Peach asked, dreading the lack of care for the alicorn coming from Grodus.
"That inhibitor needs to be kept on her at all times, and if she tries to fight back, she will get shocked," Grodus said. "The world where she's from, their magic holds many different properties than what our world has. Plus, being royalty in that world, we must make sure that none of her other friends know she is missing, lest we cause a war between both worlds...at least until we find the Crystal Stars."
"T-Then why bother keeping them?" Peach asked.
"That's none of your business!" Grodus exclaimed, startling the disguised princess. "Do not forget your place, you impudent worm! Focus on getting the legendary treasure! That is all I require from you fools. We need that treasure to conquer the world!"
"...Conquer...the world?" Peach questioned, struck with shock that Grodus planned on trying to take over not just one kingdom, but the entire world. And whatever kind of treasure they were searching for, it must either be some sort of doomsday device or something far worse, and she was placing her coins on the device at this point. "W-What...legendary treasure?"
"And after my plan comes to fruition, I'll consider taking over the land of equines when we find that magic portal," Grodus added, making Peach gasp, her jaw dropping in horror. Grodus noticed the feminine gasp, giving her an odd look. "Something is definitely odd about you..."
"Err, n-no! Nothing odd!" Peach quickly responded. "So, uhh, r-roger and out, or whatever..."
Peach quickly saluted and left in a hurry, her reaction making Grodus sigh, rubbing his hand against his mechanical forehead. "Crump needs to recruit more competent soldiers..."
Peach headed down the hall, humming nervously around the other X-Nauts as she walked back into the locker room, Twilight unfortunately nowhere to be found. "Twilight?" Peach called out, making sure the door to the room was closed. "Twilight, where are you?"
"Peach?" Behind one of the curtains of the two changing rooms, Twilight pulled them away. Peach took off her hat to reveal her blonde hair, making the alicorn sigh in relief. "Thank goodness. I didn't know how long you would be gone for, and I heard the X-Nauts outside, so I hid in here. Glad these curtains reach the floor." Peach hurried over to the dressing room where she had her dress hung up, quickly changing, ignoring the odd smell on her from that uniform for the moment. "So, what did Grodus tell you? If he answers to lower-ranked soldiers."
"You'll find out when I have a chat with TEC," Peach said. Both princesses quickly snuck out of the locker room, making a dash to the elevator and ran inside, heading back down to the lower floor that was their prison and TEC's room. Peach stomped out of the elevator with Twilight hot on her heels, storming into the computer room and marched toward the console, glaring at the camera TEC was looking at them from. "TEC, you're a horrible machine! Your goal was to conquer the world, wasn't it!?"
"What!?" Twilight exclaimed.
"That's why the X-Nauts are looking for the Crystal Stars: to open the Thousand-Year Door, find the legendary treasure deep inside, and use it to take over both our worlds!" Twilight's jaw dropped in shock at Peach mentioning more than one singular world Grodus was planning to take over.
Of course. After all, I was built for that purpose.
"Peach...W-What did you mean by...?" Twilight uttered.
"Grodus wants nothing to do with us, but he's going to take over your world after taking over this one," Peach said.
Twilight's ears drooped as she began to have one of her mental panic attacks, worst-case scenarios popping up as she began to hyperventilate with worry.
Princess Peach, Princess Twilight, allow me to ask you something. Do you like the worlds you both live in? There are many problems in them, many sorrows. Do you like to live in such a world?
Both princesses were appalled by TEC's question, even if it was out of curiosity. "Of course we do!" Peach answered bitterly. "There may be bad things that might happen, but there's also the good we experience that we don't want to lose! You can't even have sorrow without joy!"
...Is that so...
"Tell us, TEC, will the Crystal Stars really help you conquer this world and any others?" Peach questioned, Twilight still in great shock, looking like she was about to explode in anxiety. "What's this treasure you're trying to get?"
I am afraid I cannot answer. Answering those questions is prohibited by Sir Grodus.
TEC's response made Twilight snap, the alicorn letting out a yell as she flew up to the camera, tears streaming down her face. "Why can't you tell us!?" she screamed. "You're planning to take over my world as well, and you're trying to figure out how to be friends with us when your master's going to destroy everything I love!? Friends don't keep important secrets from each other, even if it's painful to hear!" TEC didn't respond, blankly staring at the distressed alicorn as she sobbed angrily. "My friends and I have other friends and family there that we care about...I have a niece I adore, and she's just a toddler...Do you even care about how we feel about all this you and this...evil group are going to do?"
...It is not in my programming to explain Sir Grodus's plans. I apologize, Princess Twilight, but from your reaction and tears, I understand it appears to be quite stressful in your situation to our plans of world domination.
"...Do you?" Twilight grumbled, glaring at the camera lens for a moment. She hovered back down to the ground, letting out a huff. "You have no idea how I feel. You're just a machine. You CAN'T feel anything."
She kicked the side of the terminal, then walked out of the room. TEC didn't say anything, wanting to tell the distressed mare that he wanted to understand what feeling emotions was, but couldn't after the insult she gave him. Peach approached the terminal, just as angry, but remained calm for Twilight's sake.
"Let me contact Mario," Peach demanded. "I'm going to tell him about what your 'master' plans to do with this treasure you're seeking."
...............I suppose I can allow that.
Peach went ahead and typed out her message, TEC sending it once she was fully done before she had the chance to scold him. Finished with TEC's request and no longer wishing to speak to him for the rest of the day, Peach left the room, focusing on trying to calm Twilight down before she had a severe panic attack. When she walked into their room, she saw the alicorn struggling to pull the inhibitor off her horn with her hooves, barely making it budge while hurting herself in the process.
"Stupid...ring...!" she grunted, her hooves slipping as she yelled in frustration, then tried again as tears continued running down her face. "If I...didn't have this...thing on...I'd blast every single one of them! Including that stupid computer!"
"Twilight, calm down," Peach tried to usher gently, but Twilight let out another scream, trying to bash the ring this time. The abuse cause the inhibitor to light up, then released an electric shock that made her yell out in pain as her body spasmed. Peach gasped, but the shock only lasted for a few seconds, stopping the alicorn from trying to break the ring. Twilight fell when the shocks stopped, worrying the Mushroom Kingdom's princess as she hurried over to her. "Twilight, are you ok?"
Twilight shuddered, slowly looking up to Peach, her eyes welling with more tears with a look of helplessness. Twilight cried, completely breaking down, feeling useless and powerless with her magic blocked. She couldn't help her friends, her home that would be next on Grodus's conquering list, Peach, or even herself. Peach held the alicorn in a gentle embrace, letting her cry against her shoulder as she felt sorry for her. She always relied on Mario to come to her rescue and kept hope in his abilities to come through in the end, but Twilight had been able to find a way out of these situations on her own or with her friends. Being as powerless as she is now, she feared they might not be rescued soon and Grodus would succeed, taking over both worlds and harming the ones they love.
Peach helped the sobbing alicorn back on her hooves, guiding her over to her bed to lie her down. Hopefully, whoever was watching the security feed didn't catch them escaping their room thanks to TEC, but knowing the computer, he probably did care and erased any footage of them leaving to talk to him. And if the inhibitor activated with a push of a button, it must have had an automatic function to shock Twilight if she gets frustrated and try to forcefully bash the ring off her horn. Peach tried to comfort Twilight as she curled up in ball and cried, hoping she'll sleep this unfortunate news off. Peach left her alone to get herself cleaned up after dressing up in that smelly X-Naut uniform, silently praying for Mario and Twilight's friends to come find them soon before Twilight spiraled into a depression.
In the Boggly Woods, Bowser and Kammy found The Great Tree and let themselves in. A couple of the Punies near the entrance saw them, screaming in terror and warned their friends about the giant monster invading their home. Bowser was still fuming after getting his tail whooped by Mario again in the Glitz Pit, and he didn't have Peach in his clutches this time.
"Stupid, cheating Mario," he grumbled bitterly. "Stupid rainbow horse or ponies, whatever the heck they're called..."
"Did you say something, Your Rudeness?" Kammy asked.
"Uh, no! Nothing at all!" Bowser quickly exclaimed. He quickly changed the subject, already humiliated getting beaten at the Glitz Pit by his mortal enemy, and he didn't want Kammy to know. "So, what were those bite-size shrimps that ran off?"
"Those were some Punies," Kammy said. "One of them should know about the Crystal Star around here."
Behind the large vases, Punio and Petuni peeked around the corner, the former letting out a gasp when they saw Bowser searching through the bushes for them. And he was heading straight for where the Elder Puni hid. Bowser moved his claw through the bushes, but before Punio could try to attack him despite being so much smaller, the elder took action and grew in size and surprised the Koopa King.
"BEGONE!!!" the elder screeched, making Bowser let out a high-pitched scream as he leapt away. Elder Puni crawled out of the bush in her normal size, confronting the Koopa King. Kammy walked over to her king, trying to pretend he didn't sound like a squeamish girl finding a mouse on her foot. "You're one of them, aren't you? One of them evildoers! You want our Crystal Star!"
"Ha! I knew it!" Kammy cheered. "This ugly thing knows where the Crystal Star is!"
The Punies in the room all winced, Punio, Petuni, and Puniper skittering out to stand behind the elder, wanting to see the intruders get an earful from the old Puni. "HOW RUDE!!!!" Elder Puni shrieked, growing in size again and startling Kammy, Bowser slowly backing away from the crazy creature. "'Ugly thing'!? How DARE you, you wretched crone!? I am the great Puni elder!"
"Ahh! Y-You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Kammy exclaimed, glaring down the elder with her wand at the ready. Bowser had no idea what to say, but he had a grin on his face, anticipating these two old beings getting into a brawl. "Ok, elder hag-thing! Where's the Crystal Star? And don't pull rank again: your answer, not your age, will determine your fate!"
"Hmph!" Elder Puni scoffed, the Punies behind her letting out a sigh, seeing Kammy was probably just as old as their elder. "'Hag-thing'? Honestly! Well, in any case, you're too late! The Crystal Star is gone!"
Bowser's eyes widened, stomping over to the elder. "What!? What do you mean it's gone!?"
"Elder, maybe you should have just said we didn't have it in the first place instead of picking a fight," Punio said.
"A-And...not fight a big m-m-monster?" Petuni added.
"Well, serves them right for being rude!" Elder Puni said, making the Punies sigh heavily in exasperation. "We gave it to a mustachioed man named Marty-O and his Puni friends!"
"Ponies, Elder," Punio corrected, which shocked Kammy when he mentioned the ponies.
"He was collecting the legendary treasures to rescue some princesses," the elder continued, ignoring her grandson's correcting her. "Eh, what did they call them again? Princess Pinch? Princess Twinkle?...Yeah, that sounds about right. What a lucky lad to have two princesses to save."
"It's 'MARIO', not 'MARTY-O'!" Kammy shrieked. "And it's not 'Princess Pinch' or "Princess Twi-'!" Kammy paused, completely baffled as she pieced together who the other princess was that Mario was rescuing. Ignoring the clueless elder, Kammy looked at the other three Punies. "...I'm not sure if this...thing is suffering from senility, but...who else was Mario searching for?"
"Uhh, Princess Twilight Sparkle, I think," Puniper said. "Six of her friends were trying to find her along with the other princess. They said she was kidnapped by the same guys who invaded our home earlier with Princess Peach."
Kammy and Bowser looked at each other. "...Well, I can understand the Crystal Stars and Princess Peach being connected in all this, but why that purple pony?" Kammy questioned. "It's not like holding her hostage has any importance in this world."
"Guess that explains why there was some other purple one with the other five back in Glitzville," Bowser mumbled to himself while tapping his chin.
"Sorry? What happened?" Kammy asked, thinking she misheard Bowser.
"Nothing," he quickly said.
"No, you said 'the other five'," Kammy stated. "Is that what happened when you went on your own a while ago?"
Bowser grumbled, letting out a huff. "...I saw Mario and his pony pals in Glitzville...and I got my butt kicked by them when they were fighting in the ring."
"Well, why didn't you say something sooner, my liege!?" Kammy exclaimed. "If those ponies are here, this would be the perfect opportunity to figure out why they're traveling with Mario, and why that pony princess is held captive with Princess Peach!"
Bowser grumbled, watching Kammy walk out of the Great Tree, ignoring the lack of obtaining the Crystal Star Mario's already gotten in this place. He stomped off after her, leaving the confused Punies, dreading going back to Glitzville to get another beating in front of a crowd. He was going to get Peach back and take the Crystal Stars from Mario after getting revenge for defeating him so easily. He didn't care about Twilight or her friends, just the treasure and HIS princess, along with defeating his nemesis once and for all.
Outside the Glitz Pit in the floating city of Glitzville, everyone from the Pit gathered outside to see Mario and co. off. Even Bandy Andy and King K. were there despite their still recovering, along with Rawk Hawk. The former champion was still a little bitter from his loss, but after learning how deceitful Grubba was and what he had done to his other competitors, he saw a new light as a fair fighter, unable to imagine what would have happened to him if the Clubba decided to use him to give him the strength he had in his youth.
"It's a bit sad to see you all have to leave so soon," Jolene said. "But we can't keep you from your search for the Crystal Stars."
King K. approached them, limping slightly, but he was well enough to stand on his own. "Thanks for saving my hide," he said. "I thought I was a gonner getting crushed under that block. When I announced my retirement, I went to Grubba's office to tell him I was done, but just before I left, something clocked me in the back of the head. Next thing I knew, I vaguely remember feeling weak and having the life crushed out of me before waking up in the hospital."
"Good thing we found you two just in time," Rainbow said. "And Mush, the first champion, too."
Rawk Hawk stepped forward, feeling a bit sheepish as everyone looked at him. "Gonzales, I wanna tell you something," he said. Not everyone wanted to hear the former champion, especially those who were taking the brunt of his arrogant smack-talk and unsportsmanlike cheating to keep his title. Mario wanted to hear him out, seeing he's got something to get off his chest. "Rawk Hawk ain't gonna fight dirty anymore."
"Pth. Yeah, right," the Dark Koopatrol scoffed. "Mr. Big Shot's ego got kicked in the can, and he's deciding to be a humble fighter now? You're nothing but a joke now, and we know you'll just cheat your way back to the champion spot."
"Then put me back down in the minor leagues so I can start fresh!" Rawk Hawk said to Jolene. "I'm gonna hit the weights, take some vitamins, and win that title fair and square! You can do that, can't ya?"
"Well, since Grubba's under arrest for the charges placed on him for nearly murdering a few fighters and attempted to harm six ponies from another world along with Gonzales and his friends, that technically makes me the new owner of the Glitz Pit," Jolene said. She fixed her glasses, memorizing the Glitz Pit's contract policies for the fighters by heart after being Grubba's right-hand manager. "If you are being honest and wish to try to earn your way to the top fairly, I can start you over back to the lowest rank on the roster. And, seeing how Gonzales is going to be leaving, our new champion will have to be our runner-up: The Koopinator." Rawk Hawk beamed at the second chance, though the Dark Koopatrol was a bit shocked at this sudden announcement. "Unless my little brother decides to come back and win back his title in the same fashion."
"Hehe, maybe after a little vacation," Mush said with a grin. "I kinda need to get back in shape after Grubba caught me in that machine of his."
The Dark Koopatrol blinked, still recovering from what was considered great news. Rawk Hawk snapped him out of his stupor, giving him that same cocky grin, but with less of an ego in his eyes.
"Can't wait to kick your butt again in the ring," Rawk Hawk promised. "Only without the cheating."
"Pinkie Promise?" Pinkie asked, sliding up between the two solo fighters. Rawk Hawk tilted his head a bit, holding up his hand, clenching all his fingers except for his pinkie. "No, not that pinkie, silly! A Pinkie Promise, patented by me: Pinkamena Diane Pie!"
"You'd better keep that promise if ya make it," Applejack warned, then shuddered as she recalled her last Pinkie Promise. "Trust me; ya don't wanna know how much trouble you'll get into if ya break it..."
"Uhh, ok, I'll do that then," Rawk Hawk said. "How does it go?"
"When making a hoof, you say, 'Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,'" Pinkie said, even doing the hoof motions for her Pinkie Promise.
Everyone winced when they saw Pinkie actually poke herself in the eye at the end, barely even flinching when she did so. "...A-Alright. I Pinkie Promise I won't cheat as I make my way back up to the champion's rank. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my-" Rawk Hawk made the Pinkie promise, but accidentally poked his palm against his eye. "-AYE!"
The Koopatrol snorted, laughing at the former champion accidentally hitting himself in the eye over a silly promise. "I don't think you were actually supposed to touch your eyeball, Hawk," he mocked cheekily.
"But she did it!" Rawk Hawk whined while he rubbed his eye.
"Why would I poke my own eye?" Pinkie asked. "That hurts, you silly yellow rooster."
Rawk Hawk tried to retort, but his brain started to hurt worse than his sore eye. "...I've got a terrible headache now."
"Please don't try to question Pinkie's logic," Goombella said. "I've tried, and felt like I went back a few steps in my hypotheses than forward."
Rawk Hawk grumbled, taking Goombella's word for it. The rest of the competitors said their goodbyes, hoping to see Mario and his friends again soon, and maybe have another match in the ring if they decide to make a comeback. They saw the group off as they headed to the center of Glitzville, awaiting the lift for the Cheep Cheep blimp after Mario showed the conductor their ticket. It was a smooth ride back to Rogueport as the group relaxed, Scrappy looking out the window curiously as he was about to explore more of the continent with the gang. While lounging in his seat, Mario heard his Mailbox SP go off, this time playing Peach's ringtone. He pulled it out of his pocket and read up on her latest update.
Dearest Mario,
I have uncovered something terrible. The X-Nauts are planning to take over the world! It's to that end that they're searching for the Crystal Stars. To make things worse, they also plan to take over Equestria once they're done conquering ours. I still don't know what they do, but please find them all as soon as you can. Twilight's not happy hearing this, and she's going to be in a constant state of worry now. I'll find out more information soon. For now, I need to make sure Twilight doesn't lose it any further.
Princess Peach
It was bad enough that the X-Nauts wanted to take over the world, but reading how they plan to also take over others, especially Equestria, that was even worse. He couldn't imagine what Bowser would do if he decided to invade Equestria, but the X-Nauts are much more cunning than Bowser and his army, so the results could end in disaster. He told everyone the unfortunate news Peach sent him, and everyone was in shock.
"They're planning on what!?" Starlight exclaimed.
"No. Not Equestria, too," Fluttershy whimpered.
"Those jerks are really gonna get it if they so much as nab one of those Crystal Stars now!" Rainbow growled.
"My goodness. This has gotten quite serious," Flurrie said. "We must stop those ruffians before they manage to succeed."
"We can take those jerks!" Scrappy said. "We're tougher than anyone! We're the champs of the Glitz Pit!"
"As soon as we get off this blimp, we're heading straight for the Thousand-Year Door," Goombella said.
Once the blimp landed down in Rogueport, everyone quickly headed to the sewers and made their way to the Thousand-Year Door. Scrappy got distracted while looking around the port city, Fluttershy resorting to carry him on her back so he didn't get lost. After reaching the ancient millennial door, Mario leapt onto the pedestal, holding out the Gold Crystal Star in his hands. The dais activated, lighting up the aura around the platform as the Crystal Star hovered in place. Mario then held up the Magical Map, letting it float up above him, and released a bright flash as it revealed the next location. On the map, the next location was in a dark forest on the west side of the continent, some leafless trees surrounding what appeared to be an old church that was in ruins, the Crystal Star appearing in this area red like a ruby. Mario grabbed the map once the lights stopped, figuring out where their next stop is later once they reach Prof. Frankly and tell him the dire news Peach gave them.
"WHAT!?!?!?!?!" the Goomba professor exclaimed in shock. "You mean the group that took Princess Peach and Princess Twilight are bent on total world conquest!?"
"Afraid so," Koops said. "What's even down beyond that door? Some sort of doomsday device?"
"Mmm...I hope not," Frankly muttered. "I have done a bit of research on what this treasure is. One of the books I've glanced at had a preposterous theory." He looked at Koops, sporting a serious frown. "And the young Koopa Troopa seemed nearly spot on with his own guess. This specific book claimed that the 'treasure' was, in actuality, a great cataclysm."
Everyone gasped in surprise. "Ulp...I-I-I was...just...kidding........?" Koops mumbled, ducking his head in his shell sheepishly, wishing he kept his mouth shut.
"What's worse is that this theory about this treasure was the very same cataclysm, one thousand years ago, that sank the town underground!" Frankly continued.
"You mean those nutjobs are going to rule both our worlds by destroying them!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "What kind of sense does THAT make!?"
"This would be far worse than what we've faced in the past!" Rarity added.
"Yeah, like Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis and the changelings when they were evil, Sombra, Sunset Shimmer when she was evil, Starlight Glimmer when she was evil," Pinkie listed aloud, though mentioning Starlight made the unicorn grumble irritably.
"Yeah. Something definitely far worse than me traveling back in time to get revenge on you girls, only to create alternate timelines that ended with an even worse disaster," Starlight muttered.
"In any case, we must not let them get that treasure!" Frankly said. "If they get their hands on it if the treasure really is the cataclysm, this town will be destroyed once again...along with BOTH OUR WORLDS!"
Starlight quickly pulled out the Magical Map from Mario's backpack, placing it down for the Goomba professor to see. "Where exactly is this Crystal Star at?" she asked.
"Hmm...According to the map, it appears the next Crystal Star is in a place called Twilight Town," Frankly said.
"Hah! Twilight Town!" Pinkie giggled. "I betcha Twilight would have a hoot knowing there's a town dedicated to her!"
"I highly doubt that, seeing how this town has been around for centuries," Frankly stated, then hummed in thought. "I don't know much about this place. Only rumors. Especially around its namesake." The older Goomba shuddered, then wandered over to his shelves, pulling out a book and returning to the desk. Placing the book down, he flipped through the pages, skimming through it until he found what he was looking for. "Aha! There is a pipe to Twilight Town from Rogueport!"
"Please don't tell me it's back down in the sewers," Rarity whined, having enjoyed not wandering around the underground of the port town despite how dirty the minor-league locker rooms were.
"Well, obviously, most of the warp pipes to the different towns would be in the sewers," Frankly said. "It's located in the western side of town."
"I don't think I saw a pipe leading underground anywhere in the west side," Goombella said.
"Ooh! Ooh!" Scrappy piped in, bouncing up and down while waving his arms to get everyone's attention. "I saw a grate on the ground when we left the station before Mama Fluttershy scooped me up! Maybe that can lead us to the sewers in that direction!"
"Not a bad idea, squirt!" Rainbow gave Scrappy an encouraging noogie, making the Yoshi giggle from the praise.
Everyone hurried back to the west side of Rogueport, spotting the grate Scrappy mentioned. His curious eyes saved them a lot of needless searching, and he had quite a lot of strength in him for being a little guy with how well he fought in the Glitz Pit. Mario used his intangible blessing on the group, letting them all slip right through the grate and into a new area of the sewers. There were some high platforms and floating ones near where they landed, even some in the background that shifted left and right or up and down. They did manage to find a pipe that did connect from this side of Rogueport's surface in a little corner by the upper level. Across the way in the direction of the main plaza from above, they could see there were some people living underground, almost like a smaller town.
Assuming that, so far, the warp pipes to different locations around the region were different than the average green pipes, the one to Twilight Town had to be through a doorway they could see on the other side of the underground town. Respectively leaping or flying over the gap, everyone headed through the door, leading to a very small room with a brownish pipe in the center with a sign nearby that confirmed that this warp pipe leads to Twilight Town.
"Here we are," Starlight said. "Let's hurry and find the rest of the Crystal Stars before the X-Nauts do." Everyone nodded, Mario leaping up first and going down the pipe. Before anyone else could follow, Mario somehow came right back, letting out a confused hum as the warp pipe didn't let him go through. "Uhh, Mario? What just happened?"
The plumber shrugged his shoulders. "Is the pipe clogged?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"If it was, a Piranha Plant would be the most likely culprit, but it would have been obvious if Mario got bit by one," Goombella said.
"Here, let me try going down!" Pinkie volunteered. Mario stepped down, letting Pinkie cannonball into the pipe with a hoot. A few seconds later, Pinkie somehow popped right back out, upside down, and crashed on the ground. "...Maybe it is clogged..."
"Well, this is quite a predicament," Flurrie mumbled.
"Now what do we do?" Applejack asked.
"Mario's a plumber! He can unclog this warp pipe with a good plungering!" Pinkie exclaimed, pulling out a plunger and waved the bathroom tool about.
"I'll ask Prof. Frankly what's going on," Starlight said, teleporting herself back inside the Goomba's house, startling the professor. "Professor, we found the warp pipe, but it's not letting any of us through."
"Goodness sakes, don't just appear out of thin air like that!" Frankly exclaimed with a heavy sigh. "But, to figure out what's going on...I'm not sure." Frankly frowned, tapping his foot against his chin. "Hmmm...Oh! I remembered there was a fellow from Twilight Town who's living here in Rogueport! If anyone knows how, it should be him. I believe his name was...Darkly? Yes, Darkly! He loiters around this area, though he doesn't really walk around when it's daytime."
"Ok, guess I better find Darkly, then," Starlight said, thanking Frankly for the advice, then headed out to search for Darkly. Since the person was only somewhere around the east side of Rogueport, Starlight thankfully didn't have to search all over town. The only question was where Darkly hangs out in the middle of the day. Taking a wild guess from Frankly's hint, the people of Twilight Town might be the type to only freely walk around where there's no sunlight, which means the area they'll be going to is probably stuck in a permanent twilight or nighttime setting. Checking the alleyway, being careful not to run into Bandits, she peered around the corner of the wall, spotting a dark-looking person casually loitering in the shadows. Wearing some ragged clothing and cap, what was creepy about the calm being was the yellow eyes under the bit of darkness concealing the upper part of their face. "Uhh...A-Are you...Darkly?"
The person looked over at Starlight. "Yeah, that's me," he said, oddly enough in a normal tone than Starlight imagined by his appearance. "What can I do for you?"
"Oh. You're not as intimidating as you appear," Starlight said aloud with a sheepish giggle.
"I get that sometimes," Darkly said. "Not many of my kind like to travel outside of Twilight Town because of the sunlight. It kinda hurts our eyes."
"...I see," Starlight uttered. She had a few other thoughts as to what would happen to someone like Darkly if they stepped into the sun, like suddenly lighting on fire the moment the light touches them. Pushing aside those gruesome thoughts, she cleared her throat, getting back to what she wanted to ask. "Anyways, my friends and I are trying to get to Twilight Town, but the warp pipe won't let any of us go down. It just pops us back up."
"Why, that's easy," Darkly said. "You just have to have your name written on you somewhere, and the pipe will let you through."
Starlight stared blankly at Darkly, thinking it was some sort of joke, but the Twilight Town immigrant sounded quite serious. "...That's...That's all???" Starlight questioned.
"Well, yeah," Darkly said. "I mean, doesn't everyone have their names written on something? In case it gets lost or stolen?"
Starlight's eye twitched, then facehooved in exasperation. "What kind of mystical power makes it possible for a warp pipe to reject ANYTHING without their name written on them!?" Darkly simply laughed sheepishly at Starlight's response, thinking it was common knowledge for everyone. Starlight sighed, at least getting an answer, even though it was completely nonsensical. "I appreciate the help, Darkly. Now, to tell the others."
She lit up her horn, making Darkly yelp and quickly shield his eyes from the bright blue aura glowing around the unicorn's horn. "AHH! Too bright!"
Starlight grimaced, cancelling her teleportation spell. "S-Sorry! I'll just...teleport out of the alley!" Darkly waved his hand, brushing off the accident since she didn't know. Starlight quickly trotted out of the alley, making sure to relay this information to Mario and Rarity if they ever need to use their magic around the people in Twilight Town. Relighting her horn, Starlight teleported back to her friends. "Ok, so, you will not believe how we're allowed to go down this specific warp pipe."
"Aha! I knew a plunger was going to get involved!" Pinkie said, her plunger at the ready as she prepared to jump back inside.
"No, Pinkie," Starlight quickly said. "In order to go down the pipe...we need to have our names written on ourselves in order for us to pass."
Everyone stared at the unicorn silently before Applejack spoke up. "...Seriously?"
"Yeah, I know. I'm even a bit confused by how that works." The ponies looked at Mario, who was just as dumbfounded, never in his life experiencing warp pipes imbued with certain entrance privileges. "Oh well. Anypony have a pen or something?"
"I believe I do," Rarity said. She dug into her bag, pulling out a pen. "Never know when I get an inspiration for a new line while in this world."
Mario took the pen, offering to write everyone's names on them. "I don't think it matters where it's written as long as the name's written," Starlight said to Mario, who nodded and started with Rarity, who grimaced as her white coat was stained with the black ink of the pen. "And, just as a warning, don't use any magic when we get to Twilight Town."
"Why not?" Rarity asked.
"The one who told me how to go down the pipe was from Twilight Town, and their eyes are really sensitive to the light," Starlight explained. "Even magic aura was bright enough to cause him a bit of discomfort."
Mario and Rarity nodded, making sure to keep their respective magic in check, the plumber continuing going around and writing everyone's names. Pinkie and Scrappy were the worst, both of them squirming and giggling, almost ruining his penmanship that would keep them from going through the warp pipe. Koops, Goombella, and Applejack were a little bit easier since they had articles of clothing: Koops's hoodie, Goombella's red tie, and Applejack's hat. Once everyone had their names written, Rarity took back her pen and wrote down Mario's name on the back of his shirt.
"Let's hope this works," Goombella said, taking the first leap and went down the pipe.
Seeing she didn't get kicked out like Pinkie and Mario earlier, Darkly's advice had worked. Finally able to get into the next area, everyone jumped in the pipe one by one to reach Twilight Town and search for the next Crystal Star.