//------------------------------// // The Alicorn Mushroom and King K. Rool Kaptures and Korrupts the Kutie Mark Krusaders // Story: Of Plumbers and Ponies: Kingdom Quest // by pokerninja2 //------------------------------// Donkey Kong and Applejack joining the group boosted their units by two, although the ape was mostly in for it to find his little buddy. Applejack didn't want to believe it, but DK's description of the kidnapper accurately described Apple Bloom. How a sweet filly like her would just... take a monkey confused her to no end, and her friends were equally puzzled. Deciding to look for answers, they ventured deeper into Sweet Apple Acres, which was starting to look more and more like a jungle. "Ah just can't wrap my head around it," Applejack said. "What would push Apple Bloom to foalnap a small monkey?" "That can't be all of the story," Twilight said. "There's got to be some explanation for this." "Mr. Donkey Kong says that all he saw was a yellow filly with red mane take Diddy Kong away," Fluttershy said. The Piranha Plant picked fruit off the trees and started chowing down. "He thought that all ponies were against them, which is why he started attacking Applejack when he first saw her." "You really don't think before you act, do you?" Mario asked. Donkey Kong just shrugged in response. "Well, whoever this Apple Bloom is, I'm sure we'll find Diddy Kong with her," Luigi said. "Gee, this place is starting to look less like Sweet Apple Acres and more like a jungle," Spike commented, observing their surroundings. "Must be Kongo Jungle," Mario replied. "Giant jungle that apes like DK live in." "I must say, I've never been in a place this luscious before," Rarity commented, admiring the scenery. "Aren't ya supposed to hate gettin' dirty in the outdoors?" Applejack asked playfully. "Well, when you're a dress designer like I am, you tend to find appreciation for the things that fuel your inspiration," Rarity answered. "When we get back to Ponyville I simply MUST get started on the dress ideas I've had this entire adventure!" "I thought you were gonna start wrestling when we got back," Spike asked. "Rarity? A wrestler!?" Applejack asked in shock. She looked back at Rarity then brushed it off. "Pfffft. Ah'll believe it when Ah see it." "HALT INTRUDERS!" Before the knew it, the party of eight had been ambushed by a group of Kremlings, led by a Klump. They surrounded them in a circle to make sure they couldn't escape. "Hey, we found DK!" the Klump said. "All units, take Donkey Kong as prisoner and we'll have both of these dirty apes!" "Wait, so you know what happened with Diddy?" Mario asked. That was all Donkey Kong needed to hear before beating his chest angrily. He lunged at one of the Kritters and grabbed him by the legs, swinging him around and smacking some of the other crocs with him. Everyone else soon joined in on the assault: Mario and Luigi stomped on some Kritters, Applejack bucked one away, Rarity used her Glitz Pit wrestling moves on a horde of them (with Spike drooling at the scene), and Twilight used her magic prowess to attack some of the incoming reptiles. A Klaptrap bit Fluttershy's mane, and she tried to fling it off. Angered, the Piranha Plant bit the Klaptrap back and threw it off. "BACKUP!" the Klump called. "WE NEED IMMEDIATE BACKU-" DK punched him in the back of the head before he could finish, knocking him clean out. Before he could celebrate though, Krushas fell from above and took the big ape by surprise, and knocked him down. Once again, they were surrounded. Donkey Kong tried to punch one in the gut, but he just laughed it off. "OK... any ideas?" Twilight asked. Conveniently, a ringtone came from Luigi's pocket, stopping the flow of battle. Everyone turned and looked at him confused. "Oh yeah, the Virtual Boo!" Luigi said. He pulled out the Virtual Boo and put it over his eyes, and looked into it. On the other end he saw Professor E. Gadd. "Luigi, thank goodness I reached you!" the professor said. "You mind putting me on speaker? I believe your friends should hear this as well." "Uh, now's not really the ti-" Luigi tried to say before being interrupted. "It's an extremely important matter that could help on your endeavors tremendously!" E. Gadd said. "Fine," Luigi said. Pushing a button on the Virtual Boo, he set it on the ground and a red hologram of E. Gadd appeared. He quickly noticed the Krushas and laughed. "Looks like I caught you just in time!" E. Gadd said. "Now then, last night I took a DNA sample from Twilight Sparkle, wanting to study the magic that she could use to further my research." "Wait, you took a DNA sample?" Twilight asked. "When!?" "When you were sound asleep of course!" E. Gadd answered. "But enough about the details. Point is, I combined Twilight's DNA with that of a Super Mushroom, creating a brand-new power-up! Considering no power-ups have ever been artificially created before, this is quite the scientific breakthrough! And who knows what other phenomenons I could create with-" "Uh, could you hurry this along, darling?" Rarity said as the Krushas started moving closer. "Oh, yes, right!" E. Gadd said. "I'm sending this new power-up via transmission, Mario! I'm sure you'll make good use of it!" E. Gadd's hologram disappeared, and out of the Virtual Boo popped out the power-up, falling into Mario's hands. It looked like a purple mushroom, but with small wings and a horn that looked like those of Twilight's. "Well what are you waiting for?" Spike asked. "Use it!" "Here goes..." Mario said. He absorbed the strange mushroom's power, and red aura began surrounding him. Next thing he knew, red alicorn wings grew out of his back, and a horn projected out of his cap where his "M" usually was. The Krushas stopped for a bit and tried to wrap their head around this strange transformation. Mario's friends were equally confused. Mario examined himself a bit. "I... am not OK with this," he said. Seeing one of the Krushas coming right at him, Mario leaped out of the way, and landed square on his head. The rest of the Kremlings began their assault, easily overpowering the heroes. Mario used his new wings to fly up and observe the action from above. Seeing the Krushas attacking them, he knew he had to do something fast. "Twilight!" he called. "How do you work this magic thing?" "Just focus on what you want to have happen!" Twilight said. This brief distraction allowed a Krusha to sneak up behind her and attack. She turned around and couldn't react fast enough to avoid the strike. Before he could land his hit though, the blue Kremling was enveloped in red aura. Twilight turned back to see Mario's horn casting the same red aura. He threw the Krusha into a tree, knocking it out. "I... have no idea what I just did," Mario said. "That was a levitation spell, but we can talk about it later," Twilight said, avoiding another Krusha. "Just help us take these guys down!" Mario's newfound magic quickly shifted the tides of the battle in his friends' favor. With his and Twilight's magic combined, they were able to overpower the Krushas easily. One by one, they all started to fall. Mario landed back on the ground, impressed with all he had done. "Once again, E. Gadd's inventions turn out useful," Mario commented. "I still think I look silly, though." "You're a fast learner with magic," Twilight said. "And if you ever want to practice any spells or whatever, I'm willing to help out." "Good to know..." Mario's words trailed off when he saw the blank, surprised face of Rarity. "Something wrong?" "Are we just going to ignore the fact a simple fungus was able to turn Mario into an ALICORN!?" Rarity asked. "Er, at least, give him alicorn wings and a horn." "Ah'm kinda freaked out too," Applejack said. "Not the strangest thing I've ever seen," Luigi said. "We have something called a Super Crown that-" "Klump! Klump do ya read me?" a voice called out, interrupting him. "That sounded like Apple Bloom!" Applejack said. Hearing the name, Donkey Kong beat his fists, ready to throw down. "Guys, it's coming from here!" Spike said, holding up a walkie-talkie for everyone to hear. "Klump!" Apple Bloom called from the walkie-talkie. "Ah'm gonna ask one more time, how's the scouting mission going? We need to find DK so we can bring him back to the Gang-Plank Galleon and-" In a fit of range, Donkey Kong leaped at Spike, grabbed the walkie-talkie out of his hands, and crushed it to pieces. He knew now that Apple Bloom was affiliated with those Kremling creeps, and he was going to get his revenge for kidnapping Diddy! "Nice job, DK," Applejack said, face-hoofing. "Now how are we gonna find her?" "I hope she's OK..." Fluttershy said. "But... it did sound like she was talking to them as if she was their leader. What's going on?" Piranha Plant didn't seem concerned at all, and kept chowing down on some fruit he picked up during the fight. "I dunno, but I don't like it," Mario said. Before anyone could continue, cannon blasts were heard in the distance. "Was that... cannonfire?" Rarity asked. Donkey Kong pounded his chest and started running in the direction of the sound. He gestured the others to follow him. Figuring there wasn't much choice, they decided to follow the great ape into the deep jungle. "Uh... Ah think this thing is broken," Apple Bloom said, shaking the walkie-talkie in her hoof. "Klump hasn't called back." "He's probably sleeping on the job," Scootaloo said. "Like usual." "Scoots, give him some credit," Sweetie Belle said. "He's trying his best." "Well his best ain't good enough," Babs Seed shot back, no small hint of venom in her voice. She was clearly still upset about this whole situation. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had been hanging out like they always did when the two worlds started merging. Thankfully for them, they all appeared in this strange mish-mash mess together, but without their sisters (or older cousin in Babs' case) around, they had no idea what to do. That was, until, the Kremling Krew came along. Apple Bloom walked up to a window, getting a view of the underwater scenery on the island shore, and sighed. "Why the long face, Apple Bloom?" a voice came. Apple Bloom turned around to see King K. Rool, the one who had taken them in. The Kremling king had provided them shelter on his personal ship, the Gang-Plank Galleon. He had made a promise to take the fillies home, painting Donkey Kong and his primate pals as the evil doers who had brought them here in the first place. After saying that taking them down would allow them to go back home, the Crusaders were quick to help out in any way they could. In reality though, he was just after Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard. These fillies were just a lucky coincidence for his plan to work. "Ah just miss mah home," Apple Bloom sighed. "Well you shouldn't worry," K. Rool said. "You four have managed to capture Diddy Kong, and you're one step closer to reuniting with your friends and family." "K. Rool, do I REALLY gotta wear these boxing gloves?" Babs Seed asked. "It's pretty hard to walk in." All the Crusaders have been given little outfits provided by K. Rool. Babs Seed wore a blue jumpsuit and some boxing gloves, Apple Bloom donned a cape and replaced her bow with a crown, Scootaloo wore a red pirate getup and a Blunderbuss to go along with it, and Sweetie Belle had a white doctor's coat with a head mirror and green propellerpack that let her float around the air. Not only that, but he had trained them to become fearsome fighters among the Kremling Krew... or at least as fearsome as one could make them in one and a half days. Regardless, they were strong enough to overpower Diddy Kong, so they would do very well as pawns for his plans. "Of course you do," K. Rool answered. "And why does SWEETIE get the fancy flying pack?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm the pegasus, I should be the one flying!" "You already have wings," K. Rool said. "What good would a propellerpack do?" "I can hardly fly off the ground!" Scootaloo complained. "A lot of planning and care went into these decisions," K. Rool said. "I needed all four of you to have very specific abilities to let you best those Kongs. And lo and behold, you managed to capture Didd-" he got interrupted when a banana peel fell on his face. He wiped it off and looked up, seeing Sweetie Belle and Diddy Kong laying inside the rope net used to hold the monkey captive, eating bananas without care. "Sweetie, I've told you three times already!" K. Rool scolded. "The Kongs are not to be associated with! Now get down here!" "Sorry Diddy," Sweetie Belle said as she quickly flew out of the rope net. The monkey was less than pleased. "Are you SURE these Kongs are evil?" Sweetie asked. "Diddy seems pretty friendly, and he's taking being kidnapped pretty well." "GAH! You kids ask too many questions!" K. Rool said as he rubbed his temples. Maybe recruiting a bunch of children to be Kremling Krew members wasn't a good idea. "SIR!" a Kritter called as he ran into the room. "What is it!?" K. Rool snapped back. "And make it snappy!" "Scouts have reported that there was an attack on the west side of the jungle," the Kritter said. "Donkey Kong laid a beating on them, and he seems to have some new allies tagging along. They're after Diddy Kong!" Diddy blew a raspberry at K. Rool, who just looked at him in annoyance. Then he looked to the Crusaders. They were fillies, sure, but they managed to capture Diddy, why couldn't they catch DK too? And then the Banana Hoard would be all his! "Well I have some new allies of my own too!" K. Rool said. "Round up the Kremling Krew and put them on standby. If they storm the Gang-Plank Galleon, we will be ready for them!" The Kritter saluted and ran off. The Kremling king turned back to the fillies. "OK kids," he said. "The real deal is almost upon us! I'm going to need you girls to be on top of your game. Capture Donkey Kong, and you'll be on your way home!" The fillies shot glances at each other. Stealing Kongs like this didn't really feel right, and they weren't entirely sure how holding them hostage would somehow allow them to go back to Equestria. But, if there was even a chance they could be reunited with their friends and family, they had to take it. "Alright," Apple Bloom said. "We're in." "Excellent," King K. Rool said. This time he would surely best Donkey Kong and claim his Banana Hoard for himself! Donkey Kong had led his group of allies to a cliffside on the edge of the jungle. From there, they could see a small beach with a giant ship on shore. Several of the Kremlings they had seen before had surrounded the area, and they figured this was their base of operations. DK was about to storm down there and fight his way through, but Fluttershy held a hoof on his arm. She had a way with animals, and it seemed like she was the only one capable of getting through to the great ape. "Donkey Kong, we can't just barge in there," Fluttershy said. "They will likely overpower us if we're unprepared." "She's right," Mario said. "We need to go about this with tact." "You need tact? I'm just your guy!" a voice from above called. The team of heroes looked up in the trees where the voice came from, and they found a giant shack in the treetops. Looking down at them was Funky Kong, who Donkey Kong instantly recognizes. Happily beating his chest, he climbed his way to the top, and urged the others to follow. "Yo yo yo, Mario dog," Funky greeted the red plumber. "I haven't seen you since that championship baseball tournament. How's it hangin'?" "Well we DID just have our universe merged with another, so I'd say... I've been better," Mario said. "OK hold up," Applejack said. "How the hay can this monkey talk but DK can't?" "We never really questioned it," Luigi admitted. "No way, more ponies?" Funky said. "At least I know I'm not goin' bananas! Hey, maybe you can help my man Big Mac, he's-" "Big Mac?" Twilight interrupted. "As in... Big McIntosh?" "You know him?" Funky asked. "Huh, small world. YO BIG MAC! Visitors for ya!" Out of the shack stepped out a stocky red earth pony, with golden mane. Yup, it was Big Mac alright. Seeing his friends, he gave a warm smile. Applejack quickly ran up to him. "Boy, am Ah glad to see you!" she said, drawing the stallion into a hug. "Ah've been worried sick over ya!" "Eeyup," Big Mac agreed. "I found him stranded after that gnarly tornado came in and swept me off my feet," Funky explained. "Then I saw K. Rool's creeps set up shop on the beach and decided to lay low with him until help came." "So you say you can help us get to the Kremlings?" Rarity asked. "How so?" "Why, with my old service Funky's Flights of course!" Funky answered. "Just hop on my barrel plane and I'll drop you dudes off on board! They'll be so caught off-guard they won't know what hit them!" "Well, if ya'll can set us up for a ride, make it quick," Applejack said. "Apple Bloom's down there somewhere, an' we need to rescue her." "Ya mean they foalnapped Apple Bloom?" Big Mac asked, surprised. "Ah don't know for sure, but all we know is that she's with those gators and needs rescuin'," Applejack said. "Well whatever the case is, I'll help out!" Funky said. "I'll go ready the plane, the rest of you hang tight!" Funky Kong walked into his shack, leaving the others to chat amonst themselves. Mario was getting hungry, and noticed that Piranha Plant was sleeping and had an uneaten banana in his leaves. Trying to use his magic from the Alicorn Mushroom, the banana was covered in red aura and was pulled toward the plumber. He couldn't control it very well though, and it smacked him right in the nose. The sudden impact made him drop the banana to the jungle floor. "Using spells isn't so easy to learn," Twilight said from behind, seeing Mario's attempt. She found it amusing. "No kidding," Mario said as he rubbed his nose. He didn't find it quite as amusing. Twilight looked around and saw a banana bunch hanging from one of the nearby trees. She decided it was time to give this magic newcomer some lessons. Coating one of the bananas in magenta light, she pulled one of the bananas towards her, making sure Mario could see. "They key is to concentrate and control your power," Twilight said. "Focus on what you want to do and how exactly you want to do it, and channel your magic energy to do that." Nodding, Mario tried to take one of the bananas himself. It flew off the bunch and nearly collided with Mario's face, but he stopped it in place. He took the banana in his hand and released his magic grip from it. "Better," Twilight said. "Baby unicorns have trouble controlling their magic when they're born, and often suffer erratic spell bursts. Considering you just got your magic an hour ago, perhaps this is a similar case." "Maybe," Mario said, peeling the banana and eating it. "I seemed just fine during the battle with those Krushas though." "You probably didn't have to concentrate as much in the heat of the moment," Twilight said. "Though that would imply your magic prowess is very high. Then again E. Gadd did make that mushroom with my DNA... without my permission..." She let out an annoyed sigh. "E. Gadd's weird like that, but hey, he comes through when needed," Mario said. "Hopefully he can make more of those mushrooms, if I get to master this kind of power then it'll make my princess rescuing much easier." "When all this is over, I'll get you a few copies of my spellbooks," Twilight offered. "I'd like that," Mario said. He flapped his red wings a bit. "At the very least I can fly around easily. Pretty similar to the Wing Cap items back home, only the wings are on my back and not my head." "You can grow wings out of your head with those power-ups?" Twilight asked. "Maybe when all this is over I'll get you some power-ups to study," Mario said with a chuckle. "Yo dudes!" Funky said from inside. "Plane's ready! Everyone climb aboard!" Everyone stepped inside the treetop shack to see a giant barrel-like airplane with a runway out the back. Though there didn't appear to be any seating arrangements or any way to get inside the plane. The only visible seat was in the cockpit, which was where Funky Kong was. "Um, how are we supposed to get inside?" Spike asked. Donkey Kong climbed on top of the plane's barrel-like body and hopped inside. He peeked out and urged the rest of the gang to hop in as well. "DK's got the idea," Funky said. "This barrel plane has no seats, you'll all need to pile inside like a barrel of monkeys!" "Preposterous!" Rarity protested. "I'm a lady, and I will not be subjected to being sandwiched between others. There is such a thing as personal space, you know!" "Well if you want private seating, you could use one of the VIP seats out back," Funky said, pointing behind the plane. "Thank you," Rarity said. She walked behind the barrel plane, only to see a wagon attached to the back of the plane, with a helmet on it. She couldn't decide weather dangling on a wagon roped to a flying plane was better or worse than being piled up with ponies, apes, and a biting plant. After weighing the options, she reluctantly decided to take her chances with the wagon. Everyone else piled inside the giant barrel, Fluttershy and Mario helping them aboard. First came Luigi, followed by Twilight and Spike, and then Applejack. Donkey Kong needed to reach overboard to help the two carry in Big Mac, who had decided to come along for the rescue. Needless to say, it was extremely uncomfortable. Fluttershy insisted Piranha Plant be on the bottom to protect him, ignoring the protests from her friends of potentially stepping on him. Big Mac and Donkey Kong meanwhile were stuck at the bottom, carrying the weight of everyone else. Luigi stood on Donkey Kong's shoulders next to Spike, Twilight, and Fluttershy, putting Mario and Applejack at the top. "Everyone ready?" Funky asked. "Alright then, let's take to the skies-" "HOLD EVERYTHING!" a raspy voice called out. Mario and Applejack peered out of the barrel to see where that voice came from. Coming inside the shack was an elderly monkey with a cane, which Mario recognized as Cranky Kong. Following him was a similarly-aged green pony, who wore an orange bandanna around her neck. "Granny Smith?" Applejack asked. "Yer here too!?" "Of course Ah am, sugar," Granny Smith answered. "Ah overheard ya'll talkin' 'bout little Apple Bloom bein' foalnapped by those crocodile critters an' whatnot, so Ah'm comin' along too!" "Uh, you sure about that?" Mario asked. "This is hardly a job for-" "Well well well, look who it is!" Cranky Kong spat as he waved his cane. "It's the world-renowned Mario, the one who went on to become a world-famous hero, plumber, doctor, and all that other junk. The one who caged me as a pet and climbed up a construction site just to smack me with a hammer! Oh, but it was all to save the girl, they say. Bah, cliched motive if I've ever heard of it!" "Ya really caged him up?" Applejack asked. "Well-" Mario said before being interrupted again. "No matter," Cranky Kong said. "DK! How could you go on this quest to save Diddy and not even invite your old man? The Banana Hoard could be at stake here, you'll need all the help you can get!" DK couldn't see Cranky from inside the barrel, but he did seem happy to know he was around. "Well dudes, looks like we got more passengers!" Funky said. "Make room for the old folks!" Reluctantly, everyone shifted around again to let Granny Smith and Cranky Kong aboard. They had no idea how these two were going to help out, but they clearly weren't going to take no for an answer. Once the two boarded, Cranky beat his cane on the side of the barrel. "Let's get a move on!" he said. "I'm already late for my afternoon power nap!" "Hang tight, dudes!" Funky said as he started the engine. The plane drove across the runway and took to the skies, everyone struggling to keep balance when the plane took off. Cranky Kong and Granny Smith seemed rather comfortable on top of everyone else, though the others didn't have as good a time, being piled on top of each other and all. And Rarity suddenly found herself wishing she had taken the barrel with everyone else, and she was now dangling off the wagon for dear life as the plane flew over the trees.