//------------------------------//
// A Siren's New Calling 
// Story: My Little Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door 
// by Codex92 
//------------------------------//

"Mwee hee hee hee hee! Yes...This time, we'll take that Mario and his map!" On the outskirts of Twilight Town, the Shadow Sirens lied in wait for Mario and his crew. Beldam cackled, Marilyn joining with her own deep laughter. Vivian, however, didn't feel so enthusiastic as her sisters. Not after all the times Beldam kept scolding her for all the mistakes "she" made when it was really the eldest Siren's fault her memory was that poor. "And with the Superbombomb, there's no way we can fail. Vivian, hand me that glorious Superbombomb!"

As the elder Siren held her hand out to the fire-elemental siren, Vivian looked at Beldam with confusion. "Huh? Me?"

Beldam scowled at Vivian, making her already dread the scolding she was about to get. "Vivian, don't you dare 'Huh?' me! Give it here!"

"B-But I don't have it!" Vivian tried to explain. "I never had it at all! You just had it two seconds ago, and you said it was too important for me to trust me with it!"

"You little LIAR!" Beldam screeched, making Vivian wince. "Stop making up stories to cover for yourself! If I don't have it, then OBVIOUSLY you must have had it! And OBVIOUSLY you lost it!" Beldam went quiet, slowly approaching the cowering Siren with a judgmental expression. "Or...are you implying that I'm the one who lost it, you little lollygagging worm?"

"I-I..." Vivian whimpered, hanging her head in dejection. "...No...Of course not, Beldam..."

"Well, we can't do much without that Superbombomb, now can we!?" Beldam questioned. Vivian slowly responded with a light shake of her head. "Oh, you are SUCH an idiot...I'm sure you must have dropped it somewhere. So why don't you look for it while Marilyn and I go take a well-earned siesta. And if you don't find it...Well, you know what'll happen, don't you?"

"...I...get punished," Vivian answered, keeping her head low as her shoulders shuddered, trying her hardest not to cry.

"That's right, you little twit, so get cracking!" Beldam turned her back on Vivian, feeling proud for insulting her youngest sibling for her own clueless mistake. "Come, Marilyn, Let's leave this useless little fool to her chore."

"Guh-huh," Marilyn nodded.

Both Shadow Sirens phased through the ground, warping away to have a "well-earned" nap as they left Vivian alone. Slowly, Vivian looked out to the grass, having no clue where to even start with her search. With her sisters gone, she couldn't hold back her tears as they finally rolled down her cheeks.

"I-I...I just...don't know...what I did wrong..." Vivian brought her hands to her face and began to cry, once again being left as Beldam's scapegoat for her own screwups.





At the entrance of the forest, the heroic party breathed a sigh of relief after getting through. "Thank goodness for that," Rarity said. "That forest is just as terrifying as the Everfree Forest back home."

"Ah think Ah'd prefer facin' a timberwolf than any of them Clefts," Applejack stated.

"And no more backtracking!" Pinkie cheered, tossing confetti everywhere from out of nowhere. Her celebrating abruptly ended as she brought a hoof to her chin. "Wait a minute. Why doesn't this...feel right? It felt like we should have been at this a lot longer."

"We've got nothing better to do at that place anyway." Mario turned to face his friends, holding out the Crystal Star they recently acquired. "That monster's not going to be needing this anymore, right?"

Pinkie shrieked, startling everyone as they all looked at the silly pink earth pony. "WHAT!? MARIO'S TALKING!?!?!?!?"

"Pinkie, what are you talking about?" Starlight questioned. "Mario always talks."

"No! Not like that!" Pinkie pulled out several stacks of papers out of nowhere, skimming through each of them faster than she blinked while panicking. "Mario doesn't have any dialogue to SAY anything aloud! How's this possible!?"

"...Umm...I'm lost," Koops uttered. "I know Pinkie Pie shouldn't be questioned, but...can I ask this time?"

"I think she's had a few too many sweets for a whole lifetime," Goombella groaned.

Pinkie suddenly sped off toward Mario, scattering the papers she pulled out and having them randomly smack her friends about before skidding to a halt in front of Mario. The plumber blinked at her, watching the mare pull out her trusty hammer.

"Mario never has any dialogue," Pinkie mumbled, staring Mario directly in the eye, even bulging out cartoonishly to almost threaten to poke his. "How do I know you're not a changeling in disguise?"

"...Uhh, a what?" Mario questioned.

"Umm, I don't think there are any changelings in this world, Pinkie," Fluttershy piped up. "Good or bad."

"Then if you're the real Mario, then maybe you can answer a question only the real Mario knows." While Pinkie paused her interrogation for dramatic effect, the others slumped over, facehooved, or sighed in exasperation. "...Who was the little star who helped us find some of the captured Star Spirits in the Mushroom Kingdom?"

Mario blinked silently while Pinkie kept giving the plumber a skeptical glare. She had her hammer ready to strike, waiting for an answer. After a few seconds of agonizing silence, Mario chuckled.

"Of course I know his name. It's Twink," Mario said. "How could I forget the little Star Kid who conked me on the head and helped the princess while she was kidnapped by Bowser?"

Surprised, Pinkie dropped her hammer from the accurate answer. "Pinkie, that's the real Mario," Starlight said, she and the others giving the earth pony a blank stare. "The fake was beaten back at the steeple."

"Yes, and a copy can't beat the original," Flurrie added.

Pinkie wilted, but still felt unsure. "But...he's talking," she reasoned again.

"Oh, Pinkie, you're so random," Mario said with a small laugh. "Now, let's head back to town and move on out."

Mario led the way, but as he approached the fallen tree on the road, he just jumped over it. "Uhh, Gonzales, weren't we supposed to use your new blessing thingie to make us all smaller?" Scrappy asked.

"'Gonzales'?" Rainbow questioned. "Hey, squirt, you don't have to call Mario that anymore. We're not in the Glitz Pit."

"Oh. It felt easier for me to call him that," Scrappy said.

"Just walk around the tree, guys! It's not that hard!" Mario called out as he waited for everyone.

Pinkie gasped, making another scowl as the others just shrugged. "I even suggested that before," Goombella grumbled. "It's so simple." The Goomba began to walk around where the roots were, easily able to walk around it. "And there's no 'boundary' blocking me from going around either, Pinkie!"

Pinkie puffed out her cheeks, her face turning red as she fumed in frustration. "He...broke...the boundaries...of the game," she grunted. "That's...not...how this...works..."

Seeing Pinkie wasn't budging, Koops gently pushed Pinkie along. "Uhh, maybe we can see if Twilight Town has some delicious pastries the locals make. Would that...make you feel better?"

Slowly, Pinkie's red face slowly changed back to her coat's pink hue, letting out a huff with her forelegs crossed and a pout. "...Maybe, but I still don't like this," she grumbled.

Once they were around the tree, Mario came to a halt near the shed. "Eh, why don't you guys go on ahead? I think I still need to catch my breath after beating that monster."

"You sure, Mario? You don't look all that hurt," Starlight noted.

"Probably can't see the bruises under my clothes. I'll catch up in a moment, ok?" The others didn't think much of it, but they knew Mario could handle the Hyper Goombas on his own. They continued on as Mario saw them off with a small wave and a smile. Once they were out of sight, "Mario's" smile widened to a smirk as his eyes glinted a shade of red. "What a bunch of suckers. They believed me. Even the dumb pink one and her weird magic or whatever she does." Looking back toward the forest, the impostor raised his hand, clenching it tightly with a dark chuckle. "This body feels so incredible. But I know the real Mario isn't down and out just yet. As long as no one discovers what my true name is, I'll be unstoppable in this form."





Mario panted as he ran through the forest. He tried to avoid running into any foes in the Steeple and along the forest trail. As tough as he was, he was all alone now, and if anything got him, no one would know he was in trouble. With that Duplighost copycat pretending to be him, his friends were in far more danger than he was right now. He had to reveal the imposter and prove to his friends that he was the real Mario trapped in this shadow body.

Finally emerging from the forest entrance, Mario continued down the road, jumping over the giant log on the path and landing with a grunt. "Well, well, well. Didn't think you'd wake up so soon, slick." Mario gasped, hearing the imposter using his own voice nearby. Walking out of the shed, the disguised Duplighost walked out casually with his arms behind his head, giving the real plumber a cocky grin, his eyes red rather than being the original's blue. "Gotta say, you're pretty tough. No wonder you can take a few hits without falling over. And thanks to being you with my power, none of your friends are even aware that I'm a doppelganger."

Flabbergasted, Mario clenched his fists. He couldn't believe this Duplighost was actually stronger than he seemed. And unlike the others he and the others fought before, this one seemed to match him, personality and memories, to a perfect T. Even though Mario's face couldn't be seen on his shadowy form, the faker cackled in amusement at his frustration.

"You fell for my trap like a true sap! And if you haven't figured it out, I've practically stolen your identity," the impostor gloated. "I may transform into others and take their bodies, but for it to be permanent, I'll have to get rid of them for good." Mario widened his stance, ready for a fight if the doppelganger wanted to kill him for his complete identity. The fake smirked at his resolve, shrugging his shoulders with a shake of his head. "But hey, I'm not that much of a monster. I may cause mischief, turn people into pigs for fun, or steal bodies when transforming into someone, but that doesn't mean I'm that heartless. I'm willing to offer you a challenge, mostly to my amusement. If you can guess my real name, then I'll give back your name and body." Refusing to fall for anymore random tricks, Mario charged the impostor, throwing a punch at his face. The Duplighost didn't try to move, and when Mario struck his cheek, the faker's head only tilted away with the fist's impact. Mario was stunned in shock as the impostor showed no signs of pain, only grinning wider in amusement. "Not going to take a guess? Very well, slick. I gave you a chance. Now...it's my turn."

Quickly grabbing Mario's arm, the impostor slowly twisted it around, making the plumber grimace as he struggled to pull his arm away. The doppelganger reared his other fist back and gave Mario a swift punch in his own face, letting go of his twisted arm and sent the real plumber flying back hard. Mario crashed through the log, splitting it in half as both pieces spun about from the impact. Mario tumbled back as he hits the ground, sliding to a halt on his back with a pained groan. Sitting up while rubbing his sore face, he flinched as he saw the fake approaching him, wearing a menacing smirk while cracking his knuckles. Now, for the first time since encountering Bowser for the first time, Mario was absolutely frightened. He barely made the impostor flinch while he sent him through a huge, fallen log like a Thwomp dropping down to crush him. He never felt so powerless like this before, even with his earlier solo missions to save Princess Peach from the Koopa King.

Mario needed to get away from this literal monster, far stronger and smarter than lesser Duplighosts he's run into before. As the fake passed the broken halves of the tree stumps, Mario had a crazy idea. Looking down at his hand, he activated his levitation through his Lucky Star, never trying it on anything else besides his hammer. Taking the chance, he held his hand out, his purple shadow form veiling the lavender aura glowing around his outstretched hand. The Duplighost laughed, thinking holding out his hand in surrender would give him a chance to live. Mario clenched his fist, casting an aura around one of the broken halves of the log, and with a pull of his arm, he managed to fling it toward the fake.

Hearing something shift, the doppelganger turned to what was happening, only to get blindsided by the log flying at him. Knocked in a daze as he hit the ground, Mario quickly got back on his feet, grinning in success, then activated his enhanced speed and made a run for it, dashing down the road while kicking up dust. The imposter groaned, quickly shook his head, then growled angrily and chased after Mario.

Avoiding the startled Hyper Goombas, Mario swiftly arrived at the gates to Twilight Town. Quickly hiding behind a nearby house, he hid just in time as the doppelganger arrived as fast as he had. The fake looked around for any sign of Mario, only to let out a frustrated grunt as his eyes changed from red to blue, trying not to look suspicious in front of the Twilighters, all the ones turned into pigs now back to normal.

"You got real lucky, slick," he grumbled to himself, fixing his cap before composing himself. "No matter. I'll find you eventually. Gotta keep your image up until you're out of the picture for good."

The fake Mario calmly walked further into town, making his way to the mayor's house where the others were probably waiting for him. Mario peeked around the corner, breathing a sigh of relief, though he was sure to run into him again at some point. Carefully following behind him, with none of the Twilighters even noticing him as a living shadow, he watched his doppelganger enter the mayor's house, hearing some commotion going on from outside. Mario carefully peeked around the window, where the ponies and their other friends were thrown a feast by Mayor Dour.

"Mario! Thank goodness you've arrived!" the mayor said. "Your friends said you needed a moment, but I actually expected the worse and they were trying to keep me from suffering a heart attack!"

"Just making sure your town wouldn't get overrun with Hyper Goombas on the way back," "Mario" said.

"Oh, I'm sure they wouldn't be a bother," the mayor said. "Please, have a seat. For our utmost gratitude for you and your friends' bravery, I wanted to throw you a feast for stopping that monster."

"Mario" looked down at the spread on the table, some of the group already helping themselves to the food. The ponies had more of the vegetarian dishes, and Scrappy snagged some big pieces of fruit with his long tongue, stuffing his cheeks and chewing the insane mouthfuls before swallowing.

"Well, don't mind if we do," "Mario" said. "I'm starving."

Mario was appalled by what the monster was doing. No one even realized anything was off about him, though Pinkie seemed to be giving him a skeptical glare, so at least someone seemed to know...or Pinkie was being goofily suspicious with no reason whatsoever.

"Boundary breaker," Pinkie grumbled, then stuffed her face with sweets.

"Pinkie, quit pouting and spouting your usual nonsense," Goombella said. "I don't know what you're mind's on about, and I really don't want to know, but we beat the monster and we'll be on our way after we eat."

"This is a video game crossover, Goombella!" Pinkie shrieked, nearly making the Goomba scholar choke on her mouthful of food. "This game's supposed to have boundaries! We follow a linear path to and from destinations, can't cross areas without a certain item or ability, and we're not supposed to step out of or pass through these boundaries! That's breaking the fourth wall!" Pinkie then glanced at something, leaping over the group, then shook an invisible box as her screeching grew louder. "AND I KNOW ABOUT BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL! THAT'S MY THING TO DO FOR COMEDY RELIEF! YOU ALL KNOW THAT, RIGHT, READERS!?"

Mayor Dour seemed a bit nervous as he watched Pinkie freaking out. "Umm...Is she...feeling ok?"

"It's Pinkie Pie. Don't bother asking," Rainbow Dash said. "She's...being more weird than usual, but when is she never?"

While "Mario" ate, barely concerned with Pinkie's antics, Applejack noticed something on his clothes. "Say, sugarcube, were ya really fightin' off them Goombas back on the road before ya came back?"

"Mhmm," "Mario" hummed, his mouth stuffed full with some delicious dishes he sampled.

Applejack reached a hoof toward the impostor, brushing away some splinters from his shoulder. "Then why's there splinters on your clothes?"

"Hmm? Oh, this?" "Mario" shrugged off the rest of the splinters. "One of those Hyper Goombas slammed me into one of the trees on my way here. Must have chipped off some bark, but I took care of them."

Applejack's ears twitched as she gave the plumber a confused gaze. The Hyper Goombas would have done some serious damage if they were charged up, but she noticed he wasn't in any pain or winced at her touch. Humming suspiciously, she could tell "Mario" was lying about something. Outside the house, the real Mario saw her expression, counting another pony who could see through his deceit, but it won't be enough to convince them. They'd attack him on the spot if they saw him now.

As he looked away from the window to formulate a plan, Mario's thoughts were put on hold when he saw something outside the town. It wasn't too far from the town proper, but he could see a familiar red and white striped magician's hat and a shadowy figure the hat belonged to. Grimacing, Mario had the worst luck if the Shadow Sirens were here again. At least it was just Vivian, and there was no sign of Beldam or Marilyn anywhere else. He actually felt bad for this Siren after seeing how horribly Beldam treats her. Curious, he walked over to the small, wooden fence to see what she was doing out here.

He noticed she was looking for something, but also sobbed on occasion. "...Not here...Or even here..." Whatever Vivian was looking for, she wasn't going to find it if she was looking around the same spots over and over. Despite being an enemy of hers, Mario couldn't bear to see someone like Vivian upset. She seemed too innocent to be part of an evil group like the X-Nauts. Knowing he was going to regret this at some point, Mario hopped over the fence and approached the upset Siren. As she turned around to look around the same bit of tall grass again, she spotted him. Mario flinched, praying she didn't recognize his silhouetted form as he awkwardly waved at her. "...A...shadow...?" Vivian looked down, barely greeting Mario back. "...You here to replace me?"

Taken aback, Mario shook his head. Something must have happened to leave Vivian so downhearted if she wasn't being herself. He asked her what she was looking for, making her look up at him for a brief moment.

"I...I'm looking for something important," Vivian said with a sniffle. "If I don't find it...my sister will punish me again...A-And...I didn't even have it in the first place." Of course, Beldam was blaming Vivian again, just like before with the poster of Mario and the ponies back in Boggly Woods. Mario asked her what the item looked like and he could help her find it. She didn't even look hopeful getting help from who she thought was a complete stranger. "W-Well, it's kind of...egg-shaped, green, and it has a skull on it. My sister called it the Superbombomb."

If Mario's face could be seen, Vivian would see an expression of abject horror right now. She was looking for a bomb, and the Shadow Sirens were planning to use that on him to eradicate him. Luckily, she looked back down at the ground as he wilted. He was definitely going to regret this if the bomb was able to make an explosion that spanned a wide enough radius to decimate a small area like Twilight Town. He complied and helped in her search, looking around the different areas of the grass while Vivian continued moping in the same general location she was pacing around.

Heading a bit farther away from Twilight Town, Mario searched through the strands of tall grass to find this bomb. He looked around as well, wondering where Beldam and Marilyn were. As he approached the next patch of grass, Mario found the Superbombomb: green and egg-shaped, the surface bumpy, a skull on one side, and activated with a pull of a pin with a small lever attached to where the trigger was, almost like it was built like a grenade. Picking up the bomb, Mario let out a sigh as he looked back at Vivian. He hated being good all the time to some of his foes, but not all of them are as cruel as Bowser, or even the X-Naut leader with his plans for world domination.

He walked back to Vivian, getting her attention as he held the bomb out to her. "Huh? Y-You found it!" Vivian smiled, taking the Superbombomb from the plumber. "Oh, thank you so much! Beldam won't punish me when she sees-!" Her excitement quickly faded when she looked at the bomb. She let out a small, shocked gasp, her hands beginning to shake as she stared at the metal end that ignites the fuse inside. "...N-No...No...I-It's...It's broken..." Mario balked, getting a better look at the bomb. Sure enough, the metal tip was bent awkwardly, keeping the pin firmly attached and the lever firmly pressed against the bomb to keep the delay on the fuse. Vivian dropped the grenade, more tears streaming down her face. "B-Beldam...It must have broke...when she dropped it...She'll...She'll still blame me, and I'll get punished again for breaking it when I never even had it at all!" Vivian sobbed, her body falling to the ground as if she fell on her knees. "W-Why...? I don't even know what I did wrong!"

Unable to hold back any longer, Vivian bawled her eyes out, crying hard and not caring who was around to see or hear her break down like this. Her tears rolled down her face and dripped to the ground at her wispy tail. Mario felt bad for her even more. She was the youngest of her sisters, and mistreated so poorly that her own self esteem keeps getting shut down by her eldest sister. Not a single ounce of praise for anything good, called degrading names, and being punished for mistakes that she didn't make on her own. Luigi may be Mario's twin brother, but even though Luigi's younger, Mario would never mistreat his own family like that. A few playful banters and a little arguing, but he knows Luigi has done just as much as he had, even if he was just the number two hero or a sidekick.

Mario gently approached the crying shadow girl, giving her something her siblings probably never gave her; a comforting hug. Vivian was startled, choking back a hiccup as she stopped crying for a moment to look up at him. Mario silently nodded, giving her a gentle smile. He didn't know if she could see his lips, but she quivered and buried her face in his chest, accepting his embrace. She cried some more, her arms clutching this stranger offering her the comfort she needed. Mario just let her cry, gently patting her back as he patiently waited for the Siren to calm down. Vivian backed away, sniffling and wiping her face with the back of her hand.

"S-Sorry...I...I think I needed that," she said, but Mario assured her that she had nothing to be sorry about. Vivian felt a little better, but as she looked back down at the broken Superbombomb, she began to worry. "My sisters will be back any minute, and if they see this...I don't know what to do..." Realizing Mario was still beside her, she ignored the bomb and focused on the mysterious shadow figure. "I don't think I got your name. Will you tell me?" Mario winced internally. How can he just tell Vivian his name without revealing himself to be her enemy? She hasn't noticed what she looks like, so maybe he can play dumb? Vivian tilted her head, waiting for a response. All Mario could do was shrug his shoulders, unable to come up with anything. "You don't have one? Oh, that's awful.

"Maybe I can give you a new name? Like...Shadow!" Mario nearly toppled over in exasperation from the strange nickname. She had the same enthusiasm as Pinkie Pie, but the slight timid and innocent nature as Fluttershy. It was silly, but also cute in a way, making the plumber wonder why someone like her would ever do anything so evil. After recovering from his nickname, he shook his head and came up with another idea to keep his identity from her and maybe get some help getting it back. "Huh? You already had one, but...someone took your identity and name?" Vivian asked. Mario nodded, making the shadow girl gasp in shock. "Oh, you poor thing! But...how's it POSSIBLE to steal someone's name? Maybe you've got it worse than me?"

Mario shrugged, unable to imagine anything else worse than losing his identity. Seeing how she needed the full story, at least about what happened to him, he told Vivian everything that happened at the Creepy Steeple and the "monster" in the area that's caused trouble for the Twilighters. Vivian was shocked to hear the locals in the town being turned into pigs by a Duplighost, though regretted missing seeing them turned into cute piggies.

"Oh dear. And your friends don't even know they're with such a terrible monster." Vivian surprised Mario and gave him a hug, thinking he was probably upset that he's lost everything. He was sure to get it back if he discovered the Duplighost's name, however he was supposed to figure that out, but he accepted the hug. As she released him, Vivian had a much more confident expression on her face. "Well, since you've been so nice to me and went out of your way to try to help me, then I'll help you get back your identity." Mario asked her if she was sure she was willing to help, but she nodded, though with a small frown. "I...I don't really want to stay around my sisters anymore...They're never nice to me as you are. It's the least I could do after I felt like a burden to you with my problems.

"Now, how to find out what this monster's name is..." Vivian looked around town, spotting some crows cawing on the dead tree branches in town. "Hmm...Maybe we can hear what the birds talk about." Mario wondered how that would work. Although, Fluttershy has a way with animals and could talk with them, but she won't be much help with the impostor taking his place. "Oh, it's actually kind of fun. Follow me!" Vivian led Mario back into town and toward one of the trees with a group of crows near the entrance pipe between Twilight Town and the sewers. Stopping by the base of the tree, the crows were just cawing, looking around while minding their own business. Before Mario could ask what Vivian was going to do, she grabbed the plumber with a giggle. "Hold on tight!"

Mario yelped as Vivian dragged him down into a void beneath the former Siren's tail. He thought he wasn't going to breathe, but the void they were sitting in only hid them, and he was able to see outside of it within a dozen yards. Mario looked at Vivian, who bought a finger to her mouth, gesturing him to stay quiet, then pointed up to the crows above them.

"Well, that was weird, huh, guys?" one of the crows said, shocking Mario when he looked up and heard them speaking like a normal person. "Two living shadows, phasing beneath a tree?"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G~!" another sang, then let out a squawking laugh.

Mario and Vivian blushed, the shadow girl's face heavily flushed, even as she wanted to let go of Mario with the embarrassing teasing. At least Mario knew something about birds; they can be really impish when people aren't around. The other two crows let out groans and rubbed their foreheads with their wings.

"Oh, for goodness sakes, you are so immature," the third of the group of crows grumbled.

"Hey, not my fault he led into that!" the second crow said.

"And this is why the rest of the murder hates your style of 'comedy'," the first crow stated.

"Well, you never know! Maybe they are a couple and are actually making out beneath the roots of the tree as we speak." Vivian squeaked, quickly phasing her and Mario back to the surface, startling the second crow. "Ahh! Er, caw! Caw caw caw!...Caw?"

Vivian giggled bashfully, twiddling her fingers once she let go of Mario. "Uhh...M-Maybe not a...good example?" Despite the awkward eavesdropping, Mario could see what Vivian meant with her void phasing. "Let's...see if any other crows have something else to talk about."





Inside the mayor's house, "Mario" helped himself to Mayor Dour's spread, eating much more than even Pinkie Pie could in one sitting. The others had their fill, but they were astounded by the plumber's appetite. None of them thought he was capable of having such a high metabolism. While stuffing his face, the impostor glanced out the window, nearly choking as he saw the real Mario walking by, following Vivian to another area of town.

"Sheesh, Mario, slow down," Rainbow said. "When did you get a black hole of a stomach like Pinkie?"

"Mario" coughed, pounding his fist into his chest as he tried to breathe. "You good, Mario?" Starlight asked.

"Y-Yeah...Just...went down the wrong pipe," the fake chuckled, then quickly got up while leaving his plethora of dirty dishes for the mayor to clean up. "You know, I should...probably do a little patrol on the trail. Just in case something's up."

Again, Applejack caught the lie, confused by his strange behavior. "Say what?" she questioned. "Who else would attack Twilight Town?"

"Well...what if that Duplighost wasn't actually beaten and plans to get his revenge?" "Mario" suggested.

"But we whooped his butt and took the Crystal Star from him," Scrappy said. "He'll have to think twice before planning to get back at us after last time."

"Yeah, and I do NOT want to go back through that creepy forest again," Goombella said.

"Just a quick look around to be sure," the impostor said. "As a hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, it would only be fair to help the more unfortunate towns, right?"

Before he gave the others a chance to answer, the doppelganger dashed out of the house and ran down the road. "...Uhh...Mario's been acting...weird since we got back, hasn't he?" Koops asked.

"Like talking, breaking boundaries, and probably hacking through stuff to get what he wants like a big, fat cheater," Pinkie grumbled.

"Pinkie, are you sure you're feeling alright, dear?" Flurrie asked with great concern. "Do you say stranger things far more necessarily if you get ill?"

"Nope. I'm all Pinkie keen, but I still don't believe Mario's really Mario if he's SPEAKING WITH DIALOGUE!" Starlight facehooved in frustration.

"I really hope it's all clear so we can finally go," the unicorn grumbled. "Twilight and Princess Peach need us."





Mario and Vivian went around eavesdropping on some more crows for information. One group of them talked about something that not even Mario knew pertaining to the Creepy Steeple on his and his friends' first visit. There was more to the basement area of the abandoned, haunted church, and it was able to be accessed from the courtyard of the building. With that being their only lead, the duo made their way down the road to return to the Creepy Steeple.

"I hope we find the second entrance to this steeple you went to," Vivian said. "Who would have thought someone would live in a place filled with ghosts? It's kind of spooky." Mario had seen ghost houses before in the past, and was a bit surprised that not all of them were with hostile Boos like Bow and her home and neighbors back in the Mushroom Kingdom. "I mean, I lived in darkness and traveled around with my sisters. We're...kind of unique, I guess."

Mario was a bit curious about what Vivian and her sisters were supposed to be. He's never seen beings like her before, and with there being new sorts of foes or denizens living in this continent, he had a feeling what the Shadow Sirens were was definitely a very rare sort to run into. Before he could ask what Vivian was exactly, as they passed the shed and broken log near the entrance of the forest, they heard a yell as something jumped out at them.

Vivian shrieked and phased away while Mario leapt to the side, avoiding the doppelganger's dive kick as it lied in wait for him. "You really are slick, ya know that?" he said. Vivian reappeared next to Mario, hiding behind him after being startled. The faker turned to leer at Mario, eyes glowing red as he pointed his finger at the plumber. "I'm gonna get you back for smacking me with that stump. You might not physically injure me, but you sure catch me by surprise, don't ya?"

Vivian peered around the real plumber, giving a confused look when she saw the imposter. "Huh...? He looks familiar...Is he the one who took your identity?"

Mario winced, his eyes shifting nervously while trying to avoid giving the former Siren his answer. He was surprised that she didn't recognize his face, or even his iconic red and blue clothes, the "M" on his cap, or even his mustache. It was baffling that she, along with her sisters, had a really bad case of short-term memory loss. No wonder Beldam blamed Vivian for nothing over all the things she held onto instead of "relying" on the youngest sibling to carry them to risk losing them. The X-Nauts picked the wrong group to hire for their tougher jobs.

"Alright, cut the chatter over there!" the fake exclaimed, getting impatient from the brief conversation Mario and Vivian were having. "I gave you a chance, slick, but you're not getting another one after last time. And you're not getting away from me again!"

The disguised Duplighost pulled out his hammer and charged Mario. Mario was about to clash with the impostor, dreading fighting his third invulnerable foe. Before they could come close, Vivian came to the rescue, letting out a yell and raised her hands upward. Out of nowhere, the impostor was lit on fire, making him scream and rolled around to try to put himself out. It might not have done any physical harm with his name still unknown and practically invincible, but it was a decent enough distraction. Mario looked back at Vivian, only to yelp as she grabbed him and brought them both into a void where they stood to hide.

"Shhh," Vivian shushed the plumber as they watched the fake put out the flames.

Panting, the doppelganger stood back up and looked around. "Gaaaah! Where'd they go!?" he shouted. There weren't any physical hiding spots nearby aside from the forest, but he didn't go any further. "Darn it. Did he go back to the steeple?...Not like it matters. He's not gonna find anything about me anyway...Still, you can't be too careful."

The impostor headed back to Twilight Town, barely even aware that Mario and Vivian had watched him from the void hidden in the ground. Once he was far enough away, Vivian brought them back up to the surface.

"That was close," Vivian said. "I swear I've seen him before..." Mario thanked her for the save, which shocked her as she looked at him. "...Oh...Umm...You're welcome." Vivian felt bashful as she twiddled her fingers. "No one's...ever thanked me before...I always felt like I did something wrong, and...I thought you were going to yell at me for saving you when you were able to defend yourself." Now Mario felt even more sorry for Vivian. No wonder she left her sisters without so much of a second thought. He told the former Siren that his impostor was practically invincible unless they found out his name, getting an awful punch earlier from him after punching him first. "Oh my. Then it was a good thing I helped you. We need to figure out that monster's name before he takes over the world! That's Lord Grodus's job!...Er, former Lord Grodus for me, at least."

Mario figured Grodus must be the name of the X-Naut leader who's holding Princess Peach and Twilight hostage. He wanted to press Vivian more for details, but they had no time to waste. They both quickly headed into the forest, avoiding running into the impostor again if he bothered to come back to find them.





Back at Mayor Dour's house, as the others waited for "Mario's" return, Starlight tried to formulate their next plan of action. "After getting the next Crystal Star, hopefully we'll be one step closer to rescuing both princesses," she said. "If Mario didn't keep hold of the map, I could take a guess where the next one might be hiding."

"I doubt it would be as easy as this one was," Flurrie said.

"Maybe the next one will take us on a big adventure on the water!" Scrappy exclaimed excitedly.

"We would if Mario wasn't acting so weird," Pinkie huffed. "That's basically the next chapter, and that's a lot more exciting."

Ignoring the pouty pink pony, Goombella pulled out her own map of the region. "Well, there's not much of the region left to explore. There's this big, wealthy city called Poshley Heights to the east, and Fahr Outpost in the northwest."

"Ooh! A city, you say?" Rarity peeked over the Goomba to look at the less detailed, geographical map. "We should go there next! I do hope there's a spa we can partake in. It feels like ages since I've had a decent session."

"It's only been about two weeks since we set hoof in this continent, Rarity," Rainbow said.

"I know; two week FAR too long," the fashionista said.

Soon, "Mario" returned with a dour expression. "Guys, I've got some bad news," he said. "I don't think that monster's really down and out anymore."

Surprised, everyone, including the mayor, gasped. "What do you mean? D-Don't tell me he plans to turn us all back into pigs again," the mayor begged nervously.

"How do ya even know?" Applejack asked suspiciously, barely able to believe "Mario's" words after his last few lies.

"I may have lied about the patrol. I didn't want to worry the mayor," "Mario" explained. "Out the window, I thought I saw that impostor wandering around in the middle of town and followed after it. It must have been spying on us and the other villagers that whole time."

Before, Applejack could tell "Mario" was hiding something, but after hearing him out, she had no idea what to believe anymore. "So I guess we're not done dealing with the shapeshifter after all," Starlight said. Pinkie let out a loud groan, clearly expressing her hatred for backtracking as she previously stated back in the Creepy Steeple. "Did it head back to the forest?"

"I think so. I lost track of it when I cornered it, but it wasn't alone." The group looked at each other in confusion, wondering what sort of backup the Duplighost even had if it lived alone. "Hurry on back to that Steeple. I'll stick around and find out if it's trying  to hide in the shadows and kidnap any of the villagers."

Mayor Dour yelped in panic and shuddered in fright. "T-There's no end to this creature's wrath, is there?"

"Don't worry, mayor. We'll make sure it stays down." "Mario" turned to face the door, his eyes glinting red for a second as he smirked. "Permanently."





Mario and Vivian rushed through the forest and reached the steeple in record time. Going past the Crazee Dayzees was a cinch thanks to Vivian's ability with fire, though the Hyper Clefts were still a tough order. They soon arrived at the gates of the abandoned church grounds and stepped inside the property.

"Wow. This place really is creepy," Vivian commented. "You and your friends already searched around the inside of the building, right?" Mario nodded his head, suggesting they search around the grounds for a secret entrance inside. He mentioned there was a door down in the basement that was locked, so there must have been another way to enter and unlock it from the other side. There weren't any graves, but outside the walls of the property, there was a well. Curious, Mario headed over to it, Vivian following behind him. They both looked down into the well, finding it completely dried up, but there was a spring they could see down at the bottom of the pit. "You think it's down there?"

With only one way to find out, Mario hopped inside with Vivian following him after. Sure enough, next to the spring to bounce back out, there was a cavern, along with a huge group of Buzzy Beetles. Seeing enemies in their territory, the Buzzy Beetles tossed themselves to attack their intruders, a couple of them unfortunately bearing spikes on their shells. Luckily, Mario's charm helped protect his feet and flipped them over as he jumped on them. Vivian was impressed, watching him trouncing the spiked Buzzy Beetles without piercing his feet, though she didn't notice the pink aura around his shoes that the Lucky Star was granting him to prevent that from happening. Vivian just stood back and watched Mario trounce the Buzzy Beetles, knowing how thick their shells are and how impervious they were to fire.

Once they were dealt with, the duo continued onward. There was a wall blocking what looked like a hidden tunnel that could be pushed upward, however, there was no way to dislodge it to progress further. Luckily, Vivian helped Mario get by it by dragging him into a void, letting the wall slide back down behind them, continuing into a doorway that led to more of the Creepy Steeple's basement floor. Inside was just an empty room, and the only passage further in was a small hole only a tiny mouse could crawl through.

"Umm...Is this a dead end?" Vivian asked. "I can't transport others to and from other places if they aren't like me. I guess I'm not much help after all." She looked down in disappointment, feeling like she let down her friend and he'd call her such, too. Mario patted Vivan's shoulder, assuring her he had an idea. Pulling out his Lucky Star, he tapped into his newest blessing and shrank them down to size, startling the shadow being. "W-Whoa! W-We're...We're tiny! How'd you do that!? Do you have special powers like me?" Mario scratched his head, merely shrugging his shoulders in response. He was still learning about what else the Lucky Star is capable of, even after the first time the Equestrian enchantments were granted to him when he found Twilight and her friends after rescuing a Star Spirit from Bowser's henchmen.  "Oh. Did that monster also take your memories on how to use your powers, too? We need to stop him, and soon."

Slipping into the hole, there was a small staircase leading up to another dead end room, but there was a boarded up section in the middle of the floor. Growing them back to normal size, Mario ground-pounded through the boards, dropping right down the hole. Vivian followed after him, worried he broke his legs from the fall, but the plumber was just fine after brushing off the dust from his body. Getting a bearing on their location, Mario recognized this hallway. They landed on the upper walkway on the other side of the hall, the windows showing the empty hall with the opened box that stored all the Boos he and his friends released in the now haunted church. To his right, there was a small hole leading into the locked room Mario tried to check before.  Shrinking the two again, they dropped down into the room before growing them once again, which held a few chests, some wall shelves and a bookcase, cobwebs over the abandoned books and corners of the room, and to their surprise, a living parrot sitting idly on its perch. Mario was expecting Ms. Mowz to be here like the last few times, but he was surprised to see no sign of her. She probably would have blown his cover with Vivian anyway.

Mario found it odd that there was a parrot locked up in this room, and taken care of decently, too. The bird squawked, watching them curiously as Mario and Vivian looked around. Mario took a peak at some of the chests, one of the wooden chests holding a badge, the other with a Mr. Softener, the others with similar floral designs like the one in the hall had the key to unlock the door, and the other, strangely, was a strangely colored cardboard letter "p". Mario found that last one a bit odd, leaving the "treasure" in the box.

"Nothing?" Vivian asked. Mario shook his head in response. "Yeah. I looked at the dusty books. I don't think they'll be useful." She then glanced at the curious parrot, getting an idea. "Or maybe..."

Mario saw what Vivian was getting at, stepping over to her as she sent them into the ground to "disappear". "Skrawk? What the-?" The parrot looked around, wondering where Mario and Vivian were. "What happened to those weirdos?...Eh, who cares? Not like I even expected much company anyway, even if it was nice to see new faces." The bird let out a frustrated sigh, fidgeting around on his perch. "I mean, no matter how important it is that no one knows his real name, locking me up in here just because I know it, that's no way to treat a parrot!" As the parrot squawked angrily, Mario and Vivian looked at each other, then back to the bird. "I'm starving. I want a cracker, or maybe three. When the heck's feeding time, Doopliss, ya big jerk?"

The duo gasped, finally getting the Duplighost's name. "His name is Doopliss!?" Vivian exclaimed, popping her and Mario out of the void and surprising the parrot. He tried to act like a normal parrot, but the jig was already up. "This is great! Now we can get your name and body back, Mr. Shadow! Thanks, Mr. Parrot!"

Vivian hurried off to find the Duplighost, taking the key from Mario to unlock the door and hurried out into the hall. Mario sighed and chased after her before she got hurt. With the parrot left alone again, he shifted his eyes nervously, knowing he was going to be in so much trouble.

"...Uhhh...I think I better...hightail it out of here," the parrot said, flapping his wings and heading out the open doorway, making his escape before he was punished by his owner.





"Here we are again," Goombella said. "Back at casa de creepy."

"Strange how the walk back had no Crazee Dayzees or Hyper Clefts in the forest," Starlight Glimmer said. "Did something scare them off?"

"Maybe that creepy sheet ghost thing pretending to be Mario charged through them all while it escaped," Scrappy said. "All the better for us to kick its butt again."

The six ponies, Goomba, Koopa, wind spirit, and Yoshi headed inside the Creepy Steeple, Starlight teleporting the group up to the second floor walkway and up the tower to the Duplighost's pad. The moment the door to the stairway closed, Vivian hopped out of the hole leading to the basement of the church with Mario chasing after her. He could tell she was excited to do some good and stop Doopliss from taking anymore peoples' identities, but he didn't want her to find out who HIS was. She'd probably feel devastated, or stupid, when she realized who she was helping. She was already having a rough time with her sisters. He didn't want to add more emotional turmoil than she's already suffered in her life.

Racing through the forest, Vivian searched around for Doopliss to call the doppelganger out. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Vivian called out. Mario tried to stop her, but she had quite a lot of energy when she was a downer not too long ago. They were back at the entrance to the forest, Mario being heavily cautious if Doopliss was lying in wait for them again. "HEY, BODY STEALER! COME OUT AND FIGHT US AS YOURSELF, YOU COWARD!"

Mario flinched when VIvian started goading the Duplighost to attack them. He quickly covered the excited shadow girl's mouth with his hands, but the doppelganger heard the Siren's call as he stepped out from his hiding spot in the shed.

"A coward, eh?" the faker questioned with a snicker. "I'm sorry. Who's the one who ran away like a coward?"

Vivian pulled Mario's hands off her mouth, acting cocky as she approached the shapeshifter with a bit of a swagger in her movements. "You're clearly the big coward, you dumb identity stealer!" she said, making Mario groan and shake his head.

The Duplighost looked at Mario, then back at Vivian. "Where'd you find this chick, slick? She thinks she's all big and tough after setting me on fire, and pulling some disappearing act to help you escape? Hah! You two can't do a thing to me, and you made a big mistake trying to call me out." Mario growled, getting in front of Vivian to keep her from getting hurt by this demon of a shapeshifter. "You know, slick, I gave you a chance, and you blew it when you tried to fight me to get your body back...But, little dark and purple with the candy cane hat, I'm gonna make her your lifeline. If she can guess my real name, then I'll give back your identity. But if she's wrong-" He pulled out his hammer, twirling it around in his hand, then set it over his shoulder with a grin. "-then you're both paying the price. So, fire away, cotton candy curls. What. Is. My. Name?"

Vivian gave the faker a cheeky grin, standing beside Mario while giggling sinisterly. "Ok. You, Mr. Identity Thief, your real name is...Doopliss!"

The doppelganger's expression quickly turned from smug to horrified in milliseconds. He dropped his hammer, letting it fall to the ground behind him, his red eyes turning white as his face went pale.

"...W-What?" he uttered. "Y-You...H-How did you-!?" Vivian beamed as she watched Doopliss cower before her and Mario. "No...No. No! No no no no no!"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes!" Vivian said with a laugh. "Your name's Doopliss, and you owe my friend his identity back!"

Mario was a bit surprised that Vivian called him her friend. He was even seeing a much more confident and fun side to her, probably held back from being so shot down every single time she "made a mistake" and was free to be herself without unnecessary repercussions.

"T-This can't be happening...I-I...I don't feel good..." Knowing the spell keeping him impervious was now broken, Mario was ready to beat the tar out of Doopliss. Before he could approach the Duplighost, Doopliss screamed, grabbed his hammer, then sped right past Mario and Vivian, sending them spinning in place. "SCREW YOU JERKS!!!!!"

After the two stopped spinning, they looked back to the forest, where the doppelganger fled into and was possibly heading back to the Creepy Steeple. "Hey! Get back here! You made a promise!" Vivian called out. "He has some nerve! He went back on his word! Let's get him!"

Vivian ran off again, leaving Mario to chase after her again. Maybe keeping her in line was a good thing if she goes off to do whatever she pleases, just like how she wound up finding Flurrie's pearl necklace in Boggly Woods.





Back in the tower of the Creepy Steeple, the group searched all around the living space for any sign of the monster of Twilight Town. They flipped the place over, searched under every hiding spot there was to be found, and they found nothing.

"He's not here," Rainbow said. "We turned this whole tower upside down. Did he really come back here?"

"He might be hiding in the forest if that brute is nowhere in the steeple," Flurrie pondered.

"I still don't like how Mario's been the last hour," Pinkie grumbled.

"And she's still going on about this," Goombella sighed.

"...Maybe Pinkie's got a point," Applejack said.

Everyone glanced at Applejack, baffled by her claim while Pinkie bounded next to the farm mare with a relieved grunt. "Finally, somepony believes me! And it's my kind of, sort of, possibly related cousin with no definitive proof because our family trees are all conveniently smudged at certain points in our family lineage, thus leading to fan theories about us actually being long-distant relatives or not and many of those fans want us to be best cousins forever!" she said in one breath, taking in a big gulp of air before panting slightly, still annoyed that no one believed of her suspicions with "Mario".

"...Uhh, you two are actually...cousins?" Koops asked curiously.

"We're not actually sure, but that ain't important right now," Applejack said. "Ah don't think Mario's...actin' like himself?"

"What do you mean, Applejack?" Rarity asked.

"Ah can't quite put mah hoof on it, but...Ah think Mario's been fibbin' to us," Applejack said. "He wouldn't let anythin' like a Goomba knock him back that hard, even if it was a Hyper Goomba. There's some truth to what he's said about the Duplighost imposter and what happened, but he seemed to be hidin' somethin' from us."

"Maybe he didn't want us to worry about the Duplighost, but didn't want to hide it anymore when things got suspicious?" Fluttershy pondered.

Suddenly shooting up from the hole, "Mario" panted, clutching his chest as he staggered over to the group. "H-He's...coming!" he exclaimed. "T-That imposter...almost got me! But we'll catch him by surprise when he tries to come back to his hideout!"

"Alright! Let's show this jerky ghost what for!" Scrappy hopped around, holding his fists up and threw a few punches in the air.

The group prepared to encounter the doppelganger one last time, and finally be rid of him once and for all. A few moments later, the real Mario bounced up to the top of the tower, startling the plumber when he saw all his friends there along with the real impostor. Vivian joined in a second later, which shocked the others.

"Wait, is that...Vivian!?" Starlight questioned. "One of the Shadow Sirens!?"

"Oh, great! That Duplighost teamed up with those shadow witches!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"But...where are the other two?" Koops asked.

"They...might be lying in wait to ambush us!" "Mario" lied, which Applejack could tell this time.

Mario tried to explain that he was the real Mario, but when he looked at Vivian, he noticed the puzzled look on her face. "Wait...Why do they look...familiar?" Vivian asked, mostly staring at the six ponies behind the impostor, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Scrappy. 

"How does she not recognize us?" Rarity uttered. "We stand out more than we all do in Twilight Town."

"Who are these 'Shadow Sirens' you mentioned?" Flurrie asked curiously.

"Well, that one, Vivian, she had your pearl necklace," Goombella said, making the wind spirit gasp.

"Oh! That's the one who had my necklace!?" Flurrie exclaimed.

Vivian, confused, looked at the necklace around Flurrie's neck. She recognized the piece of jewelry she found as it brought back memories of her time in Boggly Woods. Even though getting scolded by Beldam depressed her, she finally remembered the wanted poster she and her sisters had with poorly drawn illustrations of Mario and the ponies from another world. She looked at her friend, then to the impostor who took her friend's body, and all the companions, slowly realizing who exactly her friend was. Mario knew he was found out now with the look of shock on her face.

"...W-Wait...The monster stole...Mario's identity...?" She looked at Mario, baffled as her lower lip quivered and pointed a finger at him. "Y-You mean...You're actually...Mario?" Mario grimaced, feeling terrible for tricking Vivian and lying to her when he fully gained her trust when she was downtrodden. He slowly, silently nodded, averting his gaze from hers. Vivian began to slowly back away from Mario, mortified at the fact her new friend actually being her and her sisters' enemy. "...I-I...I can't believe you're...I was helping..." Tears began rolling down her face, choking back a sob as she pulled the rim of her hat over her face, ashamed and embarrassed at her cluelessness. "I'm so stupid...How did I not notice it sooner when we ran into him!?" Mario tried to reach out to her, but Vivian screamed, throwing a fiery fist at him and punched him in the face, catching him off guard as he stumbled back. "Don't touch me! Y-You...Y-Y-You..."

Mario rubbed his cheek, feeling the burning sting from her enchanted punch. While Doopliss covered his mouth with his hand and snickered, the others were surprised by VIvian's shock and her reaction.

"Is...she really that clueless?" Rainbow asked. "She's almost as oblivious as Derpy."

Mario tried once more to reach out to Vivian and apologize, but the siren teleported away. Mario pounced at where she stood, but he was too late. He knew she would react negatively when she finally discovered who he was. She could have been a great ally, be free from being put down so much by Beldam, and do some good for those in need than follow her sisters or the X-Naut leader, Grodus.

"What's the matter, you metamorphous freak?" Doopliss asked mockingly. "You having a little spat with your girlfriend?" Mario turned to glare at the impostor, getting back on his feet with his fists clenched. Even without Vivian, now that his name was discovered and his spell was broken, he was sure to beat the Duplighost on his own. "Guess it was all just a ruse. He's not working with the Shadow Sirens at all. He was just using her to try to take my identity for good!"

Already done with Doopliss and his big mouth, Mario charged the cocky faker. Right as he was about to punch Doopliss in the face, Flurrie blow harsh winds at the real plumber, pushing him back as his feet slid across the floor. Mario lost his footing and was flung back, quickly backflipping upright once Flurries stopped blowing her wind at him.

"Not one more step, you copycat brute!" Flurrie said, cracking her knuckles while Goombella, Koops, and Scrappy stepped forward.

"You're gonna get a bonking like you won't believe!" Goombella said.

"Let me at 'em! Let me at 'em!" Scrappy shouted while hopping up and down, ready for a showdown with the "fake" Mario.

Mario grunted irritably, watching the smug look on Doopliss's face while four of his friends approached him to protect the impostor. The mares were all flabbergasted with what happened to Vivian, and how cold "Mario" seemed to be when mocking the "monster". They knew Mario never insulted his foes, not even THAT harshly, and he didn't so much as feel any pity for Vivian like they had before when they saw her getting scolded by Beldam. None of them had any idea what was going on anymore.





Vivian sobbed, sitting against the fence outside the Creepy Steeple. "I...I really am stupid," she whimpered. "Beldam was r-right...How can I be so dumb? Beldam will probably yell at me for running off and...helping our enemy..." She could imagine the shrieking voice of her eldest sister insulting her for working with Mario, along with breaking the Superbombomb after losing it. She cried more, wrapping her arms around herself as she curled up tighter. "I'll always be treated like nothing. No one likes me...No one cares about me..."

As she held herself, a brief memory flashed in her mind. She thought back to earlier, when Mario approached her while she was searching for the Superbombomb. The moment he hugged her to comfort her when she was upset, that was the first time anyone's ever done that for her. And he seemed so sincere, even though they were supposed to be enemies. He obviously knew who she was, but he showed her a kindness she's never experienced. He never once yelled at her for anything she did. He was even grateful for her save when they ran into Doopliss on the way back to Creepy Steeple. Beldam never praised her for anything, not even Marilyn, and she doesn't talk as much as her or Beldam.

With Mario, she felt so much freer than she's ever been since she decided to abandon her negligent sisters. She was so much happier being with him than her own family. But now that she knew who he actually was, still feeling stupid for not noticing the way he looked as a shadow, nor what Doopliss was, Vivian didn't know what to think now. Doopliss stole his identity and turned his friends against him. The plumber was by himself now, and she had promised that she would help him get his identity and friends back, yet she punched him and ran away from him, freaking out over who he was by his true identity and overlooked who he is as a person; nice, brave, supportive, and if she weren't in denial, had a handsome mustache.

She turned her back on someone who treated her much better than her sisters, and she just felt awful doing so. She owed Mario so much for helping try to make her day better. And he was in trouble: outnumbered, facing someone who's copied the same fighting skills he has, and he didn't want to hurt any of his friends to get to Doopliss. Wiping her eyes with her arm, she stood up and looked up at the tower, already hearing the sounds of fighting coming from the top. Mario was her friend, needing one when she did, and she was glad to have met him on such different circumstances. If they beat Doopliss, she only hoped the others would accept her for changing sides, gulping nervously as she didn't expect them to trust her.





"HAH!" Goombella shouted as she dove down on Mario after jumping in the air.

Mario leapt back, refusing to harm any of his friends, but no matter how many times he tried to get to Doopliss, Flurrie just blew him away from the doppelganger. Scrappy laid out some eggs and threw them at Mario, and while the plumber was dodging them, he snatched Koops in his mouth with his tongue, then quickly spat the Koopa out as the shell spun rapidly. Mario managed to dive away from Koops after avoiding getting blasted by Scrappy's exploding eggs, forgetting about Koops' ability to rebound his shell toss as he shot back and dive-kicked Mario in the back of the head. Mario hit the ground with a grunt, then gets squashed by Flurrie as she body slammed him. He managed to roll away before Goombella and Scrappy double-teamed him with their own jumps, feeling winded after the wind spirit flopped heavily on his back.

There was no way he could do this by himself. He didn't want to hurt his friends, at least not too much, but this was much worse than his earlier adventures dealing with Bowser and his kidnapping Princess Peach. Doopliss wasn't even doing anything to help, which should have hinted toward the others, especially his Equestrian friends, that he wasn't the real Mario.

"Just give it up, slick! Er, I mean, copycat!" Doopliss said. "You're no match for us!"

"Hey, Mario, why don't you help them!?" Rainbow questioned. "I'll join in if you're not!"

Rainbow flew over the fake plumber, but Doopliss grabbed the pegasus's tail, and to the ponies' shock, he flung Rainbow back to the girls as she landed with a painful thud. "Oh no you don't!" Doopliss exclaimed. He winced as he lost his cool, quickly regaining his composure. "I mean, he's pretty dangerous. What if he can transform into any of you and take any of your bodies away? This is for your own safety, Rainbow Dash."

"Ugh. You didn't have to throw me," Rainbow growled.

"Ok, now I'm starting to see what Applejack's saying," Starlight said. "Mario wouldn't have done anything to intentionally hurt us."

"And he has a power gifted by Pinkie Pie to foresee if any of us will get hurt by something dangerous," Rarity added. "He would have prevented us from getting hurt, but not by being that rough with us."

"I knew something was wrong with Mario! He doesn't talk, but the faker's the one who can't talk!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Girls, come on. It's-a me, Mario, your friend," Doopliss said. "I'm just looking out for you innocent, defenseless ponies."

"We aren't that weak! We can fight!" Rainbow argued. "You've seen us fight Bowser's army, and we helped you get Peach back before!"

Doopliss growled, getting fed up with the defiant mares. Mario and Vivian already figured out his name. He didn't want his cover to be blown with them, not when Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Scrappy already had Mario on the ropes.

"Now, you six listen here, and you listen good," he warned, pointing his hammer toward the ponies. "You six are staying back here until they finally end that monstrosity before it does anything worse. After that, we're leaving this stupid, dark and dreary place, and moving onward. I won't hesitate to knock all of you out to keep your yaps shut and far away from that thing."

The mares gasped in shock, unable to believe that "Mario" would ever threaten them. "You'd what!?" Rarity shrieked.

"Mario would never say that to us," Fluttershy said.

"I AM Mario!" Doopliss shouted.

"Fiery Jinx!" Hearing Vivian's voice echo in the tower, everyone looked around in confusion. All of a sudden, Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Scrappy were lit on fire, all four of them screaming and running around, trying to put out the fire. Doopliss turned around in shock, then was suddenly lit on fire too, letting out a yell and ran around screaming. The ponies were miraculously unharmed, though they looked at Starlight, thinking she cast a spell, but the unicorn shrugged in response. Mario stood up, and appearing from the ground in front of him, to his surprise, was Vivian. "Mario, are you ok? I-I'm sorry for...for running away from-" Mario immediately went to hug Vivian, making her gasp and cut her off from her apology. He was so glad to see her come back to rescue him, apologizing to her for lying about who he is and leading her on unintentionally. She blushed slightly, hugging Mario back, relieved to see he doesn't resent her for running away from him. "...I...I promised to help get your identity back," she said as she pulled away from Mario. "And I made my decision. I'm not going back to my sisters. I'm going to be staying with you...if you'll let me."

Mario nodded, accepting her without any hesitation. The flames on the attacked party eventually died down, leaving burn marks on the Goomba, Koopa, Yoshi, wind spirit, and Duplighost.

"Agh! That stupid fire again!" Doopliss growled as he glared at Vivian, the others staring at her too with her shockingly quick return.

"And...Vivian's back?" Goombella asked in disbelief. "...I have no idea what's going on."

"Who cares!? Get them both before they get me!" Doopliss shouted, but he quickly shook his head and pointed to the six mares. "I mean, before they get the girls!"

Applejack glared at "Mario" for his little slip-up and lying to cover it. "Now hold on just a second! Why are ya afraid of him goin' after ya, Mario?" Applejack questioned. "Or...are ya really 'Mario'?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to doubt which one's the real Mario, too," Starlight agreed.

Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Scrappy looked back, wondering what was happening with the mares glaring at "Mario" now while they were fighting the shadow figure. "Umm...D-Did we...miss something?" Koops asked.

"I'm not sure," Flurrie uttered.

"Let's just beat up the monster so we don't get confused!" Scrappy suggested as he faced the real Mario. "That'll stop the confusion!"

Vivian quickly stood in front of Mario with her arms outstretched, willing to defend him for his friends' sake. "Wait, you've got the wrong Mario!" she said.

"Like we're going to believe you!" Goombella said. "Where are the other Shadow Sirens!?"

"L-Listen, I know you might not believe me, but it's true!" Vivian said nervously. "I'm sorry for burning you all, but I had to do something to get you away from Mario!"

"Wow, this broad is dumb!" Doopliss said, losing any of Mario's mannerisms as he reverted to his own. "I'm obviously the real Mario! You're gonna believe our enemy and the jerk who tried to steal MY identity!?"

"He's the liar!" Vivian exclaimed, pointing to Doopliss. "That is not the real Mario; his real name is Doopliss!"

Doopliss cringed, his eyes flashing white for a moment before he clenched them shut with a growl. Everyone noticed his reaction, confusing them even more.

"The heck kind of name is 'Doopliss'?" Rainbow questioned, making the Duplighost wince and yell out as he began to clutch his head.

"S-Shut up already!" Doopliss growled. "Don't listen to the Siren! She's completely stupid!"

Vivian grimaced at the insult, swallowing her sadness of her self doubts to stay strong for Mario. Applejack looked between "Mario" and Vivian, and between the two of them, what Vivian said had more honesty than anything the real impostor had been spouting for the last several minutes.

"...Vivian's tellin' the truth," Applejack said, startling everyone. She then looked at the shadow figure of Mario's silhouette behind the former Shadow Siren. "...Mario? Is that...really you?"

Mario nodded his head. And to show proof, he pulled out his Lucky Star, the arms and body of the star glowing with the magical enchantments granted to him by the Mane Six when they rescued the Star Spirits. The five members of the Elements of Harmony recognized those colorful lights, then looked to Doopliss.

"Tsk. Big whoop! I've got the real thing right here, you fake!" Doopliss said as he pulled out HIS Lucky Star blindly from his shirt. The star pendant may have looked the same, but it was all a bronze color; not a single bit of it had any other color or shimmer to it. "See? Same dumb star necklace! Given to me by that little Twonk kid!"

"His name is Twink," Rarity corrected. "And he's a precious, brave little Star Kid who helped us in the Mushroom Kingdom. You said his name correctly before."

"No, I'm sure I said it correctly," Doopliss argued.

"Then you should know a bit more about us since you, your brother, and Peach visited Equestria a few times," Starlight said. She wanted to give the impostor a tougher question that Mario knew, and now that he seemed to be stumbling with names for some odd reason. "Who are the rulers of Equestria?"

"Pth, easy," Doopliss scoffed. "Celaphane and Loophole. How dumb do you think I am?"

Mario shook his head while the ponies glared at him. "Wrong answer, 'Mario'," Starlight said as she lit up her horn, ready to blast the fake plumber.

Doopliss realized his mistake, his spell fading away more as whatever memories he copied from Mario were immediately forgotten. "I'm so confused!" Scrappy exclaimed. "I don't know Gonzalez - er, Mario, that much, but..." The other four partners glanced at the real Mario, then back to the impostor. "...My head's hurting!"

"He messed up Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's names," Applejack said. "Up until town, he's gotten a lot of things right, but Mario wouldn't fumble them up that hard."

"Or threaten us to stay back," Fluttershy added, shocking Scrappy as "Mario" was going to hurt his Mama Fluttershy.

"His real name Doopliss!" Vivian said, calling out his name making the Duplighost yelp and cry out as his body twitched in agony. "He tricked all of you and kept his name a secret to keep his spell from being broken! But now you've been found out, Doopliss!"

"GAAAH! Cut it out, ya freaky fire-bending witch!" Doopliss said, but not in Mario's voice this time; he spoke in his own. The room went silent as the impostor froze in sheer terror, slowly looking around to Mario's friends. Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, and Scrappy could now see who the real impostor was, never noticing that they were actually hurting the real Mario until now, and they were ticked. "...Uhhhhhh...I-I mean...L-Let's-a...go?"

Pinkie slowly rose up behind Doopliss, her mane and tail drooping and losing its fluffy curls, clutching her hammer in one hoof while tapping the head menacingly in her other with a terrifying glint in her pinkprick-sized eyes. "You were the fake all along," she muttered darkly. Doopliss turned to face her, immediately regretting it as Pinkie turned into Pinkamena. She was scarier than anything he's ever turned into before. "I knew I was right when you started having dialogue..."

While Doopliss was stunned silent, Mario gasped as his Lucky Star reacted and his irises were able to be seen in his shadow body as they turned pink. He saw Doopliss snapping out of his shocked stupor, smacking Pinkie's hammer out of her hoof, then retaliated by smacking the earth pony hard in the face with his own hammer, sending her crashing into the wall and knocking her completely unconscious. Once the vision ended, he quickly tapped Vivian's shoulder, telling her to help Pinkie.

"Huh? Is she the pink one?" Vivian asked. Mario quickly nodding, warning her she was going to get hurt badly, and she needed to help her avoid Doopliss now. "O-Oh, ok!"

Vivian quickly ducked into the ground, appearing underneath Pinkie. Doopliss's fright quickly turned to rage, and just as Mario saw, he smacked Pinkie's hammer out of her hoof faster than she could blink. Just before Doopliss pulled out his own mallet to slam into Pinkie, Vivian's arms shot up from the ground, wrapped around Pinkie's barrel, and with a yelp from the party pony, she sank into a void and barely avoiding getting smacked hard by the spinning fake plumber. Doopliss yelped as he missed, coming to a stop as he looked around for any sign of Pinkie. The others were shocked and even more irate at the Duplighost doppelganger for that near sucker punch.

"Oh, that does it! THAT's the real faker, alright!" Rainbow shouted, then flew swiftly into Doopliss, sending him crashing to the ground. "You're gonna regret that, buddy!"

Doopliss growled, kicking the pegasus off of him, only to be met with a furious baby Yoshi flutterkicking over them, then repeatedly ground pounded the fake hero. "Don't! You! Ever! Threaten! My! Mama! Again! You! Big! Jerk!"

Doopliss wheezed after getting slammed down by the small Yoshi's powerful drops. He managed to grab Scrappy, squeezing him tightly between his hands, which was a big mistake as he was going to face Fluttershy's wrath. The animal lover charged at them, grabbing Pinkie's dropped hammer, then slammed it down hard on Doopliss's face.

"Drop my baby Yoshi right this instant!" she shouted, his fingers weakly obeying as he groaned with a comically flat face in the shape of the hammer. "Thank you."

Before grabbing Scrappy and taking him away from Doopliss, Fluttershy gave the Duplighost another whack in the face. While he was lost in a daze, Starlight picked the impostor up with her magic aura, shaking him back to consciousness. Pinkie and Vivian popped back out from the void, Pinkie in a bit of shock after getting rescued by the shadow girl.

"...Wow. I can't believe you saved me," she said to Vivian.

"W-Well, Mario said you were gonna get hurt," Vivian said nervously. "I-I trusted him, so-"

Vivian was once again surprised with a hug, and from Pinkie Pie as her hair inflated back to its poofy style. "I knew you weren't such a bad pony! Or, shadow creature thingie, but you know what I mean!" Her third ever hug, which felt so much better when it came from someone else other than Mario, like she was being accepted. It ended a bit too briefly, but they had a Duplighost to deal with as Pinkie joined the others circling Doopliss. "Good thing Mario still has his own Mario Sense, which you can't take away, you nasty wannabe ghostie!"

Doopliss finally snapped awake, unable to move in Starlight's aura, realizing he's screwed. "Uhh, hey, can we just talk about this or something?" he tried to reason. "I mean...I get so lonely and bored out here sometimes."

"You tricked us, and all those people in Twilight Town!" Goombella said.

"And you made us attack the real Mario while you did absolutely nothing!" Flurrie added.

"Not a good copycat if you hang back and lie like a big, fat chicken!" Scrappy said. "Even Rawk Hawk isn't a big coward like you!"

"You're just a pathetic monster, barely even threatening up close," Rarity said. "And you tried to take Mario away from us!"

Doopliss growled, trying to break free from Starlight's hold. "I would have gotten away with it if slick over there didn't become such a nuisance!" he said. "Her and the stupid, annoying witch who barged in on my property!"

Mario stomped over to Doopliss, telling Starlight to drop him. She obliged, but before Doopliss could escape, Mario turned the impostor around, then proceeded to give him a swift punch in the gut. It felt good for the plumber to inflict pain on the identity thieving creature after his last attempt on the trail. Doopliss wheezed and struggled to breathe as he clutched his abdomen. Gritting his teeth, Doopliss reached into his clothes, but Mario knew exactly what he was doing as he tried this the last time. Catching a glint of red, Doopliss pulled out the Ruby Crystal Star. Mario quickly grasped the Duplighost's arm, flicking it hard, causing him to yell in pain and lose his grip on the Crystal Star. It flew over the circle and landed next to Vivian, who leaned down to pick up one of the important jewels Grodus needed to open the Thousand-Year Door.

Mario shook his head in disappointment, not going to be fooled by that trick again. Doopliss giggled sheepishly before grunting as he was pummeled by the heroic plumber, and given a proper beating that will beat HIM rather than his victim knocking himself out. After getting punched to the ground, Mario grabbed Doopliss's feet, then spun him around in place, making him scream out as they spun faster and faster before Mario let go, sending him flying past his friends.

"So long, gay ghostie!" Pinkie exclaimed as everyone watched Doopliss slam into the wall of his "property".

Doopliss slid down the wall, falling on his stomach as his feet hit the ground. Knocked for a loop, he exploded in a puff of smoke, reverting back to his real form. No longer in control of his form, Mario's body began to glow, and in a puff of smoke as well, his body was back to normal as well, colors, features, and all. Everyone cheered, huddling around Mario, glad to have their real friend back after mistaking him for the Duplighost.

"Sorry for getting a bit too rough on you," Goombella apologized. "You know we didn't mean it, right?"

Mario completely understood, not blaming any of them for the mistaken identity. They heard Doopliss groan as he sat up, rubbing his sore body. When he looked up at them, he gulped nervously as he received glares from Mario's friends. Especially Pinkie as she returned to her creepy, more threatening state.

"...Uhhh...I-I think...I think I hear my laundry calling!" Doopliss said, giving the group a short, sheepish grin before panicking and running toward the window, jumping out, and panting heavily as he ran through the thick forest.

"Good riddance to that guy," Rainbow said. "Hope we don't see his stupid face again."

"We might not if he transforms into somepony else," Rarity said.

"Well, at least he won't ever bother Twilight Town ever again, though we're going to have to explain to Mayor Dour who he was actually thanking earlier," Starlight said. Soon, everyone turned their eyes on Vivian, who stood anxiously as all their attention was on her, nervously fidgeting with the Crystal Star in her hands. "Now...what do we do with her?"

Gulping nervously, Vivian approached the group, encouraged by Mario's kindness toward her and her drive to start her life anew as a good citizen. "U-Umm...H-Hello," Vivian greeted. "...S-Sorry for...burning you...and...everything else I did before..."

"Why are you here?" Goombella asked. "And...why come back?...Wait, what did you and Mario even do???"

Vivian stammered nervously, already dreading being rejected. Thankfully, Mario came to her rescue once again, coming over to her to wrap an arm around her shoulder and explained everything that happened with them, especially the Superbombomb that the Shadow Sirens were going to use that had luckily broke thanks to Beldam's senile ignorance. They all took pity for Vivian, especially Flurrie and Scrappy when they heard her sad tale, and ignoring Vivian's forgetfulness, she helped Mario when he was by himself and struggled to survive and get his identity back on his own.

"Wow. That's...a pretty gutsy move leaving your sisters," Starlight said. "I usually don't go with my own gut because...well, I just make things worse than they already are." She giggled sheepishly, remembering what she did to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna when they had their little sibling spat over who works harder and doesn't appreciate their sister's work for them after their long day or night respectively. "But, I had a similar experience as you did; doing something villainous, learning the errors of my ways, and turning myself around to be a much better pony than I was back then."

"You were a villain?" Vivian asked in shock. "W-What did you do?"

"...Uhhh...I manipulated everypony in a village I created to giving up their cutie marks to be equal, even taking them by force when Twilight and her friends arrived to help everypony I conformed into my 'religion', and sought revenge by traveling back through time to erase their friendship, not realizing I created alternate timelines where Equestria was doomed without Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom and their rainbow connection to being close friends in the future," Starlight summarized.

That was a lot for the shadow girl to take in, but she was surprised to know that someone as bright and colorful as Starlight could ever be so...sinister. "...Oh my...That's...much more evil than what I think I've done," she uttered. Vivian glanced at the other mares, confused by them accepting Starlight even after all she did to them and what she almost did to their world's future. "And...You all forgave her?"

"Yeah, she's cool now," Rainbow said.

"Twilight helped set her straight, and nothin' terrible happened in the end," Applejack said. "Well, at least for our time."

"That sounds like a complicated mess," Goombella said. "I can't believe time travel exists in Equestria." Humming in thought, Goombella pulled out a notebook and jotted down some notes. "Maybe I can travel there and explore ancient ruins and legends there after all this."

"W-Well...Mario wants me to join, and I want to join you all, too," Vivian said. "...Can I?"

The group looked toward each other, silently pondering their answer, though Pinkie made it vocal for them all. "Of course you can! The more the merrier!" she said. "We get a new partner for almost every new chapter, and you're the next one, Vivian!"

"You're not all that mean like your sisters, and if you have nowhere to go, you're welcome to join us," Fluttershy said.

"Uhh, what if...she leads us into a trap?" Koops pondered aloud.

"She doesn't even seem like the type to lure us in a trap," Goombella said, giving the Koopa a deadpanned leer. "She'd probably set off her own trap without realizing where she put it."

Koops grimaced and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "W-Well...S-Sometimes, you can never be...to careful?"

"I don't know much about her, and I didn't like getting caught on fire like that," Scrappy grumbled. "...But, if Mama Fluttershy thinks she's ok, then so will I."

As the rest of the group shared their opinions on Vivian, many of them positive, Vivian smiled as she shed tears of joy. "T-Thank you, everyone. I-I won't let you all down," she said, wiping away her tears, then realized she was still holding onto the Crystal Star Doopliss possessed. She really could just take it and return it to Grodus to feel some respect from her siblings, but they lost their chance, already gaining her new friends' trust. Vivian handed the Crystal Star to Mario. "Here, Mario. I think it's better if you hold onto it."

Mario nodded and took the Crystal Star in his hand, which shimmered and flew out of his hand to circle him, granting him its power. "Huh. You know, in hindsight, we probably should have seen the Crystal Star do that whenever Mario touches them," Pinkie said.

Everyone else stared at Pinkie in shock, then all groaned in exasperation. "Ugh, she has a point!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"How did none of us notice that from the last three times!?" Rarity exclaimed.

"Probably because we were more focused on helping the Twilighters," Flurrie said. "I'd forget my own necklace if I had to go out when the little Punies need my help."

"Let's just get back to town and figure out where the map wants us to go next," Starlight said.

Everyone collectively agreed as they finally left this church for good. Vivian followed along, feeling much more appreciated now with her new friends. Things were looking up for the reformed Shadow Siren, and she was going to do her best to help Mario, her very first friend.





"WHERE IS SHE!?" Back in the outskirts of Twilight Town, Beldam and Marilyn returned from their "siesta", only to find no trace of Vivian anywhere. "That scatterbrain must have wandered off again. She's late, and the Superbombomb is still missing!"

"Guuuuh," Marilyn grunted in agreement.

As the two Sirens searched around for Vivian, Doopliss panted as he ran past the two shadow witches. He tripped over his own feet, getting Beldam and Marilyn's attention as he grumbled something, then continued fleeing for his life.

"...What an odd creature," Beldam said. "Maybe it knows where Vivian went."