Chapter 2: Seriously, Bowser
"This place is beautiful! It's probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen!" Rarity exclaimed, taking in the scenery. The eight started walking again, their eyes locked on the landscape. Twilight used her magic to pick a rose, taking a long whiff of it.
"You're right! It's absolutely gorgeous! How did I ever not know about this place?" Twilight gaped, sticking the rose in her hair, behind her ear, not before de-thorning it.
"We should take a vacation here, it's so lovely," Pinkie Pie said. She jumped into a patch of buttercups.
"I think we should! That's a great idea, Pinkie."
"Can we hurry up already? I know it's nice and all, but we should really get moving," Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"Rainbow Dash is right, ladies. We should get movin'. And we should also try and find somethin' to eat. Ah'm starvin'," Apple Jack said, looking around for something edible.
"We have some-a mushrooms, but they're-a sorta magical," Mario told them, taking out a bright red one, that had eyes on it, they noticed.
"Why does that have eyes?" Rarity asked, disgusted.
"So they can-a see where they are-a going," Luigi said.
"They move?"
"Of course! What else-a do you expect from magical mushrooms?"
"I don't know. I've never had one."
"But Apple Jack is right. We should get something to eat before we go anywhere else. Besides, the sun is setting," Twilight said.
"Wait! I just realized something! There's nothing chaotic about this place! Not a stone out of order," Pinkie Pie told them, gesturing to the perfect landscape around them.
"You're right Pinkie! Maybe Discord's magic doesn't reach here?"
"Or, maybe it's all just an illusion caused by his magic? What if we're really still in the EverFree Forest right now, wandering aimlessly? And instead of a rose in your mane it's a stick, and not buttercups Pinkie just jumped in, but Poison Joke?" Rainbow Dash asked. The others thought carefully about her logic. What if was just an illusion caused by Discord?
"Well, we just have to hope it's not, and keep going. If it is, then, well, I don't know what we'd do. But, let's just try and find something to eat." Twilight disappeared over a hill, and the seven others searched for something to eat. Before long, the found a berry bush, an apple tree, and some wild strawberries. As they sat in the tall grass, munching on their food, the sun was getting lower in the sky. The purple unicorn yawned. "Well, I am tired. I found a little cave thing over that hill, and I think it was big enough for us all to fit in there." The others agreed and they went to the cave. It was quite roomy, as Twilight had said, and there was plenty of space for all of them, though the ponies kept to their own side and the brothers to the other. You know, different species and all. As soon as they were all comfy, Twilight spoke again. "Tomorrow we'll get an early start. Goodnight everypony."
"I'm still-a not a pony," Luigi whispered to Mario.
Mario opened his eyes, expecting to see the bright color of his ceiling above him. All he found was stone. Then he remembered. He was in someplace called Equestria, and so was his brother Luigi. Turning over to his other side to talk to Luigi, but found his brother was gone. He sat up, looking around. Perplexed and slightly worried, Mario stood up and walked outside. He didn't see anyone. Deciding not to call out, for he didn't want to wake the sleeping ponies, he continued searching for his brother. Where did Luigi go? A shout caught his attention. Mario jerked around, and almost fainted. Luigi was running from a giant beast with four heads, and he wasn't getting very far away from it.
"MMMMAAAARRRRIIIIOOOO!" Luigi shouted. He scrambled over some rocks and called his brother's name again. Meanwhile, Mario was already racing towards him. But then, one of the beast's heads swooped down, and picked Luigi up by his leg. His brother kicked it with his free foot, but it simply growled and shook him.
"Don't-a worry! I'll get help!" Mario shouted, reluctantly turning away from his brother and running back to the cave. Inside, the ponies were stirring, hearing the racket. Mario burst in, and gasping for breath, tried to tell them to help Luigi.
"Mario! What are you saying?" Twilight asked, but in his rush the plumber forgot to talk in English. He was trying to tell them in Italian. Realizing he was getting nowhere, he grabbed Twilight's hoof and dragged her outside. When she saw the beast, she gasped. "A hydra! And it has Luigi! Quick girls, we have to save him!" The ponies raced at the hydra. When it saw them, the three heads remaining shot down at them. Luigi was halfway in the hydra's mouth, and couldn't move his arms.
"MMMMAAAARRRIIIOOOO!"
"Don't worry Luigi! We'll save you!" Rainbow Dash yelled, shooting up towards him. She dodged the other head that came towards her, and held onto Luigi's shirt with her teeth. When she knew she was getting nowhere, she bucked the hydra's head. It yelped, dropping Luigi, and bit instead onto Rainbow's tail. She tried bucking it again, but it avoided the kick.
"Fluttershy! Get Luigi!" Pinkie Pie yelled, and the yellow pegasus whimpered. She tried getting to him, but she wasn't fast enough, and Twilight was busy shooting the hydra. Rainbow was also still trying to get away. But Mario ran to below his brother, and jumped up, trying to catch him. He wasn't fast enough, and Luigi fell through the ground, making a Luigi shaped hole. Just then, Rainbow had managed to free herself, and Twilight had blasted the hydra, making it run away. The ponies surrounded the brothers. Mario looked down into it. A groan came from within. A few random words popped up in front of them. Lives left: two.
"Oh, he lost-a life," Mario said.
"How? He was big, wasn't he?" Pinkie asked.
"I don't know. Probably not."
"Uuuuhhhhh…. Somebody needs to help-a Luigi…." Mario turned his attention back to his brother, and grabbed his hand, lifting him out. He hauled him into the grass. The ponies saw he was really short.
"Does he have to be small forever now?" Rarity asked.
"No. Here Luigi, eat this," Mario said. He dug in his pocket, holding up one of the red mushrooms.
"What is that going to do?" Rainbow Dash snorted. He rolled his eyes and gave it to his brother. Luigi took it and swallowed it. Instantly, he became taller. "Whoa! What?!"
"Growth mushroom."
"Hey, if I ate one of those, would I be big?" Pinkie asked.
"I don't know."
"Okay then. Are you alright Luigi?" Twilight asked. He rubbed his head and nodded. "Great! Come on, let's go!" She hopped up and set off. The others followed.
"Luigi, I think you should-a let me do the fighting from-a now on," Mario told him. "We don't need you losing anymore lives."
"Okay. But then what am I supposed to-a do? Run and hide? Oh, wait, that-a sounds like a great idea," Luigi said.
"Well, I don't know. But, at least be more-a careful. How did you find-a that hydra anyways?"
"Well, I was looking-a for some yoshis. I thought there-a might be some here. I was-a wrong."
"Oh. That was a terrible idea."
"I know… I didn't find any."
"Well of course you-a didn't! This isn't yoshi island! This isn't even the-a Mushroom Kingdom!"
"I know…." Mario looked at his brother's sad expression.
"Luigi, is there-a something the matter?"
"… Yes! I miss yoshi! I know-a I am no mamma, but I was his-a Mamma Luigi! I miss him."
"Oh, sorry. But don't-a worry, soon, we'll be back in the Mushroom Kingdom. And then-a you'll be able to see yoshi again."
".. Okay.."
The eight trudged over the hills, stopping only to eat and drink. It was a pleasant journey, not any monsters or obstacles. But, of course, any story, has some complications.
"Twilight, we've been walkin' for hours now. How long until we reach the end?" Apple Jack asked, taking off her hat and waving it in front of her face to cool off.
"It says these plains are over fifty miles across. To walk that far, we'd have to walk for at least three days," Twilight told her.
"Three days?! I'm exhausted already! I mean, my hooves are aching!" Rarity complained, picking up her hooves.
"Yeah! I agree with Rarity. It's super hot here! It's almost like a desert! The only water we've actually seen is the stream," Rainbow Dash said, looking back towards it.
"I know it's rough girls, but we need to find the Rock of Corayn. It's the only way to get Mario and Luigi back to the Mushroom Kingdom, and for the Elements of Harmony to work again so we can defeat Discord," Twilight said.
"Don't-a worry, I'm-a sure everything will be-a fine," Mario said. The ponies looked at him.
"He's right ya know! We haven't even seen any dangerous things since the hydra this morning! That must be a ticket that things are going good now, huh?" Pinkie Pie asked, smiling like she always did.
"Or, it could mean that all that bad luck we haven't used will come back right now in some big scary monster," Fluttershy squeaked.
"What do you mean?" Rainbow asked.
"Over there." She pointed with her hoof. The others looked to see what she was talking about. When they saw it, Luigi hid behind Mario.
"And I thought Fluttershy was a scaredy pony," Dash muttered, seeing the cowering plumber.
"That's-a no scary monster! That's Bowser's ship!" Mario exclaimed, pulling his brother up beside him.
"How-a did he get-a here? I thought that he sent us-a here to get rid of-a us?" Luigi asked.
"I-a don't know, but he's-a up to no good, that's-a all I can tell."
"Bowser? Is that the guy you were talking about earlier?" Twilight asked.
"Yes."
"Well, then we'll just have to talk some sense into him!" Rainbow yelled.
"That's not-a possible with the Koopa King." They waited in silence as the huge flying ship landed, and the drop door opened. A huge turtle looking creature stepped out of it. His hair was red and spiky, and so were his eyebrows. His shell was green, and had spikes coming out of it. He wore spiky black wristbands, and had horns coming out of his head. He had huge claws, and his tail had spikes. A black spiked necklace was tight around his neck. Bowser stomped up to the group, and some koopas followed after him carrying a woman.
"Princess-a Peach!" Mario shouted, and she turned her head towards his voice.
"Mario!" Peach called, standing up in the cage.
"That's Princess Peach?" Twilight asked, impressed by her beauty.
"That's Bowser?" Rainbow Dash asked, gaping. The huge turtle approached them. "But he's so… so… awesome!"
Bowser stopped a few feet in front of them, grinning evilly. Luigi fainted, and Pinkie Pie caught him on her back.
"So plumbers! We meet again!" Bowser growled.
"What do you-a want-a from us?" Mario called, glaring at the King.
"I don't want anything from you except for you to never return! That's why I came here. You see, after you left, my troops informed me of something called the Rock of Cory."
"Corayn," Twilight corrected him. He opened his mouth, and without a word, released a torrent of fire straight at her. She yelped, putting a hoof in front of her face. When it was gone, her mane looked very similar to when she freaked out about the future, and Spike burned her hair. "Sorry!"
"And, I realized something: what if you managed to get it? Well, I couldn't have any of that! So, I'm going to get that rock, and leave this place, leaving you stranded here forever! And you'll never see your precious Princess again!"
"Mario, help me!" Peach cried, as the koopas brought her back to the ship.
"Not to-a worry Princess, I'll save you!" Mario exclaimed, leaping at Bowser. The Koopa King punched the brother, and sent him sailing, his fire powers disappearing. Bowser laughed, seeing Mario downed.
"Ha! Why doesn't the other brother come give it a try?" he asked mockingly. Pinkie Pie glanced at the fainted Luigi on her back.
"Um, I don't think he's up to it," she said uncomfortably.
Bowser laughed deeply, shaking the earth.
"Bye forever plumbers!" With that, he walked back towards his ship. The door closed, and it took off, leaving the ponies and brothers below.
"Oh no! What are we going to do Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked, helping Mario get up.
"I don't know! We'll never reach the DayMoon Mountains before Bowser does! He has his ship, and all we can do is walk!" Twilight exclaimed, stomping the dirt in frustration.
"Wait a minute! Can you teleport us all there Twilight? With your magic?" Rarity asked.
"I don't know girls. That would require a lot of energy. I could barely get us three and Spike away from those dragons! No doubt eight would be too much. Besides, I think Luigi would have a heart attack if I did."
"Oh, yeah. We'll just have to travel faster then! Come on, let's go!" Rainbow Dash shouted, and the ponies took off.
"Can somepony please help me with Luigi? I can't run that fast with him sideways on me!" Pinkie yelled, falling behind. Twilight quickly stopped, and lifted him with her magic, keeping him suspended in the air.
"Come on!" the unicorn told her, and they continued on their way.
"We can't run anymore Twilight! We need to stop!" Apple Jack yelled.
"But we have to get there before Bowser does!" she argued, pushing forwards.
"We can't keep going! Rainbow Dash is barely flyin', Pinkie Pie has started walkin', Rarity is all the way back there, and Fluttershy is gone! Ah don't even see Mario anywhere! We need to stop for the night. We can hardly see!"
The unicorn looked around her. Rainbow had fallen, trying to run, Pinkie Pie had flopped to the ground, Rarity was just a dot behind them, and Fluttershy and Mario were nowhere in sight. Twilight stopped, sighing. AJ was right. They had to stop. As the group slowly joined again, they found refuge under some high bushes. Twilight set Luigi down, the only time she had since picking him up. He had been in a dead faint all day.
"Finally, we stopped! I was afraid you ponies had left me!" Rarity breathed, sitting down next to Pinkie, who had fallen asleep already.
"Sorry girls. I'm just worried about this, that's all. And by the way, have any of you seen Fluttershy or Mario?" Twilight asked.
"Well…" Rainbow Dash started.
"What?"
"Earlier, Fluttershy was behind, and then she fell, so Mario went to help her. I came up here to tell you but you didn't listen! You just said we need to keep going and then you went faster. So, I flew back, and they were gone! Just gone! I don't know if they went the wrong way or something, but every time I tried to tell you, you weren't even paying attention."
"Oh no. What have I done?! They could be anywhere! How are we supposed to find them before Bowser gets to the DayMoon Mountains?! We're doomed!" Twilight wailed, putting her face in her hooves.
"Maybe we should just go back. I mean, what are the chances of us actually getting to the DayMoon Mountains in the first place?" Rarity asked.
"We can't do that! We have to save Equestria from Discord! If we don't, we'll have let the whole kingdom down!" The purple unicorn tapped her head, trying to think of a way to find them.
"Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight everypony," Rainbow said. The others murmured theirs and drifted off into sleep.
"M-Mario? Where are we?" Fluttershy whimpered. The two had been ambushed by some of Bowser's troops, and were captured. They were sitting in pitch blackness.
"Probably in one-a of Bowser's dungeons," Mario told her. She let another whimper. Suddenly, the light flicked on, making them blink and shield their eyes.
"So, here we are again! I thought about it, and decided to just make sure you didn't get that rock. So, I sent out some of my troops to take care of the rest of your group. Too bad you're not there. Your wimpy brother cracks under pressure, doesn't he? And I know just the thing to make him crack!" Bowser said.
"And what-a is that?"
"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get to see it!"
"Don't-a hurt mah brother!" Mario threw himself at the cage bars holding him back.
"Ha! Don't even try it plumber!" Bowser marched out of the prison chamber, leaving Mario and Fluttershy alone again.
"Mario, we have to help them! We can't just let him take them!" Fluttershy said.
"Just-a wait, maybe I can-a find a way-a outta here," the brother replied.
"Any luck?" Twilight asked, pulling her head out from a rabbit hole.
"Nope," Rainbow Dash said, positioned on a high up cloud, with her eyes narrowed and a hoof at her forehead.
"Natta," Apple Jack agreed, coming up behind them.
"No trace," Rarity sighed, un-lighting her horn that she was using to search for the two.
"Nothing," Luigi said, landing on the ground after using one of his Super Leaves.
"Goose egg," Pinkie Pie murmured, popping up from nowhere.
"How is that possible? We've searched everywhere and still no sign of them!" Twilight growled, stomping the ground with her hoof.
"What if they were stolen by Bowser?" Rarity asked.
"Bowser's already on his way to get the Rock or Corayn. He wouldn't be here."
"Are you sure about that?" Rainbow asked, taking the unicorn's head and turning it around. A huge army of koopas was coming straight for them.
"Those were sent by Bowser, no doubt!" Apple Jack snarled.
"We have to push past them and then continue looking! Come on!" Twilight shouted, charging at the huge swarm of them. Luigi gulped and ran with them, smacking goombas with his tail. The ponies bounced on their heads, flattening them to the ground. Bob-ombs started dropping, making the six spread out. Bullet Bills fired out of huge cannons, spattering dirt everywhere.
"They're too many of them! We have to retreat!" Rarity screamed over the racket, dodging yet another bullet Bill.
"We have to find Mario and Fluttershy though!" Twilight argued, stomping on a koopa's head and kicking its shell at some goombas.
"Twilight, we can't win!" Apple Jack shouted, holding her hat to her head as a bob-omb exploded right next to her.
"She's right! You can't win!" The ponies stopped fighting as the huge ship appeared out of nowhere, having been hidden by an invisible spell. Bowser was holding a huge megaphone. "The only way I'll call off my troops is for you to surrender the other plumber to me!"
"Never! And give us back Mario and Fluttershy!" Twilight yelled. The Koopa King laughed.
"Not unless you give me Luigi!"
"No!"
"Okay then! Troops, full force!" The army suddenly started fighting harder, making it increasingly difficult for the six to fight. To make it worse, Hammer Bros, Thwomps, Lakitu, Magikoopa, and Boo came down from the ship. Luigi ran around in fright seeing the ghost, Apple Jack was nearly squashed by a Thwomp, Pinkie Pie was surrounded by Spinies, Rarity was trying to fight some Hammer Bros, and Twilight was fighting Magikoopa. Luigi pulled out his vacuum, sucking in Boo. He sighed in relief, taking off his heat and wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Whoa! I've never seen you without your hat on! Your hair's sorta cute!" Pinkie yelled, kicking the Spinies away, only to be replaced with more. Rainbow Dash was trying to push Lakitu out of his cloud. Luigi blushed, and was about to put his hat back on when another ghost came and took it out of his hand. He shouted, going after it, shaking his fist at it.
They were losing.
"We can't go on much longer Twi'!" Apple Jack grunted, kicking a Thomp's face. Twilight dodged a magic blast from Magikoopa.
"We have to!" the unicorn shouted. A hammer came out of nowhere and almost hit her in the face. She looked over, seeing Rarity knocking them out of the air when the Hammer Bros threw them. She realized her mistake and apologized, turning back to her fight.
"Yowch! You jerk, I'll teach you to mess with Rainbow-oof!" The cyan pegasus was knocked out of the sky as Lakitu hurled Spiny Eggs at her.
"See?! We have to do something!" Apple Jack shouted.
"You're ready to give up? Okay, koopas, get the plumber!" Bowser commanded, and the wave of koopas surrounded the still hatless Luigi, who immediately panicked and ran away. A Hammer Bro tripped him with one of their hammers, knocking him onto the ground. Some Koopa Troopas tied him up, then put them on their backs. Bowser landed the ship, and they surged onto it.
"HEELLPPPAAA LUUUIIGGII!" he shouted, trying to wiggle out of the ropes, to no avail.
"No! Get back here! He's ours!" Rainbow Dash screamed, shooting towards the flying ship. A Bullet Bill hit her out of the air. She landed with a thud on the ground.
"Rainbow!" Pinkie exclaimed, running to her friend.
"No! We'll never catch up to them! What are we going to do?" Twilight whimpered, watching the ship disappearing into the distance.
"We have to save them! Twilight! You need to teleport us to that ship! Now!" Apple Jack said sternly, stomping her hoof forcefully on the ground. "We don't have a choice anymore!"
"O-okay, I'll try! Prepare yourselves, everypony!" She lit her horn. The five ponies braced themselves, even a wobbly Rainbow Dash, who had stood up. Twilight grunted in concentration, her eyes closed. Suddenly, the ponies disappeared in a flash of light. They reappeared in a dungeon.
"Oof, did we make it?" Rainbow asked, bending over. They looked around them.
"We did! We made it!" Pinkie cheered quietly, so that no one heard them.
"Girls! You're here!" Fluttershy exclaimed, going up to the cage bars.
"Fluttershy! Mario! You're safe!" Twilight said.
"Yes! Now-a, where's mah brother?" Mario asked, going next to Fluttershy.
"Mario, he was taken. Bowser has him now. He took him in battle. We didn't have a choice."
"Mamma Mia! We have to-a get him back!" Mario stomped his foot.
"We know. First, we have to get you two out of here." Twilight lit her horn, and cut a hole in the metal. The edges glowed red-hot. They stepped carefully out of the prison cell.
"So, where do we head first?" Rainbow asked, looking around them.
"Well, I have-a been in here-a before, so we just-a head up these stairs," Mario told them, pointing at some wooden steps. The seven went quietly up them. The plumber opened the door at the top, stepping out to make sure it was safe. He motioned for them to follow him. As they turned a corner, a shape sprung out at them.
"Nobody makes it past me! Prepare yourselves, for Bowser Jr.!" The speaker, a miniature version of his father, growled at them. The only thing about him that was really different was that he wore a bib-like thing, with a mouth drawn on.
"Oh, you're so cute! I could hug you all day long!" Pinkie Pie squealed, scratching Bowser Jr. under the chin. He snarled, and she yanked her hoof back.
"I'm not cute! I'm menacing!" The ponies shook their heads. "Well, that gives me one more reason to send you back to the dungeon! Get ready for battle!" He bared his teeth.
"It's-a on!" Mario yelled.
The Mamma Luigi thing came from the Super Mario Bros Super Show, so yeah. I know yoshis come from Dinosaur World, but ya know, that would be a major hole in this story. Besides, why else would Luigi be out in the dawn all alone without Mario? Guy has issues. Can't protect himself. And, how are you liking the story? I'm totally building this on the fact Luigi overreacts about almost everything. And, he is cute without his hat on, especially in the Super Mario Bros Super Show. So yeah, why would I pass up on that opportunity? Plus, I added his vacuum in, because that's how I roll. Have you guessed yet that I love Luigi and I would marry him if I could? Yeah, it's true. Ah, Luigi, you're just so cute, in an adorable, scaredy cat kind of way. Okay, enough of my babbling. Bye!
p.s. I know, I know, hydras are found in EverFree Forest. But, like the yoshi thing, it would be major hole in this story.