When we last left our heroes, they were trapped inside a labyrinth created by Dedede. Will they be able to get out alive, with all the manticores, Ursa Majors and whatnot? Also, Marx is in Appleloosa, and nobody knows! (Well, other than Little Strong Heart...) Will he succeed in taking over Equestria? Why do I feel that Dedede and Chrysalis are going to be involved in some way, shape or form? Why do I keep mentioning Discord? We shall see, dear reader... We shall see... But first let's see what is going on in Dream Land...
"WHAT?!?"
The scene was comical, to say the least. A Waddle Dee with a bandanna was standing next to a table, and another was standing near the door, only this one had a sailors cap. Cards were scattered all over the floor, and some on the table. Why? Simple. The Waddle Dee with a bandanna was building a house of cards when the Waddle Dee with a sailors cap burst in yelling that the kingdom was falling. In short, the house of cards had fallen down and now Sailor Dee was an inch away from being stabbed in the throat with a very angry Bandanna Dee's spear.
"Aaahhh! Nononononono, don't stab me!" Sailor Dee cried, in a slight Scottish accent. "I swear, it's important this time!!!
"Really? You said that last time as well." Bandanna answered angrily. He was normally a very calm Waddle Dee, but he had really had enough of all the interruptions. The first time, Sailor Dee had burst in claiming that all the Waddle Dees were being turned into paper. False alarm. Then Bandanna Dee had to leave for a special meeting, only to come back to find half the castle blown up and his house of cards destroyed. Now was the third time it had fallen down, and Bandanna Dee was considering using glue, both to keep the house up and glue Sailor Dee to the ground so he couldn't destroy anything.
"This time, it's for real!" Sailor Dee cried. "Goonie has gone mad, and he thinks that he's the king!"
Bandanna stared at his friend for a while, before laughing out loud. He removed his spear from next to Sailor's throat, stepping back to give the Waddle Dee room to stand up.
"Escy going mad?!" He laughed. "Seriously, if it wasn't for the fact that you're being completely ridiculous and making me laugh, I would pin you to the wall like I did to that Bonkers the other day!" He stopped laughing for a bit, happiness sparkling in his hazel coloured eyes as he remembered how scared the purple gorilla-like creature was. "Who even told you this?" He continued. "It's obviously a lie. You would have to be stupid to believe something like that! Yet again, you are a bit gullible..."
Sailor Dee, having gotten up, grabbed Bandanna by the shoulders and pulled him so that their faces were pressing up against each other. "Let me repeat." He said, looking Bandanna in the eyes with his sky blue ones. "ESCARGOON HAS GONE MAD. We need to get out of here. I'll explain everything later, but now we have to go."
Bandanna pulled himself away. "What? No. We're not going anywhere without Ninja Dee, alright Shawn?" He said, using his first name so that he would realise how much he was insisting.
"And, anyway, Dedede can stop Goonie, can't he?"
"That's the thing!" Sailor Dee - or "Shawn" - cried. "Steven is gone, Andrew. So is Dedede. And Kirby. And Meta. THEY. ARE. GONE. Poof! Just like that!" He said, spacing out his words so that his friend would get the full impact.
Bandanna Dee - or "Andrew"- blinked, confused. "J-Just like that? Gone? Poof?! W-Where do you think he went?!" He asked, his stern demeanor breaking down back into his shy one.
"I don't know." Sailor answered. "Simi said that they disappeared into a portal of some sort. But now we need to get out of here before Goonie find us! You see-"
"That's KING ESCARGOON to you!" Cried a voice from behind.
The two Waddle Dees turned and faced the door. Their friend, Escargoon was standing there, wrapped in one of Dedede's fur cloaks, with many Soldier Waddle Dees standing around him. One of the Soldier Dees was holding a rope that was wrapped around a small storybook-wizard-looking thing. A Simirror. But not just any Simirror. It was their friend, Simi.
Bandanna Dee adjusted his bandanna, his angriness returning. "Escy, what are you doing?! You can't be the acting king, not unless Dedede appoints you as one! It's logic!" He shouted.
Escargoon frowned. "Well, with the king supposedly dead, there's nobody else to take the throne. As his adviser, I am the only one good enough for the job! Logic!"
Bandanna grabbed his spear and pointed it at the snail. A look of fright gathered into Simi's golden eyes. "Bandy! Don't fight with him, just ru-MMMPH!!!" The Simirror's mouth was covered by another Waddle Dee, and the one that was holding the rope hit her hard upside the head, knocking her pointed hat over her eyes and bringing her to her knees. This enraged Bandanna Dee.
"HOW DARE YOU HURT SIMI!!!" He yelled. "She didn't do anything, you... you... DEMON BEAST!!!"
Sailor tried to stop him, he really did, but Bandanna was too quick. He rushed at the snail, the tip of his spear and his eyes glinting with a sense of malevolence against the gastropod. In short, English words; he was angry.
The Soldier Dees tried to stop the Waddle Dee with a bandanna, but their attempt was futile. In English words; it didn't work. Bandanna jumped onto the table and over their heads, stepping on a few, before landing right on top of Escargoon, knocking him down. He then attacked the Soldeir Dee that was holding Simi captive, as that Waddle Dee was standing near the door because he didn't rush to try and fight Bandanna when all the others had.
The Soldier Dee, no. 274, Mickey, gulped. This was going to hurt.
Bandanna Dee jumped over the frightened Dee, confusing him, but then he kicked backwards, knocking Mickey to the ground without hurting him. Much.
He then pulled the rope out of Mickey's paws, before picking up Simi with one hand (his spear was in the other), slinging her over his shoulder like a firefighter and rushing back towards Shawn.
The Soldiers tried to stop him again, jumping into the air to stop him from going over. So Andrew went under instead. Logic.
When he was in the clear, he dropped Simi, still holding the rope. Andrew then pushed his spear into it's holder on his back before taking Shawn by the paw and rushing towards an open window, his two friends being dragged closely behind.
"Andy, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Sailor cried. Bandanna Dee just smiled.
"Trust me." He said.
And with those last two words, he, Sailor and Simi jumped out the window.
"What in the name of Celestia?! What the hay is this?!"
Steve and Rainbow Dash were standing in front of a giant metal manticore. Steve was giving Dashie a deadpanned look, almost as if he was saying, "It's a giant robot. What else did you think it would be? A cupcake?!" Which is ironic because in actual fact this is precisely what he was thinking.
Rainbow Dash was getting bored of staring at the metal masterpiece and started to walk back towards the doorway, not giving a damn that the door had closed. (Look how many damns she's giving! That's right! NONE!) She was planning to kick it down anyway.
Steve continued to stare at the lion-like creature for a few seconds, before following pursuit of the rainbow haired pegasus.
"How do you think we're going to escape?" Rainbow asked, completely ignoring the elephant in the room.
Steve shrugged.
Suddenly, the elephant in the room roared.
The pair turned sharply just in time to see the manticore's eyes light up gold.
"HOLY CELESTIA!!!"
The two jumped at just the right moment, managing to dodge a heavy blow from the metal beast's huge paw.
A laugh suddenly echoed from a speaker.
"HA HA HA HA!!!! Do you like it? We thought ya would!"
"What do you mean, we?"
Dedede clicked his tongue. "That's for me ta know and you ta find out, sweetie!"
The penguin cleared his throat. "Now, I'm controlling this baby, and the only way ta get out is ta deactivate it! Let's see how ya do, huh?"
The manticore moved again, going after Dashie. She flew out of the way, weaving around it and picking up Steve, putting him on her back.
"Do something! At least try to make a scratch!" The rainbow haired pony cried desperately.
As the manticore turned and leaped at them, Steve pulled out some shurikens and threw them at the beast's nose.
They didn't seem to affect the manticore, even though they got stuck into the metal armour.
The manticore snapped at them, almost grabbing Dashie's tail.
As soon as the beast landed, it swiped at the group with it's big claws, scratching Rainbow's hind leg.
"OW! Oooh, that's it!"
The pegasus flew up to the top corner of the room, before dive-bombing the beast, with Steve hanging onto her for his dear life, extending his rake to add extra damage to her attack.
Just before she hit it, she reared back up a bit, so that she kicked it instead of headbutting it. Steve adjusted his weapon.
They made contact. Rainbow kicked his head back, and Steven's rake pierced through the metal, ripping of a chuck as the manticore's head was flung back by the force of the kick.
Unfortunately, as the metal beast was flung back, it grabbed onto Dashie's tail, pulling them both to the ground.
The force of landing on its bum caused a chunk of metal to fall off of the manticore's back, reviling a red button. Dashie and Steve, however, were left with only a few scratches as they landed on the crystal floor, although Steve had fallen off of the rainbow haired pegasus' back.
Dashie soon noticed the manticore's new development.
"Steve! See that button? It might do something! Come on!"
Steve was hesitant. Dashie didn't notice. She flew up to the beast while it was still down and pressed the button.
The manticore, who was halfway between getting up and swiping the pony away, suddenly collapsed, its gold eyes fading into black.
"Oh yeah! We did it!" Rainbow cried, landing in front of Steve. The Waddle Dee wasn't so sure.
It wasn't long before they heard a rumble behind them.
Dashie turned, expecting to see a door open to the outside world. It did. Expecting some kind of dramatic second phase of the boss? Well, you're not getting one.
...
Just kidding.
Just as Rainbow Dash arrived at the door, it shut closed in her face.
"Hey! What's the big idea?!"
Dedede's voice echoed from above.
"Ha ha ha! Meet stage two of Metal-Manticore 1.0, that is, Metal-Manticore 1.33 and 1.66! The Manticore-Twins!"
Just as he had finished speaking, the impossible happened. The manticore split in two, and extra arms and legs came out of where it had split, making two manticores of equal size. Their eyes lit up; one had blue, the other one red.
The battle had only just begun.
Twilight and Magenta stared up at the Ursa Major. Twilight gulped, sweat running down her face.
"W-why isn't it attacking?!" she cried. "It should be attacking!"
"It's not attacking because I am controlling it!"
That voice wasn't Magenta's. No, no... that would make her overpowered, which would make her a Mary-Sue. No, this voice came from next to the Ursa.
"She only listens to me, and my master!"
A pony came out of the shadows. She looked like... no wait, that couldn't be right...
...The pony who came out of the shadows was an exact replica of Twilight Sparkle!!!
The real Twilight gasped. Magenta took a frightened step back. This couldn't be possible, could it?
The only difference between the two Twilights was that one was wearing a whistle on a string around her neck, and had green eyes.
Fake Twilight laughed.
"Don't you worry. We won't hurt you. Not yet, anyway!"
He voice was smooth, and almost identical to... if only a bit higher than... no... it couldn't be... Chrysalis?
"My name is Minerva. And I was hired by Dedede as a test for you."
Magenta clenched her paws into fists.
"That fat lard ball can go eat his stupid tests, we're busting out of here!"
While Magenta was being sassy, Twilight's head was filled with thoughts.
What does she mean by "master"? And why is her voice so familiar? And how could Dedede know to hire somepony who looks exactly like me? ...Chrysalis couldn't be involved in this, could she? ...No, she's dead... Right?
"... and you'll have to face our wrath!"
Twilight snapped out of her daydream.
"I'm sorry, could you say that again? I didn't hear you."
Minerva laughed mirthlessly.
"You guys are just as thick than master told me. And she said that you're the smart one!"
She cleared her throat and started walking circles around the two.
"Our little game goes like this: I give you three riddles and you have to answer them correctly. Get any wrong, and I'll set Dusk here on you."
She nodded her head towards the Ursa Major, who roared happily.
"Get, them all right, however, and then I will give you the hardest question ever. Get that right and we'll let you free. But we know that's never going to happen."
Twilight gritted her teeth. This was going to be hard, she could tell.
"First riddle! What do you lose if you share it?"
Twilight blinked. This one was particularly easy! She didn't know the answer, but it was still easy!
She sat on her hindquarters and thought a for bit. OK, less than a bit. Magenta answered before she got a chance to do anything.
"A secret. The answer is a secret."
Twilight and Minerva both stared at the Ponyan.
"How did you figure that out so fast?" Asked the emerald eyed unicorn.
Magenta smiled and sat down.
"I've had my fair share of secrets stolen and given to me. I think I should know how easy they are to lose."
Minerva growled, and then started to pace up and down, thinking of another riddle.
Twilight glared at Magenta.
"What?" The puffball asked.
"Just... just be more careful. You could've been wrong, and then we would've ended up as Ursa dinner!"
Magenta smiled.
"I could've been wrong, but I wasn't!"
"WHAT IN TARNATION!?"
Applejack shot up from where she was lying down. It was pitch black all around her, the only light coming from the hole in the ceiling which shone down on her like a spotlight.
Rarity was nowhere to be seen.
"Rarity? RARITY! Where are you? Can ya hear me?!"
"Of course, Applejack. I'm standing right here."
Applejack turned to see Rarity standing behind her.
"I found a way out." The unicorn said simply.
"Yeehaw! Let's go and get dat dere Dedede back where he belongs!"
Applejack followed Rarity down the tunnel and into darkness.
Somewhere nearby, the real Rarity was tied and gagged, surrounded by Changelings, trying to scream and warn her friend.
But it was too late.
"Now, where's the end?" Asked Applejack.
Rarity started laughing. Only, it wasn't a happy laugh. It was an evil one.
"Your end is HERE!!!" She cackled.
In a burst of green flames, Rarity changed. She changed into a tall, green haired, black alicorn with bug wings, cat-like eyes, holes in her legs and horn, and very sharp teeth.
"Chrysalis?! What? But you were dead! You..."
She never got to finish that sentence, because she was suddenly knocked out with a magic beam to the back of her head...
Ooh, that's not good. How is everybody going to get out of their problems now? Also, where are Pinkie and Kirby? Well, we'll soon find out. But first, to Appleloosa!
"What in tarnation is that thing?!"
Sheriff Silver-Star was hanging onto Braeburn's neck, both of them cowering in fear from the sight of this strange creature.
L.S.H. smiled sheepishly. The creature, who happened to be Marx, stood there, arms crossed, giving the two a deadpanned look, tapping his foot impatiently.
"And you call yourself a sheriff..."
Strong Heart spoke up.
"There's no need to be afraid! This is Marx, a visitor from another dimension!"
Silver-Star didn't seem to like this idea...
"Another dimension?! Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no... Don't ya remember the last time we had a visitor from another dimension?"
Strong Heart cocked her head to one side. "What do you mean, last time?"
Braeburn was there to bust the sheriff's theories.
"We've never had any visitors from any other dimensions!"
"We haven't?" Asked the sheriff. "Well then, sure as daylight this lil' fella can live in our town!"
Both Marx's and Little Strong Heart's eyes lit up with happiness and surprise.
"Really?" the buffalo asked.
"Sure!" Silver-Star smiled. "As sure as I'm dead! OF COURSE HE CAN'T STAY!!!"
"Why not?!"
Silver-Star didn't answer. He turned away.
Marx sighed.
"Alright. I know where I'm not wanted. The Popstarians didn't like me around either... But I guess it's OK... I'll just go find another town... and some other pony who won't shoot me because they think I'm an alien... It'll be hard but I'm sure I can manage... I think."
He started walking off, his head hanging low in sadness. Mock sadness of course, but they didn't know. Yet, there was maybe a bit of truth in his words... Maybe.
"Sheriff, you can't just let him off like that!" Braeburn protested. "He won't survive out there in the desert on his own!"
"Please let him stay!" Pleaded Strong Heart. "Our Chief didn't let him stay in our settlement, and he really had nowhere else to go!"
Silver-Star's heart softened a little.
"Well, OK. But you guys are giving him the tour, and if he ends up being evil... well... don't say I didn't warn ya!"
He was soon glomped by an overenthusiastic buffalo.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!"
"Alright there, lil' missy. Don't get too excited now, you may regret it."
"Pft, nothing's go'n ta go wrong, sheriff!" Braeburn assured him.
"You hear that Marx? You can stay!"
Not for long... the Noddy thought to himself. Not if I can help it...
"DUCK!"
Steve just barely managed to dodge a deadly blow from Metal-Manticore 1.33.
Dashie was wrestling with a rather agitated Metal-Manticore 1.66. Literally. She had gotten on top of the machine and was now trying desperately to rip off most of the metal while avoiding being thrown to the ground.
"It's no use! We're never going to beat these things!" She cried. "It's like trying to break a crystal with a toothpick!"
Steven suddenly had an idea. A risky one, but an idea nevertheless.
We might not be able to break a crystal with a toothpick, he thought to himself, but we might be able to break the wall of this labyrinth with a giant metal beast!
He changed direction suddenly, and M-M 1.33 followed him.
The Waddle Dee soon found himself cornered. Perfect.
The manticore pounced. This was his chance. He quickly turned and slid under the manticore.
Now, normally this wouldn't have happened, but it did, and it was mostly due to good luck. Because Steve had gotten out of the way, M-M 1.33 had nothing to stop it from sliding. He crashed, head-first, right into the wall, making a big crack run up it, and in turn making it crumble and fall onto the manticore. Now, here's where the luck came in. If M-M 1.33 had turned so he crashed into the wall with his side, the crack wouldn't appear. So Steve was really lucky. And M-M was really unlucky.
Now, that might be interesting, but it's not as interesting as what was behind the wall. And it wasn't daylight...
Somewhere outside, two cute little creatures awoke from their nap due to a loud BOOM coming from inside the crystal labyrinth.
"What do you think that was?" Fluttershy asked.
"I don't know," Meta answered, a little bit self conscious due to the fact that he didn't have his mask... and that he sound like a child. "But it's probably not good."
"But what can we do?"
Meta sighed. "We can't do anything. It makes me feel so weak that I am unable to help."
Fluttershy hugged him reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll be fine."
"What?!"
Chrysalis stared at the hole in the wall with wide eyes.
How in the wide realm of Equestria...?
Rainbow Dash and Steve stuck their heads through the hole.
"WHAT?! CHRYSALIS?!"
The two peered into the dark room. It was filled with Changelings and... hold on... in the middle of the room there was two chairs, and tied to those chairs were Applejack and Rarity!
Chrysalis's eyes widened.
"Um...uh... RETREAT!!!"
The Changelings did as they were told, and rushed past Steve and Dashie through the hole... only to find a Metal-Manticore waiting for them.
While the Changelings were figuring out an escape plan, Dashie and Steve ran to untie their friends.
...
And almost died broke some bones by tripping over something metallic.
"What the-! Is that Meta Knight's mask?"
... Just then they noticed that the door to the outside world was opened. Turns out Chrysalis had to use it to escape, but forgot to close it.
And that is how Rarity, Applejack, Steve and Dashie escaped, only to be glomped by an overly excited and relieved Fluttershy.
Now, before we see what's happening with Twilly, Magenta, Pinkie and Kirbs, I say we should go and check on a certain draconequus...
Discord was dis-bored. There was nothing to do, and everything was too quiet for his liking.
Before he gave up on finding fun and adventure, however, he decided to go visit a certain friend. Not Fluttershy, Twilight.
"Hello?! Anypony home?!" He called as he opened the door to the Golden Oak Library. No response. He walked in anyway.
"Well, this is boring." He muttered, looking around the rather messy room. It wasn't long before he discovered an open door, with stairs going down.
"Ooh, that's new!" He smiled, trotting down, hopping over one or two fallen books.
When he came to the bottom of the steps, however, he was stopped in his tracks.
"What is that?"
He slowly waltzed up to the test tube on the desk. It was filled with a blue and yellow striped liquid. He picked it up with his tail and took a good look at it.
"Why, this is... odd."
Suddenly, without warning, a white bullet flew out of the tube. It bounced around the lab before flying out the door. Discord teleported after it, only to find that it had gotten out by the window. Teleporting once more, he followed it outside, just in time to see it hit a cloud and open up into a big, spiraling portal.
... And that's the end. Forever. Thanks for reading. Bye.