“Fluttershy. . .” came Rarity's voice in a low tone. She was standing beside a low-growing clump of wild flowers.
“D-do I have to?” Fluttershy squeaked from the flowers.
“You already said and agreed to this yesterday.”
“Yeah, I know . . .” Fluttershy emerged from the mass of flowers and stood up. Rarity smiled.
“Good, now let's head off. The Everfree Forest is waiting.” She shivered. “Unfortunately.”
Pikachu and Mario were laying on the top of a building. They'd pretty much given up every ounce of hope that they had trying to get out of the god forsaken city in which they were currently stranded. They'd travelled across rooftops all night, but it was still a while until the end.
Pikachu shifted, sitting up. "Pika-Pika."
Mario glanced over with blue eyes. "I don't much think that'll work out."
"Pika?"
Mario sat up. "I doubt that-a asking the ponies down there'll help us any."
The mouse Pokémon hopped up onto his feet. "Pa-chu!"
"Really?"
"Pik."
"They won't be able to-a understand you, ya know that-a right?"
"Pika-Pika."
Mario stopped. "Uh, no. I'm not-a going down there."
Pikachu growled. "Pika!"
"They'll probably just freak out!" Mario retorted.
"Pikachu!" The mouse Pokémon bounced on his feet, then sent out a small jolt of electricity at the plumber. Mario leaped to his feet, the faint smell of smoke wafting through the air.
"Fine! But it's your-a fault if anything goes wrong," Mario grumbled, walking over to the edge of the building's roof. Down below, he could faintly see the shapes of ponies trotting around. Taxis and various other carts traveled on the roads as well. Deciding instead to go over to the alley to get down, he switched paths.
"Pika-Pika," Pikachu yipped. He bounded forward, watching as Mario hopped up on the edge of the roof.
"Ten coins they freak out." Mario leaped off the edge. Gravity pulled him down quickly, and he appeared as a red-and-blue blur. He readied himself to land, but suddenly something plowed into him. A grunt of pain escaped whatever had smashed into Mario. They collapsed onto the ground.
"What in Tartarus-?" a groggy voice cursed. Mario glanced at what had hit him. The pegasus, as it had wings, sat up. It was a male, and had a grey mane and tail and a lighter grey coat. He was rubbing his head in what was most likely pain.
"Watch where you're going, you idiot, you can't perform a stunt like that in city limits--"
The pegasus stopped ranting as he looked up with yellow eyes. Mario was already standing, and even though he wasn't a tall person, he was a taller than the pegasus sitting down.
"Ahh! What the hay are you?!" he exclaimed, wings flying open and taking him into the air.
"Hi, so terribly sorry to-a have made you crash, but I'm in need-a of assistance," Mario started, hoping this pony would listen.
"What, to take over our country?! Get away from me! Somepony, there's an alien in our midst!" the pegasus yelled at the top of his lungs. It must've been fairly loud, as several ponies appeared at the end of the dirty alley. There were gasps and a few shouts of surprise.
"Call the royal guard!" a mare's voice screeched, and the whole group of ponies scattered, taking off in different directions. Mario fumbled for words, his mouth open in shock.
"Pikachu!"
Mario looked up as a yellow blur came at him. Pikachu landed on his feet, his face one of surprise.
"Pika-Pika! Pikachu!"
Mario looked up and saw three pegasi hovering above them. They held spears in their hooves and had on golden armor that glinted in the early morning light.
"Ah, I see the ponies do-a have a royal guard," the plumber said weakly.
"Pika!"
"Right, let's-a go!"
The duo took off, not bothering to get back on a rooftop, for that would take too long. They heard one of the guards shout something before they came after them. The three guards shot forward. Mario briefly glanced over his shoulder.
"Throw!" the leader yelled. The three pegasi aimed their spears and before he knew it, Mario was leaping over the projectiles.
"Pika-Pika!"
Mario spared another glance as the duo were chased through the streets of the busy town. Ponies screamed and ran away at every turn. The guards chasing them swiped their spears from the ground where they'd stuck, not slowing down in the slightest upon doing so.
"Okay!" Mario replied to his partner's yipping. He turned and flipped his hand down, a small ball of fire forming in his palm. Mario threw it, hoping to hit one of the pegasi. The guards looked shocked, but merely dodged the attack and sped up.
"Pika!" the Pokémon growled in irritation.
"We shouldn't-a hurt them!" Mario argued. He was the good guy, after all.
Pikachu rolled his eyes and leaped in the air, turning midway. His cheeks crackled with electricity. The energy shot from his face, covering his entire body and zooming towards the guards. They were hit with the bolt of electricity, giving pained exclamations and falling from the sky. Pikachu landed on all fours once again, a look of victory on his face. Mario, however, looked slightly concerned. He eventually shrugged and caught up to Pikachu.
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie walked away from the train station. They glanced in both directions.
"Where should we start looking?" Pinkie asked.
"I have no clue," Dash replied. "Maybe I should get a better view—”
"Run! Monsters!" a pony screamed, sprinting past them.
The two mares glanced at each other before taking off.
"Oh, gross! Fluttershy, do I have mud on my hoof?" Rarity asked, lifting up her hind leg. The pegasus behind her pulled back at the sudden appearance of the appendage, but regained her sense of grace.
"Um, a bit," Fluttershy replied after a moment.
"Ew! Ick, get it off!" Rarity furiously shook her leg and the mud splattered all over Fluttershy's muzzle and face. "Oh, dear, I'm sorry."
Fluttershy wiped her face and then shook off her foreleg more gently than her friend had. "It's fine. Let's just keep going so we can get out of here." She shuddered, the wings folded on her back rustling.
"That's a fine idea." Rarity started off again on the narrow path that curved around the side of a mountain. There were assorted tracks and other prints along the worn path, so it seemed safe. Eventually, it leveled out and branched off to head back to the more dense parts of the Everfree Forest.
Rarity glanced back and forth between the two options. "Shall we go left or right?"
Fluttershy opened her wings and hovered over the fashionista's head. "I'd say left. The forest part is larger than this rather rocky area."
"Alright then! Let's be off."
Applejack and Twilight were sitting aboard a quickly moving train. Twilight was reading and AJ was sleeping, her hat over her eyes. Twilight had her eyes scanning the journal she'd made just hours earlier when they'd gotten on their train. It contained a quick sketch of each of the characters and a few details the mares had received when speaking to Mewtwo—mainly, their names. Once the characters were all rounded up, the unicorn planned to do some research.
The nib of the pen scratched across the paper, each mark with its own meaning. Twilight was busy sketching this 'Bowser,' who she had to say, looked rather terrifying. The drawings probably weren't the most accurate, as small details were surely missing, but they looked rather well for Twilight.
"Hmm, let's see . . . shell, spiky hair, choker . . ." Twilight murmured to herself as she gave the sketch a final look-over. "Yes, I think that's rather well done." As she finished speaking, her stomach gave a loud grumble. She sighed and decided the two of them had better eat.
"Hey, AJ," Twilight said, placing a hoof on the orange mare's shoulder and giving her a small shake. Applejack snorted, snout pointing to the air suddenly. Her Stetson tipped off her head and onto her chest.
"Huh? Oh, hey Twi," AJ muttered, sitting up groggily. She took ahold of her hat and placed it back upon her mane.
"Sorry to wake you. I just thought we should eat before we do any searching. We didn't actually eat at the café—which is weird now that I think about it—and our train is over halfway to our destination," Twilight explained.
Applejack blinked wearily and then nodded. "Ya know, Ah could go fer a meal. Definitely."
"Alright." Twilight smiled. "Here's the menu." She levitated the item across the table. Applejack took it and began browsing. While she was waiting (as she already knew what she wanted—she got it every time she was on a train), Twilight picked up her journal again and started adding some finishing touches on Mario.
Applejack glanced up. "So what's that you're workin' on?"
Twilight broke away from her journal. "Oh, it's a little book of details on the characters and somewhat on our mission. I've tracked everything in here." She held it up to Applejack, who briefly examined it.
"Seems kinda unnecessary," AJ commented plainly.
"How so?" Twilight asked.
"Well, Ah don't mean to be rude, but what's the point? We know what they look like."
"I was just . . . planning to do some research on them if they didn't have to leave right away. You know, first time being in our world, that's kind of a big deal, right? Besides, nopony else'll have this information!"
Applejack shrugged. "Ah guess."
Rainbow Dash swooped over the heads of citizens. Ponies were screaming and shouting and running every which way. Pinkie Pie galloped below, and each of the mares' faces were set in one of determination. They weaved their ways through the crowds.
"Monsters! Run!" a mare shrieked.
"Call the princesses!" a stallion wailed.
"Geez, you'd think they've never seen a monster before," Rainbow commented in a sarcastic manner.
"If it was that big mean turtle-thing, I don't blame them," Pinkie responded.
"Yeah, I guess not." She smirked. "But I wouldn't run away! I'd stay and fight!"
"I'd make friends!"
"Of course you would."
Rainbow narrowed her eyes and picked up her pace. She pulled ahead of her pink friend.
"I'm going to see if I can find them!" Dash called back, voice pulled by the wind. She turned her head back around and shot off in a burst of speed. Her wings beat a steady rhythm as she zoomed through the streets that were becoming increasingly emptier.
Finally, Rainbow skirted a building and nearly stopped in shock as two things ran down the opposite way. She blinked and performed a sharp turn, giving chase. As her speed easily outmatched theirs, she was upon them in a matter of seconds.
"Hey, you two! Stop!" the pegasus demanded, flying next to them. "Wah!" Rainbow curved to the side as a bolt of lightning nearly struck her. "Hey!" She shot forward and flew backwards in front of them. "I'm here to help you!"
As soon as she said that, the two skidded to a stop. Dash sighed in relief and floated down to the ground.
The red one, Mario or something, looked at her cautiously. "You're going to-a . . . help us?"
“Pika?” the little yellow mouse-thing squeaked.
Dash nodded. "I'm Rainbow Dash. My friends and I have been sent by Princess Celestia to scour Equestria for you and your pals. Uh, Mewtwo or whatever ended up at Canterlot Castle, so that's how we know."
"There you are, Dashie! I've been looking for you!" came Pinkie Pie's ecstatic voice. "And you found them!"
"This is my friend Pinkie Pie." Rainbow waved her hoof at the party pony.
"Nice to meet you," Mario said with a nod in her direction.
Pinkie Pie bounced on her hooves, declaring, “Yeah, we’re searching all of Equestria for your friends!”
Mario and Pikachu exchanged glances, unsure. They turned around, Mario sticking up one finger in a gesture of ‘give us a moment’, and their whispering voices were all that was heard. The two ponies waited while they talked. Eventually, the game characters faced the ponies again.
“Alright, but you're not-a going to throw us in dungeon, are ya?” Mario questioned curiously.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and prepared to respond, but Pinkie beat her to it;
“Of course not, sillies! Why would we do that? We might as well burn you at the stake before sending you back to your game!”
The three other beings stared at Pinkie Pie with trepidation for a brief moment. She stood as oblivious as always, a happy smile plastered across her face.
“Oookay,” Dash began once again, eyes narrowed at her pink friend, “let's get out of here as quick as can be, huh? Follow us, you two.” Rainbow lifted herself off the ground, wings flapping. She swiveled around and took off at a reasonable pace. The streets were empty—everypony was too frightened to come out, for fear of the ‘monsters’.
“Wait, Dashie, I just thought of something,” Pinkie said.
“What?” Rainbow asked as they went along.
“How are we going to get Mario and Pikachu out of here? I doubt we can get them on the train without causing a panic.” Dash screeched to a halt, hovering several feet in the air.
“Shoot!”
Twilight and Applejack stepped out of the train onto the platform below. The usual main building sat in front of them, but that was all. Trees surrounded them on all sides; the only thing leading out in a clear path were the train tracks. No other ponies got off at this spot.
“Alrighty,” Twilight began, taking the map out of her saddle bags and holding it to her face. Behind them, the train blew its whistle and, after several moments, revved up and went off on its way. “Here we are.”
“Yep, figured that much,” Applejack replied, rolling her eyes. She walked forward several paces, scanning the trees. “The real question is where do we start?”
Twilight hummed briefly in response, then lowered the map from her face. “I say we try and find some sort of animal or hiking trail, and follow that. Maybe we’ll come across something that tells us where one of them went.”
“That could take ages.”
“Yeah, but it’s all we have.” Twilight rolled up the map and stuck it back in her saddle bags—it had no purpose right then. “Shall we be off?” She looked to her orange friend.
“Ah guess.”
And the two mares began their trek.
Kirby laughed in joy—this was fun! He almost never had this much fun! Of course, the big dragon thingy didn’t seem to like it, but he wasn’t talking to Kirby. Right now, he was riding on dragon’s shell while they trekked through the forest. It was cool here. The only downfall was Kirby didn’t know where he was. How would he get back to the pick-me place?
Dragon growled under him, and Kirby swung around from where he’d been sitting backwards, watching the world go by. Dragon seemed aggravated. Kirby babbled something—dragon growled and pointed one large claw forward. Just ahead was a huge creature—what was it? Kirby wondered, gazing up at it. Suddenly, it surged forward. Dragon just narrowly avoided being attacked, and he jumped into the bushes. Kirby tumbled after him; the attack was unexpected. Once safe, he looked to dragon. He was peeking out of the underbrush. Was bigger up there? Kirby began to talk to dragon. Dragon seemed uninterested, but turned around and grunted at him.
A loud snarl burst rumbled from above them. Kirby watched in surprise as a clawed hand reached in and grabbed dragon in its fist. Dragon fought back, writhing and slashing, but his attacks couldn’t do much since he didn’t exactly have the longest range. Kirby yelled and puffed up, attaching himself to the hand wrapped around his buddy.
Dragon roared and bent down, sinking his razor sharp fangs into his attacker. Bigger barked in pain and tightened his hold on dragon. Kirby inhaled more and flew up to bigger’s arm. He ran up the length, hammer out and prepared to strike. Bigger barely felt him when Kirby delivered a incredibly hard whack from his hammer. Roaring, bigger flinched back and released dragon. Kirby jumped away from the flailing limbs of bigger. He hoped dragon was okay—he hadn’t exactly fallen a short ways. Bigger crashed into the ground and rolled back onto his feet after a minute. Sulking, bigger turned tail and waddled away. Kirby giggled—he’d saved them! He landed back down on the ground and found dragon stuck in it.
Dragon groaned and pushed himself up. Kirby clapped and bounced around. Wow, suddenly, he was hungry! Well, maybe not suddenly. You couldn't exactly ‘get’ hungry when you were Kirby. He glanced around and decided to eat some of whatever was around him. A moment later, a small swath of trees was cleared out, eaten by Kirby and his insatiable appetite. Dragon glanced up and sighed. He turned around, then stopped as Kirby appeared in front of him. The glowing blue eyes gazed up at him. Dragon hesitated, then patted Kirby on the head. Kirby gasped, grinning. He bounced around, doing a happy dance all around dragon—who already seemed annoyed again. Kirby hopped back onto dragon’s spiky shell—though he avoided the spikes. They continued on their way, dragon stomping through undergrowth and Kirby devouring pretty much whatever looked tasty. Of course, they didn't seem to be getting anywhere in their endeavors, but at least dragon didn't totally hate Kirby anymore. It seemed saving dragon was his ticket to salvation. Kirby laughed, taking hold of dragon’s horns. Dragon grunted as Kirby pulled himself onto his head right between them. Kirby waited for dragon to growl, but he didn't get one. Kirby smiled.