The Paper Pop-Up Book

by ThegoCarter110

A Prologue Ends as Fast as it Begins.

I felt like I was floating in space... All I could see was blackness and emptiness...

I couldn't even tell you how long it felt like I sat there... Time just sort of mushed together, so to say...

It was then that I saw a star with a huge mustache and beard appear out of thin air!

"Mario... Can you hear me, Mario?" That voice... I remember it from somewhere... It was an older voice that seemed to be full of wisdom...

"I'm Eldstar, a Star Spirit... I have something very important to tell you...
It concerns the princess... And all of the Mushroom Kingdom..."

I was about to speak up, but was interrupted by him saying. "But sadly, I haven't the strength to talk to you here...
Mario... I need you to come to Shooting Star Summit.
Please Mario... We Star Spirits will be waiting for you at the summit..."

It was then that he vanished into nothingness, and light started to pour into my vision.

My head pops off my pillow and I wake up in a cold sweat.
Looking around, I could see a blue carpet with a doorway on the other end of the room. I was also able to see a giant picture of those guys with the spotted hats...

Suddenly the door burst open, I couldn't help but notice that it was another one of the guys with the hats!
"Oh... Mario!
I'm so happy to see your awake!" He then started to walk up to me from the door way he was just in.

"You haven't opened your eyes for days and days! Everyones been worried sick!"

I then started to climb out of my bed while saying. "Is it ok to ask where I am? I still have a bit of a headache."

"We're in Goomba Village. It's a tiny Village that's west of Toad Town. The only residents here are me and a single family of Goombas."

"What exactly is a Goomba?"

The little guy seemed to tilt his head at this question.

"Did you land on your head or something Mario? You should know what a Goomba is!"

To be fair... I probably did land on my head, but that doesn't answer my question.

"Well, is this Goomba family nice?"

"Oh, only the nicest people... Goombas you would ever meet! You don't have to worry about them! Besides, there're the ones who found you unconscious in the forest and carried you here to get better!"

!!!
They saved my life!? I-I owe them now! After all, my Spike The Dragon Code says that I owe them a life dept until I repay them!

... Or not... Although AppleJack did teach me that I wouldn't have to repay her for saving her life... I'm also not supposed to be a dragon in this story...
I think...
I honestly don't know what I look like to them, but it's obvious that I'm not a dragon.

While trying to think of another question to ask, a image of a star with a mustache flashed back in my mind...
"Hey, uh, do you know anything about a star with a mustache?"

"Huh... A star with a mustache?" I could see that he thought I was crazy.

"Yes, I know how this sounds, but he said something about a place called Shooting Star Summit. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"Uhmm, are you sure you didn't just have a dream?"

"I could have but... I just wanted to make sure."
Ugh, I'm getting no where with this...

"It could have been a dream... But it also could have been something else... Well it could have been a message from a Star Spirt.
They live in a place called Star Haven. Shooting Star Summit is the nearest place to Star Haven, so it WOULD make sense."

...And to think... He thought I sounded crazy.

He then shrugged while saying. "But who knows? In any case, I'm glad you recovered; I'm sure the Goombas would be happy if you went to visit them."

Oh right, the ponys that I owe a life-

Er... The ponys that I have to thank... For saving my life...
"Right I better get going, thanks for taking care of me!" I then preceded to run out the door while hearing him call out. "Anything for you Mario!"

Running out into the yard, I couldn't help but notice a huge house with two big windows, and a beautiful front lawn!

Of course immediately after I looked at the house, I couldn't help but notice... Some pets?
They all looked kinda like short little... Chestnut things... That walked on two stubby legs...
They also had big eyes and a wide mouth with a single fang poking out the side of said mouth.

One with a pink bow on her head started to walk up to me. I then approached her and started to pat her head.
"Now what's your name?" I said as if I was talking to a puppy.

She in turn gave a confused look.
"My name is Goombaria..."

I would like to point out that the thing that I just deemed as a pet started talking to me...

"Umm, why did you start talking to me like that?"

I gave a quick cough before answering. "No reason.. I uh, think something got caught in my throat. BUT ANYWAY!"
I felt like hiding away for a little while...

Their was an awkward silence in air...only to be interrupted by the sound of hammering in the distance.

"I'll just go over here." I couldn't help but walk away from the weird moment.

Looking around I saw a few more Goombas... I think it's safe to assume that these are the Goombas that the... Guy told me... Why didn't I ask for his name?

Walking over to a fellow with a nice mustache, he looks over to me and starts to say.
"Ah Mario! Feeling better?
Feel free to rest in our house!"

"Um, no thanks, I really need to get going to a place called Shooting Star Summit."

"Shooting Star Summit?" He repeated. "What for?"

"Well... It's for something I can't ignore, do you know the way?"

"Well, I believe the summit is near Toad Town. But you'll have to wait for a little bit.
I have to fix this gate before you can head out east."

He then turned away to do more work on it while saying.
"That earthquake the other day really did a job on it. Seriously! I thought that the sky was falling... Or something like that."
He started to laugh to himself at what he was saying.

Overall, he seemed fairly enjoyable to be around.

"Anyways Mario, just relax, I'll have this fixed in a jiffy.
And feel free too check out the house while you wait. We don't get guests often so the company is welcome!"

That was a clear sign that I could go ahead and meet the rest of the family.

I could see a Goomba kid in a blue hat that seemed kinda shy. But I gave a polite nod as I passed by him to look at their house.

Looking inside, I couldn't help but feel like I was living back in the tree house...
If...you know, it was more like a house and not like a library.

The house has a table in the middle of the room and shelfs with all sorts of pots and jars lined up in them.

In one of the chairs, I could see an old lady Goomba taking a nap in one of the chairs. I know better then to wake her up so I chose to look around a little bit more and eventually stepped out into a... Balcony of some kind? I know theirs a name for it but I can't place my claw on it.

Taking a few steps out, I approach yet another Goomba that seemed to be tinkering with balcony.

"Whatcha doin?"

The Goomba quickly whipped his body around with a surprised look on his face.

"Ooh, you startled me! Hm, yes, Mario, isn't it?"
I nodded in reply.

"So you awakened at last! Good! I knew you would pull through!"

"Um, thanks Mr..."

"Call me Goompa. I'm the Goomba grandfather so... I'm Goompa."
It was soon after he said this that the balcony made a not so safe sounding creak.

"I'm sorry, would you mind giving me the details later? I'm pretty busy fixing the veranda."

Oh, it's called a veranda. That's the word I was looking for earlier!
"Ok, I guess I'll leave you too that."

I made my way back into the house and into the front yard again to pass some more time with the rest of the family.
After all! It's not like I was in a hurry to do something.

---

"So Twilight, what do you think of this 'Goomba family'?" I heard Rarity ask right next to me. "They do seem like a lovely bunch so far!"

"I can honestly agree. They seem like genuinely nice ponys... G-Goombas." I said tripping over my words to correct myself.
It's obvious that they could be considered trust worthy at least.

Looking over at the group, I immediately notice that Applejack got up and was about to say something.

"I hate to say it Twilight, but I'ma have to go back to the Orchard get some apples harvested."
Oh, right! I almost forgot that Applejack had work too do today!

"It's alright Applejack, if anything happens we'll fill you in!"

"Thanks Twi, I should be free for tomorrow though!" I watched her make her way out of the door before she tipped her hat towards us saying.
"Well, see ya girls later!"

After Applejack left though, I couldn't help but remember something. "Fluttershy don't you have a sick animal to attend too?"

A large gasp was then made soon after I said that. "Oh no! I completely forgot! Oh, I hope Angel isn't too upset with me!"

Feeling a bit worried, I ask Fluttershy. "Do you still have the medical book I gave you earlier?"

"Yes, of course! Don't worry Twilight, I'll go take care of Angle, you can stay here and watch over Spike."
A slightly guilty feeling came over me... I was supposed to help Fluttershy today...
"Are you sure you REEEEEAAAALLLY don't need my help?"

"Oh don't worry Twilight, I'm sure I can manage on my own! You can stay and watch Spike."

I looked over at the Paper Pop-up Book before looking back at Fluttershy, I couldn't help but appreciatively smile in return. "Thanks Fluttershy."
A smile of her own appears on her face as she leaves the library. "Don't worry, I should be able to come by later, if it ok that is."
I gave a nod in approval before waving Fluttershy goodbye, leaving Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity and Me to spectate Spikes adventure.

The bowl of popcorn was already starting to run out at this point.

"I'll go cook up some more popcorn, let me know if something happens!"

"Uh huh."
"Of course darling!"
"Okey Dokey."

Getting up from the couch, I start walking to the kitchen... Only to look back and see their faces.
They looked mesmerized, like watching some sort of spell was cast upon them... Erm, not a magic spell but... Well, it's like they were immersed in the greatest theater play of all time!

It's then a metaphorical lightbulb went off In my head! Although this idea is doesn't really help Spikes situation, I might never get another time to properly test this.

With a new devious plan I mind, I go and get the new 'toy' that I'll be using later.

Oh and popcorn!

---

Time has passed, and I can officially say that I met the whole Goomba family!

With nothing left to do, I went to the father who was fixing the gate and just watched him do his thing.
On another note though, watching him fix a gate without claws, hooves or magic really was an interesting watch.
I mean seriously! It at least makes sense that ponies can pick things up with their hooves. These Goombas, (as far as I'm aware) don't have magic and yet, can still make things float! It's crazy and awesome at the same time!

About another minute passes though before the father started to mutter to himself saying.
"Aaaand, done!"

Looking over to me he continued. "Hoo, what a job! Sorry for the wait Mario. But the gate is finally fixed!
If you take this road up ahead, you'll eventually reach Toad Town, the home of Princess Peach's Castle."

Looking at the road ahead, I can't help but feel a burst of confidence. This path is gonna be like a stroll through a park!

"Now I believe that Shooting Star Summit should be just beyond there." He then starts to look at me while saying.
It's too bad that you can't stay... I feel like I just met you. But duty calls, I know! Come back and visit again sometime!"

I took a deep breath because it's now official... My adventure was about to start.

However, before I opened the gate to take my first step outside the village. I can't help but notice a weird sound approaching.

The family members that were out in the yard heard it too. So I can at least say that I wasn't crazy.

It's not until I looked up that I saw the source of the strange sound flying around on a broomstick.

"Bleh heh heh... Ah! My instincts were right...
Mario... I can't believe you're in your feet after taking such a beating from King Bowser.
Your a hardy one, all right. I was smart to come check on you.

It was the witch from before, Kimmy Koopa... Um, wait that wasn't it...

The little girl Goomba approached us though and asked. "Whuh... What? What's that, Daddy!? What's that weird flying thing?"

The witch though was not happy about the girls question.
"Weird? You rude little... I'm a beautiful Koopa with a beautiful name: Kammy Koopa!"

Meh, close enough.

"Hmmph!! I wish I had time to teach you a lesson, brat! But no." Kammy then possessed to look over to me saying.
"Mario! Hear this! It is useless for you to try to save Princess Peach. Ridicules! Laughable!
As you have seen, King Bowser is more powerful then even YOU can deal with this time."

Ugh, yes, I get it. You can say I'll never win, but this story most likely has a happy ending...

...Right?

I could then see that she started laughing about something.

"Here's a gift from the King himself!" She said as she started to cast a spell.
Using her wand, a purple energy started to appear in the air.

It's then that a giant yellow block starts to materialize in the air! Then while using her wand, she flew the block right into the gate and smashed it into pieces, leaving a giant blockade in its place.

Looking over to the Goomba father, I could see he was just staring at the yellow block that was sitting In front of us with an unamused look on his face.

"Nyeah heh heh heh! Mario! You will kneel and weep when you see the wonderful changes that King Bowser has made!
Your world is now OURS!

Bleah heh heh he-*Cough-hack* eh... He he he..."
She then flew off on her broom stick while laughing and coughing until we couldn't see her.

Looking over to the Goomba father I could see his expression still hasn't changed from earlier.
"I just... Fixed that... Gate...
No one say the word "Gate" to me...
But anyway, did you hear what she said about the Princess? It didn't sound good. I hope nothings happened to her..."

I was half tempted to lie and say she's probably fine, but I knew that I would gain nothing if I said that. So I chose to tell the truth instead.
"Sorry but that Bowser guy well, captured her."

"Again!?"

"Again? Is this a reoccurring thing?"

"Oh unbelievable! And now you have to go to Shooting Star Summit to save her, right?"

I nod to his question, but I can't help but wonder why ponies keep ignoring me... Why goombas keep ignoring me... I need to get used to that...

I could see it in his eyes that he was trying to figure out how to remove the block from the house.

It's that this point that I realize that I COULD just jump the fence and leave from there...
But that would be rude too the family who just saved my life, so I might as well try to help them with this problem.

"Oh, here's an idea!
Maybe we can break this block with Goompa's big Hammer! I think he's using it to fix the veranda.
Go ask him for it, will you?"

I don't really know how a hammer will help, but I might as well give it a shot.

I proceed to take my leave to go inside the house and to the back door where the veranda is.

I open the door and step outside only to realize something...

I just walked into thin air...

Any sign of what used to be Goompa or the veranda was completely gone!

After standing in the air for a second, I plummet down the side of the mountain.

Now, falling from the hill wasn't that bad to be honest. I was able to slide down the side of the hill and land completely fine!
But I couldn't say the same for the veranda that I found the remains of.

"Goompa! Where are you!" I call out. I need to make sure he isn't in the wreckage or I might never forgive myself!

"Oh, my back..."

Upon hearing this, I turn away from the wreckage and look over to where the path is. I run over to where I think I heard the voice.
As I'm running down the path though, it didn't take long for me to find the somegoomba I was looking for...
Sadly though another thing I notice is another yellow block in our way.

"Hey! Are you ok?"

He looks at me for a second before saying. "That you, Mario?"

"Don't worry it's me, but what happened to the veranda?"

"All I remember is a great crashing noise and then the veranda collapsed and fell. Did you fall too?"

"Yeah... I just sorta well, stepped out from the door and fell from there."

"Well, we're both ok, but the problem is that we can't get home because that block is in the way."

The block looked the same as the one from earlier... It's safe to assume that the Witch has been busy for however long I was knocked out.

"Oh yeah! Speaking of blocks, do you have a big hammer on you?"

"A hammer? Oh of course! Um... Where did that thing go now?"

He then started to twirl around looking for the hammer that he was talking about.
Unless it was in the wreckage, I doubt it would be here.

"Uhh, Goompa, maybe it fell over there!" I say while walking towards some sort of small clearing area.

Over all, there's not much too say about this area, other then the fact that there are A LOT of bushes.

"The hammer has got to be somewhere close by. Just remember, it looks like this!"

... Where did he get a picture of his hammer?

---

"Hey Twilight! Did something happen? That popcorn is taking a while now." I could hear Rainbow call out.

"Don't worry, I'm coming!"
I then proceed to walk in with the bowl of popcorn and a box of supplies to use for my "soon to be test."

"What's that?" Rainbow Dash asked taking notice.

"Just some stuff I wanna use while we watch over Spike."

Rainbow didn't really question it and just shrugged it off while taking the bowl of popcorn from my levitation spell.
"Whatever floats your boat Twilight."

... The girls eyes were still glued to the pages like earlier, is this what it's like when I get really invested into a book?

"Aren't you going to join us, darling?"

"Uh, yeah!" I said a little too quickly.

I wonder if it'll work?

---

I've been searching this clearing for some time now with no trace of any hammer.

"If you need a reminder, the hammer looks like this!"

I'm not gonna lie, I have no idea where he got that picture or why he has a picture of his hammer I'm the first place. But I guess it helps me get a good idea of what it looks like.

...I guess...

!
As I approach another bush, I can't help but notice that there's a wooden thing inside!
I push some branches away from each other to finally find what I'm looking for!

After searching what feels like almost every bush in the area, I finally found it!

Upon picking up the hammer, I immediately noticed that this thing was a lot lighter then I thought.
I could wave this thing around like a stick easily!

But enough of that! Me and Goompa should be able to get rid of these yellow blocks now.

Goompa then walks up to me while saying.
"Oh!! There we go! That's it! That's the hammer!
I'd wager that if you use that hammer, you can break that block that's in our way."

"I don't know, this hammers a bit light. Are you sure this would work?"

I could see a faint smile appear on his face at this point.
"Why don't you take a practice swing on a tree then?"

My face had the word confused written all over it, I'm sure.

But I did as he said, and started to walk over to a flimsier looking tree.

I take the hammer, raise it over my head, and use all of my strength to attack the tree.

*WHACK*
The tree started to wiggle back and forth, like it was rubber.

It's then something soft landed on my face...

---

"AAAAAAAAAAHH!!!
Spike then started to run around with some sort of pink doll on his head...

I couldn't help but feel kinda embarrassed about the sight before me.

Rainbow I could hear was, at first, trying to stifle her laughter. Only to fail and just completely bust out laughing.

The same was with Pinkie, only she didn't try to resist laughing like Rainbow did.

Heck! Even Rarity couldn't contain herself and started giggling.
"Oh poor Spikie-Wikey." Rarity was able to say in between giggles.

It's at this point I couldn't even contain myself, and decided to join in on the laughter.

"Sorry Spike."

---

After the thing landed on my head... I uhh... Well... Calmly took it off my head and... Looked it over.

When I saw what it was, I couldn't help but wonder how it got here in a tree...

Goompa however, who was watching me this whole time, looked surprised.

"this is the hero that saved us all?"

"What'd you say?" I ask while trying to listen more carefully.

"I said, this is where the doll went?"

"This is your doll?" I'm kinda surprised, I wouldn't expect a full grown man to be playing with little girl toys.

"No, you whippersnapper! This is Goombaria's doll. She said she lost it some time ago."
He then took a deep breath before continuing.
"There's no doubt in my mind though, that she'll be overjoyed if you give it back to her."

I then take another look at the doll. It seems to be a princess.

While smiling, I put the doll in one of my pockets before saying.
"Alright, we found the hammer, I guess we should go back now."

Goompa gave a nod before running off ahead to where we were before.

Before I go to follow him. I look up into the sky towards the floating castle...

... I wonder if Twilight knows I'm gone?

YOUCH!!!

I quickly look towards where Goompa ran off to...
Only to see him rolling towards me like a ball...

He eventually hits a tree and starts lying down on the floor.

A baby turtle then walked into this area.

Why do I know he's a baby I hear you ask? Well he is wear a piece of a giant egg shell as pants and as a hat.

He looks kinda cool.

He then looked at Goompa and me before saying. "Who are you guys!? This is my playground, Idiots!"

He gets a few steps closer before saying.
"Nobody steps foot in here without my permission! Nobody!
Prepare to start crying at the hands of Master Jr. Troopa!"

He then starts running at me like a mad pony!
So I get a better grip on my hammer before I raise it over my head and bonk Jr. Troopa over the head!

"Oh excellent, good move!" I hear Goompa say off to the side.

While I was distracted from Goompa complementing me though, Jr. takes this opportunity to jump on my head!

It's safe to say that it hurt but I was able to shake it off and go for a jump of my own.

I could hear him start growling under his breath at this point.

"That's it! Say hello to Jr. Troopas special attack!
FULL POWER!!!"
He screeched so loud that I wasn't sure whether or not that him yelling was the attack or not.

... He then walks up to me and jumps on my head, only to feel slightly heavier then before.

I shake off the pain again and use my hammer to whack him in the head. I must of done something right if I was able to knock him out immediately after that attack.

"Uuagh..." He seemed to have a dazed look on his face.
"Shoot! I was winning too!"

Goompa walked up behind me with smile on his face.
"Congratulations on beating Jr. Troopa Mario! He's the boss of a neighborhood gang. A bit of a bully obviously."

He's the boss of a gang? Yeah right! No gang boss goes down that easily! He has to be joking.

Jr. Troopa the gets up from the floor. "I'll be back, Mario!"

He then runs off in the direction where the remains of the veranda are... Only to come back and point at me while saying. "I mean it, I'll be back!!"
Only to run off again.

Man, he's a piece of work...

"Well, Mario. Let's get going... You can go first this time..."

I couldn't help but smile at this. "Alright, just stay behind me."
I could defiantly tell that Goompa liked the idea of having someone protect him so that he wouldn't roll into a tree again.

Walking back to the wreckage, I went to the yellow block that blocked our only way out and prepared to swing my hammer.
*WHACK!!!*
The block exploded upon being smashed by my trusty hammer of...
Explodiness?
...I need to find a better name for this thing...

Now that this new path is available, I ask Goompa. "Would you know where this leads?"

"Nope."

... Not gonna lie, I didn't expect such a blunt answer.

Nonetheless though. We went down the path anyway so that we could hopefully get back to Goomba Village.

After a little bit of walking, I can't help but notice another Goomba off to the side of the trail we were going down.
Immediately after seeing him though, Goompa runs up in front of me while saying. "Heads up, Mario!"

"I see bad Goomba's ahead. They're loyal to Bowser, if they see you, they'll attack without hesitation!
So I would recommend you get the jump on him."

"How do you know that they're bad?"

Goompa stayed silent for a second before continuing.
"Uh, well I honestly don't... But you should still be careful..."

...

"So you want me to sneak attack somepony that we don't even know is bad!?"

I could see Goompa start to think deeply about this comment.

"When you put it like that..."

I face clawed at this. After I was done with that, I made my way over to the Goomba and made my introduction.

He saw me immediately, but he was clearly confused.

"Hello, I'm Spike the dra-OOF" the little guy ran right up to me to jump and bang his head right on to mine!

"Ok, you're defiantly NOT friendly..." He didn't even respond, instead he went in for another jump to... Headbonk me? I'll just call his attack a Headbonk.

Before he was able to get in another Headbonk though, I leap into the air and land straight on his head... And squish him under my weight!

Looking at him under my feet, I can't help but get a really bad feeling in my tummy that something was gonna happen...

I then proceeded to run into a bush to go and barf...

A few more minutes pass as I finally finish my business after squishing the Goom- OH WAIT!

Ok, for real this time, I finished doing my thing after you know what happened.

Goompa seems concerned about me and even asked "if there was anything that he could do to help" but I declined.

Going back to the road though, the Goomba was gone! Did I not make him kick the bucket?

"Goompa, do you know what happened to the Goomba that was here?"

"Hmm? Oh! Yeah, he just disappeared." Goompa said as if there was nothing wrong with what he said.

"Well where did he run off to?"

"Probably the Underwhere... Or Maybe the Overthere... Who knows really."

?
The Underwhere and Overthere? I wonder what kind of places they are...
Whatever, if those names come up again I'll start asking questions.

"So, shall we be off, Mario?" Goompa started to walk down the path ahead of me a little while saying this.

"Yup, I'll lead the way!"

Surprisingly, only about a minute passed of us walking down a path before we made it up to a fence that lead to an entrance to Goomba Village. But before I go to open it, Goompa speaks up saying.

"Never worry, kids, here I am. Thanks to young Mario here, I made it back all right."

I couldn't help but smile at the guy, he would seem like such a fun grandparent.
But looking back over at the fence, I go to open it, only for it to be locked.

"Oh, is that thing locked? Here, let me open that for you."
He then walked up to the fence and unlocked it with a key he was keeping in his... Pocket?

Wait... He isn't wearing anything other then a hat, and yet... He was keeping a key somewhere?
I better not question this... Maybe it will be explained later.

The kids didn't hear Goompa's call at first, but after we walked up to them, they immediately noticed us and ran up to hug there grandfather.

It's then that the shy Goomba in a blue hat spoke.
"Goompa! Where've you been? I looked outside and...wow. Both you and the veranda were just plain gone!"

The pink one with a ribbon then spoke up saying. "Goompa, I was very, very worried about you! Really worried!"

"Sorry, kids, I apologize. I didn't mean to make you fret. Just take it easy now.
After all! I'm back, and now safe and sound."

Goompa, who had a big smile on his face after being reunited with his grandkids, started to look at me before saying.

"Now, before I forget, I've decided go give you something, Mario. Wait here a minute."
He then began to march off into the family house, leaving me with the kids.

... There was an awkward silence.

Oh right! The doll!

I reach in the pocket I left the doll in, and immediately, the girl with the pink ribbon gasps before rushing over to me.
"It's my dolly! Dolly, dolly! You're back! Thank you so much!"

I got such a warm and fuzzy feeling when I saw the joy I brought her when I gave her doll back.
Maybe, I should try to do this more often when I get back to Ponyville.

"I'm so happy... My sweet dolly, don't ever get lost again!"

She then started to look at me before getting an even bigger smile.

"Here's a present from me!"
She then hands me some sort of... Gem?

Not the normal type of gem like a ruby or emerald, but a more... Topaz-ey.
Curiously, I took a small bite out of it...

And immediately spit it out.

It tasted rotten! Nothing like Equestria's tasty, nutrient, delicious and flat out amazing gemstones! It's so bad that it's almost like it's not from the same world!

The kid in the blue hat clearly didn't know what to think about what I just did.
But the girl in the bow didn't even notice because she was to busy looking over her doll making sure it wasn't to damaged.

...
A few more moments pass before the boy speaks up saying.
"So, Mario. You always seem to beat up your enemy's... Do you work out?"

Do I work out? No... But I don't know if the character I play does or not.

"Uh, yeah. What sort of training do you do?"

Just from the looks on his face, I could tell that he was getting excited to talk to me about this.

"I study self-defense by reading books by the masters and by listening to dad and Goompa.
And, I exercise every day so I can be strong like you! It's starting to show, too! I'm getting big muscles!"

The girl though, stopped looking at her doll and added in the conversation.
"Yeah, Goombario's head is as hard as a rock now!" She gave a quick giggle before continuing.
"Especially when he does his Headbonk move, it really, really hurts!"

The kid in the blue hat, who's name's Goombario, replied saying.
"Oh, be quiet, Goombaria! Your embarrassing me!
... Although it IS all true."

I'm getting a Rainbow Dash vibe from this kid all of a sudden.

It's after he said this that Goompa comes back from the house.

"Sorry about the wait. Had to explain what happened to the rest of the family.

"It's ok, Goompa! We're just rapping with Mario..."

Rapping?

---

Rapping?

"Umm, Spikey was rapping?"

"That counted as rapping?"

"Hey Twilight, what kind of rap was that... Or did I miss it?"

... Rapping in that world must mean something else.

---

"Oh. "Rapping," huh? Sorry. I just wanted to give this to Mario."

He hands me some sort of blue badge of a shoe with spikes on the bottom of it.

"This is a Badge."

... Do they think I'm an idiot? I don't wear clothes that often, but I know what a badge is.

"If you wear this, you'll be able to do a Power Jump, which means that you'll be able to do a lot more damage with your Jump attack."

Oh...

"But listen here, and listen well." Goompa then put on a very serious face before continuing. "You'll only be able to do it if you're wearing the Badge.
You better try it in first. Putting on Badges and taking them off is a vital skill."

I couldn't help but start to burst out laughing at this point.
I sure it was rude of me to do, but SERIOUSLY, 'putting on a badge and taking it off is a vital skill.' That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!

"Is something wrong, Mario? Did something happen behind me?" Goompa seemed genuinely confused by my burst of laughter.

"Don't worry, Goompa. Anyways what do I have to do to properly put on a badge?" One of the hardest things I've had to do so far was say that line with a straight face... And I think I did it.

Goompa gave me a funny look, but continued on anyway.

"Well, first you need FP..."

---

Huh... FP? From the sounds of it, FP would be the equivalent of magic.

And 'Badges' would these be the catalysts that allow FP to work?

Part of me would love to do some research on this...

I couldn't help but giggle at myself after that thought. After all, I just thought about doing research on something that's in a fictional world.

"What you laughing about Twilight? Did you notice a funny joke somewhere?"

"No Pinkie, I think I'm just getting tired is all."

Looking over at the clock on my wall, I read 9:00. Is it still that early?

Nope... I saw that it's night time...

WHAT!

"Girls... Is it just me, or is it night time?"

Of course after they looked outside and at my clock, they all had reactions of there own.

"Oh no-no-no! I need to get back to the shop! I have a deadline I need to meet in a few days! Sorry Twilight, but I'll most Likely will not be free for tomorrow, I hope you don't mind!"

"Don't worry, Rarity, feel free to come by when ever you want!"

Looking over at Pinkie and Rainbow, I couldn't help but notice that they are still sticking around.

"I take it that you two don't need to worry about anything tomorrow?"

"Nope."

"Don't worry Twilight, I have the day off from Sugar Cube Corner tomorrow."

It's then that Pinkies lets out a loud gasp into the room.
"Twilight! What if us three all have a sleepover for tonight!"

Hmm, that's a good idea!
"Alright, but I'm gonna have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow if I don't start doing a few things now-"

"We could help, right Rainbow?"

Rainbow sighed at this, but went on to say "alright" anyway.

"Thanks, you two... Should I tell you the things I need done tomorrow?" I the proceeded to grab a list of all the chores I'll need to have done.

Rainbow then spoke up saying. "How about you just keep it a surprise until tomorrow. After all, I would rather you don't make me immediately regret my decision."

I shrug at this before turning my attention back to the Paper Pop-up Book.

---

It sadly took longer then I would have liked to master the art of 'pinning a Badge to my shirt' then I would be willing to admit. But I was still able to do it, so that's all that matters.

"Anyways, Mario." Goompa starts. "Since you're taking it upon yourself to rescue the princess from Bowsers clutches-"

"Oh yeah! Mario can beat Bowser with one hand tied behind his back!" Goombario said interrupting Goompa.

"Hush, now, Goombario." Goompa seemed to be pretty annoyed about that...

I couldn't help but smile at this.

Er, I smiled because it reminds me of how I would sometimes cut off Twilight from speaking back in Equestria... It hasn't even been that long, and yet I miss her and the gang.

... Me being away from everyone is also reminding me of the time I ran away because of Owlicitious.

"Mario" I snap back into reality to see Goompa looking at me with a happy gaze.

"Feel free to keep the hammer. It should serve you well.
Oh if I were just a bit younger, I sure could have done some damage!" Goompa then seems to start day dreaming about (what I would assume) his youth.

Goombario though, now that Goompa is done talking, speaks up saying. "Adventure... You're so lucky! Princess-rescuing is so cool! I wanna be an adventurer too someday!"

Even little Goombaria joined in on what Goombario said with a little "me too!"

"Now hold on! You guys are making it sound like it's an easy job!" I'm honestly starting to get a bit nervous... Despite the fact that I'm playing the role of the main hero, I don't feel like I could do much... Other then the fact I can jump on top of Goombas.

Goombario then walks up closer to me while saying.
"What do you mean! You're the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom! You were the only one that could save the Princess in the past!"

"That, and you did it like a hundred time!" Goombaria said behind her brother.

This honestly didn't reassure me that much. After all, just because I have some sort of awesome mustache and weird clothing doesn't make me someone I'm not.
I need to let them know that I'm not this "Mario" guy...
But how?

It's then suddenly Goompa wakes up from his dreamy state and starts going on to say. "Oh! Here's an idea! Goombario..."

Little Goombario then turns to his grandfather and looks at him with interest.

"...Perhaps the timing is perfect. You are no longer a child, and evil times are upon us. I'm sure Mario will agree... You should accompany him."

The child's eyes light up to the point where I think there might be tears of joy in his eyes.

"What!? Really!? May I go, Goompa!? May I really go!?"

It's then he does a hop before doing a huge victory scream.
"YEEEEEEESS!!!!!

I don't know how I feel about taking him with now... At first I liked the idea, but I don't know if I could take care of him while trying to take care of myself...
Not trying to be mean or anything!

Then the looks at me before saying. "Don't worry Mario, you won't regret this!" I suppose I don't have a choice.

"Mario, I know Goombario will be a useful companion to you...
Well it's time for this Goomba to get some shut-eye now. Besides, good-byes do tend to make me all weepy eyed anyway."

As Goompa made his way back to the house, I couldn't help but feel accomplished, after all I got him back home, and I'm gonna get rid of the block that's on their gate soon.

Speaking of that block...

Goombario and me approach the blockade. I get in position and raise the hammer over my head.
In one quick motion, I swing my hammer and smash the block into tiny pieces.

I take a deep breath and look at the path ahead.

This is it, time to head to Shooting Star Summit.

Looking down I take one step forward away from the small rustic village...

"The adventure has now officially started."

"What?"

For a brief moment, I forgot Goombario was right next to me.

"Uh, just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Umm okay." I could see the look on his face that he didn't know what to think about me saying that.

Looking at the path ahead again, I could tell that this might be a long adventure.

---

"Ok Twilight, what's in the box?"

Out of nowhere, Rainbow Dash spoke up and interrupted what was happening on the pages in front of us.

Looking over to the small box of supplies that kept by my side, I said. "Just something I want to try later."

"What kind of thing?"

"Just a device I've been working on."
Actually, I could use it right now and try it out!

Using my levitation spell, I fish out a little machine that somewhat resembles a mailbox.

"This, is my message sending machine! I call it the Instant Messaging System. It... Well, sends Instant Messages... I call them I.M's for short."

I could see the gears turning in Rainbows head, but she still asked "why?"

"Simple! Watch the magic happen!"
I write out a letter and put it inside the box.

I really hope this works...

---

I felt a familiar feeling start to rise in my stomach. It's then without warning, I burp up green flames that dissolve into smoke, which finally form into a letter.

"What the hey was that, Mario! Did you eat a Fire Flower at some point!?" Goombario seemed so confused about the scene that just happened before his eyes... Poor kid.

Opening the letter though, I see the hoofwriting that I know all too well.

Dear Spike.

You don't need to worry about me. Me and the girls know that you're on this book, and we will be tracking your progress. Just remember, you're not ever going to be alone in this little adventure of yours.

Your friend, Twilight Sparkle

It's safe to say that I felt extremely happy knowing that Twilight was watching me.

She always seems so formal in the way she writes...

"What's it say Mario?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing you need to worry about Goombario..."
Taking one last quick look at the letter, I crumple it up and throw it off into the woods.

"How much farther until we get to town by the way?" We were only walking for a few minutes, but I noticed that the path was starting to get more narrow as we went. That the path was leading to some sort of trampoline that lead to a small rock wall.

"Hey hey! Hold it right there! You! Yeah you! Suspicious guy! Don't move!" Before Goombario could answer my question, we got stopped by two voices that were talking simultaneously.

Obviously we stopped before reaching the trampoline in front of us, only yo have two Goombas jump in front of us from out of nowhere!

One of the Goombas were painted red and the other was painted blue.

"Aha, you're Mario! I knew it." The red one started. "You can't go past here Mr. Big Shot. It's a direct order from the Goomba King!"

Goomba King? I don't look the sound of that... Especially because the only other king I've seen was King Sombra.

"I'm sorry, but the only way by is the Goomba Bros."

"Goomba Bros?" I found myself saying out loud.

"Yep. That's me, Red Goomba." He said as he did some sort of pose on one leg. "And my brother, Blue Goomba." Blue Goomba then did the same pose after his brother said his name. The blue Goomba then let out some sort of war cry by yelling. "Oh yeah! Let's do it, my red brother!"

Before I knew it, they both started charging me and Goombario. I quickly go in for a jump on the head, and land on the blue one.

Looking over to Goombario, I see that he did the Headbonk move that the other Goomba I fought used.
Goombario was also able to land on the blue brother; but I started to get another bed feeling in my stomach...

The red Goomba sees this and says. "What's gotten into you? Did you have a poison mushroom or something?"

The blue brother though, didn't hesitate running at me to try a Headbonk. Looking up at hit, I trip backwards and fall on my back, causing him to land right on my stomach...

I burped out flames again... A lot of flames... And they all went right into both of the brothers.

At this point, I could no longer tell which brother was which because they were both pitch black and covered in soot.
I could see both of their eyes widen and look at each other before bouncing on the trampoline and landing on top of the small hill.

"I... I'll let you go for now!" Him and his brother both then ran down a path, screaming the whole way.

Hmm, this is one of those moments where I'm really happy that I was hatched a dragon.

"Hey, Mario..."
I look over a Goombario.
"Can you teach me how you do that?"

---

"Hehe, I knew I could help!" Rainbow Dash seemed to look really pleased with herself on how she was able to assist Spike.

"Okay, I'm impressed Rainbow. I didn't think it would work." I never thought that cramming a bunch of letters in my Instant Message Machine would serve as a way to be useful.

Looking over at Pinkie though, I could see her smile get wider, and wider, and wider.
Knowing her, she must have gotten an idea.

"What if we put in something other then a letter?"
She immediately started to put a cupcake on plate in the machine... WHAT!

My eyes go wide at this idea. "NO!"
Both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie jump from my little outburst. Use this to my advantage though, I levitate the pasty away from the machine to a safe distance.

"If we put something other then a letter in the I.M.M, then what ever we put in the machine might get stuck inside Spike!"

"Oh... That doesn't sound good..."

"Well that wouldn't be fun."

I take a deep breath before I start rubbing my forehead. I then return my attention to the Book.

---

After going up on the spring -NOT TRAMPOLINE. We went down the path and saw a... Small castle on the side of the cliff.

"Huh, weird. I'm pretty sure there used to be a bridge on the other side of that building. But it's not there... I wonder what happened to it."

Looking at the small castle though, I can't help but notice something start rising from the top...

It looks like a giant... Muffin?

Then suddenly the ground started to shake in a rhythmic pattern. It at first was hardly noticeable. But as it went on, it got stronger and stronger until it finally revealed itself!

A giant Goomba with a big white mustache, a giant red and gold crown and some small red a white pants popped out of the top of the tower.

"So, Mario, it's true! You made it this far. I respect you for that. Unfortunately, this is as far as you'll ever get. Because I, the great and powerful Goomba King, will see to it that you advance no farther!"

I started to get butterfly's in my stomach again as I watched him in awe.
How am I gonna beat something this size?

The red Goomba then appeared on the right of the King.
"You hear that, Mario! No farther! Not one step! Are you scared, little man?"
The blue Goomba then appears on the left of the King saying.
"Yeah, you're scared, all right. You wanna say you're sorry?" I could hear his voice drip with sarcasm near the end.

My breathing picked up... I don't know if I can do this.
"Don't worry, Mario! He may be strong, but I know that your stronger! We can beat him!" Goombario then looked over at me smiling.
His little bit of encouragement honestly gave me enough hope to try and fight him... But only a little.

I just need a plan... Think-think-think... What would Twilight do?
Use magic... Need another plan...

"Ready to meet my wrath, Mario? You'd better be!" He and the Goomba Bros than jumped from the tower and landed in front of us ready for a fight.

Ok, I need to think rationally...
"Mario!" Goombario whispered to me. "We just got done beating up the Goomba bros. We should try taking them out first since they might still be weak."

... That makes sense...

"Good plan, Goombario!" He smiled in return.

Thinking of what to do I back up into the tree a little bit to try to gain some ground... Bad move.

The Goomba King stomps on the ground making a bunch of sharp fruit land on me and cutting up my clothes.

Looking up I saw that a huge piece of 'sharp fruit' was hanging just above his head... Ok I got my plan.

I go to the tree that was growing the fruit and give it a hard whack!

The fruit then falls down from the tree and lands right on his head! But it didn't stop there! It also bounced off of him and landed on the Goomba Bros, who were hiding behind the King for defense, completely knocking them out.

Goombario, who was originally going to try to attack the Goomba bros, attacks the King and lands a nice attack from behind...
We can win... I didn't think we could do it, but we can!

Looking at the badge on my shirt, I go in for a stronger jump to try and finish the Goomba King and make him stumble back.

I could see on his face that he knew that he's in trouble.

He then started to back up while saying. "H-how could I lose?" Without even giving me time to respond, he ran back inside his castle.

"That was it? With a a guy that big, I would have thought that he would have been tougher..."

"Oh, Mario, don't sound disappointed."

"I'm not, just a bit surprised is all." How could I not be? He was completely triple my size... At least that's what it seemed like.

I walk up to the door and try to open it... Only for it to be locked.
Man, I didn't think that the Goomba King would be a coward.

"Okay, Goombario, see if you can help me find a way for us to get in-*BURP*"

I get cut off by a letter landing in my hand.

Dear Spike.
Check in the bushes.
Twilight.

The bushes?

Looking over by the side of the cliffs, I notice a few hedges with something weird in them.

After a few seconds of pulling it out, I see that it's a giant blue... Switch of some kind.
Doing the only sensible thing I could think of, I hit the switch to see what would happen.

"Uh... Mario?" I quickly turn towards the castle and see the Goomba King on the top tower. "Good fight and all that! But I must warn you, however. If you find a strange switch somewhere, you should defiantly not press it. It's dangerous. Understand?" His voice seemed to falter a little bit in some areas.

"Sorry, I already pressed it."

I could see his eyes widen in horror. It's then that a strange quake started, and the castle started to fall apart.

Then suddenly. The tower that the Goomba King was standing on, burst open and shot him into the sky.

Me and Goombario watched him fly into the air, until the only thing we could see was the small star like shimmer of him flying into the distance.

"Hey look, Mario! The bridge is back!"

There wasn't much left of this castle, the only thing that remained was the front doorway... Which was now open.

Walking past it, we went on the bridge continued to walk down the path.

"Okay, Mario. Toad Town should be coming up real soon now!"

Goombario was right! It didn't take long for us to get to Toad Town after that whole Goomba King thing.

Walking up to the gate. I immediately get stopped by a local. "MARIO!" I could see he had a shocked expression on his face from seeing me. "I'm so glad you're ok! Listen, the town is in an uproar! The princess is kidnapped! The very castle up-rooted! It's bedlam! Please Mario! Save Her Highness!"

"I-I'll do what I can..."

"We should probably sleep in a Toad House. After all, it's been a long day."

I couldn't help but yawn in agreement.

Time to go find a inn.

---

I soon started to yawn myself.

"Okay girls, I think it's time for me to hit the hey."

Looking over a Pinkie, I could see that she was already laying her head back and snoring very loudly... Even though she was quiet not even a few seconds ago.

"Yeah, I agree... So...I guess I'll just take the guest room."

"Go ahead."

I grab the pop corn bowl on the table by the book, and take it to the kitchen... Although its better for me to wait for Spike to finish the book... I can't help but want to try to get him out early.
This is a large book, and he's easily going to be stuck in there for maybe a week.

... *sigh* "I better get some sleep... After all, I need to catch up on Spikes chores."

Author's Note:

I can't help but feel upset that this might drop in quality.

For those who don't know, the Wii I was using to play through the game Paper Mario, broke on me.
And now I have to resort on watching let's plays and walkthroughs to get my information.
So deep apology's in advance.

Comments

[Herald of Japes]

I really like the paper mario series. So I'm not surprised this story is pretty good. Keep up the good work! Can't wait for more. :)

[The Gamer Master Archive]

4542013 May I say bullcrap? Sticker Star is a better game than Layton vs Wright will ever be!

[Nova Blaze]

This is quite the enjoyable story.

[salmoncolor]

Then suddenly. The tower that the Goomba King was standing on, burst open and shot him into the sky.

Me and Goombario watched him fly into the air, until the only thing we could see was the small star like shimmer of him flying into the distance.

Listen, the town is in an uproar! The princess is kidnapped!

[Justin Mershimer]

Like this story because I like Spike getting the spotlight here, hope you continue it and sorry about the 2 deleted comments, I had trouble commenting on my old Vista computer cause it wouldn't post full comments it just posted blank ones so sorry about that.

[Justin Mershimer]

4734630
You can look up 2 longplays on Youtube but be warned, one's 10 hours and the other's a 100% collecting and doing everything and it's about 20 hours.