Paper Mario: Brotherhood is Harmony

by wingdingaling

Chapter 3: After the Fact

Chapter 3

After the Fact

The dewy wilderness beyond Canterlot laid still and quiet. In the half-light of the early morning, everything was as motionless as a diorama. Nothing moved, as if the land itself were holding its breath for the calamity the night before. Not even the wind stirred the leaves of the trees, or the patches of bladed grass that popped up on the green ground.

The sun seemed to timidly peer over the horizon, as if to survey the land to see if the danger had passed. For all those in Canterlot last night, and for all of Equestria, the danger was only just beginning.

As the light spread across the land, pieces of litter blown from Canterlot Palace’s ballroom laid strewn about. Decorations and furnishings were blown far from the hallowed hall where they once dwelt.

A tree glinted with dew in the first rays of the light. Beneath its leaves, two crumpled wads of paper laid motionless in the grass. What seemed merely litter blown from the castle the night before began to jump. In a second, the larger of the two unfolded itself, and smoothed out its surface, revealing the red-clad form of Mario.

“Oh...That was one heck of a blast…” the plumber said to no one in particular.

His head was still spinning from the battle the night before, which seemed only moments ago to him. And his body was still feeling the impact of the fight.

As his gaze drifted around, he saw all the pieces that had followed him out after the explosion. One look, and the last moments of the fight returned to him. When Spike, Apple Bloom and Luigi joined the fight.

“Pasta e fagioli! The others!” Mario realized.

Nearby, among the clutter of castle decorations, something moved. After a second glance, Mario saw it was a wadded up piece of paper. He couldn’t tell who it was, but he could see the tip of something green.

“Luigi!” Mario said, as he stumbled toward the wad of paper. Once he reached it, he started smoothing it out. “Hang on, bro! I got you!”

He carefully unfolded each part of the wadded up paper. To his surprise, it was not his brother, but somebody else entirely.

“Oh…” the wad of paper groaned, as it unfolded itself.

“Spike!? How’d you get way out here!?” the plumber asked.

“I think it had something to do with that big explosion…” Spike groaned, too dizzy to stand.

“Eh. Wiseguy,” Mario said, as he smoothed his edges and stretched his arms.

Spike smoothed out his own surface, and glanced up towards the city of Canterlot. And how it had changed since the explosion last night.

There were two major changes since that time. The first was the huge, gaping hole that was blown out of one side of the castle. The other was the bubble of golden magic around the city.

Whatever magic the new leader of the Koopa Troop had, he had used it to bolster his defenses against outsiders. Nobody was getting in, and nobody was getting out.

Spike recalled the last moments before the explosion, when Twilight was erased from existence. He didn’t know what happened to her. For all appearances, it seemed like she was incinerated by the golden dragon’s flames. But, there had been no ash or anything else left of her.

Somewhere deep inside himself, Spike felt like something else had happened to Twilight. As if her game was not ended, but she was sent somewhere far away from where he was.

“Twilight...I need to find out what happened to her,” Spike thought.

Mario too was looking pensively at the palace.

“Knowing my luck, Peach is still in there,” Mario sighed. “I guess we’re going to need to find a way to get back to the palace.”

"Are we really going back there now? After what just happened," Spike asked.

“Somebody’s gotta take care of those guys. And, if anyone's qualified, it's me," the plumber declared.

“What about your brother?” Spike asked.

Surely, the other Mario brother was as qualified as Mario himself. But, Mario seemed to miss the meaning of Spike’s question.

"Ah, don't worry about him. He found his way home after being blown from a castle once, he can do it again," Mario answered, remembering what happened when Bowser used his castle to lift Peach's into the sky.

A plan was needed. Mario took the cannoli from his item pocket, and gave one to Spike as he sat down beside the dragon. When he leaned his back against one of the tables that was blown from the palace, he felt something else in one of his other pockets.

Curious to the nature of the object, Mario pulled out the small, black notebook.

It was something that had been trusted to him, after it was fought so hard to be kept from the golden dragon. Even if it looked so simple, it was surely important. To discover its nature, he thoughtfully flipped through each page. And on each page was something that yielded more questions than answers.

Each page was covered in mathematical calculations and drawings of symbols and objects the plumber didn’t recognize. Next to the drawings were lines that connected to one or two short sentences.

One page he stopped on showed a drawing of a cluster of stars, which formed no particular pattern. On the same page was what looked like a pull tab, like what construction workers used to pop up new buildings. Try as he did, he could not discern their meaning. For as far as he could tell, it was simply notes of some nature.

“What the heck is this thing anyway?” Mario asked Spike.

"Got me I've never seen anything like that before. All these drawings, and the notes next to them: they don't make any sense to me,” Spike said, as he peered over Mario’s shoulder.

Mario flipped through the pages, analyzing each one of them.

Spike too scanned the papers. By and by, the young dragon’s eyes lit up with each passing page.

“Wait. Go back,” he said, as he reached over and flipped a page backwards.

When he did, Mario saw a symbol drawn on a page. One that looked like a swirl of stars, surrounded by six other symbols.

“What’s that supposed to be?” Mario wondered.

“I don’t know. But that symbol's on a book back in the library I work in! I saw it when I was arranging books the other day!” Spike said. He took a closer look at the other six symbols.

Each of the symbols was nothing like what was on the book he knew. The more he tried to place them, the less he felt like he recognized them.

“You think there’s a connection here?” Mario asked.

“Huh?” Spike said, returning his attention to the plumber. “Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know. But, it’s a lead, isn’t it?”

Mario finished the last bite of his cannoli and looked at the page. Spike was right. It was the only lead they had at the moment.

“I guess it’s as good a start as any,” Mario said. After all, something similar happened before, when he followed a map back in Rogueport. "But, how do we get back up the mountain from here?"

"We're not going up the mountain. We’re going back to my home in Ponyville,” Spike said.

“How long is that gonna take us?” Mario asked.

“Not long. It’s just the next town over. We can get there quick, if we really hurry,” Spike said, as he led Mario in the direction of his home.

A shadow passed above them. Looking up, the dragon and plumber saw a gold-shelled paratroopa flew above. Likely, it was patrolling for intruders. In particular, a certain pudgy plumber, who was carrying a valuable item.

“Andiamo, paisan! The longer we stay, the quicker they’ll find us!” Mario said, as he and Spike hurried along.

"What about everypony else? Don't you think there has to be somepony else down here besides us," Spike asked, as the two hurried away.

"I've done this a few times. Usually when this happens, there are only one or two other guys that get blown away with you," Mario said.

The two of them hurried as quickly and quietly as they could from where they were. Neither of them said a word, but they bother wondered how they would quickly get out of their predicament.

The paratroopa’s shadow loomed overhead.

Mario quickly pulled Spike to his side, and pressed them both flat against the trunk.

The tree’s cruciform cardboard roots acted as cover for them as they slipped past the patrolling paratroopa. Their bodies flipped around from one root to the next, always out of their enemy’s sight.

Mario and Spike crouched low as they ran to the adjacent rock.

The paratroopa swooped low, and began patrolling back and forth along the path Mario and Spike intended to take.

Spike tried to think over his bristling nerves. He had very little field experience when it came to adventuring, let alone stealth segments. He needed to think of a way for them to reach the next place.

His keen eyes spotted the next viable hiding spot behind a fallen log. Only, the open space between the two places was too great for them not to be seen.

“What do we do? There isn’t a way to get past that guy without being seen,” Spike said.

“We can’t just wait for him to go away. Every second’s counting here,” Mario answered.

“Unless we can find something that can over us up as we’re running, I don’t see a way through.”

In spite of Spike’s limited experience in the field, he had delivered an almost perfect tattle. As soon as Mario heard the dragon’s words, he looked to the tree they were hiding behind. It looked tall enough for what he needed, but it looked too sturdy to be knocked over with a hammer alone.

“Spike, I’m going to need you to burn away the base of this tree,” Mario said.

One look to the tree, then to the fallen log, and Spike caught on to the plumber’s plan.

The dragon rubbed his claws together, before letting loose a stream of flames once the paratroopa’s back was turned.

The base of the tree was burned away, as if it were sliced with a cutting torch.

The tree teetered back and forth.

Mario took his hammer out, and swung hard at the tree trunk.

The paratroopa’s attention was caught by the sound of tearing cardboard. When he turned, he caught sight of a mighty tree falling toward him.

“SWEET JUMPIN’ SUPER STAR!!” the paratroopa shouted, as the ground shook beneath him as he hovered.

Mario and Spike quickly hurried behind the fallen tree, while the paratroopa investigated the other trees along his patrol to make sure they wouldn’t fall as well.

They were in the homestretch now. Past the undergrowth of foliage, the plumber and dragon could see a road. All they had to do now was get past the guard, who was snoozing by the roadside.

Spike looked over the guard. It looked vaguely like a koopa, but was much too large. And it had a single tuft of hair on its head, as opposed to the typical bald countenance of the other terrapin creatures. Its size was imposing enough, but the weapon it held was even more threatening. A huge, golden club with a spiked ball on the top.

“That’s a clubba, right?” Spike whispered.

"Yeah. How'd you know? I thought you said you didn't get to play video games," Mario said.

"I don't. But, Twilight made me read a bunch of books about the Mushroom Kingdom when she learned Princess Peach was coming."

"Sheesh. That lady's strict," Mario said.

"At least now I can put what I learned to good use. Like how those guys tend to nod off while they're working," Spike said, just as the large, green creature snored loudly.

"These guys are an embarrassment to the Koopa Troop," Mario said as he and Spike slowly crept toward the road.

"Yeah. But, I also read how they're pretty tough fighters, so I think it's a good idea if we let this guy sleep," Spike answered.

No sooner did he finish talking than did the bubble coming out of the clubba's nose pop with a loud snap.

Mario and Spike scrambled to the one place the clubba wouldn't see them: directly behind his back.

The clubba looked around, confused by what could have woken him up. He knew that there was something out there, but he couldn't see any trace of it.

He turned to the side.

Mario and Spike shuffled quickly to stay behind him.

The clubba turned to the other side.

The two behind him shuffled again.

Something was definitely amiss. But, it eluded the vision of the clubba.

Mario and Spike watched, confused as the clubba crouched low to the ground. In a sudden burst, the clubba jumped high into the air and somersaulted so that he quickly turned around.

Mario and Spike quickly dashed beneath the clubba to his backside.

"Ah-ha!! Found ya," the clubba said as it pointed ahead with his golden club.

Mario and Spike held their breath, fearing a fight this tough opponent was imminent.

Instead, the clubba walked toward a cart pulled by a large red stallion, which was being pulled down the road. A stallion who Spike knew quite well.

"You're the guy what woke me up just now! Uh... ain't ya?" the clubba said.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh answered calmly.

"Uh, okay. But, I'm s'posed to ask some questions to anyone comin' by," the clubba said as he pulled a clipboard from his pocket. "Let's see...Uh..." The clubba squinted slightly as he read the paper before enunciating every word he read. "'Do-you-have-anything-to-declare?'"

"Just tryin' to get home is all," Big Macintosh said.

“Alright. Uh…” the guard said, as he looked at the next question on the clipboard.

While the guard was distracted, Big Macintosh looked past him, and saw Spike and Mario. With a subtle twitch of his head, he motioned to the back of his cart.

It was the perfect stroke of luck. A close friend had appeared to pull them out of danger, and give them a ride back home.

“Uhhh…’What-is-your-reason-for-leaving-...uhhh…Can-ter-lot?” the clubba read, as Mario and Spike quietly crept around the back of the wagon.

"Said that already. I'm tryin' to go home to Ponyville,” the large stallion said.

“Alright. Then I’m required to ask...uh…” the guard looked back to his clipboard, “‘What-is-your-reason-for-being-in-...uh...that place on the mountain?’”

Big Macintosh sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Because, I was sellin’ produce to the folks at the Gala. Now that Canterlot’s blown up, nopony wants to shop,” the large stallion said, weary of the questionnaire.

“I wanna shop. Uh...What’re ya sellin’?” the clubba asked.

Behind the wagon, Mario quickly helped Spike into the back.

Big Macintosh quickly stopped the clubba by gently pushing his clipboard back up to his face.

“You just keep readin’ them questions, fella,” he said.

"Okay. Uh... 'Are-you-transporting-anyone-besides-yourself?'" the clubba asked.

"Nope."

"That's good. You're not the plumber we're looking for. Uh...move along."

The pony continued his trek, and glanced backward at the barrels in the cart, as the clubba stopped another pony on the road.

“Is this guy a friend of yours?” Mario asked.

“Yeah. And he lives in Ponyville,” Spike replied.

“How fast can we get there now?”

“With Big Macintosh pulling: it’ll be a snap.”

Things were quickly looking up. But, Mario knew that he still had to find the others. And who knew where they were. Little did he know that he didn’t have to look very far.

---

Nearby, less than a mile from the road, a river flowed gently. On its current, it carried small pieces of the debris from the disaster in Canterlot. Hors d'oeuvre plates and silverware drifted calmly on its current, followed by nearly everything else, from pocket watches and monocles, to pieces of clear cellophane and cardboard.

Among the pollution, there were two wadded up pieces of paper. As the river bent in one direction, both papers drifted to the river bank. Slowly, they both unfolded, revealing Luigi an Apple Bloom.

"Oh...I'd ride in the stairs of Peach's blimp over and over if I never had to do that again," Luigi groaned as he crawled out of the river.

Beside him, Apple Bloom tried to stand up, but couldn’t muster the strength.

“You alright?” Luigi asked.

"I think so. I'm just real dizzy...An' achy," Apple Bloom said.

Luigi got to his feet, as best as his soggy edges would support him. He picked up Apple Bloom, and placed her beneath a nearby tree, which they both slumped under.

From where they sat, Apple Bloom had a clear view of Canterlot Palace. Even through the field of golden magic around it, she had a clear view of the gaping hole in the side. The more she looked, the more she recalled those terrible moments when she last saw her sister.

"They got my sister, Luigi. They done somethin' with her, an' I wanna get her back," Apple Bloom said.

"Aw, jeez..." Luigi sighed quietly, since he had to be the one to break the bad news to the filly. "Listen. I saw what happened to your sister. And Fluttershy. And all of them. I don't think they're coming back after that."

"That ain't true! She's still out there, somewhere! I know, 'cause I'm her sister! Just like how you didn't give up at the haunted mansion to find yer brother!" the filly said

There was no arguing with the filly on that point. Luigi had looked for Mario in a nearly hopeless situation, while working with nothing but pure instinct. After much tribulation, he found the altar where his brother was kept captive. If this filly was anything like himself, she would do the same for her sister.

"I guess there's always the chance she's alright," Luigi conceded.

"Ain't no guessin' about it. I know she's alive somewhere. We just need to know where to look," Apple Bloom answered.

"We won't find much anything around here. Where can we start to look?" the plumber asked.

The filly thought a moment. There was one place that she knew always had an answer somewhere within.

"I don't know. But, before we even start, we should get back to Ponyville fer some supplies. An' we might find somethin' at the Golden Oaks Library if we look," Apple Bloom said.

"Sounds good to me," Luigi answered. "Where's Ponyville?"

"Um...I don't really know," Apple Bloom answered, "But, I know this river flows near the road at some point. If we follow it, we should find the road to Ponyville."

"Hey, a lucky break already," Luigi said as he and Apple Bloom started following the river.

As they walked, it seemed like they had started heading deeper into the wilderness. But if Apple Bloom was right, they would eventually find the road. However, that started to seem more unlikely as they encountered a large lake. Worse still, they could hear voices nearby. Voices that didn't sound friendly, and were coming steadily closer.

Not wanting to take any chances after the battle they barely survived, Luigi and Apple Bloom hid in the nearby reeds, half submerged underwater so that they could hear when the voices passed.

"We've been looking since one A.M. and we haven't found a stupid thing," one of the voices said, "We should just accept our losses and call it quits."

"We can't do that," the other voice said, "You heard what the boss said. 'Don't come back until you found Mario and get that book, or you guys are mulch.'"

"Yeah, but don't you think he'll understand if we don't find him? It's been hours already. Mario could be far away from here by now."

The owners of the voices stepped into view, revealing a koopa troopa and a hammer brother, who was sporting a gold helmet, and wielding a golden hammer.

Luigi knew that a hammer brother with powerful equipment was bad enough. But what sent shivers through Apple Bloom was the creature that accompanied the troopa.

At the end of a long chain that the troopa held was the same kind of chomping creature she had seen at the gala. The same golden-toothed, black-eyed creature that nearly devoured her before her sister bucked it away. She felt a quiver of fear when she saw the black eyes swivel around as though they were looking for something, and slowly sank into the water when it looked in her direction.

"I still think it's a good idea for us to keep looking until further notice. Trust me, we really don’t want to make the new boss mad," the troopa said.

"What's got you so riled up about this guy," the hammer brother asked.

"You weren't there when he showed up. He busted out of Bowser's throne room and told us how he defeated him. I remember how that guy talked when he told us he was in charge. He means business,” the troopa said.

The chain chomp continued to vigilantly look around.

"But, we don't even know where he came from. Or even who he is. You remember when we got this crummy job? Apparently Johnson asked him what his name was, and all the boss said was to call him whatever we wanted. You got that? The guy we're working for doesn't want to tell us his name!" the hammer brother said.

Apple Bloom thought she could hear the chain creature sniffing the air.

"What's that got to do with anything," the troopa asked.

The hammer brother thought a moment.

"Nothing, I guess," the hammer brother answered as he idly swung his hammer at his side. "I'm just saying that guy's hiding something. Whoever he is, I think we should keep an eye on him."

Apple Bloom gasped quietly when she saw the creature jump slightly toward her, and quickly receded further into the reeds, creating a loud rustling noise.

"RUFF-RUFF!!!!"

The chain chomp jerked forward on its chain, nearly pulling the troopa along with it.

"Whoah! Looks like Muffin's got a scent," the troopa said.

Both koopas were about to investigate the rustling in the reeds, until they saw a large frog hop into view.

"Aw, jeez! Another bust," the troopa groaned. "Come on, girl. You've been chasing too many frogs today already."

And the company of koopas left. Except for the hammer brother.

The hammer brother knelt down to examine what the frog was sitting on, finding it to be something flat and green, with a large letter 'L' on the front of it. He squinted suspiciously at it, as he knelt closer.

"'L?' 'L' is for 'lilypad,'" the hammer brother said before he stood back up to follow his partner. "Boy, the plants around here sure are organized to initial themselves."

Moments passed when the koopas left, until Luigi and Apple Bloom both rose from the water with hollow reeds in their mouths.

"Sweet Celestia, those guys're dumb. Didn't any of 'em pass the third grade?" the filly said as she strained the water out of her soggy mane and tail.

"I don't think so. I think that's why they joined the koopa troop, instead of getting a real job like all the other koopas," Luigi answered as he checked his cannoli, relieved to find that it was still dry and edible.

The frog on his head croaked, as if to agree.

"WAUGH!!!" Luigi yelped, startled by the sudden noise, making the frog jump off.

"Keep it down, Luigi, or those guys'll come back with that monster," Apple Bloom said.

"What monster?"

"That thing with the chain, an' all the teeth!"

"The chain chomp? Yeah, it's a good idea if we keep moving," Luigi agreed.

It wasn't long before they found where the river continued, and thankfully, their trip remained mostly uneventful, until they saw a shadow pass over them.

Looking up, Luigi couldn't see what it belonged to. Only that it had wings, and was carrying some kind of pouch.

---

"Princess?"

"Hm..." Peach moaned.

"Princess Peach?"

Slowly, the Mushroom princess opened her eyes and found herself looking at the faces of Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

"Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle? What happened?" Peach asked as she slowly sat up.

"We got blown out of the castle a while ago, and woke up somewhere in Canterlot," Sweetie Belle answered.

"Is that where we are now," Peach asked.

"No. You didn't wake up soon enough, and there were all those scary koopas running around. So, we picked you up, and carried you to the train" Sweetie Belle said.

"The train?" Peach wondered.

Princess Peach hadn't been immediately aware of her surroundings, but when she got her bearings, she heard the clacking of the tracks outside, and found herself sitting on a seat in one of the compartments. Outside her window, she could see the countryside quickly passing by as the sun rose in the distance.

Seeing the sun rise gave her a small sense of hope. Whatever had happened, the Equestrian royalty had survived it. Unless somehow, the sun was not rising on this land over their command.

"Where are we going now?" Peach asked, trying to get the dreadful thought out of her mind.

"We're going back to our home in Ponyville. I don't know if it was smart to do, but it was all we could think of," Sweetie Belle said.

"It's alright, Sweetie Belle. You only did what you could, and got out of danger as fast as possible. I'm sure that everyone else on this train did the exact same thing," Peach assured the young unicorn.

"But, what about Apple Bloom? We tried to spot her on our way here, and we've been all up and down this train, but we haven't seen her! I don't want to find out later that she got left behind in that place!" Scootaloo said.

"Apple Bloom will be fine, wherever she is. Remember how she was with Mario and Luigi the last time we saw her? As long as she stays with them, she's going to be safe. After all, who saved me from the Shadow Queen?" Peach said.

"Yeah...And I bet she was a million times worse than that guy who blew up the palace," Scootaloo said, as a hopeful smile slowly spread across her face.

"She was. And I know, because I had to be her vessel for the worst fifteen minutes of my life. Compared to her, this gold dragon is nothing. So, you have nothing to worry about. I know that Mario and Luigi are keeping Apple Bloom and everyone else safe, wherever they may be," Peach said.

"Sounds a bit overly optimistic, if you ask me," Sweetie Belle grumbled, too quietly for anyone else to hear.

The truth was, not one of them was feeling at all optimistic. Not even Peach, despite her comforts to the fillies. Even though Scootaloo knew the story of The Thousand-Year Door by heart, she knew that she had no way of knowing the true magnitude of the adventure, and felt as if Princess Peach may only have been softening the truth.

Sweetie Belle was still lingering on where Apple Bloom may have been. Whatever had happened, she knew they shouldn't have left without her, and who knew how she was faring that very moment.

For Peach, her mind went back to the rising sun. It had been some time past midnight when the castle blew up, and now the sun was coming up as if everything was perfectly normal. What had become of Luna and Celestia? And was it truly their power that was making the sun rise? If so, was that the only reason they were not disposed of yet? To keep the natural order of day and night?

These questions swam through Peach's head, giving her not nearly a moment's peace for the rest of the ride to their destination.

Author's Note:

And after this rewrite: yes, the clubba's speech patterns are still based on Ralph T. Guard from 'Animaniacs.' To this day, that remains one of my very favorite cartoons, and I am always brought to laughter by the antics of the dimwitted security guard. The clubba guarding the checkpoint was the perfect opportunity to pay homage to that guy.
Once again, this rewritten chapter wasn't changed very much. The characters all being separated, then converging to a single point worked well enough the first time around. All that was really changed was the dialogue and the narration, as well as adding some to give the chapter a bit more life and flavor.
However, I did add a little bit of what would seem like a tutorial to partner abilities in the first two 'Paper Mario' games. In this case, we get a look at Spike using a familiar ability that is used to give clues to Mario and the player. This was to add a bit more of a feel to the games, and to create just a little more suspense as Mario and Spike escape from Canterlot area.
As is normal, it's important to establish that there's something going on. I think that I did alright the first time around to establish that the new villain in this story may be a bit more than he seems to be, and that he may have a greater goal in mind. None of the characters know what yet, but the path to answers may well be in Ponyville.
The starting party members are still the same at this point. No point in not involving established characters from Equestria, right?
Along the way, more party members are going to show up. Maybe one or two of them will change during the rewrites. However, they will still remain original characters, who are made up of both Equestrian and Mushroom Kingdom species. Sorry, but I still don't think that we are going to have any appearances by characters like Goombella or Bombette in prominent roles. But, still there's the possibility of a cameo.
That's about all, so rock on \m/

Comments

[Fluffy-Boi]

Very cool.

[Cheddarjack]

maybe a Bowsette?~