My Little Paper Mario

by Codex92

The Buzzard and the Forever Forest

As the early morning sun began to peek above the flat sands of the Dry Dry Desert, the party began making their way across the desert before it got too uncomfortably hot for Twilight and Pinkie Pie to travel. They rested well, though as all but Pinkie expected, the denizens of Dry Dry Outpost didn't think having a Chain Chomp around them was safe, but with the pink earth pony's silly balloon sticker placed on Chompy's forehead and his love for her lemon-lime cupcakes, which they were now told had come from Pinkie as she secretly hid in the town, they were willing to give Chompy a chance. The Chain Chomp was sad to see Pinkie leave, but he understood he had a better life away from Tutankoopa, using his ferociousness to stave off Bandits and help protect travelers cross the sands since the heat didn't bother him. Moustafa was given Pinkie's note from his assistant, along with a recipe for her lemon-lime cupcakes and lemon cake, both for Chompy and for him, seeing as he ate his whole cake last night.

Luckily, the desert was relatively calm this morning as their trek was peaceful: no Pokeys to bother them, no Bandits roaming around in search of victims to steal from, and the land was still cool enough to travel on. They reached the entrance of the desert, passing by Prof. Kolorado's expedition tent, the Koopa explorer and his assistants not present as they were possibly out in the desert searching for Dry Dry Ruins that was now visible out in the northern part of the desert. Hopefully, they won't explore the ruins too much and irritate Moustafa if they desecrate his ancestral home.

"Thank goodness we're getting out of this desert," Twilight said with a relieved sigh. "No more sweating profusely and dying of dehydration in less than seventy-two hours."

"Yeah," Pinkie agreed. "Good thing Rarity didn't end up here! She'd hate to get all sweaty unless it was in a sauna! And she only likes getting dirty when it's in a mineral mud bath! For trying to stay pretty, it sure is dirty work."

"That's a bit of irony with how Twilight described her," Kooper said.

The group began their trek back to the train station on the other end of Mt. Rugged, only for Twilight to stop and remember the bridge they passed earlier. "Wait! We're going to be walking past that guard of Bowser's on the bridge! How are we going to get by with Pinkie traveling with us? If he finds out I'm not really a Poochy, he's going to attack us!"

"Oh yeah. Nearly forgot about that buzzard." While everyone began figuring out how they would get past the guard, Parakarry hovered up over the ridge, wincing as he saw the avian sitting on its perch, keeping a close eye on the bridge.

"He's there, and I don't think he'll budge for anything," he said as he hovered back down.

"We can maybe pass Twilight off as a Poochy again, but because I said they were rare and found in tropical islands, he's not going to believe Pinkie is one if we found her out in the desert," Goombario said.

"Never fear, everypony!" The group turned their heads to Pinkie Pie, all of them balking as the mare was dressed up in similar outfit that Mario wore, only with the shirt and hat pink with a letter "P" on the cap, black mustache included. "Behold! Mario's long lost sister who he coincidentally met that nopony knows about until now! It's a foolproof plan!"

The sounds of hands, feet, or hooves smacking into foreheads rang out around them, everyone exasperated by Pinkie's "foolproof" plan. "Yeah. Sure. That'll work. Mario having a twin brother, who he's supposed to be as his alibi, and finding out he had a sister who was conveniently found out here in the desert...and she wears a mustache..." Kooper looked at Twilight, who was just as dumbfounded as the rest of them. "Please tell me this idea of hers isn't going to work. Because if it does, I'm going to walk the rest of this mountain trail without my shell on."

"Hey! This is a children's game, mister reptile!" Pinkie chided. "No nudity allowed in this violent, filly-friendly game!"

Ignoring the randomness Pinkie had said, the others sighed, going along with the odd plan of hers and would be baffled if it worked. "Well, if that bird believed Twilight was a horned Poochy, I don't know if he'll believe Pinkie is Mario's long-lost sibling..."

Keeping their fingers crossed, for those who had fingers to cross, the group climbed up the slope and made their way to the bridge, Pinkie walking on two legs as she pretended to be human. As soon as they were in the buzzard's line of sight, the large predator flapped out of his nest and flew over to them, barring them passage across.

"Well, looks like all y'all are headin' on back across the bridge," the buzzard said. "But y'all got yourself another member of your little group. Who is this?"

Before Pinkie could speak up and give her new identity to the guard, Goombario stepped in before she could get them caught. "Just a huge fan of Mario and cosplays him every day," he explained. "We're escorting her to Toad Town so she can try to meet him."

"Hey! What about my-!?" Twilight quickly pounced Pinkie, acting out her part as a dog while keeping her friend quiet.

"Pinkie, just go along with it!" the alicorn hissed. "I highly doubt Mario even has a sister, and your idea is most likely going to make us more suspicious!"

"Oh, that explains the weird get-up like that plumber," the buzzard said. "Ah'd have thought y'all were gonna say she was Mario's long lost sister or somethin', which wouldn't make a lick of sense when she's wearin' a fake mustache." Everyone aside from Pinkie and Twilight chuckled nervously, making it seem hilarious at the crazy idea the guard came up with. "Meh. Ah've seen some Toad kids dressin' up like him durin' Halloween, but hers is pretty authentic...'cept for that "P" on the hat. It's supposed to be an "M"...Almost...like..." The buzzard squinted his eyes as he looked at Mario's cap. They then widened as he gasped in shock, feeling like an idiot as he was duped the other day. "Hey, wait a minute! Y'all ain't Luigi! And that means...!"

The avian swung his wings, shooting sharp feathers out as they slashed Twilight and Pinkie's clothing. Twilight's cloak was torn to shreds, revealing her purple wings folded at her sides, as well as both of the ponies' cutie marks. The buzzard's lower jaw fell as he let out a shocked caw, looking back at the wanted list he was given.

"...Oh, prickling Pokeys," Bombette muttered.

"Ah can't believe it! Ah've been made a fool of!" the buzzard exclaimed.

"Sir, please, we don't want to fight!" Twilight pleaded, stepping off of Pinkie as she bounced back up, tears welling in her eyes as her custom Mario outfit was ruined.

"Ah feel like such an idiot! None of y'all are gonna pass, and Ah'm startin' with you, Mario!" the buzzard shouted as he flew up in the air, beginning to swoop down low to hit them.

Right as Mario was about ready to dodge out of the way of the swooping predator, his Lucky Star began shining pink, making him gasp in surprise as his blue eyes tinted pink for a moment. For a brief moment, he saw himself avoiding the bird's sharp talons, then watched as he kept going, everyone else leaping out of his way, and headed straight for Twilight. His talons scratched the alicorn in the face as he rammed into her, knocking her unconscious, and sending her sprawling toward the edge of the cliff. The vision suddenly ended, confusing the plumber for a moment as his eyes returned to normal, but it gave him the feeling that moment was about to happen.

Hearing the buzzard's screech snapped him out of his thoughts. Acting quickly, he dodged out of the way just like he had in his vision, but he took hold of his hammer, vaulted from a one-handed somersault, and flung his hammer to where the avian was headed, sending it past his friends as they avoided the avian. Activating his telekinetic powers, his gloves surrounded by a lavender aura, he sent the spiraling metal hammer up, smacking the buzzard upside his jaw, lifting him up with a pained squawk and missing Twilight's head by a few inches.

"Yikes! That was close!" Pinkie said. "You ok, Twilight!?"

"Y-Yeah," the alicorn said, a little shaken as she had frozen like a deer in a spotlight as she saw the sharp talons nearly knocking her head off. "That was way too close."

The buzzard regained control of his hovering, shaking his head from the impact of having a hammer smacking him in the beak. "Ow! How the heck did that even hit me!?" He turned around, watching Mario return his hammer back to his hand. "Nice curve, but that was a lucky shot! Ah ain't gonna miss this-!" He was suddenly hit in the chest by Pinkie's weaker hammer, but it hurt enough to distract him. "Hey! Y'all ain't Hammer Bros.! Quit throwin' hammers at me!"

"Well, we're not going to let you stop us or take Twilight and Pinkie away!" Goombario exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Pinkie shouted as she caught her hammer in her mouth. "And you're gonna pay for ruining my outfit! I spent five whole seconds working on that the moment I first met Mario!"

"You made that in five seconds?" Kooper questioned, only to shake his head, ignoring Pinkie's random antics as he constantly reminded himself. "Anyway, we're passing through, and we can take you on, bird brain!"

"Oh, y'all are gonna get it!" The avian flew down and began flapping his wings hard, creating a dangerously powerful gust of wind that threatened to knock everyone off their feet.

Everyone braced themselves as they tried to fight back against the harsh winds. Parakarry grunted as he flapped his wings, pushing back against the strong gust, having braved dangerous weather conditions as a mail carrier. As soon as the Paratroopa got close enough, he ducked in his shell and shot himself through the air, smacking the buzzard hard in the face. The guard squawked in pain as he grabbed his face, Parakarry bounding off him from the impact, diving down onto the strong avian with a kick to his noggin, sending the buzzard crashing to the ground.

"Gonna take a lot more wind than that to stop someone like me!" Parakarry said.

"Everypony charge!" Pinkie shouted as she ran toward the stunned bird, giving it a hard whack on the head with her hammer.

"Augh! Why you little-!" Irritated, the buzzard leered at Pinkie, flapping his wings and quickly grabbing the mare in his talons.

"AHH! HELP!" Pinkie screamed, flailing her legs as she was being lifted up in the air. "I'M BEING PONYNAPPED!"

"Hang on, Pinkie!" Twilight said as she took to the air after the large bird of prey.

Parkarry assisted the alicorn, both of them attacking the buzzard to try to free Pinkie while the others could only watch from the ground. The Lucky Star began glowing pink again, giving Mario another random vision as his eyes turned pink again. This time, he saw Twilight and Parakarry successfully getting the avian to let go of Pinkie, only to have the mare fall further away from the bridge and down into the chasm, the alicorn and Paratroopa too slow to catch her in time. With the vision ending, the plumber needed to think of something quick before Pinkie fell to her death.

Using his hammer and telekinesis again, Mario swung his hammer high into the air, Kooper, Bombette, and Goombario wondering what he was doing. "Mario, what are-?"

Keeping focus on controlling his hammer, he waited for the right moment to strike while Twilight and Parakarry kept distracting the buzzard. Finding his opening, he swung the hammer hard in the avian's face, sending it spiraling out of control as his talons released Pinkie's barrel, sending her flying back over to the cliff. The mare screamed as she fell, Mario quickly running to where she was going to land and caught her before she hit the ground. She opened her eyes, caught safely in the plumber's arms.

"Yay! My hero!" Pinkie squealed, hugging Mario tightly.

"Whoa! Nice save, Mario!" Bombette complimented. "Looks like you're getting used to controlling that hammer. I'd laugh if we faced a Hammer Bro and their jaws drop when they see your hammer flying around."

With the buzzard in a daze after getting blindsided by the telekinetically controlled hammer, Parakarry and Twilight flew back down to the others. "Mario, your hammer kind of surprised us, but thank goodness Pinkie's alright."

"Well, it's not over yet," Goombario said. "That vulture's still kicking, and if we give him a chance to recover, he'll end up chasing us down the mountain."

The buzzard groaned, shaking his head as he snapped out of his daze, rubbing his sore cheek with a wing. "Where in the world did that come from?" Looking down, he growled, getting himself beaten by the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom and his partners. "Ah don't know how Mario's beatin' me, but Ah ain't gonna go down until Ah'm down and out!"

He let out a screech as he dove down, talons held out as he aimed at the plumber. He was ready this time, warning the others to get out of the way, aiming to knock this bird out for good. Making a leap right as the buzzard soared couple feet over the ground, Mario landed on his back, clutching the avian guard's feathers tightly with one hand. With the other gripping his hammer, he hung on tightly as the buzzard squawked and flew around, trying to get Mario off of him. With a powerful swing, he threw his hammer forward, keeping his foe flying straight as he brought his mallet back to him.

The metal head smacked into the buzzard's face, the force of impact practically doubled from the speed both forces came into each other. The enemy froze in flight, letting out weak caws of pain as it saw more stars than the night sky spiral around his head. Grabbing his hammer again, Mario jumped off the buzzard's back, pushing the predator down as he landed back on the cliff with the others, watching their opponent fall down into the canyon. Thankfully, his large feathers broke the fall, hitting the ground with a pained moan with only several large bumps and bruises to the head and face from the metal mallet.

"Looks like that did it," Twilight said. "Now we can pass without worrying about making up ridiculous stories to pass through. And without my cloak, I really don't want to go back through the desert."

"Those were some really close calls though with you two," Kooper said. "Thanks to Mario and his quick thinking, he saved both of you."

Mario decided to tell everyone what had actually happened during those two "quick thinking" moments. It surprised them when he explained he had some random visions appear in his eyes where something awful was about to happen to Twilight and Pinkie, and he prevented those painful outcomes from happening. He even mentioned catching a glimpse of his chest glowing pink, which came from the Lucky Star he wore.

"You can actually see the future now!?" Bombette exclaimed. "Can you see where we'll find the next Star Spirit? Or who we'll run into next?"

The plumber shook his head as he had no control over the visions, nor can he even activate it to foresee anything else at will. "I think this must be something from Pinkie, then," Twilight pondered. "Foresight into the future that happens at pure random. It's almost like her Pinkie Sense, only without random body spasms or combos to mess him up if they happen in a fight."

"Yay! You have your own Pinkie Sense now!" Pinkie cheered as she hugged Mario again. "What should we call your sense!? Plumber Sense? Mario Sense? Fighting Sense?"

"I think just calling it foresight is a bit better suited," Goombario suggested. "Your senses are a bit random, even if they can tell when something unexpected happens."

"...Eh, it's boring, but I guess that makes sense," Pinkie said. "But if anything comes up, you should give us cues when a certain something happens. If only the author gave Mario some dialogue instead of keeping him as a silent protagonist so he can tell us to watch out."

"What was that last part, Pinkie?" Parakarry asked.

"It's nothing!" she said. "Let's-a go!"

---

The trek across Mt. Rugged was calm as they reached the station and headed back to Toad Town. The Monty Moles were not much of a bother, though they ended up stopping when Pinkie kept playing around on the slopes used as a quicker shortcut to make it back to the base of the mountain range. Other than the pink pony's playfulness slowing them down slightly, they made it to the station in time as the train was ready to depart back to the capital of the kingdom. There were already quite a few passengers ready to make the climb over Mt. Rugged and reach Dry Dry Outpost, but boy, would they be surprised to see their future tour guide in the desert.

Seeing as no other passengers were heading back to Toad Town, the party got on board, the train conductor obliging to give them a ride for their help freeing up the road block back in town. The long ride over was a bit uneventful as everyone watched the scenery pass by, desert landscape turning to green and lush fields, the weather cooling down a bit as they moved further away from the dry, arid lands in the southeast. After arriving in Toad Town's station, they disembarked and headed into town.

"Oooh! Toad Town looks a lot nicer up close than from the castle!" Pinkie said. "That meanie, Bowser, is gonna get it one way or another!"

"Well, we can't relax for too long," Goombario said. "Let's hope Twink finds us and tells us where to go next if he and Princess Peach found anything."

"Who's Twink?" Pinkie asked. "A new friend?"

"He's a Star like Mamar, but younger," Twilight said. "He's with Peach, keeping her company and acting as a messenger for us if they find out where the next Star Spirit is located or who we might be up against."

"Oh, so that explains how you knew where to go," Pinkie said. "We got a spy on the inside."

Heading north to the main square of Toad Town where they would hopefully see Twink soon, they walked down the road and were about to pass by the bridge to cross a small river separating the town from a creepy forest. There was a small sentry outpost on the other side of the bridge, a blue spotted Toad wielding a spear nervously standing guard.

"W-Why was I stationed here?" the guard asked himself. "I really don't like being this close to the Forever Forest..." As he looked away from the forest entrance, he was unaware of an elder Boo floating toward him, sneaking up on him with a grocery list in his stubby hands. Before having a little fun scaring the fidgeting guard, he noticed Mario and his friends passing by, along with two equines that nearly made him gasp audibly in surprise. The Toad guard looked back toward the forest, gasping in horror as he saw the Boo floating there. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

Hearing the Toad scream, the party looked across the bridge as they passed, the Boo disappearing before he was noticed by Mario or his entourage. "What was that?"

"Sounded like somepony was in trouble," Twilight pondered.

Investigating the situation, they approached the small building, where the guard was shuddering heavily in fear, clutching his spear tightly. "What's going on?"

"A g-g-g-g-g-ghost!" the guard exclaimed. "I-It was just floating there! Right behind me!"

"What ghost?" Goombario asked.

Appearing behind the group, the old Boo made a terrifying face, making the guard panic. "There! Behind you!" He disappeared before the others could see him, only to reappear inside the small outpost, tapping the guard on the shoulder and giving him another fright. "AHHHHHHH! It's in there!"

The guard ducked behind Mario as everyone looked inside, finding no ghosts or anything creepy. "There's nothing in here. Just empty space."

The Boo reappeared again, having his fun as he floated toward the entrance of Forever Forest, making sure the guard saw him. "I-I-I-It went into the forest!"

Looking out to the entrance of the wildly grown forest, it began unnerving Pinkie and Twilight as it almost looked like the entrance to the Everfree Forest back in Equestria. "You sure there's a ghost, or are you just crying wolf?"

"I swear, ghosts just come up and scare the living daylights out of me!" the guard said. "I don't know why they keep picking on me! I'm scared of ghosts and I was placed out here to guard the Forever Forest!"

"Well, this forest is the home of the Boos who live in an abandoned mansion deep inside," Goombario said. He pulled out the map and looked beyond the forest. "And past that is a wasteland known as Gusty Gulch, thankfully not a desert, but the land is pretty barren."

"M-Mario, can you please find out what's going on?" the Toad pleaded. "That Boo must be the same one I always keep seeing almost every day, and I don't know why." Mario nodded his head, a little curious about what was going on, completely caught off guard when the scared soldier hugged his legs. "Thank you! I'll just...stay here...far from that forest..."

"But what about Twink?" Twilight reminded the plumber. "He could be searching for us, even as we speak."

"We'll just check the entrance and see if the Boo is there," Kooper said. "If not, we'll head back to the square and wait for Twink."

Twilight sighed, a little annoyed that someone as scared as that Toad was ever a guard, but she followed the others as they walked closer to the forest entrance. The canopy of the trees seemed to block out any light deeper in, which seemed exactly like the Everfree Forest to the two mares. They all looked around, not really expecting to see a ghost around if it it became invisible to avoid them.

"Must have gone down to that mansion," Parakarry said. "I think there were some routes I took here, but I always flew in through the canopy. I've never once gone through the Forever Forest."

"This is called the 'Forever Forest'?" Twilight asked, shuddering a little. "This place looks a lot more dangerous than the Everfree Forest back home."

Suddenly appearing before them was the elder Boo that terrorized the Toad a moment ago, surprising them, but he wasn't as scary as the guard had thought he was. "Hello, there."

"...Umm, hi?" Kooper said quizzically.

"You must be Mario," he said to the plumber as the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom nodded his head. "How do you do, sir? My name is Bootler, and I would like to send you all an invite to my master's manor deep in the forest."

"An invite!?" Pinkie exclaimed with an overly dramatic gasp. "You're throwing a party!? I've always wanted to know what a ghost party is like!"

"It is not a party," Bootler said, disappointing Pinkie as she wilted and whined sadly. "My master also would like to inform you about something in her possession. Two somethings, as it were, that are important for you and these two."

Twilight and Pinkie looked at each other as the elder Boo pointed his stubby arm at them. "For us? You know about us?"

"We do hear word of...interesting news from time to time," he said cryptically. "But, what I believe Mario is searching for is information about...the Star Spirits, correct?"

"You know something about the Star Spirits?" Goombario asked.

"If you wish to know, find the mansion, and we will give you all a warm welcome." Bootler faded away as he turned invisible. "And if you don't come...then we'll GET YOU!!!!!"

The old Boo reappeared in front of them, letting out a ghostly shriek as he made a creepy face. Bootler startled them all, Pinkie screaming louder than everyone else as she plopped on her back, frozen in fear. The Boo then disappeared again, letting out a mischievous chuckle as he headed back to the mansion.

"I hate Boos when they do that," Bombette said.

"You've been startled by one before?" Twilight asked after her heart finally stopped pounding against her chest.

"No, but I know they can be pretty annoying," the Bob-omb said.

"How is it that the Boos know about anything involving the Star Spirits?" Kooper questioned. "I doubt they're the kind of ghosts who make wishes, and the land beyond the forest is pretty barren. No one else lives out there."

"You don't think they might have one of them, do they?" Twilight asked.

"Bowser has hired Boos as part of his army, but I don't think that Boo is working for him," Goombario said. "But if they do have one...why did Bowser give one to a group of defected ghosts?"

"Maybe we should check it out," Parakarry suggested. "I kind of don't want to get haunted by Boos every day if we don't go to their mansion."

"Me neither...Might as well, even though we won't find out if Twink or Peach had found anything helpful." Twilight looked over at Pinkie, still frozen in fright on her back. "Pinkie, come on. We're going into the forest."

She finally snapped out of her shock, lifting her head up as she stared at the dark woods before them. "Is that a good idea? That place looks spookier than that fake ghostie Trala Klepto when he tried to scare us out of the ruins."

"Do you want to be haunted by ghosts with sentient thought that can find and scare us no matter where we go?" the alicorn asked blandly.

"...Point taken," Pinkie said. "As much as I was taught by my Granny Pie to giggle at the ghosties, these kinds of ghosties won't actually go away. And I do not want to be haunted by cute, yet scary, Boos."

"How are they cute?" Kooper questioned.

"They have round bodies and really tiny arms!" Pinkie explained. "And the cute things are always the ones that end up more scarier than a monster that's supposed to look scary."

Kooper pondered that thought, giving a shrug as he did think it did make some sense with some certain creatures throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Knowing their time would be wasted without any confirmation from Twink if he found them, they entered the Forever Forest to reach the mansion hidden deep in these woods. Unlike many natural forests upon entry, the path lead them to a circular section of the forest, a stump with a long branch that acted like a toll booth seemed to act as gateways of sorts as they saw two others on the left and right on the circular path. As soon as they walked forward, the stump spun on its own, letting them pass as they walked through, spinning around and stopping back in its original position. There were large amounts of flora outside the path and in the circle they would walk around, strange looking white flowers fully bloomed on the bushes in the spherically symmetrical section, a sign in front of them indicating the exit out of the forest.

Twilight lit up her horn to brighten the area a little bit, but it didn't help brighten the creepy atmosphere. "Uhh, any idea what we could end up encountering around here?"

"From what I've heard from my Goompa and his stories of traveling around the kingdom when he was younger, I think he mentioned Fuzzies and Piranha Plants," Goombario said.

"There's Fuzzies here too?" Twilight groaned in annoyance. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"And they can divide themselves and create duplicates of themselves," the Goomba continued, to Twilight's dismay. "The Piranha Plants are more dangerous though, since they're carnivorous plants."

"So, they're bitey-chompy flowers that look like a fish?" Pinkie asked as she imagined a plant with the head of a piranha with blue petals around its face.

"No, they aren't fish." Suddenly popping up behind them, the group turned to hear a chomping noise, Twilight and Pinkie screaming in terror as they saw the red and white-spotted, meat-eating plant with a green stem and leaves. "They look like that."

"Kill it with fire!" Pinkie screamed, pulling out her wooden hammer in defense. "Or smash it with a hammer!" The Piranha Plant disappeared into the ground, only to pop up in front of Pinkie Pie and try to chomp her. "AHHH! BAD TELEPORTING PLANT!"

She gave it a hard smack in its wide maw, cracking some of its teeth as it made a dazed groaning noise. "How are you guys not surprised that these things can pop up out of the ground like that!?"

"Try not being surprised by any of them that pop up out of warp pipes throughout the kingdom," Parakarry said, Mario sighing as he nodded, having his fair share of surprise Piranha Plants poking out of the pipes he came across in the past.

The dazed plant shook itself out of its daze, but before it could bite the mare that smacked its head, Kooper shell tossed himself into the back of its head, knocking it unconscious. "Some of them can also shoot out fireballs from their mouths. Thankfully, these ones don't. Just the ones that infest warp pipes."

"Oh. Perfect," Twilight sarcastically said. "Pure irony how a plant can shoot fire...And what are warp pipes?"

"They're spread throughout the Mushroom Kingdom," Bombette explained. "Usually, they lead to a large underground sewer system, but they're actually quite helpful getting from one point to another throughout the land. Really useful when we don't want to travel long distances."

"Then why didn't we use those to get to Dry Dry Desert instead of walking up a mountain and past the hot desert air and sand?" the alicorn questioned skeptically.

"Not every single place has a warp pipe, but if they do, then they need to be activated from the Toad Town sewer system," Goombario said. "Back at home, there is a spot where a warp pipe should be, but it's been inactive. A little helpful to cross Goomba Road and avoid fighting enemy Goombas who want to pick a fight with me and my family when my mom goes grocery shopping in Toad Town, although coming out into a sewer isn't exactly sanitary."

Twilight imagined what it would be like to travel from point A to point B through a pipe, though with how cramped it would be, she pondered how travel in this fashion was entirely possible. "...I'd rather travel to wherever I want to go than travel through a pipe if I have to walk through a sewer..."

Walking past the unconscious man-eating flower, the party began wandering around the area, but with three other ways to go, they had no clue which way they should go. "I think Bootler forgot to give us a map. How are we supposed to find the mansion if all the pathways look the same?"

As they reached the opposite end of the area, everyone was startled as the nearby bushes with white flowers shook. What unnerved them was the fact that the flowers looked like they had a creepy grin, tilting left and right as they laughed creepily.

"What the hay was that?" Twilight asked.

"That...isn't natural," Goombario uttered.

"Wait...Hold on a sec." Kooper wandered over to the other bushes across the different pathways, finding it odd that out of the three other paths they could take, only one of them was out of place. As he walked back around, the flowers every stood by shook and began laughing again. "These flowers are the only ones that are doing this. The other bushes with these same flowers seem to be normal ones."

"So, what exactly does that mean?" Bombette asked.

"I think I remember reading something about the Forever Forest," the Koopa said. "It was given its name because of how lost the explorer who wandered these woods were when they trekked through to reach Gust Gulch. If I'm right, then I think the only way to reach the mansion in this forest is to find the out of place objects across each path."

"Like these weird laughing flowers?" Pinkie asked.

"Yeah. I can only hope my theory is right." Deciding to go with Kooper's instinct, his intuition spot on back in the ruins when they encountered the Stone Chomps after gathering those three stones, they crossed through the path, the stump spinning around to let them through.

They didn't make it far as they ended up in another similar circular pathway, only to have a strange leaf covered being with a gray beard jump down from the stump of the next gate, barring their path. "Not another step further."

"Ugh, not again," Goombario said. "We just took care of that giant bird earlier. We don't have time to deal with another of Bowser's guards."

"I do not work for that Koopa," the mysterious hermit said. "I am warning you because this forest is dangerous. I suggest you all turn back and return to Toad Town."

"We kind of need to go this way," Goombario said.

"None of you understand. This is the Forever Forest; you walk into these woods, you may wander this place forever trying to find your way through. Now, for your own safety, turn back and leave this forest." They weren't going to listen to the hermit's warnings, having already come this far to reach the Boos and find out what else they might know of the remaining Star Spirits' whereabouts.

"Listen, sir, we need to get by," Twilight said. "We have to meet with the Boos in this forest. They know something about the Star Spirits, and we don't have time to waste."

"...You have business with the Boos in their mansion...?" He looked behind him, staring at something that lies farther into the forest before turning back to the party. "...Well, if you were invited personally by those mischievous ghosts, then I guess I can't stop you."

The group was silent as they looked at each other, a little surprised that they were allowed to pass that easily. "...That wasn't...all that hard, I guess."

"Don't think that traveling through the Forever Forest will be a walk in the park, mysterious creature," the hermit said. "To make it to the haunted mansion, all of you will need to be wary of your surroundings. The true path will lead you to the Boos, but choose the incorrect path, and you'll end up back at the beginning of the maze of this forest. I placed that sign out there to show the exit for a reason, after all."

"I knew it!" Kooper said. "Those flowers were different compared to the others when they moved and laughed! So, we find out what's different in the other parts of the forest, then we'll find the Boos!"

"Very observant, young Koopa, but the rest of the environment will not be so easy to solve." The hermit leapt up onto the stump, waving his arm out to the area. "I will give you a hint on where to go next, but the rest will be up to your eyes and ears. In this section, pay close attention to the stumps facing each path. I wish you luck on the other paths."

He made his leave, running off in the darkness to who-knows-where in the Forever Forest. Looking across the circle of shrubbery and trees, there was a diagonally sliced tree facing the path they were on, the inside hollowed out and dark, making it hard to see what was inside.

"So, there's something about the stumps we need to look out for," Parakarry mumbled. "No wonder I flew in from the top. Otherwise, I would have been wandering around the woods aimlessly and got fired for not delivering mail to the Boos."

"They get mail?" Pinkie asked. "What kinds of ghosties get mail?"

"I actually just drop them off. I never once went inside that old mansion," the Paratroopa said. "It's...a little creepy."

"I think that's kind of the point with haunted buildings," Bombette said dully. "They're supposed to be creepy with how decrepit they are."

Passing through the gate, they wandered around the area, paying careful attention to the stumps. It was hard to look at their surroundings while avoiding the Piranha Plants and Forest Fuzzies that tried to attack them in the dark woods. Twilight blasted each Fuzzy that tried to jump on her, not wanting to be tied up into a cocoon web again or have them reproduce like single-celled organisms. Eventually, they managed to find the stump that was different from the others, red eyes glowing from inside it that helped them point out the path to take.

The next area had flowers on the bushes again, but when they passed by each bush, the white flowers let out a different kind of laugh as they spun around in a complete circle. It didn't take as long to figure it out as the first group of flowers, the obvious difference in this section being one bush that had blue flowers while the other three had the white ones. While searching, they did find a path up a slope that reached the center of the area, where they spotted the old hermit keeping a close eye out for anymore travelers who had no business passing through.

While searching around the fourth section of the cryptic forest, the trees in this part a bit hunched over as if they were learning over the path, Twilight found another slope leading to the inner circle of symmetrical trees. Planted in the middle of the grass was yet another one of those Bulb-ulb flower creatures from the look of the green flower. She approached the flower, the Bulb-ulb popping up from the ground as it heard the alicorn walk over to it.

"Hello!" the Bulb-ulb greeted. "I never thought I would meet anyone out here."

"Gee, I wonder why," the alicorn mumbled to herself with a roll of her eyes. "I know a forest is the ideal place to find all sorts of flora, but anypony would expect dangerous plants in this dangerous place."

"Oh, I don't mind it," the sentient plant said. "Those Piranha Plants can be mean, but it's peaceful and quiet out here." Twilight chuckled nervously, finding the Forever Forest nowhere near "peaceful" as the Bulb-ulb claims it is. "But, since you've come all this way to visit me, let me give you one of my seeds."

She was given a third Bulb-ulb seed, this one as green as the flower on its head. "Thanks. And don't worry, I'll plant this, and the other two I have, somewhere nice."

"Oh! You've met other Bulb-ulbs! You must like flowers a lot! Hope you'll come and visit again real soon!" The Bulb-ulb burrowed itself back into the ground, leaving it's flower poking up out of the ground.

"I'd rather not," Twilight said to herself, stashing away the third seed in her saddlebags. "I do not want to get caught by more Fuzzies."

She regrouped with the others as they found the next out of place marker that lead them to the next area, a creepy laugh coming from a red face that appeared on a tree. Through the next gate, they saw some blue and purple mushrooms growing on the ground, Pinkie's curiosity prompting her to touch them, thinking they were an edible kind. As her hoof brushed against one of them, the group they stood by began glowing and let out a hum noise before the light faded. Figuring this must be the next puzzle to make it through, they saw more mushrooms of the same colors around the path. The odd one out was a larger cluster of them, glowing and humming more frequently than the other three smaller groups, which was almost blinding as their eyes had adjusted to the dark woods with Twilight's horn lighting their way.

They passed through the gate, finding more white flowers on the bushes again, but as they approached the bush in front of them, the white flowers wilted and sank into the leaves, letting out a dying laugh. After searching the other bushes while dealing with the enemies in the area, they found one bush that just had giggling flowers that tilted left and right, which clued them onto the right path.

"Ugh. Just how deep are we in this forest?" Bombette asked. "I hate getting trapped in mazes, and it feels like we're not even going anywhere."

"Hey! I see a sign!" Pinkie cheered, zipping off to a wooden sign facing a nearby tree gate. "It says, 'Boo's Mansion, down this way'! We made it!"

"Thank goodness," the Bob-omb sighed. "If I saw another one of those stupid Piranha Plants-"

"You'll explode?" Kooper asked, finishing Bombette's sentence.

"Yup. But ten times worse than what I usually dish out," she said.

Passing through the gate, the party walked down the dirt path, staring in awe as they reached a wide open area where the mansion was built. "Whoa..."

Beyond the rusted metal fence that secured the perimeter of the mansion, they examined the decrepit, almost abandoned looking manor. Time had not been kind to the building, seeing misplaced boards, faded and chipped paint, some cracked and dusty windows, even the lawn itself was a mess. At least they were sort of out of the woods, though they had no clue how deep they were in Forever Forest as the area was still dark, even with less trees blocking out the sky.

"Well...we're here," Twilight said. "And it's just as creepy as a haunted mansion should be; built in a dark, scary forest that can get anypony lost if they don't know where they're going and haunted by ghosts."

Being cautious, everyone walked down the road and approached the rusted metal gates. They slowly creaked open by a mysterious force, the group slowly walking through before they slammed shut behind them. Pinkie and Twilight yelped in surprise, the former leaping into Mario's arms.

"Creepy, squeaky gates that open and close on their own; check," Pinkie said, pulling out a piece of paper out of her mane as she checked off something. "Good start, but there better be some unexpected scares."

"Pinkie, will you please concentrate?" Goombario pleaded. "There could be Boos around us right now."

As Mario put the mare down while they turned to the front doors of the mansion, Bootler appeared before them on the porch. "Welcome, sirs and madams. Glad to see you have made it through the Forever Forest."

"Well, you didn't exactly give us instructions to get here if we wound up getting ourselves lost back there," Kooper said, pointing a thumb back at the path they took to get here.

"Yes, but we do like our privacy from time to time," Bootler explained. "We sometimes don't want any unwanted guests wandering in the mansion if they plan to run it down or live in it. Granted, you are here now, and my master is waiting for you. Please, make your way to the third floor, and you will hear of the information we have for you." The old Boo slowly disappeared as he backed up into the front door. "We'll see you there..."

"...And no random jump scare upon disappearing and leaving to hide; 'nother check!" Pinkie said as she checked off yet another part of her list.

"I'm starting to think Pinkie really isn't afraid of anything and pretends to be scared for the fun of it," Goombario said, yelping in surprise as Pinkie grabbed him in her hooves.

"Exactly! It's like Nightmare Night, but the scares are real as well as the ghosties!" she exclaimed.

"Uhh, you mean Halloween?" the Goomba corrected.

"That, too!" Goombario sighed, being dropped back down to the ground.

As the group prepared themselves to enter the haunted mansion, they didn't notice a Boo floating by the window on the third floor, watching them as they had approached and were greeted by Bootler. The Boo let out a mischievous cackle while holding a red fan over her face.

"Let's see if they can pass my little test before being graced with my presence," Bow said to herself, the green Boo fanning herself as she grinned impishly. She turned around, looking at her guest she had for the last week. "Or, I should actually say OUR presence. Looks like Bootler was right saying there were two of your friends with Mario when he went to Toad Town today. You'll be reunited with them once they all reach this floor, Rarity."

"Please don't tell me your little tests are going to harm them," the white unicorn said.

"Relax. Just harmless little pranks," Bow assured. "I'm not that cruel. I had Bootler go to town to get you fresh food and beverages so you don't die from thirst or hunger."

"Yet you can't bother to get a working shower so I can finally get all this dirt off me." Rarity whined as she brushed off some dust that clung to her fur. "The small amount of cleaning I did do for my side of this room isn't the best I could do, and I am absolutely filthy."

"Oh, quit your whining and hide behind those curtains you renovated," the ribbon-wearing Boo said with an irritated groan. "I want to surprise your friends. And keep quiet. Your obnoxious voice can be heard through the cracks in the walls."

Rarity growled in irritation, but she kept quiet as she grumbled to herself, wanting to surprise her two friends as well as she sat behind the curtains she restored with her sewing talents since she couldn't do much in the old mansion except wait. She hoped they would make it through whatever test Bow set up for them soon, not only to be reunited with whoever was with Mario, shocked to hear he was still alive after the beating he took, but to also get a nice, hot shower after a whole week without taking one.

Comments

[KingJoltik]

Pinkie agreed. "Good thing Rarity did end up here!

Wait a minute, Rarity didn't end up in the desert, did she?

[Tailbiter231]

I love Paper Mario. I'll be reading this for sure

[Joeyjambo122]

In the next chapter, is something going to happen with the vase that turns Mario into 8-Bit Mario?

[ShadowStar0]

...So... Pinkie's power turned Mario into Shulk?

[everydaygamer]

Hey look at that featured on the front page, I really need to catch up on this one 4 chapters behind currently lol.

[QuartzScale]

Looks like Mario now has a new ability. So Twilight gave him Telekinesis but only in relation to his hammer.
Pinkie gave him Minute Foresight allowing him to see possible outcomes from their actions.

Speculation time. Rarity and Rainbow Dash elude me at this point. Applejack would be something strength related and Fluttershy would probably be something with the stare. We all know about Luigi's evil stare when racing so it is a thing.

[GamePlayer64]

Hey, did you give Kolorado the artifact of Dry Dry Ruins?

[Codex92]

8110002 Wow. I cannot realize any errors at all in this story. What the heck is going on with me???

8110123 Sort of, even though I've never played Xenoblade Chronicles, I did see a let's play on YouTube from Chuggaconroy, and some of his let's plays are hilarious. Though Mario's new power of foresight is helpful, it only activates during specific situations if you can guess just from the first two of possibly many more in the future.

8110321 Obviously, Applejack would be strength. I'm brainstorming what Rarity would give, Rainbow would clearly involve speed, and Fluttershy giving Mario the ability to use the Stare...? I think that one is meant only for Luigi with his evil look, but only if he's cart racing.

8110394 Due to Moustafa requesting them not to take any of his family ancestor's artifacts, they didn't give Kolorado the artifact. He'll probably find a way to get it, though. And with future hijinks in the fifth area with that explorer and lava pits...getting crushed...falling on his ass...and being a greedy archaeologist hunting for treasure.

[KingJoltik]

8110981 Eh, it happens. Don't worry about it.

[Odeinoichus]

Having recently gone back to my Wii and playing this again on the Virtual Console I picked up I'd have to say I'm eagerly looking forward to Shiver City. The Penguin Backroom Murder Mystery! How scandalous.

Taking a wild guess, I'd think Rarity would present something similar to Watt's ability to detect hidden question mark blocks. Since you haven't mentioned the badges here, perhaps her Gem finding ability could be used to ferret out enemy weaknesses (since I haven't noticed any Star Pieces either for you.)

Either that or Rarity's power could be a simple item summoning charm that allows Mario to pull fire flowers, POW blocks and the like out of nowhere just like Rarity can with her fainting couch.

Thank God they aren't slogging through Toad Town sewers, then they'd have to fight evil Bloopers and zip back and forth helping out that ungrateful old Koot with his ridiculous fetch quests. ALL FOR ONE COIN! Honestly the stingy old codger could have at least given out 100 coins for each task, would have made farming for cash easier than relying on Money Money and Merlees Curse... Or was it Merluvlee? Argh I can never remember their names.

Will Rarity become her favorite detective character to ferret out the dastardly penguin murderer? Will Pinkie ever finish her checklist? Is Rainbow Dash bored out of her skull stuck in Shy Guy's toybox? And how is Sushie treating Fluttershy? All of these answers and more, next time, same Mario Time, same Mario Channel. Also IT'S KA WIZZZZZZZ TIME With everybody's favorite host Chuck Quizmo! (I hope.)

[QuartzScale]

8110981 I don't know about that. Mario has a pretty badass stare whenever he's fighting Bowser. Especially during Mario and Luigi Dream Team. The final battle especially shows off his anger stare when he fights off dream airships.

[Codex92]

8111308 Never played Dream Team. I don't have a 3DS...I am so behind on so many games I want to play. I've seen some parts of the game, mostly in top insert # countdowns, but not much of the story.

[QuartzScale]

8112294 One of these days we will find a way for you to play them. It might not be any time soon but you will play them.

[Odeinoichus]

8112294

Might I suggest investing in a 2DS system, they cost less and let you enjoy all of the 3DS titles without needing to drop 200+ for the handheld.

I nabbed one off Amazon so I could finally get into Kalos, Alola and Hoenn again, and now I'm about to embark on some plumber quests I've long since been meaning to pick up.

3D isn't always the most important element for enjoying good games, plus I got Mario Kart pre-installed so I can race to my hearts content as well. 3D effects are rather frustrating when you wear glasses, they don't always work depending on the deterioration of your vision.

[Codex92]

8114660 Maybe I could do that, but I'm going to have to really save my money right now. Don't want to spend everything on stuff that I really need, not want.

[JediAlexColbent]

"Yay! You have your own Pinkie Sense now!" Pinkie cheered as she hugged Mario again. "What should we call your sense!? Plumber Sense? Mario Sense? Fighting Sense?"

"I think just calling it foresight is a bit better suited," Goombario suggested. "Your senses are a bit random, even if they can tell when something unexpected happens."

"...Eh, it's boring, but I guess that makes sense," Pinkie said. "But if anything comes up, you should give us cues when a certain something happens. If only the author gave Mario some dialogue instead of keeping him as a silent protagonist so he can tell us to watch out."

[JediAlexColbent]

"And they can divide themselves and create duplicates of themselves," the Goomba continued, to Twilight's dismay. "The Piranha Plants are more dangerous though, since they carnivorous plants."

"they are." Spellcheck exists.

[JediAlexColbent]

"Please don't tell me your little tests are going to harm them," the white unicorn said.

"Relax. Just harmless little pranks," Bow assured. "I'm not that cruel. I had Bootler go to town to get you fresh food and beverages so you don't die from thirst or hunger."

"Yet you can't bother to get a working shower so I can finally get all this dirt off me." Rarity whined as she brushed off some dust that clung to her fur. "The small amount of cleaning I did do for my side of this room isn't the best I could do, and I am absolutely filthy."

"Oh, quit your whining and hide behind those curtains you renovated," the ribbon-wearing Boo said with an irritated groan. "I want to surprise your friends. And keep quiet. Your obnoxious voice can be heard through the cracks in the walls."

Wow... Bow's just as bitchy as in the actual game.

[StarzGecko]

I do wish that side questions, badges and some of the other funny characters in Paper Mario were in the story.

Can that happen or is there a reason why it isn't happening?

[castroedgar316]

"...Eh, it's boring, but I guess that makes sense," Pinkie said. "But if anything comes up, you should give us cues when a certain something happens. If only the author gave Mario some dialogue instead of keeping him as a silent protagonist so he can tell us to watch out. "

That last part made crack up so much I couldn't stop laughing!

[94000130 FFF70000]

"And past that is a wasteland known as Gusty Gulch, thankfully not a desert, but the land is pretty baron."

I believe you meant "barren", though this would make an excellent pun under the right circumstances.

[SammyLawrence]

Fun fact: When I was reading this story I made Buzzar sound like Aeon the Terrible from Rudolph's Shiny New Year