My Little Paper Mario

by Codex92

Taking on the Koopa Bros.

"Oh man, we are so screwed!" Black Ninjakoopa said, panicking at the top of their fortress by the right tower. Red and Green watched him pace around, the rest of the gang blaming him for failing to lock the front door on Mario and his companions. They had set up three black cannons, filled to the brim with hundreds of speeding bombshells named Bullet Bills, large black bullets with eyes leering forward and small arms at its sides. "Mario's gonna kick our shells for sure!"

"Black, calm down," Green said. "I locked up all the other keys in the cells down below. There's no way they're getting through those doors. And even if they do, we've got the heavy artillery. Mario can't survive avoiding Bullet Bills shot out of these Bullet Bill Cannons."

"You guys are completely forgetting about our old buddy, Blue," Red said as he checked the cannons. "Oh, wait. He went back to his old, lame name, Kooper. He's gonna give us trouble with Mario on his side." He turned back to the other two Koopa Bros., clenching his fists in anger. "He's got some skill, but there's no way he can take the four of us on at once. We'll use our super move on him, but after we try to give them a good scare."

"You seriously think that thing is going to scare Mario off?" Green asked quizzically.

"Of course not. But it'll tire him and his little friends out, giving us the edge we need to kick his butt and win back King Bowser's trust at being competent commanders." From the doors to the left tower, Yellow Ninjakoopa walked out on the roof of the fortress, proudly strutting his way toward the three Koopas. "Yellow, where the heck were you!? Mario's in our fortress and you wandered off instead of helping me set these cannons up!"

"Well, lucky for you, Red, I am a freaking genius!" Yellow waved his arm, two of their Koopa guards approaching the Koopa Bros., carrying the unconscious alicorn. Red, Green, and Black's jaws dropped as Yellow managed to capture one of the six equines they were told to look out for. "Caught one of those animals Kammy warned us about. Not only that, but Mario and his little buddies fell for my block trap, too. They're stuck in that huge cell with the Bob-ombs who defied us."

"Seriously!?" the three shocked Ninjakoopas exclaimed simultaneously, Yellow nodding his head with a thumbs up.

"Like a Fighter Fly to a bug zapper," the yellow-shelled Koopa said. "Mario fell for that block trap I set up. Hook, line, and sucker!"

"Hah! Smart thinking, Yellow!" Red complimented. He dismissed the guards who delivered the alicorn, lowering her to the ground and getting back to their posts. The Koopa Bros. surrounded the mare and looked down at her, Twilight lightly snoring, still under the effects of the Sleepy Sheep. "So, what are we gonna do if this thing wakes up? It could escape before we get a call out to Bowser's castle."

"We should tie it up," Green suggested. "If this thing has wings, it'll probably fly out and escape."

"But Kammy Koopa also warned us about magic," Black added. He examined Twilight, lifting her hooves, head, mane, and tail, looking for something. "This thing doesn't have a wand on it."

Red smacked Black upside the head. "You idiot. This thing has natural magic." The leader pointed at the horn on the pony's head. "This thing is a mix breed of a pegasus and unicorn, like that dumb mythology book Kooper always kept when were were kids. Those unicorn things are said to use magic from their horns."

"Oh." Black looked at the horn, poking it with his finger. "It's like a magic wand connected to their foreheads, right?"

"Duh," Red, Yellow, and Green said.

Suddenly, the fortress shook as they heard a loud boom come from the right tower. "What was that!?"

Red quickly ran inside the tower, running over to the side of the large platform at the top. On the other side from the doorway was a large contraption hidden under a white tarp. The Koopa Bros. leader looked down over the railing, seeing smoke billow up from a section of the cell where the defiant Bob-ombs were held captive. He heard their guards check what was going on, hearing Mario, Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette fighting the guards.

"Oh shoot!" Red ran back outside, leaping down the stairs to his comrades. "Looks like trapping Mario didn't work out that well! Those Bob-ombs blasted a hole in the cell, and Mario and his crew are on their way!"

"Crud," Green muttered. "What do we do?"

"Let's bring this thing in the tower and tie it up," Red quickly said. "Bind its legs, its wings, and we need to find something to deal with that horn before it wakes up."

The Koopa Bros. lifted Twilight and ran back inside the tower, shutting the doors behind them to bound the pony, prepare for Mario and his friends' arrival with their cannons and secret weapon.

---

Down on the first floor, the heroes ran through the fortress as they backtracked to the smaller cells, two of them holding keys to help them further up the higher floors. With Bombette along, she made quick work of the walls with crumbled sections, self-destructing and blowing a hole in them. The closest one was easy to grab, but the one close to the entrance of the stone building had the cracked wall in the previous room they had walked in. Mario grabbed the pink Bob-omb, leaping up to the ledge where the cracked wall was, letting her do her thing to grab the second fortress key.

With both keys in hand, the group quickly made their way to the right tower, climbing up the walkway to where their progress was halted by the trap Yellow Ninjakoopa set. "I still can't believe we fell for that trap. Twilight was right to be suspicious of it, but with how random the actual blocks can be set, it looked convincing."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, guys," Bombette said. "We've got to save Twilight before she ends up becoming a test subject!"

"Right! Let's keep moving!" They continued storming through the fortress, Mario leading the way as they entered the next room.

The guards were quickly dealt with, Paratroopas jumped on to crash to the ground by Mario and Goombario while Kooper and Bombette charged into them with their bodies. Using one of the keys, Mario took off the lock, finding themselves back in the room with the smaller cells. The only way across to the other side was walking across the roofs of the cells, two blocks between them that had a red switch. Mario could easily make it across, but it would take too much time and energy to carry Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette individually across each gap.

"Those red switches are placed there for a reason," Goombario thought aloud as he looked around the upper area of the room. The Goomba noticed parts of the wall along this floor jutted out slightly, looking at the switches as he formed a hypothesis. "Hmmm...I wonder what happens if we press those switches."

Mario had a feeling Goombario might be on to something. He looked at Kooper, seeing his shell toss was helpful getting them across the river back on Pleasant Path. After telling the Koopa to test what the switch does, he nodded his head and tossed himself across the gap. As soon as Kooper struck the switch, the misaligned walls across the way shot out, creating walls and floors to make it across the gaps. Bombette yelped as a wall behind them nearly smacked into her and knocked her off the ledge.

"Wah! That almost pushed me over!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry," Kooper apologized. "But at least this switch is helpful." The group made their way across until they stopped in front of the center wall blocking their way. "And if I hit it again..." Kooper threw himself back at the switch again, retracting the walls and floor as it was struck. Once they crossed the wall separating them from the second half of the puzzle, the blue-shelled Koopa repeated the same steps like before, getting them across the cells and unblocking their way to the door up the small flight of stairs. "Whew. That was a bit convoluted."

"But it's a smart way to confuse intruders," Goombario said. "Too bad they're not smart enough to stop us."

In the next room, they took care of more Koopas and Bob-ombs, unlocking the next door with the last key they had. They were back in the left tower, just a walkway away from reaching the top. Unfortunately, the stairs that were supposed to lead up that walkway were underneath the water. Luckily, there was a switch nearby, and it had to be connected with the stairs. Mario slammed his wooden hammer down on the button, the chains rattling as they pulled the stone and algae covered stairway up.

The two shells that were in the small pool of lake water inside rose up along with them, the Koopas popping out of their shells as they began panicking. Thinking it was some kind of drill, they ran down the stairs to get off, quickly getting knocked out by the heroes before they realized Mario and his friends were even there. Being careful not to slip on the wet stone steps, they ran up and reached the door leading out to the top of the fortress. Before they could run to the other side, they noticed the Bullet Bill Cannons set up to face them from the other tower.

The Koopa Bros. charged through the doors, Green, Yellow, and Black flipping off the steps and landing behind the cannons while Red stayed at the top. "Well, well, well! I didn't expect you guys to make it this far! But you're lucky you managed to catch us off guard!"

"Where's Twilight!?" Kooper demanded, Mario, Goombario, and Bombette readying themselves to charge forward. "What have you done to her!?"

"Twilight? Oh, you're talking about that animal thing!" Red chuckled, pointing his thumb toward the room they just exited. "It's a little tied up at the moment!"

"She's a pony, not an animal!" Goombario exclaimed. "She has more brain cells than the four of you combined to make her a sapient being like us!"

"...Uhh, that pipsqueak Goomba has a point, Red," Yellow said to Red Ninjakoopa. "That unicorn-pegasus thing was smart enough to stay away from my trap...Then again, it did have wings too."

"Who cares? Kammy wants it to study, so it's practically a test subject." The leader looked back at their foes on the other side of their fortress, crossing his arms with a smug grin. "Let's see you try to get past our strongest defenses! We promise you this, Mario, Kooper! You won't last a second against us when we get serious!" Red Ninjakoopa thrust his arm forward, pointing at them as the other three Koopa Bros. readied to light the cannons' fuses. "Open fire!"

Yellow, Green, and Black lit the cannons, shooting out Bullet Bills every so often, zooming off in a straight line across the rooftop. The Koopa Bros. retreated back into the tower to prepare for them if they make it through their cannons.

"Bullet Bills," Kooper groaned. "I can't believe Bowser gave them those artillery cannons."

"I think we should start moving! Now!" Goombario shouted as the first three Bullet Bills that were shot out headed straight for them.

They quickly leapt out of their way, the speeding bullets exploding as they hit the wall. Luckily, Bullet Bills only fired in one direction from their design, but the cannons had a mind of their own, firing randomly to throw them off their pattern. Scattering about as they rushed forward, they avoided getting too close to each other to avoid getting struck and catch anyone else within the Bullet Bill's blast radius upon contact. Mario took the lead, jumping on the living bullets, smacking them into the ground, or whacking them back at other Bullet Bills to make them explode.

"We gotta take care of those cannons!" Kooper exclaimed, quickly hiding in his shell and thrusting himself forward, avoiding a Bullet Bill that sailed over him.

"Those things are made of solid steel!" Goombario said, side-stepping a low Bullet Bill, missing him by mere inches. "I doubt any of us will even make a dent in them! And Mario's hammer is made of wood!"

"I can take care of them!" Bombette headed straight for Mario after leaping away from another of the several Bullet Bills infinitely shot out of the Bullet Bill Cannons. "Mario, throw me over toward those cannons!"

The plumber quickly turned, going along with Bombette's plan and picked her up. She lit her fuse and Mario gave her a hard throw, sending her flying through the air. She landed right by the cannons, away from the wide barrels firing Bullet Bills, grunting with exertion as the fire sunk down into her body. The pink Bob-omb moved closer to one of the cannons and exploded, immediately destroying the metal cannon with a chain reaction of the Bullet Bills blowing up inside of it.

One cannon down, and only two left. Bombette fell back down by Mario's side after getting blown back by her own explosion. Kooper bounced off the railings, tossing himself toward the Bullet Bill Cannons in a zigzag maneuver. Aiming for the second cannon, he flipped around and inserted his shell into the muzzle, wedging himself inside to block the Bullet Bills from firing out. He braced himself under the protection of his shell, feeling the impact of a blocked bullet striking his back, blowing up and destroying the cannon from the inside. The explosion sent the Koopa speeding off like a Bullet Bill, screaming frantically in his shell as he spiraled out of control.

Mario quickly got in Kooper's trajectory, holding his hands out and caught the blue shell, skidding back across the ground until they were back a quarter away from where they entered. "Uuuuugh. Thanks, Mario." Kooper popped his limbs out of his shell, his eyes spinning in his head as he stumbled a bit. "That wasn't a smart idea, but I got one of them."

That only left one more cannon barring their path. Mario ran forward, his hammer held tightly in his right hand, facing down a Bullet Bill flying toward him. He swung the hammer into the nose of the bullet, stopping it as it spiraled in midair. Aiming at the right moment, he smacked the Bullet Bill back toward the cannon, the dangerous animated bullet's eyes widening as he flew straight back into the barrel. It blew up on impact, destroying the last cannon through the internal damage made by the chain reaction of explosions from the other Bullet Bills inside.

With all three Bullet Bill Cannons now broken apart, nothing but smoking remains of shattered steel laying where they once stood. With the defensive roadblock destroyed, they rushed up the steps to the right tower, the final room where the Koopa Bros. were hiding and where they took Twilight. As soon as they charged in, they spotted Twilight surprisingly in the middle of the room. Her legs were tied together with rope, along with her wings as they were tied down firmly at her sides. There was also a tight band placed around the base of her horn, the four Koopas thinking constricting her horn would cut off her magic flow.

Mario ran up to Twilight, thankful she wasn't hurt. "Not so fast, Mario!" The plumber jumped in surprise, looking at the other end of the room to see a tall, dark silhouette. The voice sounded low and slightly muffled, but it almost sounded like Red Ninjakoopa. Wheels squeaked as the silhouette moved closer, showing itself in the light shining in through the windows. "You will not take that creature, for I, the great and mighty King Bowser, am taking it back to my castle!"

Simultaneously, Mario, Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette foot/facepalmed at the sight of "Bowser". It looked more like a terrible impersonation of the Koopa King, meant to be some sort of float for a parade as its body was made out of papier–mâché. The arms were long pieces of wood with large blocks mean to be Bowser's hands, the eyes on the head were large, sewn-in buttons, the whole structure sitting on a flat pallet with squeaky wheels to make it move around. They were sure the real Bowser would burn this parade float if he saw this abomination that was his image.

"And you were friends with these morons?" Bombette asked Kooper.

"After seeing this, I regret ever meeting them," Kooper groaned.

Twilight began to wake up, groaning slightly in discomfort as she opened her eyes. "Where...? What happened?" As she got her bearings, she saw her Mushroom Kingdom friends, along with the fake Bowser "staring" them down. "...Uhh, did I miss something?"

Mario lowered himself down to his knees, not bothering with the Koopa Bros. and their Bowser costume as he untied her bindings. "Hey! Get away from our magical creature!" The float moved forward, Mario quickly standing up to defend Twilight from being run over. It stopped in front of him, raised one of its wooden arms, and smacked it down on the plumber's head. It didn't really do much to Mario, just a light bonk from a piece of wood that he could easily break with his skull. "Gwa ha ha ha! How do you like that, Mario!? You must be terrified of my awesome power!"

The room was silent until Twilight spoke up for the heroes. "...Seriously? 'Terrifying'? Is this some kind of joke?" The alicorn stood up, the rope around her legs loosened enough before Mario stood up to stop the rolling papier–mâché Koopa King. She looked up at her forehead, just barely seeing the black band strapped around her horn. "These guys are the worst villains I've ever faced in my entire life. They didn't even dampen the magic from my horn right! They just used a black rubber band with no magical nullification spells embedded in it!"

"Uhh, we needed seals on it to keep it from using magic?" Black whispered from inside the float.

"We don't have any Kameks stationed here!" Yellow quietly shouted, hissing as he was kicked by someone. "Ow! Who hit me!?"

"Maybe we should have thrown it in a cage," Green pondered.

Twilight used her magic, snapping off the band around her horn and ripped off the rope around her sides. "Catching me off guard is one thing, but failing to keep me bound makes me wonder why Bowser hired you four idiotic reptiles."

"Who are you calling idiots!?" Red shouted, only to quickly clear his throat and try to sound like Bowser. "Uhh, I mean, how dare you escape your bindings!? You will not outsmart me, Lord Bowser! King of the Koopas!"

The float backed up, then moved forward, swerving around an irritated Mario as they stopped in front of Twilight. Raising its arm up, it tried to bonk the alicorn on the head, only for her aura to surround the limb, stopping it from hitting her.

"This is just getting ridiculous," Twilight groaned in frustration.

She snapped the arm off, levitating it around to aim it at its owner. "...That is so not cool."

Twilight swung the arm hard several times, smacking it into "Bowser", knocking the Koopa Bros. around inside as they all yelled frantically. The alicorn left several dents in the float, even crushing the head, wishing she could do that to the real Bowser for attacking her and her friends. Eventually, the arm broke after too much abuse, lazily tossing the broken limb over the edge, landing in the empty cell down below, the Bob-ombs escaping after they woke up from their escape plan.

"Alright. I've vented out my frustrations after getting knocked out and poorly tied up completely," Twilight said. "Somepony want to take a whack at this poorly crafted piñata? I know Rarity would want to destroy something like this, or Pinkie if any of us told her there was candy inside."

"Let me take out the 'candy' inside this thing!" Bombette volunteered, lighting her fuse as she walked up to the massacred Bowser float. Mario and Twilight backed up to where Goombario and Kooper were, covering their ears as they waited for the explosion. "Bomb voyage, 'Bowser'!"

Bombette leapt up and exploded, shredding the papier–mâché Bowser apart, pieces flying up and out over the sides. They spotted a picture of Princess Peach that was inside the float, the frame around it used as part of its shell. While the pieces fell down to the basement, Bombette landed back with the others while the Koopa Bros. landed on their feet surprisingly unharmed from the blast on the other side.

"Aww man," Black whined. "There goes Lord Bowser's awesome statue we were gonna give him. You losers better not have ruined my poster of Princess Peach!"

"Why does he have a poster of Princess Peach?" Twilight questioned.

"I really don't want to know," Kooper said, cringing at the possible reasons why his former friend had that poster.

"Alright. Now it's time to get serious," Red said. He pulled out a card, flipping it around in his fingers, taunting the party as he held the Star Spirit Eldstar in his hand. "You may have managed to get through our defenses, took back that animal,-"

"I'm a pony!" Twilight shouted.

"-and destroyed our special weapon we were gonna show King Bowser at some point," the Koopa continued, ignoring the irritated alicorn. "But now you're going to deal with us."

"Just give it up, Red!" Kooper said. "You guys are outmatched! Just hand us the Star Spirit!"

"Not on your life, Kooper!" The red-shelled Koopa hid the card in his shell, still acting smug even though they were dealing with Mario, a magical alicorn, a Goomba, a Bob-omb, and a former friend. "You'll regret wanting out of the group. You'd better be ready, because here come the Koopa Bros.!" The four Ninjakoopas shot out a thumbs up, perfectly in sync in their trademark pose. "Time to unleash our special attack! Koopa Bros., in formation!"

The four Koopas leapt up into the air, landing in order in a tower formation: Green on the bottom, followed by Yellow, then Black, and finally Red on top. The three bottom Koopas crouched low on all fours, Yellow and Black balancing on top of the former's shells underneath them. Red stood on both legs, holding his thumb out in their signature pose.

"A tower?" Twilight asked. "How's that going to help them? That'll only make it easier for them to topple over if hit hard enough."

While the others seemed just as skeptical as Twilight with their formation, Kooper was the only one who seemed wary. "Oh no. They couldn't have mastered that."

"Mastered what?" Bombette asked. "What are you talking about?"

"That's right, Kooper. You have every right to be scared," Red said. "It took us several months when we kicked you out, but we were able to pull off the most epic move a group of Koopa Troopas can do! Something we tried when we were kids." Kooper gasped in shock, taking a step back in surprise. "Now you'll get to see it in action, and feel the pain! The Whirling Tower Shell Toss!"

The Koopa Bros. hid in their shells, perfectly balanced on top of one another as all four of them began spinning in place, charging their tower of a shell toss. Kooper began sweating nervously, their spinning perfectly in sync as a whirlwind of red, black, yellow, and green formed around them. They sped off and headed straight for them, moving faster than a normal Koopa's shell toss.

"Move!" Kooper shouted as he dove out of their way.

Twilight flapped her wings and flew up high, staying far enough away from the attack as she hovered over the spaces left around the platform. Unfortunately, Goombario, Bombette, and Mario weren't so lucky. They were struck hard, yelling out in pain from the quadruple shell toss, Mario taking the full force of the attack as he was slammed into the back wall. They bounced off the plumber as they hit the wall with a leap, flipping back to their starting point. They stopped spinning and popped out of their shells, Red giving them a smug grin with a thumbs up, showing off as they scored a hit.

"W-What? How were they able to move so fast!?" Twilight exclaimed, greatly worried for Mario as he was nearly crushed by the powerful attack.

Goombario and Bombette got up on their feet, only getting grazed by their shells, but it still hurt. "Ow...That's quite a move. And I thought I was dangerous, being a walking, talking bomb."

"Mario, you ok?" Goombario asked. The plumber managed to stand back up, fixing his cap as he fought against the painful blow to the front of his body. "Well, at least it wasn't Bowser with the power of the Star Rod deadly, but he's still conscious."

"How did that feel, Mario!?" Red mocked. "Hurts, doesn't it!? How about another-!?"

Twilight flew down and bucked into Yellow Ninjakoopa's face, making the tower of Koopas wobble as they tried to regain their balance. "You're not pulling that off again!"

She then blasted them with a magic beam, striking Green as it sent him flying up. The Koopa Bros. yelped as they fell over, landing hard on their backs. They struggled to get up, but since they had barely been knocked on their backs, it was harder for them than practicing their special attack.

"Nice, Twilight!" Bombette said, the Bob-omb and Goombario rushing forward. "Let's get them while they're vulnerable!"

They each went after a different Koopa, Bombette tackling Green hard in the side while Goombario headbonked Yellow. Kooper tossed himself over to Black after snapping out of his shock, Mario rushing past the others as he slid into Red, knocking him up in the air a little before getting up, giving him a one-two punch in the face, followed by a hard kick in the gut. Twilight stayed back, letting the others deal with the Koopa Bros. as she provided backup in case any of them tried something.

Red blocked a punch from Mario, getting pinned back against the wall. "That stupid four-legged freak isn't going to keep us down!" He headbutted Mario, sending the plumber staggering back as he pulled out pale brown jar with a curved red arrow labeled on the side. The Koopa quickly opened the lid and held it out, a ghostly image of Bowser covered in black mist rising up from inside. It let out a roar and lunged at the user's attackers, the power it released spooking Mario, Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette, sending them fleeing for their lives back to the other side of the room. "We're coming for you next, pegasus-unicorn freak!"

"I just told you I'm a pony!" Twilight looked back at her Mushroom Kingdom friends, confused by what that fake ghost of Bowser did to them. The effects of the jar had worn off as they weren't terrified anymore, which gave the Koopa Bros. enough time to reform their tower. "What was that? Why did you flee?"

"Fright Jar," Goombario answered. "Makes opponents run from the one who opens it. We all got hit by the enchanted magic and we couldn't help but run away."

"It probably didn't affect you since you were farther away from it," Kooper added. He cringed as they spotted the Koopa Bros. back in formation, spinning in sync as they prepared to charge into them again. "Oh no. Not again!"

The Koopa Bros. shot off again, only this time ricocheting off the railings, zigzagging toward them. They moved too quickly for the group to avoid, Twilight managing to fly up just in time to dodge the attack again. The other's wound up getting hit, unable to move in time as they were smacked around by the quadruple shell attack. When they headed for Mario after hitting the other three, the plumber held out his hammer to try to smack them back. He swung, the Lucky Star around his neck beginning to glow slightly underneath his shirt, hitting the tower of Koopas back with a powerful smack.

Even though it sent them flying back to the other side, it didn't halt their spinning as they used the new momentum to bounce back toward the plumber at an even higher speed. Unable to counter or avoid them, Mario got struck hard, making him drop his hammer as he was slammed even harder against the wall, the spinning shells only further increased their damage. Twilight gasped, quickly using her magic to try to pull them away from the pinned plumber, flinging them back across the other side of the room.

"Mario! Are you ok!?" Twilight asked with worry.

He managed to get up on his knees, grunting in pain as that last hit did a number on him. She turned back to face the Koopa Bros., all four of them smirking as they had bruises on their bodies from getting pummeled after getting knocked back. Kooper got back on his feet, having more defense than the rest of his friends, though the ricocheted Whirling Tower Shell Toss caught him by surprise.

"See, Kooper? You're fighting on the wrong side," Red said, his arms crossed against his chest as he looked down at the blue-shelled Koopa from his perch. "If you didn't disagree with us, you wouldn't be standing here, getting your butt kicked by us. I'm going to give you one last chance to come back, and if you worked for Bowser, you could probably see the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom and all those dull ruins of old places that used to exist. If you play your cards right, like us."

Kooper growled as he lowered his head. He pulled out the old blue bandanna from his shell, the only fond memories he had as a kid with the Koopas he once called friends. He clenched his fist, staring down the Koopa Bros.

"That won't happen," Kooper said. "As if I'm going to come back after you guys tossed me aside just to get attention! Not only that, but you're terrorizing others, held Bob-ombs captive as your slaves, and you tried to kidnap Twilight for Kammy and Bowser to imprison and use her like a test dummy for her magic!" He placed the bandanna around his head, tightening the ends and fastening it tightly. "I'll stop you myself if I have to. We're taking that Star Spirit back, and we're going to save the Mushroom Kingdom! And I've been working just as hard as you four so I can survive the perils of the ancient ruins and lands yet to be discovered across this kingdom!"

Kooper ducked his limbs in his shell and spun in place, picking up speed to charge headfirst into the Koopa Bros. "Let's see you try and take all four of us on by yourself, 'Blue'!"

The towering Koopas ducked back in their shells and spun as well, charging their toss as the whirlwind aura matching their shells spiraled around them. The two sides shot off and clashed, the Koopas continuing rapidly spinning as they pushed each other back to gain dominance. Twilight, Mario, Goombario, and Bombette watched, beginning to worry as they saw Kooper was being pushed back inch by inch.

"Oh man. I don't think Kooper's gonna last," Goombario said.

Kooper grunted, putting all of his energy into pushing his former friends back, but the Koopa Bros. outmatched him four-to-one as he began losing ground. "You can't keep this up forever, Kooper!" Red shouted as he, Black, Yellow, and Green laughed. "You'll lose to us just like Mario and the rest of your friends! You are, and always will be, a loser!"

"...No...I...WON'T!!!!" Kooper screamed, spinning faster and faster as he began pushing the Koopa Bros. back.

Sparks lit up around the blue-shelled Koopa's body, his shell suddenly bursting into flames from the friction of his rapid spinning. His friends watched with jaws dropped as the fire rose higher and higher, towering over the Koopa Bros. The four Koopas began panicking, the heat coming from Kooper's sudden fire making them yelp and lose control of their own spinning. Kooper shot off, slamming through them and broke the tower, sending the evil Koopas flying up in the air, flailing their limbs about as their bandanna eye masks and gloves caught on fire.

Kooper bounced off the wall, the flames on his shell dying out as he aimed straight for Red. Leaping up and popping his limbs out of his shell, he rammed into the Koopa, sending them slamming into the wall above where Mario was kneeling, knocking the wind of out of. He dug his hand in Red Ninjakoopa's shell, pulling out the card holding Eldstar before grabbing the red-shelled Koopa, flipping backward as he tossed Red back to the other Koopa Bros. He landed in front of his friends, panting heavily from the exertion pulling off his flaming shell shot, holding the card between his fingers.

"...Whoa," Goombario finally uttered. "Since when could you have done that???"

"A lot of rigorous training," Kooper replied, flicking the card back to Mario. The plumber caught it, surprised at how strong the Koopa really was and how right Merlon was with his vision. Kooper looked at Twilight, thankfully unharmed throughout the fight. "Hey, Twilight. You ever play tennis?"

"Uhh, not really," Twilight said, slightly confused by Kooper's question. "Why are you talking about sports when we're in the middle of a fight?" He pointed his thumb behind him, the alicorn looking over to see Mario's dropped hammer. What he meant finally clicked in her head, levitating the wooden mallet over to her with a concerned look. "You really want me to hit you with this?"

"With your magic, you have a quicker reaction time and swing, just like when you bashed their giant float costume," he said. "It'll hurt them more than it'll hurt me."

"...Well, ok. I hope you know what you're doing." Kooper nodded his head, quickly ducking in his shell and readied himself to be knocked around like a ball. Twilight stepped forward, holding the hammer in her lavender aura, trusting her Koopa friend as she aimed the flat head behind him to strike the Koopa Bros. "Here goes nothing!"

Twilight swung the mallet hard into Kooper, sending the Koopa Troopa flying off toward the Koopa Bros. He struck Black hard in the gut, sending him soaring across the room and straight into the wall, bouncing off and returning to Twilight. The alicorn kept the volley up, slamming the other three Koopas back or knocking them down in a daze. With one last swing, Kooper rammed into Red, popping out of his shell to shoulder charge the enemy Koopa in the chest and pinning him to the wall.

"Who's the loser now?" Kooper asked, grabbing each of the Koopa Bros. and flinging them back to the others.

Mario, Goombario, and Bombette were given enough time to recover, back on their feet and running straight toward the flung Koopas. With Twilight joining them, they each picked a Koopa Brother, headbutting, uppercutting, or bucking them hard over the railing. The Koopa Bros. screamed as they plummeted down through the tower, unable to reach out to the walkway on the first on second floors inside the tower, smacking the ground hard in the basement with the remains of their float in the large containment cell.

The Koopas groaned in agony, bruised and beaten as they struggled to get back up on their feet. "Augh. Darn it."

"They beat us..." Black looked around at the debris of their destroyed creation of Bowser, finding the Peach poster still intact from Bombette's explosion. "Hey, my poster survived. Yay!"

Red growled, smacking Black upside the head. "Forget your stupid poster!" He looked up, seeing Mario and his entourage staring down at them. "This isn't the end, Kooper! You guys just got lucky! We're not done yet!" They soon heard something being hammered nearby, turning to the strange noise. Covering the hole the imprisoned Bob-ombs were some pieces of two-by-four wood blocking the crumbled exit, two sets of Bob-omb feet seen at the bottom hammering the nails in. "W-What the heck!? Hey! What are you doing!?"

Thinking it was one of their loyal Bob-ombs, the Koopa Bros. gasped as they saw two of the imprisoned Bob-ombs appear by the cell bars, smugness apparent in their eyes. "Well, well, well, looks like the shoe's on the other foot, eh, Koopa Bros.?"

"Let's see how you guys like rotting in a jail cell after you lied to us." Both Bob-ombs laughed and gave each other a body bump in satisfaction, casually walking out of the room.

"Hey! Get back here!" Red snarled, grabbing the bars, trying to pull them apart. "Rrrraaaaaaaagh! YOU'RE ALL GONNA PAY FOR THIS!!!!!!!! WE WILL GET OUR REVENGE!!!!!"

High up in the tower, Mario, Goombario, Kooper, Bombette, and Twilight watched as Red Ninjakoopa went wild with fury, the other members of the Koopa Bros. were at a loss of what to do. Kooper let out a sigh, untying the blue mask off his head, holding it out over the railing. He dropped it, watching it float down, letting go of any ties he had with the four Koopas he grew up with.

"Are you ok, Kooper?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah. I'm good," he assured. "There wasn't any chance of them ever turning around. They're no longer my friends anymore. You guys are."

"And we're sure glad you're with us," Goombario said. "Merlon knew you were going to be reliable to Mario's journey, but seeing you catch on fire and blazing through the Koopa Bros.!? That was awesome!"

"Just make sure not to do that around me," Bombette warned. "I may light my own fuse, but we're very susceptible to fire. I don't want to prematurely explode against my will by complete accident."

"Heheh. Right. I'll keep that in mind." The group shared a small laugh together. Mario held up the car Eldstar was kept in, everyone staring at it as they pondered what to do. "So, how do we free the Star Spirit from this card?"

"Maybe I can figure it out." Twilight approached Mario and pressed her hoof against his hand and the card.

Suddenly, the card began glowing, along with the Lucky Star around Mario's neck. Twilight gasped, feeling some of her magic being sucked away, but not in a painful way and not too much. Eldstar's card began floating out of the plumber's hand, spinning slowly at first as it began to pick up speed. Unsure of what was happening, everyone watched in awe as the light from the card shone brighter. They soon heard a sparkle and light tear, the card exploding in a flash of light that blinded everyone for a brief moment. When they squinted their eyes, they all gasped as they saw Eldstar free from his imprisonment, his spinning slowing down before coming to a stop.

He opened his eyes and stretched out his limbs, looking down upon the heroes who rescued him. "Mario, I knew you could do it," the elder Star Spirit said, expressing his thanks as he floated lower to their level. "I am Eldstar, the elder and leader of the Star Spirits from Star Haven." Eldstar looked at Twilight, his eyes widening at the magical energy that came from the alicorn. "...Ah. So, the strange magical presence we sensed had come from you."

"You know about me?" Twilight asked curiously.

"No, but your power, including five others, fascinated my fellow Star Spirits and I," Eldstar explained.

The alicorn gasped in surprise. "Five others!? My friends! Eldstar, do you know where they are!?"

The Star Spirit shook his head. "I only felt their presence. Sadly, I do not know the whereabouts of your friends if they are like you." Twilight's ears drooped, but at least she was reassured that her friends were still out there, hopefully safe and out of harm's way. "Who are you, miss?"

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," the mare introduced herself. "I'm from another world called Equestria. My friends and I accidentally came to the Mushroom Kingdom after a failed teleportation spell to an alternate world of ours. I have no idea what happened, but there was an odd fluctuation of magic that affected mine, and I couldn't stop it. So, instead of ending up where we were supposed to go, we were transported into Princess Peach's castle. Then Bowser showed up, attacked Mario, and our magic given to us by objects called the Elements of Harmony separated us throughout the kingdom."

"Hmmm...That explains the powerful magical forces we felt before we revived Mario with what little power remained in us," Eldstar pondered. "I assume your own power was no match for Bowser and the power granted to him by the Star Rod." Sadly, Twilight nodded her head. "I see...It seems like the only way to stop Bowser now is to use the Star Beam."

"The Star Beam?" Goombario asked.

"It is a powerful beam of light that can dispel any effects the Star Rod may give to anyone, but it will only work when all seven of us Star Spirits are reunited," Eldstar explained. "Mario, you and your friends must save the other Star Spirits." Mario nodded his head, promising to do everything he can to save the kingdom and the other trapped Star Spirits. "And, Twilight, I will do all that I can to see if I can locate your missing friends from your world."

"Thank you, Eldstar," Twilight said.

"Now, before I go back to Star Haven and bring order back to the other worrying Stars, I shall grant you a little of my power, Mario." Eldstar raised his arms up, showering Mario with magical energy as stars sprinkled over him. With a brief flash of light, Mario was given Eldstar's power, clenching his fists as he felt some of his strength return after getting knocked back twice by the Koopa Bros. "With my ability, Refresh, you can call upon me to restore any minor injuries you may have. But do not fear; as long as an ounce of my power remains, I will come to your aid with a prayer. Already, I feel my strength regaining after being freed from my prison."

The Lucky Star around Mario's neck began glowing again, this time in a lavender light instead of a normal glow. Curious, the plumber pulled out the star pendant, gasping in surprise to see it had changed a little. In the center of the five arms of the star was a smaller fuchsia star.

"Whoa. That's new," Goombario said. "Did you grant us some other power?"

"That was not my doing," Eldstar said, just as astonished as they were. He sensed a similar kind of magic that was like Twilight's, though she seemed to have involuntarily granted Mario her power too, whatever it may be. The Star Spirit noticed how similar the star on the pendant matched the alicorn's cutie mark. "Hmmm...Very peculiar." He then moved closer to examine the Lucky Star. "...It seems like there is latent magic inside of Mario infused to him by Twilight and her friends' unique magic."

"There is?" Bombette asked. "How exactly did that happen?"

"Mario had fallen to Bowser's overwhelming strength thanks to the Star Rod, but as we Star Spirits found him, there had been a powerful magical source that we have never felt before that saved him from the fall," Eldstar answered. "Without that magic, he would have sustained far worse injuries."

"After hearing what happened, I do think that my friends' and my magic from our rainbow forms protected him with one last spell before we split apart from our unconsciousness," Twilight said.

"Wait, after Mario got the Lucky Star, there was a Kamek that attacked us before we started out on Pleasant Path," Goombario piped up. "He was able to deflect his magic spell back at him with his hammer, and that was physically impossible. Maybe Twilight and her friends' magic really did rub off on him when they saved him, which means he must have some of their power too."

"Possibly..." Twilight thought hard on this new discovery, but the only answer she could come up with was their harmonious power bleeding into Mario as their last bit of magic helped him descend safely from his fall. "...I wish I could study this more, but I really need to find my friends."

"I wish you all the best of luck on your journey," Eldstar said, beginning to float up to make his leave. "Remember; I will be watching over you. Do not be afraid to call me for help when you need it."

The Star Spirit flew out the window, leaving behind a trail of shimmering stardust as he ascended back to the sky. Only six more Star Spirits remained to be rescued and five more ponies to find out in the Mushroom Kingdom. No longer willing to stick around the fortress, the heroes began to make their way out of the building and head back to Koopa Village to get some rest. Hopefully, when they get back to Toad Town tomorrow, they'll figure out where the next Star Spirit is located and get one step closer to stopping Bowser and saving Princess Peach.

Comments

[Joeyjambo122]

Is this story going to go through all the paper mario games?

[GamePlayer64]

7964250 I'm think only the 1st game

[Codex92]

7964250
7964631 This story is going to be for the first game. I will probably do the sequels as well since I already I have a few ideas in mind to make them different and interesting, especially for Thousand Year Door. But, that might take a while since I've got other stories I'm working on, and a few things in life that are going on along with the unbearable itching I've been experiencing for over half a year that always distracts me (I somehow have scabies, or at least I hope that's what it finally is diagnosed as. No clue how since I barely came in contact with anyone before moving from my old place.). If you guys or anyone else wants me to make the Thousand Year Door sequel after this one's done, I'll do it regardless.

[Joeyjambo122]

7965519 I'd like that.

[JediAlexColbent]

"Aww man," Black whined. "There goes Lord Bowser's awesome statue we were gonna give him. You losers better not have ruined my poster of Princess Peach!"

"Why does he have a poster of Princess Peach?" Twilight questioned.

"I really don't want to know," Kooper said, cringing at the possible reasons why his former friend had that poster.

I mean, teenage male, poster of a beautiful woman, the most likely outcome is...

Oh ..... Ohhhh.....

[the koopanater]

8169274
WHY DOES THAT VIDEO MAKE ME LAUGH EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!!!!

[SammyLawrence]

Fun fact: when I read this I made red koopa sound like Jimmy Z from Wild Kratts Black koopa sound like Syndrome from the Incredibles Yellow Koopa sound like Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Green Koopa sound like Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Eldstar sound like Pa Grape from VeggieTales

[Slamp5000XL-3-0]

7965519
No puedo espera el momento que hagas la historia de Súper Paper Mario, fue el primer juego de la saga que jugué y me encantó