My Little Pony - Friendship is magic : New adventures

by Poggy

Meeting, storytelling and warning

The ponies reached Luigi’s mansion in the late afternoon but with their copious breakfast, they were not hungry in the slightest. The huge beige house had a green roof, thirteen green windows – with a large one in the middle – and green doors. A huge “L” of the same color above the largest window reminded who the owner of the building was. The manor was at least fifty meters long and was encircled by woods themselves surrounded by large and tall gates ; they were open however, and, after crossing the sinuous white gravel path, the ponies arrived at the porch. Twilight was about to knock on the door when a voice with a strong foreign accent interrupted her gesture.

"Hello ?"

A small but rather lean man approached them, a green hose in his left hand. He was wearing a green shirt under blue overalls, white gloves, and a green old-fashioned cap with an “L” in a white horizontal oval above the eyeshade. He sported an upwards black moustache, contrasting with his dark brown hair and blue eyes ; he was the same height as Twilight, horn included.

"Hello. I’m Twilight Sparkle. Are you Luigi ?"

"Yes, that’s me. Are you lost ?"

"We were searching for you. Some friends of you, Donkey Kong and Toad, told us to come here. We want to meet Princess Peach. We have some trouble in our world with a… huh… turtle named Bowser".

"Oh, I see, I see ! Come in, come in ! We’ll talk about it inside", the man suggested as he opened one of the doors.

Introducing themselves and explaining the situation to Luigi was done quickly. He politely waited the end of story to speak :

"I get it. So you’re coming from a portal in the Dry Dry Desert, and Bowser had taken the same way to kidnap your princess. That’s strange… really strange… he had stopped doing that years ago now. He’s almost kind now y’know, well, he doesn’t bother anyone anymore I’d say. Y’know, he’s nearly destroyed this country so many times… kidnapped Peach… attempted to get rid of my brother… and even conquered the kingdom for a time. Such a… nuisance he was. But now that he’s got the power to do all of that without anything to stop him – not even somethin’ that could even make him break a sweat – he doesn’t want it anymore. Such a curious guy, really… When he stopped all his bad stuff, his followers stopped too. Even King Boo, y’know, ghost’s got a deep grudge against me, but he just departed… somewhere else I guess. Don’t wanna know where though".

"Ghost ?" Pinkie Pie asked fearfully.

"Yeah. Don’t you have Boos over there ? Boos are a species of ghosts. I clashed again their leader King Boo many, many times. That’s funny when I think of it, because I’m not someone really courageous, y’know, I’m not like my brother ; my brother’s a hero. But now everything’s fine. I’ve got my Polterpup, can you believe it ? A ghost dog ! But he’s sleeping right now. You’ll see him tonight".

A strong gust of wind shook a window ; Luigi jumped from his armchair before calming down.

"So, you wanna meet Peach. I’ll take you with me tomorrow. I must go to the castle for the celebration, but I already know Arancia pretty well ; cute baby, always smiling. With her and Peach, the kingdom’s never been so filled with love !"

"Your princess and her daughter wield some magic related to love ?" Twilight interrogated as a theory was forming in her mind.

"Oh yes, my sister-in-law’s pretty proficient with the magic of love and some others. Well, it didn’t help her much in the past, but she’s truly powerful when it comes to that. She can use the magic of the Stars too. Ah, I must explain : Stars are magic beings that more or less rule our world ; they’re essential to it I’d say ; maybe you’ll see some of them at the celebration ; they’ll probably bless Arancia. In terms of magic, my brother and me are just amateurs with our fire", he added before snapping his fingers : a tiny green flame materialized on his index, dancing on the tip without burning him or even staining his glove. He closed his hand, crushing the flickering flame.

"That’s awesome !" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Well, it’s pretty useless against ghosts, they’re intangible, but I’m flattered you find my powers awesome", Luigi replied with a sheepish smile. "Mario and I, in our younger days, couldn’t control our fire very well… or rather not control it at all, so we were using hammers. We even beat Bowser with them".

"With hammers !? Like, real hammers !?" Spike exclaimed in disbelief.

"Big ones yes, but that was the past. Lemme explain why you failed to stop Bowser. I must tell you his story too, well, the important part of it, and his motivations. You’ll know him better, and I hope you’ll understand him… a little bit. But if you don’t wanna hear all of that stuff, that’s okay too…"

The ponies accepted to hear the story of Bowser, and Luigi made a brief pause to gather his ideas ; when he was ready, he began the story :

"There are lots and lots of dangerous things here, lots of enemies I mean, but Bowser was, is and will always be the strongest. He’s… hem… persistent, you surely saw it. And he was alone this time, when he attacked you I mean, because before, he wasn’t y’know : he had huge armies of lots and lots of different species… He still has them somewhere I think, but they’re quite useless now. What can I say about him ? I already told you that he was always kidnapping Peach… He set traps for my brother when he’d rescue her… Because, you see, even if he was a… rage-filled monster back then, he was in love with my not yet sister-in-law. I wanna say good ol’ times but… no, that wasn’t so funny, for us or for him… He’s been blown off with bombs, crushed, has fallen into lava, pits, quicksand, and everythin’ you can imagine, but he’d always come back just like nothin’ happened. But two years ago, just as these portals started to pop out everywhere, he found somethin’ inside one of them. Somethin’ – dunno what exactly – that... unlocked his true power : from what I understood, he told us that he was distantly related to some ancient beings that were here before the universes even existed. Crazy stuff, huh ? He became the strongest thing in the universe. His dark magic was already pretty powerful, but now… Dunno if I can call it dark magic, not in that sense anyways. It’s darkness stuff, but in a… how he put it… a primordial power, that’s it. Somethin’ like… nothingness, void from the beginning to give you an idea. It’s a very ancient power : it existed before everythin’ : things like universes weren’t there when it was still in charge. So now Bowser’s above the magic of love, the power of the Stars and the other universes’ technology and magic, including your own. He ain’t huh… hmm… How do you say it… y’know, that annoying word ? Omni somethin’".

"Omnipotent ?" Starlight suggested.

"Yes, that’s it ! Thank you. He ain’t omnipotent, but he’s totally immune to all kinds of magic and powers, no matter of what they do. Once he got that dark crazy thing inside him, it shook the entire universe and Hyrule, another kingdom in another world, sensed it too. Their deities panicked, and we didn’t start on good terms ; that’s really no good when deities panic. It’s over now, and you’ll see Princess Zelda and Link at the festival, they’ll be pleased to meet you. Peach will explain all that stuff better than me of course, with better words y’see".

The ponies dismissed his concern : his narrating talent was not the best they have ever heard, but it was perfectly understandable, easy to follow and kind of relaxing.

"So", Luigi continued, "he got that power, came to see us shortly after, and said he was tired with all these… little games. We couldn’t stop him, no matter how hard we tried, but it was just a demo to show us how he was different from before, not a real attack. Oh, I forgot to say that this power boosted his intelligence… but not his emotions. He can conceive scientific stuff, make blueprints I mean, but not construct it ; his anger issues make him destroy everythin’ at the slightest problem. Where was I… ah, yes… so, with everythin’ he knew and everythin’ he had now, he decided to wall himself in his castle and let his minions go huh… dunno where. Sometime later, Peach paid him a visit to his old castle without telling any of us ; he just let her inside and told her that he wasn’t hell bent on destruction or conquest anymore, that his powers and intelligence would’ve made these things too… easy ; he got everythin’ he wanted, except someone to love or someone to love him. His intelligence had helped him realize he cared for Peach’s well-being now, because apparently he wasn’t before, and he wanted her to be happy with Mario. Yes, he said that, literally. Peach told me and my brother he was totally depressed ; and he couldn’t even end his days. He’ll live forever, because that ancient power made him immortal too ; poor guy, he’ll never age and will see us go away, one by one, as he’ll stay behind... for eternity and beyond", Luigi shook his head in sadness before coming back to reality.

"Peach began to pay him visits regularly, and she even made the effort to present him some people he could've befriended ; they entertained him at least, I guess. When she married Mario, Bowser was here, and he even joined the party. What a contrast, seriously. And Peach got pregnant, so he was forced to go to her castle instead. But lately, he didn’t came as often as before. Maybe he’ll be there tomorrow, but if he kidnaped your princess, he’ll probably stay in his castle. Or not after all. If he does come, he’ll lock her somewhere. Peach will probably wait the end of the blessing to talk to him. You see, it’s a big, important event that absolutely can’t be stopped, except in case of total war I guess. But don’t worry for your princess, really. You can trust me. I knew and know Bowser very well. He’ll never hurt her in any way. I talked about cages, true, but he wouldn’t do that anymore, not as he did in the past ; he changed. Changed so much past me wouldn’t recognize him, except for the appearance of course. If he really locks away your ruler, it’ll be in one of his huge bedrooms, and she’ll be treated well… like a princess. Y’know, he never harmed Peach, not even once, not even by accident. I’m sorry he caused you trouble just to… fill his solitude. Peach will make sure he’ll pay the damages he’s done".

The ponies began to relax a bit when they heard this ; Luigi’s cool voice and soothing tone were sincere and convincing.

"I hope your princess’ patient though. Bowser will talk to her ‘til her ears fall…"

"Princess Celestia’s the kindest, patient and comprehensive pony I know", Twilight affirmed.

"Good for her. I didn’t know Bowser was into different species than humans or Koopas though. No offense, you ponies are quite the sight. And you too little dragon, Peach will find you cute", Luigi said.

"Bowser said we were a beautiful race", Starlight remembered. "And he seemed quite subjugated by Princess Celestia… her beauty stunned him I mean ; he took a step back : a solar beam couldn’t do that".

"Wow ! I don’t wanna…what’s the expression… make conjectures, but it seems that Bowser’s in love with your princess. I doubt she’ll reciprocate the feeling though. But who knows ?"

Luigi realized his error and corrected himself :

"Huh… I don’t know your princess after all. Sorry if I sounded like an idiot".

"There’s just a tiny, tiny, tinyyyyy chance that Princess Celestia’d fall in love with a monster", Rainbow Dash affirmed bluntly.

"Oh, y’know, that’s true that he ain’t your regular Koopa… Normal Koopas are cute, but he’s handsome in his own ways", Luigi laughed. "He’s… socialized I’d say ; his new… form of intelligence really helped him. Last time I saw him, we had tea : guy’s got some manners, managed to get rid of his megalomania… quite a feat when you know his past-self. That makes him… I wanna say… a nice guy, yeah, a nice guy. He’s still a bit clumsy though : he broke like a dozen of things, he ate his fork, he burned a cake to ash when he tried to warm it up with his fire and he tore off a door… and still these anger issues apparently, but not in our presence : I wouldn’t be here to talk about it otherwise. Speaking of tea, do you wanna drink some ?"

They accepted heartily ; as they savored the beverage, the ponies told Luigi more details about their world, and he explained some things about his and Hyrule, the allied kingdom from another world. When the conversation ended, the night had fallen, and Luigi went to his kitchen to make dinner after asking his guests what type of food they were eating. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie offered their help, which he gladly welcomed, as he was not much of a cook ; the only thing he was good at was pasta and pizza. They opted for three big vegetarian pizzas with mozzarella, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, arugula, carrots, onions, parmesan, olives, artichoke, oregano, asparagus, thyme and rosemary. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were impressed at Luigi’s speed and dexterity with his pizza dough that smelled delicious. As Luigi and Fluttershy were making the pizza, Pinkie Pie asked if she could make some cupcakes, a suggestion Luigi welcomed with enthusiasm : he did not eat desserts often ; he had only basic knowledge to hardly make a simple sorbet.

As the pizzas were just finished to be eaten, the oven signaled the end of cooking of the cupcakes, and Pinkie Pie brought them on the table. There were many sorts, as Luigi had literally a ton of sweet ingredients – which he used rarely – for all kinds of preparations.

"I can’t believe you don’t make desserts with such delicious and sweet things !" Pinkie Pie exclaimed before eating two cupcakes at the same time.

"Well, I remember much of the technique to bake them, so I think that I’ll make more now", Luigi decided as he bit in his pistachio cake. "They’re absolutely delicious", he added.

"Nowhere near your pizzas !" A full-mouthed Pinkie Pie replied.

"Well, Fluttershy helped me… I couldn’t have done much without her".

"Oh, no, no, it’s because of your expertise that these pizzas were delicious. It’s truly your specialty. I hope we’ll eat your pasta someday", Fluttershy complimented.

"Thanks a lot, you’re the first person to compliment my cooking skills", Luigi replied.

After all the cupcakes disappeared, Luigi proposed them some Amaretto.

"At least it’s not Absinthe", Twilight muttered.

"Oh, you’ve tried that thing ? We got stronger drinks in this world just for info. Did it turn bad for you at the Moo Moo Inn ? They’re the only ones serving that here".

"Well, the soirée took an… interesting… and mostly… blurry turn", Rarity spluttered.

Luigi laughed without mockery. As they were drinking their sweet digestif, he asked the ponies where they wanted to sleep : the mansion had twelve bedrooms, excluding Luigi’s own.

They visited the rooms at the first and second floor to decide. At the second floor, just as everything was settled, something literally passed through the walls to come rolling at Luigi’s feet. It was a dog ; more precisely, the ghost of what had probably been a dog.

"He’s Polterpup that I told you about. He’s a polterpup from Evershade Valley", the man explained.

"He’s so cute !" Fluttershy fawned as she scratched the dog’s head. "Even if he’s a… a ghost".

The phantom dog came to sniff each pony, at times passing right through them.

"I must take him out for his walk, if somebody wants to come with me ?" Luigi suggested.

Fluttershy immediately accepted, as Pinkie Pie ; Starlight joined them too. The others decided to go to bed.

The vast plains shimmering in the moonlight were offering a pure and refreshing air ; the stars were extremely shiny, which Starlight remarked.

"Probably said it before, but some of them are comin’ down for Arancia’s blessing", Luigi explained.

Starlight expressed her concerns that such titanic masses of gas were approaching the planet, but the man in green laughed without mockery when he replied :

"It’s what they’re made of, not what they are. They look like starfishes, and aren’t that big for most of them. I can almost hold one in the palm of my hand. They’re truly cute little beings. Cute but powerful. You’ll talk to them tomorrow".

"It's so nice of you to take us to an important celebration like this", Fluttershy thanked.

"Don’t mention it. It’s normal. Even though she ain’t in danger, your princess was kidnapped after all".

"It’ll be a super duper big party ! I’m so excited !" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing around them ; Polterpup joined her in her frenzy.

"Yes. It’s the biggest celebration in the kingdom, and it rarely takes place. Oh, so late already ? If it’s okay with you, we should come back if we wanna get up early", Luigi yawned.

"In fact, I feel a little tired", Starlight concurred.

They came back to the mansion and went to bed, except Luigi who had to spend some time with his ghostly dog ; it was only active during night.

They were fast asleep, except Starlight ; something was disrupting her sleep, something she had begun to feel at the inn : it was not an unpleasant feeling, on the contrary : it was creating a pleasant warmth, slowly rising up from her belly to her face, smoothly enveloping all of her body. She tried to fight against the feeling, searching spells to stop it, before, after hours of vain struggling, in a sudden explosion of desire, the image of a certain pony flashed in her mind ; Starlight was left sweating and panting in her bed. “No. That can’t be happening ! I’m under a spell, that’s the only explanation. Please. Whoever is doing this, please stop ! Stop torturing us !”.

She however soon realized that there was no one behind this, only something that was making the truth emerge, something not sentient, akin to a force ; a force she knew very well.

“Love. Love’s everywhere in this country ! It… it makes us realize what we truly feel ! But I don’t want to. I just don’t wanna love her ! But… how long my feelings would’ve stayed buried in Equestria ? Was it for the better ? I don’t know ! I don’t know what to do ! And nopony’s here to help me. Nopony at all !”

As a response, a voice faintly echoed in her mind, from far away at first, then close like it was next to her ; the soft but monotone feminine voice gave her an advice :

"Talk to her".

"Who are you !? Where are you !? You’re the one who’s driving us crazy, aren’t you !?"

"I am Princess Rosalina. I am the Lady of the Shooting Stars. I am the Spirit that protects the cosmos, and, in the vastness of space, I sensed your sorrow and your distress. I am not responsible for what is happening to you. Love is a powerful, uncontrollable force : it can bring anything to light. Why are you afraid ?"

"I’m not afraid ! I don’t wanna destroy our friendship !"

"Why would confessing shatter your friendship ? Love does not destroy. It builds. It enhances. And what could be built between you and her is wonderful. Princess Peach will be able to tell you more about feelings, for she represents love. I am only here to ease your mind. Come with me, Starlight Glimmer, I want to show you something".

Starlight did not formulate any kind of answer, but she suddenly found herself in a grassy meadow covered with strange flowers which radiated cold and soothing colors. All around her, the night sky was filled with close, bright stars, and, in front of her, floating a few centimeters above the ground, was standing a tall light blonde woman beside a wooden door. She was wearing a dress of an otherworldly light blue and a light, exactly the same that radiated from the stars and the galaxies, was emanating from her. A wand with a golden star at the tip rested in her left hand. She was only looking at Starlight with one beautiful blue eye, as the other one was hidden under the large bang that obscured almost all the right side of her delicate face.

"Come here, Starlight. Be at ease. I only want to show you what your friend is deeply dreaming".

Feeling safe and slightly compelled, Starlight approached slowly ; Rosalina opened the door : inside the wooden frame, just like if the scenery was taking place a few meters from her, Starlight saw herself embraced by that particular pony. They were so close. Their muzzles were touching ; their lips too.

"That… that-that’s her… dr-dream ?" Starlight stammered.

"It is buried deep among hundreds and hundreds of others, so she will not remember it when she will wake up. But this is what she wants, deep inside her heart".

The woman closed the door.

"I… I… can’t… I…"

"Do not worry. I may not be one of your princesses, but I think the one who rules over the night, moon, stars and dreams in your world would feel the same way as I do, and her reaction would be no different. Trust me. I am here to help you. I wish I could be at the celebration to talk to you in the physical realm, but I cannot. That is why I am here too. Listen carefully to this warning, Starlight Glimmer".

Starlight sat on the grass and fixed her attention on Rosalina as the latter issued the warning :

"Deep inside the nexus of the worlds, far beyond the end of time and space and far away beyond the edge of every world… something is coming. Something so ancient and so dark, that existed long before any universe, something long since forgotten… Nothingness… Void… It has awakened… it is coming here : I sense its dreadful and unfathomable power ripping through realities and dimensions, and I am not alone. But before this incomprehensible, destructive un-being of chaos and oblivion, my strength is nothing more than dust. Despite the emptiness and nothingness that it is made of, this presence will bring back what it should not be. Old foes, not raised by Death itself, will surely begin to rise up again in each of the worlds, including your own. Warn the others and talk to the Stars, Starlight. Warn as much people as you can. A terrible war is approaching. An apocalyptic battle of unspeakable proportions will soon begin. But do not fear yet. Do not succumb to despair. Hope, Starlight Glimmer. Never give up to nothingness. Warn, worry, but under no circumstances alter the course of events ; do not raise armies ; do not prepare for battle yet : the thing will sense it. It will try to attack sooner, causing the destruction of the very notion of fate, destiny and future. I hope I will get back to you in time to help. You can truly rest now, little pony. In spite of the sadness of my words, the remainder of your sleep will ease your mind".