An Eggcellent Comeback
Ok, a little bit of a sad note. Before starting this chapter, I was looking up a specific YouTuber's playlist for some background music in the story for a bit of atmosphere, and the playlist has been erased, which means all the links in this story, including the prequel, are now dead. So, from here on out, the rest of this story won't have links (ruining the atmosphere I planned for most of my stories 
). This is the second series where someone's playlist has died, the videos they had are gone, and changing the links is only going to be a bother when I had extended cuts of the songs to use as the story plays out, or I don't remember which ones I used (even though this series' music is obvious from the areas they go through along with unique boss music). Sorry about the unfortunate inconvenience, though I am also disappointed at what's happening with my favorite playlists, but onto the story!
After being escorted back to the minor-league locker rooms, Jolene gave Mario their winnings and left to continue on with other matters. Those who fought were patched up after such a rough battle, King K. leading Koops over to a side of the room to talk with him in private.
"You're not so bad, kid," King K. complimented. "Didn't expect a Petalburg Koopa like you give me the beatdown. Shouldn't have misjudged you with how timid you are."
"T-Thanks," Koops said bashfully.
"Although, next time, might wanna not be a bit TOO rough on me?" King K. asked with a chuckle. "And, hey, that little bit after our match. You going steady with this Koopie you shouted out to?"
Koops flinched, sweating nervously. "U-Uhh...W-Well, K-Koopie and I a-a-are...I-I n-never really..." Koops stammered, his cheeks burning red as he stumbled to try to find the right answer. "...M-Maybe?"
"Hehehe! Hey, don't overthink it, kid," King K. said. "But, if she's the right one, don't hesitate to pop the question, man." Koops gulped, letting out a whimper before falling over on his back, his mind racing as scenarios of him asking for Koopie's hand in marriage. "...Wow. He's real easy to freak...And he does much better in the arena than being social..."
The next day, after their first night resting in the Glitz Pit's locker room, Mario was up the moment the doors were opened to let the audience see some more fights. He got their next match going against the Pokey Triplets, just a trio of normal Pokeys that were quickly dealt with. Although, the odd request was for Mario to get hit by the Pokeys, trying not to make the fight end too soon. Once back in the locker room, Jolene gave him their winnings and left.
"This is going to be a shoo-in if we keep facing easy opponents," Rainbow said. "But these dumb rules really mess us up from getting to the top faster."
"Better to follow them rather than fight the same team again without doing as Grubba tells us," Starlight said.
"I'd rather us be quick so we can get out of this filthy locker room," Rarity whined. "And the beds were uncomfortable!"
"Get back in there!" Everyone in the locker room quickly turned to the door, where Jolene sternly escorted Bandy Andy inside, and she was not happy with what he did, along with the smug grin on his face. "How many times do I have to tell you: that room is OFF LIMITS! If you want to remain on our roster, you need to follow the rules!" Jolene warned the Bandit. "And don't think I haven't noticed you following me. You cut that out, too. Your stalking me is making me paranoid, and you'll be warranted for invading my personal space if it doesn't stop. You keep breaking the rules, you will be banned from the Glitz Pit. Understand?"
"...Yup," Andy lazily responded with a shrug. The Toad secretary let out a huff, readjusting her glasses before leaving the room.
"Again, dude?" King K. questioned. "Man, you're a magnet for trouble."
"Heheheh. Sorry, but that's what I do," Andy said. "Didn't mean to bring Queen Nag in here."
"You should probably be worried if you don't want you and your team kicked out of the roster," Flurrie suggested.
"Jolene's always got a 'tude, no matter who she's dealing with," King K. said. "Even if there's a well-behaved fighter, she'll go off on them for no reason. What's your deal following her anyway, B-money? You got a thing for her or something?"
"When Clefts grow wings," Andy scoffed. "Now, if you'll all excuse me..."
Andy headed for the door and snuck out, doing some more snooping like the sneaky thief he was. "He's probably gonna get himself caught again, isn't he?" Goombella asked.
Once Mario was rested, he reserved another match, this time going against the Dead Bones. It was another trio of the same enemy, this time, they were Dull Bones, the same ones they faced in Hooktail's Castle. Making sure to heed Grubba's request, they won the match with barely a scratch, accepting their winnings and waited for their next ranked match. They heard someone out in the hall crying out in pain as they were carried out, apparently one of the fighters injuring themselves, unable to take whatever opponent they faced. King K. made a comment about the poor sap, letting Mario and his friends know that they were in a brutal sport where anyone can get seriously hurt to the point of being hospitalized.
Their next battle was Spike Storm: a Lakitu and a couple Spinies, but with how infinite number of Spiny eggs a Lakitu can carry in their cloud, there could be an unending wave of Spinies that could make the fight last a while. Once the source of the Spinies was dealt with, they party took care of the cute, spiky creatures, winning the match and rising up a rank. While resting in the locker room, some more than others, Pinkie stared at the big yellow block in the corner of the room no one else noticed, having a staring contest with the inanimate object's eyes.
"Pinkie, what are you doing?" Fluttershy asked curiously.
"These blocks always hide secrets," Pinkie said. "And look at how big the arch is leading to the 'next room'." Pinkie squished Fluttershy's cheeks between her hooves, pointing her head to the outline the yellow block was perfectly blocking. "There's a bigger room beyond there, and the dingy minor-league room is just a cover to a super secret control room, where all the super techie stuff for the Glitz Pit is beyond here!"
"T-Tha shounds...shilly," Fluttershy said with her smushed cheeks.
Pinkie let go of the yellow pegasus's face, pulling out her trusty hammer. "Let's bust on through and find out!"
Pinkie let out a battle cry and jumped toward the block, smacking away at the incredibly tough surface with her hammer. It was odd, considering the one she has was able to break the iron blocks back in the Mushroom Kingdom, but this yellow block was several times bigger, and it barely gave with any whacks. Fluttershy silently watched as Pinkie went wild on the block, climbing all over it, even trying to use her teeth to tear it away. Cleftor snuck up on the pegasus, startling her as he moved her tail to cover it over his head, joining her with watching Pinkie's antics.
"What pink one do?" Cleftor asked.
"Oh, it's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie," she stated. "You get used to her doing weird stuff." Looking back at Pinkie, the earth pony was smacking her head against the block's face's forehead, letting out an exhausted groan before flipping down it, crashing to the floor in a heavily panting heap. "...Sometimes, that stuff is too weird to comprehend..."
"Pink one crazy," Cleftor said.
King K. walked into the locker room, munching on a hot dog he got from the square. "Hey, guys, you're not gonna believe this new menu item that hot dog stand's about ready to release," he said. "A hot dog made with an egg from a southern island. The vendor said that it'll even help someone win in a battle."
"I think we saw a stand out there the first day we arrived in Glitzville announcing something like that," Starlight said.
"Well, whatever it is, hopefully you're lucky enough to get one," King K. said, scarfing down the rest of his snack. "I heard the line's gonna get long the moment it's finally taste-tested."
"Ah could use some lunch right about now," Applejack said.
"Me too," Rainbow agreed.
"I'll do anything to get out of this locker room," Rarity said. "And I hope there's somewhere with some decent cuisine."
Everyone else agreed, including Mario, needing a bit of fresh air and see what kind of food they have here in Glitzville. They had to wade through fans, Rawk Hawk making his presence known in the lobby, signing autographs and taking pictures with admirers or young fans while he boasted about how awesome he was. Seeing that scene made Rainbow Dash grimace, recalling the time her friends made up the mysterious superhero, Mare-Do-Well, to teach her a lesson in modesty after her life-saving ego blew up a bit too high. After pushing their way through the screaming crowd, they finally made it outside the building.
"My goodness, there were so many fans," Flurrie commented. "I may have had plenty of admirers as an actress, but everyone in there was eating that Rawk Hawk up."
"That's all gonna change when we start rising up in ranks and have a match against the champion," Rainbow said. "But first, some grub!"
"And lots of dessert!" Pinkie added.
"Ahh! No! Bad! C-Come back here!" Curious about the commotion, it was ironically coming from near the hotdog vendor. They were a bit surprised to see the cook/owner of the stand running around, chasing around a bouncing, colorfully speckled egg. "S-Stop bouncing around, egg! Someone help! My imported egg's escaping!"
"A bouncing egg???" Starlight asked.
"Uhh, not sure if I want to eat a hot dog with an ingredient that was alive," Koops uttered.
"Let's help the fellah out, and maybe get that egg away from him if there's somethin' in there," Applejack suggested.
The group ran down to help the pig vendor, but the egg was really fast, bouncing around to avoid getting caught. Rainbow and Pinkie crashed into each other after trying a pincer maneuver, Starlight and Rarity tried to stun the egg with their magic, not wanting to be too rough on it despite how quick it moved, even Flurrie used her strong gusts to disorient it, only to accidentally send Koops, Goombella, Mario, Fluttershy, and Applejack flying off their feet, missing the egg by mere inches. Whatever was in there had a lot of energy, speed, and dexterity to avoid being caught.
After a good few minutes of running everyone ragged, the egg finally decided to rest on top of the hot dog vendor's stand. "G-Gosh darn it all," the vendor panted heavily. "You get down from there, you naughty egg!" Seeing the egg was too busy napping, the vendor caught his breath, letting out a disgruntled huff. "How am I supposed to get that thing down?"
"Let me try," Fluttershy said. She flew up onto the hot dog stand, letting out a gasp when she got a closer look at the egg. "Oh my goodness."
"What is it, Fluttershy?" Applejack asked.
"I think this is a Yoshi egg!" she exclaimed, surprising everyone. Grabbing the egg in her forelegs, startling it awake, Fluttershy angrily hovered before the vendor. "You were going to use Yoshi eggs for your food items!? And while it was just about to hatch!?"
"A-A Yoshi egg?" the vendor asked nervously. "B-But that's not what the guy who suggested I buy one told me! He just said it was from an island south of here!"
"Then I suggest never buying anything from a poacher who kidnaps poor, innocent Yoshi eggs from their parents to sell and make into food!" Fluttershy scolded. "Now, you are going to take down those signs about your new 'delicious' hot dogs, and not buy anymore baby Yoshi eggs!"
"Y-Yes ma'am, right away!" The pig vendor quickly went to work, taking down his sign to avoid the yellow pegasus's wrath.
Satisfied, Fluttershy looked down at the rainbow-spotted Yoshi egg, which wiggled a little in her hooves. "There, there, don't you worry, little one," she cooed, cuddling the helpless dinosaur egg. "You'll be safe with us."
"Are you sure that's a Yoshi egg?" Rainbow asked curiously. "You told me their skin would be the same color the spots on their eggs had. What kind of Yoshi lays multi-colored ones?"
"I don't know. This is the first one I've seen with different-colored spots," Fluttershy said. "Hopefully, you don't mind staying with us until we help you find your family."
The egg wiggled happily, glad to be anywhere that didn't get it cooked on a frying pan. After finding somewhere to get some lunch, avoiding anything with eggs to startle the newly joined Yoshi egg, they went back inside the Glitz Pit for some more matches. Thankfully, Rawk Hawk and his massive crowd of fans dispersed, so they didn't have to forcefully make their way down the halls back to the minor-league locker room. The other fighters in the locker room wondered where the newcomers got the rainbow-speckled egg from, but didn't question it out loud, despite it being alive as it bounced along with the group.
The next couple matches were a bit tough with what Grubba wanted Mario and his team to do, the next ranked match being Bandy Andy's team, the Hand-It-Overs, and after that, the Mind Bogglers. Andy was joined with three other Bandits, one wearing green like him while the other two wore pink. It didn't help that they were more focused on trying to steal money or items and flee, which would have wound up getting the runaway thieves booted off the arena as a sign of giving up the match. "The Great Gonzales" and his entourage wasn't going to let them go that easily and give the audience a fight, avoiding their pickpocketing fingers and beating them into submission. The Mind Bogglers had a trio of grayscaled enemies from the Boggly Woods: a Pider, a Dark Puff, and a Pale Piranha. Nothing they couldn't handle.
While taking a little break from fighting in the locker room, King K. came up to Mario. "Yo, Gonzales, can I talk to you in private for a sec?" Curious, Mario nodded, following the Koopa fighter over to a corner of the room. "Listen, man...Keep this under your hat, but I'm thinking about retiring soon." This news surprised Mario. King K. was a very skilled fighter, but it baffled him as to why he would want to quit, seeing he could advance in the ranks, but was stuck at number 19 for a long while. "If I stay here any longer...well, my future might get shorter, dig? After the next match, I'll be gone." Mario could understand the situation the Koopa was going through. There might be other things he wanted to do in life, and he didn't want to accidentally risk that chance if he stayed here. He held out his hand to King K., the yellow-shelled Koopa taking it, both fighters giving each other a firm shake. "You be cool, man. You and the rest of your posse. Promise you won't forget you once knew the King K."
Mario nodded, ensuring King K. with a Pinkie Promise. The Koopa was a little confused by the strange gestures, but Mario told him he learned it from a certain pink pony in his group, and when someone makes a Pinkie Promise, they never break it or risk losing their friend's trust. Despite how childish it seemed while Mario had crossed his heart, flapped his arms, then covered an eye with his hand, King K. believed Mario would uphold that promise. Mario headed back to the terminal, reserving a match, but seeing how dangerous the fights will be, Fluttershy told the Yoshi egg to stay in the locker room until they get back.
The next match was against Cleftor's team: the Punk Rocks. With himself along with two other Hyper Bald Clefts, the challenge was tough, especially when Grubba wanted Mario to not use his hammer, and Clefts were pretty tough defensively. Luckily, there wasn't a restriction for magic, Starlight blasting a beam on any of the Clefts' that were charging up to deal some heavy damage on their side. Despite the rules hindering them slightly, they managed to beat Cleftor and his team, moving up in rank and getting closer to the major-leagues.
When Mario and Cleftor's team returned, like King K. said, the Koopa was gone, nowhere to be seen in the locker rooms. "Hey, what happened to King K.?" Koops asked.
"He retired BOOM," Master Crash said.
"Really?" Rainbow asked, a bit shocked that the likable Koopa Troopa was gone after a short while of knowing him. "Why did he leave? He and his team were pretty good. They should have been a higher rank, at least."
Mario told his friends King K.'s reason for leaving, which was definitely understandable in such a dangerous profession. "Well, we'll wish him the best of luck in life," Flurrie said.
"I guess he didn't want any sad goodbyes," Goombella said, already able to tell that some of the other fighters in the minor-league were close friends with King K.
Mario decided on taking one more match tonight, taking on Master Crash and his Bob-omb Squad. Including the leader of his team were three other Bob-ombs, and with Mario's knowledge on dealing with Bob-ombs in the past, he made sure to keep his distance when enraging them after they get hit once. Koops was also helpful with his shell-tossing, protected in his shell as he dashed into the Bob-ombs, making them blow up after Mario, Goombella, Rainbow, and Pinkie bounced on the quartet of explosive creatures. After earning their pay and going up in rank once more, now at 11 and about ready to take on the bottom of the major-leagues, they took a break and rested up for what will be the toughest ten groups they'll face in the Glitz Pit.
The next morning, the minor-league locker room was pretty quiet, King K.'s retirement getting to the other fighters. "It feels kinda lonely without King K. here BOMB..."
"No lonely," Cleftor grunted. "...Him too weak...Now him not here. Sound normal to Cleftor."
"You're in BOMB denial, Cleftor," Crash said. "I saw you weeping in that locker last night BOMB-BOMB!"
"N-NO! Cleftor no weep for weak Koopa!" the Hyper Bald Cleft denied, turning away from the Bob-omb and running over to Fluttershy, to the Yoshi egg's ire as it bounced irritably. "Cleftor done talking! Cleftor admire yellow one's tail more now!"
"In other words, avoid expressing his emotions," Rarity whispered to Pinkie, which she nodded in agreement.
"Somepony needs a big hug!" Pinkie said, trying to reach out to Cleftor, only for the Cleft to chomp at her hooves. "AH! Hey, don't hide your feelings, buster! You may have hard skin, but deep down, there's a soft, gooey center that has emotions!"
"Leave Cleftor alone!" Cleftor exclaimed, fleeing from Pinkie as she chased him around the locker room.
"Well, that's a start to the morning," Goombella said.
Before Mario could reserve their next match, the door opened up, Cleftor and Pinkie freezing in place as they now stared at the door. Jolene walked inside, but instead of King K., or Bandy Andy, whom most of them expected to get in trouble with the Toad again, it was a Swooper. The bat fluttered behind her, looking around the state of the locker room.
"You'll be starting here in the minor league, of course, since your career's just started," Jolene explained to the Swooper. "If you don't like this dingy room, I suggest you make your way up through the ranks. When you're ready to fight, just log onto the computer terminal right here. Mr. Grubba will then decide who you will match up against, no ifs, ands, or buts. Understand?"
"Uhh, y-yeah," the Swooper said, still taking it all in.
"Go ahead and try it out," Jolene said.
The Swooper flew over to the terminal, logging into his team name, and reserved a match, where Grubba soon appeared on screen. "Well, howdy, Sir Swoop!" Grubba greeted. "Ready to get your wings dirty? Well, I got a treat for ya, son: your first battle's gonna be up against the Goomba Bros.! They'll be a piece of cake! But, we want to get the crowd fired up, so do a move where you do a triple flip and meow! You got any questions, you can ask the lovely Ms. Jolene, ok? Good luck out there, pard!"
Grubba ended the call, Sir Swoop tilting his head questionably at the odd request. "Uhh, what did he mean by that?" he asked.
"To keep the audience entertained, Grubba will give you specific rules to give you in your matches, and whether you choose to follow them is up to you," Jolene explained. "Win your match while following the conditions given to you, you can find yourself going up a rank, getting you a tiny bit closer to trying your luck against the champion, Rawk Hawk. Lose, however, and you might go down instead. In this case, you have to do a triple flip and meow in your match and best your opponents."
"Ohhh. Ok, I think I get it," Sir Swoop said. "So...do I go out now?"
"You'll wait for security to come get you, and they'll take you to where you'll enter the ring." A moment after Jolene's explanation, the security guard walked inside.
"You," the guard said, pointing at the Swooper. "Yeah, you, Sir Swoop. Time for your battle, bub."
"Ok, security's here to escort you now," Jolene said. "Try not to get completely destroyed out there."
"...Uhh, t-thanks?" Sir Swoop uttered. Before leaving with the security guard, he looked out to everyone in the locker room. "Uhh, hey, everyone. Name's Swoop. Er, SIR Swoop, actually."
"Hi, Sir Swoop!" Pinkie greeted cheerfully, the others mumbling their own greeting or waving to him.
The new fighter left with the guard, Jolene following suit to continue her duties. "Looks like we got ourselves a newbie," Rainbow said. "Sure seems confident, but the Goomba Bros. are easy. He could probably take them on solo."
"Let's see how good he is on the screen," Starlight suggested.
Everyone gathered around to see the match from the terminal. Luckily, Sir Swoop wasn't ambushed by the Goomba Bros. unlike Mario and his team was at their starting match, and he had his own team of three additional Swoopers. Like Grubba set for his match, Sir Swoop flipped three times in the air and let out a meow, making the audience go wild as he basically appealed to them and showing off his dexterity. Within no time, Sir Swoop won the match and move into King K.'s original spot, his team name called the Wings of Night. Sir Swoop fluttered back in, feeling excited after experiencing his first match.
"Hey, you're not all that bad, newbie," Rainbow complimented.
"Thanks, even though I was a little embarrassed pulling off that move for Mr. Grubba," Sir Swoop said.
"Get used to doing stuff like that, because we seem to get the worst conditions to complete for our fights," Starlight said.
While Mario used the terminal, Pinkie happily showed Sir Swoop around while introducing everyone, even explaining Mario's stage name was the Great Gonzales, not his real one. He looked at the number 10 spot in the roster, finding the name "Armored Harriers". He had no idea what to expect in this match, but he was sure it was nothing he couldn't handle, requesting his next match.
"Howdy, Gonzales!" Grubba greeted, then let out a giddy chuckle. "If you're fixin' for a fight, you're gonna get a kick out of this! You're goin' against the Armored Harriers, ranked number 10! You've been shootin' up faster than a beanstalk on a warm spring season! Now, for your fight, since this group you're goin' against is a team of two, we want there to be fair odds: two-on-two. So, pick your best pardner, and don't let your fans down!"
Mario nodded, understanding their team's winning conditions, which shouldn't be too difficult with the right teammate. He let the rest of his friends know about their next match after Pinkie stopped giving Sir Swooper the inside tour of the minor-league locker room.
"So, it's just a two-person team match this time," Flurrie reiterated. "I do believe it's no contest when I believe Starlight would be a perfect match."
"Hey, what about me!?" Rainbow questioned. "No offense to Starlight, but I'm much better at fighting than she is!"
"It does make sense, Rainbow," Goombella said. "Mario's more the heavy hitter with his unique powers, and Starlight's more of a long-ranged magic user. Makes a lot of sense balancing out both fields in a battle."
"Seconded," Koops agreed.
Rainbow grumbled, seeing everyone's points. "...Fine...I wanted everypony cheering for me, but...we're a team, so we're all gonna get an equal share of the glory...At least, I hope they cheer for me, more..."
The security guard soon walked in after their little group meeting, everyone agreeing with Mario's single partner to join him, then followed him out to the ring.
"Good afternoon, fighting fans all across the region!" Grubba announced, getting the crowd riled up. "Today, we have ourselves a main event for you all! The major leagues await our 11th-ranked fighter, the Great Gonzales-" The audience roared in applause at the name of the next rising star of the Glitz Pit. "-and standing in his way, at number 10, the Iron Adonis Twins! Let's get our Merciless Executioner and his companions out here, folks!" The left stage doors opened, the fans down on the ground screaming as Mario and his group began making their way down to the ring. Some like Rainbow gave their fans high fives as they passed, Mario and Starlight climbing up the steps while the others stood aside. "Hoooooooo-WEEEEEE! The Great Gonzales! How are y'all feelin' today!?"
"Awesome!" Rainbow shouted. "Trust me, I'm speaking for all of us! Let's just get on with the fight!"
Grubba eyed Rainbow before looking back at Mario, who just shrugged his shoulders. "Well, alright then. I'll take your friend's word for it." The doors on the other side of the stadium opened up, revealing Mario's and Starlight's opponents as they walked toward the stage. Like Grubba promised, there were two of them, both of them clefts, but they were pretty big compared to normal ones. Their skin looked a lot more solid than craggy, silver in color, but their boots were different from the other's, one's red and the other's green. The big Clefts stomped up onto the stage, looking intimidating while Grubba walked over to two-Cleft team. "Welcome to the stage, Armored Harriers! Hyuk hyuk! Your challengers are pretty confident!
"They've been talkin' trash about you nonstop since they got up on stage!" Mario and Starlight winced from the lies Grubba was telling the Clefts, and it was definitely getting on their nerves. "'Iron Adonis Twins?' they said. 'More like Wimpy Dog-Faced Bros.!...And they stink!'"
"What!? W-We never said that!" Starlight said nervously. "We barely even got a word in edgewise!"
"And then they had the gall to say, 'I bet they just play video games an' cry when they lose!'" Grubba continued. Even though the others knew this was just smack talk, he didn't have to spout random things neither of them even said, barely knowing anything about these two big Clefts. "And then they said, uhh, 'Outie belly buttons run in their family! Stinkwads!'"
Mario and his group gave Grubba a blank stare at the last "insult" he claimed they said. "...How is that supposed to hurt their feelings?" Koops asked.
"I don't know," Pinkie said. She sat on her haunches and looked down at her furry belly. "Maybe if he called them fat, but having an outie?"
"WHAAAAAAT!?" the Cleft in red shoes exclaimed angrily. "How does he know mom has an outie!? You jerk! We're gonna blend you up in a smoothie, pal! And then we're gonna drink ya!"
"...Ok, I guess it's a 'your momma' insult," Pinkie said, then rubbed her tummy as a curious thought came to her. "Would it be cuter if we had belly buttons to show? I wanna know what an outie one looks like."
"And only smelly stinkwads can call other people stinkwads! Got it, stinkwad!?" the first Cleft continued.
"Simmer down there, bro," the Cleft with green shoes said, not really surprising Mario, having a gut feeling considering most of the older brother in sibling duos he's faced were usually wearing something red. "Hey, stinkwads! You're gonna regret opening your yaps! You see our bods? Solid iron. Our spikes? They penetrate just about any substance. In other words, anything you'll try won't do anything to us! Think that over in the very short time you have left with a functioning brains!"
"...Ok, you know what, as soon as the match starts, I'm blasting them," Starlight grumbled. "We tried being nice, but when you look back at the start of the match before you even came in, you're gonna regret treating us like the simpletons!"
"Get yourselves ready to BAAAAAAATTLE!!!!!" Grumba announced, the gong ringing in the arena as he ran out of the ring.
Starlight lit up her horn, preparing to blast one of the Clefts out of the ring. It was just her and Mario, so they've already gotten the prerequisites to rank up. She fired a powerful beam at the red-shoed Cleft, only instead of it blowing up and pushing him back, the beam instead bounced off his face, ricocheting right toward Mario. Starlight gasped in shock while Mario quickly held out his hammer, making it shimmer in a lavender aura, quickly smacking the beam up in the air through the skylight, letting it safely explode into the sky and avoid getting himself or anyone in the audience hurt. The crowd thought it was a set of fireworks going off, but Starlight, Mario, and their friends on the sideline were shocked at what had just happened.
"D-Did...my magic bounce OFF of them!?" Starlight exclaimed. "B-But these things are rocks!" She tried something else, shrouding the green-shoed in her magic aura. Starlight grunted as she tried to lift the Cleft, barely able to get him off the ground as she strained her mental power to try pushing what felt like a mountain. "Urgh! C-Come on! Move...over...the edge!"
"Starlight, quit fooling around!" Goombella exclaimed. "Just shove them off!"
Starlight let out her held breath, heavily exhausted and dropped the Cleft. "I-I can't...push him," she panted. "Even...at my strongest...How much weight a unicorn can lift...depends on their mental power. And he weighs several tons!"
"Just what kinds of Clefts are those?" Rarity asked.
Goombella looked through her encyclopedia of different foes and creatures throughout the world, finding the type of Cleft their team was up against. "Here they are...They're...Iron Clefts..." As she read through what these Clefts can do, the Goomba began sweating nervously. "...T-There's no way..."
"W-Why does that not sound like a good sign?" Koops asked.
"...Uhh...W-Well..." Goombella continued stammering, not focusing on the fight as the Clefts began charging at Mario and Starlight.
Luckily, they weren't all that fast, but neither of them wanted to get pricked on their head spikes. Mario pulled out his hammer, residing on brute force to knock the two Iron Clefts out. He went for the Red Cleft, giving his side a hard whack, but upon contact, the plumber winced as his hammer bounced back, nearly breaking his wrists. It was like he hit solid ground, not a simple boulder that was meant to be broken by a tool like a hammer.
"Didn't feel a thing!" Red Iron Cleft cackled, laughing at Mario's pain toward his own failed swing.
Growling, Mario jumped up into the air, lighting his gloves with his enchanted strength, then dove down with a powerful hammer slam. He struck the Cleft with a tremendous amount of force, but the impact bounced off the incredibly sturdy body, Mario's tight grip making him shudder wildly with his hammer wiggling out of control. The Iron Clefts both laughed as the plumber jittered about, teeth chattering, his arms beginning to feel like jelly as he was slowly losing his grip. He accidentally let go, unable to hold on any further, falling on his back while his hammer bounced around on its own outside the arena before slowly coming to a stop.
The audience was a bit perturbed, wondering why the Great Gonzales's teammates weren't helping and why they couldn't beat the Iron Cleft Bros. "Oh my, this is embarrassing," Flurrie commented, shaking her head while covering her face.
"Goombella, what are ya afraid to tell us?" Applejack asked. "Not even Mario's able to break through them, and his hammer just went bouncin' around like Pinkie Pie on a sugar rush!"
"...These Iron Clefts...have impenetrable defenses," Goombella finally said, shocking everyone. "There's nothing that can harm them."
"And Starlight couldn't handle them either because they're magic proof, too!?" Rainbow questioned.
"Not even the strongest Kameks can cast a spell that either harmed or changed an Iron Cleft," Goombella continued. "Their bodies are basically impenetrable, despite being made of what they're named after."
"So, there's nothing we can do to win?" Fluttershy asked.
Goombella sadly shook her head. They looked back at the ring, hearing Mario and Starlight trying their hardest to do anything to the Iron Clefts, but nothing was even phasing them. In a way, it was almost like the mares were facing Bowser in his Star Rod enhanced power again, only there were two of them, they were slow as molasses compared to the Koopa King, and weren't as physically tough. With no choice, everyone agreed to throw in the towel, Pinkie Pie doing the honors as she pulled out a white towel out of nowhere, and throwing it toward the ring. Grubba caught the sign, quickly getting up on the arena, alerting his staff to bang the gong, ending the match early.
"Ok, that's the end, folks!" Grubba announced, the Armored Harriers skidding to a halt, ceasing their chasing Mario and Starlight. "Unfortunately, the Great Gonzales's team has decided to throw in the towel, admitting defeat to their opponents in a forfeit!" The audience groaned in disappointment, but it was better than watching their newest underdog and his team getting humiliated by what was the toughest duo in the Glitz Pit. "Our winner is the Armored Harriers!"
"Hah! How do you like that, stinkwads!?" Red Iron Cleft mocked.
"If you want another taste of pummel pie, take a bath and come on back, punks!" Green Iron Cleft added in, both brothers high-fiving with their feet as they walked off smugly, getting boos from the crowd after jeering their opponents.
Starlight panted, she and Mario glumly stepping down the stage, humiliated. "What are we going to do, Mario?" she asked, but the plumber shrugged, having no idea what to do next.
"...Is this really the best from the Great Gonzales?" Sir Swoop asked, he, Master Crash, and Cleftor gathered around the terminal watching the match to the end. "You guys said he whooped all the minor league without any issues."
"They have BOOM!" Crash said. "The Armored Harriers have really BOMB tough skins. Not even BOMB-BOMB my explosions left a crack BOB-BOMB!"
On the bench, the Yoshi egg had watched the match from a distance. Feeling like it needed to do something, the egg twitched, parts of the shell bulging as the Yoshi inside was trying to hatch itself. Eventually, the egg began to crack rolling off the bench and off into a corner as it struggled to break free. When it hit the wall, it went still, then a green hand punched through, the Yoshi hatchling pulling it back inside as it looked through the hole it made.
Walking into the locker room, Mario and his friends trudged inside, completely stumped and at a loss for ideas to get their Crystal Star. "Man, this sucks," Rainbow grumbled. "It's Bowser all over again, and we had thousands of creatures in this world watch us fail."
"We probably should have done more research on who was in the major league," Goombella said, hopelessly skimming through her books for some hints or advice. "We're either at a standstill, or, at worst, we steal that belt and take the Crystal Star by force."
"And have thousands of fans hate us after getting this far? That doesn't sound good," Starlight said.
"Oh no! Where'd the egg go!?" Fluttershy exclaimed worriedly. Everyone else looked at the bench, finding no sign of the rainbow-speckled egg. Thankfully, they didn't have to look at all, hearing the sound of cracking over in the corner of the room. Fluttershy quickly flew over to the egg, her shock turning from relief to excitement as she saw cracks forming, along with a red shoe that kicked out of the shell. "Oh my gosh! He's hatching!"
Everyone gathered around, including Sir Swoop, Cleftor, and Master Crash, watching the Yoshi finally break free with all four of its limbs. Inside was a green Yoshi, wearing red boots, a pair of orange pants with white polka dots it somehow had on while inside its egg, and the red spines on top of its head were shaped in a mohawk. He let out a sputter while shaking his head, scattering the bits of eggshell off of him, then looked up at everyone.
"...Hey, guys," he said, sounding more like a young child than a baby.
All the females in the locker room immediately gushed at the adorable Yoshi hatchling, shoving aside Mario, Koops, Crash, Cleftor, and Sir Swoop as they surrounded the little green dinosaur. "He is soooooo cute!" Pinkie cooed.
"This is the first Yoshi I ever saw, and it's just as cute as you girls said they look!" Starlight said as all the girls fought to cuddle with the helpless Yoshi, who let out whines and grunts, trying to wriggle away from the attention he was getting. "So scaly, but so soft and squishy!"
"Hey, it's my turn to hug the Yoshi baby!" Pinkie whined.
The males all watched, unsure whether they should help the Yoshi or not risk getting in the way of a group of girls' natural instinct of going after something small, cute, and unable to help but eat up. "Well, at least it's not me," Sir Swoop said.
The Yoshi managed to finally squirm out of whoever was holding him, leaping up over the girls and flutter-kicking away from them, landing beside Mario. "Ok, enough with the hugging!" he exclaimed. "Gonzales, I can see fighting can get me all the babes, but I haven't even been in the ring yet!"
"Uhh, did he just call you 'Gonzales', Mario?" Koops questioned.
"Well, duhhhh! Gonzales IS his name," the Yoshi stated. He looked back at the girls, flinching as some of them still had that look of wanting to squeeze the life out of him. "Hey, don't even think about it!"
"More huggies for the Yoshi!" Pinkie squealed, leaping toward the Yoshi.
She didn't expect the Yoshi to shoot his long tongue out, which stuck to her face, then pulled her into his mouth. Pinkie let out a shriek, which was silenced as the Yoshi hatchling's cheeks puffed out, shocking the other mares when they saw just how easily a baby Yoshi was able to stuff a grown mare into their mouth. He then swallowed Pinkie whole, letting out a heavy grunt as he bent over, laying out a big green-spotted egg, which wriggled slightly, no doubt the pink mare was trapped inside.
"Anyone else wanna go at me!? I'll rough you all up!" the Yoshi said, putting his fists up as he bounced around like a boxer.
"Little Yoshi!" Fluttershy scolded. The Yoshi winced, his bravado quickly diminished as the yellow pegasus marched up to him. He looked down at his feet, twiddling his fingers nervously as the mare's tone made him nervous. "You do not eat our friends and trap them in eggs, even if we all went a little bit too far giving you so much attention that made you uncomfortable. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mama Fluttershy," the Yoshi murmured apologetically.
"'Mama'?" Rainbow asked, snorting a little from the Yoshi apparently imprinting Fluttershy as his mother. "'Mama Fluttershy'?"
While most of the group thought it was funny, Mario, Rarity, and Applejack thought Fluttershy would make a really decent mother if she had foals of her own. She raised a lot of different animals and treated most of them like her own children, so it was more like practice for her future as a mom. They could even hear Pinkie Pie laughing along with the others, although muffled from the tough eggshell she was stuck in.
"Now, you get Pinkie Pie out of that egg and apologize to her right now, mister," Fluttershy ordered, ignoring the teasing from her friends.
The Yoshi nodded, giving the egg a few whacks at some weak points, freeing Pinkie Pie as she sat dumbfounded at what she experienced. "...That was kinda fun! Can I do that again!?"
"Let's not," Fluttershy said. "Now, young colt, apologize."
"Sorry, Pinkie Pie," the Yoshi apologized.
"Aww, it's o-...Hey, how'd you know mine and Fluttershy's names?" Pinkie asked.
"I may have been in an egg, but I could still hear and see a little bit from inside," he said. "I even watched that fight you guys lost in that last match."
"Oh, yeah. There's that we need to worry about," Applejack uttered.
"You think I can help you out?" the Yoshi asked. "I've watched the other matches, and I think I can do pretty good!"
"You want to what!?" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Aren't you a bit too young to even do anything this dangerous?" Starlight asked.
"Actually, Yoshis are actually quite adaptable in their surroundings," Goombella explained, reading through a section about Yoshis from her book. "Though they mostly live on a jungle island, the creatures in the jungle can be very dangerous, and they need to learn how to defend themselves. Plus, that whole swallowing creatures into an egg thing we just saw is one of their defensive and offensive moves; swallow a foe, and use their egg as ammo to throw at other foes." After paraphrasing the paragraph, Goombella gasped, suddenly getting an idea about their earlier predicament. "Wait...Maybe this Yoshi CAN help us!"
"How?" Fluttershy asked skeptically. "He's just a baby. Besides, those two Iron Clefts aren't able to get hurt by anything."
"Maybe not by anyone else, but since they're both made of the same type of 'iron', and he has a pretty strong tongue..." Goombella paused, letting the others try to put the pieces together.
"And...if he's able to swallow something as big as one of us," Starlight mumbled, until she figured out what the Goomba was leading them toward. "We use their own bodies against them! It's just crazy enough to work!"
The others agreed, even Mario with his own experiences teaming up with a Yoshi or two in the past. "Oh, I don't know about this," Fluttershy said. "What if he gets hurt?"
"I can handle it!" the Yoshi said, quickly running up to Fluttershy's forelegs, begging her with puppy-dog eyes. "Please, Mama Fluttershy! I wanna be a fighter so bad! I even wanna help you win that champion belt and get that Crystal Star thing you were talking about earlier!"
He added a pitiful whimper and a sad pout to increase his chances. Fluttershy had dealt with the troublesome Yoshi Kids back on Lavalava Island, but unlike those children, this hatchling was definitely able to defend himself, even though he had just swallowed Pinkie into an egg. There wasn't anything else they had to move on through the Glitz Pit, and with how helpful Yoshis can be in a fight, Fluttershy sighed and gave in.
"Well...as long as you be careful out there," she said, feeling the Yoshi quickly hug her forelegs gratefully. Fluttershy gently pulled the hatchling off her, not done with setting up ground rules for the rambunctious dinosaur. "But if we get into a dangerous fight with something strong, don't go trying to attack it."
"Ok, Mama Fluttershy!" the Yoshi agreed, though he silently won't guarantee he won't avoid rising to a challenge.
"So, do you have a name, or are we just going to keep calling you Yoshi?" Rainbow asked.
"Uhh...I don't have a name," the Yoshi said.
"I say let's give him one," Flurrie suggested. "But what to name him?"
"He's...pretty feisty for a little guy," Koops noted.
"And he apparently loves wanting to get into a scrap, seeing how he's a bit into the fights in the arena," Starlight added.
"Ooh! I know!" Pinkie said. "Let's call him Scrappy!" The Yoshi grinned, finding the name fitting for him, though everyone else wondered why. Pinkie sidled up beside Scrappy and whispered to him. "You're obviously going to be the youngest teammate in our group, and you'll remind everypony reading this story about a puppy with the same name, but unlike him, you won't be annoying and actually be useful in future fights."
"Ah...Wait, what?" Scrappy asked, at first excited, only to get confused by Pinkie's statement.
"Pinkie, what did you tell him?" Fluttershy questioned.
"Oh, nothing important!" Pinkie assured.
"I guess we're gonna go with Scrappy the Yoshi," Starlight said.
"Well, that may be my birth name, but in the ring, I wanna be called...Gonzales Jr.!" Scrappy suggested, standing in a victorious pose while flexing his muscles, which looked more adorable than he was expecting it to be.
"Let's just stick with Scrappy for now," Fluttershy said, patting the Yoshi on the head.
With their new little Yoshi teammate ready for his first ever match, Mario headed to the terminal to reserve a rematch against the Armored Harriers.
It took a while for the rematch to start, since there were several other matches that were already scheduled, but it was time for them to move on up and get closer to taking that belt. Grubba's conditions for moving into the major league was the same as before: only "Gonzales" and a partner in a two-on-two match. As they waited on the other side of the doors, Grubba stood onstage, ready to announce the rematch as the Armored Harriers were the first ones to enter.
"Welcome back, fighting fans!" Grubba said. "We have ourselves a rematch that I know y'all are waitin' for after what happened this morning! The Great Gonzales and his teammates surrendered to the Armored Harriers, their might just too mighty for our latest rising star! But Gonzales had some time to come up with a new strategy, knowing all of you are waiting for him to try his luck at facing our champion, Rawk Hawk, and keep rising up on our roster!"
The crowd cheered at the good news, though the two Iron Clefts were skeptical after their last match. "Bring those stinkwads on!" Red Iron Cleft said. "They still won't hurt us, no matter what they've got!"
"Bold words, but always expect the unexpected!" Grubba said. "Now, let's bring out THE GREEEEAAAAT GONZAAAALEEEES!!!!"
As soon as the doors began to push open, Scrappy charged out first, surprising the audience. "YEAH!" he cheered, running on ahead while whooping and hollering. "We're the best! Not gonna stop us now! WHOOO-HOOOOO!!!!!"
"Sounds like somepony's a little bit too excited," Rarity uttered, the rest of the group making their way to the ring at a slower pace.
Scrappy bounded up the steps, waving to the crowd, then began doing some stretches to warm himself up. Mario stepped up and stood beside the eagerly excited Yoshi while the others stood on the sidelines.
"...Uhh, well, that was quite an introduction," Grubba commented. "This a new teammate of yours, Gonzales?"
Mario opened his mouth, but Scrappy interrupted him. "You better believe it!" the Yoshi cheered. "I'm Gonzales's ward and protégé: Gonzales Jr.!"
His claim made the audience chuckle, mostly out of seeing the adorable little dinosaur that was "Gonzales's" fan want to try to be a fighter like him. Even Grubba laughed at the bravado the Yoshi had.
"Well, ain't that cute?" he said. "Hope the Iron Adonis Twins don't rough up the little fellah too hard. Let's get ready to BAAAAAATTLE!!!!"
With the sound of the gong, the match was underway, Grubba leaving the ring to let his fighters duke it out. Mario stood back, letting Scrappy take charge, the young Yoshi doing little hops in place, ready to dodge or rush forward as he eyed the twin Iron Clefts. The two impervious Clefts looked at each other, slightly amused as Mario let Scrappy be the star of the show, ensured to win again, but this time by beating their opponents up and not by quitting.
"This is too easy," Red Iron Cleft scoffed. "Can't give us a challenge, Gonzales!? Even after you made fun of our mom's outie belly button!?"
"We never said anything about you or your family!" Starlight shouted irritably. "Why are you still on about that!?"
"Let's just beat the snot out of them, starting with the little green twerp!" Red Iron Cleft yelled as he charged toward Scrappy.
Scrappy waited for his chance to strike, smirking confidently. As soon as the Cleft was close enough, he opened his mouth and shot out his tongue, the super sticky bulb at the end of the dinosaur's lengthy and incredibly strong organ attaching to his opponent's forehead. Before he knew it, Red Iron Cleft yelped as he was suddenly pulled in by the Yoshi tongue, trapped inside Scrappy's mouth with his cheeks puffed out. The audience gasped in shock, but Green Iron Cleft's jaw dropped, horrified to see his brother get eaten.
Scrappy swallowed the Cleft down his gullet, his stomach extending from his giant victim, then let out a strained grunt while hunched over. With a loud pop that echoed all throughout the ring, Scrappy laid out a fat egg similar to the Iron Cleft's size, letting out a sigh of relief.
"AHH! BRO!" Green Cleft shrieked.
"You want your brother back?" Scrappy asked, grabbing the big egg he just laid. "You can have him!" With a well-aimed throw, Scrappy sent the egg hurling toward the Cleft. Too shocked from earlier to react, Green Iron Cleft was hit by the egg, which blew up on impact while also ramming Red Iron Cleft into his brother. Both brothers tumbled across the ring, confirming Goombella's theory when they all heard them yell out in pain when they smacked into each other. "Yeah! Da da da da, da daaaaa! YOSHI POWER!!!!"
The crowd roared in applause at the amazing display, all while Scrappy posed and showed off to his fans with a leaping flutter kick, hovering in the air for a moment before ground pounding to the ground, giving everyone a double peace sign. The Iron Clefts groaned, getting off of each other, then looked at the cocky Yoshi hatchling appealing to everyone.
"B-Bro, are you ok?" Green Iron Cleft asked.
"Urgh. I...don't even know what I went through when I went in that twerpy stinkwad's gullet," Red Iron Cleft said. "I'm not gonna get beaten by a little green dinosaur in a diaper! Let's charge him together!"
"R-Right! He can't get both of us at once!" Both Clefts charged forward, Scrappy too busy showboating to pay attention to the fight, which was still going on.
"Scrappy, look out!" Fluttershy warned.
Mario was about to jump in to save Scrappy, but the Yoshi's instincts kicked in, quickly leaping over the dual charging bodies of steel. Flipping in midair, he shot his tongue out, sticking it to Red Iron Cleft again.
"Oh no! Not again!" he shrieked.
Instead of getting eaten, he was flipped around as Scrappy flipped, letting out a yell as he was whipped around, slamming into the ring with a heavy thud. Green Iron Cleft skid to a halt and turned around, spotting the Yoshi turn slightly to look at him, mouth still open with his tongue outstretch and connected to his brother. Scrappy yanked Red Iron Cleft into his mouth again, but instead of swallowing him, he turned, charged the other Cleft, then spat Red out with an incredible amount of force. He hit Green hard, sending both Iron Clefts tumbling far off the ring, Mario sidestepping out of their path as he watched them bowl outside of the raised stage, crashing to the ground in a heap.
"And it's a ring out!" Grubba chimed in, the match ending as the Armored Harriers were not only flung out, but also knocked senseless, both Clefts barely moving as they let out weak groans. "And the Great Gonzales didn't even have to lift a finger! He let his new recruit do the job, and this little guy's got that fighting spirit!" Everyone cheered as Scrappy jumped around ecstatically, celebrating his first win and laughing triumphantly. "Congratulations, Gonzales, you and your compadres are moving up to the major leagues! Let's hear it for them, folks!"
Everyone cheered even louder, chanting "Gonzales!" over and over, which spurred on Scrappy and Rainbow's egos, the pegasus flying up on stage and joining the Yoshi's celebratory dance. "You did awesome, squirt!" Rainbow said to Scrappy. "Keep that up, and we'll get to Rawk Hawk in no time!"
After giving Scrappy his moment to bask in his glory, Mario had to grab both him and Rainbow Dash and drag them off the stage. This was only round one; round two's gonna be even tougher than ever, especially after getting a glimpse at who was in the major-league locker room on their tour around the Pit. And if Scrappy was going to be an imperative asset to their team here and much later in the future, he and Fluttershy were going to have to keep the Yoshi in line with his excited eagerness to get in a battle.
Inside the champion's room, Rawk Hawk stood in front of his terminal, always watching his competitions' matches and silently berate them with how poor they were. But the Great Gonzales's team, however, had broken records reaching up to the major-league ranks, and after laughing at how terribly he and one of his pony friends fought the Armored Harriers in their first match, now he was cringing after watching a baby Yoshi beat the Iron Clefts by himself.
"They think they can take my belt from me?" the champion grumbled, clenching his fists bitterly. "Well, I'll have to change your mind pretty quickly before you even have the chance to get to me, Gonzales..."
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Ugh... won’t people just let the hate go already! He’s no longer a main character. You only see him as cameos. I was hoping for Junior. My reason is him.
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/p__/images/6/6c/1636895-junior_healey.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140326162059&path-prefix=protagonist
Oh boy. A mini dash. Jest what we needed.
....I feel like that meme was created solely for this moment.
9749752 I see where Codex92 got ‘Mama Fluttershy’
9749752
I actually wasn't going do that while thinking over the chapter, but I couldn't resist when I thought back to the old super mario world cartoon.
9750653
If nothing else, it was a perfect opportunity.
You are either a really big fan of one of the most maligned characters in Scooby Doo histery (I like him myself, but realize that his is a name not to bring up in mixed company), or you really HATE the little Yoshi. Honestly, I'm not sure which.
9792147
Neither. That little Yoshi's a useful party member in the game, but I am definitely not a fan of Scrappy Doo. He's like a damsel in distress, except he WANTS to get in trouble like the overly-excited puppy he is. I didn't know what to call the Yoshi in the story, and because he's so feisty, but be able to actually fight, I called him Scrappy for the irony. Plus, Yoshis are cuter. How can you say no to a Yoshi?
9796806
Now be fair. Was Scrappy ever captured by the villain of the week? At most, I vaguely remember him on the wrong end of a running grapple once, but unlike Daphne, he was never a Distressed Damsel, male edition(tm). Mind you, I have never seen every episode of every series and movie he was in, but I have seen enough to feel rather safe in my assertion here.
9796806
my thoughts on scrappy doo.
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/762/150/4e5.jpg
my thoughts on scrappy Yoshi.
img.youtube.com/vi/PMZt3WKz8G8/hqdefault.jpg
9797713
hey I never saw scrappy doo in the show but he was cool in a fanfiction of the scooby doo movie the live-action one that's part of cinematic adventures and
besides if both scrappys somehow met I think they would get along
if you reply you will get caught in an endless conversation so please don't reply