My Little Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

by Codex92

Trekking the Rogueport Sewers

Starlight yelled as her stomach flopped during the fast, yet controlled drop down through the warp pipe. It was odd to feel her body move as the pipe curved along with it as she went through, and when she reached the end, she slowed down upon exiting. She barely got on her hooves before collapsing, getting her first taste of traveling through them as she sat up, shaking her head.

"Wow...That's an odd experience," she commented, figuring it won't be the last time they'll be going through the warp pipes. After recovering from the slightly delirious ride, she regrouped with the others as they now stood in the underground of Rogueport. It was just as dirty as the town above, only with grey concrete walls and floors, several buildings out in the distance that couldn't be reached from where they were, and a lack of knowing the time of day without a clock. By the look of the structures, it looked like these were part of the old ruins of the city Rogueport sits on today, at least on most of the upper portions of the ancient city. "Where are we?"

"We are in the Rogueport Sewers," Frankly said. "Further down, we should be able to find the Thousand-Year Door with enough of a search."

"Ick! This place is worse than Toad Town's Sewers," Rarity whined, unable to hold her nose with her hoof as her boots were meant to avoid stepping on garbage. "And it smells horrid! I'd rather walk through Toad Town's sewage system instead! Does anypony have noseplugs, or even some air freshener!?"

"I got delicious cupcakes!" Pinkie said, pulling out a tray of colorful confectionery goodness from her saddlebags. "They smell fruity and frostingy."

"Pinkie, I think any food you bring down here will get contaminated by the odor lingering in this place!" Rarity complained. Pinkie just shrugged and sniffed the cupcakes, letting out a sigh as her senses could only smell the surprisingly fresh cupcakes she mysteriously baked. Unable to take the smell anymore, Rarity gave in. "Give me one!"

"Okie dokie!" The white unicorn snatched one of the cupcakes, the disgusting smell of the Rogueport Sewers gone as she inhaled the green-frosted cupcake. "Ooh! The melon cupcake. Made from fresh melons from Lavalava Island the Yoshis love to eat!"

"...Where did she even get those cupcakes?" Frankly asked. "And why do they look like they were JUST baked from an oven? Did she make anything when you all got here?"

"Professor, don't ask," Goombella said with a sigh. "Just...let it go when it involves Pinkie Pie."

"Why that's absurd!" Frankly protested. "There has to be a reason! Anything that illogical has to have some logical reasoning!" Mario let out a small laugh, simply explaining not to question whatever Pinkie does. Or even pulls out of nowhere. "...Bah. There's time to solve that mystery later. We must find the Thousand-Year Door posthaste!"

"Prof. Frankly!" Goombella shouted, grabbing her mentor before he ran off on his own. "How about you let us lead? The sewers'll probably be filled with even worse creeps than there are above ground."

"I ain't that old," Frankly grumbled. "...Alright. Lead the way."

"Alright! Let's go!" Goombella said, but barely moved as she pointed in the only two directions they could go to. "...Uhh, where to start?"

"Well, to the left of our entrance down here is another small town under Rogueport," Frankly said. "No way of getting through with a fallen pillar blocking the way unless we blow it up. Either that, or we crawl under it, but we'd have to be the size of a rolled up newspaper to even make it under. I know...I tried." His cheeks turned pink for a moment, quickly fixing his glasses and clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment. "The only option is to our right, although in the other room is nothing but water and a pipe on a lone island. So, our other alternate path is through this warp pipe behind this fence."

Frankly pointed at a nearby gate, which had another warp pipe hidden behind it. Unfortunately, the only way to reach it for those who can't jump as high as Mario or fly like Rainbow and Fluttershy was by a platform that hovered back and forth on the other end of a flight of stairs. With no choice but to take the long way around, the group climbed down the first flight, only to be stopped by a trio of Goombas who appeared on the other side, the normal Goomba, Paragoomba, and Spiked Goomba cackling sinisterly as they looked specifically at Goombella.

"Hey there, sweetheart!" the normal Goomba greeted.

"Wassup, baby?" the Paragoomba said, failing miserably to flirt with Goombella with the way they acted toward her. "Why don't ya hang with us? We play nice."

"What's a fine-lookin' Goomba like you hangin' around with a tubby, mustached man, an old geezer, and...six...weird animal things?" the Spiked Goomba said, his insult toward Mario and Frankly faltering when he noticed the six mares, who found them just as appalling as Goombella was at the moment. "What are those rainbow sprinkle things? Pets?"

"Oh, great," Rainbow groaned. "We're going to have another Jr. Troopa moment, aren't we?"

"Who's that?" Starlight asked.

"Remember the little Koopa we told ya about, who always kept getting in Mario's way?" Applejack said.

"Oh, now I remember," Starlight said. "What happened to him anyway?"

"Who cares!? We don't need another random antagonist we have to keep fighting after each odd chapter!" Pinkie said. "I hope he doesn't make an appearance in this story."

"Hey, baby, forget about these chumps!" the Goomba said, the trio leaping down and began surrounding Goombella. "How about we show you our crib and have a little fun?"

Mario was about to pull out his hammer to deal with these Goombas, but Goombella growled, getting fed up with the perverted Goombas trying to whisk her away for some "fun". "You creeps make me gag!" Goombella exclaimed. "Back off!"

"Oh! So you think you're too good for us, huh!?" the Paragoomba questioned.

"We weren't even going to give you a choice to come with us," the Spiked Goomba added.

As they got closer, Mario was ready to strike them to help Goombella again like he did before. However, Goombella let out a yell, headbutting the normal Goomba right in the face, sending him staggering backwards in pain. Shocked by the female Goomba's self-defense, Goombella kicked the other two Goombas back while they were caught off guard.

"I'm not going anywhere with you sick Goombas!" Goombella said. "I'm not a helpless damsel, so if you want to take me, then try it, punks!"

"You are so asking for it!" The Goomba trio charged Goombella with a battle cry.

Goombella jumped off the normal Goomba, bouncing off his head and headbonked the Paragoomba, sending the flying mushroom falling to the ground. She stomped down hard on him upon landing, jumping out of the way when she heard the normal Goomba try to lunge at her, missing and tackling his buddy instead. The Spiked Goomba chuckled and leapt up, diving down to drive the pointed spike hat he wore on the female Goomba.

"Goombella, look out!" Starlight warned, her horn glowing as she snatched the Spiked Goomba in the air, sending him flying into the pileup of Goombas, one of them yelping in pain as the Spiked Goomba's cap pricked someone.

"Thanks, but I could have taken them on my own," Goombella said.

The dastardly group of Goombas got up, the normal one wincing as he moved, apparently the one who got pricked by the Spiked Goomba. "W-What the heck was that!?" the spike-topped Goomba exclaimed. "I flew!"

"I think that thing with the horn can use magic," the Paragoomba said. He pointed at Rarity, who still held the heavenly aromatic cupcake close to her face to avoid the musty smell of the sewers. "See? Even that white one's using magic."

"Racist!" Pinkie shouted, pointing at the flying Goomba. "Or...speciesist!...Whatever the right term is for being
so derogative toward unicorns!"

"Ugh. We're just wasting time right now," Starlight grumbled. Using her magic again, she picked up the Goomba trio in her aura, then flung them hard into the other room, three splashes echoing in the underground sewers as they hit the water. No longer pestered by the Goombas trying to kidnap Goombella, they continued on their way, climbing up the steps and waited for the platform to reach them. "We need to catch up to Twilight and Peach if they went on ahead."

"At least we know Goombella's got some fight in her," Rainbow said. "Guess we didn't really need to help you with that Crump guy after all."

"Yeah, until he called in his army. I couldn't have handled them on my own at that point," Goombella said.

They quickly got on the platform, letting it carry them over the gap to reach the warp pipe, then dove down into it. Upon exiting, they appeared in another section further down under Rogueport, walking by a grated fence blocking the lower pathway while taking out more Goombas that got in their way. At least they weren't involved with the trio from earlier who wanted Goombella more than just for her company. Walking all the way around and down the stairs to the lower walkway, passing a couple grated passages, the closest one leading to another room, though it was impossible to pass unless they were skinny enough to squeeze through. The farthest one was blocked by yellow blocks, easily taken care of when Mario swung his hammer down on them, opening up a way to another warp pipe.

Diving down and going further down under Rogueport, they entered another bigger room, a grated passage nearby, taller platforms with the shorter one holding a black key and the higher another passage, a platform hanging by the edge with an image of a paper airplane pointing away from where it was perched. Behind where the pipe exited was another ledge that had a passage, though it was hard to reach with most of the group unable to jump as high as Mario or fly like the two pegasi in the party. There was another yellow block, though it was much bigger than the ones Mario broke earlier. There were even some more foes lying in wait for them, a group of short enemies that seemed to be made out of green discs spaced apart an inch or two.

Near the closed off passage, they spotted something nearby, a grey creature with darker grey sports and an antenna with a green orb at the end. It gasped, then scurried off on its tiny legs through a small crack in the wall, its small frame able to easily squeeze through.

"What in Equestria was that?" Starlight asked, Fluttershy quickly chasing after it, but was too late, unable to even fit through the bars into the room where it fled.

"Wait, little friend!" she called out. "We won't hurt you!" Sadly, it didn't come back, Fluttershy letting out a sigh. "It was so cute. What was it?"

"Hmm...I think I've seen something like that before," Frankly said. "I do have some research on them, but I can't put their name on the tip of my tongue. I'll find out after we find the Thousand-Year Door."

"At least that wasn't as dangerous-lookin' as...these weird things," Applejack said, pointing at the discus enemies, spotting them and charged them while spinning rapidly.

"Spinias," Goombella stated. "They live down here in the sewers. Just be careful of their tough spinning attack, and take careful aim if you try to jump on them."

Thankfully, the Spinias weren't able to jump as they spun against the wall of the short ledge they stood on. Pinkie hopped on one of them, squishing them down as her weight easily knocked the weak foe out, while Rainbow flew in and bucked the other one hard, its body surprisingly still intact despite its floating pieces. While figuring out where to go next, Mario saw a blue switch on the other side of the room. Giving it a good whack as most switches always lead to advancing further to where they need to go, it revealed a staircase hidden behind the nearby wall, leading up to the highest level in the room. Rainbow grabbed the mysterious black key as the others climbed up, curious about what it would unlock as they checked out the upper floor.

In the next room, there was a black chest sitting in the middle on a small dias, small black spikes patterned along the edges. "Hmm...I wonder what's in this chest," Rainbow pondered.

"Hello!?" a voice said, surprising everyone as the chest began wiggling around. "Hey, can anyone hear me!?"

"A talking chest?" Fluttershy questioned.

"Oh no! It's a Mimic!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Don't let it eat us!"

"Wait, so you can hear me?" the voice in the chest asked. "That means one of you must be the hero of legend! Only the great hero of legend can hear my voice!"

"'Hero of legend'?" Pinkie asked. "Hey, you're talking about the wrong crossover, mysterious voice who we obviously trust! If you're talking about a legendary hero in a legend, try looking around Hyrule!"

"...What the heck is 'High Rule'?" Goombella questioned skeptically. "And what do you mean by 'crossover'?"

"Inside joke," Pinkie stated, making the two Goombas facepalm at her illogical response.

"Well, there is a hero of legend," the voice said. "See, a long time ago, an evil spirit put a curse on me, locking me in this chest. It was a bummer, and I've been waiting here since then for the hero to come by."

"Well, you probably shouldn't have messed around with an evil spirit to begin with," Rarity said. "We unfortunately deal with a spirit of chaos, and depending on the day, he can be helpful, or cause us a lot of grief. Mostly the latter."

"Discord's been behaving after the changelings invaded and kidnapped us," Fluttershy said. "He was really worried about me though, being his first ever best friend."

"Ya think Discord finds ya more than just a friend, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, making the yellow pegasus blush at the ridiculous assumption.

"I-I-I don't...N-No, I d-don't think he..." Fluttershy squeaked, quickly hiding behind her mane, completely flustered and embarrassed. "W-We're...just friends..."

"So, what brings all of you to a place like this?" the trapped voice asked. Mario explained to the voice about their hunt for the Crystal Stars and the Thousand-Year Door, figuring the person trapped inside might know something about it if they were trapped for many years. "Huh. Searching for the Crystal Stars, eh? Well, you're all DEFINITELY going to need my help searching for those bad boys. You'll have to find the key to this box, then release me from this crazy prison."

"Hmm...I'm not sure if we should trust this," Frankly said nervously. "How can you be so sure that we would trust you?"

"Hey, you'll be doing me a huge favor," the voice said. "Being stuck in here is no picnic! If you find the key, which is just as black as this chest, I'll definitely give you something great if you free me."

Rainbow hummed in thought, pulling out the key she found earlier. "Is this the key?"

"Whoa! You actually found it!" the voice cheered. "Quick, open it up!" Rainbow gave Mario the key, seeing how Mario was more legendary hero material in the Mushroom Kingdom. The plumber unlocked it, the trapped voice laughing joyously as he was freed. "Yes! Thank...ha! Thank nothing!" the voice suddenly turned sinister, letting out a creepy cackle as the chest slowly opened up. "FOOOOOOOOLS!"

A black mist suddenly poured out around them, nothing but darkness surrounding the group as they were trapped in some strange magical void. "What's going on!?" Rainbow exclaimed.

"I knew something fishy was up with that chest!" Frankly said. "I should have gone with my gut and expected something that ominous to hold something dastardly!"

"Oh boy, did you suckers fall for it!" Appearing before them was a creepy face, glowing an ominous yellow with a jagged grin and piercing eyes. "Did you all really think I was going to help you? As if! But I will give you something; a little something for the suffering I've endured in this stupid box!"

"We didn't even trap you in there and we let you out!" Starlight said. "What kind of spirit are you!?"

"A bored one who wants to spread a curse!" the monster said, looking down at Mario. "And I'm gonna start by giving it to the 'hero' who deserves it!" An invisible force suddenly struck Mario as he quickly raised his arms up to protect himself. The monster began to laugh maniacally, but stopped when a light began to spread around Mario, his Lucky Star shining brightly in the dark void everyone was trapped in. "W-What the-!?"

Whatever curse the monster tried to place on Mario seemed to have backfired, brief flashes of light blinding everyone, including the dark spirit. When the light faded and everyone could blink the spots out of their eyes, everyone gasped when they saw a pair of ethereal wings appear on Mario's back.

"Whoa!" Goombella exclaimed in awe.

"Is this...supposed to be the curse?" Starlight questioned.

Mario moved his arms, not feeling any different. When he looked behind him, he stared in shock at the magical pegasus wings sprouting from his back. He then looked down at his chest, spotting the glowing light from his pendant as it either saved him or purified the curse into something else similar to what the monster had planned in the first place. The glowing face blinked a couple times, still in shock, but he grimaced as he tried to play it off like this was the curse.

"Err, yes! Yes, this is the curse!" it said. "In certain places, you will grow those...glowing wings, and it'll make you look ridiculous!" Appearing below Mario was the paper airplane panel similar to the one outside of the room where the chest was. "Stepping on these panels will make it glow, and they'll sprout...making you...able to glide through the air! Everyone will laugh at how silly you look with those ethereal wings!...Oh, who am I kidding? My curse wasn't supposed to do this. It was supposed to turn him into a paper airplane." Pinkie floated up to the face and whispered something to him, making its yellow eyes grow wide in surprise. "Wait, this world ISN'T made out of paper!?"

"Well, duh," Pinkie said. "Did you not see the last story?"

"I was trapped in a treasure chest for over a millennia!" the monster exclaimed, confusing the others as it and Pinkie talked.

"Gotta come up with weird ways to tie in Mario's new Equestrian magic in a realistic setting instead of paper, even though the title's misleading." She then stared out into space, glaring at something, or someone, the others couldn't see. "You need to work on your titles, mister author!"

"...Who is she talking to?" Frankly asked as he looked out to where Pinkie was looking. "There's no one but us...I NEED ANSWERS!"

"...Well, uhh, I...guess that's it?" the monster said. "Enjoy the curse, sucker...? Er, farewell, fools!"

The monster laugh maniacally, only to die out, still confused by his curse failing as the world began to return to them. "...Ok...that was...odd," Applejack commented.

Sadly, as the void disappeared, so did Mario's temporary wings. At least there weren't any physical changes given to him, otherwise if that curse ended up turning him into a pony, then there would be a lot of embarrassing complications. Leaving the empty black chest behind, they head back into the previous room. Looking over the area, they saw the passage leading to another room, but with it on a higher ledge, it would be tedious constantly carrying anyone unable to reach higher ledges, and more exhausting if they have to traverse more of the sewers to find the Thousand-Year Door.

"So, what exactly happened?" Goombella asked. "Is Mario cursed now, or did something else happen?"

"I'm not sure," Starlight said. "Twilight told me about Mario's Lucky Star pendant and how it was able to borrow magic from her and the girls after rescuing a Star Spirit from Bowser's troops. Maybe Mario actually was 'cursed', but because he has the powers of the Elements of Harmony, six powerful gems created by the Tree of Harmony to help protect Equestria, he must have enough of that magic in it to purify the curse and change it into something else."

"Oh. So that explains the super speed earlier when Mario got robbed," Goombella said. "And they brought those gems here in our world?"

"Actually, it was more from our rainbow power," Rainbow said. "We gave up the Elements of Harmony to save the Tree of Harmony when it was attacked by Discord's plunder vines, and when we beat Tirek, the chest it gave us for saving it after it was opened gave us awesome new powers on the same level as the Elements."

"Too bad we can't use that power unless Twilight is with us," Pinkie added. "Gotta have all six for it to work. Which means no longer hair, highlights, and glowing bodies while we shoot rainbow lasers at the big baddie."

"I do hope we find her soon," Rarity said. "As fun as a treasure hunt might be, I'd rather get it over with quickly so we don't keep walking around in these sewers!"

"Then how are we gonna get across there?" Applejack questioned, pointing at the passage into the next room on the ledge above the pipe they exited. "If we keep needin' to go back and forth to find the Crystal Stars, won't it get annoyin' if Mario or Rainbow has to help carry us all up there if that door's closeby?"

"I could teleport us up there, but Applejack does make a point," Starlight said. "I could get easily drained if I don't get enough rest. And considering the fact we'll end up fighting more that getting around, I might not have enough in me to even teleport myself."

While figuring out how to get everyone up to the ledge on the opposite end of the room, Mario looked at the panel the monster who "cursed" him showed while explaining what it was meant to do. Curious about the blessed curse, he stepped onto the grey panel, which began glowing along with the Lucky Star pendant. Pulling the charm out from his shirt, he grasped it in his hand, feeling a new magical power flowing from inside it, even though there was no physical change to it like it had done before. Unleashing it, a harmless shockwave of light shot out from the plumber, his ethereal wings reappearing on his back, but the light also phased through the rest of the group, creating more ethereal wings to the non-pegasi and two Goombas. The others gasped at the strange feeling, looking at the glowing wings they now had.

"W-Whoa!" Goombella exclaimed, looking back at her smaller, temporary wings. "What...What is happening!? Did we all get cursed!?"

"No, that thing seemed to only curse Mario," Starlight said, intrigued by the magical wings. "And I doubt this is a curse when this...doesn't actually seem that bad."

"Must be a pretty powerful little accessory if it can spread out this kind of magic," Frankly said, giving his fake wings an experimental flap.

"Whoo hoo!" Pinkie cheered. "I have wings! Let's find another evil black chest and see if it can give us horns!"

"Well, these aren't as attracting like the wings Twilight gave me when we went to cheer Rainbow Dash at the Best Young Fliers competition a few years back, but they are simply divine," Rarity complimented.

Mario was just as curious as to his his "curse" affected the others. Maybe something else happened during the last fight with Bowser, where the Star Spirits power along with Twink's helped heal everyone while giving his partners similar pendants like his Lucky Star with the same magical abilities. With how the temporary flight was able to spread upon activating it while on the panel, it was able to spread out and affect his flightless friends. At least now they were all able to glide across and waste less energy if he had to pick up someone and jump up to where they need to be, especially when they're in a new location with new foes they could encounter, Mario was going to need all the energy he needed.

Testing out his wings, Mario took a running start and leapt off, his wings spreading out as he straightened his body horizontally and glided across. He wasn't able to flap them while in the air, only able to shift his body up and down to get as much hang time and distance he could. Once he landed on the upper ledge safely, his wings disappeared, only useful for one flight until he found another. The others followed suit, Rarity remembering how it felt to fly before as she daintily hovered across, but Starlight, Applejack, Pinkie, Goombella, and Frankly needed some help from Rainbow and Fluttershy during their first attempt. Thankfully, they all made it safely across and continued on, the next room the last one they needed to search as they entered a much larger room.

"Oh...Look, everyone!" Frankly pointed out. Despite some of the pillars broken in the room, the entire structure was still standing. But the main centerpiece of the room was clearly evident on the wall; a massive door surrounded by a patterned archway, the faded red door coated with a faded gold frame, the same shade of etched designs on it showing seven stars, with three of them on the right, three on the left, and the last one above them in the center. Before the door was a circular dais with a small circular platform in the middle. "I can't believe it...We found it! The Thousand-Year Door!"

"Unbelievable," Goombella gasped, she and the others joining the professor in awe and the grand door before them. "It's just like how the books of legend depicted it..."

"Let's get a closer look!" Frankly said, running on ahead to inspect the door further. The others followed, some going with Frankly to look at the legendary door while the others checked the circular dais. "This is astounding. The Thousand-Year Door, right under everyone's noses, and it's no longer a legend! Oh, if only we had those Crystal Stars right now!"

"Professor, what's with this pedestal?" Goombella asked curiously.

"Hmm...I wonder if this is used to show the map to the door and reveal the Crystal Stars' location," Starlight pondered. Mario stepped up onto the dais and stood on the pedestal, staring at the door from a slightly elevated height. Suddenly, a bright flash alerted everyone, the pedestal Mario stood on now revealing a star in a blue light. "What in Equestria!?"

Two circles of light appeared in a clockwise path, everyone around the dais sans Mario leaping away as they watched in shock and awe at the glowing lights. Soon, runes began to appear in the light from the pedestal Mario still stood on, seven empty circles connected together near the outer edge soon materialized.

"Professor, what's going on!?" Goombella asked nervously.

"I-I'm not sure!" Frankly said, just as shocked as his assistant.

Mario's backpack soon began to glow, the Magical Map floating by itself out of where it was stashed and began hovering above him. Ethereal stars began flowing into it, the stars flying in faster and faster, making it glow brighter. The map then shimmered as a beam of light from above shot down onto the map, blinding everyone for a short time. While they couldn't see, they didn't see the map was slowly changing, a small sparkle of light rising from the town overlooked by the castle to the east of Rogueport. More detail was given to the castle, almost like it was popping out of the Magical Map, along with the ethereal image of what appeared to be a glittering light grey gem in the shape of a star.

As soon as the light dimmed, Mario squinted his eyes, holding his hands up to grab the Magical Map is it gently floated back in his hands. As soon as he touched it, he gasped as he felt some magical power flow into him from the map itself, not giving any physical changes to his Lucky Star like before, but it felt like the map wanted to give him something to help him on his quest. When he got a look at the region, he noticed the shimmering star floating in front of the highly detailed castle. The lights and runes that have appeared were now gone, baffling the others as to what had just happened.

"Wow. What a light show," Rainbow commented.

"Just what was all that?" Goombella asked. She then leapt up onto the pedestal Mario stood on, looking down at the map. "Whoa! Professor, you need to see this!"

Frankly hopped up onto the pedestal with Mario and Goombella, the plumber lowering the map for him to see. "Hmm...It looks like information on one of the Crystal Stars has appeared...and that light around Mario...I think a mysterious power was given to him."

"Doesn't seem like a surprise if that happened to him with us," Pinkie noted.

"Let's return to my place and study the map closely," Frankly said, the others agreeing as they began making their way back to the surface.

---

Back inside Frankly's home, the Goomba professor conducted his research with the Magical Map resting beside his books on his desk. After looking through what he understood, he closed the book and gave everyone a grin.

"Well, it was just as I suspected!" Frankly said. "When that light surrounded Mario, and blinded us in the process, the Magical Map has definitely given him some special powers!"

"Really, professor?" Goombella asked.

"The Crystal Stars are quite powerful, even on their own!" the older Goomba explained. "With the creation of the Magical Map, some of their power must have rubbed off on it, and it grants whoever is deemed worthy of using it and the Crystal Stars' unique magics! I'm sure he's no stranger to this sort of thing from his last adventure, but I am sure that upon finding them, their power will be quite useful in a sticky situation."

"Ok, but what about the map?" Starlight asked, pointing at the recent addition, along with the image of one of the Crystal Stars hovering in front of the castle. "This wasn't on here before the lights appeared down near the Thousand-Year Door."

"The Magical Map has radar-like functions, from what I've read in a few of my resources," Frankly said. "It's revealed the location of one of the Crystal Stars, which just so happens to be near a location called Petal Meadows."

"That sounds like a nice place," Fluttershy said.

"Yes, and it's located far to the east of Rogueport, as the map has shown," Frankly said.

"Oh, thank goodness," Rarity said. "I don't have to spend another moment walking around this filthy place and walk on fresh grass and clean roads. How do we get there? By train? I do see railroad tracks, though they seem to lead to another city."

"Actually, warp pipes are the fastest way to travel," Frankly said, making Rarity's eye twitch as she dreaded what he was about to say next. "In fact, getting to and from most places around here is better by warp pipe. The sewers should have a pipe that'll take you to Petal Meadows! Instant and efficient!"

"...Y-You mean...we're going to have to go through the sewers...over and over...to get to where the map takes us???" Rarity asked. She then whined, making the others roll their eyes as the white unicorn stared down at her boots. "I'm throwing these away when we are done with this crazy adventure..."

"Speaking of adventurin', there wasn't any sign of Twilight or Peach down near that door," Applejack said. "Where could they have gone?"

"Maybe they went to Petal Meadows instead?" Fluttershy suggested. "They could have heard about some rumors about the treasure, and went somewhere else?"

"Possibly, as many of those rumors about the whereabouts of one of the Crystal Stars was around Petal Meadows," Frankly said. "They must have caught wind of the rumors and went off on their own."

"Well, knowing Twilight, she can take care of Peach if they ever get into trouble," Starlight said.

"But what about that suspicious group who tried to attack me?" Goombella asked. "They seem to be looking for the Crystal Stars as well. I hope the princesses aren't involved with those goons."

"Of course not!" Rainbow said. "That Crump guy was a creep, and so were his little white minions!"

"Whoever they were, let's hope we don't run into them again," Starlight said. "Let's head on out to Petal Meadows and see if Peach and Twilight are there, and maybe find that Crystal Star."

Everyone nodded and began to head out, but Frankly stayed behind. "You coming, professor?" Goombella asked.

"I think I should stay here," Frankly said. "I'll ask around for more info on the whereabouts of the princesses and this strange group you all ran into. Besides, I doubt a shriveled old Goomba like me can handle the trials of the open road. If there's anything you find out though that you need help involving any research, just come and see me if you need help."

Taking the advice, the group headed off and made their way back down into the sewers. Ignoring the pipe they went down earlier, they continued onward to the rest of the room, where there was another paper airplane panel facing a ledge across a wide gap, a passage on the other end where Starlight flung the Goomba trio through when they harassed Goombella. Using his new "cursed" ability, Mario activated his ethereal wings as he stood on the panel, the flash of light striking the others as the others without wings grew a temporary pair as well, then glided over to the other side. In the next room was a large body of water, another panel near the water made of wood that had the picture of a boat, and across the surface was a gray warp pipe, almost similar to the color of the Crystal Star that the map was guiding them to. Nearby was a random tentacle resting on the ground as it came from the water.

"What is that thing?" Starlight asked curiously, prodding the slimy tentacle with her hoof.

"Oh no," Rarity uttered. "Please tell me that's not what I think it belongs to."

"Stand back girls...and Mario," Pinkie said, reaching behind herself and pulled out the Super Hammer Mario had loaned her after getting the Ultra Hammer back in Mt. Lavalava. "I got this." Pinkie casually walked up to the tentacle, twirling her melee weapon around with her poofy tail. "So, Mr. Tentacle, what are you doing here out of the water? Hoping to get a little pony snack?"

"Pinkie, what are you-?" Starlight suddenly yelped when she felt the tentacle curl around her leg, not too tight, but wrapped around it in a curious manner. "Whoa, hey!"

"Well, not on our watch! HAVE AT THEE!" Pinkie shouted, slamming her hammer down on the tentacle.

It let go of Starlight while also letting out a gurgled cry of pain coming from the water. "Bloop! BLOOOOOOOP!!!!!"

The tentacle slipped back in the water. A ripple on the surface began to appear, Pinkie realizing she made a huge mistake as a giant Blooper leapt up and floated over the water, glaring angrily at the group.

"...I probably should have given more warning before doing that," Pinkie said. The Blooper lunged one of its longer tentacles at her, grasping the poor pony tightly in its grip and hoisted her up to its face. "AHHH! Help! I'm gonna get eaten!"

"Sweet Celestia, it's a Blooper!" Rarity screamed, quickly pulling Mario in front of her as a shield. "Don't let it ink me!"

Starlight zapped the Blooper with her magic, dropping Pinkie as it shuddered from the shock. As Pinkie landed in the water, expecting the mare to drop safely, she yelped and flew up in the air while holding onto her rear. Surfacing after her for a moment was what looked like fish with a Chain Chomp's dangerously sharp-toothed maw, chomping at air before diving back in the water. Everyone was caught off guard by the strange aquatic creature as Pinkie fell back on safer land, rubbing her behind with a wince.

"Owie! I knew I was gonna get eaten, but not by that!" she whined.

"W-What was that?" Fluttershy questioned fearfully, not sure if she should be afraid of the angry Blooper or the dangerous waters.

"A Nibbler," Goombella said. "These fish love inhabiting the water around the region. And I mean any body of water. If you want to go for a swim, prepare to get your butts chomped."

"Ah guess it's safe to assume swimmin' to that pipe ain't the best solution then," Applejack figured, staying wary of the Blooper eyeing them.

"Pretty much," Goombella said.

The Blooper let out some more gurgling sounds, no one able to tell what it was saying as it talked to itself. It floated over the group, then turned its underside to them, spraying the whole group with ink. Rarity let out a whine as it hit her too, getting mad as she snatched Mario's hammer off his person with her magic.

"I said I didn't want to get inked, and now look at what you've done!" Rarity complained, confusing the Blooper. "As if I didn't have it worse being forced to walk around such a disgusting, filthy town, I had to get inked again by your species, and you live in by far the worst possible place an aquatic creature such as you the absolutely DISGUSTING sewer water in the entire world!"

Rarity then proceeded to pummel the Blooper repeatedly with the hammer, making it wince as it brought its long tentacles up to protect itself while she continued ranting. "...So, I take it Rarity didn't like getting squirted with ink by a Blooper before," Goombella pondered.

"Yeah. Now she's mad," Rainbow said. "Too bad we can't take a dip in a cleaner lake to clean this muck off after knowing those Nibbler things infest any body of water deeper than a puddle."

The Blooper growled, now getting irritated by Rarity's constant whining and smacking it around with Mario's hammer, grabbing the mallet in its tentacle and disrupting her aura's hold on it. It tossed it over its shoulder, but Mario wasn't going to lose his weapon when they come across tougher foes. Reaching his hand out, his glove glowing purple, he caught his hammer in a similar colored aura, then dragged it back, sending it spinning in the air and smacking the Blooper in the back of the head. Gurgling in pain and confusion, the Blooper fell forward, smacking onto dry land in a daze.

"Oh dear. I hope it's not too hurt," Fluttershy said worriedly. She approached it and tried to help it, but it woke up and floated back upright, snatching the animal-loving pegasus in its tentacle. "Oof! Maybe not!"

"Hey, let go of my best friend!" Rainbow exclaimed, zipping forward and slamming into the Blooper. Thankfully, it dropped Fluttershy, then bucked it hard in the air, smacking it into the ceiling. It let out a defeated blurb, its eyes swirling as its limp body fell into the water. "Hopefully that's the last time we deal with Bloopers for a lifetime."

"At least that one's not as bad as the last three we found in Toad Town's Sewers," Applejack said.

With the Blooper's defeat, two stone platforms rose up from the water, moving back and forth as they created a way to reach the pipe. "Huh...That's...oddly convenient," Starlight noted.

"Yup, that's how it works in this world," Pinkie said. "Good thing we got in a fight with the Blooper, or else we would have gotten munched by the sharp-tooth fishies."

"A fight you kinda started by hitting a Blooper's tentacle," Goombella reiterated. "...Then again, swimming would have been the worst option...At least now we have a way across."

Being careful not to fall in the water and get chewed up like Pinkie had, they crossed the floating platforms and reached the warp pipe. "When we get to that little town in Petal Meadows, can we please get a shower?" Rarity pleaded. "It's bad enough just wandering around a place like Rogueport and these disgusting sewers, but black ink is going to stain my coat! I have white fur, and white stains very easily!"

"Maybe we should," Starlight agreed. "Even I feel a bit unclean after getting sprayed with ink. Someone might be willing to let us use their bathroom and clean up."

Everyone jumped down into the pipe and officially started their quest to find the Crystal Stars and uncover what lies behind the Thousand-Year Door. Maybe they'll even bump into Twilight and Peach along the way, assuming they'll stay put and not try to do anything reckless without everyone there to help them on what was sure to be a much more dangerous adventure that any of them have ever been on.

Comments

[Sailorfluttershy]

Interesting workaround for the non-paper world- paper curses. Am looking foreword to seeing how you do the others. Particularly the paper tube.

[GamePlayer64]

They're not in a world of paper?! Than why have Paper Mario in the title?

[KingJoltik]

9080232
....oh dang, I didn't realize that. They never said paper in this story. Heck, did it ever say paper in the previous story? I don't remember...

[JediAlexColbent]

Huh... so the aesthetics would be just like normal Mario games? I’d say that the Paper ones match MLP’s style perfectly, but eh, nice little tidbit. The change in the “curses” Mario gets is nice too.

Also,

"W-What was that?" Fluttershy questioned fearfully, not sure if she should be afraid of the angry Blooper or the dangerous waters.

"A Nibbler," Goombella said.

No, this is a Nibbler.
i.pinimg.com/originals/4d/11/0f/4d110f0e42ad6cbdc04e4080c2dd69f2.jpg

[GamePlayer64]

9080322
Aren’t the curses actually helpful skills to helpful skills given to him by the heroes who sealed the Shadow Queen.

[JediAlexColbent]

9080369
....wait, that’s a new one. Is there a source to it?

[GamePlayer64]

9080410
If you played the game, there is a guy who tells stories of the heroes and the Shadow Queen on Prof. Frank’s roof for 5 coins each.

[JediAlexColbent]

9080428
I have, but that must have slipped my mind, or I never bothered with that NCP.

[Codex92]

9080232
It's more about the story of the Paper Mario series than the world being entirely out of paper. If you read the prequel, I didn't add any of the paper gags that were in the first story, like Mario's falls off the veranda in Goomba Village and the item block trap in the Koopa Bros. Fortress. So, with this change for the paper curses,
9080322
Ha!
But those fish inhabiting the waters in the region of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door are technically called Nibbles. I'd rather call them Nibblers since I never knew what their name was when I played through the game the first few times and they sure do love the taste of plumber when he slips into a large body of water he can easily swim through...Although, Bowser is able to swim through the water in the interlude at the end of chapter 4, and with no sign of the Nibblers in sight...Maybe they just like to eat Mario because Koopa tastes awful?

[GamePlayer64]

9080526
I didn't pay attention to paper puns since Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the 3DS showed the puns literally and physically. But what are you going to do about Magnus von Grapple & 2.0 version and the appearances of stairs, platforms and the invisible sheets?

[JediAlexColbent]

9080526
Noted. I have a hard time imagining the characters in 3D though.

Ah. Then remind me never to try Korean Koopa dishes

[Codex92]

9080586
... Ah, crap...Forgot about that. Well, I'll figure out how to get around the invisible paper flaps from the game without the paper aesthetics in this story. As for Magnus Von Grapple's second fight, they are in a moon base...and there might be some junk lying around. We'll see when we get to those chapters.