Chapter 153: Paper Mario And The Cursed Kingdom
Hours earlier, in Magolor and Susie's lab.
"So this is the book," Magolor said, holding the book to the Paper World.
Apple Death nodded. "Uhuh. Remember, opening it'll release the paper inhabitants all over New Halcandra. So, avoid that."
"Alright, I will. Thankfully, I shouldn't need to open it to research its properties, and I already have ideas of what to do."
"Ya want me ta bring Twilight- uh, Blackhole Sparkle? She could help."
"Help is always welcome. She may have ideas on how to enter the world inside this book without causing beings of paper to fly everywhere."
"Okay."
So Apple Death opened a portal back to her Equestria and went to Blackhole Sparkle's castle. She flew straight into the library, the most likely place to find the alicorn. It was around the time for the evening meal however so she may be eating. Luckily, Apple Death did find Blackhole Sparkle in the library. However, instead of reading a book, she was writing in one. Starswirl the Bearded was also present, admiring the machine around the Crystal Mirror.
After returning from the party celebrating the defeat of Elfilis, Blackhole and the others went and freed the Pillars following what their counterparts from Sweetie Void's universe did, and they all then freed Stygian from the darkness of the Pony of Shadow (after convincing Starswirl to not send Stygian back in limbo). The Pillars and Stygian were then told everything, and they were currently resting in Blackhole's castle.
"Howdy, Twilight!"
Blackhole Sparkle didn't even raise her head from the book. "Hello, Apple Bloom. Wait a minute."
"What are ya doing?"
"Writing to a friend, Sunset Shimmer. I thought it was finally time to bring her up to speed. She could help us against the Subspace Army."
"Oh? she's powerful?"
"Yes. Very. Annd done." Blackhole dropped the feather and closed the book, revealing it to have a sun on the cover. "So, do you want something? Is there a problem?"
"Nah. No problem this time. We just found this book that contains a whole world, and we're trying ta figure out how to enter it without accidentally releasing its paper inhabitants into our world."
"A world in a book?" Starswirl repeated, having heard what the filly said.
"What? Really?! A whole world inside a book?! How is this possible?! I get it that simply opening it is a no go?"
"Nuhu. It apparently happened once, and it resulted in chaos. Magolor has the book right now, and he wouldn't mind the help ta figure it out. And Ah've no idea of how such a book exists. Mister Starswirl's could also come."
Blackhole Sparkle got an excited grin, but before she could say more, she was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. That someone revealed to be spike with a chef hat.
"Not before you eat, Twilight. It's dinnertime."
"Uh? Already? Ah guess that Ah should go to mah family then. Ah'll return once Ah'm done eating."
Twilight sighed. "Very well. But, you know, I should call the other Twilights. I'm sure they would want to participate."
"Good idea. And they could bring their Starswirls. That is if Dream Warper's Starswirl hasn't already moved away. He wanted to see how much Equestria had changed in his absence."
"Yes. This is also my intention, but this can wait a bit," Starswirl said. "And with all of us together, I'm sure that finding a solution for this book will be a matter of hours."
Dinner for Apple Death was spent recounting to her family her adventure in the Mushroom Kingdom, warning them by the same occasion about the new possible threat that this Crazy Hand was.
Once she finished, she returned to Blackhole Sparkle's castle. Blackhole and Starswirl were also done with their meal, so they were ready to go to New Halcandra.
So Apple Death opened a portal and transported Blackhole and Starswirl through it, right into Magolor's lab.
Once Blackhole and Starswirl were with Magolor, Apple Death went to bring the other Twilights and Starswirls to New Halcandra. Thankfully, Phantom Sparkle and company also freed their Starswirl, and Dream Warper's Starswirl was in Canterlot's Castle so it was easy to find him.
Once she was done bringing everyone to Magolor, Apple Death, having nothing more to do, returned to her family.
It was only a few hours later, just as Apple Death had been about to go to bed, that she received a call from Magolor asking her to return to New Halcandra.
Were they already done with the book?
It turned out, yes, they were already done with the book. When Apple Death arrived in the lab, she saw a portal with an addition compared to the usual ones made by the engineers: a chamber with the book inside.
"With all that help, we figured that book out almost right away," Magolor began. "Oh, before we continue, here are the Starswirls' nicknames. This is Starswirl the Gray." He pointed at Sweetie's Starswirl. "Starswirl the White." Apple Death's Starswirl. "and Phantom Starswirl." Phantom's Starswirl.
Phantom Starswirl nodded. "So, for starting, no, this book doesn't have a world in it. It turns out that this book is just a simple portal, like all the ones the people of New Halcandra are making, but in the form of a book. However, it's not as stable, since opening it causes the people of this Paper World to be sucked into our world."
"So in order to enter this world, opening the book isn't necessary. We just need to create a new portal," Dream Warper continued.
"The problem was opening a portal to this specific world, which we needed the coordinates of but we couldn't get without opening the book," Starswirl the White said.
"But then, the Twilights had a brilliant idea: using the book as a power source!" Magolor exclaimed.
"Like what we did with the book you saw me write in and the Crystal Mirror," Blackhole Sparkle said. "Well, this is not exactly the same thing. That book is linked to another in the human world and the Crystal Mirror was already a portal to this world, and using the book as a power source was to open the portal at will instead of waiting thirty Moons for it to open by itself. But this is close enough."
"So, by using the book to the Paper World as a power source, we can transfer the coordinates to the Paper World from it to the portal," Magolor finished.
"Uh. That's great!" Apple Death said. "So, does it work?"
"We don't know, we haven't tested it yet," Phantom Sparkle said sheepishly.
"And while the chances of the portal not working as intended as minimal, just in case, we want to send you. If something goes wrong, like the portal sending you at the wrong universe and closing behind you, you can always return with one of your own portals," Starswirl the Gray said.
"Sweetie Void is still busy with Samus, and Phantom is escorting the engineer team to Donkey Kong's island, so there is only you," Magolor said.
Apple Death nodded. "Alright. Ah understand. Ah'm going."
"Great! Now, allow me to open the portal," Magolor exclaimed.
He then turned to the portal and pressed a button.
"By the way, once we build a portal in the Paper World, we won't need this one anymore. What do you think we should do with the book, then?" he asked as the portal turned on.
"Ah guess we'll bring it back ta Princess Peach," Apple Death answered.
"Very well. The portal is open. Traverse it whenever you are ready."
Apple Death nodded and walked to the portal. Without hesitation, she traversed it.
At the other side, she walked on something that gave a bit under her weight. Looking down, she saw that it was green-colored paper. Thankfully, it was solid enough that she didn't pass through it. What was under it?
She inspected more her environment and saw that the green paper was supposed to be grass, and she wasn't far of a more yellow paper supposed to be a road. There were paper flowers, paper trees, paper bushes... Yep, no doubt, she was in the Paper World.
Not far, she saw a town surrounded by a moat. The houses weren't mushroom-shaped houses, but the familiar castle visible at the other side, surrounded by a wall, made it clear that it was Toad Town. Or whatever it was named in this world. Not everything was identical to the Mushroom Kingdom she knew.
Also, it was evening too here. The sky was darkening. Because of that, she wasn't sure if it was a good time to visit the local Princess Peach.
The portal behind her was still open. She traversed it to briefly say to the others that it worked but that it was evening so she will explore to see if it's okay. She will be back quickly enough. The others agreed.
So she returned to the Paper world and entered Toad Town. There were still some Toads and other creatures in the streets, and they all turned to stare at her in wonder. Yeah, she must be a sight. Something not made of paper.
She went straight to the wall surrounding the castle, encountering two guards at the gate.
"Sorry mister. Does the princess still takes visitors at this hour?"
The guards were as mystified by her as all the others, but one of them still managed to answer, the guard at the left.
"Sorry, but the princess isn't here actually. She took the plane with Mario to some ruined kingdom far away a few hours ago. She won't be back before a few days."
"Really? Darn! Okay. Thank ya mister."
At this, she returned to the portal and traversed it.
"Bad news, Princess Peach isn't even present. She took a plane and won't be back before a few days."
The Twilights sighed in disappointment, and Phantom Sparkle said, "Then I guess that we will have to wait."
"What is a plane?" Starswirl the White asked.
"A flying vehicle," Magolor answered simply. "Well then, let's rendez-vous next week. Princess Peach should be back by then."
"Wait. Maybe Ah can join her," Apple Death said, gaining everyone's attention. "If Ah can find out where she went, Ah could fly all the way ta where she's and talk ta her."
"This would gain us a lot of time," Magolor said, and the ponies agreed.
"Alright. But first, Ah should bring y'all back ta yer worlds."
They nodded, and Apple Death did so. Once everypony was back in their homes (or temporary residences in the Starswirls' case), she returned to Magolor's lab and traversed the portal back to the Paper World. She then returned to the guards.
"Hey! Ah'm back! Do ya know which direction the plane took off ta? Ah've a way ta fly so Ah could join the princess instead of waiting for her ta return."
"Why? What do you want with Her Highness?" the guard at the right asked.
"Ah just want to talk with her about forming an alliance with where Ah'm from. And Ah'd like ta see Mario too. There's a big threat that's coming, and his help'd be welcome."
At this, the guards exchanged glances.
Left guard eventually said, "Wait a moment," before he passed the gate and entered the castle. Apple Death waited with the remaining guard in an awkward silence. Minutes passed, and the other guard returned with a yellow female Toad with glasses. "This is the librarian. She knows about the ruined kingdom where the princess went to."
The librarian nodded. "Indeed. Greetings. I'm Toadila."
"Apple Bloom." Apple Death decided to not give her nickname for now. She would rather avoid scaring the Toads.
"So, you want to join the princess. Well, I can tell you that the ruined kingdom she went to is known as the kingdom of Felina. It's an ancient kingdom entirely destroyed by some unknown cataclysm."
"In which direction is it?" Apple Death asked.
Toadila pointed at a direction. "It's West from here, in this direction, over two thousands kilometers. When you reach a place where the sky is covered by thick black clouds, this is your destination."
"Thank ya. Ah'm going right away ta catch up to the princess quickly. See ya!"
Apple Death left the Toads and left Toad Town before she turned herself into a ghost and followed the direction pointed by Toadila. She flew as fast as she could, hoping to reach Felina rapidly. At her speed, she should reach in about an hour.
Since she flew toward the setting sun, the sky, which had been darkening when she began her flight, was lightening. Thanks to this, she was able to see when the sky brusquely darkened again until not a single ray of light could be seen, black clouds entirely covering it. This meant that she arrived at her destination, the kingdom of Felina. Thankfully, in her ghost form, she could perfectly see in the dark, but there wasn't much to see. Mostly black, leafless trees.
She quickly saw lights in the distances, and she flew in their direction, arriving at a camp just outside of a town in ruin. On the way, she saw many Boos and other ghosts flying around. They were like fishes in water. This ruined kingdom was very haunted.
Not far of the camp was a landing runway where Apple Death could see what was certainly Peach's plane. So Mario and Peach must be somewhere around.
Turning herself invisible, she explored the camp, which revealed to be full of archaeologists. Toads, Koopas, and some Goombas. Of course this kingdom was an archaeological site.
She found Mario and Peach, as well as Toadsworth and a mustachioed Koopa, inside the biggest tent in the center of the camp. They were around a table with what she presumed was a map of the kingdom. The town was marked near the center, not far of a manor and a castle. She could see some particularities on the map, like a large forest, and a mountain range.
The Koopa pointed at the manor. "This is where we're going. Are you still sure that you want to come, Your Highness? We will certainly encounter ghosts on the path, and while most of them are harmless and will do at worse a prank to scare you, some will be hostile."
Peach nodded. "I'm not worried. I know that Mario will protect me. And like I said, I really want to see why you called Mario here, in case I could help."
Beside her, Toadsworth sighed. "I really wish you would have said the contrary. This kingdom has dangers everywhere, and Master Mario may not be enough to protect you by himself."
But Peach didn't listen to him. "So, when are we going, Professor Kolorado?"
"Right now, if you want, unless you would prefer to rest a bit after your long journey? We already made a tent for you. Well, it was supposed to be Mario's but I'm sure he won't mind giving it to you, right Mario?"
Mario nodded.
"Don't worry, we will make a new tent for you and for mister Toadsworth so you can rest too if you desire," Kolorado added.
"Thank you," Toadsworth said.
"I wouldn't mind going now if Mario doesn't mind too," Peach said.
"No, I don't mind," Mario said.
Professor Kolorado nodded. "Then let's go. I will tell you more once we're in the manor."
As the group left the tent, Apple Death followed them, still invisible. She wondered how she will introduce herself. In the end, she decided that she will do it outside of the camp. So she went ahead, following the direction Mario's group was taking. Once outside the camp, she turned back to normal and waited. Before long, Mario's group exited the camp, Kolorado holding a lantern, and she approached them.
Thanks to the light of the lantern, the group saw her approaching, and judging by their reaction, they immediately saw that she wasn't what was considered normal in this world.
"Howdy!"
Kolorado was the first to talk. "Oh my! A being not made of paper! How is this possible?"
Peach gasped. "Are you from the other world? The one where not everything is made of paper?"
"Other world?" Kolorado said in wonder.
"Uh, kind of. Ah'm from a different world that is also not made of paper, but Ah know very well the one ya're talking about. Ah borrowed the book from the other Princess Peach to enter yer world."
"Well, it's very nice to meet you. What is your name, little one?"
"Apple Bloom. But it's better ta call me by mah nickname, Apple Death, because there're other Apple Blooms."
"Apple Death? Kind of ominous," Toadsworth said.
"Ah know. That's because Ah can turn into a ghost. Long story. That's how Ah came here all the way from the Mushroom Kingdom."
"And why are you here?" Toadsworth asked. "Wait, let me rephrase it. I'm guessing that you came here to see either Princess Peach or Master Mario, or both. So the question would be "why do you want to see them?""
"Well, Ah kind of feel bad to put this on yer plate now that ya seem to be at the beginning of a new adventure, so Ah'm not sure if Ah should tell the reason why Ah'm here now or later once we're done with this kingdom."
""We?"" Kolorado asked.
"Eeyup. Ah went on a couple of adventures with the other Mario, so Ah wouldn't mind joining you. Ah can help. Ah'm very powerful in mah ghost form."
"Is the reason you came to see us urgent?" Peach asked.
"A bit. The earlier Ah say it, the better. But if yer adventure's also urgent..."
"We don't know. Professor Kolorado sent a letter to Mario asking him to come here, saying that it was urgent, but he won't tell us more until we reach a manor," Peach said.
"Well, Ah guess then that we should go ta that manor and see what this is about," Apple Death said.
"Then let's go!" Kolorado said excitedly before he took the head. The others followed him, Mario, Peach, and Toadsworth talking with Apple Death to know more about her and where she comes from.
On the path, they were stopped by a single Boo that Mario easily eliminated.
Before long, they reached the manor. Once upon a time, it was a majestic oriental style one-story building made of several houses linked together by walls and covered passages, with the gray curved roofs supported by red pillars. However, a huge part of the building was gone now, replaced by piles of rubble, the rest was in bad shape, and the colors were faded.
Of course, Mario and the others couldn't see much in the dark. Kolorado's lantern didn't light far.
"Because we have so little writings about Felina, we don't know to who belonged that manor. However, we recently discovered something intriguing," Kolorado said.
They entered the manor and traversed it, moving around rubble and fighting a few more Boos as well as a group of Peepas (more classic-looking ghosts). Apple Death revealed her ghost form, scaring Toadsworth and Kolorado. Even Peach fought a bit against the Peepas, jumping on them.
Eventually, they reached a garden in the back of the manor, and Kolorado led them to a fountain that didn't work anymore. The fountain was decorated by several statues of humanoid cats. Kolorado revealed that the left arm of one of the statues could be lowered, and this made the whole fountain rise, revealing a hidden staircase going down.
"We only recently discovered this secret passage," Kolorado said before he descended the stairs, followed by the others.
More flights of stairs followed the first one, making the group go even further underground. After ten flights in total, they reached a small room that was totally empty, excepted for a single iron door at the opposite end, in an iron wall. It didn't have a handle. Instead, it had a small circular hole.
"And here's the problem: this door. As you can see, it needs something small and circular to be opened. And this is where we hoped that Mario could help us find it, and defend us by the same occasion as we explore the kingdom in search of it. Mario is good at finding things. And you never know, if the key is guarded by a powerful monster..."
"And in what way is this "urgent"?" Toadsworth asked.
"Well, this could be a major archaeological discovery! Who knows what is behind this door! It's important that we open it as soon as possible!"
...
"Well, young miss Apple Death, it seems that you will be able to tell us the reason why you came to us," Toadsworth said.
Kolorado turned a bit depressed. "C-come on. Please..."
"Don't worry Professor. We will still help you. But we will hear what Apple Death has to say first," Peach said.
Mario nodded. "We should return to the camp first."
"I agree," both Apple Death and Toadsworth said at the same time.
Kolorado sighed but agreed too.
The group left the manor and followed the road back to the camp. However, on the way, the group saw something that made them stop.
"Uh? What is that?" Toadsworth asked.
Not far outside the road, there was an anthropomorphic cat girl chased by a group of anthropomorphic felines riding on pink ostrich-like birds. The chasing felines and the birds all had something that emitted light around their neck, allowing the group to see them from a distance.
"Oh no! That girl is being chased!" Apple Death exclaimed.
"Let's save her!" Mario said.
Apple Death took her ghost form, and the two ran/flew toward the felines.
Left behind, Kolorado gave the felines a better look. "Wait a minute! Those are Felinois! Inhabitants of Felina! I thought they all disappeared after the kingdom's destruction?"
"Really?" Peach asked.
"Does this mean that there is a community of Felinois still existing somewhere?" Kolorado continued.
"It seems like it," Toadsworth said.
Meanwhile, Apple Death reached first the chased cat girl and placed herself between her and her pursuers. There were easily twenty of them, of various races. Cats, lynxes, cheetahs, leopards, black panthers, and so on. They were all wearing lamellar armors, and she could see that the things emitting light were stones. At their head was a top heavy tiger in more fancy armor.
The pursuers all stopped upon seeing Apple Death, and the cat girl stopped too in wonder.
The cat girl had blue-gray fur. Some of the fur on the head was longer, forming hair going to the shoulders. She was wearing a tattered blue oriental dress. She also had a small circular medallion around her neck.
Mario joined Apple Death not long after.
The tiger eventually advanced. "Who are you?"
"I'm Mario!"
"And Apple Death!"
The tiger acknowledged that with a nod. "I'm Qiang Claws! Captain of the Felinois! and I order you to get out of our way!"
"We won't let ya continue ta chase that girl!"
"You don't know what you're meddling with!" Qiang Claws shouted. "Last warning!"
Apple Death and Mario stood their ground.
"Very well. Soldiers! Attack! But remember, the girl remains the priority! If you can get her, do it!"
"Ah don't think so," Apple Death said before she sprouted bones just in front of the birds who crashed right into them as a result, stopping their charge and unseating the Felinois on them. The Felinois quickly recovered however and moved around the bones. Some went after Apple Death and Mario while the others went after the cat girl.
Apple Death flew right through some of the Felinois to get at the cat girl's side, freezing them by the same occasion. Mario got his hammer out and began to attack the Felinois while jumping around to avoid their weapons.
Apple Death attacked with purple fireballs. To her surprise, a different projectile, a black ball, passed beside her and hit one of the Felinois. Looking at her side, she saw the cat girl materializing and sending another black ball while holding a sword of the same color.
"Wait. Is that darkness?"
The cat girl nodded. "Yes, it is. Mew!"
Apple Death wanted to ask more, but she first had some Felinois to fight. She materialized and threw bones while using one as a club to knock out the Felinois that were getting near. One of the Felinois managed to hit her with his sword, but the weapon passed through her without hurting her at all, much to the Felinoi's dismay. The Felinoi was then slashed by the cat girl's darkness sword.
Apple Death suddenly used her telekinetic power to push the cat girl just as Qiang Claws still riding on his birds almost pierced her with his spear while the bird was running. The bird passed by where the cat girl had been a moment earlier and continued a bit, then did a U-turn and returned. Mario, however, jumped in its path and knocked it out with a strong hit of his hammer on the head.
Now without a mount, Qiang abandoned his spear and grabbed a sword before he attacked Mario who jumped and stomped him. Apple Death then hit him with purple lightning, and even the cat girl attacked him with one of her projectiles of darkness.
There were still some Felinois remaining however, and Apple Death stopped attacking Qiang so she could finish them, letting Mario and the cat girl deal with him. It didn't take long to knock all of them out until only Qiang remained, but even him was on his knees.
"Wait! Let me te-" Qiang began only to be knocked out by a bigger projectile of darkness sent by the cat girl.
With this, all the enemies were defeated.
Since it was clear, Peach, Toadsworth, and Kolorado approached.
"As always, splendid fight!" Toadsworth said.
"Thank you for saving me! My name is Ai Mew! Mew! Nice to meet you!" the cat girl presented herself.
Everyone else presented themselves.
"If you hadn't been here, they would have captured me again. Mew!"
"Why?" Apple Death asked. "What did they want with ya?"
"I have the key for them to get a very powerful artifact, and for the same reason, I'm a threat to their plan of conquest."
Apple Death rolled her eyes. "Figure."
"The Felinois want to stop me from doing my duty, which is to destroy that artifact, or I could use it to stop them. Mew!"
"What is that artifact?" Peach asked.
"There is a manor not far. Mew! Let's go there first. I will tell you more about it once we reach the secret room. Mew!"
"Are you talking about the secret room under the fountain, with the iron door?" Kolorado asked.
"Oh, you found it? Yes, it's this room! Mew! My medallion can open the door!" She showed her medallion.
Everyone looked at it.
"Well, we didn't even need ta search in the end," Apple Death said with a chuckle.
It didn't take long to return to the secret room. On the way, Kolorado talked about his surprise that Felinois were alive, and Ai happily told him that not all of them perished with the kingdom. Apparently, most went to hide in the mountains while Ai's ancestors hid somewhere else with a smaller group.
Once in the room, Ai put the medallion in the hole, then immediately took it out before the door opened upward, revealing a large room behind entirely made of iron surfaces. Immediately, as the group entered, their attention was taken by a basin in the center with a black liquid. Before it was a pedestal with a star-shaped hole.
"Is the artifact whatever is going in that hole?" Mario asked.
"Yes," Ai answered. "The Demon Star. Mew!"
"The Demon Star?" everyone else asked.
"Yes. And now that we are here, let me tell you everything. A long time ago, a powerful demon lived in this world: Pazall."
"Ah yes, I know about this demon," Kolorado interrupted. "His name and story appear in many narratives. He caused terror to reign wherever he went. Bizarrely, we never found anything about his disappearance of death."
"That's normal. Mew! Everything about his "death" had to be kept secret for the good of future generations. One day, powerful wizards, among them my ancestors, created a crystallised star to eliminate Pazall. Against him, they used the star which sucked all his powers, liquefying him. The liquid in the basin is what remains of him."
At this, Toadsworth and Kolorado moved away from the basin in horror.
"Don't worry, you don't risk anything. Mew!" Ai reassured them. "He is totally harmless in this state, as long as you don't fall in it. The star kept Pazall's powers trapped in it, becoming the Demon Star. Anyone getting their hands on it can use Pazall's powers. Its powers are immense. The state of the kingdom is proof of it."
Everyone looked at Ai chocked.
"This is why the star was given to my ancestors who became its gardians. Not only of it, but also of the remains of the demon in the basin. Everything went well for several centuries. The only ones who still knew about the star were my ancestors and the royal family of Felina. But one day, a new king revealed to be a power hungry tyran who wanted to conquer everything. Since he was of the royal family, he knew about the Demon Star, and he tried to take it by force. My ancestors, back then the father, the mother, and the daughter, fought as best as they could, but the parents were eventually killed. The daughter, filled with rage and hate, used the star. The result, you can see it outside. Almost all the Felinois were exterminated, and the kingdom was entirely devastated, eternally plunged in darkness. The daughter, horrified, broke the star into six pieces, the five branches, and a much smaller piece. She hid the branches all over the kingdom, and she secretly took the smaller piece with her as she and some other survivors left the kingdom. I actually possess this piece which was transmitted to me, which is how I could use this darkness power earlier."
"There are no... secondary effects, right?" Peach asked.
"Thankfully no. Mew!" Ai answered. "However, it turns out that the son of the tyran survived the destruction of the kingdom and hid in the mountains with a huge amount of the survivors. Now, his descendant seeks the pieces, and he even managed to get one, the piece that had been hidden in the mountains."
"So Ah guess that we will go fight him," Apple Death said.
"It's not that simple. Not only he has a strong army, he is also very powerful because of the piece he has. He also possesses the legendary Lìliàng Armor, an ancient armor that multiplies the powers of the user, and this includes the power of the star piece. This makes him almost invincible. If we want to defeat him, we will need the rest of the star."
Apple Death frowned. I doubt he is more powerful than me, but just in case...
"Is this why you said you want to destroy the star?" Toadsworth asked.
"Yes. My ancestor preferred to separate the star instead of destroying it because she thought that it could be useful. However, I wasn't so certain, so I came to Felina in order to gather the pieces and to destroy the star before it could fall into wrong hands. I know where they are, so it wouldn't have been hard. However, because of bad luck, I encountered Felinois that recognized my medallion, symbol of my family. Because of this, they captured me so they could force me to tell them where the pieces were. But I resisted, and I even hid that I possess a piece. Thanks to that, I managed to escape. And that's where I encountered you."
"And how do we destroy this star?" Peach asked.
"First, we must gather the pieces and reform the star. Then, we must throw the star into the basin. The star may be corrupted by the power of Pazall, it is still the star that is supposed to kill him. So throwing the star into the liquid should definitively kill the demon, destroying the star by the same occasion. So, can I count on you? Mew!"
"Yes!" Mario answered.
"Me too!" Apple Death said.
"Hum... I think that I will remain in the camp," Kolorado said.
"Me too. And the princess too," Toadsworth said. "Adventuring is not for us."
"Actually, we should all return to the camp so you can rest and Ai can use the map to show where the pieces are," Kolorado said.
Everyone agreed.
"And I really need a new dress! Mew!"
Meanwhile, two figures were standing over a crystal ball showing Mario and the others. These figures were Bowser and Kamek.
"Interesting story we heard, and this gives me a plan," Bowser said.
"Is it gathering the pieces of the Demon Star to use it to defeat Mario, kidnap Peach, and conquer the world?" Kamek guessed.
"ROAR! It's MY plan! I'm the one who should announce it!" Bowser yelled at the Magikoopa.
"Sorry!"
"Anyway, we should go without waiting. We don't want them to gather the pieces before us."
At this moment, a Magikoopa wearing a dark purple robe and a dark purple hat entered the room, flying on a broom.
"Did I hear that right? I just come here from retirement, and already you are leaving? Not even remaining five minutes to say hello to old Kammy?"
"Kammy? Hey! Long time no see! What is retirement doing to you?"
"BO! RING! We play Bingo ALL THE TIME! And when we don't play Bingo, we either nap or we remain sitting knitting. Ugh! I really miss the old days."
"Well then, why don't you come with us?" Bowser proposed. "Like the good time."
"Mmh... Normally, I would say that I'm too old to follow you. But now, I NEED excitement. So, very well. I'm coming."
"Great! Then you are remaining here, Kamek."
Kamek sighed. "Yes, Your Viciousness."
"So, what is it this time?" Kammy asked.
"Some star possessing the powers of an ancient demon called Papal or whatever."
"Pazall?"
"Yes, him. So whoever has the star can uses his power."
"Ooh! Interesting!"
"You idiot! Why didn't you tell them?" yelled a huge lion.
"I'm sorry Lord Bao Leo. When I was about to tell them, I was knocked out," replied Qiang Claws.
"She must absolutely not reunite the pieces! It would be a disaster!"
"I will do everything possible to prevent it my lord!"
Stats
Page generated in 0.027 seconds
Total duration
904 users online
1,049,900 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
And so: The Title has been officially changed to Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers!
Before the 7th September 2023 (or the 6th depending where you live) the Title was simply Ultimate Multiverse Explorers
Why did i bother writing this?, No one has a sensible Idea as to why
Are you going to restrict the Super Smash Bros. characters to just the ones who have appeared in the actual games?
I see...when Qiang Claws was interrupted before he could talk something Important-sounding that inmediately gave me a Red-Flag for this
Cat-Girl, and the end just confirmed it to me. Tho whenever there’s a misunderstanding or Something more sinister at Work remains to be seen....
Theoryzing Aside, interesting start for this Paper Mario Arc! This is gonna be good.
So we have a classic case of "Oops, I beat up the good guys" with either a side of "Oops I saved the world-ending villain" or "Oops I saved the world-ending idiot". Could be neither, could be both.
How is it that they don't have any experience with worlds inside magical literature after S4E6 "Power Ponies"?
So it works like the colbalt star?
11688017
For prosperity?
11688086
There are some characters that don't appear in Smash Bros that will appear in the story.
11688089
Thanks!
11688254
It's not an actual universe, just an artificial world created by magic to be an interactive story.
11688323
Yep.
You know, the mention of Sunset Shimmer, made me think if they could recruit the people of the human world of each Equestria and maybe the Equestria of the 'Good King Sombra'
11688421
I don't count the comics as canon, so the good Sombra won't appear. The human worlds, however, I want to include them. But I'm not sure of what I will do with the main 7 (time three). And I'm not good enough at politics to guess how this would go to include the human worlds into the alliance (because they're based on our world so there are various countries and all that stuff).
11688434
I'm also not good in politics, while I could imagine them thinking "If we don't ally with the alien ponies, our planet will be destroyed" there could be also many thinking "We better ally with the crazy hand aliens"
Of course the paper world would have a cat–based region as well...
Also, the story of this adventure reminds me a lot of Kirby's Adventure, with how both star artifacts were broken to prevent the power of an eldritch horror from being unleashed.
11688434
Just bring in the Sunsets then. And leave the rest of the human worlds out of it unless you have no choice.
11688089
11688128
On the one hand, there is a roughly 100% chance that reuniting him with his stolen power will do the opposite of killing him. On the other, there is a roughly 100% chance that Apple Death can fight him on even terms or better (and for Mario it's just another final boss).
11688445
Yeah, and there are also the various countries that don't like each others for reasons, so joining together the alliance may be complicated.
11688465
There is also M&L Partners in Time with the Cobalt Star.
11688476
The thing is that the characters would automatically think "Why not bring the human worlds into the alliance?" so I don't really have a choice. Beside, the same problematic will happen with Metal Gear Solid's world.
11688504
And there is 100% chance that the star will have a role in the fight. It wouldn't be a Paper Mario final boss without the current macguffin(s) having a role.
11688603
Fine. How many chapters will the Paper world take? I want to see Samus and Sweetie's adventure already.
11688777
Seven or eight chapters.
11688434
So, no Anon-a-miss?
11688812
Even if it happened, it won't be mentioned.
11688818
for the best, either way.
11688372
isn’t that spoilers?
Considering how the colbalt star actually ends, and also, I bet that even using the pieces has consequences
How much of what the cat sees is actually real?
Oh dear, i just found out something that puts so many potential ways to implement with how you're handling the characters.
Rayman was in Super Smash Bros for Wii U as a Character Trophy.
I will withhold expectations, since we're in the middle of the Paper Mario and the Cursed Kingdom Arc, and the Super Metroid Arc is already up next, but there you go.
Weird question considering the timing of it.
How will Pikmin be handled?
As in, will default size be that of the normal character height's or will it be shrunk down to closer to Olimar's size?
Not that it matters since Sweetie Void could easily will everyone to that size, but still needs asking, I think.
11690781
Olimar and the Pikmin will have their canon size.
11691045
I meant anyone entering that universe.
11691124
They will be normal-sized.
11691135
Ok.
Like I said, It doesn't really matter in the end, because Sweetie Void could easily change everyone to match Olimar's size, or even Olimar to match everyone else's size.
Though I doubt the latter would happen within their universe.
Except it makes things so much easier to not do it that way, which I pointed out in the original "how do I make characters like Olimar useful" blog.
Mind you, I also mentioned that even without the size difference Olimar is still more useful for tactics than direct combat (being one of the few characters in Smash with experience commanding others).
11693851
After, Sweetie will easily change Olimar's size. And with him, they will have an infinite supply of loyal soldiers.