Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash become a part of the largest and most exciting combat tournament in history... whether they want to or not.
In a world far away, where smashing is a way of life and both heroes and villains alike can come together for a friendly competition, danger is brewing. A powerful villain known as Overlord V seeks to conquer the world--nay, the universe! The heroes are powerless to stop him, so a different faction rises to the challenge. Their plan, however, is something even the wittiest of the heroes of this world would never have figured out.
Equestria, a world not so far away. There resides Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends. It's a normal enough day there... too normal. Time for something to happen. And that something? A dark angel and a small spherical knight with bat wings suddenly appearing on the scene and kidnapping Twilight. Can Twilight escape her captors? If not, can Rainbow Dash save her friend? And if all else fails, can Pinkie Pie prove to be the salvation of all that exists?
(Crossover with Super Smash Bros. for WiiU/3DS. WARNING: I haven't played all of the games included, so if I write some characters incorrectly (i.e. Marth, Rosalina, Fox, Olimar, etc.) I apologize upfront. ANOTHER WARNING: Since this is fanfiction, there will be shipping. If you don't know what that is, Google it. ONE MORE WARNING: Don't Google shipping. Trust me on this one. Just ask someone from the comments section. They're more likely to give you a less graphic response.)
(This isn't a warning: If you noticed the OC tag on this story, that's because I'm going to put Mii Fighters based on some of my Miis in this story. Take that, trolls of the comments section. I'm one step ahead of you.)
High above the clouds in a world unknown, the angelic hero Pit was flying at top speed, being closely pursued by a particularly angry-looking Charizard. Despite Pit's best attempts to get the Pokemon off his heels using his Palutena Bow, the Charizard was avoiding the arrows and keeping no less than five feet away from the angel.
“I can't get rid of him, Lady Palutena!” Pit called to the Goddess of Light.
”I've got you flying as fast as I can, Pit,” Palutena replied telepathically. ”There's something very strange about this Charizard, indeed. Particularly how it's attacking you unprovoked.”
“Now you tell me,” Pit replied as he turned around and tried to fire another volley of arrows at the Charizard, all of which were simply burned by the Pokemon's Flamethrower attack. “Any ideas would be really helpful right about now!”
”I'm afraid there isn't much I can do on my end,” Palutena replied. ”And to make matters worse...”
“Don't tell me,” Pit said. “PLEASE don't tell me that the Power of Flight is about to run out!”
”I'm sorry, Pit,” Palutena said as she began sending her angel flying towards land. ”He might be manageable in a land battle.”
“I'm not so sure,” Pit replied as he turned around, only to find that the Charizard had caught up with him in their descent. Before Pit had a chance to react, the Charizard lashed out with its claws and delivered a powerful blow to Pit, disrupting the Power of Flight and sending the angel crashing towards the ground below. “AHHHHHH! LADY PALUTENA, HELP!”
”I'm sorry, Pit, but I can't do anything,” Palutena replied in a panicked tone. ”Uh... oh! I might be able to save you... sort of.”
“What do you mean by 'sort of'?” Pit asked.
”I mean you'll live... with some intervention later,” Palutena replied. ”POWER OF TROPHY!”
“WHAT?” Pit shouted. But before he could say anything else, his whole body was suddenly engulfed in a bright light before he crashed into the ground. When the dust cleared from the crater, however, rather than Pit in his normal form, he was standing on a gold-colored circular stand while in a battle-ready pose... and he was on his side.
The Charizard, on the other hand, had a more survivable landing, quickly adjusting itself so that it descended on both its feet. It then walked over to the Pit trophy and picked him up. A smile then crept across the Charizard's face as it flew back into the air and away from the crash site, Pit held securely in its grasp.
”Don't worry, Pit,” Palutena said, even though she knew the telepathic message wouldn't go through while Pit was a trophy. ”I'm going to find a way to save you.”
”Oh you will, huh?” a mysterious but evidentally evil voice asked on the same telepathic channel. ”I've never heard anything so touching. You two seem so close, and that makes me wonder, how come you two never kissed while you still had the opportunity?”
”Overlord V!” Palutena angrily shouted. ”Are you the one who sent Charizard after Pit? What are you going to do to him? AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASK ABOUT MY PERSONAL LIFE?”
”My my, you're hasty as ever, o Goddess of Light,” Overlord V taunted. ”Sorry, but I only answer one question per day. It'll cost you an additional fee if you want the other questions answered in case you're curious. Yes, by the way, I am the one who sent Charizard after Pit. A remarkable Pokemon, that is. Seeing its raw power sends shivers down my spine, and its aerial prowess despite its bulk is truly something to behold. What a shame it's not as popular as Pikachu, though.”
”I don't know what you plan on doing with all the heroes you've been rounding up, V,” Palutena said, ”But mark my words, I won't let you get away with it!”
”Oh really?” V replied. ”Tell me, what do you plan to do now that even your precious Pit is out of commission? Come down and fight me and my forces on your own? Or would you rather rally all the remaining heroes to fight me? That second plan would make collecting them all much easier.”
”For your information, I happen to have a perfect backup plan that I'm simply not going to tell you about!” Palutena replied. Overlord V simply laughed at this.
”Oh boy, I'm downright terrified,” V said sarcastically. ”When you can put some truth behind that statement, give me a call. In the meantime, I have a certain Star Warrior to grab. Toodeloo.”
Palutena growled in anger. V was right, she was just about out of options. Pit was not only the captain of her royal guard, but literally the only competent fighter she had. She could probably call in a favor or two to get some more fighters on her side, but not all of her “favors” would be of very much help since Overlord V probably had them in his collection already.
”There has to be a glimmer of hope somewhere...” Palutena said to herself. ”Somewhere...”
Ponyville, a small town in the land of Equestria. (Well where did you think this story would wind up? Gallifrey?) In this town was the Castle of Friendship, where Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends resided. At the moment, however, almost all of Twilight's friends were out and about. Only the Princess herself and her friend Rainbow Dash were in the castle that day.
“Please tell me you brought me here for a good reason, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash groaned as she followed Twilight into the castle's library. “I was going to meet Spitfire for lunch in Canterlot today.”
“Oh calm down, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “I promise you'll be out of here and on your way to Canterlot in no time. That is, if you cooperate.”
“Fine, I'll cooperate,” Rainbow Dash said as the two stopped so Twilight could look through a bookshelf in front of her. “What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to help me test something,” Twilight replied as she tapped one of the books in front of her, causing that book to glow a faint blue before the whole bookshelf split down the middle and the two pieces moved apart to reveal a single book standing on a pedestal.
“What is that?” Rainbow Dash asked, interested by the design on the cover of the book, which was a circle with a “t” shape on it, the intersection point of which was just slightly to the left of and below the center of the circle.
“It's called 'The Egghead's Guide to Fighting,'” Twilight replied as she grabbed the book in her magic and brought it close to her, allowing the bookshelf to return to normal. “I've been working on it for weeks at Princess Celestia's request.”
“So... what does it do?” Rainbow Dash asked, trying not to laugh at how fitting the title of the book was for Twilight.
“It harnesses the holder's natural combative abilities and increases them tenfold, allowing even the most incompetent fighters stand a chance in a battle,” Twilight replied. “Princess Celestia thought it would be a good idea if we had a couple of these for in case the castle is attacked. This one's just a prototype.”
“And you need me to...?” Rainbow Dash started.
“I need you to fight me so that I can test the book properly,” Twilight replied.
“Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I'm not going to fight you, Twilight. No offense, but I'm pretty sure I'd mop the floor with you.”
“That's exactly why I made this,” Twilight replied. “So that ponies with inadequate fighting abilities could stand a chance against ponies like you who can fight.”
“But what about that battle you had some time back with Tirek?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I wouldn't call that performance 'inadequate.'”
“That's because I was bursting at the seams with alicorn magic,” Twilight replied. “This book might not let me fight at quite that level, but I can still-”
Twilight was interrupted by a loud explosion that shook the library. Both ponies turned around to see that something had blasted a giant hole in the wall. When the dust from the explosion cleared, on the other side of the hole stood two very strange creatures. One of them was taller than both ponies by at least two feet, and was wearing mostly black. Black hair, black sandals, a black raiment... he even had wings, and those were black as well! The other creature was much shorter, hardly half the size of a pony. He was a small dark blue ball with short arms and legs, wielding a yellow serrated sword, and wearing a mask that covered the entire front part of his body, as well as a cape.
“What is the meaning of this!?” Twilight shouted to the two creatures.
“Are you Princess Twilight Sparkle?” the tall one asked. “If so, then you have your answer.”
“What do you want with Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked, flying forward and putting herself between Twilight and the two creatures, assuming a protective stance.
“It's not of your concern, little pony,” the short creature replied with a heavy Mexicoltan accent. He then drew his cape around in front of him and vanished. Twilight tried to cast a scanning spell to determine where the creature had gone, but her attempt was meaningless as he suddenly reappeared right in front of her and behind Rainbow Dash. Twilight tried to defend, but the creature moved faster and struck her powerfully with his sword, knocking the princess several feet backwards.
“TWILIGHT!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she turned around to see her friend go flying. The pegasus didn't think twice before giving the creature that attacked Twilight a powerful kick that sent him into a bookshelf. Rainbow then flew over to Twilight's side and helped her up. “Are you ok?”
“I'm fine,” Twilight replied. “That sword looks sharp, but it can't cut. It makes up for that in sheer force, however, so if he moves in to strike you with it, watch out.”
“Don't forget about me!” the tall creature said as he pulled out a purple and silver bow, armed it with a purple-colored arrow that radiated darkness, and aimed it at Twilight. He then fired the arrow at an incredible speed, catching Twilight off guard and hitting her square in the chest, knocking her back further.
“STOP THIS!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew froward towards the tall creature at top speed and gave him a powerful punch that knocked him off his feet and onto his back. However, the creature got back to his feet quickly and broke his bow into two blades, one in each hand.
“You don't know who you're messing with, pony,” the creature said as he pointed one of the blades at Rainbow Dash. “Do yourself and Princess Twilight a favor, and stay out of our way.”
“If you're going to try to hurt Twilight, I'm going to stay in your way,” Rainbow Dash replied with a serious expression. She then assumed a combat-ready pose.
“Not very smart of you,” the creature said. “But if that's what you want, then game on!” He then charged forward, striking Rainbow Dash twice with both blades in quick succession and knocking the pegasus off balance long enough for the creature to deliver a powerful kick to her chest that sent her to the ground.
Meanwhile, Twilight was just then getting up from the arrow she took to the chest. It didn't cause any significant injury, but the arrow was still made of dark magic, which was enough to damage Twilight considerably. As the princess got back to her hooves, however, she was met with the short creature standing in front of her, only this time he was holding a gold-colored disc.
“Why are you doing this?” Twilight asked.
“You'll find out soon enough,” the creature replied before he raised the disc into the air before bringing it down and striking Twilight with it.. However, instead of dealing any damage, the disc hit her with a powerful but unidentifiable magic that caused Twilight's body to suddenly become engulfed in a brilliant light. When the light faded, however, rather than normal Twilight, she had been turned into what could only be described as a life-size statue. She was stuck in a slightly adorable pose and standing on the very disc that hit her.
“TWILIGHT!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she looked on in horror. She then turned back to the tall creature behind her. “What have you done to her?”
“Your friend is fine,” the creature replied, putting his bow away as the smaller creature picked the Twilight statue up and walked over to join his companion. “However, that's more than what we can say about you if you try to interfere with us. Oh, and how rude of us to forget to introduce ourselves. The name's Dark Pit.”
“And I am Meta Knight,” the small creature said. “Not that it will matter. You're not likely to see us again.”
“You're not going anywhere with Twilight, you monsters!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she charged forward to attack the two. However, she was stopped by Dark Pit suddenly pulling out two small floating shields and thrusting them forward, where they suddenly emitted two larger energy-based shields that Rainbow crashed into head-first and was flung backwards by. Dark Pit then recalled the Guardian Orbitars.
“Don't follow us if you know what's good for you,” Dark Pit said as his wings suddenly grew slightly and began glowing. At the same time, Meta Knight's cape transformed into a pair of bat wings. Both strangers then turned around and took off into the air with Twilight in tow.
“This can't be happening...” Rainbow Dash said as she watched the two fly off with her friend, who was likely trapped in limbo at the moment. “No, I won't let this happen!” Rainbow Dash then got up and took off after the two. “I'M COMING FOR YOU, TWILIGHT!”
Dark Pit and Meta Knight flew high over Ponyville at high speed with Twilight Sparkle in tow.
"Are you sure this plan will work?" Meta Knight asked Dark Pit. “I feel like we went about that whole thing the wrong way.”
“Well we ruled out 'asking them nicely' before we even got here,” Dark Pit replied. “Besides-”
“HIYA!” a voice suddenly shouted. Meta Knight turned around just in time to catch one of Rainbow Dash's hooves in the face, causing him to be knocked backwards and drop Twilight. The alicorn trophy, however, was caught by Dark Pit.
“So you decided to follow us after all, huh?” Dark Pit asked Rainbow Dash.
“You two are letting my friend go and leaving this place,” Rainbow Dash stated firmly. “I don't care if one of you is some kind of bat-puffball thing and the other one's a hole in the ground, you can't just waltz into Equestria and kidnap a princess without expecting some consequences.”
“Oh, we expected consequences,” Meta Knight said. He then flew forward and gave Rainbow Dash a powerful kick that, though she was able to block it, she was still knocked backwards a bit. Meta Knight then turned to Dark Pit. “Let's go!”
“Alright,” Dark Pit replied with a nod. The two then flew off again at high speed.
“Oh no you don't!” Rainbow Dash shouted, quickly giving chase.
Rainbow Dash quickly caught up to Meta Knight first and gave him a powerful blow to his back that caused him to lose balance, allowing Rainbow Dash to quickly follow up with a flip kick and then a roundhouse kick that sent the Star Warrior hurtling towards the ground. Then, wasting no time, Dash quickly flew towards Dark Pit.
“You seem pretty determined to save your friend,” Dark Pit complimented as Rainbow Dash caught up to him. “I don't see why, honestly. But if you want to get in our way that badly, then I'll just have to stop you!” The dark angel then dropped Twilight, causing Rainbow Dash to quickly dive to save her friend. However, the alicorn was caught by Meta Knight. Rainbow Dash tried to switch targets and go after him, but she was stopped suddenly when Dark Pit fired an arrow right in front of her face. The pegasus looked up to see Dark Pit drawing another arrow and loading it. “Try me, little pony.”
“Oh, I most certainly will!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew towards Dark Pit, who fired his arrow right at Rainbow Dash. However, the pegasus easily barrel rolled out of the arrow's path and moved in to strike Dark Pit with a volley of jabs that knocked him off balance before she finished the combo off with a powerful mule kick that knocked the flawed clone into a cloud. Without wasting a second, Rainbow Dash turned around to see Meta Knight flying away with Twilight. He had manged to cover quite some distance while Dark Pit had Rainbow distracted, but that distance was nothing for the fastest flier in Equestria. Quickly, she took off after the Star Warrior, who was at that moment flying towards the airspace of the Everfree Forest.
“This pegasus isn't going to give up,” Meta Knight said to himself as he looked behind him to see Rainbow Dash catching up quickly. “Hmm... let's see if this slows her down.” Meta Knight then brought his free hand, which had a communication device on the wrist, up to his face. “Meta Knight to Halberd 4, deploy Plasma Wisps.”
About at this time, Rainbow Dash was just then flying up next to Meta Knight. “I think you have something that belongs to me!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“Good luck taking her back,” Meta Knight said. Just then, Rainbow Dash was suddenly blasted backwards by a burst of electricity. She looked up to see about four creatures who looked like little balls of energy with eyes and hands flying towards her.
“Like that's gonna slow me down,” Rainbow Dash said. She then flew forward and struck one of the creatures hard, somehow hitting it like its body was solid and sending it flying towards the ground where it apparently exploded. Rainbow Dash then turned around to hit another one, though if she had been paying attention, she would have noticed that the one she just hit, as well as the two remaining ones, had started to glow more intensely. Nonetheless, Rainbow Dash then proceeded to attack a third one. The attack made contact, but the creature didn't even seem fazed. “What the heck?” Rainbow Dash asked as she flew back to see that the creature had turned into a slightly larger and more violently glowing ball of energy. Right then, the creature thrust its hands forward and fired what looked like most of its body at Rainbow Dash. The attack moved slowly, however, and Rainbow Dash was able to easily dodge out of the way before flying around and hitting the Plasma Wisp, sending it flying. However, she wasn't able to defend herself from the fourth Wisp's level 3 attack, which hit the pegasus head-on and sent her flying backwards. Dash quickly recovered, but she could still feel the electricity coursing through her body, which slowed her down significantly. She didn't let this stop her from flying forward and striking the last remaining Plasma Wisp down before it could recharge, however. Then, after taking a moment for her body to settle down, she quickly redirected herself and took off after Meta Knight once again.
The Star Warrior, meanwhile, had just been rejoined by Dark Pit. “Did you finish her off?” Dark Pit asked.
“At this rate, I think the only thing we can do is slow her down,” Meta Knight replied while shaking his head. “She isn't going to give up very easily.”
“If that's the case, we're gonna have to rethink our plans fast,” Dark Pit said. It was right then that he turned around to see Rainbow Dash flying towards the two at an incredible speed. “I'll keep her busy, you get Twilight Sparkle to the Halberd.”
“Alright,” Meta Knight said. He then continued flying forward with Twilight while Dark Pit turned around and faced Rainbow Dash.
“Come get some,” Dark Pit said as he threw his arm forward, causing a large weapon to appear and encase his arm. “ELCTROSHOCK ARM!” he shouted as he dove towards Rainbow Dash and gave her a powerful electrically-charged uppercut.
“Woah!” Rainbow Dash shouted as the attack caught her jaw and flung her backwards, once more causing electricity to course through her body. “What is it with me and getting shocked today?”
“It's gonna stay that way unless you surrender,” Dark Pit said as he put his Electroshock Arm away and drew the Darkness Bow, quickly taking aim at Rainbow Dash again.
“Like that's gonna happen,” Rainbow Dash said. “You know, I have attacks that I can shout the name off too. Like this one.” Rainbow Dash then began flapping her wings rapidly. “PEGASUS GALE!” She then threw her forelegs forward, the force of that combined with the wind her wings were blowing creating a mini tornado that caught Dark Pit and sent him into a tailspin and plummeting towards the ground. “Hole-in-the-Ground's taken care of. Now for Puff-Bat.” Rainbow Dash then began flying forward again towards Meta Knight. At this point, they were now flying right over the Everfree Forest, Ponyville well behind them.
“Perhaps I should give Dark Pit a chance to recover,” Meta Knight said to himself as he saw Rainbow Dash advancing on him once again. He then dropped Twilight, who Rainbow Dash quickly dived to save. The pegasus was able to catch her friend well before she even got close to the canopy of the Everfree, but this left Rainbow open to a powerful sword strike from Meta Knight which caused her to drop Twilight and go crashing towards the forest below. Meta Knight, meanwhile, caught Twilight and continued on his way. “Hurry up, Dark Pit,” Meta Knight said to himself as he continued flying. “The Halberd isn't too far away. We need to stop this pony before she gets too close to it.”
“You think I don't know that?” Dark Pit asked, seeming to appear suddenly above Meta Knight. The Star Warrior was startled by his ally's sudden appearance, but quickly recomposed himself. “Give me Twilight Sparkle. My Power of Flight is running low, so I can't hold that pegasus off any longer and still hope to make it back home.”
“Very well,” Meta Knight said. He then handed Twilight to Dark Pit. The flawed clone gave a nod before flying forward, leaving Meta Knight to turn around and face Rainbow Dash, who had just caught up to him. “You are quite a nuisance, you know.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Rainbow Dash replied. She then charged forward at Meta Knight and moved in to give him a powerful kick. However, the Star Warrior blocked the pegasus' attack with his blade, quickly following the attack up with a flurry of blinding-fast sword strikes that hit Rainbow Dash several times before the combo ended with a powerful upward strike that sent Rainbow Dash into the air. Meta Knight wasn't finished with his combo, however. He used his Dimensional Cape to vanish from sight before reappearing right behind Rainbow Dash and giving her a powerful slash downward. The Star Warrior then flew forward while spinning like a drill with his sword at the front, striking Rainbow Dash several more times before ending the combo with a powerful upward strike followed by another one that reached greater heights, launching Rainbow Dash into the air before she fell into the trees below.
“You've much yet to learn, little pony,” Meta Knight said as he watched the pegasus disappear into the treetops. He then turned around and caught up to Dark Pit, who had almost made it to the Halberd.
“Where is it, anyway?” Dark Pit asked Meta Knight. “I don't see it.”
“That's because I had it cloaked,” Meta Knight replied. He then looked down to see that they were flying over the old Castle of the Two Sisters, which had a large ravine in front of it. “There we go.” He then activated his communicator again. “Meta Knight to Halberd 4, deactivate cloaking device.”
Upon his command, the air in the ravine began to ripple before the Battleship Halberd faded into existence. “Huh... I don't know why I forgot it was right there,” Dark Pit said.
“It doesn't matter,” Meta Knight said. “What matters is that we need to leave. Now.” He then flew down towards his airship, followed closely by Dark Pit.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had finally found them again, and was shocked to see the massive battleship in the ravine. “Woah...” Rainbow Dash said. “This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.” The pegasus shook her head at this thought, however, and followed the two assailants towards the Halberd, deciding at this point that it would be wiser to try to keep her distance and save Twilight with stealth rather than charging in head-on.
(Song end)
Dark Pit quickly landed next to the head of the Halberd, his wings flashing once before they stopped glowing and returned to their normal smaller size. He was soon joined by Meta Knight, and the two entered the airship from a door just behind the mask on the bow.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had flown around to the back of the Halberd and made her way in through a ventilation shaft.
Inside the Halberd, Dark Pit and Meta Knight made their way to the bridge, the former setting the Twilight trophy down next to the door. “You're sure the blue one didn't follow us in here?” Dark Pit asked.
“Even Bowser could not have handled that combo I gave the pegasus,” Meta Knight replied. “Even if she does recover and follow us, she can't get inside before we make the dimensional leap.”
“Let's hope you're right,” Dark Pit said with a sigh as Meta Knight got to the battleship's control wheel and activated it.
Upon Meta Knight assuming the controls, the Halberd came to life and began rising into the air, quickly gaining altitude until it was well above the cloud layer. “Preparing to make the dimensional leap,” Meta Knight said. “T-minus 10 seconds.”
While this was going on, Rainbow Dash had just made her way into the Halberd interior. “Well that was easy,” she said while dusting herself off. “What kind of fancy airship lets somepony just waltz in through an air duct?”
“Five seconds.”
Rainbow Dash then looked around for a door or something that would take her further into the ship.
“Four.”
Quickly, Rainbow Dash found a corridor with the words “To Bridge” written on a sign above it.
“Three.”
“Bingo,” Rainbow Dash said as she began flying down the corridor.
“Two.”
“Wait a second,” Rainbow Dash said, suddenly coming to a halt. “Is this ship taking off?”
“One.”
“I think I should-” Rainbow Dash started.
“DIMENSIONAL LEAP!”
Before Rainbow Dash had a chance to react, the Halberd suddenly jerked forward and began flying at a high enough speed to slam Rainbow Dash against the wall behind her.
Outside, meanwhile, the Halberd was glowing a bright blue before it suddenly flew forward at the speed of light, quickly disappearing into a dimensional gap that would send it back to its home universe.
Above an ocean in a world unknown, the sky suddenly exploded with a brilliant light before the very air had a hole torn in it, and out of that hole flew the Halberd, which was glowing blue and smoking for a while before it readjusted to its world's atmosphere and the glow faded.
“We're back home,” Meta Knight said as he set the controls to autopilot and turned around to Dark Pit.
“Good,” Dark Pit said as he turned around to Twilight, who was still a trophy. “Then let's get this one back to base so we can-”
Dark Pit was cut off when an alarm suddenly went off. “Impossible,” Meta Knight said as he flew over to one of the monitors and checked it. “There's an intruder near the stern of the ship. It's the rainbow pony that chased us before!”
“What?” Dark Pit asked. “How could she have followed us?”
“She is more resilient than previously thought,” Meta Knight replied. “Perhaps we should have tried to capture her instead of the Princess.”
“I'm starting to think you're right,” Dark Pit said. “But even still, her presence could prove advantageous somehow.”
“You could be right, but that doesn't mean I'll make an exception to my rule regarding stowaways,” Meta Knight said as he activated a switch on his console. “She can stay in this world, but she's getting off my ship. Now.”
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was making her way through the ship that had just flung her across dimensions. “Those whatever-they-ares are going to pay for this,” she said to herself as she continued walking, stopping every so often to massage her head, which was slammed forcefully into a wall just moments before. “Kidnapping Twilight, turning her into a statue of some kind... what else have they done?”
“Flung the both of us into a completely new dimension neither of us are familiar with?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Yeah, that too,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Wait a second, WHAT?” The pegasus stopped in her tracks and whirled around quickly to find her friend Pinkie Pie standing there with a grin on her face. “P-Pinkie Pie? What-? How-? When-? I don't... WHAT?”
“You already asked that question, silly,” Pinkie said with a giggle.
“What I'm trying to say is... how did you get here?” Rainbow finally asked. “And what are you even doing here?”
“I'll answer your last question first,” Pinkie replied. “I saw you, Twilight, and some other ponies having a race earlier, but I didn't recognize the ponies you were racing with, so I wanted to follow you all and meet those guys once you all finally landed. Then I saw you all make your way into a huge ship, which made me think to myself, 'Ooh, these guys have an airship? A bit odd if they can already fly, but an airship is the telltale sign that these guys are awesome!' So I walked in through a door near the back of the ship, walked around for a moment, and next thing I know, I bump into you! Pretty neat, huh?”
Rainbow Dash was completely dumbfounded by Pinkie Pie's story. “Okay, let me take this one thing at a time,” the pegasus said. “First off, those guys weren't ponies.”
“Well duh,” Pinkie said. “I kinda figured that when one of them had bat wings. But I didn't know what exactly they were, so I went with a default name for them.”
“Okay then...” Rainbow said. “Next, how do you know we've been flung into another dimension? And for that matter... WE'RE IN ANOTHER DIMENSION?”
“I suppose that one's a little less obvious,” Pinkie said while rubbing her chin. “As for how I know we're in another dimension, have you bothered to look down at your hooves since you got on this ship?”
“Not really,” Rainbow Dash replied as she looked down at her hooves. “I don't see anything different.”
“You don't?” Pinkie asked with a puzzled expression. “Take a reeeeeeally good look at them.”
Rainbow Dash kept looking at her hoof for a while before finally responding. “I don't see anything wrong with my hoof, Pinkie Pie,” she said.
“Seriously?” Pinkie asked. “It's so obvious! Back in our world, we were 2-dimensional, but here we're 3-dimensional. You can tell because your hoof isn't flat anymore. It has... depth, for lack of a better word.”
Rainbow Dash just stared at her friend with a confused expression. “I don't follow.”
“How can you not-?” Pinkie started, but she stopped and looked past Rainbow with an expression that was somewhere between shock, confusion, and befuddlement. “Hey, look at those over there.”
“What?” Rainbow asked as she looked behind her to see a bunch of small black and purple orbs advancing towards the two ponies. “What the heck are those things?”
“I think I know, actually,” Pinkie Pie said as her eyes began to go wide. “But they couldn't possibly be...”
While Pinkie was saying this, the orbs began to surround the ponies. Before long, the orbs began rising and piling on top of each other, quickly fading from existence to reveal strange bipedal creatures who were partially green, had perfectly cylindrical torsos, black arms and legs, brown hands and feet, no mouths, empty red eyes, and a hat-like body part that looked like a smaller version of their torsos but with a leaf on top.
“Impossible!” Pinkie said as she took a step back from the creatures that were taking form, her expression completely shocked.
“Pinkie, you told me you know what these things are,” Rainbow Dash said as she readied herself for battle. “Now would be a great time to enlighten me.”
“These things are called Primids,” Pinkie replied. “The primary foot soldiers of the Subspace Army. But the reason that's so shocking is the fact that the Subspace Army was defeated years ago by the combined efforts of a couple dozen heroes and villains that were brought together by a common enemy that wanted to rule the world we're currently in.”
“I'm going to ignore the fact that you know about that somehow and ask you later,” Rainbow Dash said. “For now, get behind me. If what you're saying is true, these things aren't very friendly.”
“Rainbow, wait!” Pinkie said. “You don't know-”
Rainbow Dash ignored her friend's warning, instead opting to fly at one of the Primids with full force. It was knocked backwards from the hit, but it didn't fall over. At that, Rainbow decided to take a different approach. She grabbed the Primid and threw it into another one. However, the minute it left her hooves, it began glowing slightly and tumbling towards the other Primid at high speed, hitting the other one and ricocheting off of it to hit two others before suddenly vanishing from existence. “That was weird,” Rainbow said to herself. However, she shook off this thought and flew forward at the first Primid that got hit, which suddenly went flying in the same way that the other one did upon impact with her hooves, ricocheting off the walls and other Primids a couple times before vanishing. “These guys don't take much to- OOF!” Rainbow was cut off when one of the Primids lunged forward and gave her a powerful punch to her side. This attack was quickly followed up by two other Primids attacking Dash in similar manners.
“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie shouted. She couldn't just stand there and watch the Primids swarm her friend. The party pony had to do something.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was doing her best to endure the volley of strikes coming from the Primids, trying to think of a way to get out of her situation. It was at that moment that she heard some type of explosion, followed by one of the Primids going flying. The other two Primids, as well as Rainbow Dash, turned around to see Pinkie Pie there with her party cannon in front of her. “Wha...?” Rainbow Dash tried to ask.
“And you wanted me to get behind you so you could have all the fun,” Pinkie said with a smug look as she aimed the party cannon at another Primid and fired, launching a cupcake that hit the Primid in the face and sent it flying. The defeated Primid flew back, hit the wall, and ricocheted back to hit the other Primid, which fell off its feet and disappeared without flying.
“How do you have that with you right now?” Rainbow Dash asked Pinkie.
“You know I never leave home without the party cannon, silly,” Pinkie replied as though the answer were obvious.
“Uh-huh...” Rainbow Dash said. She turned around to see several more Primids advancing on the two. “Alright, if you can fight, then help me-”
“No problem,” Pinkie said as she stepped forward and assumed a combative pose, her party cannon having completely vanished. “Pranking isn't the only thing you and I share a gift and a love for. Now let's take these things down and get to the bottom of their very existence!”
“Sure...” Rainbow Dash said. “I dunno if you remember that we're trying to save Twilight, here, but whatever it takes to get you fighting.”
“Well duh, I'm here for that too,” Pinkie replied. “Now come on!” The party pony then charged into battle, followed by Rainbow Dash.
Surprisingly enough, Pinkie Pie turned out to be as much of a threat to the Primids as Rainbow was. She might not have been able to get off attacks as quickly as her winged friend, but they packed more punch... as well as flair. Pinkie charged towards one Primid and cartwheeled into it, striking the monster hard enough to send it flying. The pony then turned around to see two more Primids appear and charge towards her. Thinking quickly, she reached into her mane and pulled out her yellow foam finger, proceeding to use it to strike the Primids with two strikes before hitting each one with one more powerful blow to knock them out. Pinkie then put the foam finger away and bucked two more Primids that were advancing behind her before leaning forward towards a Primid coming at her from the front and giving it a lick that was somehow powerful enough to send it flying.
Back on the bridge, Meta Knight and Dark Pit were watching the battle from a security camera.
“That rainbow one is a pretty good fighter,” Dark Pit commented. “But the pink one, her combat style is... strange to say the least.”
“Indeed,” Meta Knight replied. “There's something off about her, and it's not just in how she fights. She seems almost familiar to me somehow...”
“But it's obvious that they're both here to save Twilight Sparkle,” Dark Pit said. “So we need to get rid of them as soon as possible. Are we over land yet?”
“Yes,” Meta Knight replied as he flew over to another console. “They should be in for a more pleasant fall here.”
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had just finished off the remainder of the Primids.
“That looks like the last of them,” Rainbow Dash said. “Now on to the real question, how did you know about those things in the first place, Pinkie Pie?”
Pinkie was about to respond, but she stopped suddenly and her face gained a confused expression. “I... don't know,” she finally said. “I legitimately don't know. I mean, I saw the Primids and instantly recognized them, but I have no idea how, nor where I recognize them from. I just... knew. I swear, this isn't just me being my usual crazy self. It's scaring me a little, too.”
Rainbow Dash stared at her friend skeptically for the longest time. “Okay...” the pegasus finally said. “If... if you say so.” Right then, Rainbow Dash heard the door behind her shut. She turned around to see a blast-proof door blocking the doorway. The pegasus turned around again to see another blast-proof door closing the other doorway off, leaving the two ponies trapped in the room they were in. “Stay close to me, Pinkie Pie. I think we're about to-” Rainbow was cut off suddenly when the floor below the two ponies flew open, dropping the two ponies out of the ship, screaming and plummeting towards the ground below. “Hold on, Pinkie!” Dash shouted as she flew over, grabbed Pinkie Pie, and tried to use her wings to overcome the force of gravity and slow their decent to a manageable speed. However, the combined weight of both ponies, as well as how close they were to the ground as it was, was too much for even Rainbow Dash to overcome, and the two crashed into the ground.
Fortunately, they had crashed on a sandy beach, so the fall wasn't as painful as it could have been. Rainbow Dash was the first to climb out of the crater the two ponies made in the sand. “Ow...” she said as she rubbed her head. The pegasus looked up to see the Halberd closing the trap door it dropped the ponies from before flying away. “They're getting away!” Rainbow tried to take off after the airship, but she didn't get very far off the ground before her wing buckled and she fell back down into the sand. The pegasus got up and looked behind her to see that her wing looked injured. It wasn't broken, fortunately, but she still wasn't getting off the ground for a while. “Great. Those guys have Twilight and I can't fly after them to get her back. And to make matters worse, we're stuck on a beach in a world far away from our own.”
It was here that Pinkie Pie walked over to her friend. “Uh... try to look on the bright side, Dash,” the party pony said. “We have a general idea of where they're going, so we might be able to go after them by hoof.” Pinkie then looked around the beach they were on. “But first, let's look around this beach so we can get our bearings. This is a totally alien dimension to us, after all, and we might need to find somepony to act as our guide.”
“Fine,” Rainbow Dash said. “We'll look around.”
“Yay!” Pinkie cheered as she began hopping off. “Time to look for a good spot to hold a beach party!”
“Pinkie!” Rainbow called, though the party pony was already on her way. With a sigh, Rainbow Dash followed her friend at a canter pace.
Back on the Halberd, Meta Knight had set the ship to cruise back to its temporary hangar at an undisclosed location in the world they were currently in.
“We should be back at base shortly,” Meta Knight said into a communication device on his console. “And we have the cargo you requested.”
”Good,” a voice said from the other end. “Make sure she's briefed on what she's now involved in before you get here. The last thing we need is our last resort kept in the dark.”
“As you command,” Meta Knight replied. “Meta Knight out.” He then deactivated the comm, turned around, and walked over to where Dark Pit was leaning against the wall next to Twilight. “Now would be a good time to wake her. We may be able to explain everything to her before we get back.”
“Alright,” Dark Pit replied. He then turned his head around to look at the Twilight trophy while maintaining his leaning position. The dark angel then gave the stand Twilight was on a kick, which caused the entire trophy to glow brightly.
Twilight had no idea what was happening. One moment, she had been hit with some kind of disc by a short round creature, and the next, she was on the floor of what looked like the bridge of a ship of some type that had no other occupants other than herself and the two creatures who attacked her earlier.
“Wha... what's going on?” Twilight asked as she looked around. To her left was Dark Pit, and in front of her was Meta Knight. “Who are you two? And what do you want?”
“You'll have to excuse our rudeness before,” Meta Knight said. “My name is Meta Knight, and my associate is Dark Pit. You see- WOAH!” Meta Knight was cut off when he was suddenly launched clear across the room by a blast of magic from Twilight. The alicorn then turned around and tried to attack Dark Pit, but she was stopped suddenly when the flawed clone drew two blades and held them to her throat.
“Try that on me, I dare you,” Dark Pit said. Twilight glared daggers at him for a moment, but finally sighed and backed off. “There's a good little pony.”
“Alright, so now what?” Twilight asked. “You two obviously went through the trouble of trapping me in limbo, taking me from my home, and then reawakening me here where you've basically got me cornered. Surely that means you want something from me.”
“If you'd have let me finish, I could have told you what we wanted,” Meta Knight said as he got up and walked back over to Twilight. “Though I suppose I could understand the meaning behind your actions just now.”
“Enough stalling,” Twilight said. “Just tell me why you brought me here.”
“Okay,” Meta Knight said. “First, I should inform you that you're currently in a dimension completely different from the one you call home. Second, I shall tell you the history of this world we're in so that the third thing, which will be explaining the situation we're in, will make sense.”
“Another dimension, huh?” Twilight asked. “Every time Pinkie Pie talked about that sort of stuff, I dismissed it as a scientific impossibility. Could you show me what kind of technology you possess that lets you jump dimensions like that? Please?”
Dark Pit and Meta Knight exchanged confused glances for a moment. (“It looks like we have her trust,”) Dark Pit mouthed. Meta Knight couldn't have mouthed a reply if he wanted to, so instead he nodded before turning back to Twilight.
“It's actually a little more complicated than what you might expect,” Meta Knight said. “But if you insist, I can explain how dimensional travel works later. For now, though, there is a more pressing matter. All of existence is in jeopardy, and you might be our only hope of stopping a massive catastrophe that will leave all or our worlds in ruin.
“But before we get to the catastrophe, you should learn of the history of our dimension. The world we are currently in is called Smashinia. It is a world that bridges all other worlds in this dimension together so heroes and villains alike from different worlds can come together to partake in a competition called the Super Smash Brothers Tournament. In this tournament, fighters gather together to test their mettle against foes unlike any they may face in their own worlds. Recently, the fourth such tournament began. However, not long after that, one of the fighters went rogue. And I mean more so than what might be normal since there are several vile villains that take part in this tournament on a regular basis. This fighter identified himself as Overlord V, and he announced that he had a plan to conquer this world and all worlds connected to it. Not long after his announcement, several of the combatants, all the villains and some of the heroes, vanished without a trace.
“Following this event, several attacks have been conduced on the remaining heroes. Some of the attacks resulted in the heroes being captured, and this is likely because the heroes have rivalries amongst each other that keep them from becoming organized.”
“So... what?” Twilight asked. “You need my help to rally these heroes?”
“Not quite,” Meta Knight replied. “Almost all of the heroes are beyond rallying. True, some of them can cooperate without killing each other, but the only way Overlord V can be defeated is with an army, which is something the heroes can't put together. And that's where Dark Pit and I come in. We're members of a growing army called the Renegade Alliance, a hodgepodge of heroes, villains, and anti-heroes who are united under the knowledge that Overlord V is a threat beyond any one of us. Therefore, we have vowed to set aside our differences and fight together until V is defeated.”
“It's not the best plan, but it's more than that Goddess Palutena has come up with so far,” Dark Pit added.
“Who's this 'Goddess Palutena'?” Twilight asked, legitimately curious.
“She's this dimension's Goddess of Light,” Dark Pit replied. “I as well as several others expected her to be the first to do something about Overlord V when he first announced his presence, especially since she was fighting in this Smash Bros. tournament, but she hasn't done a thing so far. And that's why we're taking matters into our own hands.”
Twilight was silent for a moment. “Hold on... you're trying to tell me that you believe in deities in this world?” the God-like princess asked. “Let me guess, you think she's all-powerful and she can do literally anything?”
“She really can, actually,” Meta Knight admitted. “I've seen her in action. She has more abilities at her disposal than any other Smash Bros. fighter I've seen before, and those are just the powers she uses for battle.”
“But that's beside the point,” Dark Pit said, seeming a little peeved at how the subject suddenly changed from a world in crisis to calling Palutena's divine powers into question. “The point is that our world is in danger and we need your help to save it.”
“You need my help, huh?” Twilight asked. “And I'm... what? Your last resort?”
“I wouldn't drag the Halberd across dimensions if it weren't absolutely necessary,” Meta Knight replied. “It does a number on the paint job.”
“Really?” Twilight asked. “Hypothetically speaking, what if I were to refuse your request? I have good reason to, after all. Breaking into a castle, attacking and kidnapping a princess? I have my doubts as to how much you deserve my help.”
Meta Knight chuckled softly before replying. “Do you recall that disc I hit you with back in Equestria?” he asked. “The one that trapped you in limbo? That was something known is this world as a Trophy Stand. It can be used to turn anything into a Trophy, which are the building blocks of this hodgepodge world. As such, you were turned into a trophy, thus linking you and your entire world to this one. Whatever fate we suffer at the hands of Overlord V, Equus shall share that fate.”
“You're a pair of monsters,” Twilight growled. “Have you any idea how many innocent lives are in Equestria?”
“Have you any idea how many innocent lives are in all of our worlds?!” Dark Pit retorted. “Put them all together, and that number far outweighs however many strong Equus is! Would you rather save your people while dooming all of ours? Because we can throw you out of this ship right now if you refuse our offer! Then no one will survive V's plans! Is that what you want, Princess Twilight?!”
Twilight took a step back from Dark Pit. She hadn't expected him to start shouting like that, and she really wasn't considering all the innocent lives he mentioned. She had her own world's best interest in mind, but she couldn't live with herself if she saved her little ponies while at the same time screwing over every other creature in this dimension. Plus there was the fact that Equus would be endangered whether she helped Dark Pit and Meta Knight or not. Twilight was still angry at the two for endangering Equus as a means to get her on their side, but there was no point in backing out. That would just mean more lives lost.
“Alright, fine,” Twilight said finally. “I'll help you save this world from Overlord V. I'm not going to like you since you endangered my world, but I will fight with you for the sake of those in this world who can't defend themselves.”
“Good,” Meta Knight said. “We don't need you to like us, we just need you on our side.”
Twilight glared daggers at the Star Warrior, but didn't say anything more on the subject. “So where are we going?” the princess asked.
“We're heading to the ruins of an ancient temple,” Meta Knight replied as he turned around and walked back to the control wheel. “That is where the Renegade Alliance has made its base of operations. We're making our decent right now, in fact.”
As Meta Knight said this, he guided the Halberd to a smooth landing next to a tall mountain that was just barely taller than the airship (If you didn't count the wings on the Halberd, that is.)
“Cloaking device active,” Meta Knight said as he pressed the button on the center of the wheel, which caused the entire battleship to disappear. Meta Knight then turned around to Dark Pit and Twilight. “Come, Princess Twilight. There is someone you must meet before we can begin.”
After some walking through the massive ship, Dark Pit, Meta Knight, and Twilight stepped out of the Halberd and made their way to a small opening in the side of the mountain. “In there is the ancient temple I mentioned earlier,” Meta Knight said. “It spans some of the interior of the mountain, as well as many levels below.”
“Okay,” Twilight said. “Let's just go in so we can-”
The alicorn was cut off when the air was suddenly filled with an ear-splitting screech from above. All three looked up to see a massive but strange creature flying towards them. It was purple and looked like a demented cross between a dragon and a pterodactyl. Twilight readied herself for battle as the creature descended and landed right in front of the alicorn, staring directly at her intently.
”So you are this Princess Twilight Sparkle I've been told about,” the creature said through telepathic means. Twilight looked down to see that there was a small white device attached to the creature's chest, which she deduced was the device that was translating the creature. ”You should know that you've been talked up very much by some of my comrades, so I expect very much from you.”
“Who or what are you?” Twilight asked with a serious expression. The creature's mouth then curved into a sinister smile.
”My name is Ridley,” the creature replied. ”And I am the leader of the Renegade Alliance.”
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were making their way along the beach they had crashed on a little while ago. The latter of the two, however, thought it would be a good idea to tell a story.
“...and then I said, 'Oatmeal? Are you crazy?!'” Pinkie Pie continued. “And then he said to me 'Miss Pie, I did not mention oatmeal. Can we please get back to doing your taxes?' Man, what a party pooper that guy was. A week later, I decided to throw a 'You-Need-To-Cheer-Up-Also-Thanks-For-Helping-Me-With-My-Taxes' party for him. He didn't see it coming at all, but isn't that the point of a surprise party?” Pinkie paused for a moment to giggle before she noticed that Rainbow Dash seemed to have zoned out and was just walking straight ahead. “Hello? Equus to Rainbow Dash. I mean... whatever-world-this-is to Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie waved her hoof in front of the pegasus' face, which seemed to startle her.
“Ah!” Rainbow shouted. “I, uh... good story, Pinkie Pie.” The pegasus said this with a forced smile. “It was, um... funny.”
“Oh, that wasn't even the funny part,” Pinkie replied. “The funny part happened after I caught somepony pouring the contents of a flask into the punch bowl later during that party. That's when everypony started having more fun than I could have imagined. So, after I caught the guy, about three other ponies instantly rushed over and grabbed some punch, and after that- Hey! Look at that over there.” Pinkie pointed into the distance to see what looked like what looked like a small red thing sticking up out of the sand. “Wait a second... what's the Monado doing on this beach?”
“The Mo-what-o?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her question hit no ears but her own, however, as Pinkie Pie instantly started galloping towards the sword in the sand. “Pinkie wait!” The pegasus took off at a gallop after her friend.
Once Pinkie got close to the Monado, she saw that next to it was who she presumed to be its owner lying on a beach chair next to it. “Well hello there...” Pinkie said as she examined the creature.
“Pinkie!” Rainbow called as she got close to her friend. When she got close enough, she noticed that Pinkie was looking at... something. It looked completely alien to Rainbow Dash. It was tall, definitely taller than a stallion, lanky, mostly pale, had blonde hair and was wearing nothing but what looked like a bathing suit, swim shoes, and sunglasses. “What the heck is this, Pinkie?”
“Shh,” Pinkie said. “I think he's asleep.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “What the heck is this, Pinkie?” the pegasus repeated at a whisper.
“He's a creature called a Homs,” Pinkie replied at a similar whisper. “Those of his kind are native to the Bionis, which is a mighty titan that living creatures live on in a world far away. And that sword next to him, that's called the Monado, which is a weapon that was once wielded by the Bionis itself in a great battle against the rival titan, the Mechonis, which machine-like creatures live on.”
“Okay, so we're on a titan called 'Bionis' right now?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“No,” Pinkie replied with a shake of her head. “That's what's so puzzling. He shouldn't be here right now. Unless...”
Right as Pinkie said this, the Homs before the two ponies woke up and noticed the two strange creatures standing over him. “Woah!” he shouted as he quickly got up, kicking the two ponies away in the process, grabbed the Monado, took off his sunglasses, and readied himself for battle, evidenced by the fact that the sword in his hand had broken apart and a beam of blue light came out of the broken blade. “Who are you two?” he asked in a heavy Canterlot accent.
“I'd ask you the same question,” Rainbow Dash replied, rubbing her chin in the spot where the Homs had kicked her.
“To answer your question, his name is Shulk,” Pinkie Pie said to her friend. “He's the wielder of the Monado, and the hero of Bionis. Some time back, he and his friends saved their world from the evil Mechon.”
“I ask again, how do you know this stuff?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I reply again, I don't know,” Pinkie replied with a shrug. “But what I do know is where we are now. We're in a world that's made up of several different worlds, including Shulk's. He's not here on vacation, though. He's here for a combat tournament.”
“Perceptive, I see,” Shulk said, still ready to defend himself. (Which was honestly a rather funny-looking sight, given he was wearing nothing but a bathing suit.) “Now I'm gonna ask one more time, who are you two?”
“Who are we?” Pinkie asked. Then, a slight grin appeared on her face. “Why, I'd say we're the newest additions to the roster. And I take it you know what that means.” Pinkie then assumed a combat-ready pose of her own.
“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Trust me, Dash,” Pinkie replied. “Greeting people with a battle is how things work in this world, especially if you're strangers. Now come on, I'm gonna need help against this guy.”
“If you say so,” Rainbow Dash said, turning and taking up a combative position against Shulk.
“Two against one?” the Homs asked. “That's ok. I've fought three opponents at once before and won. Two shouldn't be too much of a problem. Now... it's Shulk Time!” Shulk then charged forward at the ponies, the Monado in striking position.
“Dash, watch out!” Pinkie called as Shulk came at the pegasus first. Rainbow Dash quickly barrel rolled out of the way of a powerful slash. She then turned around and leapt at Shulk, striking him square in the chest with a powerful jab. The Homs stumbled back a bit from the hit, but quickly recovered.
“You hit harder than I expected you to,” Shulk complimented. “I guess that means it's time to show you the Monado's power!” He then held his blade in front of him before the circular gap near the hilt began to glow. It glowed green and had a symbol in the center, but that quickly changed to a different blue symbol, then a yellow one, and finally a purple symbol. Shulk remained stationary for a moment before the symbol exploded with light, causing the Monado to begin glowing purple. “BUSTER!” Shulk shouted as he charged forward. He then thrust the blade at Rainbow Dash. The dull edge of the inactive sword hit the pony in the chest and caused her to flinch, but that hit was nothing compared to when the blade suddenly sprang to life and the beam of light extended forward, hitting Rainbow hard and knocking her backward.
“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie shouted as she galloped over to catch her friend. Fortunately, she was able to get to Rainbow before the pegasus hit the ground.
“Okay, that hurt,” Rainbow Dash said as she got up and shook herself off.
“That's his Monado Arts,” Pinkie replied. “In Buster mode, he'll deal more damage than normal. But his Arts can also leave him really vulnerable in some respects. For instance, his defensive power is weakened right now, so if we can manage to hit him, he'll take as much of a beating as he's giving.”
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Then let's-”
“BACK SLASH!” Shulk shouted as he leapt forward and brought his sword down hard upon the two ponies, knocking them both backwards. “That's what you two get for dropping your guard.”
“He's right,” Pinkie said as she got up. “We have to fight this fight if we wanna win it.”
“Right,” Rainbow replied. She then charged forward at Shulk, hitting him hard with both her forehooves and knocking him backwards. Dash followed this attack up with a swift dash and a flip kick that knocked Shulk into the air. Rainbow then leapt up after him and was about to start an aerial combo, but she forgot that her wing was still injured, so she couldn't stay airborne for as long as she anticipated and quickly lost balance. Seeing his opportunity, Shulk quickly recovered in midair and readied the Monado for another attack.
“AIR SLASH!” he shouted as his sword sprung to life once more and he delivered a powerful uppercut slash that knocked Rainbow back into the air, followed by another slash that sent her flying backwards and into the ground. Shulk then descended back to the ground, where his Monado Arts wore off and the purple glow around the Monado disappeared.
“Looks like this fight's gonna be tougher than I thought,” Rainbow Dash said as she got up from the hit she took.
“Looks like you're gonna need some help,” Pinkie said with a smirk. “Time for me to take a turn.” The party pony then charged forward at Shulk, quickly drawing her party cannon from nowhere once she was close to the Homs and slammed it down right on him, which cased him to get knocked backwards a bit. Pinkie then fired her cannon right at Shulk, launching a present right into his face and sending him flying backwards and onto his back.
“What on Bionis is this pony's deal?” Shulk asked as he got back up. As he got back up, however, Pinkie Pie, who had once more made her party cannon disappear, galloped forward and gave him a jab to his chest, followed by an uppercut, a skyward buck, and then a flip kick that sent him flying back behind Pinkie.
As Shulk was flying, he found himself flying over the present that Pinkie had fired before. Without warning, however, the present exploded open and Pinkie Pie leapt out to give him a powerful punch that sent him flying skyward.
“Not this time,” Shulk said to himself as his vision ended. He quickly righted himself in the air just as he flew over the present, which Pinkie promptly exploded out of. However, before the pony could hit him, Shulk pivoted in midair, which caused Pinkie's attack to just barely miss him. The Homs then took his opportunity and delivered a speedy counter slash that sent Pinkie flying backwards and into the sand below.
“Woah!” Pinkie said as she got up. “I totally forgot he could do that.”
“What did he just do?” Rainbow Dash asked as she galloped over to her friend.
“It's the Monado's power,” Pinkie replied. “It lets him see visions of the future, especially if that future involves him taking a particularly painful hit, so that he can change the future in his favor. Even my unpredictable actions aren't immune to that power. The only drawback, though, is that he can't use it several times in a row, and if he tries to, the visions will gradually get weaker and weaker.”
“So what do we do in that case?” Rainbow asked. “Just try to keep the heat on him and hope he doesn't have another vision?”
“That seems to be the best option,” Pinkie replied with a nod.
“Then let's take him on together,” Rainbow said. “I've always been one for a fair fight, but I think two-against-one balances out the power to see the future.”
“Right,” Pinkie replied. “Now let's go!” She and Dash then charged forward at Shulk.
“Don't think you can beat me that easily,” Shulk said as he readied the Monado to activate another Art. He only changed the symbol once, however, before stopping on the blue symbol. A blue light burst from the Monado, but rather than the sword beginning to glow, Shulk's feet began to glow blue. “SPEED!” he shouted as he charged forward at the ponies at an incredible speed.
“Look out!” Pinkie warned as Shulk charged towards Rainbow Dash, giving the pegasus a powerful slash before she had a chance to react. Rainbow fell backwards, but she was able to quickly recover since the hit didn't do that much damage. Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was completely defenseless as Shulk quickly turned to her and delivered a punch, a kick, and an upward slash that knocked the earth pony back and into her friend.
“So now this guy can move fast?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Jeez, how many powers does this guy have?” Her question went unanswered, however, when Shulk quickly ran in to deliver another volley of attacks. Rainbow Dash was able to react quickly this time, however, and moved in to deliver a sweep kick that connected with Shulk's feet and sent him flying forward into the sand face first, where his Speed Art quickly dissipated.
“Good move, Dash,” Pinkie complimented.
“Thanks,” Rainbow replied as she watched Shulk get up. “Time to show this guy what a real combo is.” The pegasus then galloped forward towards Shulk and gave him a powerful dashing elbow right to his gut, followed by two punches, and finished with a mule kick that sent the Homs flying backwards.
“This isn't good,” Shulk said to himself as he righted himself in midair and landed on his feet. “Looks like I'm gonna have to change tactics.” He then reactivated his Monado Arts, only this time, he stopped at the first green symbol. Like with Speed, his feet began glowing, only this time, his feet were glowing green. “JUMP!” he shouted as Rainbow Dash began flying towards him. Before the pegasus could reach Shulk, however, the Homs leapt high into the air and out of the way.
“Why can't this guy just pick one ability?” Rainbow Dash asked in a very annoyed tone.
As Shulk descended towards the ground, he quickly realized his mistake. Pinkie Pie was waiting for him below. Before Shulk could gain some extra air with Air Slash, Pinkie quickly leapt up and began spinning her body around, hitting Shulk several times with her hooves before delivering a headbutt that launched him. “Rainbow! Now's our chance to finish him!” Pinkie called. “Launch him back over here before he can recover!”
“Okay!” Rainbow called as she quickly leapt up flipped herself backwards so her hind legs would collide with Shulk, and kicked off of him the second he made contact, sending both fighters flying in opposite directions.
“Now to finish this!” Pinkie shouted as a trio of small confetti cannons appeared on her back. Right as Shulk flew over her, Pinkie fired the confetti cannons, launching Shulk skyward at high speed.
“AHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...” Shulk shouted as he vanished into the sky above.
(song end)
“Woah...” Rainbow Dash said as she rejoined Pinkie and looked up at where Shulk disappeared. “How did that just happen?”
“When Shulk's in Jump mode, he becomes much easier to launch,” Pinkie explained.
“Okay...” Rainbow said. “Back to one of my first questions: how do you know this stuff?”
“I'm telling you, I don't know,” Pinkie replied. “Maybe it's in our best interest to ignore that right now, though. Especially since Shulk's coming back down.”
“What?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “We have to save him before he crashes!”
“Oh, I wouldn't worry about that too much,” Pinkie said. It was right then that two ponies heard something falling. Sure enough, Shulk came crashing down. However, once he hit the ground, Rainbow Dash instantly noticed that there was something drastically different about him. For one, he was finally clothed in mostly red and black clothes that sort of reflected how the Monado looked. Beyond that, however, he seemed to be frozen in a statue-like state, seeming like he was in a backwards leap position atop a gold-colored disc, similar to the one Twilight was on before. As well, he seemed completely unaffected by the fall.
“What happened to him?” Rainbow asked as she examined Shulk.
“We defeated him in battle,” Pinkie replied. “And whenever that happens in this world, the defeated combatant turns into a Trophy.”
“But is he ok?” Rainbow asked. “Is there any way to get him out of this state?”
“Yeah,” Pinkie replied with a nod. “Just tap the Trophy Stand he's on and he'll be back to normal.”
“Just tap the Stand, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked. “This same thing happened to Twilight earlier. Would saving her be as simple as tapping her base?”
“Uh-huh,” Pinkie replied. “But if we're gonna save Twilight, we're still gonna need help.” Pinkie then walked over to Shulk.
“Woah! You're gonna free him?” Rainbow asked. “What was the point of fighting him if we're just gonna wake him back up?”
“'Cause we've defeated him, so he might be willing to help us out,” Pinkie replied. “If we explain the situation, I mean.” The earth pony then reached down and gave the base a tap, causing Shulk to start glowing brightly. Once the light faded, the Homs returned to normal, except he was unclothed once more.
“What the-?” Shulk asked. He looked down to see both ponies staring at him. “Huh... looks like I underestimated you two.”
“We don't have time for compliments,” Pinkie said. “We need your help. You see, we're not supposed to be in this world, and we have a friend who's been captured by two fighters who are from this world. We don't know what they plan to do with her, but we're going to need help to get her back.”
“And you're asking me for help?” Shulk asked.
“Well, you were actually the first one we've stumbled upon,” Pinkie replied. “But yes, we're going to need your help.”
“Well... I guess I've got nothing better to do,” Shulk said with a shrug. “Do you know who it was who took your friend?”
“I think one of them was Meta Knight,” Pinkie replied. “Whoever captured her used the Halberd to bring her here.”
“The other one was Dark Pit,” Rainbow added.
“Ah, those two,” Shulk said while rubbing his chin. “I'm not sure what they have planned, but they were among the fighters who disappeared after Overlord V revealed himself.”
“Who's Overlord V?” Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the side and donning a curious expression.
“I'll tell you,” Shulk replied. “But first, let me go get dressed. Then I can explain everything you need to know as we walk back to meet some of my friends.”
“Okay,” Rainbow said. With a nod, Shulk turned and walked back to where is chair was. Once the Homs was out of hearing range, Rainbow turned to Pinkie. “Are you sure we can trust this guy to help us get Twilight back?”
“Pretty sure,” Pinkie replied. “But it won't be just him. He's our first step in getting some new friends together to help us save Twilight.”
”I take it your flight was comfortable, Princess Twilight?” Ridley asked as he led the alicorn into the mountain ruins, the two followed by Dark Pit and Meta Knight.
“It wasn't exactly first-class,” Twilight replied with a tone of annoyance. She then turned around to Dark Pit and Meta Knight. “Someone inform me of why 'asking for help politely' was ruled out prior to you two kidnapping me.”
”It was by my request,” Ridley answered. ”Time is very valuable in this battle against Overlord V, and I did not want to waste a second of it with... politeness. I'm sure you can understand the circumstances influencing our actions.”
“Not really,” Twilight replied flatly.
”Oh. Well then, I feel I should apologize.” After saying this, Ridley continued flying forward in silence.
“So... are you going to apologize?” Twilight inquired.
Ridley was about to respond (likely with a “no”) when another combatant walked forward towards the group. To Twilight, it looked like a tall bipedal blue wolf with spikes sticking out of the backs of its hands, as well as one similar spike on its chest. Beyond outward appearance, Twilight could feel something strange about this creature.
“Ridley, we have a situation,” the creature said. “Wolf had an... incident with Game and Watch over today's meal, and now there's an all-out brawl going in in the cafeteria.”
”Those two again?” Ridley asked. ”Alright, I'll go settle it. Could you please show our guest, Princess Twilight Sparkle, around?”
“It would be my pleasure to give royalty a tour,” the creature replied.
”Just introduce her to a few people and show her where she shouldn't go if she wants to stay alive, thank you.” Ridley said. He then turned to Twilight. ”You'll have to excuse me. We might be an alliance of sorts, but not all of us get along very well. Once this mess is cleaned up, I'll rejoin you to inform you of what we need you to do.” With that, Ridley turned around and took off down the hallway.
“Some guy, that Ridley,” the creature said as he watched Ridley leave. “Willing to put up with everyone's crap in order to save the world.” He then turned around to Twilight. “Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Lucario.”
“Nice to meet you, Lucario,” Twilight said.
“Ridley informed me that royalty would arrive here to help us, and as such, I've been anticipating your arrival,” Lucario continued. “Your aura... it's different from any I have seen before.”
“My aura?” Twilight asked. “What do you mean by that?”
“The energy that radiates from you,” Lucario explained. “Like a faint energy field, undetectable by normal means, but it comprises your entire being. I am capable of reading auras, and I can sense that yours is one of the purest auras I've seen in some time.”
“Um... thank you?” Twilight said, still a bit unsure of what Lucario was talking about.
Unbeknownst to Twilight and Lucario, Dark Pit was eying the two with a shipper's smirk. “Well, we're gonna get out of your hair,” the dark angel said as he began walking off.
“Wait, I thought we were going to accompany Princess Twilight while she was here,” Meta Knight inquired.
“That isn't necessary now that Lucario's here,” Dark Pit said to the Star Warrior with a forced wink. “I'm sure nothing bad would happen if we left them... alone.”
“What are you-?” Meta Knight started, but he stopped when he realized what Dark Pit was talking about. “Oh... gotcha.”
“Hold on, where are you two going?” Twilight asked the two as they walked off.
“Why, we're needed somewhere else,” Dark Pit said, turning back towards Twilight with a devious smile. “Don't worry. Lucario will take good care of you.” With an almost inaudible chuckle, the dark angel turned and walked off down the hallway, closely followed by Meta Knight.
“I may never understand that guy in any way, shape, or form,” Twilight said to herself with a shake of her head.
“He is a strange one,” Lucario commented as he watched the two leave. “Though not nearly as strange as some other Smash Bros fighters I've encountered.” The Aura Pokemon then turned back to Twilight. “But he was right about one thing. As long as you are here, it would be my pleasure to make sure you feel welcome and comfortable.”
“Thank you for that,” Twilight said with a smile. “You know, I've been in this world for about an hour, and half of that time I spent as a Trophy, but in the other half, I think you're the nicest... 'character' I've encountered.”
“You are too kind, Princess,” Lucario said, returning the smile. “Now, if you would follow me, I will show you around.” He then turned and walked off, Twilight following behind him.
In another different world, a human with blue hair suddenly dropped his guitar and fell to the ground as he had a strange feeling similar to being stabbed in the chest.
Back at the Renegade base, Lucario had led Twilight to one of the training rooms.
“This is one of the rooms in which we hold practice battles,” Lucario explained. “In fact, it looks like there's a battle going on right now.”
Sure enough, there was a battle taking place atop a platform that was suspended in the air over a pit. (Not either angel, an actual hole in the ground... for once.) One of the combatants was a tall creature kind of similar to Dark Pit, except he didn't have wings, he was far more muscular, he wore a mostly blue outfit with gold-colored boots, yellow gloves, a yellow scarf, and a red helmet with a golden falcon design on it. Also on the arena were two shorter creatures who looked like they were bundled up in very heavy and cozy sweaters, one wearing blue, the other wearing pink, and both wielding hammers.
“Who are they?” Twilight asked as she watched the two shorter characters try but fail to outmaneuver the taller one.
“The tall one is called Captain Falcon,” Lucario explained. “He's a pilot who races in a tournament called the F-Zero Grand Prix, but he is very competent outside the cockpit and would never pass up a chance to show his moves in the Smash Bros tournament. As for who he is fighting, they are known collectively as the Ice Climbers. The one in blue is named Popo, and the one in pink is Nana. They are professional mountain climbers, but the hammers they use to defend themselves against foes on the mountains are more than useful against Smash Bros fighters.”
As Lucario was explaining this, Captain Falcon had charged forward and delivered a flaming uppercut to Nana, which sent her flying straight into the ceiling, where her head apparently got stuck. Popo, having lost his ally, saw his opportunity and went in to deliver a powerful hammer strike to Falcon's chest that sent him flying backwards. However, he was able to regain his footing and stopped himself just before he fell off the edge of the arena. Popo then rushed in to try to deliver a finishing blow, but it was right at this moment that Falcon began drawing his fist back and looked like he was charging a powerful attack. Popo's eyes went wide as he tried to stop himself, but he was already too close to Falcon, and before he knew it, all he heard was “PAWNCH!” before Falcon delivered a powerful punch that somehow spawned a fiery falcon that hit Popo and sent him flying clear across the room and into the far wall. He then fell to the ground and into the pit below. As this was happening, Nana suddenly turned into a ball of pink light that followed Popo down into the hole.
“Woah...” Twilight said. “Are they going to be ok?”
“They're going to live if that's what you're worried about,” Lucario replied as a pair small pink ball-like creatures with orange feet and tiny bug wings flew down towards where the Ice Climbers fell. “Those are called Bronto Burts, in case you're curious. Not the handiest when it comes to combat, but they can fly and are surprisingly strong for their size, making them useful for recovering defeated combatants.” Right as Lucario said this, the two Bronto Burts flew out of the pit, carrying a single Trophy depicting both Ice Climbers towards some stands on the other side of the arena. After this, a walkway extended towards the arena where Captain Falcon still was, and across the walkway came another strange creature. It was tall, mostly pink, had a cat-like face, a dark pink tail, three digits each on its hands and feet, and a serious expression on its face. It was also levitating, which made the walkway that had extended seem redundant.
“Who's that about to fight Captain Falcon next?” Twilight asked Lucario.
“Him...” Lucario started, leaving a pause for dramatic effect. “He is called Mewtwo, and he is the self-proclaimed strongest combatant in the history of the Super Smash Bros tournament, as well as the strongest Pokemon in the world... and he can back both of those titles up, too. Come, Princess Twilight. Let's head to those stands so we can get a better view of the battle. A fight in which Captain Falcon is defeated is not one to be missed.”
As the two began walking, a thought occurred to Twilight. “How do you know for sure Captain Falcon will be defeated?” she asked. “I saw him take out two opponents at once like it was nothing.”
Lucario simply chuckled. “Let's just say that Mewtwo was banned from the third and fourth Smash Bros tournaments for a reason,” he said with a smile.
As the two were making their way to the stands, Mewtwo levitated over to face Captain Falcon.
”We meet again, Captain,” Mewtwo said telepathically. ”I trust you have improved since our last encounter?”
“Hmph, you just won because of a cheap shot last time,” Captain Falcon retorted. “That's my style, and I ain't about to let you steal it.”
”So be it, Captain,” Mewtwo said with a nod.
At about this time, Lucario and Twilight had taken their seats. Twilight noticed that she was sitting next to who she assumed was a young boy with blonde hair, had an orange and yellow stripped shirt, and blue-jean shorts. Having spent so much time around Fluttershy, Twilight was good at reading shyness with just a glance, and this boy seemed just as shy as Fluttershy. Though Twilight couldn't shake the feeling that there was a lot more hidden beneath that shyness. What was it, though? Kindness? Or power? The alicorn felt both emanating from the boy.
“Um... hello there,” Twilight said to the boy. He instantly gasped, turned to Twilight, and stared at her. “My name's Twilight Sparkle. I'm new around here, and I'm trying to make friends. What's your name?”
The boy was silent for a moment before finally taking a deep breath and speaking. “My... my name's Lucas,” he finally said. “It's... nice to meet you.”
Twilight was about to continue the conversation when Lucario stopped her. “Princess Twilight, the battle is about to start,” the Aura Pokemon said. “Trust me, this is going to be something you won't want to miss.”
“Okay,” Twilight said. She then turned back around to say something to Lucas, but he was gone.
“Lucas is a very shy one,” Lucario explained. “The only one he truly trusts is another from his world, Ness. Both of them hail from a place called Eagleland, and both have psychic capabilities, as well as some elemental powers.”
“Really?” Twilight asked. “Then I guess Lucas wasn't as out-of-place as he seemed...”
Right as Twilight said that, a robot-like creature appeared on a platform above the arena Falcon and Mewtwo were in. It had a hexagonal base, two arms attached to some kind of pivot-able body part that was attached to a spine-like structure, and a square head that had binocular-like eyes and a red LED light on the top. ”Combatants, are you ready?” the robot announced, though it sounded more like a recording of another voice. Nonetheless, Captain Falcon and Mewtwo readied themselves for battle. ”3, 2, 1, GO!”
Captain Falcon instantly leapt into action, running forward at Mewtwo before leaping low into the air and delivering a powerful flying kick. “FALCON KICK!” he shouted as his foot suddenly became engulfed in flames and he flew at high speed towards Mewtwo. The Genetic Pokemon, however, remained completely stationary and unfazed by the approaching foe. At the last second, however, when Falcon's foot was right about to hit Mewtwo in the chest, Mewtwo quickly raised a blue circular barrier that flashed once as the Falcon Kick hit and bounced off of it, causing Captain Falcon to lose balance and fall to the ground.
”Predictable,” Mewtwo said before dropping the barrier and rushing forward to grab Captain Falcon by the neck before whirling around and tossing the pilot off the stage behind him. Mewtwo then teleported backwards a short distance before moving his hands behind him and charging up a ball of shadowy energy.
Meanwhile, Captain Falcon righted himself in midair before charging his fist with energy and using that energy to dash forward towards the edge of the stage, where the energy in his fist quickly dissipated and he used the other hand to grab onto the edge. He hung there for a moment before grabbing the edge with his other hand and pulling himself up off the edge and into the air, where he did a frontflip before landing back on the arena. “You can't keep this Falcon down,” Captain Falcon taunted as he faced Mewtwo again. The Genetic Pokemon's expression didn't even change.
”Perhaps that's why you never learn,” Mewtwo said. Then, without another word, he rushed forward and delivered a powerful jab to Falcon's chest that stunned the pilot, allowing Mewtwo to deliver a second punch right to Falcon's face, followed by a volley of small blasts of psychic energy all across his body. Mewtwo then ended the combo by delivering a powerful uppercut that sent Captain Falcon soaring into the air. Mewtwo then leapt up after his opponent and gave him a powerful roundhouse kick that sent Falcon flying off the stage once more. Mewtwo then landed near the edge of the stage and waited for Captain Falcon to recover. Playing right into the Genetic Pokemon's hands, Captain Falcon righted himself in the air and glided closer to the edge, though losing altitude fast. However, before the Captain fell to his doom, he charged both his hands with energy and used that energy to propel himself upward, quickly grabbing the edge once more and flipping himself up onto the stage. However, once he landed he was faced with Mewtwo, and he had a Shadow Ball charged and ready to fire.
Faster than Falcon could have said “Show me ya moves,” Mewtwo quickly fired the Shadow Ball, striking Falcon hard in the chest and launching him clear off the stage and slamming him into the far wall, where he then fell into the pit below.
”GAME!” the robot above the stage called, earning some cheers from the few characters in the stands, none of whom Twilight would have been able to describe without difficulty.
“So this is how the Super Smash Bros tournament works?” Twilight asked Lucario.
“Yes,” Lucario replied as he watched a Bronto Burt fly into the pit to retrieve Captain Falcon. “Attack your foe until he accumulates enough damage, and then deliver a powerful attack to launch them off the stage to KO them.”
“Really?” Twilight asked. “How interesting... This is something I've never even heard of before.”
“If that's the case, you could probably use some practice,” Lucario commented.
“You're right,” Twilight said. Lucario was about to reply, but before he could, Twilight quickly got up and flew towards the arena, earning gasps from everyone in the crowd.
”What is this?” Mewtwo asked as he watched Twilight fly towards him.
Once the alicorn landed in front of the Genetic Pokemon, she looked up at him with a serious expression. “Hello, Mewtwo,” she said in a friendly tone. “My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle. I'm new two this world, and only recently have I learned how things work around here. I also have no combat experience, so I'm here to gain some... by challenging you.”
This request was met with many more gasps from the audience. ”Twilight, what are you thinking?” Lucario thought to himself as he looked on with a horrified expression.
”You have no combat experience whatsoever, and yet you wish to challenge me?” Mewtwo asked.
“Yes,” Twilight replied. “I challenge you, Mewtwo, to a battle.” Twilight then cast a spell that was intended to summon her book, The Egghead's Guide to Fighting. She'd forgotten momentarily that she left that in Equestria, but somehow or another, her spell worked and she was able to summon the book from across dimensions.
”You are an amusing little one,” Mewtwo said as he eyed Twilight. ”Ordinarily I would refuse challenges from weaklings or those with no experience, but you... I can already tell you're dead-set on facing me. Very well... I accept your challenge.”
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie followed Shulk (who was now fully clothed) through the woods. As they were walking, Shulk was explaining the situation that was going on in the world they were in.
“Overlord V, huh?” Pinkie Pie asked. “He sounds like a pretty bad guy.”
“He really is,” Shulk replied. “No one knows exactly what his plans are, but we do know is that he's hunting down heroes who represent their world most, like Mario for the Mushroom Kingdom or me for the Bionis.”
“Is there anything being done to stop this guy?” Rainbow asked.
“There's one effort being made...” Shulk replied with an ominous tone. “They're called the Renegade Alliance, and they're comprised of mostly villains. They're likely just trying to get V out of the way so they can have the world for themselves.”
“The Renegade Alliance...” Rainbow Dash said. “Are there members of that thing called Dark Pit and Meta Knight?”
“You know them, then?” Shulk asked.
“They kidnapped one of our friends, Twilight Sparkle,” Pinkie replied. “Rainbow Dash and I are here to try to get her back.”
“Really?” Shulk asked. He then looked up at the forest canopy above them and said with a thoughtful tone, “I know what it feels like to go against the odds to save those you love...”
Without warning, there were two loud shouts, followed by two swordsman suddenly appearing from the treetops and attacking Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, hitting them both with strikes powerful enough to send them flying.
“Watch out!” Shulk shouted as he stepped backwards and readied the Monado to defend the ponies.
“What's going on?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I just had a vision,” Shulk replied. “We've got company.”
“Friendly?” Pinkie asked.
“Yes, actually,” Shulk replied. “But they don't know you are. Just stay close to me.” The Homs then scanned the trees above them. “Ike! Link! Don't attack! These two are with me!”
There was a moment's pause before two creatures who looked like they were the same race as Shulk dropped from the treetops before the group of three. One was dressed in mostly green and wielded a sword and shield, both with a design of three yellow triangles on it. The other one wore a flowing red cape with blue and brown armor, and wielded a huge golden sword.
“You were gone for quite a while, Shulk,” the one with the cape said as he brought his sword up to his shoulder and rested it there while the one in green returned his sword to a sheath on his back and hooking his shield to the sheath as well. “We were just about to come looking for you. Who are those two?”
“Their names are Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie,” Shulk explained. “They're ponies from the land of Equestria, and they're here to save a friend who's been kidnapped and brought to this world.” Shulk then turned around to the ponies. “Dash, Pinkie, meet the Hero of Time, Link, and the Radiant Hero, Ike. Two swordsmen from different worlds, though the three of us have come together to aid in the effort against Overlord V.”
“That is, once an actual effort gets started,” Ike added. “All that's working against V is that Renegade Alliance. But we're working towards getting the heroes together to fight this guy.”
“And the first step is to get some divine intervention,” Shulk finished. “Namely, intervention from the Goddess of Light, Palutena. She's the only tangible deity around, and therefore the only one who can help us save this world.”
“Paulu... poly... WHO?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Palutena,” Pinkie corrected. “Seriously, how can you not say that name but still be able to pronounce superultrawesomemazing?'
“Whatever,” Rainbow said while rolling her eyes. “Could this Poly-tini or whatever her name is help us find Twilight?”
“I'd guess so,” Shulk said with a shrug. “There aren't any real tangible deities in my world, so I don't know how they work.” Right then, a thought occurred to Shulk and he turned to Ike and Link. “Hold on a second... where are Kirby and Jigglypuff? I just now noticed that they aren't with you guys.”
“Kirby?” Pinkie Pie asked while cocking her head to the side curiously. This went unnoticed by the others, however.
“Kirby saw one of Overlord V's fighters making his way through the forest with a Trophy in his possession,” Ike replied. “Jigglypuff went with Kirby in case things got dangerous.”
“WE HAVE TO SAVE THEM!” Pinkie suddenly shouted, startling everyone there and causing them all to begin staring at the party pony.
“Pinkie... what are you shouting about?” Rainbow asked.
“I... I don't know,” Pinkie replied. “I don't know why I know anything about this world, and I don't know why I know these Kirby and Jigglypuff characters are in danger right now... but the point is that I know what I know, and what I know is that they're in trouble and they need us to find and save them!”
Everyone around Pinkie Pie was silently staring at the pony for a long time before Link finally spoke up.
Okay, Link didn't actually speak since that's just not something he does, but he did walk forward and stand by Pinkie before turning around towards the others. “Link, you believe this pony?” Shulk asked. The Hero of Time replied with a nod. Shulk then began rubbing his chin. “Well, I can see why you'd trust her. I've got my visions, you've had your fair share of prophetic dreams, maybe Pinkie Pie can predict the future somehow as well.” Shulk then turned to look down at Pinkie. “Why don't we give her the benefit of the doubt?”
Rainbow Dash and Ike, seeming to be the only two in the group who had no power of foresight whatsoever, exchanged confused glances for a moment. “You're the one who's known Pinkie Pie the longest,” Ike said. “What's your call? In terms of who to believe, I mean.”
Rainbow Dash thought for a few seconds before replying. “Pinkie has been able to predict some future events... sort of,” she said. “Usually it's just knowing when something's going to fall or if a door is about to hit someone, but she's never had this sort of specific knowledge of the future before.” The pegasus was quiet for a moment longer before finally making her decision. “Pinkie Pie...”
“Rainbow Dash...” Pinkie replied with a look of curiosity.
After one more pause, this one for dramatic effect, “Let's go save Kirby and Jigglypuff.”
Somewhere else in the forest, a brown dog with a white snout, a black nose, long black ears, and a black collar was plodding through the forest. Following close behind the dog was a duck with blue and white feathers on its body and a purple head, flying while carrying a Trophy. This one depicted a character similar to Link, except he was shorter and more adorable. The dog looked behind him towards the duck and barked once.
“Hey, this Trophy is heavy,” the duck replied with an annoyed tone. “If you want me to hurry up, why don't you carry him? I could use the weight off my shoulders.”
Unbeknownst to the duo, two creatures were watching them from a tree branch above. The only real way to describe both creatures was “small round pink puffs”. The only difference was that one of them was a darker shade of pink than the other and had more defined arms and legs, while the other one had larger eyes, ears, and an odd pink swirl that was probably hair on its forehead. The lighter one looked over to her companion.
“Jiggly?” she asked in a hushed tone.
“Poyo,” the other one replied with a nod. At that, both of them leapt out of their hiding spot towards the duck and dog below them.
The darker one landed first right in front of the duo, quickly striking a combat-ready stance. “Kirby!” the duck shouted. He and the dog looked behind them to see Kirby's companion slowly float to the ground, quickly striking a combative stance of her own once she landed. “And Jigglypuff!”
“Jiggly Jiggly,” Jigglypuff said in a serious tone.
The dog growled and barked in reply, while the duck said, “No way we're letting Toon Link go. He's a very important part of our master's plan, and Duck and I aren't about to let you stand in his way.” The duck (whose name was apparently Hunt) quickly dropped the Toon Link trophy and flew onto his companion's back, both readying themselves for combat.
Kirby was the first to charge forward towards Duck Hunt, quickly flipping forward and delivering a powerful tornado kick that Duck Hunt... blocked. Each hit simply bounced off a sphere of gray light that suddenly appeared as the duo ducked under it. The sphere shrunk slightly with each hit, but Kirby lost balance and stopped his attack before Duck Hunt's shield shrunk very much. They then dropped their shield before Duck reached forward and grabbed hold of Kirby's arm with his mouth. Hunt then struck Kirby on the forehead once with his bill before Duck spun around and threw Kirby into the air. However, this left Duck Hunt open to a fully charged Rollout attack from Jigglypuff that she was charging while Kirby distracted the duo. The Balloon Pokemon slammed into Duck Hunt at high speed, launching them backwards. After recovering, Jigglypuff leapt forwards and upwards, puffing herself up with air a couple of times to gain altitude and distance, before moving in and delivering a powerful Pound attack that sent Duck Hunt flying skyward. Jigglypuff couldn't gain any more altitude in order to continue the combo, but this was quickly resolved by Kirby quickly leaping up towards Duck Hunt and readying a Hammer Flip. Before Kirby could get the attack off, however, the two righted themselves and Hunt lunged forward to knock Kirby back with a powerful beak strike that knocked the Star Warrior backwards. Kirby fell, and Duck landed on all fours, Hunt quickly returning to his companion's back.
“Is that all you've got?” Hunt taunted as Kirby got back to his feet. “Duck and I can still fight.”
“PUFF!” the duo heard behind them. They turned around just in time to see Jigglypuff delivering a powerful fully-charged forward kick that sent the duck and dog flying backwards... right into a fully-charged Hammer Flip attack from Kirby that sent the duo flying upwards. Duck Hunt wasn't cleared, however, and they quickly descended before landing in front of Kirby and Jigglypuff.
“TAKE THIS!” Hunt shouted as Duck flipped around and tossed a clay pigeon at his opponents. Before the clay pigeon could hit its mark, however, Kirby leapt forward and inhaled it, quickly swallowing and nullifying the attack.
“Right...” Hunt said as Duck whined quietly. “Forgot he could do that.... No matter, let's just give 'em an attack that'll be difficult to digest.” Duck Hunt then ran forward towards Kirby and Jigglypuff. The latter tried to charge forward to intercept Duck Hunt's attack, but Hunt was quicker on the draw and leapt forward to strike Jigglypuff with his beak, sending the Balloon Pokemon flying backwards. Duck then rose to his hind legs and pointed in dramatic fashion towards Kirby with both paws. Before the Star Warrior could react, a red cross hair appeared over him, quickly followed by a shot that sent Kirby flying backwards. This was followed by another cross hair appearing as he flew, shooting him a second time and sending him further into the air. The same thing happened one more time, except this shot had enough launching power to send Kirby flying into a tree.
“Nice shooting,” Hunt complimented while looking off in the distance behind him. “Now, let's hit him with a-”
KREEENG!
Before Hunt could finish his sentence, both he and Duck were suddenly launched upwards at high speed, leaving behind Jigglypuff, who was sleeping right where Duck Hunt was standing not a second before.
(End song)
Kirby quickly got back to his feet and walked over to Jigglypuff, who was still sleeping. The Star Warrior would have let his friend nap, but she was standing right where Duck Hunt was about to fall at high speed. With that in mind, Kirby tapped Jigglypuff on the shoulder, startling the Balloon Pokemon awake.
“Puff?” Jigglypuff asked as she shook the sleep off of her. She then looked up to see Duck Hunt falling towards her at a high velocity. Kirby quickly pulled his friend out of the way merely a second before Duck Hunt, now a trophy, fell. “Jiggly,” Jigglypuff thanked. The two pink puffs then walked towards Duck Hunt, who were frozen in a position with Duck running forward while looking up at Hunt, who was flying above his companion. “Jigglypuff Jiggly.” The Balloon Pokemon pointed behind her towards Toon Link.
“Poyo,” Kirby replied with a nod. He then turned around and walked over to where the Toon Link Trophy stood. Kirby was about to release the Younger Hero of Time when a familiar voice stopped him.
“Kirby! Jigglypuff!” Shulk's voice called. Both puffs turned around to see Shulk, Link, Ike, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie walk out of the woods towards them.
“Jigglypuff!” the Balloon Pokemon called with a happy expression. She then ran over to the group, Kirby following while carrying Toon Link.
“Are you two ok?” Ike asked.
“Jigglypuff...” The Balloon Pokemon indicated the Duck Hunt Trophy behind her.
“Duck Hunt, huh?” Shulk asked. “I can't believe they sided with Overlord V. I kinda liked them the first time I battled them. Thought they were a bit adorable. But I'm getting off topic. Kirby, Jigglypuff, I'd like you two to meet Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.” The Homs indicated the two ponies. “They're ponies from the land of Equestria. They're here to save their friend who's been kidnapped.”
“Nice to meet you two,” Rainbow Dash said as she extended her hoof to shake with Jigglypuff. The Balloon Pokemon approached the pony with caution, but managed to work up enough courage to shake Dash's hoof.
Kirby and Pinkie Pie, however, just stared at each other for the longest time. Both of them locked eyes, both looking on with confusion, neither believing who was standing in front of them at the moment.
“Are you...?” Pinkie Pie asked as she reached her hoof towards Kirby, who slowly reached his arm out towards the pony. Before they could come into contact with one another, however, there was an explosion went off next to the two that sent both flying backwards.
“PINKIE PIE!” Rainbow Dash shouted. She tried to gallop over to help her friend, but she was stopped by several more explosions that went off around the group. Everyone looked up to see small red flying ships with silver skull designs on the front flying towards them while firing pink balls of energy that exploded once they hit the ground.
“What the hell are those things?” Ike asked as he readied his blade. Right as he asked that, the red ships retreated to make way for a huge black and gold ship with two small devices surrounding it.
“Looks like trouble to me,” Rainbow Dash said as all seven fighters regrouped.
“Well well well, look what we have here,” a voice said from what sounded like a loudspeaker on the black ship. “A grand total of nine trophies to take back to The Emperor. Ooh, I'm gonna get a raise for sure.”
“Who are you?” Shulk shouted. “And what do you want with us?”
An evil cackle came from the ship. “If you must know, I'm First Mate Skully of the Gold Bone Gang, who's currently recruited to serve under Emperor Fynalle. I'm not personally a fan of the guy, but the Gold Bone Gang's raking in dough like this faster than we ever did with piracy. But enough about me. Let's get down to business.” Skully then aimed the cannon at the end of his ship, as well as the two floating devices which apparently were cannons themselves, at the group. “Surrender yourselves now, and we won't hurt you... much.”
“Fat chance of that happening!” Rainbow Dash shouted. She then leapt up and tried to fly towards Skully's ship, but she once more forgot that her wing was injured and she fell to the ground.
“Such brave words for a horse who can't fly,” Skully laughed. “At least, I'm assuming you're a horse... Seriously, what in the Streetpass Galaxy are you? Ah, it doesn't matter what you are. I'm gonna blow you and your friends away and bring you all back to the Captain and Emperor as Trophies.” Skully's weapons then began charging energy.
“EVERYONE TAKE COVER!” Shulk shouted. Everyone in the group dived out of the way of the incoming attack, but Kirby, Jigglypuff, and Ike were unable to move swiftly enough before Skully unleashed a volley of explosive rounds that exploded all around them, quickly clouding where the three stood in dust. When the dust finally cleared, Rainbow, Pinkie, Shulk, and Link looked up from their cover to see their three friends still standing, but now as Trophies.
“Shoot, I missed most of 'em,” Skully complained. “Oh well. Five Trophies out of nine isn't bad. Round 'em up, boys!” Upon Skully's command, five of the red ships from before flew in and picked up Toon Link, Duck Hunt, Kirby, Ike, and Jigglypuff before turning and flying back the way they came.
“Come back here, you cowards!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she leapt up and started galloping after the Gold Bone ships.
“Another horse?” Skully asked. “Eh, looks like you can't fly, so I'll leave you alone... for now. But I'm coming back for the rest of you soon.” With an evil laugh, Skully turned his ship around and flew off in the same direction as the smaller ships.
“GET BACK HERE!” Pinkie shouted. But it was no use. Skully was long gone.
“Pinkie!” Rainbow called as she galloped after her friend. “Pinkie, we're not gonna catch them by hoof! Stop!”
Pinkie skidded to a stop and turned around to Rainbow Dash, who just barely stopped herself before she crashed into her friend. “Rainbow Dash, you don't get it,” Pinkie said. “And neither did I for the longest time. But now I know why it's so important that we save those guys who were captured!”
Right at this moment, Shulk and Link caught up with the ponies. “Of course we have to save them,” Shulk said. “Most of those guys are our friends. And if I've learned anything from Ike, it's that we have to fight for-”
“That's not it,” Pinkie interrupted. “There's something else... I'm one of the fighters Skully just captured.”
“Huh?” everyone, including Link, asked at the same time.
“But you're right here,” Rainbow Dash asked. “You didn't get-”
“No, not me right now,” Pinkie said. “Me from the past. Kirby... he's me from the distant past!”
“I must be having a bad dream,” Lucario said to himself as he watched Twilight prepare to battle Mewtwo, the pony armed with nothing but a book. “This can't actually be happening.”
In the arena, however, Twilight was busy sizing Mewtwo up. ”Okay, so he beat Captain Falcon in less than two minutes,” she thought to herself. ”And with not nearly as much flair as Falcon had at that. He's skilled, but also patient. He'll be waiting for me to make a move and then lock me in a no-win situation the second I make a stupid move. I'll have to be careful in this fight.” The alicorn then looked down at her book. “It's go big or go home, as Rainbow Dash would put it,” she said aloud as she looked back up at Mewtwo.
”Are you ready to start, Princess?” Mewtwo asked.
“Yes,” Twilight replied with a serious expression. “I'm ready.”
The robot above the arena, ROB, responded to this by playing the battle start announcement. 3... 2... 1... GO!” he shouted.
Well, R.O.B. shouted “go”, but neither combatant made a move. Twilight and Mewtwo just stood there, staring at each other.
”What's the matter, Twilight Sparkle?” Mewtwo asked. ”You aren't going to make a move?”
Twilight smirked before replying. “Actually, I am going to make a move,” she replied. She then threw her book to the ground in an open position, knelt down... and started reading.
”What?” Mewtwo asked, wide-eyed as he watched the alicorn read. It was only a few seconds before Twilight turned the page and began reading more. However, it was at this point that Mewtwo noticed something. The second Twilight turned the page, her horn flashed faintly. It was only for a second, but Mewtwo had been in enough battles, Smash Bros and otherwise, to recognize what even a faint flash indicated. ”I see your game... but I won't let you play it!” Mewtwo then charged forward at Twilight, who had just turned the next page of her book. The princess looked up just in time to see Mewtwo levitating towards her at high speed, however.
“Looks like the gig is up,” Twilight said to herself as she quickly got up and dodged out of the way of Mewtwo's charge. The Genetic Pokemon just barely missed his attack, but he was able to quickly turn around and strike Twilight with his tail before the princess could manage a counter attack. Twilight stumbled back slightly from the hit, but quickly regained her footing and moved in to strike Mewtwo with her book. The attack made contact, making a swiping motion that knocked Mewtwo backwards a bit. Twilight then lowered her horn and aimed it at Mewtwo. “Magic Spark!” she shouted as a blast of magical energy fired forward and struck Mewtwo in the chest, knocking him backwards just enough to give Twilight space to read one more page of her book.
Or so she thought, as Mewtwo quickly recovered and moved in to grab Twilight right off the ground before throwing her upwards. The Genetic Pokemon then leapt upwards and delivered an upward kick that knocked Twilight higher into the air. She came close to hitting the ceiling, but she was able to recover just before that happened before flying downwards at Mewtwo with her forehooves extended. Mewtwo was able to dodge out of the way of this attack, however, and Twilight hit the ground hard. She had to take a moment to recover from the impact, and that was the moment Mewtwo needed to rush in and deliver a powerful Smash attack that sent Twilight flying backwards. Once more, Twilight was able to recover before hitting the far wall and began flying back towards the stage, but she saw that Mewtwo was already charging a Shadow Ball. ”Great,” Twilight thought to herself as she reached the edge of the stage and grabbed onto it. ”I'm gonna have to change my tactics now.” With a powerful beat of her wings, Twilight flipped herself upwards and into the air above the arena. “Let's see if I can't use this to my advantage, in fact...” The alicorn then flew to the ground right in front of Mewtwo.
”Big mistake, Princess!” Mewtwo shouted as he fired his Shadow Ball directly at Twilight just as she was about to hit the ground.
“TELEPORT!” Twilight shouted as she approached the ground, her horn glowing slightly before she blinked out of existence and the Shadow Ball flew harmlessly by. She then reappeared right in front of Mewtwo and gave him a powerful mule kick that knocked the Genetic Pokemon backwards and falling off the stage. Twilight knew he'd likely recover from that hit, so she took the opportunity to continue reading her book.
As for Mewtwo, as he fell, he quickly used his psychic powers to right himself in midair, fly upwards in a loop, and quickly use the move Teleport to get from just barely under the stage to standing right on top of the stage. It was at this time, however, that he saw Twilight begin to glow slightly as she closed her book and stand back up. ”Looks like she's done charging whatever move that is,” Mewtwo said to himself. ”I suppose now it's time to see what this pony is made of.” He then charged forward towards Twilight to try another attack on her.
Before Mewtwo could even get close, however, Twilight dropped a ball of energy from her book right in Mewtwo's path, causing the Genetic Pokemon to suddenly fall to the ground the second he levitated over it. “I call that one a Chapter Trap,” Twilight said with a smirk. “And this particular variation is called EPILOGUE!” Twilight then launched a similar but much larger ball of energy (which from this distance Mewtwo could tell it looked closer to a glowing piece of paper) right on top of the Genetic Pokemon. Mewtwo tried to get out of the way, but the attack had him trapped, and he felt himself take multiple hits before he was launched by the page exploding. As Mewtwo flew, Twilight began Studying once more.
Mewtwo was in bad shape, but he'd pulled wins from worse situations than this in the past. He quickly leapt back towards the stage, but before he could get close to the edge, Twilight dropped her Study for just a moment to fire another Magic Spark at Mewtwo which knocked him further away from the stage. Twilight then returned to her Study, which was almost completely charged. As for Mewtwo, he might have used his jump, but he still had Teleport, which he used to get just barely on the edge of the stage. He grabbed onto the edge and quickly flipped himself back onto the stage, but when he got back on, he was met with Twilight aiming her horn at him once more.
“HYPER SPARK!” Twilight shouted as a huge blast of charged magic shot out of her horn at Mewtwo and hit him with a powerful impact that sent him flying right into the far wall, where he fell into the pit below, all but defeated.
(Song end)
Literally the entire audience did nothing but look on with stunned expressions as Mewtwo fell and Twilight was left standing in the center of the arena. The Bronto Burt who was assigned with retrieving the loser of the battle was too stunned to move, and even ROB was so shocked, it was several seconds before he called “GAME!”
And that was when what few members of the audience that were there went wild with cheers. Everyone there, including the Ice Climbers and Captain Falcon, was at the very least applauding and at most screaming wildly for the previously unknown combatant, Princess Twilight Sparkle, who came out of nowhere and bested the mighty Mewtwo with what seemed to be no effort at all.
Amid the cheers, Twilight flew back over to the stands to meet her new fans, as well as giving the Bronto Burt a tap, snapping the creature back to reality so he could zip down into the pit as fast as he could to retrieve Mewtwo. Meanwhile, Twilight was quick to meet Lucario, who just stared at her with a shocked expression. “You... you... wha... how...?” the Aura Pokemon stammered. “That was... astounding! Almost no one here can defeat Mewtwo one-on-one!”
“I'll admit, it wasn't easy,” Twilight replied. “But it was a fairly simple technique. All I had to do was keep him off-balance and take all the opportunities that gave me to ready stronger attacks.”
“That's the technique he uses...” Lucario said. “Others have tried to use it against him, but they all fail.”
“Well, maybe they just needed to add a bit of flair,” Twilight replied with a shrug.
”Excuse me, Princess,” a voice said from behind the two. Twilight and Lucario turned around to find Mewtwo floating there. ”That fight we just had... I wanted to say... your combat skills are fairly impressive.”
“Thank you,” Twilight replied with a smile. “I just tried-”
”Bask in the glory while you can,” Mewtwo interrupted while glaring at the alicorn. ”When next we face each other in battle...” The Genetic Pokemon held his hand in front of him and clenched it into a fist. ”You will not be so lucky.” Mewtwo then turned around and floated away.
Twilight watched Mewtwo leave with a determined expression. “What is wrong with that guy?” she asked.
“His superiority means everything to him,” Lucario replied. “He doesn't take loss very kindly. You will make many friends if news of your victory spreads around, but Mewtwo will now be your greatest rival no matter what.”
Twilight sighed and turned around to Lucario. “Lucario, I want you to tell me something...” she said. “What's wrong with Mewtwo? I mean in the sense of what personal issues does he tries to hide with his power.”
“Well...” Lucario said. However, he stopped when he noticed Ridley flying towards them.
”Well now, it seems someone is making a name for herself all of a sudden,” Ridley said as he landed in front of Twilight. ”Congratulations on your victory, Miss No-Combat-Skills-Whatsoever.”
“Um... thank you?” Twilight replied, unsure if Ridley was angry or legitimately complimenting her.
”It would seem I was right to choose you to aid us,” Ridley continued with a sinister smile. ”Now that you have proved your power, I believe it's time I informed you of what we need you to do.”
Twilight grumbled a little at Ridley's first comment, but replied. “What is that you need my incredible unmatched power for?” she asked with a sarcastic tone, looking up at Ridley with huge adorable eyes at the end of her sentence.
”Amusing,” Ridley said with an unamused expression and tone. ”No, what I need you to do is go out and locate a hero who is next on Overlord V's list. His name is Marth, though he is rightly titled the Hero King. He rules the country of Altea and is a very skilled swordsman. His swordplay would prove invaluable in our battle against V, and if he is captured, it will strike a powerful blow to our effort against V, or any effort for that matter.”
“The Hero King, huh?” Twilight asked. She then chuckled a little. “Yeah, I'm a little more than familiar with royalty who fights for their kingdom.” ”I wonder how Cadence and Shining Armor are doing right now,” Twilight thought to herself. ”Or even Princess Celestia and Luna. They've fought for Equestria before. Oh yeah, and then there's me and my friends...”
”Did I say something amusing, Princess Twilight?” Ridley asked, noticing that the alicorn seemed to be spacing out a little.
“Oh, no, I was just... thinking about my world, Equus,” Twilight replied. “Okay, I'll go find this Marth character for you, but out of curiosity, is this one of those 'prove your worth' missions that you're making me do so that you'll know you can trust me, and only afterwards will you make me do something serious?”
”You are more perceptive than I give you credit for, Princess Twilight.”
“If I may, Ridley,” Lucario said while stepping forward, “I'd like to accompany Twilight for this mission in case she finds herself in serious danger. She is the only representative of her world, so Overlord V may target her for capture as well.”
”That's a good point, Lucario. However, I already have someone selected to accompany Twilight.” Ridley then looked over towards Twilight. ”I believe you will like who I've selected for you. Royalty must stick together, after all.”
As Ridley said this, another creature walked up to the group. To Twilight, it looked like a VERY large penguin wearing a heavy red coat, orange mittens, a red cap, and wielding a giant hammer. The creature towered over Twilight by easily two feet. “It's good to meet you, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the creature said in a monstrous voice but with a strangely jolly smile as he held his free hand out to shake with Twilight. “The name's King Dedede, ruler of Dream Land.”
“Um...” Twilight said as she extended her hoof towards Dedede's hand. “It's nice to meet- WHA!” The second her hoof touched Dedede's hand, the latter quickly grabbed her hoof firmly and shook it, also shaking her entire body vigorously as a result of the size and strength difference.
“Heh, you're just as light as Kirby,” Dedede laughed as she finally released Twilight, causing her to fall to the ground from the sudden shift in balance. “Now that I think about it, I wonder what that little puffball is doing right now...”
”Dedede, if you would be so kind as to focus on the task at hand,” Ridley said with a glare to the massive monarch.
“Oh right,” Dedede said. He then picked up Twilight and slung her over his shoulder. “Don't you worry, Ridley. With me by her side, I haven't a doubt that Princess Twilight here will succeed.”
“Seriously, can't Lucario go with me?” Twilight pleaded while looking over at Ridley.
“Oh, don't be such a stiff, Twilight,” Dedede said as he set Twilight back on the ground. “With a heavyweight like me by your side, we'll get Marth on our team without a hitch. Besides, I'm all for getting to know the newcomers.”
Twilight had an argument ready until Dedede mentioned “getting to know the newcomers,” which was essentially making friends, a principle Twilight would be a hypocrite for denying. “Alright, fine,” Twilight surrendered with a sigh. She then turned around to Ridley. “Just tell us where we need to go.”
”I will arrange for Captain Falcon to have you two transported to Marth's last known location,” Ridley replied. ”In the meantime, make all the preparations you have to.” Ridley then turned around and flew off.
“I wish I could go with you two,” Lucario said. “But Captain Falcon's aircraft, the Falcon Flier, can barely fit Dedede as it is.”
“HEY!” Dedede shouted. “I'm standing right here, you know!”
“It's ok, Lucario,” Twilight said with a smile. “Maybe next time.”
“Yeah, if I could only fly...” Lucario said with a sigh. “But it doesn't matter. I wish you luck, Twilight Sparkle.” With a smile, Lucario turned and walked off. Twilight smiled as she watched him leave, but she was interrupted by a whistle from Dedede.
“Sounds like you're pretty good at doing the impossible,” he commented, causing Twilight to turn around and look at him with a curious expression. “One second, you're KO-ing the mighty Mewtwo, and the next, you've actually roped Lucario into a relationship.”
“What?!” Twilight shouted. “What do you mean, 'relationship'?”
“Come on, you can't be that oblivious,” Dedede deadpanned. “He might want you to believe otherwise, but Lucario's one of the most transparent combatants here when it comes to emotions.”
“Well...” Twilight said while looking down with a smile.
“Ohhhhohoho...” Dedede laughed. “So the feelings are mutual, eh?”
“No!” Twilight quickly replied. “I... already have a boyfriend... sort of...” The alicorn shook her head. “Can we please not talk about this?”
“Ah, calm down,” Dedede replied. “I'm just messing with you. Now come on.” Dedede then picked Twilight up and slung her over his shoulder once again before walking off. “We'd better go meet Captain Falcon. He's an impatient one, and if Ridley leaves him alone and we take too long, Falcon just might go off and find Marth himself.”
Twilight simply sighed as the giant penguin carried her off. Something told her this was going to be a long day.
Pinkie Pie, Shulk, Rainbow Dash, and Link ran/galloped at top speed after Skully and his allies, who had flown off with Kirby, Jigglypuff, Ike, Toon Link, and Duck Hunt.
“Pinkie, you've gotta tell me something,” Rainbow Dash said as she galloped up next to Pinkie. “What exactly did you mean earlier when you said Kirby was you from the distant past?”
“I don't know all the details just yet,” Pinkie replied. “I just know that, before I came to this world, my memories as Kirby were blocked somehow. But when I left Equus and came to this world, everything came back bit by bit. And the second I laid eyes on Kirby, his memory of meeting me for the first time instantly rematerialized. In that memory, I remembered—or rather Kirby remembered—that, though he didn't recognize me entirely, he recognized another Star Warrior.”
“A Star Warrior?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“An ancient race that went extinct saving this dimension from a powerful force called the Nightmare,” Pinkie replied. “Oh! That's why I felt slight deja vu when we were up against Nightmare Moon! Huh, funny how past lives can weasel their way back into your current one. But that's beside the point. What's important is that, towards the end of Kirby's life, some kind of wizard or something is going to do something magical to Kirby that will reincarnate him as me. I don't know exactly how or why, but that's the best explanation I can give right now.”
“That's good,” Shulk said. “It looks like we wouldn't have time for any more explanations anyway.” He pointed ahead of the group to indicated that they they had caught up to Skully, who had apparently landed in a forest clearing due to engine trouble.
“Lousy piece of junk,” Skully mumbled as he attempted to repair his craft. “It's no wonder why I never beat those Mii Force people...”
“Is that guy supposed to be a skeleton?” Rainbow Dash asked as the group approached Skully, who at that moment turned around to see them.
“Augh! As if I didn't have enough trouble on my hands as it was,” Skully complained.
“Release our friends, Skully,” Shulk said while aiming the Monado at the space pirate.
“Heh, you think just because my ship's unfit to fly, I'm backed into a corner?” Skully asked. “She can still hover, and she can still fight. So guess where this encounter's leading.” Skully then leapt up into the air and into the cockpit of his ship. Immediately, the ship began hovering into the air. It didn't rise very far, but its weapons still aimed at the four fighters. “You wanna be reunited with your friends so badly? I'll make sure you're all displayed together in Gold Bone's trophy room!”
“Get ready everyone!” Shulk shouted as all four combatants readied themselves for battle.
“Take this!” Skully shouted as he launched a volley of pink-colored energy blasts. These attacks were fairly slow moving, however, and everyone easily avoided them before charging Skully.
“I'll show you what you get for messing with me in another life!” Pinkie shouted as she leapt upwards and delivered a powerful aerial buck right to the nose of Skully's ship. Pinkie then fell to the ground to make room for Link leaping up and breaking into a Spin Attack that dealt several hits before he struck upwards with a hit that was powerful enough to knock Skully's ship backwards a bit.
“Hey! You'll scratch the paint job if you keep that up!” Skully shouted. “Let's see how you like it!” He then launched the two hovering cannons forward at Link and Pinkie, ramming them both perfectly and knocking them backwards.
“You are so going to pay for that,” Shulk said as he activated his Monado Arts and switched to Buster mode. He then charged forward, leapt up into the air, and dealt a downward slash attack. However, this left Shulk just open enough to a pair of energy blasts that Skully fired from the hovering cannons, both of them hitting the Homs and sending him flying backwards behind the ship.
“That'll teach ya,” Skully said with a cackle. However, his celebration was short-lived when Rainbow Dash leapt up and attacked both of the cannons with a powerful buck, knocking them both backwards. “Hey! Do you have any idea how expensive those are?” With an angry growl, Skully charged his ship forward and rammed Rainbow Dash head-on, sending the pony flying backwards.
Aside from knocking Rainbow Dash backwards, this attack actually did little but leave Skully open to a powerful Back Slash from Shulk. The fact that the attack hit the back of the ship combined with Shulk's Buster Art meant that the attack did so much damage, a portion of the armor on Skully's ship fell off. “How's that for ya?” Shulk taunted as his Buster Art wore off.
“Why you little...” Skully growled as he whirled his ship around and prepared to fire a powerful charged blast at Shulk. The Homs, on the other hand, simply reactivated his Monado Arts, only this time activating a yellow symbol.
“SHIELD!” Shulk shouted as Skully fired his attack. The blast apparently made contact with Shulk, but it was negated when the Homs summoned a barrier of energy to shield him from the attack. The barrier shrunk slightly since the attack dealt multiple hits, and once the attack was over, the barrier was just barely large enough to cover Shulk's torso. “Well that was close,” Shulk commented as he desummoned the barrier.
“Bet you won't survive a second one of those!” Skully shouted as he flew his hovering cannons over to him and fired three energy blasts at once towards the Homs. Since Shulk was still in Shield mode, he was too slow to dodge out of the way fast enough, plus his actual shield was almost depleted. Prepared to take the hit that was approaching him, Shulk was surprised when Link threw his boomerang in front of Shulk, where it doubled back towards its owner while generating a gust of wind that carried Skully's attack off course, causing the blasts to miss Shulk completely.
“Thanks Link,” Shulk said while looking over towards the Hylian, who had just then caught his boomerang. Link gave Shulk a nod before turning his attention back to Skully and drawing a Bow and Arrow, quickly charging it and aiming right at Skully's ship.
“You think that'll do anything?” Skully taunted as he trained his cannons towards Link. However, his aim was thrown off when Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie galloped forward and delivered a pair of powerful bucks right to the nose of the ship that tilted it upwards. Link then took his opportunity and fired his arrow right at the exposed underside, apparently hitting the mark that would have caused the lower half of the armor on Skully's ship to break off and fall.
“No! My ship!” Skully shouted as he tried to backpedal. “You... you're going to pay for this!”
“No, we're going to finish this!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she charged forward to try to deliver the finishing blow. However, she was stopped suddenly when a blast of energy, this one blue, was fired at her, causing the ground before her to explode and knock the pony backwards. “What the...?”
”Ahahahaha!” a loud but muffled voice laughed. ”Fancy seeing you here, Monado Boy! And it seems you've made some new friends since we last met, too.”
“That voice...” Shulk said as he looked up and gasped as he saw the source of the voice. “IT CAN'T BE!”
Right as Shulk said this, a giant and very unfriendly-looking machine descended in front of the group. It had huge sharp claws, blades on its back that had propulsion devices at the base, lines running up and down its body that occasionally flowed with some kind of red energy, and a red and gray face that had a sinister expression on it. ”What? You didn't really think our last encounter would really be our last, did you?” the creature asked.
“Shulk, what in Tartarus is that thing?” Rainbow Dash asked in a panicked tone as she rejoined the others.
“Metal Face,” Shulk replied in a growling tone. “A powerful Mechon who attacked my home a long time ago and killed the one I loved as well as many other Homs. My friends and I killed him some time after that event, but he's apparently returned.”
”Oh come on, Shulk,” Metal Face said. ”You don't have to sound so surprised. It's not like I fell off the leg of a titan to my death after the platform we fought on collapsed.”
“But... that's exactly what happened!” Shulk shouted. “How can you still be here? We even found your wreckage at the bottom of Mechonis!”
”Doesn't mean I couldn't escape the Mechon itself and then go off to build myself a new one,” Metal Face replied. ”With some help, of course.”
“Help?” Shulk asked. “Who helped you?”
”Ah, why should I spoil the surprise for you?” Metal Face taunted. ”Provided you live long enough to find out, that is. But as for why I'm here...” The Faced Mechon then turned around to Skully. ”Get that hunk of junk you call a ship along with all the Trophies you have out of here. The Emperor’s waiting for ya.”
“Wait, you two are on the same side?” Rainbow Dash asked.
”Again, why spoil the surprise?” Metal Face asked Rainbow before once more turning around to Skully. ”Are you still here? MOVE!”
“Ah! Y-yes sir!” Skully shouted. He then got his ship airborne and shakily flew it out of there.
“You're not getting away that easily!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she galloped after Skully, but she stopped when Metal Face drove his claw into the ground mere inches from Rainbow's face.
”Aw, leaving so soon? We haven't even had a chance to get acquainted.”
“Everyone be careful,” Shulk warned as Rainbow rejoined the others. “Metal Face is ruthless and can't be damaged through normal means. Only the Monado can damage Mechon like him.”
“So then what are we supposed to do?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“I have one plan,” Shulk replied. He then activated his Monado Arts once again, but he scrolled through six symbols this time, finally ending on an unfamiliar white one. “ENCHANT!” Shulk shouted as a white cloud enveloped everyone around him, causing them all to glow slightly. “Now you should be able to fight him, but be careful. That Enchant will wear off, and it'll be a while before I can use it again.”
“Pfft, I'm gonna turn this guy to scrap in ten seconds flat,” Rainbow Dash said. She then turned around and charged towards Metal Face.
”Aw, now aren't you adorable?” Metal Face taunted as Rainbow approached him.
“Yeah, you'll find this really cute!” Rainbow shouted as she leapt upwards and delivered a powerful punch right to Metal Face's face. She then followed this attack up with a powerful buck off of him that knocked the Mechon back a bit.
”Alright, so that hurt a little,” Metal Face said with a growl. ”Now I know that playtime's over!”
“Rainbow Dash, look out!” Pinkie shouted as Metal Face charged towards Rainbow and attempted to strike her with his claws. Fortunately, Rainbow Dash was able to roll between his legs and out of harm's way.
”Slippery little bugger, aren't ya?” Metal Face said as he tried to turn around. However, Rainbow Dash was right in his blind spot, and even if he did turn around, he couldn't have seen her leapt up off of his leg and onto his back. Rainbow Dash then made her way up on top of Metal Face's head and leapt slightly to deliver a powerful two-hooved strike that probably would have hurt quite a bit had the Monado Enchant not worn off at that exact moment.
“What the-?” Rainbow Dash asked as she noticed her attack did nothing. It was right then that Metal Face reached up and grabbed Rainbow off of his head and held her in front of him.
”You don't know who you're dealing with, little pony.”
“But I do!” Shulk shouted as he ran up and delivered a powerful slash attack to Metal Face's hand that hit hard enough to cause him to drop Rainbow Dash. Rainbow fell to the ground and was quickly helped up by Pinkie Pie.
“Are you alright, Rainbow?” Pinkie asked.
“I'm fine,” Rainbow replied. “I only really got hurt by that fall.”
”Then allow me to rectify that mistake!” Metal Face then charged forward and tried to strike with his claws once again, but he was halted suddenly just barely out of reach of the ponies. Pinkie and Dash looked over to find that Link had grabbed Metal Face by one of his wings with his Clawshot.
“Rainbow, Pinkie, we'll handle Metal Face!” Shulk shouted. “Go make sure Skully doesn't get away with the others!”
“You got it,” Rainbow replied. She then turned to Pinkie, who nodded in reply, before both of them galloped in the direction Skully headed.
”You think you can let your friends go just like that?” Metal Face shouted as he turned around and snapped the Clawshot's chain. ”You have some nerve, Monado Boy. And the same goes for you, little elf.”
“We've got plenty of nerve to go around,” Shulk replied with a determined expression as he and Link readied their blades.
”Was that supposed to be a comeback?” Metal Face asked with a laugh. ”If so, it wasn't all that witty!” The Faced Mechon then charged forward at Link and Shulk, the latter of whom did another Enchant on Link before they charged back.
Shulk was the first to leap forward and deliver a powerful slash to Metal's face. This attack was quickly followed up by Link leaping off of Shulk's head to rise over Metal Face before descending with his sword in a downward striking position, which hit Metal Face once, bounced off of him, then hit a second time before Link came back to the ground.
”You think those puny little attacks are gonna be enough to finish me?” Metal Face taunted. ”Boys, I'd better show you what real power is.” The Mechon then reared backwards while charging a powerful laser that could easily spell doom for Shulk and Link.
With a huge flash of light, Metal Face leaned forward and unleashed a powerful beam attack that struck clean through Link's Hylian Shield before penetrating the Hylian himself, sending him flying backwards before he began to glow brightly, finally landing as a Trophy.
“Link, stop him in his tracks!” Shulk shouted. Link replied with a nod before reaching into his satchel and pulling out a bomb, the fuse igniting itself. Link then charged forward and leapt up before throwing the bomb right at Metal Face's mouth. It was at this exact moment that Metal Face leaned forward to fire his attack, but instead of getting his attack off, all he got was a bomb exploding in his face, which caused his own attack to backfire and explode, dealing additional damage.
”Grr... now that's just playing dirty,” Metal Face growled. ”Looks like that little trick was enough, though. I didn't charge myself with enough Ether for a battle where I'd take this much damage, especially from a backfired attack. You won this time because I ran out of stamina, but the next time we meet, you won't be so lucky.” Metal Face then leapt into the air and flew off into the distance.
(Song end... unless you wanna listen to it more. I wouldn't blame you.)
“GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT US!” Shulk shouted after Metal Face. He probably would have shouted more had Link not gently placed a hand on the Homs' shoulder. Shulk turned around to meet Link's calm but serious expression. With a sigh, Shulk replied, “You're right, Link. He's just gonna have to be a battle for another day. For now, we need to go find Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.” Link smiled and nodded, and the two quickly ran off towards where Dash and Pinkie galloped after Skully.
In a location on the outskirts of the forest, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were face to face with a huge golden spherical ship that had a skull design on it and was protected on all sides but the front by an energy barrier. From the way Rainbow and Pinkie were panting, it seemed like they had been fighting for a while.
Suddenly, the ship began charging a powerful beam of energy before firing it at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was unable to dodge this attack, however, and she took it head-on. There was something wrong, though. After she got hit, rather than turning into a Trophy like most combatants normally do when they're defeated, Rainbow Dash simply fell to the ground. Lifeless.
Shulk suddenly shouted and stopped in his tracks, causing Link to stop as well and look at the Homs in confusion. “Rainbow Dash's life is in danger,” Shulk said. “She isn't going to be turned into a Trophy if she's defeated for some reason. If she's defeated... she'll die.” Shulk then activated his Speed Monado Art. “I'm gonna run ahead and save her. Catch up when you can.” The Homs then ran ahead at high speed, leaving Link in the dust. The Hylian kept running to try to catch up, despite knowing that he was moving at a third of Shulk's speed.
Skully's ship just barely made it out of the forest before it finally fell to the ground, utterly broken. “Oh for the love of Sakurai!” he shouted. “You can't move just a few more yards you stupid hunk of junk?”
Right as Skully said this, a voice came over his comm. “Skully!” the voice shouted. “Have you arrived yet?”
“Uh... I sorta did, Cap'n,” Skully replied sheepishly. “My, uh... my ship's a bit... damaged.”
“Really, Skully?” the voice replied. “What kind of trouble could you have possibly gotten yourself into that pushed your ship to exhaustion... again?”
“Skully!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she and Pinkie Pie galloped towards the downed ship.
“Those two, Cap'n,” Skully replied. “Along with Shulk and Link.”
“Are those horses?” 'Cap'n' asked. “If they really gave you that much trouble, I'll just step in.”
“It looks like Skully's ship is down,” Pinkie said to Rainbow.
“Then let's go in, finish him, and save everyone,” Rainbow Dash replied. The two then galloped over towards the wrecked ship. However, they were stopped by several explosions that went off between them and Skully. “What's with all these explosions today?” Rainbow complained as she and Pinkie Pie looked up to find a gold-colored spherical ship that had a skull design on it.
“So, I hear you two have been giving me first mate a hard time,” an evil-sounding voice called from the ship. “That alone isn't proof of your power, though. No, I wanna see that proof for myself.”
“Who are you?” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“I am Gold Bone,” the voice replied. “Captain of the Gold Bone Gang. And this is your only warning: turn around and leave me to collect my Trophies, or you will suffer the consequences.”
“We've gotten pretty used to the 'consequences' bit of this world, actually,” Pinkie Pie said as she and Rainbow Dash readied themselves for combat.
Gold Bone simply cackled evilly. “I was sincerely hoping you'd say that!” he shouted before several protective barriers formed around his ship and he descended towards the ponies.
Rainbow Dash was first to leap into action, delivering a powerful flying kick that simply bounced off of Gold Bone's barrier. “Woah, that barrier isn't just for show,” Rainbow Dash commented as she fell back to the ground.
“It's gotta wear off after a while, though,” Pinkie replied. “Maybe we should just keep attacking until an opening appears.”
“Ha! You can try,” Gold Bone laughed as his ship lunged forward, ramming into both Rainbow and Pinkie. Both ponies were able to recover from this attack quickly.
“Alright, let's see how you like this!” Pinkie shouted as she galloped forward, quickly drawing her party cannon and slamming the barrier with it before firing a pear that also bounced off the barrier.
“A cannon that shoots pears?” Gold Bone asked with a curious tone. “In what universe is that supposed to work?”
“In the universe where I come from,” Pinkie replied as she fired her party cannon again, only this time firing a flower pot that bounced upwards off the barrier before coming back down and dealing an additional hit before the pot fell to the ground.
“Okay, this is starting to get a little annoying,” Gold Bone said with a growling tone. “Let me show you how a real cannon is supposed to fire!” His ship then fired a powerful disc-like object from the mouth that hit the ground right in front of Pinkie, creating an explosion that knocked her backwards.
“Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow shouted as she watched her friend fly over her head. The pegasus then turned back around to Gold Bone. “You are going to pay for that!” Rainbow charged forward, using her wings to gain as much speed as they'd allow in their injured state, before leaping up and delivering a powerful dash attack that hit the barrier so hard, it actually shattered.
“Well I'm surprised,” Gold Bone said as the eyes of his ship fired several small pink blasts of energy, several of which hit Rainbow and sent her flying backwards. “How could I have known that you two would actually manage to destroy my ship's barrier?”
“We're just full of surprises,” Rainbow replied as she got up from the hit she took, Pinkie Pie quickly rejoining her. However, it was evident from the way they were panting that Gold Bone's attacks were dealing far more damage than the ponies could reply with.
“Sadly, however, you two have begun to get on my nerves,” GB continued. “Like pesky little flies. And there's only one way to deal with pesky flies like you...” The ship then looked like it was beginning to charge energy into the mouth, causing that part to glow brightly and a ball of energy to appear there. “Say goodbye, little horses!” With that shout, Gold Bone's ship fired a huge beam of energy that fired at high speed right at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus had no time to dodge, only stare wide-eyed at her approaching fate.
“RAINBOW DASH!” Shulk's voice shouted from nearby. At an almost blinding speed, the Homs ran out of the woods and leapt into the air between Rainbow and Gold Bone's attack. At that exact second, the blast hit Shulk right in the chest, causing him to go flying backwards and glow brightly before he fell to the ground as a Trophy on its side.
“Shulk?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What just happened?”
“Grr... that stupid kid,” Gold Bone grumbled. “How dare he interrupt the future when it's me creating it.”
“Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie Pie said, “it looks like Shulk gave us an opening. Gold Bone's ship looks like its recovering from the attack we just fired. This is our chance to strike.”
“Got it,” Rainbow replied with a nod. She and Pinkie Pie then galloped forward and leapt into action. Rainbow was first to reach Gold Bone and charged in with a powerful descending kick that hit the face of GB's ship, knocking it backwards a bit. Pinkie Pie then followed this attack up by drawing her party cannon and firing a present that hit the exact same mark. The party pony then vanished from existence before reappearing by exploding out of the present and delivering a powerful body blow to Gold Bone's ship that seemed to damage it enough to the point where smoke was starting to come off of the ship.
“Why you little...” Gold Bone growled. “Why I oughta-”
GB was interrupted when another ship suddenly flew in over his, firing what looked like a green plasma whip that latched onto Gold Bone's ship and carried it a few yards before the base of the whip, which was at the bottom of the other ship, suddenly rotated around the back and over the ship, overhand throwing Gold Bone into the trees. “What the hay was that?!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
(Song end)
Right as Rainbow asked this, the ship circled around and flew towards Skully's downed ship before firing the plasma whip again, latching onto and tearing off the bottom of the ship and causing the Trophies depicting Jigglypuff, Ike, Kirby, Toon Link, and Duck Hunt to fall out onto the ground. “Oh no!” Skully shouted. “This isn't good!”
“I ask again, what the hay is that?” Rainbow repeated. As though in response to her question, the ship circled back around and landed in front of the two ponies. Now that it was holding still, Rainbow and Pinkie could see that the ship looked kind of like a huge orange oval shape with two sphere on the sides that were apparently the rockets that helped the ship fly. Also hovering next to the ship was a kind of smallish light green sphere that was apparently the source of the plasma whip from before. Once the ship landed, the window at the front part of the oval, as well as a similar window at the front of the sphere, opened, and two humanoid figures emerged. From the larger ship emerged a character wearing a steampunk getup, a large helmet with a yellow visor that obscured most of his features, and on his right hand was what looked like a small cannon. As for the character who emerged from the pod, he wore a full samurai outfit, complete with helmet and katana, and, though his helmet also obscured most of his features, it was evident that he wore glasses and a fairly neutral expression.
“Y'all ok?” the steampunk character asked Rainbow and Pinkie in an accent similar to Applejack's. “Ah noticed y'all were havin' a bit of trouble with mah old friend Gold Bone.”
“Um... we're fine,” Rainbow replied. “Thank you for saving us. My name's Rainbow Da-”
“Woah!” the samurai shouted as he stumbled backwards a bit from Pinkie suddenly rushing up to the two and delivering a trademark Pinkie Pie verbal assault. “Um... it's nice to meet you, too?”
“Pinkie, haven't we gone over talking slowly when meeting new people?” Rainbow Dash asked with a facehoof.
“Oh right,” Pinkie replied with a giggle before turning to the pilot and samurai. “My name's Pinkie Pie. What are your names?”
“Well, it's nice to meet y'all, Miss Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie,” the pilot said. “Mah name's Gale, captain of the Mii Force, and this here's mah friend Lance, the ruler of a mighty fine country some worlds away.”
“That's not all that describes me,” Lance replied. “I'm not just a monarch. I'm also a skilled swordsman.” He then turned around to the ponies. “So, dare I ask, what's gotten you two at odds with Gold Bone?”
“He kidnapped a few friends of ours,” Pinkie replied. “Speaking of...” The party pony quickly turned around and was about to gallop over to Skully's ship to retrieve the Trophies that had spilled out onto the ground, but she stopped when Gold Bone's ship suddenly flew at her at high speed, just barely missing her. “Woah!”
“You annoying little pests!” Gold Bone shouted in an incredibly angry tone. And he seemed right to sound like that. His ship was evidently damaged and had smoke coming out of several spots. Plus he apparently saw Skully's ship broken in two and the Trophies on the ground. “As though these horses weren't enough, now you've returned, Gale.”
“Nice to see ya too, old friend,” Gale replied. “Hey, mind if I ask ya how you survived your exploding Robo-Bone some time back?
“Heh, did you really think I'd be stupid enough to not install an escape pod in that death trap?” Gold Bone replied. “But reminiscing about days long passed is for another time. For now, it looks like you all have won the day. But once again... for now.” Gold Bone then flew around to Skully's broken ship and picked up the pieces with a tractor beam as a loud rumbling noise could be heard from above. Everyone looked up to see a massive golden battleship with a skull design on the front descend and hover above the forest. “We shall meet again!” Gold Bone shouted as he carried Skully up towards the ship, the Goldie VII, where the skull on the front opened its mouth and GB flew into it before the mouth closed and the ship rose slightly before flying off.
“Jeez, are massive airships standard issue in this world?” Rainbow asked.
Ignoring Rainbow's question, Lance turned to Gale. “If the Gold Bone Gang is here, then it sounds like Emperor Fynalle wasn't kidding when he said he's raised an entirely new army,” the samurai said.
“You're right,” Gale replied with a nod. “It looks like we've got a helluva fight on our hands.”
It was at this moment that Link had finally arrived at the scene, but all the Hylian could do was look around in confusion as he saw a downed Shulk, a moderately-sized ship, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie talking with two Miis, and the Trophies of Jigglypuff and Ike lying some distance behind the scene. “Hmm...” Link said to himself as he walked up to Rainbow, Pinkie, and the Miis.
Right then, Rainbow turned around and saw Link approaching them. “Oh, hey there Link,” Rainbow said. “Sorry, you kinda missed the action.” The Hylian replied with a shrug before looking around the scene once more, Rainbow and Pinkie following suit. “Oh right... someone should probably go save Shulk, Ike, and Jigglypuff.”
“Wait a second!” Pinkie suddenly shouted while looking over to where Ike and Jigglypuff lay. “What happened to Kirby, Duck Hunt, and Toon Link?”
This was replied to by an evil laugh from off to the side. Everyone turned around to see Duck Hunt somehow free with Toon Link being carried by Hunt and Kirby under Duck's paw. “You all really need to be more observant,” Hunt said while Duck was snickering evilly.
“Duck Hunt!” Lance shouted as he readied his blade. “How did you two even escape from your Trophy form?”
“Our base landed right on Toon Link's forehead,” Hunt replied. “Stroke of luck, no?”
“I'm seriously still questioning how this world works,” Rainbow mumbled while shaking her head.
“Y'all don't really think we're lettin' ya get away with them two, do ya?” Gale asked while raising his arm cannon and aiming it at Duck Hunt.
“Watch us get out of here,” Hunt replied as Duck grabbed onto him. Hunt then turned around and took off flying, somehow managing to fly despite how much weight he was carrying.
“Oh no y'all don't!” Gale shouted as he raised his arm cannon and fired a barrage of small beams of energy at Duck Hunt. Only one of these attacks hit, but it hit Duck's paw perfectly, causing him to drop Kirby.
“Grr...” both Duck and Hunt growled. However, the two still had one Trophy in their possession, so they weren't going to risk losing this one a second time by trying to retrieve Kirby. Instead, they just kept flying.
“Dammit,” Gale grumbled. “Ah should've shot 'em outta the sky with a Gunner Missile.”
“I don't think it would have even hit,” Lance replied. “They move rather slowly.”
“Oh, and your Gale Slash could have even made it close to 'em,” Gale snapped back.
“Hey, stop!” Pinkie shouted, suddenly appearing between the two Miis. “Sure Duck Hunt got away, but we were still able to save Kirby, Ike, and Jigglypuff, plus we drove off Gold Bone. We can save Toon Link later, but the point is that our friends are safe right now.”
Gale and Lance just glared at Pinkie for a moment before Lance sighed. “She's right,” the samurai said. “If we dwell on what little we lost, we'll lose all we gained.”
“What you said,” Gale replied with a nod. He then turned to Link. “Oh, and here we've got the famous Hero of Time. Sorry we didn't get to ya b'fore.” Link replied with an understanding nod. “Name's Gale, and this is Lance. Pleasure makin' your acquaintance.”
While Link was meeting Gale and Lance, Rainbow galloped over to where Shulk lay and gave the base he stood on a tap, causing the Trophy to fade away and Shulk to get up slowly.
“You ok, Shulk?” Rainbow asked as the Homs stood up.
“Ah, I've taken worse hits than that and lived,” Shulk replied. “I'm just glad you're alright.”
“How come you threw yourself into that attack for me?” Rainbow asked. “I mean, I'm grateful for that, but...”
“I had a vision,” Shulk replied. “You weren't going to survive that attack, and I didn't know how else to stop the attack after it was fired. You and Pinkie Pie are different from the rest of us. If you're defeated in battle, you're not gonna turn into Trophies. You're just going to sustain injury after injury until... well, until the end.”
“Oh,” Rainbow said as she frowned and her ears drooped. “Well, that's not very reassuring.”
“Don't worry,” Shulk replied. “Once we get to that Palutena, maybe she'll be able to use her Goddess powers to make it so that you two will turn into Trophies rather than die.”
“Hey!” Gale called as he, Lance, Pinkie, Link, Ike, Jigglypuff, and Kirby walked up to Shulk and Rainbow. “Did Ah hear y'all were lookin' for the Goddess Palutena?”
“You did,” Shulk replied as he walked up to Gale. “We're going to try to get her to help us organize an offensive against Overlord V.”
“Overlord V?” Lance asked. “Oh no, I completely forgot about him!”
“What?” Ike asked. “How could you forget about someone as dangerous as Overlord V?”
“Me, Gale, and a couple of our friends have been more focused on Emperor Fynalle,” Lance replied. “He's got his own plans for this world, and odds are he's gonna be butting heads with Overlord V. Hmm... that being said, how about Gale and I come with you guys?”
“That's actually a great idea,” Gale said. “Ah could even give y'all a lift to Palutena's Temple in Skyworld.”
“You can get to Skyworld?” Ike asked in a surprised tone.
“Mah ship can travel the stars without a problem, Mister Radiant Hero,” Gale replied. “Ah think Ah can find some angel city without much problem.”
“Woah!” Pinkie said with wide eyes. “Are you serious? You can travel the stars?”
“That Ah can,” Gale replied with a smug look. “But Ah'll show you that another time. For now, come on. We should load up and head on our way now. The longer we wait, the more likely it'll be that even Palutena won't be able to help us against V and Fynalle.”
“Right,” Rainbow said. “Just one question, though... how are we all going to fit in that ship of yours? It looks like it only has room for you.”
“You underestimate the ingenuity of the Mii Force,” Gale said with a chuckle as he walked over to his ship, indicating for the others to follow him. Gale then leapt into the cockpit of his ship, pressed a few buttons, and out of the back of the ship emerged several pods that were similar to Lance's, except they were all gray. “Each of you hop on into one of 'em.”
Everyone followed Gale's instructions and climbed into the pods. The second each one entered their pod, however, the pod changed color. Ike's pod turned yellow, Rainbow's turned light blue, Shulk's turned red, Link's turned dark green, and the pods that Pinkie, Kirby, and Jigglypuff entered turned pink. “Woah, did that just happen?” Rainbow asked as she saw all the pods change color.
“Each pod is designed to reflect the personality of its occupant and change its weapon accordingly,” Gale replied as Lance climbed into his pod. Right then, all the pods formed up around Gale's ship in a sort of Y shape. Lance's pod was at the front with Ike's behind it, to the left was Kirby with Pinkie Pie behind him, on the right was Jigglypuff with Link behind her, and at the back was Rainbow Dash with Shulk behind her.
“Hey, how come I have to be trailing behind?” Rainbow complained.
“Sorry, but the plasma whip Lance gives is one of mah more preferred weapons,” Gale replied. “Ah also like to keep mah side weapons symmetrical, which is why Jigglypuff and Kirby are on those sides. But don't worry, you and Shulk will be serving a pretty important purpose... that is if we happen across any trouble.”
“Let's hope we don't run into any more trouble,” Shulk said into a comm system that was linked to all the other pods, as well as Gale's ship. “Between getting KO'd twice, meeting two ponies, fighting space pirates, and encountering one of my dead rivals again, I think I've had enough excitement for today.”
“Jigglypuff Jiggly,” Jigglypuff grumbled.
“What'd she say?” Shulk asked.
“She's grumbling about how you're not even trying if that's all you're complaining about,” Pinkie replied.
“How'd you know that?” Rainbow asked. “All I heard was 'Jigglypuff'.”
“Oh, Pokemon aren't that hard to understand,” Pinkie replied with a giggle. “You just have to pay attention.”
“Poyo,” Kirby agreed with a nod.
“Okay, if we're done talkin' an' complainin',” Gale said, “let's take off. Everyone ready?”
Everyone confirmed in each of their respective languages.
“Then let's go,” Gale said. He then activated several switches on his console, which activated the thrusters on the back of his ship and caused everyone to slowly rise. “Next stop, Skyworld! YEE-HAW!” With that shout, Gale and everyone else flew off into the distance at high speed.
In an underground room at an undisclosed location, a door opened on the far end, and into the room entered a Charizard, who was carrying the Trophy depicting Pit under his arm. Charizard walked into the room, which had several Trophies already in it. There were Trophies along the side depicting several characters. The hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario, the king of the Kongo Jungle, Donkey Kong, ace Arwing pilot Fox McCloud, Hocotate Freight captain Olimar, the arcade warrior Pac-Man, and at the end of the line, where Charizard stopped, the Mouse Pokemon Pikachu. It was right next to Pikachu that Charizard set Pit down. “There ya go...” Charizard said in a feminine voice. “Put up quite a fight, but you'll be serving a purpose soon... for Overlord V, that is.” Charizard chuckled to herself and was about to turn and leave, but it was at this moment that she caught Pikachu's eye. Of course, in his Trophy form, the Mouse Pokemon was just staring absentmindedly straight forward, but Charizard still couldn't help but feel like Pikachu was glaring at her from beneath all that... whatever the Trophies were made from. “Please don't look at me like that, Pikachu.” The mouse continued looking straight ahead. Despite this, Charizard sighed and walked up to Pikachu. “I'm sorry it had to be this way. If I had any say in Overlord V's plan, you would have been spared.” Charizard stroked Pikachu's ear gently with the back of her claw. “Trust me, my dear Pikachu, when all is said and done, and Overlord V rules this world, I will make sure you may rule at our side. At my side.” Charizard was about to lean in and kiss Pikachu on the cheek, (at this one time when doing so wouldn't send 1,000 volts of electricity coursing through the pseudo-dragon), but she stopped when she heard a very quiet sound behind her. “Who's there!?” Charizard shouted, not even bothering to wait for an answer before turning around and unleashing a powerful Flamethrower that could have scorched anything in its way. When her attack died down, however, all that was left was a slightly charred cuddly toy. “Huh...?”
“Too slow,” a quiet but sinister voice said from behind Charizard, startling her. She turned around to find that, standing on top of Pikachu, was a Greninja, who was glaring down at Charizard.
“Ah!” Charizard shouted as she took a step back. “Do you have to sneak up on me like that, Greninja?”
“No,” Greninja replied with what was probably a smirk as he gracefully leapt off of Pikachu's head, over Charizard's, and onto the floor right next to the scorched Substitute doll, which disappeared in a puff of smoke the second Greninja landed. “But your reactions are always my favorite.”
“Consider yourself lucky I don't incinerate you every time you do that,” Charizard grumbled.
“Hmph, like you could,” Greninja said as he turned around to face Charizard. “But that's beside the point. I'm curious, what exactly were you doing in here?”
“I captured Pit earlier today,” Charizard replied, turning around to indicate the angel. “This is where we keep all the Trophies we've captured, is it not?”
“That wasn't what I was talking about,” Greninja replied. “I was talking about what you were doing with Pikachu.”
Charizard instantly began to sweat a little, though the sweat evaporated from her body heat so quickly that Greninja probably wouldn't have noticed. “I was, uh...” Charizard started, shifting nervously.
Greninja clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Flirting with the enemy, huh?” he asked. “Can't say I'm unsurprised.”
“Hey, how did you do that just now?” Charizard asked. “I mean how did you click your tongue? Aren't you wearing your tongue around your neck right now?”
“That has nothing to do with the current situation,” Greninja replied with a glare. “Do not try to change the subject.”
Charizard looked down. “Why, though?” she asked. “Why Pikachu? Why Pit? Why any of them? What do we need from them?”
“You dare to question Overlord V?” Greninja asked with a growl.
Charizard was interrupted when Greninja formed a water blade and held it to Charizard's neck. “I dare you to finish that sentence,” he snarled. Charizard remained silent. She's seen what Greninja's water blades and shuriken could do to steel beams. Charizard was not about to wind up on the business end of that. “What's wrong, Charie? Frog got your throat?” Charizard remained silent for another moment before Greninja chuckled to himself and let the water blade turn back to normal water and splash to the ground. “That's what I thought.” Greninja then turned and walked off, indicating for Charizard to follow him. “Come. Larry wanted me to fetch you so that he could give us a new assignment.”
“Very well,” Charizard grumbled. She really didn't like taking orders from Larry. Or any of the Koopalings. Or taking any orders in general. She was not bound to a Pokeball, why should she follow anyone's orders? But still, it was either this, or... Charizard didn't want to think about the consequences. Instead, she grudgingly followed Greninja out of the room, sneaking one last glance behind her at Pikachu, who was still staring straight ahead, before the door closed.
High above the forest, the Falcon Flyer flew at high speed towards an icy mountain, where Marth was apparently located. Aside from its pilot, Captain Falcon, Twilight and King Dedede were also in the passenger's seats.
“I thought Lucario said this thing wouldn’t be able to fit him with King Dedede here,” Twilight said.
“It was an issue with the weight limit,” Captain Falcon replied, not looking behind him towards the pony. “Dedede might be one of the lightest heavyweights, but the Falcon Flyer still doesn't take kindly to that much weight.”
“Again, I'm right here,” Dedede grumbled. “Hey, hasn't this thing carried several heavyweights at once back during the Subspace War?”
“That floating island I flew them through had different gravity,” Falcon replied. “This close to the ground, she can't-” The pilot stopped suddenly when he heard a beeping noise from one of the monitors in front of him. “Ah crap! Hostiles incoming!”
“What?” Twilight asked. “How many?”
“A lot,” Falcon replied. “But don't worry. The Falcon Flyer wouldn't be the bounty hunting machine she is without her weapons. TAKE THIS!” He then slammed a button on his console, but nothing happened. “What the?”
“What's wrong?” Twilight asked.
“Something's jammed the weapon systems,” Falcon replied. Right then, he looked up to see a figured dressed in a blue cloak riding a broomstick flying by. “A Magikoopa.”
“Who?” Twilight asked.
“A really nasty variation of the koopa,” Captain Falcon replied. “They fly around on their broomsticks and fight their foes with powerful magic spells. It must be one of those spells that's blocking the Flyer's weapon systems.”
“Would we be able to outmaneuver whoever or whatever he's brought with him then?” Twilight asked.
“Uh, that'd be a pretty big no,” Dedede replied as he indicated for the others to look out the side window. In the distance (but getting closer) were what looked like dozens of black rockets with arms and eyes, accompanied by about a dozen massive rockets with no arms but eyes and a mouth that made a very angry expression.
“Banzai and Bullet Bills!” Captain Falcon shouted. “Looks like Bowser's trying to shoot us out of the sky!”
“Wait, who's Bowser?” Twilight asked.
“The Koopa King, and a really nasty dude,” Dedede replied. “He's also allied with Overlord V.” Dedede then turned around and began heading towards the back of the ship.
“Wait, where are you going?” Twilight asked.
“This ship's got no weapons thanks to that Magikoopa,” Dedede replied. “Someone's gotta go take those Bullet Bills out.”
“Dedede, take this,” Captain Falcon called as he tossed a small device towards the penguin, who quickly caught it. “That's a communicator. Put it in your ear, and I'll be able to let you know when I'm about to make a move you'll need to brace yourself for.” Falcon then turned to Twilight and handed another communicator to her. “You'd better go help him. I'll keep us flying.”
“Alright,” Twilight said as she put the communicator in her ear. She then turned around and galloped after Dedede towards the back of the ship, where the two climbed up a hatch that led to outside the ship. The wind was fierce from how fast the Falcon Flyer was traveling, but despite this, Twilight found that she was able to maintain her footing without much effort.
”I've activated artificial gravity for the top of the ship,” Captain Falcon said over comm.
“I'm not usually one to look a gift horse in the mouth—no offense, Twilight—but why would you even install something like that?” Dedede asked.
”Long story that involves a robot pterodactyl,” Captain Falcon replied. ”No time to tell it right now, though. You've got incoming.”
Sure enough, Twilight and Dedede turned around to see several Bullet Bills flying towards them at a speed that somehow surpassed that of the Falcon Flyer.
“I got this,” Twilight said as she stepped forward. She then lowered her horn and fired several Magic Sparks at the Bullet Bills. Each shot hit, and each of the Bullet Bills hit flew off and slammed into others. In just eight Sparks, most of the Bills were taken care of. However, many more appeared to take their place.
“You tried, Twilight,” Dedede said as he stepped forward. “But now it's my turn.” He then reached into his coat and pulled out a small purple spiky ball with eyes. “Alright, Gordo... do your thing!” Dedede then tossed the Gordo into the air before smacking it with his hammer, launching the spiky ball at the Bullet Bills at high speed. The Gordo flew past the lead Bill, hit another one, bounced off, impacted on another one, bounced off of that one and hit another Bill, and the same thing happened four more times, each of the Bills hit cannonballing into others. With just the one Gordo, Dedede managed to take out about 20 Bullet Bills. “And you thought your fancy-shmancy magic was all that,” Dedede said to Twilight with a smirk.
“Was that a living creature you just launched with your hammer at those Bullet Bills?” Twilight asked with a horrified expression.
“Sort of,” Dedede said with a shrug. “Heads up!” Dedede pointed at another batch of Bullet Bills, this one accompanied by several Banzai Bills.
“Nuts,” Twilight said to herself. “Dedede, cover me while I Study. I'm gonna try to take out those Banzai Bills in a single Hyper Spark.”
“You got it, Twilight,” Dedede replied. He then walked forward and pulled out another Gordo. “Let's do this, pal.” The monarch then launched the Gordo, KO-ing several Bullet Bills and damaging the Banzai Bills. “Hmm... I'll meet your challenge, Bowser.” Dedede then transformed half of the top of his hammer into a rocket jet before holding it over his head and charging it. “Just a little closer...” Before the Banzai Bills could get close to him, his hammer became overcharged and began vibrating violently in his hand. “Ow ow ow ow...” A few seconds after Dedede started taking damage, one of the Banzai Bills got within range. “TAKE THIS!” Dedede then unleashed his rocket-powered hammer right on the nose of the Banzai Bill, sending it flying backwards. Unfortunately, the force at which Dedede's hammer flew was enough to send him spinning and onto his face, leaving him open to a second Banzai Bill coming towards him.
“HYPER SPARK!” Twilight shouted, unleashing a powerful attack that sent the other Banzai Bill flying backwards and towards the ground. “How's that for fancy-shmancy magic?”
Dedede was about to reply, but he was stopped when he realized that there was one more Banzai Bill already close to the Falcon Flyer. Too close for another attack to be charged. “Look out!” Dedede shouted.
Right at this moment, the hatch on the end of the ship burst open, Captain Falcon jumped out of it, and began falling right towards the Banzai Bill. “Falcon...” he said, rearing his fist back. He then threw his fist forward into the Bill, creating a massive fiery falcon. “PAWNCH!” The Falcon Punch connected with the Banzai Bill, and it went flying backwards and into the clouds above. Captain Falcon then landed in front of Dedede and Twilight. “What? You didn't really think I'd let you two have all the fun up here, did you?”
Both were silent for a moment before Twilight spoke up. “Okay, I'm just going to address the elephant in the room here,” she said. “Who's piloting the ship right now?”
“Autopilot,” Captain Falcon replied nonchalantly. “What self-respecting bounty hunter doesn't have that on their ship.”
“I wouldn't be so sure about that,” a wicked voice said from behind the group. Everyone turned around to see the Magikoopa from before floating above them.
“The Magikoopa!” Dedede shouted. “Here to finally face us now that you've got no more Bullet Bills to hide behind?”
“You could say that...” Magikoopa said with a wicked grin. He then raised his staff and fired a blast of polygons down towards the ship. “Control Hex!”
The blast connected with the Falcon Flyer, and instantly the ship went into a nose dive. “Hold onto something!” Dedede shouted as he pulled out another Gordo and stuck it into the ship, using that to keep himself from falling off. Captain Falcon grabbed onto the penguin's feet.
“I can fix this,” Captain Falcon said, pressing a button on the side of his helmet. “I also had mental remote control installed some time back. I can get us back in the air in a second.”
“Well hurry up!” Twilight shouted, using her wings to keep herself from falling but at the same time trying to keep up with her falling comrades.
“Ooh, you're that Princess Twilight King Bowser told me about,” the Magikoopa said. “He wanted me to do something special for you. Flight Hex!” He then fired another blast of magic, this one hitting Twilight square in the chest. Nothing happened for a second, but then her wings suddenly folded and locked in place, causing her to fall to the ground.
“AHHHHHHHHH!” she screamed as she fell past the Falcon Flyer, which Captain Falcon had righted at that exact moment. Twilight flailed her arms in a futile attempt to get back in the air, but that would be useless without her wings. She noticed that she was falling towards a lake. Perhaps she could conjure a magic bubble that could cushion her impact on the water as well as create an air pocket, but that would take-
SPLASH
Twilight wasn't able to process her thoughts fast enough before she hit the water. All she saw was a flash of light before the world around her went dark. If she still had consciousness, she probably would have recognized that this was the exact same thing that happened when Meta Knight turned her into a Trophy the first time. But alas, she couldn't have known that. Rather, she was trapped in limbo for what felt like an eternity before she washed up onto the beach in her Trophy form a few minutes later. It was then that a tiny blue creature with a long stem on the top of its head that had a small orb at the top and wearing a startled expression found her.
Twilight woke up to the feeling of a wave of water crashing into her face. Quickly, she sat up and shook the water off of her. “Ah!” she shouted as she tried to get the water out of her eyes and look around. She noticed first that she was on the beach of a lake on the edge of a forest. Everything that had happened before quickly came back to her. “King Dedede and Captain Falcon... did they make it?” The princess scanned the skies and saw no sign of the Falcon Flyer, nor any more Banzai Bills. “I need to go look for them.” Twilight was about to get up and take off flying, but she stopped when she looked at the ground before her to see a small blue creature staring up at her with what looked like a startled expression. “Um... hello there?” Twilight was about to reach out towards the creature when a loud whistle sounded through the air. This hardly affected Twilight, but the small creature immediately snapped to attention before running off at high speed. Twilight watched the creature run away to find that it was running towards another character who looked almost like Captain Falcon, only much shorter, with a larger nose, and wearing a space suit. He was also accompanied by two creatures who looked similar to the blue one, except these two were red and yellow, neither had a visible mouth, the red one had a long nose, and the yellow one had large pointy ears.
“It would seem Blue found something quite interesting today,” the character said as he walked towards Twilight, the little creatures following behind him in a perfect line. Once he got close to Twilight, he asked, “Mind if I ask who you are?”
Twilight looked down at the character. He was about half her height, though still taller than the creatures he had with him. “My name is Twilight Sparkle,” she replied. “And you are?”
“The name's Alph,” he replied. “I'm a retired pilot for Hocotate Freight. Though I doubt you care much about that. You're probably more curious about these guys.” Alph turned around to indicate the three creatures he had with him, who all waved politely at Twilight. “At least, I'm assuming you're not familiar with them. I didn't see you at opening ceremonies the other day. Are you a newcomer?”
“You could say that...” Twilight replied.
“Okay, just wanted to make sure,” Alph said. “Anyway, these three are Pikmin, my allies in battle. Say hi to Red,” Alph indicated the Red Pikmin, “Blue you've met already, and this is Yellow.” Alph indicated the Yellow Pikmin.
“Pikmin, huh?” Twilight asked as she eyed the three creatures. “They're... actually kinda cute.”
“Aren't they?” Alph replied. “But that's what catches most of their first-time foes off guard. Then, when they're distracted, BAM!” Alph threw his hand forward, and immediately, Red leapt forward and tried to tackle Twilight. The unicorn quickly threw up a magical barrier that the Pikmin harmlessly bounced off of.
“Are you picking a fight with me?” Twilight asked as she summoned her book while Red ran back to Alph.
“With Overlord V out and about and my best friend in his clutches, I can't take any chances,” Alph replied as he and his Pikmin assumed battle-ready stances. “I don't know you, Twilight Sparkle, but I vowed to let nothing stand in my way until I was reunited with Olimar, so that's what I'm going to do.”
”This is one messed-up world,” Twilight thought to herself. ”Whether he's friend or foe, I can't let him get in the way of finding Dedede, Falcon, or Marth.”
“If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get,” Twilight said as she readied herself for battle.
However, both fighters stopped when they noticed Blue tugging frantically at Alph's leg. “What is it, Blue?” Alph asked as he looked down at the Pikmin, who was pointing away from where the two fighters were about to have their confrontation. Sure enough, in the direction Blue indicated, several hostile-looking creatures were running out of the trees.
“What are those things?” Twilight asked.
“Koopas, Goombas, Shy Guys... looks like the Koopa King is really after one of us,” Alph replied.
“You mean Bowser?” Twilight asked. “He did try to shoot me and my friends out of the sky before.”
“Oh really?” Alph asked. “Well if Bowser is after you, then it would seem I've misjudged you. Apologies are for later, though. These guys might not be that powerful individually, but when there's a lot of them like this, they can do some serious damage. Be on your guard, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Alright,” Twilight replied. ”I don't get this guy,” she thought to herself. ”One second he's about to fight me, and the next he's on my side? What kind of world is this?” The alicorn shook her head at this. “No time for questions. If Bowser wants to get his hooves—or… whatever he has—on me, he's in for a fight.”
“Now that's the spirit, Twilight Sparkle,” Alph said with a smile and a nod. “Now let's go!” Both fighters then charged towards the advancing creatures.
Twilight reached a trio of charging Goombas first, all of which she noticed were about Alph's height. Despite this, she quickly lashed out with her book, taking all three of them down in one swipe and causing them to go flying off. She then looked up to see that there were a group of green- and red-shelled Koopas coming after her. Twilight struck the first one, and it instantly retreated into its shell. She was about to attack the next one, but her leg nudged the already downed Koopa, causing it to go spinning towards its comrades and sweeping about eight of them off their feet. “Well that was strange,” Twilight said to herself, which kept her distracted just long enough for one more Koopa, this one in a blue shell, to try to attack her. However, just as Twilight turned around and noticed this Koopa, Alph's Yellow Pikmin went flying into the Koopa's face, knocking it off balance and shocking it a couple of times before it retreated into its shell and Yellow bounced off, quickly returning to Alph.
“Watch your back, Twilight Sparkle,” Alph said as Red ran over, picked up the Koopa shell, and hurled it at a group of incoming Goombas. “Oh, and about the Goombas, you jump on their heads and they'll instantly flatten. Then you just saw what Red did with the Koopas.”
“Thanks,” Twilight said with a nod. It was right then that she suddenly felt something hit her from behind, causing her to fall forwards. She turned around just in time to see that there were several hammers being thrown at her and Alph. Both of them dove out of the way as best they could and looked up to find two Hammer Bros lobbing hammer after hammer. “Any tips against them?”
“Hammer Bros?” Alph asked as he threw up an energy shield the second a hammer was about to hit him, causing a flash as the hammer bounced off. “Reflect their hammers if you can. If not, just dodge 'em. Watch and learn.” The spaceman then began running towards the two Hammer Bros, his Pikmin following close behind. Easily, the four managed to dodge every single hammer that came at them. Once Alph was close enough, he grabbed Blue by the stem, leapt into the air, and used Blue to deliver a powerful downward strike right on the Hammer Bro's head, which caused it to get knocked backwards, though not KO'd. Alph then turned around to the other Hammer Bro, picked up Yellow, and hurled him at the armored Koopa. However, the Hammer Bro was quick on the draw and threw a hammer right at Yellow, not only stopping him in mid-flight, but causing the Pikmin to scream in pain before suddenly turning into a yellow vapor and vanishing.
“Oh my Celesita...” Twilight said as she watched the scene. “That Pikmin just...”
“Better at this than I thought you were,” Alph grumbled as he watched Yellow die. “Then let's see how you like this.” The spaceman then reached into the ground and pulled up what seemed to be another Pikmin, except this one was purple and was evidently far bulkier. “Block this!” Alph grabbed Purple and hurled him at the Hammer Bro. Though the armored Koopa managed to hit Purple with another hammer, the Pikmin's flight was uninterrupted and he crashed right into his intended target, knocking the Hammer Bro onto its shell. “Now take this!” Alph shouted as he charged forward, grabbed both Red and Blue by the stems, and brought them both down hard upon the Hammer Bro, sending it flying backwards and KO-ing it. However, this attack left Alph open to the other Hammer Bro from before sending another barrage of hammers towards the spaceman.
“Alph! Look out!” Twilight called as she charged at the Hammer Bro and dashed horn-first into it, causing it to go flying. However, this hit didn't save Alph and Red from getting hit by hammers that were already sent flying. The spaceman was knocked backwards, and Red met the same fate as Yellow did a moment before. Twilight quickly galloped over and helped Alph back to his feet. “Are you alright?”
“I'm fine,” Alph replied as he got up. “My Pikmin are taking a beating, though.” Both fighters then looked up to see that there were several Big Goombas and Koopa Paratroopas coming at them. Alph reached into the ground and pulled up another Pikmin, this one white with red eyes. “The Big Goombas will not flinch if they are struck, but if you can bounce on their heads, they will take massive damage like a normal Goomba does. As for the Paratroopas, one hit will clip their wings, and they will be ordinary Koopas from there.”
“Thanks for the tip,” Twilight said with a nod. Both fighters then charged towards their incoming adversaries. Twilight first reached one of the Big Goombas, which was running at her at high speed. Despite this, Twilight leapt over it and delivered a power back air attack as it passed. The Big Goomba was unfazed, however, and quickly tried to switch direction. Reading her foe's movements, Twilight leapt into the air once again, this time trying to land perfectly on the Goomba's head, which she managed to do, causing the Goomba to flatten and vanish. Twilight then turned around just in time to get rammed by another Big Goomba. The alicorn was sent flying, but she was able to right herself in mid-air and was about to charge back at the Big Goomba, but she stopped when she saw two small creatures who she quickly recognized as Alph's Blue and White Pikmin fly through the air and latch onto the Goomba, each one striking several times as they clung to their foe.
“And the finishing blow!” Alph shouted as he ran up to the Big Goomba, Purple held by the stem, before using the Pikmin he held to deliver a powerful strike that sent the Big Goomba flying backwards and into a group of three Paratroopas, causing all three of them to go flying. Alph then turned to Twilight as his Pikmin returned. “You feeling alright?”
“Believe me, getting run over by a giant rotten mushroom is far from the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me,” Twilight replied. “I can still fight.”
“Good,” Alph said. “Because it looks like we're just getting started.” He turned around to indicate that there was a second, larger wave of Bowser's minions advancing towards the two. “Okay, let's get ready to- huh?” Alph stopped suddenly when he felt the ground beneath him tremble. He, his Pikmin, and Twilight looked behind them to see the source of the trembling: a massive hoard of what looked like tiny orange spherical creatures with bright orange faces, black eyes, and no mouths. “Oh no, not them too!”
“What are they?” Twilight asked as the creatures came closer.
“King Dedede?” Twilight asked. “Wait a second, I don't think those Waddle Dees are here to attack us.”
“What makes you say that?” Alph asked. Right at that moment, the Waddle Dees had made it to the two fighters, but rather than attack them, they made a clear circle around the two and continued charging towards Bowser's army. “Okay, so that may have been-”
“Princess Twilight Sparkle!” a voice called. Both she and Alph turned around to see King Dedede and Captain Falcon running towards the two. “Thank goodness we found you!”
“King Dedede! Captain Falcon!” Twilight called. She ran over to meet the two, Alph following close behind.
“Man, I was starting to get worried,” Captain Falcon said. “Glad we found you when we did.”
“Twilight Sparkle, do you know these two?” Alph asked.
“Yeah, they're… allies of sorts,” Twilight replied.
“Hey, I know you,” Dedede said. “Ain't you that tiny dude who fights with walking carrots or something? Olimar, right?”
“No, Olimar is my friend,” Alph replied, “and he's been captured by Overlord V. My name's Alph.”
“Alph, eh?” Dedede asked. “Well, nice to meet you, Alph.”
“Same to you,” Alph said. “And thank you for sending your Waddle Dees after Bowser's forces.”
“I was just trying to bail Princess Twilight here out of her situation,” Dedede replied. He then turned to Twilight. “You're welcome.”
“Thank you, both of you,” Twilight said. She then turned around to see that the Goombas and Koopas were being beaten back by the sheer number of Waddle Dees. “I guess now's as good a time as any to continue our search for Marth, is it?”
“Looks like it,” Captain Falcon replied. “Come on. The mountain he's supposed to be around isn't too far away.”
“Okay,” Twilight said with a nod. “What about you, Alph? Are you gonna come with us?”
“Are you three working against Overlord V?” Alph asked. “If yes, then count us in.” Alph's Pikmin each added to their master's words with a salute.
“Alright… does anyone know which way to head?” King Dedede asked.
“Why not that mountain in the distance?” Twilight asked as she pointed towards an icy mountain on the horizon that stretched above the treeline.
“Oh...” Dedede said before chuckling sheepishly. “Yeah, that… would probably our best bet, yeah.”
“We're gonna have to walk, though,” Captain Falcon said. “That Magikoopa did a number on the Falcon Flyer.”
“Wonderful,” Dedede griped.
“Now Dedede, complaining won't get us anywhere,” Falcon said. “Besides, you know you could use the exercise.”
“I get all the exercise I need helping Kirby save Dreamland,” Dedede replied proudly. “Seriously, you wouldn't believe how many times I've bailed him out of battles he couldn't win. Like this one time when I tried to stop a Nightmare that tried to destroy Dreamland, but then Kirby-”
“Alright, enough about the past,” Alph interrupted. “Shouldn't we get moving?”
“Alph's right,” Twilight said. “We should get moving if we wanna get to Marth before V does.”
“Right there with ya, Princess,” Dedede agreed. “Alright all, let's move.” The four combatants and three Pikmin then began their trek towards the icy mountain in the distance.
High above the clouds, Gale and his group were flying west towards where the Mii Force Captain thought Skyworld was located. However, all the group had seen so far were clouds.
“Are you sure we're headed in the right direction?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Ah'm… pretty sure,” Gale replied, although his tone said he wasn't very sure at all. “Ah know it's around here somewhere.”
Jigglypuff said something in a frustrated tone that Pinkie translated (loosely, the party pony specified) as, “Well what the Hellioptile do you expect? It's not like a Goddess is going to just lay out a Psyduck-ing red carpet for anyone to just waltz in on.”
“Jeez, did Jigglypuff really say that?” Shulk asked.
“Like I said, I was paraphrasing,” Pinkie replied. “Her exact words weren't that pleasant…”
“I have noticed that Jigglypuff isn't always in the best possible mood,” Ike commented. “Why is that, Jigglypuff?”
The Balloon Pokemon replied, and Pinkie gasped when she heard what Jigglypuff had to say. “You guys aren't going to believe this,” Pinkie said.
Out of nowhere, several blasts of dark magic were suddenly fired at the group, each hit knocking the pods away and sending them crashing towards the ground before only Gale was left.
“Save it for another time, Pinkie!” Shulk shouted. “We've got company!”
“What?” Gale shouted. “But Ah'm not picking up any hostiles on mah radar.”
“Is that radar of yours tuned to pick up things like giant floating eyeballs, skulls, and flowers?” Rainbow asked.
“Well, skulls in a sense, but-” Gale started. “Wait, why so specific?”
“You might wanna take a look behind us,” Rainbow replied.
Gale brought up on his main screen a camera feed from the front of Rainbow's pod to find that, sure enough, there was a number of very strange but hostile-looking creatures advancing on the group. “Ah can't say I recognize 'em,” Gale said.
“Neither can I,” Pinkie replied. “Hold on, if I can concentrate, maybe something will come back to me...”
“Poyo!” Kirby shouted as he pointed towards another advancing group of similar hostile creatures coming in from the group's left flank.
“Jiggly,” Jigglypuff added, indicating more coming from the right.
“We're surrounded!” Lance shouted. “Gale, tell me you have a plan.”
“Don't worry,” Gale replied. “This ship's built for exactly this situation. But first, everyone hold onto somethin'. This flight's about to get wild.” Gale then pulled the ship upward before going into a nosedive.
“Are you trying to get us killed, Gale?” Ike shouted.
“No, just dodgin' enemy fire,” Gale replied nonchalantly as he quickly pulled up and righted himself before ascending towards one group of enemies. “Alright, here's the plan. Lance, you already know what to do. Kirby, Jigglypuff, Rainbow Dash, you three as well as Lance are in charge of the ship's main weapons. Ah can maneuver us around, but Ah'm countin' on you four to attack.”
“And how exactly are we supposed to do that?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“In front of y'all, there should be a simple-lookin' control panel,” Gale replied. “The buttons on the left and right can control where you're aimed, and the center button will fire.”
“That sounds simple enough,” Rainbow replied. “What kind of ammo are we firing, though?”
“You've got energy waves that can hit multiple foes,” Gale replied. “Kirby and Jigglypuff, you two have energy rounds that can ricochet off targets.”
“Puff,” Jigglypuff said happily. “Jigglypuff Jiggly.”
“Po~yo,” Kirby added.
“Sure, I'll take it,” Rainbow said with a shrug.
“Alright, it sounds like everyone knows what to do,” Gale said. “At least, I hope we do, 'cause we're jumpin' right into the fray!” Right as Gale said that, the ship suddenly accelerated and flew right into the group of monsters. Upon seeing the heroes, the monsters began firing blasts of dark magic at the group.
“Kirby! Jigglypuff! Take those shots out!” Lance shouted. Both puffs quickly swung their pods around and fired pink blasts of energy that connected with the dark magic blasts and caused them to dissipate. “Alright, now wail on them monsters!” Kirby and Jigglypuff quickly took aim and began firing into the group of foes while Lance activated his plasma whip and began attacking foes in front of him. The whip quickly attached to and destroyed several monsters, and the rounds Kirby and Jigglypuff fired were bouncing all over the place, hitting monsters several times each before they all met similar fates.
“Yeah!” Pinkie shouted. “Hey Gale, can I get in on this action?”
“Sorry Pinkie, but you can't,” Gale replied. “Only the lead pods can attack. It's a flaw with this ship model I've got. There's an updated model, but I didn't have time to bring it with me before this Smash Bros tournament.”
“Oh,” Pinkie said. “Well, okay. I guess I could-”
”Hello?” a voice suddenly called. ”Is somebody out there?”
“Eh?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Who are you?”
”Oh good, I'm getting through to someone,” the voice said. ”I am Palutena, the Goddess of Light, and I am reaching out to you because I need your help. My temple in Skyworld has been overrun by Underworld forces, and being short-staffed as I am, I require assistance.”
“Hey, we were actually headed for Skyworld,” Pinkie replied. “Don't worry, we're on our way.”
“Pinkie, who are you talking to?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I'm talking to that Palutena character we were searching for,” Pinkie replied. “She's reached out to us through some kind of psychic communication, and she needs our help.”
“Rainbow Dash,” Gale interrupted, “we've got hostiles coming in from behind. D'ya see 'em?”
“I don't,” Rainbow replied as she scanned the skies in front of her. It was right then, however, that a huge creature that looked like a giant nose with eyes and tentacles suddenly appeared right in front of Rainbow's pod. “WAH!” the pegasus shouted as she slammed the fired button on her console, launching several energy waves that made contact with her foe and eventually destroyed it. Once the creature was gone, Rainbow could plainly see a few more similar creatures gathering behind the group, accompanied by some of the eyeball monsters. “Okay, I got this.” Rainbow then whirled her pod around and began firing more energy waves at the foes. Upon leaving her pod, the waves expanded to cover a wider area, most of them becoming able to hit several foes at once. However, this didn't stop the nose monsters from launching what looked like bombs from their nostrils. Rainbow did her best to try to take the projectiles out, but she was unable to hit one of them and it flew right up to Rainbow's pod before exploding, causing the pod to suddenly break off from Gale's ship and go crashing down. “AHHHHH!” Rainbow shouted as she tried to get out of her pod.
“RAINBOW DASH!” everyone shouted.
Rainbow was able to escape her pod quickly before trying to fly back after the group, but what she'd forgotten was that her wing was still injured, and she wasn't able to get very much lift before her wing buckled and she continued falling. “No, it can't end like this!” Rainbow shouted as she quickly lost altitude. Before she got very close to the ground, however, she suddenly felt herself stop. Rainbow looked behind her to see that her wings had grown slightly and were flapping on their own… and glowing. “What the-? WAH!” Without warning, Rainbow's wings carried her at high speed back towards Gale and the others.
“Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie asked as she saw her friend fly up next to the ship at high speed.
”I noticed that your friend was in trouble,” Palutena said to Pinkie. ”I'm going to give her my Power of Flight and guide her towoards Skyworld. It would probably be in your best interest to follow her.” Right as Palutena said this, Rainbow Dash began flying past the group.
“Gale, follow Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie called.
“What?” Gale asked.
“That Goddess Palutena is guiding Rainbow Dash towards Skyworld, and she told us to follow her,” Pinkie replied.
“Wait, you're actually talking to Palutena?” Ike asked.
“Poyo!” Kirby said.
“Oh, you can hear her too?” Pinkie asked Kirby. “Odd. It's like she's tuned to a psychic channel that exists outside of-”
“HOLD ON!” Gale shouted as he increased the throttle and the ship jerked forward at high speed after Rainbow Dash.
“Gah! Slow down for just a second, wings!” Rainbow shouted as she struggled to no avail to break free of whatever force was causing her to fly. “What is going on?”
”Well, if you're not going to thank me, I could just cut your Power of Flight and let you fall,” Palutena said to Rainbow Dash.
“What? Who are you?” Rainbow asked the voice that suddenly appeared in her head.
”I am Palutena, the Goddess of Light,” Palutena replied. ”I noticed you were a bit flight-challenged like someone else I know, so I thought I'd loan you the Power of Flight in order to save you. Plus, since you and your group are looking for me, I'm going to guide you all to Skyworld, where I'm going to need your help.”
“Alright… I guess…” Rainbow replied. “Hey, just a quick question, if you're a Goddess, couldn't you just heal my wings rather than just start steering me around?”
”I could, but what fun would that be?” Palutena replied. ”Actually, you'd have to be closer to me for me to use my Power of Healing, and even then, I don't think you'd respond to floor ice cream in quite the same way Pit does.”
Rainbow was silent for a moment, just staring at the clouds and occasional monster flying by her out of confusion. “Alright, that floor ice cream thing is where you lost me,” she finally said.
”We can discuss this when we meet,” Palutena said.
Meanwhile, Gale was flying at top speed in order to try to keep up with Rainbow Dash. The only problem was that she often flew through clouds of enemies.
“What does that Goddess Palutena think she's doing?” Gale complained as he tried to dodge incoming enemy fire that the others weren't able to shoot. “She'll get us killed before we even get to Skyworld.”
“We're just gonna have to fight through, like the good ol' days,” Lance replied as he moved his plasma whip to strike an incoming group of Monoeyes. “Kirby, heads up! You've got incoming!”
“Poyo!” Kirby shouted as he tried to shoot the Monoeyes that were attacking his side. However, the star warrior was so focused on the foes in front of him, he got completely blindsided by a Daphne flying in on Kirby's blind spot and firing two mines.
“Kirby, look out!” Pinkie shouted as she saw the mines approaching her and Kirby. Unfortunately, Kirby wasn't able to move his pod fast enough and one of the mines exploded right next to the star warrior, causing him to get broken off from the rest of the group similarly to what happened with Rainbow Dash. “KIRBY!”
Kirby was still reeling from the shock of the explosion, plus the fact that he was now falling, but he'd been in situations similar to this so many times, what he did next was almost second nature to him by now. Kirby concentrated and reached deep inside of himself before materializing a small gray phone with yellow buttons and an antennae that had a yellow star at the tip in his hand. Kirby pressed a few buttons on the phone before putting it away and leaping out of his pod and beginning to float just about 50 yards away from the ground, where the pod impacted and exploded. However, Kirby was able to inflate his body and hang in the air for a moment before seeing something bright flying towards him in the distance. Quickly, Kirby released the air he'd filled himself with and let himself fall before he caught onto the object as it passed right by him. Kirby then righted himself atop his Warp Star before soaring back into the sky at a higher speed than even Rainbow Dash could manage on one of her good days.
Pinkie saw this happen, and mentally facehoofed when she saw Kirby fly by the group. “How could I forget about the Warp Star?” she asked herself with a giggle. “And there I was worrying about Kirby.”
“Focus, Pinkie,” Gale said. “Kirby's pod is down, which means you're gonna have to take over his weapon spot. Do you know what to do?”
“I can pick it up,” Pinkie replied.
“Ah'm also gonna need to redirect some power since ya don't have any support pods,” Gale added. “Let's see… Lance, think you can afford to lose Shulk?”
“Go right on ahead,” Lance replied.
“Wait, what do you mean by that?” Shulk asked.
“Oh, it'll be nothin',” Gale replied as he brought up another screen, this one showing the current status of his ship and the surrounding pods, and moved a red pod, Shulk's, over to behind Pinkie. He then tapped the screen with all five fingers, causing the screen to disappear. Outside the cockpit, Shulk's pod suddenly flashed and disappeared from where it was before reappearing behind Pinkie.
“Woah… nice,” Shulk commented.
“Hmm…” Gale hummed. “I should put more energy into the rear gunner position, too. Lance, I'm gonna move you to the back in front of Ike. That alright with you, Ike?”
“Fine by me,” the Radiant Hero replied. “I'm not all that comfortable with using this thing to fight, anyway.”
“I know, I know, you prefer your swordplay,” Gale said as he brought up the screen from before and moved Lance in front of Ike. As he confirmed the move, Gale turned his attention to Pinkie and Jigglypuff. “You two are gonna have to work double time, by the way. You've got our only forward weapons.”
“And let's try not to miss, too,” Pinkie added. “Something tells me that the next person to take a hit like Rainbow and Kirby did won't have a way to recover.”
While this conversation was going on, Kirby had flown up next to Rainbow Dash. “So you can fly, huh?” Rainbow asked as she observed Kirby riding his Warp Star like a surfboard. “Hey, you and I are gonna have to have a race sometime. No way that little thing can beat me at my best.” Kirby laughed a little at this before winking at Rainbow and accelerating ahead. “Why that little…” Rainbow was about to say more, but instead just smiled. “Yeah, I'm starting to see Pinkie in this little demon.”
”It's only because I can sense the hidden compliment in that comment that I'm not sending you plummeting to the ground right now,” Palutena said to Rainbow Dash. ”Kirby happens to be a very good friend of mine.”
“Oh,” Rainbow said.
”Anyway, you and your group are nearing Skyworld,” Palutena continued. ”However, that means many more enemies will be showing up for you. I'd suggest landing soon and fighting on the ground.”
“Okay,” Rainbow said with a nod.
Meanwhile, Palutena sent the same message to Pinkie Pie, who relayed it to the others. “'Bout time,” Gale said. “But… Ah'm not picking up very many enemies.”
“Palutena just said that Skyworld's beyond that cloud bank,” Pinkie said as she pointed towards a group of dark clouds that Kirby had just flown through and Rainbow was headed towards.
“There's still a curious lack of foes,” Shulk commented. “If any were to ambush us, I'd assume I'd get a vision.”
“Maybe this will be one of those instances where the chapter ends on a cliffhanger in which the heroes arrive at their destination only to discover far more enemies than they could have possibly expected,” Pinkie mused.
“What's that supposed to mean?” Lance asked.
“We'll find out in a few moments,” Pinkie replied as the group neared the clouds. Rainbow Dash flew through, and the others followed suit quickly. On the other side of the clouds was a massive and beautiful floating city, full of temples and ancient-looking buildings. And at the head of the whole place was a single island that had a massive statue depicting the Goddess Palutena.
After some time walking, Twilight, Captain Falcon, Dedede, and Alph had reached the base of the icy mountain that Marth was apparently located at.
“Please tell me we aren't doing any climbing,” King Dedede said while panting. “My feet haven't hurt this much since that time Kirby blew me out of my castle and I had to walk through a desert to get back home.”
“I kinda figured we'd fly,” Alph replied. He then shooed his three Pikmin away, all three of whom saluted before running off into the forest. Alph then reached into the ground and pulled up two more Pikmin, except these two were pink and had blue eyes, as well as wings. “At least, I assumed most of us could fly.”
“I can sort of fly,” Dedede said.
“Same here,” Twilight added. She then looked back at her wings with an unsure expression. “Still a bit new to it, but I can manage.”
All three of the combatants then looked to Captain Falcon. “Let me guess,” Alph said. “Odd one out?”
“Yeah,” Falcon replied. “I usually rely on my Blue Falcon on race tracks and the Falcon Flyer when it comes to traveling long distances, like through space. Don't really have anything for going up a mountain.”
After Captain Falcon said this, the others, including Alph's Winged Pikmin, all looked between each other. The question on all of their minds: “Who's carrying him?”
“I fly by inflating myself, so I can't hold onto him,” Dedede said.
“The Winged Pikmin can barely carry me and three other Pikmin,” Alph explained. He and Dedede then turned to Twilight, who just sighed.
“Alright, hop on, Captain,” the alicorn said. Captain Falcon replied with a nod and quickly got onto Twilight's back. The only issue with this, however, was how much taller he was than her, so he sat rather awkwardly. Plus there was the fact that he was much heavier than Spike, so Twilight struggled a little to stay upright with Captain Falcon on her back.
“You sure you're alright, Twilight?” Dedede asked as he looked at the two curiously.
“I'm perfectly fine,” Twilight said while forcing a smile, despite how evident it was that she was struggling. “Come on. We should be moving.”
“Alright,” Alph said with a nod. He then turned to his Winged Pikmin and blew his whistle. The two small creatures replied with nods before flying around, picking the explorer up by the back collar of his suit, and lifting Alph into the air.
“Interesting little things, those Pikmin,” Dedede said as he watched Alph get lifted into the air. “Stronger than they look.” With a shake of his head, Dedede inhaled, puffing his body up like a balloon, and began flapping his arms and inhaling more so that he was able to lift himself into the air after Alph.
Meanwhile, back on the ground, Twilight was flapping her wings, but gaining no altitude. “Ugh, it's no good,” she said while panting. “I'm sorry, Captain Falcon, but I don't think I can fly with you on my back.”
“Oh,” Falcon said. “Hey, I saw you do some pretty interesting stuff with that book of yours. Any chance it can help us?”
“Actually, the book doesn't do that much,” Twilight replied. “Most of my abilities come from my…” Immediately, a light bulb went off in Twilight's head. “That's it!” Twilight then examined the face of the mountain. “Hold on, Captain. This ride's probably gonna get bumpy.” Twilight then lit up her horn and concentrated before she and Captain Falcon disappeared in a flash of light, reappearing on a small platform on the side of the mountain several yards above the ground.
“Woah…” Captain Falcon said with a dizzy expression. “That was…”
“Yeah, teleportation isn't something you get used to in one go,” Twilight replied. “But you're gonna have to tough through it. I'm teleporting us the whole way up this mountain.”
“I knew I should have just chanced riding on Dedede's back,” Falcon groaned. Ignoring this comment, (or possibly keeping it in mind), Twilight continued teleporting from cliff face to cliff face, each teleport seeming to make Captain Falcon queasier and queasier.
Quite a ways up the mountain, King Dedede had just caught up to Alph. “Hey, isn't Twilight with you?” Alph asked the king, who seemed to be struggling to gain altitude. Unable to speak, Dedede simply shook his head. “I hope she was able to carry Captain Falcon.”
“Don't worry, I found a way,” Twilight's voice came from behind Alph. He turned around to see Twilight standing on a cliff face with a dizzy-looking Captain Falcon on her back. “It was hard to fly with him, but teleporting proved to be much easier.”
“I'm… impressed, actually,” Alph said. “I did not know you could do that.” The explorer then looked up. “Looks like we're nearing the summit. Just a little ways further.”
Twilight turned her head and looked up. “Hm… I might be able to get up there with one last teleportation,” she said. “We'll meet you two up there.” With that, Twilight and Captain Falcon disappeared in a flash of purple light.
Alph and Dedede then looked at each other for a moment before silently coming to the consensus that it wasn't worth pausing to question this pony before they resumed rising the rest of the way up the mountain.
Meanwhile at the summit of the mountain, the Hero King Marth was, indeed, still there. The only problem was that he was currently under attack by a giant yellow turtle-like creature with a spiky green shell, razor sharp claws, a menacing expression that was complete with horns, red hair, and sharp fangs for teeth, and black wristbands and a collar, each of which with added white spikes on them.
Marth tried to strike with his sword, but his opponent blocked the attack by kneeling and letting the sword hit his shell before quickly rising back up and striking Marth with a powerful punch that sent the swordsman flying backwards. He was able to regain his footing, however.
“Just give up now, Marth,” the Koopa King said with a laugh. “You've been at this long enough. It's time to give up and come quietly.”
Marth got up and wiped the bottom of his lip. “Watashi wa, anata ni kuppa o teishutsu suru koto wa arimasen.” he said sternly. Bowser, on the other hand, simply laughed at this.
“I don't know what you just said, but whatever it was supposed to be, I've got other plans,” Bowser said. He then charged forward and spewed a massive column of fire from his mouth. Marth took shelter from this attack by raising a blue shield of energy, but this left him open to Bowser running up and grabbing him before leaping into the air, doing a front flip, and then preforming a body slam, smashing Marth between him and the ground. When Bowser got up, rather than the regular Marth, now what remained was the trophy depicting Marth. Bowser grinned evilly as he picked the trophy up. “Well you put up quite a fight. I'll give you that much. But I'm afraid-”
“MAGIC SPARK!” a voice from Bowser's right shouted. The Koopa King turned around just in time to catch a blast of magic right to his face. Of course, Bowser was barely fazed by this hit, but still he growled and turned around to see Twilight Sparkle standing at the edge of the summit. (Unnoticed by Bowser went Captain Falcon, who was sitting on the ground, attempting to stop the world around him from spinning.)
“Who dares to attack me?” Bowser asked as he dropped Marth and turned around to face Twilight.
“I am Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria,” Twilight replied with an intense expression as she flared her wings. “I'm looking for someone called Marth, and if the way you were holding that trophy just now is any indication, I'd say that was him, and you're looking to use him for dark purposes.”
Bowser laughed at this. “Well well well, it seems someone's rather observant,” he said. “You're right about almost everything. Only thing you missed was my intentions.” Bowser paused for a moment before continuing. “So you're this Twilight Sparkle I've been told about, eh? Well, it seems royalty enjoys company. Allow me to introduce myself. The name's Bowser, King of the Koopas and soon to be the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. Getting Marth here to my recent employer will get me one step closer to finally getting that last title, at least.”
“I don't know about the Mushroom Kingdom, and I've only recently learned what a Koopa is,” Twilight said, “but from the way you carry yourself, it's obvious somepony needs to put a stop to you.”
“'Somepony'?” Bowser asked with a laugh. “Is that what you just said? My, where are you from to be using such strange language?” The Koopa King then grinned and clenched his fist. “Those kinds of questions are meaningless right now, though, aren't they? There's only one kind of talking we need to do right now.”
“I think that's something we can agree on,” Twilight said with a nod as she summoned her book. She and Bowser stood there staring each other down for a moment before the Koopa King made the first move and began charging forward.
“No way!” another voice shouted. Twilight looked up just in time to see a Gordo flying over her head before it flew forward, bounced once and struck Bowser, knocking him backwards a bit. Twilight turned around to see King Dedede floating the rest of the way up before coming to a rest next to Twilight. Alph joined the two shortly after that.
“Sorry about the wait,” Alph said to Twilight as he plucked three new Pikmin, these in the colors Red, Blue, and Yellow. “Dedede had to catch his breath.”
“You realize I barely breathe while I'm floating, right?” Dedede asked while shooting a glare towards Alph.
“Grr… I should have known you'd show up, Dedede,” Bowser said as he recovered from the hit the Gordo gave him. “Still campaigning to stay one of Master Hand's favorites?”
“That has nothing to do with what I'm doing,” Dedede replied. “You knew exactly what Tabuu had planned for our worlds.”
“After Ganon betrayed me,” Bowser growled under his breath. He then turned back to his foes, who were just then being rejoined by Captain Falcon. “Face it, Dedede, you and all your friends from Dreamland have always been favored by Master Hand. It's a corrupt system. Why do you think I want to help Overlord V change it?”
“So you are in league with Overlord V!” Captain Falcon shouted.
“And I'm willing to bet my entire castle that this 'changing the system' isn't the real reason you're helping him,” Twilight added.
“Why, of course it isn't,” Bowser replied with an evil grin. “Just ask your friend Dedede. He knows firsthand why us villains came to the Super Smash Bros tournament in the first place.”
“It's true, I did want to rule Dreamland with an iron fist at one point,” King Dedede replied while clenching his fists. “But when I joined the second tournament, I'd already seen the error of my ways. My real intention for being there was simply because Kirby invited me.” Dedede then pointed his hammer at Bowser and raised his voice. “And you saw what I did in the last tournament! I saw right through what Master Hand promised you all while he was being controlled by Tabuu. All of you, including Ridley, were fools to believe his words. This situation with Overlord V, can't you see it's the exact same thing? It doesn't matter how hard that shell of yours is, you're still going to get stabbed in the back just like last time!”
For a long while after Dedede finished his monologue, everyone on the mountain was silent, the only noise coming from the breeze. Then, after a while… Bowser began laughing and sarcastically applauding. “Wow, way to go, Dedede,” the Koopa King taunted. “You've gotten a lot better at preaching since we've last met, haven't you?” Bowser then ceased clapping, but never lost his grin. “I don't think you quite understand the scope of today's situation. Overlord V, he's no higher power like Crazy Hand or Tabuu. He's not even a monarch like you or I. He's just really good at raising an army, which is exactly what he did. No more Polygons, no more Wire Frames, no more Subspace Army. This time around, we've got a legitimate army, and it's bigger and more diverse than ever before. My army, Ganon's army, the Underworld Army from that Pit's world, forces no one has ever seen the likes of before! We're all fighting for one thing, and that's power.”
Dedede simply shook his head. “You're as stubborn and hard-headed as ever, Bowser,” he said before readying his weapon. “It's a shame. When we first met, I thought we really could be friends. I thought the Subspace War had changed you and the other villains. But now I see how difficult it is to teach an old dog new tricks.”
“Did you just call me old?” Bowser asked with a growl.
“You heard me,” Dedede replied with a smirk.
“Grr… you and all your little friends are gonna pay for that!” Bowser roared.
“How?” Twilight asked. “It's four against one. It might be a better idea for you to just surrender Marth so we don't have to hurt you.”
“Aw, we can't just hurt him a little?” Captain Falcon asked.
“Oh don't worry,” Bowser said. “There's no way I'm surrendering.”
“Then you leave us no choice,” Twilight said as she and the others readied themselves for battle. “We will defeat you, Bowser.”
“Now that I'd like to see,” Bowser laughed. He was about to charge forward, but he stopped when another loud roar echoed through the air. Everyone on the mountain looked up to see what looked like an orange dragon flying through the air at high speed towards the group. It made one pass over everyone before circling around, coating itself in flames, and flying straight towards the ground and crashing powerfully at Bowser's side with a burst of flames before flipping and landing on its feet, seemingly ready for battle. “Charizard!” Bowser shouted. “I had this situation completely under control.”
“Charrargh,” Charizard growled in reply. “Char Charizard.”
“Seriously?” Bowser asked. “One little mishap thanks to some pirates and V wants everyone to regroup?” Charizard nodded. “Fine, but I'm not leaving without Marth, and these four are in the way.”
“Is that a dragon?” Twilight asked as she eyed Charizard.
“Technically no,” Dedede replied. “That's a Pokemon called Charizard. It's commonly referred to as a pseudo-Dragon, but not actually a Dragon-type.”
Twilight was about to reply to this, but she stopped when she sensed a strange chill come over her. Like there was an unknown presence near her. “Hey… does anyone happen to know why exactly Charizard did that circle maneuver?”
“I think so,” Captain Falcon replied, feeling the same presence Twilight felt. He then quickly turned around and tried to deliver a powerful jab towards the presence. However, he only saw his target, a small green plush toy, for a moment before he sent it flying miles away. “I know exactly what's here with us!”
Captain Falcon was about to explain the situation, but before he could say anything, there was a puff of white smoke, and before Twilight knew it, there was a giant blue frog-like creature flying right at her in kicking position. The alicorn had no time to react before she took the full force of the flying kick right to her face, sending her spinning onto the ground. She was able to pick herself up just in time to see her assailant in rest position right in front of Bowser and Charizard. The creature then slowly got up and turned to glance at Twilight and the others from the side. “Greninja…” it said.
“What the hay is that?” Twilight asked as Alph and Dedede helped her up.
“Greninja,” Alph said coldly. “Another Pokemon. This one's a Dark-type, so it's no wonder he's working with Overlord V.” While clenching his fists, the spaceman added, “He's also the one who took Olimar.”
“Nin?” Greninja asked, looking down at Alph with a curious expression. “Ja, grenin. Grenin Greninja.”
“What is it saying?” Twilight asked.
“I can translate,” Dedede replied. “'Hm? Oh, it's you. The other tiny human.' I'm guessing he remembers you, Alph.”
“I hope he does,” Alph said, striking a combative stance. “I'm gonna make sure he pays.”
“Ja Greninja,” Greninja said with a sinister laugh. “Grenin Grenin.”
“Charizard,” Charizard added. “Charrarugh Char.”
“She's got a point, Greninja,” Bowser said with a shrug.
“Okay, this is getting annoying,” Twilight said. She then focused and lit her horn up with magic before firing a wave of magic all across the summit, passing over everyone but harming no one.
“What was that?” Dedede asked.
“Translation spell,” Twilight replied. “A truly gifted unicorn never goes traveling without knowing one. Granted, I didn't expect to travel today, but still, you never know.”
“Ah yes,” Greninja said with an accent similar to that of a serpent. “I keep forgetting that most Smash Bros combatants are unable to understand Pokemon. Sad, really.”
“Woah, I understood him that time,” Alph said. “Does that translation spell of yours work for all of us?”
“Well, you could say that,” Twilight replied. “The way it works is that the spell taps into the mind of anyone I use it on, maps out that person's known language, and, if that person hears a language they're unfamiliar with, the spell will alter the function of the ear drums so that rather than hearing what's actually spoken, whoever has the spell active will instead automatically hear what the phrase heard meant in their native tongue.”
There was a moment in which no one spoke after Twilight completely nerded out with her explanation. After a while, Bowser turned to his allies and spoke up. “Did Overlord V send only you two?” he asked.
“No,” Charizard replied while shaking her head. “We've got one more on his way. It's-”
Charizard was cut off when she heard a faint noise behind her. All the villains turned around to see the source of the noise, which had soon increased in volume to the point where it could be identified as a kind of mechanical whirring. The culprit was a small toy-like device that seemed loosely modeled after Bowser, except it was incredibly short, and rather than spikes on the shell, there was a turnkey that spun as the toy walked. Everyone silently watched as it walked past the villains and up to King Dedede, who stared down at the toy curiously. As the monarch bent down to pick the toy up, it suddenly turned orange and began giving off sparks before exploding in his hand, sending Dedede onto his back.
“Are you alright, Dedede?” Twilight asked as she and Captain Falcon helped him up.
“I'm fine,” Dedede replied as he got back to his feet. “But I think I know who just showed up.”
Right as King Dedede said this, there was a noise coming from the far side of the mountain that sounded like an engine revving. Everyone turned around just in time to see what looked like a kart made up to resemble a clown speeding towards the location, piloted by a strange creature who also looked similar to Bowser, except younger and more adorable. He drove his kart right up to the center of the encounter area and did a doughnut maneuver before the wheels on his kart disappeared and were replaced with a small green propeller while the pilot drew a hammer, rested it on his shoulder, and looked towards the heroes with a smug look.
“Hope I didn't miss any of the fun,” he said in a voice that sounded like a high-pitched Bowser.
“Well!” Bowser said with a laugh. “It's good to see you again, son!”
“Son?!” Twilight asked with a shocked expression.
“Well, it seems someone isn't quite familiar with me,” the Koopa Prince said. “The name's Bowser Junior, little pony. But don't compare me to my father, 'cause trust me, I'm way more trouble than him.”
“Excuse me?” Bowser growled. “That's still up for debate, don't forget.”
“Tch, whatever,” Jr said with a roll of his eyes.
“It doesn't matter who's more evil than whom,” Charizard growled. “The point is that we're leaving as soon as possible, and we're taking Marth with us.”
“The hell you are,” Captain Falcon said as the heroes prepared themselves for battle. “We've come a long way to retrieve Marth, and we're not leaving until we've gained him as an ally.”
Greninja chuckled softly but sinisterly at this. “And how do you plan to do that with us standing in your way?” he asked. “Oh, and I politely request that you make your answer 'by fighting us.'”
“That was gonna be the answer from the start,” King Dedede replied.
“Good,” Bowser said while hitting his fists together. “I've been waiting for a fight where I don't have to dodge a sword every five seconds.”
“You'll still be dodging something,” Captain Falcon replied, ready to charge. “Trust me on that one.”
“Was that meant to be a comeback?” Greninja asked. “If so, it wasn't clever.”
“Enough talk,” Dedede said. “It's time to fight!” The monarch then began running forward, the other heroes following suit.
“The first strike, eh?” Bowser asked. “I guess Dedede hasn't gone soft.” With that, he motioned for the villains to charge forward as well, and so they did head-first into the heroes.
Atop the mountain where Twilight and her crew had found Marth already defeated by Bowser, who was quickly joined by three more villains, the battle had just begun. First to reach one another were Twilight and Bowser Jr. Without wasting a second, the Koopa Kid sent his Clown Kart charging towards Twilight while opening its mouth and unleashing several spinning blades that Twilight was just barely able to leap out of the way of.
“Woah, this kid means business,” Twilight said as she turned around and tried to attack Bowser Jr with a powerful smash using her book. However, the prince easily blocked this attack with a gray energy barrier before spinning around and causing the mouth of the Clown Kart to open and reveal a cannon which charged for a moment before firing a cannonball at high speed towards Twilight. The alicorn dodged out of the way of this before replying with a projectile of her own, a magic blast which hit the base of the Clown Kart and knocked it back a little. This attack didn't seem to do much damage, however.
“Reenforced Metal Koopa Shell casing,” Bowser Jr taunted as he tapped the side of his Clown Kart. “You're not scratching this baby.” The Koopa Prince then leapt into the air and, out of the side of the Clown Kart, unleashed a large wrecking ball attached to a chain that he tried to swing right at Twilight. She took this hit and was flung backwards, though she was able to skid to a stop just before she fell over the cliff.
“This might be a little harder than I thought,” Twilight said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead before leaping forward and going for a head-on approach towards Bowser Jr. This time, as she charged forward, she reared her book back before delivering a powerful forward swipe that hit the prince square in the face, causing him to lose balance just long enough for Twilight to move in and deliver a powerful upward strike that sent Bowser Jr into the air. Twilight then tried to leap up and continue the combo with an aerial attack, but the Koopa prince was able to dodge out of the way of her attack and reply by striking Twilight with a wrecking ball, sending the alicorn flying backwards. However, she was able to recover before she hit the ground, allowing her to land on her hooves. It was at about this time that Bowser Jr landed as well.
“Say, you're not half bad at this,” Bowser Jr taunted. “From the princessey look, I'd have thought you'd be an easy win.”
“Well if I've learned anything from spending less than a day in this world,” Twilight replied, “it's that looks can be deceiving.”
“Indeed,” Bowser Jr said with a grin. “For a moment there, I was afraid you'd disappoint me.” He then activated the Kart function of his Clown Kart and charged forward towards Twilight at high speed.
Meanwhile, Alph was doing his best to keep up with Greninja so he could actually battle the Pokemon. However, whenever Alph would get close enough for an attack, Greninja would quickly leap out of the way, over Alph's head, and deliver a strong kick that knocked Alph forwards.
“I'm gonna have to change tactics,” Alph said to himself. He then looked to his left to see Yellow standing there idly. On Alph's right, Blue. “Okay you two…” Alph said as he grabbed the two Pikmin by their stems. “Let's show this guy what we're made of.”
It was at this moment that Greninja was swiftly moving in to deliver another attack. He quickly noticed that Alph had grabbed two of his Pikmin. “Easier to read than a Magikarp,” Greninja said to himself as he approached. The Pokemon quickly formed a blade made from water and was about to strike, but he was caught off-guard when Alph rolled over onto his back, revealing Red on his foot, before the traveler kicked Red forward, causing him to latch right onto Greninja's face. This broke Greninja's concentration to the point where he lost his water blade and was more focused on getting Red off of his face. He succeeded in grabbing the Pikmin before it could do very much damage and throwing it over the cliff towards what was more than likely Red's demise, but this distracted Greninja just long enough for Alph to run up and deliver a powerful strike with Blue that knocked Greninja off balance enough for Alph to follow up with a powerful uppercut using Yellow. Greninja felt the electricity from the Yellow Pikmin course through him as he flew up into the air, but he'd trained himself under harsher circumstances. Greninja quickly righted himself in midair and switched to diving downward feet-first towards Alph at high speed. Unfortunately, this was Greninja's mistake, since Alph quickly tuck-and-rolled out of the way, causing Greninja to hit nothing but solid ground, stunning him for a second and allowing Alph to throw Blue and Yellow, the two Pikmin latching onto Greninja and striking several times while Alph pulled up a White Pikmin and charged in to strike with that one. However, Greninja recovered faster than Alph planned for and quickly formed two water blades that he seamlessly used to strike Blue and Yellow into oblivion. He then turned his attention to Alph, who was within striking distance now. Greninja quickly threw a small water blade forward, hitting Alph square in the chest and knocking him backwards. He was able to land on his feet, however, and wasted no time pulling up two more Pikmin, a Purple and another Red, before charging back at Greninja.
While this was happening, the two kings, Dedede and Bowser, were locked in their own battle.
“You don't seriously think you can defeat me, do you?” Bowser growled as he delivered a powerful punch that knocked Dedede backwards and onto his back.
“I dunno,” Dedede said as he saw Bowser approach for a follow-up attack. “Does our encounter in the Subspace War ring any bells?” Right as Bowser was about to strike Dedede, the monarch of Dreamland swung his hammer in a circle around him while getting up, knocking Bowser backwards in the process. Dedede then pulled out a Gordo and launched it at Bowser.
“Too predictable,” Bowser said as he rolled backwards and onto his feet before giving the Gordo a solid punch, sending it flying back towards Dedede at high speed. Dedede was able to dodge out of the way of his own Gordo, but this left him open to Bowser running forward and delivering a powerful flying kick that hit Dedede square in the gut and caused him to release a bullet of air that hit Bowser in the face and knocked him off balance for a little while, though it dealt little damage.
“Yeah… I learned that one from Kirby,” Dedede said as he recovered his breath. The penguin then rushed forward and was about to strike Bowser with his hammer, but his foot apparently caught something and he tripped. Fortunately, however, not only did Dedede trip right onto Bowser, but he did so with enough force to knock the Koopa King backwards a bit. Seeing his opportunity, Dedede got up quickly and then leapt into the air, where he hovered for a moment before coming crashing back to the ground, striking Bowser powerfully from above and knocking him further away, where he got hit by a small star that materialized when Dedede landed. “You had enough, Bowser?”
“Grr…” Bowser growled as he got up. “You will be sorry for this.” With a roar, Bowser charged at Dedede once again.
Meanwhile, Charizard was busy fighting Captain Falcon. No matter what she tried, however, she just couldn't seem to be able to keep up with his moves.
“Hold still, human!” Charizard roared as she attacked Falcon with a Flamethrower. However, he was able to easily leap out of the way of this before flying behind the Flame Pokemon and delivering a backhand attack that knocked Charizard off balance long enough for Captain Falcon to turn around and deliver a powerful elbow jab that sent her flying backwards. However, Charizard was able to regain her footing.
“Heh, based on the Charizard that one kid had last tournament, I'd have thought you'd be a challenge,” Captain Falcon taunted.
“Grr… I will not allow you to taunt me in this way,” Charizard growled. She then charged forward and delivered a flying kick that knocked Captain Falcon into the air. She followed this attack up by flying upwards and delivering a powerful downward strike with her claw, sending Captain Falcon into the ground. He was able to recover, but not before Charizard flew down to join him before striking with her claws twice, followed by her reaching down and grabbing a chunk of earth before smashing her head into it, striking Captain Falcon not only with the flying rock shards, but also with her head, sending the pilot flying backwards.
Meanwhile, Bowser Jr had just struck Twilight powerfully with one of his wrecking balls, sending the princess flying backwards. Though Twilight would hate to admit it, she was actually taking quite a beating from this little koopa. She had to struggle back to her hooves, and she felt like if Jr got one more solid hit on her, she'd be sent flying off of this mountain.
“What's the matter, pretty pony princess?” Bowser Jr taunted. “Had enough already?”
Twilight held her book close to her and looked up with a serious expression. “I'm not going down as easily as you think,” she said. “I don't know what you have planned for this world, but I won't let you or your friends go through with it. And I'm going to fight with every last breath in my-”
Twilight wasn't able to finish her speech before Captain Falcon came flying into the fight, slamming right into Bowser Jr, knocking the koopa prince and his Clown Kart over on their side. “What the-?” Twilight asked as Captain Falcon quickly got back to his feet.
“Twilight, I'm passing the baton,” Falcon called. “I'll take care of Royal Pain, here. You think you can handle Morning Breath?”
Twilight smiled and nodded. “I could use a break from him,” she said. “Thanks, Captain.”
“Thanks are for later. It's still fight time.” Captain Falcon then turned around to face Bowser Jr, who had just righted his Clown Kart.
“Grr… you're going to pay for that,” the young koopa growled.
With a smile, Captain Falcon replied, “Then show me your moves.” With that, the pilot dashed forward and delivered a powerful shoulder tackle that Junior shielded against. Following this shield, Junior grabbed Falcon using an extendable arm from the Clown Kart and twirled around before throwing him backwards and off the cliff. However, Falcon was able to grab the edge before falling, which Bowser Jr. didn't notice before approaching the cliff to observe Falcon's supposed fate. Large mistake on the young koopa's part, for as soon as he got close, Captain Falcon pulled himself up halfway before spinning around and delivering a sweep kick onto the plateau that knocked Junior backwards and into the air. Falcon then got up, dashed forward, and reared back for a Falcon Punch that would have finished Junior. However, the prince recovered and landed just in time to shield against the attack. Unfortunately, his shield was already weakened from the attack blocked earlier. Barely weakened, but still enough for a Falcon Punch to shatter the shield, knocking Junior into the air and making him dizzy.
“Now to finish this,” Captain Falcon said as Junior landed in front of him, quickly getting up but able to right neither his own vision nor the balance of his Clown Kart. Falcon reared hack and down, charging an upwards kick. Once fully charged, Falcon leaped up and delivered two upward kicks that hit Junior and sent him flying into the air. However, rather than clear the young koopa, the kicks sent Junior into the air and then straight back down. “Looks like this kid has some fight left in him,” Falcon said to himself as Junior tuck-and-rolled backwards as soon as he hit the ground and faced Falcon once again.
Meanwhile, Greninja was still battling Alph, who was now down to just a Red Pikmin. “Give it up, Alph,” Greninja said as he fired a Water Shuriken that struck Red dead-on, delivering a fatal blow and leaving Alph with no more allies. Greninja then rushed forward and vanished in a puff of smoke before reappearing behind Alph and unleashing a powerful kick that sent the rookie pilot flying backwards and almost off the edge, but he was able to grab the edge and save himself from falling. He pulled himself up, but quickly found himself faced with a razor-sharp water blade. “Any last words, spaceman?”
Alph froze for a moment before seeing something. “Actually, yes,” he said. “Duck.”
“Duck?” Greninja asked. “What do you mean by-?”
“INCOMING!” Dedede shouted from a distance. Greninja turned around just in time to see a high-speed out-of-control Gordo flying right at his face. One half-second later, the Gordo hit Greninja and sent him flying.
“Thanks Dedede!” Alph called as he pulled up more Pikmin, (Blue, Yellow, and another White), before rushing to Dedede's side. “That won't take him out, but it seems you drew his aggro. We'll handle Bowser.” The Pikmin nodded in response to this.
“I knocked Bowser away after I distracted him with that Gordo, but he'll be back,” Dedede warned before turning and running towards where Greninja was about to recover. Meanwhile, Alph turned around and shielded just before Bowser ran up and hit him with a flying kick. The attack didn't scratch Alph thanks to the shield, however, and the pilot quickly responded by sending Blue forward and having him grab Bowser.
“Rule number 1, Mr. Koopa King,” Alph said with a smirk. “Never open with a dash attack.” Alph then commanded his Pikmin to throw Bowser into the ground, where he bounced into the air, allowing Alph to run in with his Yellow Pikmin and deliver a powerful forward strike that sent Bowser flying. Alph knew Bowser would recover from the attack, but what happened instead was that the Koopa King, after just flying over the edge, was instantly meteor smashed off the mountain and towards the ground below. Alph was too far away to see exactly what happened, but once the culprit of Bowser's defeat was in view, Alph gasped.
Meanwhile, Twilight was still duking it out with Charizard. “How is it that I haven't burned that annoying little book of yours?” Charizard growled as she fired a Flamethrower, which Twilight shielded easily.
“Magical energy field,” Twilight replied with a smug look. “What? You thought I'd fight a dragon without making sure I couldn't get burned?”
That comment struck home for Charizard. “How dare you use that word in my presence!” she roared before coating herself in flames and lunging forward with a powerful Flare Blitz. Twilight was barely able to Teleport out of the way, quickly turning around and firing a Magic Spark that hit Charizard right between her wings. This attack didn't do much, however.
“I'm curious about something, Charizard,” Twilight said as the Pokemon turned around. “What exactly are you fighting for?”
“Isn't it obvious?” Charizard asked in reply. “I'm fighting for Overlord V, of course. I'm fighting so that we can rule this universe.”
“Really?” Twilight asked. “Well, you sure don't act like that's what you're fighting for.”
“What?” Charizard growled. “How dare you!”
“It's all in your blows,” Twilight continued. “You're fighting like you're forced to fight. I'd taken so much damage from Bowser Junior, you should have been able to take me out with one solid attack, but you haven't. Why not? What are you hiding, Charizard? And how can I help you?”
Charizard took a step back, a shocked expression on her face. “You…” she shook her head. “You can't help me, Twilight Sparkle. I don't need your help!” She then charged forward and was about to attack, but was stopped when two objects suddenly fell from the sky between the pony and the Pokemon. Specifically, Trophies depicting Bowser and Greninja. “What? How can this be?”
“I took the liberty of calling in a little bit of backup,” Dedede chuckled as he chucked a Bowser Jr. Trophy onto the other two. It was at this moment that Captain Falcon and Alph walked up beside the king, followed by a small figure about Alph's size leaping up from behind Dedede, doing a frontflip, and landing perfectly at the front of the group, blue bandana blowing in the breeze and spear in its stubby little hand. The figure rose up and began twirling the spear in intimidating fashion before stopping and aiming the spear right at Charizard.
“Care to make that a pile of four?” the figure asked in a squeaky but surprisingly intimidating voice.
Charizard raised an eyebrow. The figure looked unfamiliar. A small almost spherical body that was mostly orange except for a light brown face that had two beady eyes but no mouth. “Who are you?” Charizard asked.
The figure twirled its spear a couple more times before bringing it to rest, butt-end on the ground and head facing upwards in a perfect guardian manner. “Captain of King Dedede's Royal Guard, one of the Heroes of Ripple Star, and a lot more well-traveled than you,” he said. “Bandana Waddle Dee, at your service.” He said that last part with a bow. Then with a shrug, he added, “Or you could just call me Bandana Dee to save syllables.”
Charizard looked confused. “I… don't recall seeing you at the beginning of the tournament,” she said. “How did you get here?”
“Turns out Master Hand is accepting late applications this time around,” Dedede said. “Figured I'd vouch for my right-hand man right here.”
“Unluckily for you, though,” Bandana Dee continued as he picked up his spear and aimed it at Charizard. “Now, you have two options. Option A: You fight all five of us, lose, and we take you and your friends back to Ridley. Option B: You escape with your friends, and return to Overlord V with a message. That message: We're not letting him gain any more ground. This is the part where we start pushing back. And by the time the tournament's over, either V surrenders, or we take him down ourselves. Now then… which option will you choose?”
Charizard looked on at the four foes in front of her. She looked down at her three Trophy'd allies. She looked behind her at Twilight Sparkle, who knew more than what was comfortable for the Pokemon. “Fine,” Charizard growled. “You win this round.” Charizard then picked up her comrades and began flying into the air. Before she left, however, she called, “But make sure you send Ridley a message from Overlord V. We haven't played all our cards yet either. We're not going down anytime soon. In fact, I suggest you prepare for you 'new advantages' to quickly become evened out.” Charizard then turned and flew away at high speed.
There was a moment's pause on the mountain before King Dedede spoke up. “Dang, Bandana! Sure was a good thing you got here when you did! Even I was starting to worry we wouldn't get through that fight.”
“What would you do without me, my king?” Bandana Dee chuckled. He then turned to the others. “It's great to meet you all. I've heard a lot about you from the king.” The Waddle Dee eyed Twilight. “Not you, though… are you a newcomer as well?”
“I am,” Twilight replied. “I'm Twilight Sparkle of Equestria.”
“Twilight, huh?” Bandana asked. “You kind of remind me of a friend of mine. You wouldn't happen to have a knack for art, would you?”
Twilight shook her head. “No, magic is more my forte,” she said.
“Alright,” Bandana said with a nod. “Anyway, let me give you all the sit-rep. My king, your Dedede Rider is parked at the base of the mountain. Marth's already loaded up.”
“Alright,” Dedede said. “Wait a second. How did you get the keys to my Dedede Rider? And how'd you bring it here?”
Bandana Dee chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. “I kind of let Dyna Blade into the castle so she could break into the garage for me,” he said. “And, I kinda put her in charge while everyone was gone. But the whole place is back on lock down. Don't worry about that.”
Dedede shook his head, but smiled. “There's the mischievous little Waddle Dee I've been raising myself,” the king said.
“Hey, you wouldn't happen to have done anything with the Falcon Flier, have you?” Captain Falcon asked.
“I hadn't seen it,” Bandana replied while shaking his head. He then turned away from everyone. “Well, now that my work here is done, I'd best be off.”
“Wait!” Dedede called. “You don't wanna come back with us and join the Renegade Alliance? We have cake.”
“Sorry, my king, but this is the one time I must defy you,” Bandana replied. “I'm needed elsewhere. When the time comes, however…” He turned around and winked at everyone. “You'll see me again.” The Waddle Dee then began running towards the cliff before leaping off in a graceful dive. Everyone quickly ran over to see if he needed saving, but when they got to the edge, they saw Bandana Dee floating away with a red and white parasol carrying him.
“Well…” Twilight commented, “he's an interesting one.”
“There's definitely always been something different about him,” Dedede replied. “Ever since the Crystal Shards incident, he's been… strange.” Dedede shook his head. “But enough about Bandana Dee. He'll turn up when he turns up. For now, we'd best get back to base. Luckily, it'll be an easy ride thanks to the Dedede Rider. That is, if you all don't mind riding in the back.”