> Of Plumbers and Ponies: Kingdom Quest
>  by pokerninja2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Two Kingdoms are Merged, Twilight Observes a ? Block, and Spike Gets Attacked by Goombas
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Aaaaaand finished! What do you think, your Giantness?"

The latest scheme Bowser hatched to kidnap Princess Peach was perfect: send the Mario Bros. and their merry bunch of friends to some other world where they wouldn't bother him while he was taking over the kingdom. To do that, he needed a working teleportation machine to throw the brothers into, so he enlisted Kamek and Kammy Koopa in charge of constructing it.

Bowser examined the machine that stood before him. It was... something alright. It was made out of cardboard, a clothes hanger stuck out from the top of it with a band-aid wrapped around it, buttons seemingly made of construction paper decorated the front side, and there was a giant hole that showed the interior, pictures of Bowser scribbled in with markers and crayon. On top of all of that, it was small and it looked like it could barely fit a Toad, much less Mario.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Bowser asked.

"Not at all your Grouchiness," Kammy Koopa said. "We have been hard at work all week long preparing this teleportation device, putting our combined knowledge to the test."

"It may not look like much, but this little machine can send anyone, anywhere!" Kamek followed.

"This looks like something Jr. would make for an arts and crafts project!" Bowser said. "You expect me to believe this cardboard box has the capabilities of teleportation!?"

"Of course, your Heftiness," Kamek said. "All we need is a volunteer to test it on... uh... YOU!"

A nearby Koopa Paratroopa who was minding his own business turned to face Kamek, who was pointing at him.

"Um, me?" he asked.

"Yes, you," Kamek said. "We need you as a test dummy for our new teleportation device for Lord Bowser's plan."

"Umm... OK," the Paratroopa said nervously. He flew into the cardboard box. "This... really doesn't look like a teleporter..."

"Oh but it is!" Kammy Koopa said. "Just let me push the yellow button... or was it the blue one?"

"I'm pretty sure it was the green one," Kamek said.

"Actually, it's probably the chartreuse one," Kammy said.

"No wait, I remember! It was burnt sienna!"

"No, that's the power button! Wait, it's the one that has orange polka dots!"

"WILL YOU GET ON WITH IT!?" Bowser roared.

"Yessir," Kamek said. He pressed the violet button with black stripes, and suddenly the cardboard box started to jump around and spasm. The Magikoopas took a step back, with Bowser mildly impressed that the dingy thing was actually doing something. The Paratroopa inside was getting uneasy.

"Umm... are you sure this is safe!?" the Paratroopa asked.

"Not a clue," Kammy said.

The device shook and bounced around some more until everyone was met with a blue flash. The box landed back on the ground, and the Paratroopa inside was gone. A monitor rose from out of the box's top, showing the Paratroopa in a strange new land.

"IT WORKS!" Kamek shouted in victory.

"SUCCESS!" Kammy cackled.

"Color me surprised," Bowser said. "This dingy thing actually works, about time you two did something useful. Where is he now?"

"According to the data," Kamek said as the device printed out a small paper from a small slot, reading it over. "Our flying friend has landed in a place called Equestria."

"Equestria?" Bowser asked. "That's a lame name."

"Um, guys," the Paratroopa said from the monitor. "This is fun and all and I'm happy the teleporter works, but... how do I get back."

"I... dunno," Kammy said. "I never thought we'd get this far..."

"Looks like you're stuck there for awhile," Kamek said.

"WHAT!?" the Paratroopa protested. He quickly took out his phone and dialed a number in. "Hey, uh, Kelly Koopa? Yeah uh... I don't think I'm gonna make it to Lavaland Grill tonight..."

The monitor shut off and returned to the device. Bowser chuckled in approval.

"Excellent work, Kammy and Kamek," Bowser said, patting their heads. "With this device, we could send Mario and his Council of Annoying Allies to this Equestria place and they'll never bother us again! Finally, I get to flush a plumber down the drain!"

"Yes, your Cleverness!" Kamek said. "This plan was your best one yet!"

"We don't call you Lord Bowser for nothing!" Kammy Koopa followed.

"So what else can this thing do?" Bowser asked, now curious to see what this wacky device was capable of.

"I dunno, we never tested these other buttons," Kamek said. He walked up and pushed the tangerine button with aquamarine stars on it, and the machine suddenly got bigger and started glowing blue.

"Should it be doing that?" Bowser asked.

"No idea," Kamek said.

A giant blue vortex opened from the device and started sucking in everything. Nearby Goombas, Koopas, and Piranha Plants were drawn into the ever-exapnding vortex, probably being transported to who knows where. The Magikoopas clung dearly to Bowser to keep from being sucked in, but even the hefty Koopa King was starting to get pulled in.

"IT'S EVERY KOOPA FOR HIMSELF!" he shouted as he ran off to escape the vortex, leaving his Magikoopa servants to fall into it. The machine's pull was only getting stronger, and the gap between them was gradually closing despite Bowser's best efforts. However, a Chain Chomp flew by and conked Bowser in the head, making him fall unconscious and be sucked into the teleporter's grasp.



Meanwhile, on the other side of the kingdom, a giant feast was being held in honor of the Mushroom Kingdom's greatest heroes throughout the years of adventures they had together. At the end of the table sat Peach, the benevolent princess of the kingdom who ruled it over with a pink thumb. To the sides of her were the famous Mario Bros., who had stomped Bowser one time a many to rescue her whenever danger struck. Also joining the feast were Yoshi and Birdo, their dinosaur allies, Toad and Toadette, siblings who would provide helpful items, and Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong... who didn't really play a part in this rescuing shindig and were only here because bananas were provided.

"I'm so glad you all could join me for dinner," Peach said as the Toad chefs were bringing out the main course - spaghetti and meatballs. Mario and Luigi were practically drooling at the sight of it.

"It's an honor," Mario said, taking a fork and chowing down. "And besides, we're around here so much we may as well live here!"

"You said it, bro!" Luigi agreed. Just then, his pet Polterpup leaped onto his lap and slurped up a meatball.

"Hey!" the green plumber said. "Shoo, shoo!" The Polterpup licked his face and hopped off.

"I need to get myself a pet," Mario said. "It'd be fun having an animal sidekick to adventure with."

"Thanks," Yoshi said sarcastically as he ate his meal.

"Oh you know he didn't mean it like that, darling," Birdo giggled.

"Do I really need to sit next to these guys?" Toad asked as Diddy tossed a banana peel that landed square on his spaghetti.

"Oh come on Toad, they're nice!" Toadette said as Donkey Kong handed Toadette one of his bananas.

"Easy for you to say," Toad grumbled as another peel landed on his head.

Peach simply giggled at all of her friends' conversations. She couldn't be happier to be surrounded by closer friends. However, looking through a window, she noticed something strange in the outskirts of Toad Town.

"Um, everyone?" the princess called out. "Something strange is happening."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked out the window. There was a giant blue vortex rampaging through the Mushroom Kingdom, and heading straight into Toad Town.

"W-W-W-What is THAT!?" Luigi asked, flabbergasted by the thing.

"One of Bowser's doings I bet!" Mario said. He then turned to face everyone else in the room. "We gotta stop that thing before it destroys the town!"

"Uh, a bit too late for that," Yoshi said, pointing back to the vortex.

Mario turned back around and saw that within seconds it had already sucked up the entirety of Toad Town and was picking up Peach's Castle with it. Luigi held dearly onto his Polterpup as he rocked back and forth on the ground. DK and Diddy's bananas were picked up by the blue twister, and they angrily charged to reclaim them. Toadette held onto Toad's hands before she lost grip and was sucked in. Yoshi grabbed Birdo with his tongue before she could be picked up, only for both of them to fly into it.

"MARIO!" Peach called, hanging to a pillar for dear life.

She lost grip, but Mario grabbed her hand just in time. However, the vortex's force was too strong, and the pillar broke off, sending the both of them into it. Mario tried to wrap his head around what was happening, but a Brick Block smashed into his head, knocking him clear out.



Twilight Sparkle looked over the rims of her cards. Around the big table sat the rest of her friends, and they were having one of their weekly get-togethers at the Castle of Friendship. To her right was Rarity, who kept her cards facing the table, and gave anypony who dared try to sneak a peek at her deck the stink eye. To the left sat Fluttershy, who was looking pretty nervous about her deck. Applejack scratched the back of her head, holding the worst poker face Twilight had ever seen. Pinkie seemed to be pretty confident in her deck, though she didn't seem to care about weather she was winning or not. Rainbow Dash looked bored - she was never one for card games but was persuaded into playing anyway.

This was going to be interesting.

"Everypony ready for another hit?" Trixie asked, decked in her purple cloak and hat. She shuffled the cards with her unicorn magic and dealt them to anypony foolish enough to trust her as the dealer.

"Hit me," Rarity said. She got uncharacteristically competitive during their card games.

"Ah'm no good at this game," Applejack sighed. "Can't we just play Go Fish or somethin'?"

"Applejack, you have a king and an ace, plus there's a ten in the community, what are you talking about!?" Rarity accused.

"Hold on a minute, how did you know what cards she had?" Twilight asked.

"Uh... no reason!" Rarity responded in defense. "Just... lucky guess is all."

Unsatisfied with her answer, Twilight fished below the table and pulled out Spike, who smiled bashfully, much to the princess' disapproval.

"Umm... hi everypony..." he waved.

"Have you been using him to cheat the whole game?" Fluttershy asked.

"You have the best luck out of all of us, Fluttershy, so you can take that innocent attitude and shove it," Rarity said. "I know for a fact that you've had a royal flush the past six hands! And don't think I didn't notice Twilight over here using her magic to shuffle some of the cards!"

"Well, I... uh..." Twilight tried to say to defend herself.

"And as for you, Pinkie," Rarity pointed at the pink party pony. "Did you really think nopony would notice you stealing chips from the middle of the table and making them disappear?"

"But they taste so good with salsa!" Pinkie said, dipping a chip into a giant bowl of salsa she had on the table next to her.

"The only one here playing fair is Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said.

"No, I've been cheating too," Rainbow chuckled. "I've been swapping cards with you girls the whole game!"

There was a moment of silence before the six friends burst into laughter. These weekend hangouts were always so much fun.

"Are we ready yet?" Trixie asked, looking a bit displeased.

"I told you being the dealer for their poker game was a bad idea," Starlight Glimmer said as she trotted up to her blue friend. "I had to do it once and trust me, it never goes right."

The laughing fit continued for some time until Pinkie started feeling... strange. Her tail began twitching, her ears were flapping, her nose was crinkly, and more and more things were happening by the minute. That could only mean one thing.

"My Pinkie Sense!" Pinkie called out. Everypony in the room immediately stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the now-jittery Pinkie Pie. Looks of concern and horror filled their faces as they looked around, trying to find the source of Pinkie's sense to no avail.

"What's going on!?" Spike asked. "What's gonna happen!?"

"OK so..." Pinkie began as she listed all the things her body was doing. "Twitchy twitchy tail, floppy flappy ears, crinkle crinkly nose, anAAAAAAAAAACHOOOOOO!"

Pinkie sneezed so hard that she was blown backwards and hit the wall. Twilight rushed to her aid.

"Super-duper sneezes..." Pinkie finished.

"And what does all that mean?" Twilight asked.

"I dunno, I've never had this happen beforAAAAAAAAAACHOOOOOOO!" Pinkie started before being interrupted by another sneeze, careening into Applejack. "Must be a real dozy!"

"RUN FOR SHELTER!" Spike called as he started flying to who knows where before being pulled back by Twilight's magic. That didn't stop the dragon's flight though.

"Spike, we're all in the castle, nothing bad is going to happen in here," Twilight said,

"You never know," Pinkie said. "The dozy could happen right here in the middle of the rooAAAAAAACHOOOOOOO!" This time she flew in Starlight's direction, who ducked for cover just in time for Trixie to get hit instead.

"Could you sneeze a LITTLE less violently?" Starlight asked. "You're gonna get us killed!"

"Oh dear!" Fluttershy eeped as she hid her face behind her mane. "What if THAT'S the dozy?"

"Preposterous, dear!" Rarity said, holding a hoof around the yellow pegasus to calm her down. "There is no possible way that all nine of us in this room could suddenly cease to exist!"

As if on cue, Rarity disappeared into a blue flash. Not a trace of the white unicorn was left behind. Fluttershy's eyes widened to the size of plates as she slowly stepped away. Silence fell upon everyone in the room.

"Did I just see... what I think I just saw..." Rainbow said finally. And just like Rarity, she disappeared in a blue flash too. This time, everypony looked around in panic.

"EVERYPONY'S DISAPPEARING!" Pinkie cried out. "That's what the dozy is! We're all gonnaAAAAAAAAACHOOOOOOOOOO!" The pink pony flew so fast that she was ricocheting off the walls like a pinball. She flew straight into Twilight, but she disappeared as well just before she could make contact.

"We gotta get outta here!" Applejack cried. "Before all of us-" before she could even finish her sentence, she vanished in a blue flash just like the ponies before her.

That was Fluttershy's breaking point, and she dived onto Twilight and wrapped her front hooves around her, violently sobbing. The remaining ponies and Spike did the same, huddling around the alicorn in fear.

"N-Now everypony calm down," the purple alicorn said, trying (poorly) to ease everypony's fears. "I'm sure that there's a logical explaination for this. We just need to stick together and-"

The second Twilight disappeared, the remaining ones ran off in separate directions before they inevitably vanished as well.



Twilight was unsure how long she was out for. After whatever just happened at the Castle of Friendship, she stirred awake and got on her hooves. As she regained consciousness, memories of what happened flooded back to her. She remembered that her friends were mysteriously disappearing, and judging by where she was, she assumed the same happened to her too.

"Wait, where am I anyway?" Twilight said aloud. She scanned her surroundings... it looked vaguely like Equestria. Same colored grass, same shaped trees, same floating yellow blocks, same clouds, same rainbows, same-

"Wait a minute, what!?" Twilight shook her head and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. Sure enough, right in front of her was a big, yellow, floating box with a white question mark on it. She slowly approached it, hardly believing what she was seeing right now. This object seemed so... otherworldly.

Thoughts and observations rushed to her mind in seconds. How the heck was this thing floating in midair!? That went against every single law of physics! And why was there a question mark imprinted on it? Did someone draw it on there? And most importantly, what kind of purpose did this object serve? Was it a useful tool or a bad omen?

She investigated further by walking underneath the peculiar block. It was the same color as the rest of it, but no question mark on it. She gently scraped her hoof across the bottom of it. It felt like some kind of metal, like steel. It was cold, too. She pressed her hoof harder on it, and the block moved up slightly. OK, so it was light. She removed her hoof and the block returned to its original position in midair. It seemed to react to gravity at least somewhat.

Wondering if she could push it down, Twilight flew on top of the yellow block and perched herself on it. To her surprise, the block didn't move down at all. Or was it even a surprise? This block was so weird she didn't know what was normal anymore. She was briefly distracted by her surroundings, and saw more floating blocks just like it. Some were alone, some were grouped with more, some were the same size, other were about as long as three blocks in a row. She kept looking around, trying to piece together whatever in Celestia's name was going on with these blocks-

BONK

A force suddenly bumped the block from below, sending Twilight into the air. She didn't have time to react and use her wings to slow her descent before she smacked face first into the grass.

"Yikes, sorry about that," a voice called. "Didn't see you up there. Are you alright?"

Twilight got back up and shook her head, getting all the dirt out of her mane. The first thing she noticed was that the block had somehow turned brown and had no question mark anymore. These mystical blocks... just how many secrets did they hold!?

She shifted her gaze down and saw a humanoid figure standing below it. He looked vaguely like the humans she met in the alternate version of Equestria with Sunset Shimmer, but he looked more stubby and portly. He had a big, round nose and a mustache, and donned blue overalls with a red cap and shirt. She hadn't seen anyone like this before.

Seeing his face of concern, she snapped back to reality, she cleared her throat. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

The figure walked up and examined her himself. He seemed equally surprised at what he was seeing. "You know, I've seen a lot of horses in my day, but I don't think I've ever seen a purple one with wings who could talk."

"You look pretty strange to me, too," Twilight responded. "Oh, and by the way, we use 'pony'."

"Alright, purple pony with wings who can talk, then," the figure responded before holding his hand out for a handshake. "Name's Mario."

"My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle," she responded before taking Mario's hand with her hoof. "But just Twilight is fine."

"Twilight it is then," Mario said before looking around. "You're not from around here either, are you?"

"I have no idea where I am," Twilight admitted. "One moment I was just hanging out with my friends in my castle, then everypony started disappearing randomly in these blue flashes. And next thing I know, I'm here in this world of weird floating blocks."

"You think that's bad?" Mario chuckled. "Try having lunch with your friends before your entire town gets sucked into this giant blue vortex. I'm separated from my friends and trying to find them."

Twilight then realized her friends were missing as well. She looked around, but saw no trace of them.

"I lost mine too," she sighed.

"Hey, maybe we could help each other out?" Mario suggested. "I help you find your friends and you help me find mine. Y'know, a little I-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine kinda deal."

"I'd he happy to help," Twilight said, enlightened a bit. "Besides, it's not like either of us know our way around this place, so we may as well stick together."

"Perfect!" Mario said as he jumped away from Twilight and pointed over a nearby forest. "Me and our princess, Peach, are using the remains of her castle over those woods as a makeshift base. Follow me and we'll fill you in."

"Right behind you!" Twilight said as the two started running towards the forest.



"So those yellow blocks come from your world?" Twilight asked. "And those giant tubes sticking out of the ground I keep seeing?"

"They're pretty commonplace where I come from, but it's probably hard for someone not from there to wrap their head around," Mario answered.

"Well, what do they do?" Twilight asked. "Where do they come from?"

"You sure do ask a lot of questions," Mario chuckled.

"Yeeeeaaaah, I get that a lot..." Twilight said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Well it's not so hard to understand," Mario answered, walking right under a ? Block to explain. "These things are called ? Blocks, and they hold all sorts of helpful items if you hit them from below. Watch this!"

Mario revved up for one of his signature jumps, but before he could, Twilight's ears picked up a faint cry.

"WAIT!" she called out, causing Mario to miss the block and land right in front of her hooves.

"Sorry about that," Twilight said. "But listen! You hear that?"

Mario listened, and sure enough he was able to hear the voice too. "Yeah, I hear it," he said.

The duo followed the voice through some bushes and looked down a steep cliff. There, Twilight saw a group of small, brown, chestnut-like creatures marching toward something. She shifted her gaze more downward and saw-

"Spike!" she called out in a whisper. Mario followed her glance and saw a small, purple dragon being cornered behind a rock. Those Goombas were probably after him!

"You know this guy?" Mario asked.

"Yes, he's my one of my best friend and personal assistant," Twilight answered. "And he's being attacked by those... weird... brown things!"

"What, Goombas?" Mario asked. "I beat those guys every day. Let me show you how to handle them."

Down at the bottom of the cliff, Spike was running out of room as the Goombas approached him. Like Twilight, he had no idea where he was, and seeing these weird creatures charging at him was something he wasn't prepared for.

"I thought dragons were supposed to be big and scary," one of the Goombas said. "Not small and weak!"

"Hey, I'm not weak!" Spike defended.

"Well then let's see what you got!" another Goomba taunted. Just before the squad to charge at him, Mario landed right between them and Spike, and looked at them rather angrily. The Goombas practically melted at the sight of him.

"10 against one is hardly a fair fight!" Mario said.

"IT'S MARIO!" a Goomba shouted. "HOW DID HE GET HERE!?"

"I dunno, but RETREAT!" another said.

As the Goombas scattered around aimlessly, Mario took naturally to stomping on their heads. One after one, he leaped into the air and flattened them with his feet, causing them to disappear. Twilight immediately flew down the cliff and approached Spike, who looked at her in disbelief.

"Twilight!?" he said before immediately diving into her for a hug, which she embraced. "I thought I'd never see you again after you disappeared!"

"I didn't know if I'd see you again either," Twilight said.

"Well, that's all of them," Mario said as he rubbed his hands together. Sure enough, every Goomba that was pursuing Spike was gone. "Told you they were nothing to worry about."

"That was so cool the way you took care of those brown guys!" Spike cheered as he flew around Mario.

"Spike, this is Mario," Twilight said as she introduced him. "He's going to help us find the rest of our friends and find out what the hay happened to us."

"Well, nice to meet you, Mario," Spike said. "Nice 'stache."

"Thanks," Mario said as he twirled the tip of it around his finger.

"HEY, WATCH OUT!" Twilight called. Mario turned behind him and saw a big hammer come flying in his direction. Just before it could deck him in the face, Twilight used her alicorn magic to hold it in place, causing it to emit a purple aura.

"You can do telekinesis too?" Mario asked. "And you say my world's stuff is weird..."

"There's a lot more where they came from, bud!"

Mario turned his direction toward the voice and saw a gang of Hammer Bros. perched on the trees above them. They were readying their hammers for another attack. Mario instantly jumped out of the way to dodge the volley of flying hammers. He kept avoiding their mallets until he found a ? Block.

"Hey Twilight, time to show you what these blocks can do!" he called out.

The purple pony looked at the plumber as he ran around. He jumped up and hit the block with his fist, causing a weird red flower to appear from it. Mario leaped onto the block and grabbed it.

"Bingo!" he said as he held it up. "Your hammers are no match for the power of-"

During his monologue, a hammer hit him clean from behind, causing the flower to fall out of his hands and fly through the air. It kept soaring though the air until it made contact with Twilight's horn, immediately causing her to absorb its power. The transformation caught her by surprise, as she felt herself covered in flames, except it didn't burn. Her normally purple coat was now magenta, and she could see her mane had changed from indigo to red.

"What's going on with me!?" Twilight exclaimed.

"That's a Fire Flower and you just became Fire Twilight or whatever," Mario explained as he was dodging another hammer volley. "No time to explain, just use your new fire powers!"

"What new fire powers!?" Twilight asked. She glanced beside herself and saw Spike cheering Mario on, saying "Kick their flanks!" or "Go Mario, go!" He was too caught up in the moment to see a hammer flying right in his direction.

"Spike, look out!" she called. The dragon saw the hammer and crossed his arms over his face to protect himself.

Twilight tried to stop it with her magic like she did before, but to her surprise the hammer suddenly caught on fire. Startled, she whisked it away, causing it to fly in the Hammer Bros.' direction and blast away one of them. It was at that point she realized her newfound strength. The Hammer Bros. started directing their attacks at her, and she flew out of their way. Twilight then generated purple fireballs from her horn and launched them at the turtles, knocking one down with each hit. When just one remained, she fired an extra-big fireball that took down the whole tree it was sitting on. She floated back to the ground, surprised at what she had just done. Mario and Spike ran up to her.

"Y... You OK, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"OK? OK?" Twilight answered. "I've never felt better! Did you see those fireballs I shot from my horn!? I feel so powerful now!"

"Yup, power-ups will do that to you," Mario said.

"So how long does this last?" Twilight asked, immediately wanting new information about this phenomenon. "Like, an hour? Half an hour?"

"No, you can keep it as long as you want until-"

While Twilight was distracted, one last hammer hit her square in the jaw, knocking her down. Her magenta fur and red mane turned back to their standard purple and indigo respectively.

"-that happens," Mario finished.

"Chew on that, horse!" the Hammer Bro. taunted as he escaped.

Twilight regained her footing, mildly upset her fire powers were gone now. "So that's what ? Blocks do? Give you special items that grant powers?"

"More or less," Mario answered.

"Awesome!" Spike cheered. "Hey, next time, I wanna get fire powers. It's gonna make my fire breath ultra-strong!"

"When all of this is sorted out I'm definitely going to research these strange artifacts," Twilight said. "Anyway, we should get to the castle Mario was talking about, where is it?"

"It's just past these trees," Mario answered. He leaped forward while Twilight and Spike flew right behind him.
> Fluttershy Adopts a Piranha Plant and Gushes Over a Polterpup
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Mario, Twilight, and Spike finally made it out of the forest, the castle Mario spoke of came into view. Or, at least whatever was left of it. Peach's once beautiful castle had been reduced to shambles, all that remained intact was the middle tower that had a stained glass image of the princess on it.

"Princess Peach!" Mario called out. "I found us some help!"

Peach stopped whatever she was doing and saw the approaching trio. She ran up to Mario to greet them.

"Am I glad you returned safe and sound!" Peach said. "And who might these be?"

"I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle," the purple alicorn said as she bowed.

"And I'm Spike, her number one assistant, at your service!" the dragon followed.

"Well, nice to meet you both!" Peach said. "I'm Princess Peach, ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. I have to say, I didn't expect to see Mario come back with a talking horse and a child dragon."

"Ahem... pony..." Twilight corrected.

"Ah, yes, my apologies," Peach said as she bowed.

"Well I was surprised too, but she had no idea what Fire Flowers or ? Blocks were so I think we're all in the same boat," Mario said.

"Now that we have introductions out of the way," Peach said. "Me and Mario have been using this as a base of operations while we try to find out what happened to us and how our worlds were merged together."

"Well, me and Spike would be happy to help out," Twilight said.

"Great!" Peach said as she clapped. "We could use some more helping hands... er... figuratively speaking. Me and the Toads will provide the two of you a room to stay in. In the meantime, we have a small shop behind the castle where you can buy any items you need."

"Thanks, princess," Mario said as he tipped his hat. "We'll be hitting the shop and then its off to find the rest of our friends."

"One of my Toad scouts spotted a yellow flying creature out in the woods," Peach said. "The description they gave is very similar to Ms. Twilight Sparkle, so that might be a place to start."

"That's probably Fluttershy!" Spike said.

"Thank you for your help, princess," Twilight smiled.

"We're all in this together," Peach smiled back. "I'll try to help from here however I can, you just keep looking for your friends. Do protect them, OK Mario?"

"No Goombas or Koopas are gonna lay a finger on them," Mario assured with a thumbs up.

"Excellent!" Peach said.

And with that, Mario, Twilight and Spike waved goodbye and went around the base to find a shop, run by a Toad. Twilight immediately saw a Fire Flower and wanted to purchase it, but saw a couple other items that could be useful as well. Red and green mushrooms with white spots on their caps, a flower similar to the Fire Flower, only blue, a yellow star, and a brown leaf with stripes. Were all of these power-ups like Mario explained? Did all of them have their own powers? Twilight couldn't wait to study these when she had the chance!

"How much for the Fire Flower?" Twilight asked.

"Eight Coins," the Toad answered cheerfully.

Using her magic, Twilight pulled out eight of her bits and handed them to the Toad. He looked at her and shook his head.

"Sorry ma'am," he said. "We don't accept this currency."

"Don't worry Twilight, I got you covered," Mario said. He pulled out a giant stack of Coins, which were much larger and shiner than bits, and handed them to the Toad. "I'll take one of each, please!"

"Thanks, Mario!" the Toad said as he handed him the purchased items. Mario stowed them away in his pocket. They waved the shopkeeper goodbye and headed into the forest.

"So how exactly can you fit so many Coins in your pocket?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, those were like three times as big as bits!" Spike followed.

"...I just try not to think about it," Mario said.



The trio headed back into the forest, if Peach was right then Fluttershy was somewhere in these woods. The trek wasn't too difficult, just a couple Goombas standing in the way that Mario could easily squash and a few Koopa Troopas here and there. He explained these creatures were allied with Bowser, a tyrant that constantly tried to kidnap Peach and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Twilight then explained her entire history of saving Equestria from villain after villain with her friends. Turns out they had more in common than they initially thought.

"So you really had to face off against an elementary-age kid?" Mario asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, it was... kind of weird," Twilight answered.

"I mean, at least Bowser Jr. actually looks like a fighter," Mario answered. "And he's always got that Jr. Clown Car or paintbrush with him. I can't imagine how someone like that could even put up a fight."

"You'd be surprised," Spike said with a chuckle. It took awhile for him to notice he was flying in place, so he tried to speed up and catch up with the other two. However, he seemed to be held back by something. He turned around and saw a red venus flytrap-looking creature holding his tail in its jaws.

"Hey, let go!" Spike called out, trying to pull his tail out. Mario and Twilight turned around and saw what was happening.

"Guys, help!" Spike cried. "It's got my tail!"

"What is THAT thing!?" Twilight asked.

"It's a Piranha Plant!" Mario said. "Carnivorous plant that eats anything it can reach!"

Wasting no time, Mario leaped into the air and tried to stomp on it. He normally couldn't because of their sharp teeth, but it being distracted by Spike's tail left its head completely exposed. He was about to land on it until-

"STOP!"

Mario was caught off-guard by the scream and landed on Spike instead, which popped his tail right out of the Piranha Plant's mouth. He looked up and saw a yellow pony with long pink mane run up to the group, immediately hugging the plant and holding it close to her.

"Why would you try to stomp on this poor, innocent creature?" she asked.

"Wait, Fluttershy?" Twilight said as she ran up to her. "Is that really you!?"

"T-Twilight Sparkle!" Fluttershy gasped, immediately running up to hug her. "You're safe! I thought you were lost and alone! And Spike, you're here too!"

"Well, I was lost," Twilight said. "But Mario here helped me out."

"Alright, step away from the plant, Fluttershy," Mario warned. "That thing is dangerous and needs to be taken care of-"

"No! Please don't hurt him!" Fluttershy begged. "Mr. Piranha Plant is a really nice plant and wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"He tried to eat me..." Spike said as he held onto his sore tail. The Piranha Plant snapped its jaws a few times, which Fluttershy understood and could translate.

"He says your tail just looked like a tasty chicken wing," Fluttershy said. "He didn't mean to hurt anyone."

"And you can tell what it's saying... how exactly?" Mario asked as he took his hat off and scratched the top of his head.

"That's Fluttershy's thing," Twilight said with a giggle. "She can talk to and care for animals. We don't know what they're saying, but she can translate for us."

"Alright, better question: why are you friends with it?" Mario followed.

"Well, I was all alone in these woods," Fluttershy said as she recounted the events. "I was scared, and I didn't know where to go! But then I found Mr. Piranha Plant laying on the ground, and he looked miserable. I looked around and found a nearby river, so I brought him some water. He thanked me dearly and promised to be my friend as thanks. I've been flying around the forest looking for berries for him to eat ever since."

"That's our Fluttershy!" Spike laughed. "She can tame any creature into being friendly, even plants!"

Piranha Plant snapped cheerfully.

"What'd he say that time?" Mario asked.

"He says that I was the first one to ever show him kindness, and is really thankful I helped him," Fluttershy translated.

"Are these things really your enemies?" Twilight asked. She approached the Piranha Plant and rubbed its head, getting a soft purr in response. "They look kinda cute."

"I think he likes you, Twilight Sparkle," Fluttershy said.

Mario tried to approach him like Twilight, but only got an angry snap in response. Fluttershy gasped and held her hoof over her mouth.

"I... I am not going to repeat that..." Fluttershy uttered.

"Well... anyway..." Mario said. "We're trying to look for our friends, and one of my guys said they saw you flying around the forest."

"And if you're here, that means everypony else is here as well!" Twilight said. "You should come along so you can help us out."

"Of course I'll come along," Fluttershy said. The Piranha Plant held his head down sadly.

"Awww, can Mr. Piranha Plant come along too?" Fluttershy asked.

"What, that thing!?" Mario responded, flabbergasted. "You saw what he almost did to Spike!" The Piranha Plant answered with two snaps.

"Mr. Piranha Plant, say you won't bite Mario either," Fluttershy said sternly.

The Piranha Plant sighed like a young child and snapped bitterly.

"There, he promises to not bite anyone!" Fluttershy said.

"OK, but how is he gonna come with us?" Mario asked. "He's rooted to the ground!"

"Oh, I have a solution!" Fluttershy said as she pulled out a small, brown pot. She scooped up the Piranha Plant in it and put it on her back. He snapped in approval. "I found it in the forest while looking for berries, now he can come along with us."

"She's not gonna budge when it comes to her animal friends," Twilight whispered to Mario. "It would be easier on all of us if you just went with it."

"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine," Mario sighed in defeat, rolling his eyes. "He can come along."

"Yay!" Fluttershy cheered. The Piranha Plant made a victorious snap.

Mario could tell this was gonna be a long adventure.



With Fluttershy and her Piranha Plant companion joining the party, the team of five headed back to Peach. Twilight explained that the worlds of Equestria and the Mushroom Kingdom were somehow merged, and they needed to find a way to restore harmony to them. The yellow mare understood the gravity of the situation and agreed to help in any way she could. Meanwhile, Spike and the Piranha Plant immediately hit it off: while Spike rode on Twilight's back and the plant on Fluttershy's, the dragon was showing him one of his favorite comic books. The plant was entranced by the story, or at least as entranced as a Piranha Plant could be.

Mario lead the way all the while, kicking Koopa shells and stomping Goombas along the way. That was, until, something white tackled him. His new pony friends stopped in their tracks.

"You OK, Mario?" Twilight asked.

Mario was to distracted by whatever was attacking him. He quickly recognized the barks and constant licking of his face: it was Luigi's pet Polterpup!

"Down boy, down!" Mario commanded between breaths. The Polterpup gave one final lick before hopping off him and looking at the ponies, wagging his tail and panting hard.

"Aw, what an adorable little-" Twilight began before Fluttershy interrupted her.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" the pegasus squealed. She dashed toward the ghost dog and kneeled at him. She held her hoof out to let the Polterpup sniff her. Pleased with her scent, he jumped up and licked her face.

"He's so adorable!" Fluttershy said as she held the Polterpup in her hooves. "You are just the most precious thing!" The Piranha Plant still on her back growled in jealousy and crossed his leaves. Mario couldn't contain his smile.

"She usually like this?" Mario asked.

"No, she's usually very shy and calm," Twilight answered. "Unless she meets a new type animal."

"Mario, what breed is it!? You must tell me!" Fluttershy demanded.

"Oh, that's a Polterpup," Mario said. "They come from haunted woods back in my world. This one belongs to my brother Luigi."

The Polterpup instantly perked up at the word "Luigi". He hopped out of Fluttershy's hooves and began barking loudly, pointing his nose across the forest.

"What is it boy?" Mario asked. "Hey, 'Shy, what's he saying?"

The Polterpup barked some more, and Fluttershy was able to translate him perfectly. "He's saying he knows where this Luigi pony-er... person is!"

"Good boy!" Mario said as he petted the Polterpup's head. "Lead the way, little guy!" The ghost dog gave a happy bark and ran across the forest, the other five doing their best to catch up.

"He's a happy little helper, isn't he?" Twilight asked, chuckling a bit.

"Oh yeah, the second Luigi brought the little guy home I knew he'd be a big help on our adventures," Mario explained. "Did you know he once helped Luigi sniff us out when we went missing in a haunted hotel?"

"Really?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," Mario continued. "And if you think that's cool, you should see the giant dog my friend Yoshi has. He once swam across an entire ocean of lava just to help him get across. He's practically invincible!"

"That's AWESOME!" Spike said. "I bet Fluttershy would love to see him!"

"...I think she's seen enough new animals for a lifetime," Twilight said with a giggle.

Of all of them, Fluttershy was the one keeping up with Polterpup the most. She was absolutely enamored for the creature, and wanted to know everything possible about him. She gasped when she saw him jump into a tree and phase right through it.

"Goodness, you can do that to?" Fluttershy asked. "I simply HAVE to have a Polterpup of my own!"

The Piranha Plant have another huff of disapproval. Fluttershy turned back with a look of concern.

"Oh don't worry Mr. Piranha Plant," she said, nuzzling the potted plant's head. "You're still my friend, and nothing is going to change that. In fact, I think I'll keep you in my cottage when this is all over. Would you like that?"

That eased its feelings a bit, and it gave a happy growl. The mare smiled and continued following the Polterpup.



As the five chased the Polterpup through the woods, the trees around them started getting darker and have less leaves on them. The ground below their legs had dirt as opposed to grass, and the sky suddenly became dark and cloudy. It wasn't long before everyone noticed these changes, and they quickly slowed down to observe their new surroundings.

"What IS this place?" Spike asked.

"It's... it's scary..." Fluttershy said as she clung to Piranha Plant for comfort.

"Wait..." Mario said as memories came flying back to him. The trees, the dead grass and dirt, the crows watching them from the branches, the dark, cloudy sky. He knew where he was. He knew why the Polterpup led them here, and knew exactly what it meant.

The Mansion.

"Girls, this is Boo Woods," Mario said as he turned to them, doing his best to keep his anger in control. "A big, haunted mansion lies in the heart of these woods, and I think that's where Luigi is being kept."

"Oh dear..." Fluttershy said as her grip on the Piranha Plant grew tighter. She did not like the idea of going in a haunted mansion at all.

"Well, it can't be anything we haven't dealt with before, right?" Twilight said. "I saw you taking out those Goombas, Koopas, and Piraaaaaaaaa-" the alicorn stopped herself from saying "Piranha Plant" when the flower next to her started growling. Fluttershy slowly nodded her head as if to say "Do. Not. Say that." She took that as a warning.

"-Pirates!" she finished. "I saw you taking all those out, it looked like you could do it with your eyes closed."

"Those are small fries," Mario explained. "They're hardly an obstacle and easy to defeat. But the ghosts in this mansion... they're something else..."

He did his best to remain calm, but memories of those blasted ghouls taking him by surprise and trapping him in a painting... leaving his cowardly and scared twin brother all alone to look for him... it filled him with a sense of anger almost nothing else could.

"They're dangerous," he finished. "We'll need to stick together if we wanna rescue Luigi from this mansion."

Just then, the Polterpup barked from across the woods, and the group followed it. The eventually found the ghostly dog in front of a large shack, and he phased right through the door.

"Ah-ha! E. Gadd!" Mario said. "He can help us out!"

"E. who?" Twilight asked.

"Just follow me," Mario replied as he opened the door. Inside the shack was what seemed to be a laboratory, filled with a bunch of machines, potions, tonics, and test tubes. At one of the big monitors, they found a strange old man in a white coat typing on a comically large keyboard. The Polterpup barked and pulled on his coat.

"Settle down, you!" E. Gadd said. He looked to the side and saw Mario standing there, with the Polterpup barking happily.

"Ah, Mario, if it isn't you!" E. Gadd greeted as he hopped off his seat to greet the heroic plumber. "About time someone I'm familiar with showed up in this mish-mash mess of a land!"

"Good to see you too, E. Gadd," Mario said, shaking his hand.

The professor then noticed the ponies and small dragon standing behind Mario. Adjusting his glasses, he went over to investigate. He held up one of Twilight's hooves and scratched the bottom of it, causing a slight giggle in response. He then stroked her mane, noticing the magenta streaks in it. He turned to see the other mare, and tugged gently at one of her wings. Lastly, he poked Spike in the head, causing him to reel back in shock.

"And who might these equine specimens be?" E. Gadd asked.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," the alicorn greeted. "And that's Fluttershy, and this dragon is Spike."

"It talks, too!" E. Gadd clapped. "I've never seen creatures quite like these before. Equine mares with technicolor fur who have feathered wings. I could definitely keep you three in my lab for research!"

"Um... uh..." Fluttershy stammered as she backed away from the strange professor.

"Oh I jest, I jest," E. Gadd said. "I could perform unsavory and grueling tests on you any other time. For now, Mario, we have serious business at hand. It's a good thing you showed up in time!"

"Luigi's stuck in the mansion, isn't he?" Mario asked.

"Indeed he is," E. Gadd said, pushing some buttons on his keyboard. An image of Luigi running away screaming from pursuing ghosts came up. "He and his little Polterpup ended up in these same woods as I did when that giant twister hit. Seeing this as an opportunity for ghost research, I persuaded him to go into the mansion once more and capture any exotic new ghosts he could find! This... didn't go entirely as planned, as now he's stuck in the mansion with no way out. His ghost pupper went to look for help, and lo and behold, he found the best help possible!"

"We're in the middle of a crisis between two kingdoms merging and the thing you focus on is researching ghosts?" Mario asked.

"Well, I didn't realize what was happening until AFTER I sent Luigi inside," E. Gadd said in defense. "According to my findings, some weird teleportation error happened within the Mushroom Kingdom that sent everything into a funk, and here we are now, two worlds merged into one!"

"Wait, you know what happened to Equestria and the Mushroom Kingdom?" Twilight asked.

"I just told you what happened, did I not? Hohohoho!" E. Gadd laughed. "But now is not the time for recap, you kids must venture into the mansion and save Luigi!"

"But isn't it dangerous?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh, EXTREMELY dangerous!" E. Gadd said. "I would be very surprised if any of you make it out in one piece."

"EEP!" Fluttershy yelped as she hid behind Twilight. "Can... can I just stay here... with Mr. Piranha Plant?" The flower was apparently bored and was sleeping through the entire conversation.

"You're just like Luigi, aren't you?" E. Gadd laughed. "Polterpup here will show you where to look for him. I would have equipped you three with my newest invention, the Poltergust 7002, but errm... Luigi took my only working model."

"Whatever, let's just get this over with," Mario responded. And with that, everyone exited the lab (though Twilight had to drag Fluttershy out of it) and followed the excited Polterpup through some giant gates and inside the haunted mansion. Mario paused for a bit at the mansion's front door before he felt a claw on his shoulder. He turned and saw Spike.

"Hey, we're with you," Spike said.

"You helped me find Fluttershy and Spike," Twilight followed. "I think it's time I repay the favor!"

"I'll... I'll come too..." Fluttershy said, still a bit uneasy with the idea of exploring a haunted mansion. "Mr. Piranha Plant will be with us as well."

"Thanks guys," Mario answered. He turned to the mansion doors and took a deep breath, adjusting his cap.

"We're coming for you, bro."
> Mario Understands Friendship, Steps in Poison Joke, and Everyone Saves Luigi
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chills went up everyone's spine as the entered the mansion. The unlit rooms, the flowing curtains, and the admittedly humid and musky atmosphere did all to keep the team of five on edge. Fluttershy in particular was especially scared, and for a second debated on bolting while she still had the chance and stay with E. Gadd where it be safe.

The front door had a different plan though, as they closed right behind the heroes before she could make a run for it. That startled her quite a bit, causing her to cling to Twilight in fear.

"We're not gonna be here long," Mario assured. "We'll just get Luigi, get out, and defeat any ghosts if they get in the way. Hopefully shouldn't take more than a couple minutes."

"You sound... on edge," Twilight said. "Something the matter?"

"Uh, no, nothing's wrong," Mario lied. Unfortunately for him, he was a terrible liar, and Twilight could see right through him.

"Something about this mansion has you shaken," Twilight said. "I can see it."

Mario sighed. "Yeah, this mansion does bother me, but it's... kinda personal."

"Mario, you're my friend," Twilight began, standing on her hind legs and putting her front legs over Mario's shoulders. "Our friend. And if there's one thing I've learned during my time studying the magic of friendship, it's that friends should help each other. So as the Princess of Friendship, I want to help you. Please tell me what's wrong."

"Alright, alright, you win," Mario said, pushing the alicorn off of him. "I'll tell you everything, but it's sad so be warned. And I don't wanna hear any snarky comments from the potted plant over there."

Offended, the Piranha Plant huffed and turned around. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike sat around Mario as he explained the mansion's history.

"So, my brother Luigi is afraid of ghosts," Mario said. "Like, REALLY afraid. He acts almost exactly like 'Shy to give you an idea. One day, he won a mansion, but it was for a contest he didn't even enter. I dunno why I didn't immediately see that as a red flag, but he gave me directions to the new mansion and he told me to check the place out to see if there was anything shady, and that he'd meet me there. That's when I met E. Gadd, who said that the mansion just... appeared in the heart of the forest. I was curious, so I opened the door to investigate and... hundreds of ghosts just flew at me. I was caught off guard, and they took me to their leader, King Boo. He vowed revenge against me and my brother, so he stuck me in a painting. All that wasn't so bad... but what really got me was how he used me as bait so he could get Luigi too. The fact my little brother had to find me all alone... with his fear of ghosts... without anything but a flashlight and a ghost-catching vacuum cleaner... I can't imagine how terrified he felt. It makes me angry those ghosts kidnapped me and tried to hurt him as well. That's why I hate this place! It not only hurt me, but my brother too! And those blasted ghosts are scaring Luigi again!"

As Mario finished his tale, he darted his eyes around the room to see everyone's reactions. Spike's mouth was agape, and he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Twilight had a similar reaction, only her eyes were also the size of dinner plates. As expected, the Piranha Plant didn't care at all and simply looked around, minding his own business. Fluttershy teared up and threw herself around Mario, drawing him into a hug. He was caught off-guard, but he embraced it anyway.

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" the yellow mare sobbed. "Th-That's so terrible, what happened to y-you and L-L-Luigi!"

"That's FREAKY, man!" Spike followed. "How did those ghosts even stick you in a painting!?"

"I... I..." Twilight stammered, still trying to digest everything Mario had said. She completely understood why Mario got bad feelings about this place, and had DEFINITELY underestimated his grasp on the concept of friendship

"That... has to be one of the greatest shows of friendship I've ever heard," she finally said. "You care for your bother a lot... I'm sure he's happy to have you."

"Yeah," was all Mario could say. Fluttershy's sobs dwindled to the occasional whimper, and she let go of Mario. The Piranha Plant hopped back on her back and nuzzled her head, trying to calm his friend down.

"Alright team," Mario said. "We have ourselves a plumber to catch. The way this mansion works is if the room is pitch black, there's ghosts around, and we need to beat those ghosts if we wanna move on."

"Gotcha," Spike said. He quickly hopped on Twilight's back, getting more and more uneasy about the whole situation. He certainly didn't want to end up stuck in a painting.

Mario lead his band of heroes up the stairs, and opened one of the doors on the second floor. This led to a pitch-black room, with a ghost's laugh being heard.

"Heads up everyone," Mario signaled. "We're not alone."

It was hard to move around without a flashlight, and they could hardly see where they were going. Fluttershy gulped and tried to find the source of the ghost's cackle. Little did she know that the ghost was right behind her. Piranha Plant quickly snapped, telling the mare to turn around. She caught a glance of the ghost before it hid its face and disappeared into the darkness.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Fluttershy yelled, backing up and accidentally bumping into Twilight and Mario. "G-G-G-G-GHOST!"

Mario looked around in search of the ghoul, and while he didn't see it, he could feel its presence. He secretly took out one of his power-ups, the Super Leaf, and transformed into Tanooki Mario. As the ghost approached him slowly but surely, he gave his tail a spin, whacking it in the face and causing it bounce around the room. Fluttershy and Spike hid behind Twilight, trying to avoid getting caught in its flight. Eventually, it disappeared into blue smoke.

"Ghosts... don't... die... Can you make it out of here... ALIVE!?"

The once-black room then lit up, revealing a dressing room of sorts. A golden key fell from above, which Mario grabbed.

"Wh-Wh-What was that!?" Fluttershy asked, still shaken from the ghost.

"That was a Boo," Mario explained. "Round ghost that tries to sneak up on you from behind. If you try to look at it, it vanishes, so you need to kinda 'feel' its presence and attack it before it attacks you."

"I'm guessing that key leads to somewhere?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, most of this mansion is on lockdown and the ghosts have the keys, so we need to beat them to move on," Mario answered.

"What I wanna know is why is Mario suddenly wearing a raccoon fursuit," Spike piped up.

"Oh, another power-up," Mario answered. "Called the Super Leaf. Gives you a tail that lets you hover and allows you to turn to a stone statue and blend in with the scenery."

"Remarkable," Twilight said as she studied the suit. "These strange items just get more and more interesting!"

The Piranha Plant snapped and pointed at the door. "He says we should stop talking and move on," Fluttershy translated.

The gang continued venturing through the mansion's rooms, hallways, and corridors, finding keys to unlock new rooms and beating any Boos along the way. Mario's advice on how to deal with this proved quite useful, the Piranha Plant even snuck a hit on one, which Fluttershy was very happy about. As they progressed, more and more ghosts made themselves known, each with their own techniques. Gold Ghosts didn't care about if they were being looked at or not and just attacked head-on, Blue Twirlers created big shockwaves with their hands, and Dry Bones needed to take a lot of hits before they could be dismantled into nothing but a pile of bones. Using another key, Mario unlocked a door that lead to a new hallway.

"I don't think we've been down this one yet," Twilight said.

"Me neither," Mario said. He suddenly froze in his tracks, and saw a peculiar green hat floating in the air. He recognized that hat anywhere, and the Gold Ghost wearing it made its presence known. It cackled and started floating away.

"Hey, get back here!" Mario called. "What have you ghouls done to my brother!?"

Mario was too distracted by the ghost with Luigi's hat to see the giant patch of blue flowers he was running towards. Twilight instantly recognized the plants, and went into panic mode.

"MARIO!" she called out. "STOP! DON'T TOUCH THE-"

"Too late," Spike said as Mario tripped and fell into the flowers. The ghost made one last laugh before disappearing into the floor above. Twilight and Fluttershy quickly ran up to him, being careful not to touch the bed of flowers.

"Don't touch what!?" Mario asked. "And it better be good, because you made me let that ghost get away!"

"Um, those kind of flowers grow in the Everfree Forest in Equestria," Fluttershy explained. "They're called Poison Joke."

"P-Poison?" Mario asked, looking down at the flowers. He immediately leaped out of them and landed on the other side of the bed. "Is... is it dangerous? Lethal!?"

"Not... exactly," Twilight said. "See, Poison Joke plays practical jokes on you, and it turns whatever it has planned for you into an actual illness. For example, if I step in Poison Joke, my horn becomes wobbly and useless, and if Fluttershy steps in it, her voice becomes really deep and masculine."

"Best part is the nicknames I come up with!" Spike interjected. "I called Twilight 'Twilight Flopple' and I called 'Shy 'Flutterguy'!" The Piranha Plant sure got a kick out of that one.

"Spike, now's not the time," Twilight scolded.

"So... what's gonna hap-" Mario's mouth continued to move, but no words came out. Surprised, he tried to speak again, but not a sound was heard.

"Looks like your Poison Joke effect is silence," Twilight sighed. "Sorry Mario, but looks like you're not gonna be able to talk for awhile." The plumber looked down in shame and sighed, or at least tried to.

"Don't worry, Mario," Fluttershy said. "There is a cure, and we can treat you when we get back to the castle. For now, let's just find your brother.

The Piranha Plant was giggling like a child at Mario's misfortune, earning a scowl from the plumber. He didn't seem to care though: what could he possibly do without suffering Fluttershy's wrath?

"OK OK OK, lemme think," Spike said, trying to come up with nicknames. "You're... Quiet-io! No no, that's not right. Uh... how about... Silent But Deadly! Y'know, 'cause he's a plumber... and the buttcrack... and..."

Spike trailed off when he saw Twilight's evil glare. It put Fluttershy's signature stare to shame!

"WAIT I GOT IT!" Spike called, ignoring Twilight. "SILENT PROTAGONIST!"

The Piranha Plant was in hysterics now. He fell off of Fluttershy's back and rolled around the group, snapping happily. Fluttershy grabbed him and tried to calm him down, doing her best to stifle her own laughter. Even Twilight was trying not to smile. She had to admit, that was a stroke of genius on Spike's part.

"OK, that was clever, but let's not make fun of Mario," Twilight said.

Mario did his best to ignore the mocking. Thankfully, he heard a playful bark that took his mind off of it. Following the sound, he saw Polterpup on the other side of the hallway, wagging his tail playfully. He leaped and phased through one of the doors. Taking this as a sign of where to go, he turned back to the group and signaled to them where to go with his arm motions.

Opening the door led to a massive staircase. They saw Polterpup running up the stairs, and followed suit. Of course, they had to deal with a few Boos and Gold Ghosts along the way, but they were determined to make it to the top... well most of them anyway. Fluttershy always tried to hide when she heard one of their cackles. The top of the stairs led to the roof of the mansion, having a view of the entire haunted forest. The gang looked around before Spike saw something peculiar floating in the air. It looked like a stone statue.

"Hey, Mario, is that guy up there Luigi?" Spike asked, pointing to the statue above them. Mario looked up and quickly nodded his head yes.

Twilight flew up to the floating statue to investigate. She placed her hoof over Luigi's stone nose and rubbed it a bit, then gasped. She knew what this meant. She looked at Fluttershy, and if her cowering in fear was anything to go by, she knew what that statue meant too. Mario had a look of concern.

"There's a Cockatrice around here," Twilight said. "It's a dangerous dragon creature with the head of a chicken that comes from Equestria, and if you look into its eyes head on, you'll turn into a statue like Luigi did!"

Mario looked up at the statue, he could see that Luigi had the most scared face he had ever seen. Being turned to stone was probably even worse than being stuck in a painting.

"TH-TH-THERE IT IS!" Fluttershy called out, pointing at the other end of the roof.

"Quick, everypony, cover your eyes!" Twilight commanded.

Unfortunately for Mario, he turned around and saw the beast. Seeing him as a target, the Cockatrice used its hellish gaze, which turned the plumber into a statue just like his brother. The Piranha Plant snapped in approval.

"Mr. Piranha Plant!" Fluttershy scolded. "You should know better than that!"

The Cockatrice got closer to the group, and everyone backed away from it, shielding their eyes so they couldn't look at it. Eventually, the Cockatrice pushed them behind Mario, who used his Tanooki powers to jump out of his statue form. Seeing this as an opportunity, he flew into the air, turned into a statue, and crushed the Cockatrice below him, emitting a screech from it. Everyone uncovered their eyes and saw Mario holding the beast down.

"Wait, Mario!?" Twilight asked. "But how? Only a Cockatrice can free somepony it turned to stone!"

Mario answered by tugging the fur of his Tanooki suit.

"Oooooooh," Twilight answered. "So you used the Tanooki suit's statue form to trick the Cockatrice into thinking it actually made you a statue! Clever."

"Um, Mario," Fluttershy said. "I think I can help make Luigi normal again. Just turn the Cockatrice towards me."

Mario complied and took the beast's chicken head, turning it toward the yellow pegasus. The Cockatrice tried to use its statue powers for a last-ditch effort, but Flutterhy's signature Stare overpowered it. The monster cowered in fear, fearing that whatever this mare could do to it, it would be much worse than what Mario was doing.

"Turn him to Luigi now," Fluttershy said, not lifting her glare from the creature.

Mario picked up the Cockatrice and turned it to face his brother. It used its powers to turn Luigi from his statue form back to his normal self, he fell down from the sky flat on his face. The creature instantly broke free from Mario's grasp and flew away. Mario instantly ran toward his brother, who regained consciousness. His vision was blurry, but Luigi saw his brother.

"M-M-Mario?" he said. His voice was clearly shaken from what he had to go through. Mario gave a knowing nod in response.

"MARIOOOO!" Luigi said as he got up and threw his arms around him and sobbed. "I-I was so a-a-afraid and alone! I thought I'd never ever see you again!" Mario patted his back as he allowed his brother to drain his tear ducts, doing his best to comfort him.

"That's brotherhood right there," Spike said.

"It's... It's beautiful..." Fluttershy said, wiping a tear from her eye. The Piranha Plant didn't say anything so as to not upset his pegasus friend, but he wasn't happy about having to go with two plumbers now.

Twilight said nothing, and simply nodded at the sight. As Luigi calmed down, he noticed the strange group of friends behind Mario.

"H-Hey Mario," he said. "Who are they?"

"I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle," the alicorn greeted. "This dragon is Spike, and the other pony is Fluttershy. We come from another world called Equestria, and it was somehow merged with the Mushroom Kingdom. We're trying to find our friends and fix this entire mess."

"Oh, well... nice to meet you all," Luigi said as he waved shyly. "Name's Luigi. Thank you all for saving me from that stone statue... it wasn't fun..."

Just then, the Polterpup jumped through the roof, holding Luigi's hat in his mouth. He handed it to his owner, who gladly picked it up.

"Aww, thanks, boy," Luigi said as he petted his Polterpup. He put his green hat back on his head, now feeling complete. "Say, you're pretty silent today, bro," he said. Mario just rolled his eyes in annoyance. 

"It's a long story," Twilight said. "He's infected with an illness from my world but we can cure him when we get back to Peach."

"Oh, good," Luigi nodded.

"Awwwww, what a nice family reunion!"

Everyone jumped at the sudden voice, and looked around. Luigi instantly recognized it, and cowered behind his brother. The figure instantly made himself known, revealing himself as none other than King Boo. He looked a lot bigger than the other Boos they defeated, and the giant crown on his head, the purple tongue, and his eyes shrouded in darkness made him the scariest one they've encountered yet. Mario prepared to fight the ghost, who only laughed in response.

"I have to say, my plan turned out better than expected!" he continued. "First that E. Gadd ijit foolishly sends Luigi into this mansion all by his lonesome. I was going to trap him in a painting, but that chicken-dragon creature beat me to him and made him a statue, which looked more appealing honestly. He was the perfect bait to get his brother to come along too!"

Mario said nothing as he stood in front of his friends, trying to protect them from any attack he could throw.

"What's the matter, Mario? Too scared for words?" King Boo cackled. "I knew you were always more of the silent type, but this is ridiculous! What's with the cold shoulder?"

"I hope you realize who you're messing with," Twilight said, walking up next to Mario. "If what Mario's been telling me is true, he and Luigi beat you. Multiple times!"

"I must be seeing things," King Boo said. "Am I really to believe that the famed Mario Bros. have entrusted some talking horses as allies? Oh ho ho, that's rich!"

"For your information, I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle," she said. "And me and my friends have defended Equestria from countless villains not unlike yourself."

"A princess? Well I'm a KING!" King Boo responded. "And you're also telling me that a tiny horse like you could save entire lands from evil? See, now to me, that's funny. Are you a standup comedian? You oughta be!"

"It's... It's true," Fluttershy said. "W-We can... beat you!"

"I'd like to see you try," King Boo said. "I must say though, I'm upset you beat up some of my ghosts. Even my favorite Boos! Such brashness deserves punishment."

King Boo used his crown to shoot a lightning bolt down at Fluttershy, who only narrowly dodged out of the way, taking Piranha Plant with her. Twilight growled in anger.

"Alright, that tears it!" Twilight said, pulling out a Fire Flower and becoming Fire Twilight. Her purple coat became magenta and her dark blue mane became red. "You don't throw surprise attacks at my friends!"

"If you want a fight, it's a fight you'll get!" King Boo said with a chuckle. He then used his power to send the heroes into a weird purple portal, where they appeared in a pink, square arena. King Boo then appeared, looking much larger than he did previously.

"Have at you!"



King Boo was certainly more durable than the ghosts the group had to defeat within the mansion. Coupled with having a bunch of magic abilities from lightning bolts, to telekinesis, to teleportation, he just didn't seem to take that much damage regardless of what anyone was doing to him.

Mario flew behind King Boo and spun at him with his Tanooki tail, catching him off guard a bit. He turned back and rubbed the back of his head.

"I thought I was the one playing dirty," he said.

Mario flew around him for another attack, but King Boo launched another bolt at him. It nearly connected, but Mario dodged just in time. Unfortunately, it altered his flight pattern and he crashed into the ground. King Boo prepared for another bolt, but Twilight used her fireballs to distract him. The ghost king started chasing her, and she gracefully dodged his purple bolts. Luigi and Fluttershy ran toward Mario to help him up.

"You OK, bro?" Luigi asked. He nodded in response.

"Oh, do be careful, Twilight!" Fluttershy called out. From beside her, the Piranha Plant snapped and held up an Ice Flower.

"Oh goodness no!" Fluttershy said. "I... I couldn't possibly use that!"

However, one of Twilight's fireballs was reflected by King Boo, sending it straight into the potted plant and making it catch on fire. It threw the Ice Flower in the air and started running around aimlessly.

"MR. PIRANHA PLANT!" Fluttershy screamed. The Ice Flower landed right in her hooves, and for the first time since they came into this haunted mansion, she got a look of determination. She absorbed its powers, turning her into Ice Fluttershy, her pink mane now blue and shiny like ice, and her coat a much less saturated yellow. Using her newfound ice powers, she put out Piranha Plant's flames, just in time. Angrily, she then charged at King Boo like an ice missile.

"NOPONY HURTS MR. PIRANHA PLANT!" she called out as she flew right into King Boo in a blast of ice. He quickly tried to smack the pegasus with his tongue, but narrowly missed. Twilight flew right next to her.

"Alright, Fluttershy!" the alicorn cheered. "Looks like you have ice powers now!"

"It seems I underestimated you," King Boo said. "But no matter. I've been toying with you all the whole battle, now it's time to show you my TRUE power!"

King Boo's crown then began glowing, causing him to grow even bigger than before. With his newfound strength, he launched a purple fireball at Fluttershy. Twilight pushed her out of the way and took the blow instead, causing her to fall to the ground and lose her fire powers. Spike then flew at the ghost while carrying Luigi, who was doing his best to scorch him with his flames. Luigi hopped out of his grasp to try and attack King Boo head on, only to be wrapped in his tongue and thrown across the arena. Fluttershy threw some ice balls from her hooves, but they seemed to have no effect.

Mario flew down and helped Twilight up. He gave her a Mushroom which healed her instantly.

"Thanks," she said. She observed the battle going on: Fluttershy kept throwing ice attacks at King Boo, Spike and Luigi kept battling him head on, and Piranha Plant was kind of just doing his own thing in the corner.

"It doesn't seem like our attacks have any effect on him," Twilight said. "If only we could just find the source of his power- THAT'S IT!"

Before Twilight could even explain, Mario got the idea and flew up above King Boo; he was too distracted by the other heroes to notice. He turned into a statue and fell on King Boo's crown, causing the jewel on it to shatter. He shrunk a bit and his power weakened. The ghost grabbed the statue from his head and threw him at Spike, causing them both to topple to the ground.

"Crafty, you little drain clog!" King Boo snarled. "But this is far from over!"

Though his magic abilities were weakened, he was still a formidable foe. Luigi hopped on Fluttershy and prepared to use a team attack, only for King Boo to telekinetically grab them. He smacked the two together and threw them on the ground before slamming his entire body, burying them into the arena floor. This of course made Fluttershy lose her ice powers.

Unfortunately for King Boo, Piranha Plant saw this, and he wasn't going to let him hurt his best friend. As King Boo cackled once more, with the passion of 1000 Angry Suns, Piranha Plant leaped and clamped his jaws onto his tongue with a mighty CHOMP!

"YEEEEEOWCH!" King Boo yelped. He tried to shake Piranha Plant off him, but his teeth held onto him like a vice. Mario turned back from his statue form and saw what the plant was doing.

"Mario, now's our chance!" Twilight said.

Mario nodded and turned back into his statue form. Using her alicorn magic, Twilight picked him up and flew over the distracted King Boo, and repeatedly slammed the statue into King Boo's crown. She finished it off with a drilling attack with the statue, causing it to completely shatter. King Boo gave one last cackle in defeat until he disappeared into nothing, causing the arena to change back to the mansion's roof.

"Ghosts don't die, you can never kill something that's already dead!" King Boo's voice echoed in the night wind. "I'll be back, Mario Bros., just you wait! I'll not only put you in a painting, but those annoying little horses too!"

Ignoring his messages, the rest of the group ran up to Fluttershy and Luigi, who slowly got up from the blow King Boo dealt to them. Piranha Plant quickly nuzzled Fluttershy, who smiled in return. Mario helped Luigi up and gave both of them a Super Mushroom.

"Well, looks like it's the first time you saved me from a haunted mansion," Luigi said. "Now you know how it feels to capture some of those perilous poltergiests! Ho ho ho!"

Mario just gave a knowing nod, as if to say "I think I'll just stick to Goomba stomping."

"Yes, I did see you attack that big mean ghost!" Fluttershy said as she hugged the Piranha Plant. Their bond seemed to be growing closer by the minute. "You're such a brave plant! And a great friend!"

"Alright you two, I think it's time we head out," Spike said. "We found Luigi, so we'll meet up with E. Gadd and we're outta here."

"Sounds like a plan," Twilight said.



"So you managed to best King Boo in battle once again?" E. Gadd asked when the heroes finished their story. "It's a shame you didn't catch him for my ghost collection, but Luigi is safe and sound, and that's what's important!"

"It was no picnic," Twilight commented.

"Besides, I found a really interesting specimen that requires immediate study!" the professor said. He pushed a button and revealed a glass container, with the Cockatrice from before inside it. "I'm assuming it came from Equestria, but it's fascinating! My research shows that this creature is capable of turning other beings into stone just by looking at it!"

"Yeah... I noticed..." Luigi said as he rubbed the back of his head. His Polterpup rubbed his head along his leg, trying his best to comfort him. The green plumber answered with a pet.

"But I digress," E. Gadd said. "It's been fun, but I suppose now is time for you kids to go. From what I understand the princess has a base made of her castle ruins, and I'd gladly help in researching this merging phenomenon."

"Your help would be greatly appreciated," Twilight said. "Speaking of which, I think it's time we head back and cure Mario."

"Yeah, I bet being stuck as a Silent Protagonist isn't fun," Spike said with a chuckle. Everyone in the room had a good laugh over that... except Mario.



Little did they know that they were being watched. Bowser Jr. floated above the lab as everyone walked out of it, spying on them. The Koopa prince rubbed his hands together and laughed.

"Mario has new horse friends? Papa's gonna be so proud of me when I tell him!" And with that, he flew away, unseen by the heroes below.
> The Gang Sleeps for the Night while Bowser Takes Over Canterlot and Plots to Kidnap Cadence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Just a few more minutes in this herbal bath and you should be cured," Fluttershy cooed as she gently rubbed Mario's back.

Mario wasn't comfortable at all bathing in the presence of others, but considering Poison Joke needed to be taken care of with very specific massages, he had Fluttershy in the bathroom with him. The Piranha Plant was there too of course, but the pegasus commanded that he look away while she was tending Mario. It was a nice coincidence that the herbs needed for the cure grew right by Peach's castle.

The washing continued until Mario was able to speak again. Fluttershy and Piranha Plant quickly saw themselves out of the room while Mario dried up and got back in his favorite overalls, and the three headed back downstairs to meet with the rest of the group sitting at the dinner table.

"Hey Mario!" Spike waved. "Did you get cured?"

Mario answered by elbowing him in the stomach, not so much that it'd hurt but enough to get his message across.

"That's for 'Silent Protagonist'," he said. Spike rubbed his belly and inched his seat at the table a bit further away.

"Well, it's nice to have you back," Twilight said. "Sorry you had to be with somepony in there, but there was no other way."

"No, it's fine," Mario replied. "And if anything I now know hooves are much better for a massage than hands."

Piranha Plant gagged. Fluttershy could translate it as "I hope I don't have to be near him when he's in the bathtub ever again," but said nothing.

"And I'm glad you're safe and sound, Luigi," Peach said.

"Well, it's good to be back with my bro," Luigi. "Everyone told me about how all of our friends went missing, and I'd be happy to lend a hand. It's the least I could do after being saved from that King Boo."

"I can't believe he's here, too," Peach said. "Hopefully we can sort this whole mess out before any other evil takes advantage of this."

"Speaking of that, didn't E. Gadd say he knew what happened?" Twilight asked.

"Indeed I did, my equine friend," the professor said as he moseyed into the room, carrying with him a tablet-like device. He took a seat next to Peach and laid his pad on the table, causing holograms of the Mushroom Kingdom and Equestria to appear.

"Sit tight kids, because this is a bunch of exposition!" E. Gadd said with a laugh. "So what we know for sure is that both of our lands were merged together. The Mushroom Kingdom was hit with a giant blue twister that sent us into this world... but according to my findings, Equestria didn't suffer the same fate. Tell me Twilight Sparkle, did you and your other equine friends get transported to this place with some sort of blue flash?"

"That's exactly what happened," the alicorn answered.

"Then if my theory is correct," the professor continued. "Something must have happened in the Mushroom Kingdom that caused this whole mess. If we can find the object - or person - that caused it, we should be able to set things straight again. Our worlds will be separated once more, and everything goes back to the way it was."

"How much you wanna bet this is all Bowser's fault?" Mario asked sarcastically.

"You joke bro, but watch as it's revealed he really is the one behind all of this," Luigi laughed.

"Well, we can worry about him later," Peach said. "Thanks to E. Gadd's help, we now know what we have to do."

"So first we'll find all of our friends to make sure they're safe, then we find the root problem and take it out," Twilight said.

"Works for me," Spike nodded.

"We set out in the morning," Mario said. Just then, some doors opened and he saw chefs delivering dinner. "For now though, let's eat!"

Spaghetti and meatballs were served to everyone in the room, much to the Mario Bros.' enjoyment. Since ponies were herbivores, Twilight requested she and Fluttershy be served just tomato sauce with no meatballs. Everyone dug in and chatted among themselves like old friends. Mario and Luigi told their new pony friends the story of how they ventured through outer space to stop Bowser, Spike was showing Piranha Plant more of his favorite comics, and E. Gadd was telling Peach about his latest research on the Cockatrice. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.



With dinner being finished, the team of six were led by Peach upstairs to the top of the tower, where she showed them a pretty small bedroom with several mattresses for them to sleep in.

"We're sorry we couldn't provide more," Peach said. "Especially for royalty like yourself."

"Oh come on, it's fine," Twilight replied. "I'm not above anypony else just because I have a crown."

The Piranha Plant snapped three times, smiling as if he made a clever joke. "Mr. Piranha Plant!" Fluttershy scolded. "You should NOT talk about Twilight Sparkle that way! How rude!"

"She's... not going to keep that thing outside...?" Peach said.

"I tried convincing her to leave him with E. Gadd and Polterpup, but she insists letting him stay inside," Luigi sighed. "But... he did help us battle King Boo, so I guess he's one of us?"

"Well... as long as it's not hurting anyone I don't see a problem," Peach said. "Do get some sleep, everyone. You have a big day tomorrow."

"Don't worry," Mario said. "We'll get some rest."

Peach closed the door to let everyone get some rest. There were four beds crammed in the small room, plus a small laundry basket for Spike. Fluttershy took the one closest to the window so she could let Piranha Plant rest on the windowsill. Luigi took the bed next to her, while Mario and Twilight took the beds parallel to them.

"I'm proud of everypony in here," Twilight said. "It was pretty rough in that mansion, but we pulled together and got out as a team."

"Yeah, if we can survive that, we can survive anything!" Spike followed.

"I... I hope our friends are safe..." Fluttershy said as she looked out the window. "I'm... I'm scared for them. What if th-they don't have a place to sleep tonight?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried too," Luigi said. "They're probably lost and alone... like me and 'Shy were."

"We'll find them," Mario said, placing his hat on the bedside table. "That I promise."

"We just need to stick together from here on out," Twilight said. "Surely the others can't be too far away. It won't be easy, but me and Mario found you all, so they're all still around here somewhere."

Silence fell upon the friends until the sound of snoring was heard. Everyone turned to see Piranha Plant, snoozing soundly in his pot by the window.

"For once, he's right," Mario said with a yawn. "Let's get some shut-eye."

With that, Mario turned off the lights as everyone drifted off, letting the night embrace them in their sleep.



"Kamek! Kammy! How's that research going?" Bowser called.

"We're working on it!" Kamek answered.

"There's so many books," Kammy said. "There's BOUND to be a princess to capture somewhere in this kingdom!"

When Bowser first landed in the odd, merged world, he appeared in none other than Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. The majority of his army fell around this place too. After discovering many of its residents were ponies, he had them captured and imprisoned. They were too preoccupied with the sudden merge between the Mushroom Kingdom and Equestria to put up a fight, and with their leader nowhere to be found (why else would there be a giant castle?), it was easy pickings.

Since then, the Koopa king took up residence in the royal castle. While it was roomy, he was disgusted by the interior design and wanted to remodel it in his image later on. He also thought he could replace the lake outside the city with lava, and maybe use some of that magic these ponies apparently had to turn the mountains into volcanoes. But all of that was in the long term, he figured. For now, his top priority was finding a princess. None of the scouts he sent could find hide or hair of Peach, so he was banking on Equestria having a princess of their own he could have.

The search wasn't going so well. He put Kamek, Kammy Koopa, and the rest of the Magikoopa mob to work, digging through the castle's library to find any information on the matter. He didn't know if they were looking in the wrong place or they were just being stupid, but he was slowly losing his patience.

"That's what you said a hour ago," Bowser replied. "And an hour before that. C'mon, I'm dying over here!"

"Must you be so impatient, your Angriness?" Kammy asked. "I mean, you literally just took over this new land, found a new castle to sit in, AND keeping all these horses as prisoners. You've come far since this whole mish-mash mayhem happened."

"Need I remind you we wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't passed off that cardboard box as a teleporter!" Bowser shot back. "I could have kidnapped Peach 10 times over by now if it wasn't for you two!'

"Hey, it worked as a teleporter, didn't it?" Kamek responded.

In a fit of rage, Bowser shot a fireball through the library. Kamek and Kammy ducked for cover as it hit a wall, exploding and destroying it. The giant whole revealed a brand new section of books. Kammy flew inside and looked around.

"Ah-HA!" she exclaimed. "History books! There's bound to be useful information in here!"

"Wait, you're just now finding the history section?" Bowser asked. "What have you been reading all this time?" He picked up one of the books left on the floor, and let out another roar of anger.

"YOU IDIOTS HAVE BEEN READING COOKBOOKS THE PAST EIGHT HOURS!?" he exclaimed.

"Uh... I'm gonna say... maybe?" Kamek answered.

"GRAWR!" Bowser roared. "This is why my evil plains always derail! You lunatics can't get your act together! You always mess everything up!" He began stomping on the floor in frustration.

"Your Bitterness, please!" Kammy protested. "Remember your blood pressure!"

"Papa, Papa!" came a childlike voice. "I have news! Big news!"

Bowser instantly cooled off and turned around to see his son running to him. He knealed down and held a nice, fatherly face, trying to push his anger as far back as possible.

"Jr.!" he greeted. "I see you came back from your scout training. Did you make me proud?"

"You bet!" Bowser Jr. answered. "Get this! I found Mario! He's here too!"

"That's nothing new," Kamek commented.

"SHUT UP YOU RAT IN ROBES!" Bowser yelled. "HE'S TRYING HIS BEST!" Kamek instantly went back to looking through the books.

He turned back around to his son and shook his hand. "Well, that's certainly a find. You have any other information?"

"Yup!" his son said. "Mario's teamed up with a bunch of girly horses!"

"BWAHAHAHA!" Bowser laughed. "You mean Mario's teaming up with those weaklings? I just bested 100 of them and locked them all up in the dungeon! Well, good to know I have nothing to worry about when I eventually need to fight him."

"Nothing can stop you, Papa!" Bowser Jr. cheered.

"Your Ugliness!" Kammy called from the other room. "I think I found something!"

"Alright, I got another job for you," Bowser said to his son. "I want you to run down and check on the prisoners. Think you can do that?"

"Sure can!" Jr. saluted as he ran off. Bowser turned to the Magikoopas to see what they were looking at.

"You sure this isn't some stupid recipe for 'Super Duper Berrysweet Cake' or whatever they eat in this girly kingdom?" Bowser said.

"No, but I found that recipe earlier and it looked simply delightful!" Kammy said. Bowser have her a death glare. "Well, um, yes, anyway, I've found a princess you could capture!"

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," Kamek read. "Or Princess Cadence for short, is a pegasus-turned-alicorn and the current ruler of the Crystal Empire, alongside her prince and husband Shining Armor. A niece of Celestia and Luna - whoever those are - she held her wedding with Shining Armor right here in the royal castle walls of Canterlot. The evil Queen Chrysalis sought to take over, so she used her shapeshifting powers to pose as Cadence while she kept the real one underground. Fortunately for everyone, Twilight Sparkle and her friends stopped Chrysalis and the wedding resumed. Now, she rules the Crystal Empire with Shining Armor, and the two have since had a baby named Flurry Heart, the current heir to the throne."

"Finally you two do SOMETHING useful!" Bowser said.

"And look, Your Grouchiness, there's even pictures of her!" Kammy said. Bowser immediately snatched the book away from the Magikoopas to look for himself. Right there he saw a picture of the purple horse with multicolored mane he assumed was Cadence, standing next to some white unicorn he figured was Shining Armor. In her hooves was Flurry Heart, who absolutely stole his heart. He couldn't take his eyes off of the baby foal. A smile crept on his face.

"Cadence is quite the catch, I agree," Kamek said, seeing the look on his face.

Not wanting to admit what his true intentions were, he closed the book and handed it back to Kamek. "Yes. Very good, Kamek. She's no Peach, but I suppose she will do. Look around more and find me some more information on this Cadence and the Crystal Empire. We wanna be ready for anything."

"As you wish, your Massiveness," Kammy said as the two continued looking through the library.

Bowser walked back to the throne room and sat on his new throne. Thoughts about the little filly plagued his mind. She was just so adorable! He could just see the little bundle of joy in his arms, looking up at him with those big cyan eyes. The thought of raising such an adorable filly made him smile. And as she got older, she could even be one of the strongest generals in the Koopa Troop! As much as he liked to make fun of those weakling horses, he did have to admit, some of the magic they were using to defend themselves was admirable.

His decision was made. Once he rounded up the troops and found where the Crystal Empire was, he would launch an invasion against it, kidnap Cadence and Flurry Heart, and get rid of Shining Armor if he had to. He'd keep Cadence around as his bride like he did with Peach that one time he hosted a wedding; he wasn't really attracted to her, but he could definitely see the benefits of marrying an alicorn. But more importantly, marrying her would make him the father of Flurry Heart, allowing him to raise her as his daughter. He had experience in parenting with Jr. and the Koopalings, so he'd make a decent father. And again, she could prove useful when she came of age.

For now though, he just had to play the waiting game.



The castle's dungeon cells will absolutely filled to the brim with ponies. Bowser Jr. walked passed some of them, and saw there were at least 10 in each cell! He inspected each and every one to make sure no one was acting out of line, and moved on to the next when they were up to his satisfaction.

"Hey, babyface!" came a voice from behind. The Koopa prince turned around and saw a cyan pony with rainbow mane grabbing the cell bars. "Yeah, I'm talking to you! You guys think you can just throw us in the dungeon of our own castle!?"

"Aw, is the widdle horsey upset we beat her?" Bowser Jr. taunted. "No one can beat Papa! He takes over lands whenever he wants!"

"Let me outta here and we'll test that theory!" the rainbow-maned pegasus shot back. "The only reason I was caught is because that turtle guy fell right on top of me!"

"Well, you snooze you lose," Jr. replied as he got closer to the cell. "Besides, you could never beat Papa anyway. He's too strong for even 100 of you!"

In a fit of rage, Rainbow Dash threw a hoof through the cell bars and punched Bowser Jr. right in the jaw. He immediately burst into tears.

"Who's the tough guy now?" Rainbow taunted.

"I'M TELLING ON YOU!" Jr. said between sobs as he ran out of the dungeon and back to his father. Though satisfied with her efforts, Rainbow Dash was still beating herself up that she let that dumb turtle guy land on her and take her as prisoner. She began thinking of her other friends, and what they were going through.

"Twi, 'Shy, and the others," she said to herself as she looked out the window in the night sky. "I hope you're doing OK, wherever you are..."
> Rarity Becomes a Glitz Pit Fighter and Spike Cheers Her on Way too Hard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun only just rose when the team of heroes woke up. Peach prepared them breakfast to help get the day started, and wished them farewell when they continued their quest. They hit the shops, restocked with new power-ups, and set out. Luigi now increasing their numbers from five to six, the adventure could only go smoother from here on out... or so they thought.

"So where do we go?" Luigi asked. They had walked aimlessly in one direction for a solid hour.

"How should I know?" Mario asked. "It's not like we have a map or something to follow."

"Man, if only there was some convenient way for us to know where one of our friends are," Spike pondered. Silence fell on the group for a short time.

"Seriously?" Spike asked. "I thought for sure that would work!"

Just then, the wind picked up. Mario and Luigi held onto their caps so they wouldn't blow away in the gale's increasing power. When it got so powerful that they were starting to be pushed back, everyone ran into a nearby cave for shelter. Now free of the violent winds, they decided to rest a moment and regroup.

"What in the world was that?" Mario asked. "Winds like that aren't nearly as strong where I come from!"

"Oh dear, it's probably because there's nopony controlling it," Fluttershy said. "In Equestria, the pegasi control the weather, putting rainclouds in the right places, making sure there are the right amount of clouds in the sky, and other things like that. But with nopony controlling it, the weather becomes really unpredictable and starts doing whatever it wants."

"Weather just... happens back in our world," Luigi said. "Sometimes it helps us, sometimes it doesn't."

"I still remember the time that wind pushed you off a platform and you were dangling for life," Mario reminisced. "You were screaming like a little girl before I came along and pulled you back up!"

Twilight and Fluttershy giggled a bit at that, and the Piranha Plant was smiling in Luigi's misfortune.

"Not in front of the girls," Luigi complained.

"I mean, you aren't alone," Spike said. "There was that one time Fluttershy was so nervous about flying with other pegasi to create a hurricane that she almost chickened out!"

Fluttershy blushed and hid behind her mane, while the Piranha Plant growled in anger. Not wanting to be eaten alive, he quickly tried to save himself.

"B-But then Fluttershy trained hard and became the best flier on the team!" he said. The Piranha Plant seemed to nod in approval.

"Well, I guess we're stuck in here until the wind clears up," Twilight said. Just then, a stray piece of paper carried by the wind flew into the cave and right in her face. She swiped it off but could see something written on it, so she read it aloud.

"Come see the Championship Bout between the new runner-up, Lady Lariat and-" Twilight read before gasping.

"IT'S RARITY!" she exclaimed. She put the picture in front of Spike and Fluttershy so they could see the picture of Rarity on the ad. She seemed to be wearing a blue jumpsuit, a carnival mask with feathers decorated on the top, and magenta sparkling boots.

"It IS Rarity!" Fluttershy cheered as she clapped. "She's OK!"

Spike said nothing as he drooled, clearly enamored for Rarity's new outfit. Mario walked over so he could see the the ad for himself.

"Hey, I know where this is!" Mario said. "It's Glitzville! I've been there before!"

"Glitzville?" Luigi asked. "You mean the flying city that has a fighting ring and the richest people in the world bet on the bouts?"

"The very same," Mario nodded.

"Well at least we now know where to look for- Hey, wait a minute! How the hay can a city be flying!?" Twilight asked.

"How can flying ponies touch and move around clouds to control weather?" Mario countered.

"Touche," Twilight said.

"Did you say fighting ring?" Fluttershy asked. "Did Rarity become a fighter?"

"Looks like it," Mario said.

"Even when she's fighting she likes looking stylish," Twilight said. She turned around to see Spike now in a puddle of his own drool.

"Uh, Spike?" Twilight said. "You mind uh, not doing that?"

Spike instantly snapped out of his trance and looked around, noticing he was in a puddle of his own saliva. He giggled sheepishly and blushed.

"Well, uh, TO GLITZVILLE WE GO!" he said before flying out of the cave, only for the harsh wind outside to throw him back inside.

"When the wind clears up of course," he said, trying to look as cool and collected as possible.



The wind finally calmed down enough for the band of heroes to venture out of the cave. It didn't take long for them to spot the floating town of Glitzville in the distance. Mario explained that he himself was a fighter there, under the name of The Great Gonzales, which got a laugh out of Spike. He also said he would take a blimp to go there, but since there was no such thing around at the moment, they decided to just fly there.

Luigi tried to get on Fluttershy's back so she could take him there, but was viciously bitten in the rear by Piranha Plant. He leaped nearly a mile in the air and rubbed his sore behind.

"Um... Mr. Piranha Plant says my back is reserved for him," Fluttershy said. "He... doesn't like the idea of sharing with plumbers."

"Figures," Luigi said, trying to ease the searing pain of the plant's teeth.

"Hey, I can carry you," Spike said as he took Luigi's hands and lifted them in the air.

"Thanks, Spike," Luigi said.

"I guess that just leaves you and me," Twilight said to Mario before lowering her back. "Hop on."

Mario plopped himself on the alicorn's back, shuffling to try and get in a comfortable position and making sure his legs weren't in the way of Twilight's wings. "Way more comfortable than riding Yoshi," he commented.

With that, the group took off for Glitzville, flying straight up. The trip wasn't too tiring, though Spike was having trouble carrying around Luigi, and the green plumber's constant jittery movements and his fear of heights wasn't helping. Fluttershy held Piranha Plant in her hooves to make sure he wouldn't fall.

"C'mon," Spike complained. "If you're gonna carry him in your hooves like that why won't you take Luigi on your back?"

The Piranha Plant snapped once. "He says he doesn't want me to have trouble while flying," Fluttershy translated.

"We're not that far," Twilight said. "Just hang in there."

Eventually, the team landed on the edge of Glitzville. Spike instantly laid on Twilight's back, out of breath from carrying three times his weight for 10 minutes straight. Mario looked around and absorbed his surroundings. It had been quite awhile since he visited this place, and the bright lights and constant chatter among fans brought a sense of nostalgia to him.

Mario lead the group into the Glitz Pit, its interior design not changing in the slightest since Mario first came here. Twilight noticed a bunch of posters of Lady Lariat on the wall.

"Hey, that's Rarity!" she called out.

"Looks like she's pretty popular around here," Luigi commented.

Just then, several Toads, Lakitus, and Doogans wearing merchandise themed after Lady Lariat ran through the main hall and piled inside the stadium, screaming and cheering for the next match. A strange, orange-colored reporter with a tie then came in and started filming with a Lakitu cameraman.

"And just listen to all those roaring fans!" the reporter said into his microphone. "We are mere moments away from the title match between Rawk Hawk and Lady Lariat, and I think we have a clear sign who the majority want to take home the championship belt!"

He then walked backwards and put an arm over Fluttershy, pulling her into the camera's view.

"You, mystical horse creature!" he said. "How does it feel to have your kind be represented in the Glitz Pit, and that a newcomer such as Lady Lariat could attract hundreds of fans?"

"I-Is... Is this l-l-live?" Fluttershy gulped.

"Yes, we are live!" the reporter answered. "Thousands and thousands of our viewers are looking at you right now! Now tell me, what are your comments on the match?"

Fluttershy tried to say words, but nothing could come out. Before she could literally break, Twilight stepped in front of her.

"We were just on our way to see the match," she said. Fluttershy quickly crawled away and hid behind Mario and Luigi. She held Piranha Plant tight, doing her best to not break down in embarrassment.

"Well you better hurry! The bleachers are no doubt packed for today's match!" the reporter said. "This is MKTV News, signing out!"

With that, Mario, Twilight and the rest followed the fans into the stadium. They managed to find seats near the top of the arena, giving them a bird's-eye view of the ring. A Toad announcer stepped up and tapped on the microphone to get everyone's attention.

"Who's that?" Spike asked.

"That's Jolene," Mario answered. "She announces all the fights."

"Welcome one and all for today's main event!" Jolene called. "What will probably be the greatest bout in Glitz Pit history is about to take place right here, right now! It's hooves vs. hands! Fur vs. feathers! Style vs. raw power! We have a championship bout, ladies and gentlemen!"

The fans roared in approval.

"In this corner, we have the current champion!" Jolene said. "The Feral Nuclear Reactor, give it up for RAWK HAWK!"

"Ugh, this guy," Mario said as Rawk Hawk entered the ring.

"What's wrong with him?" Twilight asked.

"He's this big shot who things he's invincible but really only got where he is because of the fans," Mario answered. "During my time as The Great Gonzales, I beat him in five minutes."

"Now then, Rawk Hawk," Jolene said as he walked up to him. "What are your thoughts on the match? Any words you have for Lady Lariat?"

"What, that little wuss?" Rawk Hawk laughed. "Since when were we calling tiny horse girls an actual threat? Maybe after the battle is over, she can give me a ride back to my champ's room!"

"WHAT!?" Spike called. "How DARE he say that about Rarity!"

"Settle down, Spike," Twilight said.

"But she's risen to where she is now faster than you have!" Jolene said. "Remember The Great Gonzales, the only one to ever steal the title from you? Lady Lariat beat his records! What do you think about that?"

"What do I think?" Rawk Hawk said. "PPPPPPPPPPPPTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHPPPPPPPPT! That's what I think! There's only one of us that's gonna feel the RAAAAAAAWK, and it ain't gonna be me!"

"Big words coming from the champion," Jolene said. Just then, the other door opened, blue smoke coming from it. A figure in black robes ran out and leaped into the air, landing on the arena opposite of Rawk Hawk. The fans went wild.

"And here she is, everyone!" Jolene called out. "The challenger who aims to take the belt for herself! She's stunned everyone since she entered the ring, fans and opponents alike. It's none other than LADY LARIAT!"

The black robes quickly vanished, revealing Rarity in the same getup she wore in the poster. The fans continued chanting "LADY LARIAT", and couldn't wait for the fight to commence.

"DESTROY HIM!" Spike yelled. "PUNISH THAT CHICKEN FOR TRASH TALKING YOU!"

"SPIKE!" Twilight called. "Chill out! You're almost as rabid as the other fans!"

"Hey everyone!" Luigi called from behind, carrying two massive bags of popcorn. "I got two jumbos so we all could share!"

"Good call, bro," Mario said, taking a handful of popcorn. "This is gonna be interesting."

"So Lady Lariat," Jolene said as she walked up to her. "Rawk Hawk said some pretty nasty things about you. He thinks you don't stand a chance against him. What are your thoughts?"

"Humph! I believe it's time for this uncouth bird to learn some manners! That is not how you treat a lady!" Rarity said. "And besides, I've come much too far to stop now. I can't let all of my adoring fans down!"

"Wow, she's so brave in the spotlight..." Fluttershy said as she took a hooful of popcorn and let Piranha Plant eat it.

"Reminds me of my days in the Glitz Pit," Mario said. "Have to admit, the roaring fans were nice to have."

"She's really letting the spotlight get to her," Twilight commented.

"And now, the moment you've been waiting for!" Jolene said. "These two ferocious fighters came into the ring, but only one will step out champion! RING THAT BELL!"

Rawk Hawk opened with one of his signature moves, a leaping cross chop. He dove down to try and strike Rarity, but she quickly countered with a kick to his face. He reeled back a bit, and Rarity took this opportunity to land more attacks with her hooves. She finished with a kick using her high heels, launching Rawk Hawk into the ropes and striking him with a double back-hoof kick while he was propelled towards her. He quickly recovered and shook his head.

"Not too shabby, horse," he commented. "But what do you think of THIS!?"

Rawk Hawk leaped into the air and performed a somersault, landing on Rarity's back and crushing her into the ground. The mare quickly got up, only to be picked up by the tail and thrown to the other side of the ring. Once more, Rarity got up, and before she reacted, Rawk Hawk attacked with a sliding kick in her flanks. Rarity stood up and gasped, her eyes wide.

"TEAR HIM APART!" Spike said, taking another handful of popcorn.

Rarity turned to Rawk Hawk, eyes burning in white hot passion. "You do NOT strike a lady in the rear!" she yelled before charging at him. She picked him up with her unicorn magic and slammed him into the ground. She then leaped and landed on Rawk Hawk with all four of her high heels. The white mare climbed the ropes and leaped off of them gracefully, slamming Rawk Hawk into the ground again while he was trying to get up. She walked to the other side of the ring while Rawk Hawk growled in anger.

"You're even more annoying than that Gonzales chump!" he said. "I should have taken care of you out of the ring!"

Rawk Hawk ran at her to try and grab her, but Rarity ducked out of the way and let him hit the ropes. He reeled off of them before she kicked him in the back, sending him forward and back into the ropes. This caused enough force for him to keep flying back and forth between the arena's ropes. For her finishing attack, Rarity kicked him with both her hind legs, causing him to fly right into the bleachers. The spectators ducked for cover as he hit the wall.

"No..." he croaked. "Have I... Rawk Hawk... been rawked... again..."

The fans went wild as confetti showered Rarity. Jolene ran back onto the ring to her side, practically exasperating.

"That was the most grueling fight I have ever seen!" she said into the microphone. "You couldn't plan a fight more intense! This is absolutely, positively, without a doubt, without question, the most legendary battle in Glitz Pit history! But there could only be one winner, and the winner is LADY LARIAT!"

"WOOOOO-HOOOOO!" Spike leaped out of his seat and cheered for Rarity. Mario, Luigi, and Twilight clapped for her, and Fluttershy released the breath she was holding the entire match, thankful that Rarity was safe and sound. The Piranha Plant simply ate the rest of the popcorn.

"Congratulations!" Jolene said. "How does it feel to be the new champion of the Glitz Pit?"

"Simply marvelous!" Rarity answered. "I would like to thank each and every one of my fans for bringing me where I am today!"

"MARRY ME RARITY!" Spike said before instantly covering his mouth. The others looked at him in confusion, even Piranha Plant poked his heat out of the popcorn bag to shoot a glance at him.

"Did... Did I say that out loud?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Twilight nodded. "Yes you did."



Rarity was sitting in the bed of her new champion's room. It looked absolutely hideous and if she had the resources, she would remodel it in a heartbeat, but decided it wasn't worth it. She was just content that she got what she came for: the champion's belt. Or more specifically, the star that was shining on it.

A knock came at the door. "Come in," she called. Jolene entered the room and adjusted her glasses.

"Ms. Rarity, you have some guests," she said.

"UGH, if it's that creepy Dupree, tell him I want absolutely nothing to do with him!" Rarity sighed.

"Oh no, they say they're you're friends," Jolene said. Rarity's ears perked up, and she practically squealed when Twilight and Fluttershy came through the door.

"Twilight! Fluttershy!" she called out before running over to hug them. "I was SO worried about you two! Why, after I suddenly vanished from Ponyville, I was wondering if I would ever see you again!"

"We were really worried for you too, Rarity," Fluttershy said.

"Oh, and my little Spikey-Wikey!" Rarity cooed as she walked over to the young dragon and nuzzled him. "It has been FAR too long since we met, darling!"

"Yeah... it has..." Spike said, blushing. He still wasn't used to how Rarity looked in that getup.

"So if you don't mine me asking," Twilight said. "Why in the wide, wide world of Equestria did you decide to take up wrestling of all things? Especially after you-know-what."

"Oh, yes, that," Rarity began. "See, after I was transported out of the castle, I was taken to this beautiful city. The lovely Jolene found me and took me in, allowing shelter in the Glitz Pit while I tried to get my bearings. And that's when I saw THIS!"

Using her magic, she levitated the champion's belt in front of her friends. "This remarkable golden material is unlike anything I had ever seen before! I figured that having it would provide brand new opportunities for my dress-making, and I just HAD to have it. Jolene suggested I take up a career in the Glitz Pit and work my way up the ranks to win it for myself. I was against the idea at first, but after all the attention I gained from my bouts, not to mention the prize money, I couldn't stop!"

"Well, I'm just happy you're safe," Twilight said. "We're looking for the rest of our friends and trying to find a way to get back home. Wanna come along?"

"Of course I would love to help, darling!" Rarity said. "After all, you came all the way here just for little old me, it's the least I could do. I must admit, as much as Glitzville is absolutely stunning, I do miss Ponyville. Quite a bit in fact."

"Well, you only came for the champ's belt, so I suppose this was inevitable," Jolene said. "Do be sure to come back and give the fans a little razzle-dazzle, OK? They love you to bits."

"Oh, this shan't be the last time I step in the ring," Rarity said. "Lady Lariat will eventually return."

"You should have heard Spike," Twilight giggled. "We were in the bleachers and he went WILD! He wanted to see you take that Rawk Hawk guy down."

"Aww, how adorable!" Rarity said. Spike just hid behind Twilight and blushed.



"Why did we have to watch Piranha Plant?" Luigi asked.

"Beats me. He seems OK with being around the ponies," Mario said.

The two brothers were tasked with watching over Piranha Plant while the others went to get Rarity in their group. Right now they were outside the bar, staying as far away from him as possible. He had Luigi's cap in his teeth, gnawing on it, and whenever Luigi stepped close enough to take it back, he growled.

They sighed in relief when they saw their pony friends step outside the Glitz Pit, Rarity now out of her fighter suit. They saw Mario and Luigi and walked over to them.

"Mr. Piranha Plant, you spit that out right now," Fluttershy commanded. The Piranha Plant reluctantly released it, allowing Luigi to put it back on his head. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"So I'm guessing this is Rarity," Mario said.

"Yes, Twilight and Fluttershy have told me so much about you two," Rarity said as she walked up to them. "Really, thank you for being generous enough to help my friends in times of need."

"It was no problem," Luigi said. "We're all in this together."

"Oh, and this must be the adorable flower you've talked about, Fluttershy," Rarity said as she got down and stroked Piranha Plant's head. "Such a majestic creature."

The Piranha Plant gave a relaxed purr. "He says thank you," Fluttershy translated.

"It's good to have you back, Rarity," Twilight said. "Now all we gotta do is find everypony else."

"Just one problem with that," Spike said, looking over the edge of Glitzville. "How do we all get down?"
> Mario Tries to Guess Applejack's Name, DK Attacks AJ, and Yoshi and Pinkie Spy on Bowser
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"My MY!" Rarity said. "I can't believe you used to be a Glitz Pit champion too!"

"I had to leave the ring of course, but it was fun while it lasted," Mario said.

Rarity joining the ongoing search for everyone's friends brought the team up to seven. They had explained the situation to the white unicorn in full detail, what with everyone being missing and needing to find the source of what caused this whole mess and stop it. Rarity offered to do everything in her power to help find her friends, and Mario and Luigi's as well. Right now though, she and Mario were reminiscing about their days at the Glitz Pit.

"I also see Rawk Hawk is as easy as ever," Mario laughed.

"Oh, that ruffian?" Rarity said. "I don't know how he became champion. He was no trouble whatsoever! But... how did you know I fought him?"

"We were all cheering you on during the match," Spike said. "You were a MONSTER out there!"

"It looked really dangerous, but I'm glad you came out safe and sound," Fluttershy said.

"Why thank you, darlings," Rarity said. "Perhaps when we get back to Equestria I can take up a career in wrestling. The fights gave me such an adrenaline rush!"

"So we found Rarity," Luigi said. "Whose next?"

"No idea," Mario said. "Though I'd appreciate if all these apple trees weren't obscuring our view."

"Yeah, I was just about to go up in the air and- wait... apple trees?" Twilight asked before looking around.

The group had been so distracted amongst themselves that they didn't realize they had walked right into a giant apple orchard. Giant trees of apples covered the landscape, the forest never seeming to end. The ponies and Spike quickly recognized the place.

"We're in Sweet Apple Acres!" Twilight cheered.

"So this giant apple orchard is from your world?" Luigi asked.

"It is," Fluttershy answered. "The Apple family harvests apples to sell them. It's one of the most efficient agricultural services in Equestria, and one of our friends is here. At least... I hope..."

"Apple family?" Mario questioned. "So between Twilight Sparkle whose purple like a sunset... Fluttershy whose really shy... and Rarity who likes to find rare jewels... is every name in your world a pun based on your personality or occupation?"

"Precisely," Rarity answered.

"Yes," Fluttershy nodded.

"Pretty much," Twilight said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Well, at least we know where to find this friend... wherever he or she is," Luigi said.

"Her name is-" Twilight said just before an apple flew through the air and landed square on her horn. She used her alicorn magic to clean herself off.

"Are... flying apples a thing in the Mushroom Kingdom?" Twilight asked. Just then, Mario got hit in the back of the head with another apple.

"I was about to ask you that," Mario said, trying to clean himself off.

"Uhh... guys?" Spike said, pointing ahead. Everyone turned to where he was looking at, and saw a giant volley of apples heading right towards them. And they were coming in fast.

"RUN FOR IT!" Mario cried before diving behind a tree. Twilight created a magic force field around herself which Luigi and Spike dove into, Rarity tried to hide behind another tree, and Fluttershy carried Piranha Plant into the leaves above. The apples came raining down, just narrowly missing everyone. Once it cleared up, everyone wandered out of their hiding spots.

"Well, that was weir-" Luigi tried to say before an orange mare flew into him. The two were knocked down, and everyone else looked at them in shock. The pony quickly got up.

"Sorry 'bout that, partner," she said before adjusting her stetson. "Ah've been tryin' to... hold up, Twilight? Flutters? Rares? Is that you guys?"

"Darling, we've been worried sick about you!" Rarity said.

"Yeah," Luigi said as he got up and dusted himself off. "We just found ourselves in a giant apple orchard and the girls thought you'd be here."

"We're so happy to have found you App-" Fluttershy started before being interrupted.

"Wait!" Mario called out. "So far all these names have been puns, so lemme take a guess. Apple Pie."

The mare nodded no.

"Apple Slice?"

She nodded again.

"Apple Tree?"

Another nod.

"Don't mess with me here," Mario said. "I can get this!"

"Do you see me messin' with ya?" she said with a chuckle.

Everyone else couldn't help but giggle at Mario's futile attempts to guess Applejack's name. He was on the right track of it being an apple pun... but what he didn't know was that there were so many Apple family members and, by extension, Apple family names.

"He's gonna be here for awhile," Twilight said.

"Should we tell him?" Spike asked. Piranha Plant snapped, taking an apple and biting into it.

"Mr. Piranha Plant says no," Fluttershy translated.

"Well... this IS pretty entertaining," Rarity said with a giggle.

"OK OK, uh... Apple Seeds!" Mario called.

"Still no," Applejack said.

"Alright, that's it!" Mario said. "Speed round, I'm gonna fire a bunch of names and tell me when I get it right, OK?"

"Can do," Applejack said. She probably would have told him by now, but it was honestly amusing.

"Apple Butter, Apple Bumpkin, Apple Fritter, Apple Cobbler, Fresh Apple, Rotten Apple, Spoiled Apple, Apple Core, Sweet Apple, Tasty Apple, Apple Candy, Caramel Apple, Apple Cake, Cinnamon Apple, Apple Tart, Baked Apple, Apple Blossom, Apple Bloom, Green Apple, Red Apple, Triple Apple... Juicy Apple... Big Apple... APPLE OF MY EYE!"

"None of those were right," Applejack laughed.

"WAIT!" Mario said. "Is it like Fluttershy or Rarity where it's one word?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Now I got you," Mario cackled. "Applesauce, Appleby, Applej-"

"Applejack,'' she answered.

"DANG IT!" Mario cried. In a fit of frustration, he kicked an apple, which bounced off a tree and hit him in the face. The Piranha Plant had a kick out of that and was laughing it up while eating a banana, and everyone else couldn't help but smile at his misfortune. However, Applejack saw a giant, shadowy figure leap into the air behind them, and she ducked for cover. The figure crashed on the ground, and revealed himself to be none other than Donkey Kong.

"Girls, hide!" Applejack called out. "This giant ape has it out for me!"

"Wait, Donkey Kong's here too?" Luigi asked. He tried to approach him, only to be swatted away by the big Kong.

"And he's mad," Mario said, tending to his knocked down brother. "Applejack, what'd you do to make him upset?"

"I dunno!" she cried as she dodged one of Donkey Kong's giant punches. "He just started attackin' me when we got here!"

"Fluttershy, darling," Rarity said. "You can talk to animals, no? Can you reason with this primate?"

"I can try," Fluttershy said. She approached him just as he was about to throw another punch at the country pony. "Um, excuse me, Mr. Donkey Kong?"

DK turned around to see the yellow pegasus behind him... and the Piranha Plant eating on a banana. He angrily beat his chest and jumped at then, snatching Piranha Plant. He climbed up a tree and shook Piranha Plant around, trying to get the banana out of him.

"Mr. Piranha Plant!" Fluttershy yelled. She flew up to him, only to see that he had thrown Piranha Plant off the tree and started eating what was remaining of the banana. Now angered, she used her Stare on him. Donkey Kong instantly cowered in fear, and jumped off the tree to hand the banana back to Piranha Plant. He angrily snatched it back and began eating it again. Fluttershy continued staring at the great ape until he was backed into a tree.

"Now tell me Mr. Donkey Kong," Fluttershy said. "Why were you attacking my friend?"

Donkey Kong started babbling the typical gorilla noises he normally made, which Fluttershy was able to translate.

"You say you saw her steal your little friend?" Fluttershy asked.

"Wait, you mean Diddy Kong?" Luigi asked. Donkey Kong nodded his head yes.

"Ah didn't steal anypony," Applejack said. "Honest!"

"Well if YOU didn't steal him, the who did?" Twilight asked.

Donkey Kong thought about it some more and started making more gorilla growls. Fluttershy gasped at what she heard.

"What'd he say?" Mario asked.

"M... Mr. Donkey Kong said..." Fluttershy said, gulping a bit. "That he... remembered it was a little yellow filly that stole him..."

All the ponies in Spike gasped in shock. Mario and Luigi looked at each other, thinking this couldn't be a good sign.



Waiting was hard, but it had to be done when you were spying on the enemy. Yoshi had landed just outside of Canterlot when the whole situation started, and saw firsthand Bowser conquering it for himself. He knew that he alone wouldn't be enough to stop him, so he just positioned himself outside of town where he wouldn't be seen. Using a green binoculars stand, he looked through the castle walls to see what Bowser and his forces were doing. He was certain the Koopa king was the cause of that blue tornado, he just needed to know what his plan was.

"Can I have a turn!?"

Yoshi bounced off of the binoculars stand in shock, landing on his rear. He glared angrily at the pink pony who surprised him.

"I told you to stop doing that!" Yoshi said.

"But I wanna heeeeeeeeeeeeelp!" Pinkie Pie moaned overdramatically. "You and me could be Canterlot's last hope and I wanna save all the ponies this Bowser guy captured! Pleeeeeeeeease?"

"Ugh, fine," Yoshi said, rolling his eyes. "Just make sure we aren't seen."

"YES!" Pinkie cheered as she immediately put her eyes through the binoculars. Fed up with Pinkie's antics, he headed into the nearby cave they used as a makeshift base. He sat on one of the sofas Bowser threw in the trash and rubbed his temples.

"I don't know how you put up with her," he said to a gray pony, who was observing a Chomp Rock. "I mean, how can you live with a sister like that?"

"I don't," Maud Pie said in her typically monotone voice. "Me and Pinkie don't live together."

"And did you have to bring that Chomp Rock in here?" Yoshi asked. "You've been playing with it for at least an hour."

"This rock isn't like any other rocks in Equestria," Maud Pie said. "The face isn't carved and is actually structured that way. And its weight is disproportionate to its size, making it really heavy."

"Brilliant observation there, Einstein," Yoshi said sarcastically. Maud got on his nerves significantly less than Pinkie did, though neither were exactly perfect to have around. He supposed he needed some Equestrian people around so he would know what to expect from this new world, and they did appear with him right outside Canterlot, but if given the choice he would-

"I SEE SOMETHING!" Pinkie screeched from behind Yoshi, causing him to fly forward and hit the wall face first, barely missing Maud.

"This better be good," Yoshi groaned, rubbing his head.

"This Bowser guy is lining a bunch of his troops up and is bringing in somepony from the dungeon!" Pinkie said. Curious, Yoshi went to the binoculars and looked into it, Maud approaching the two as well. Through them, he could see a Koopatrol bringing a blue pegasus with rainbow mane into the throne room, positioning her in front of Bowser.

"And that somepony is my best friend RAINBOW DASH!" Pinkie said, sticking her head in front of the binoculars and causing Yoshi to jump back in shock. "Well, she's not really my BEST best friend, I have four other best friends. But I don't call them best friends because that would make the other 6529 friends I have feel less special and-"

"Slow down," Yoshi said. "So you say you know whoever this pony is?"

"I just said it was Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie said.

"I dunno what they're doing, but I don't like the look of it," Yoshi said. "Maud, Pink, follow me, we're going in for a closer look."

"Oooooh is this a rescue mission?" Pinkie asked. "Because I have a couple one liners prepared just for the occasion, such as-"

"Is 'Don't speak in order to give away our location' one of them?" Yoshi asked.

"No, but that's a pretty good one!" Pinkie said. "I need to write that one down."

A few more arguments between Yoshi and Pinkie Pie later, the three spies managed to sneak past the Koopa Troop's detection and reach one of the windows in the royal castle. They peered inside and were able to see the throne room, being just above Bowser and getting a complete view of the entire scene.

"Rainbow Danger Dash," a Hammer Bro. said as he walked in front of the pegasus. "For violation of Section 92710892364718612, Sub-section B-8307 #4.2 Z, preventing any and all prisoners from inflicting physical harm on the Koopa Troop's royal prince, Bowser Koopa II, you are hereby sentenced to execution. Do you have any last words?"

"Execution?" Rainbow Dash asked before giggling a bit. "The hay are you loons gonna do to 'execute' me? Sit on me like that Bowser moron did?"

"That's exactly what's gonna happen," Bowser said before snapping his fingers. Rainbow Dash say a shadow cast over herself, and looked up to see a giant Thwomp above her. She gulped as her eyes went wide.

"That rock monster seems to be made out of minerals unique to your world," Maud Pie whispered.

"Maud, we can talk about super cool super scary rocks later!" Pinkie whispered back. "They're gonna use that rock to squish Rainbow Dash!"

"Your Grouchiness!" Kamek called from the other room as he ran in with a book. "After more hours of research, we have determined the location of the Crystal Empire! We can go there and kidnap Princess Cadence like we planned!"

"Can't you see I'm busy?" Bowser said, gesturing to Rainbow Dash.

"Wait wait wait, you guys are gonna kidnap Cadence!?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Indeed we are," Kamek cackled. "Once we set course for the Crystal Empire and load all of our most powerful minions on board, we will fly there, kidnap Cadence, and she will marry Bowser, allowing him to become king of this new land once and for all!"

"Well why not just tell her our plan, huh?" Bowser sighed. "No matter, she's gonna pop like a grape anyway. Thwomp, fall at will!"

"This ain't good," Yoshi said.

"What are we gonna do!?" Pinkie whispered in horror. "Maud, you have to know SOMETHING we can do to save her, right!?"

"Yes," Maud said flatly. She fished in her clothes and pulled out a small rock, which she named Boulder, and threw it across the room. Just as the Thwomp started to descend on top of Rainbow Dash, the pebble decked it in the face hard enough to push it backward slightly. It barely missed the pegasus and crushed the Koopatrol holding her chains instead. She was able to wriggle herself free after that, and sighed in relief that she wasn't crushed.

"IDIOTS!" Bowser yelled. "Get her!"

Now that Rainbow Dash wasn't held back by chains and could fly, none of his troops were any match for her. Koopatrols charged at her, but she took to the air and they all bonked each other in the head. Hammer Bros. and Boomerang Bros. began pelting their weapons at Rainbow Dash, but she dodged them easily. She used her wings to reflect the projectiles back at the helmeted turtles, knocking them away. A couple more Thwomps tried to crush her, but she dodged out of the way and they ended up flattening other minions instead.

"Are you morons deaf!?" Bowser said. "I said GET HER!"

"I got it, your Bitterness!" Kamek said. With a wave of his wand, he cast a magic spell on Rainbow Dash, removing her wings and effectively making her an earth pony. She plopped to the ground with a thud.

"Hey, not fair!" she called out. A Koopatrol tackled her and held her in place. She tried to kick him away, but another Koopatrol came and restrained her, and soon a whole mob of Koopatrols dog-piled her.

"We have to save her!" Pinkie said.

"We will," Yoshi said as he pulled out a Power Flower. "Time to break out old reliable!"

He tossed it into the air and grabbed it with his tongue, allowing his cheeks to puff up. He leaped into the battlefield below, catching the troops by surprise, and spewed flames all over the Koopatrols. Rainbow Dash quickly got her footing, and just as another Koopatrol was about to charge at her, she kicked him in the face with her back hoof.

"Why is Yoshi here!?" Bowser yelled.

Yoshi continued spewing streams of fire at oncoming enemies, and Rainbow Dash did what she could to defend herself. Eventually, the green dinosaur's Power Flower ran out of energy, so he pulled out another power-up he was saving, this time a Morph Bubble. But before he could use it, a Boomerang Bro. smacked him in the face, causing it to float in the air. Pinkie eyed it wonderingly.

"Ooooh, I love bubbles!" Pinkie cheered. "And this one has a toy car in it!"

"Go ahead," Maud gestured.

Wasting no time, Pinkie touched the bubble and her body quickly morphed into that of a pink car with her mane on it. Surprised but happy with her newfound powers, she sped around the throne room, running over any enemies unlucky enough to be caught in the way. Rainbow Dash jumped on top of her and used the extra height to kick away some of the airborne troopers.

"Gee, this battle is quite entertaining, wouldn't you agree... your... Grumpy... ness..." Kamek's words trailed off when he saw Bowser's white hot death glare. He decided to retreat out of the throne room before Bowser could launch a fireball at him. The Koopa king sighed.

"GAH! If you want something right, you gotta do it yourself!" He leaped off his throne, but before he could make it two steps forward, a giant boulder crashed through the wall and ran over Bowser, flattening him in a sheet of paper. Yoshi, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie quickly moved out of the way as the boulder crashed into more enemies until it broke, revealing Maud Pie in the center, wearing a hat and shirt seemingly made out of rock.

"I like these Rock Mushrooms," Maud said flatly.

"Hey, Bowser's down for the count!" Rainbow Dash said. "Let's get outta here!"

Maud Pie became a boulder again and cleared a path through the throne room and out of Canterlot. Yoshi hopped on Car Pinkie Pie with Rainbow Dash as they sped through, blasting away any troops in the way. When they were sure they couldn't be caught, Maud broke out of her boulder and Pinkie Pie's car powers expired, turning her back into her pink pony form.

"Wow, that was so fun!" Pinkie cheered. "I love being a giant car! I get to go so fast and run over anything in my way! I was like, NYOOOOOOOOOOOOM, and they were all like-"

As Pinkie continued her ramblings, Yoshi handed Rainbow Dash a Cape Feather.

"Here," he said. "This will allow you to fly until we can get your wings back."

"Thanks," she said. She took the Cape Feather and became Cape Rainbow Dash, gaining a yellow cape around her neck that draped over her back. Testing it out, she found out she could fly just as well as she could before.

"Alright!" she cheered. "THIS is more like it!"

"Bowser said he was going to take over the Crystal Empire," Maud Pie said. "If he's kidnapping Princess Cadence and forcing her into marriage, then we'll need to save her."

"Well, I don't think we'll be hearing from him for awhile," Yoshi said, looking back at Canterlot. "We'll keep spying on them, and we'll sneak with them to this Crystal whatever."

"Does that mean we get to spy some more!?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I love spying! Can we use the binoculars again? Can we can we can we can we can we?"

"Is she always like this," Yoshi asked.

"Yes," Maud answered flatly.

"You have no idea," Rainbow Dash chuckled.
> The Alicorn Mushroom and King K. Rool Kaptures and Korrupts the Kutie Mark Krusaders
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Donkey Kong and Applejack joining the group boosted their units by two, although the ape was mostly in for it to find his little buddy. Applejack didn't want to believe it, but DK's description of the kidnapper accurately described Apple Bloom. How a sweet filly like her would just... take a monkey confused her to no end, and her friends were equally puzzled. Deciding to look for answers, they ventured deeper into Sweet Apple Acres, which was starting to look more and more like a jungle.

"Ah just can't wrap my head around it," Applejack said. "What would push Apple Bloom to foalnap a small monkey?"

"That can't be all of the story," Twilight said. "There's got to be some explanation for this."

"Mr. Donkey Kong says that all he saw was a yellow filly with red mane take Diddy Kong away," Fluttershy said. The Piranha Plant picked fruit off the trees and started chowing down. "He thought that all ponies were against them, which is why he started attacking Applejack when he first saw her."

"You really don't think before you act, do you?" Mario asked. Donkey Kong just shrugged in response.

"Well, whoever this Apple Bloom is, I'm sure we'll find Diddy Kong with her," Luigi said.

"Gee, this place is starting to look less like Sweet Apple Acres and more like a jungle," Spike commented, observing their surroundings.

"Must be Kongo Jungle," Mario replied. "Giant jungle that apes like DK live in."

"I must say, I've never been in a place this luscious before," Rarity commented, admiring the scenery.

"Aren't ya supposed to hate gettin' dirty in the outdoors?" Applejack asked playfully.

"Well, when you're a dress designer like I am, you tend to find appreciation for the things that fuel your inspiration," Rarity answered. "When we get back to Ponyville I simply MUST get started on the dress ideas I've had this entire adventure!"

"I thought you were gonna start wrestling when we got back," Spike asked.

"Rarity? A wrestler!?" Applejack asked in shock. She looked back at Rarity then brushed it off. "Pfffft. Ah'll believe it when Ah see it."

"HALT INTRUDERS!"

Before the knew it, the party of eight had been ambushed by a group of Kremlings, led by a Klump. They surrounded them in a circle to make sure they couldn't escape.

"Hey, we found DK!" the Klump said. "All units, take Donkey Kong as prisoner and we'll have both of these dirty apes!"

"Wait, so you know what happened with Diddy?" Mario asked.

That was all Donkey Kong needed to hear before beating his chest angrily. He lunged at one of the Kritters and grabbed him by the legs, swinging him around and smacking some of the other crocs with him. Everyone else soon joined in on the assault: Mario and Luigi stomped on some Kritters, Applejack bucked one away, Rarity used her Glitz Pit wrestling moves on a horde of them (with Spike drooling at the scene), and Twilight used her magic prowess to attack some of the incoming reptiles. A Klaptrap bit Fluttershy's mane, and she tried to fling it off. Angered, the Piranha Plant bit the Klaptrap back and threw it off.

"BACKUP!" the Klump called. "WE NEED IMMEDIATE BACKU-" DK punched him in the back of the head before he could finish, knocking him clean out. Before he could celebrate though, Krushas fell from above and took the big ape by surprise, and knocked him down.  Once again, they were surrounded. Donkey Kong tried to punch one in the gut, but he just laughed it off.

"OK... any ideas?" Twilight asked.

Conveniently, a ringtone came from Luigi's pocket, stopping the flow of battle. Everyone turned and looked at him confused.

"Oh yeah, the Virtual Boo!" Luigi said. He pulled out the Virtual Boo and put it over his eyes, and looked into it. On the other end he saw Professor E. Gadd.

"Luigi, thank goodness I reached you!" the professor said. "You mind putting me on speaker? I believe your friends should hear this as well."

"Uh, now's not really the ti-" Luigi tried to say before being interrupted.

"It's an extremely important matter that could help on your endeavors tremendously!" E. Gadd said.

"Fine," Luigi said. Pushing a button on the Virtual Boo, he set it on the ground and a red hologram of E. Gadd appeared. He quickly noticed the Krushas and laughed.

"Looks like I caught you just in time!" E. Gadd said. "Now then, last night I took a DNA sample from Twilight Sparkle, wanting to study the magic that she could use to further my research."

"Wait, you took a DNA sample?" Twilight asked. "When!?"

"When you were sound asleep of course!" E. Gadd answered. "But enough about the details. Point is, I combined Twilight's DNA with that of a Super Mushroom, creating a brand-new power-up! Considering no power-ups have ever been artificially created before, this is quite the scientific breakthrough! And who knows what other phenomenons I could create with-"

"Uh, could you hurry this along, darling?" Rarity said as the Krushas started moving closer.

"Oh, yes, right!" E. Gadd said. "I'm sending this new power-up via transmission, Mario! I'm sure you'll make good use of it!"

E. Gadd's hologram disappeared, and out of the Virtual Boo popped out the power-up, falling into Mario's hands. It looked like a purple mushroom, but with small wings and a horn that looked like those of Twilight's.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Spike asked. "Use it!"

"Here goes..." Mario said. He absorbed the strange mushroom's power, and red aura began surrounding him. Next thing he knew, red alicorn wings grew out of his back, and a horn projected out of his cap where his "M" usually was. The Krushas stopped for a bit and tried to wrap their head around this strange transformation. Mario's friends were equally confused. Mario examined himself a bit.

"I... am not OK with this," he said.

Seeing one of the Krushas coming right at him, Mario leaped out of the way, and landed square on his head. The rest of the Kremlings began their assault, easily overpowering the heroes. Mario used his new wings to fly up and observe the action from above. Seeing the Krushas attacking them, he knew he had to do something fast.

"Twilight!" he called. "How do you work this magic thing?"

"Just focus on what you want to have happen!" Twilight said. This brief distraction allowed a Krusha to sneak up behind her and attack. She turned around and couldn't react fast enough to avoid the strike. Before he could land his hit though, the blue Kremling was enveloped in red aura. Twilight turned back to see Mario's horn casting the same red aura. He threw the Krusha into a tree, knocking it out.

"I... have no idea what I just did," Mario said.

"That was a levitation spell, but we can talk about it later," Twilight said, avoiding another Krusha. "Just help us take these guys down!"

Mario's newfound magic quickly shifted the tides of the battle in his friends' favor. With his and Twilight's magic combined, they were able to overpower the Krushas easily. One by one, they all started to fall. Mario landed back on the ground, impressed with all he had done.

"Once again, E. Gadd's inventions turn out useful," Mario commented. "I still think I look silly, though."

"You're a fast learner with magic," Twilight said. "And if you ever want to practice any spells or whatever, I'm willing to help out."

"Good to know..." Mario's words trailed off when he saw the blank, surprised face of Rarity. "Something wrong?"

"Are we just going to ignore the fact a simple fungus was able to turn Mario into an ALICORN!?" Rarity asked. "Er, at least, give him alicorn wings and a horn."

"Ah'm kinda freaked out too," Applejack said.

"Not the strangest thing I've ever seen," Luigi said. "We have something called a Super Crown that-"

"Klump! Klump do ya read me?" a voice called out, interrupting him.

"That sounded like Apple Bloom!" Applejack said. Hearing the name, Donkey Kong beat his fists, ready to throw down.

"Guys, it's coming from here!" Spike said, holding up a walkie-talkie for everyone to hear.

"Klump!" Apple Bloom called from the walkie-talkie. "Ah'm gonna ask one more time, how's the scouting mission going? We need to find DK so we can bring him back to the Gang-Plank Galleon and-"

In a fit of range, Donkey Kong leaped at Spike, grabbed the walkie-talkie out of his hands, and crushed it to pieces. He knew now that Apple Bloom was affiliated with those Kremling creeps, and he was going to get his revenge for kidnapping Diddy!

"Nice job, DK," Applejack said, face-hoofing. "Now how are we gonna find her?"

"I hope she's OK..." Fluttershy said. "But... it did sound like she was talking to them as if she was their leader. What's going on?" Piranha Plant didn't seem concerned at all, and kept chowing down on some fruit he picked up during the fight.

"I dunno, but I don't like it," Mario said. Before anyone could continue, cannon blasts were heard in the distance.

"Was that... cannonfire?" Rarity asked.

Donkey Kong pounded his chest and started running in the direction of the sound. He gestured the others to follow him. Figuring there wasn't much choice, they decided to follow the great ape into the deep jungle.



"Uh... Ah think this thing is broken," Apple Bloom said, shaking the walkie-talkie in her hoof. "Klump hasn't called back."

"He's probably sleeping on the job," Scootaloo said. "Like usual."

"Scoots, give him some credit," Sweetie Belle said. "He's trying his best."

"Well his best ain't good enough," Babs Seed shot back, no small hint of venom in her voice. She was clearly still upset about this whole situation.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had been hanging out like they always did when the two worlds started merging. Thankfully for them, they all appeared in this strange mish-mash mess together, but without their sisters (or older cousin in Babs' case) around, they had no idea what to do. That was, until, the Kremling Krew came along. Apple Bloom walked up to a window, getting a view of the underwater scenery on the island shore, and sighed.

"Why the long face, Apple Bloom?" a voice came.

Apple Bloom turned around to see King K. Rool, the one who had taken them in. The Kremling king had provided them shelter on his personal ship, the Gang-Plank Galleon. He had made a promise to take the fillies home, painting Donkey Kong and his primate pals as the evil doers who had brought them here in the first place. After saying that taking them down would allow them to go back home, the Crusaders were quick to help out in any way they could.

In reality though, he was just after Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard. These fillies were just a lucky coincidence for his plan to work.

"Ah just miss mah home," Apple Bloom sighed. 

"Well you shouldn't worry," K. Rool said. "You four have managed to capture Diddy Kong, and you're one step closer to reuniting with your friends and family."

"K. Rool, do I REALLY gotta wear these boxing gloves?" Babs Seed asked. "It's pretty hard to walk in."

All the Crusaders have been given little outfits provided by K. Rool. Babs Seed wore a blue jumpsuit and some boxing gloves, Apple Bloom donned a cape and replaced her bow with a crown, Scootaloo wore a red pirate getup and a Blunderbuss to go along with it, and Sweetie Belle had a white doctor's coat with a head mirror and green propellerpack that let her float around the air. Not only that, but he had trained them to become fearsome fighters among the Kremling Krew... or at least as fearsome as one could make them in one and a half days. Regardless, they were strong enough to overpower Diddy Kong, so they would do very well as pawns for his plans.

"Of course you do," K. Rool answered.

"And why does SWEETIE get the fancy flying pack?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm the pegasus, I should be the one flying!"

"You already have wings," K. Rool said. "What good would a propellerpack do?"

"I can hardly fly off the ground!" Scootaloo complained.

"A lot of planning and care went into these decisions," K. Rool said. "I needed all four of you to have very specific abilities to let you best those Kongs. And lo and behold, you managed to capture Didd-" he got interrupted when a banana peel fell on his face. He wiped it off and looked up, seeing Sweetie Belle and Diddy Kong laying inside the rope net used to hold the monkey captive, eating bananas without care.

"Sweetie, I've told you three times already!" K. Rool scolded. "The Kongs are not to be associated with! Now get down here!"

"Sorry Diddy," Sweetie Belle said as she quickly flew out of the rope net. The monkey was less than pleased.

"Are you SURE these Kongs are evil?" Sweetie asked. "Diddy seems pretty friendly, and he's taking being kidnapped pretty well."

"GAH! You kids ask too many questions!" K. Rool said as he rubbed his temples. Maybe recruiting a bunch of children to be Kremling Krew members wasn't a good idea.

"SIR!" a Kritter called as he ran into the room.

"What is it!?" K. Rool snapped back. "And make it snappy!"

"Scouts have reported that there was an attack on the west side of the jungle," the Kritter said. "Donkey Kong laid a beating on them, and he seems to have some new allies tagging along. They're after Diddy Kong!"

Diddy blew a raspberry at K. Rool, who just looked at him in annoyance. Then he looked to the Crusaders. They were fillies, sure, but they managed to capture Diddy, why couldn't they catch DK too? And then the Banana Hoard would be all his!

"Well I have some new allies of my own too!" K. Rool said. "Round up the Kremling Krew and put them on standby. If they storm the Gang-Plank Galleon, we will be ready for them!"

The Kritter saluted and ran off. The Kremling king turned back to the fillies.

"OK kids," he said. "The real deal is almost upon us! I'm going to need you girls to be on top of your game. Capture Donkey Kong, and you'll be on your way home!"

The fillies shot glances at each other. Stealing Kongs like this didn't really feel right, and they weren't entirely sure how holding them hostage would somehow allow them to go back to Equestria. But, if there was even a chance they could be reunited with their friends and family, they had to take it.

"Alright," Apple Bloom said. "We're in."

"Excellent," King K. Rool said. This time he would surely best Donkey Kong and claim his Banana Hoard for himself!



Donkey Kong had led his group of allies to a cliffside on the edge of the jungle. From there, they could see a small beach with a giant ship on shore. Several of the Kremlings they had seen before had surrounded the area, and they figured this was their base of operations. DK was about to storm down there and fight his way through, but Fluttershy held a hoof on his arm. She had a way with animals, and it seemed like she was the only one capable of getting through to the great ape.

"Donkey Kong, we can't just barge in there," Fluttershy said. "They will likely overpower us if we're unprepared."

"She's right," Mario said. "We need to go about this with tact."

"You need tact? I'm just your guy!" a voice from above called.

The team of heroes looked up in the trees where the voice came from, and they found a giant shack in the treetops. Looking down at them was Funky Kong, who Donkey Kong instantly recognizes. Happily beating his chest, he climbed his way to the top, and urged the others to follow.

"Yo yo yo, Mario dog," Funky greeted the red plumber. "I haven't seen you since that championship baseball tournament. How's it hangin'?"

"Well we DID just have our universe merged with another, so I'd say... I've been better," Mario said.

"OK hold up," Applejack said. "How the hay can this monkey talk but DK can't?"

"We never really questioned it," Luigi admitted.

"No way, more ponies?" Funky said. "At least I know I'm not goin' bananas! Hey, maybe you can help my man Big Mac, he's-"

"Big Mac?" Twilight interrupted. "As in... Big McIntosh?"

"You know him?" Funky asked. "Huh, small world. YO BIG MAC! Visitors for ya!"

Out of the shack stepped out a stocky red earth pony, with golden mane. Yup, it was Big Mac alright. Seeing his friends, he gave a warm smile. Applejack quickly ran up to him.

"Boy, am Ah glad to see you!" she said, drawing the stallion into a hug. "Ah've been worried sick over ya!"

"Eeyup," Big Mac agreed.

"I found him stranded after that gnarly tornado came in and swept me off my feet," Funky explained. "Then I saw K. Rool's creeps set up shop on the beach and decided to lay low with him until help came."

"So you say you can help us get to the Kremlings?" Rarity asked. "How so?"

"Why, with my old service Funky's Flights of course!" Funky answered. "Just hop on my barrel plane and I'll drop you dudes off on board! They'll be so caught off-guard they won't know what hit them!"

"Well, if ya'll can set us up for a ride, make it quick," Applejack said. "Apple Bloom's down there somewhere, an' we need to rescue her."

"Ya mean they foalnapped Apple Bloom?" Big Mac asked, surprised.

"Ah don't know for sure, but all we know is that she's with those gators and needs rescuin'," Applejack said.

"Well whatever the case is, I'll help out!" Funky said. "I'll go ready the plane, the rest of you hang tight!"

Funky Kong walked into his shack, leaving the others to chat amonst themselves. Mario was getting hungry, and noticed that Piranha Plant was sleeping and had an uneaten banana in his leaves. Trying to use his magic from the Alicorn Mushroom, the banana was covered in red aura and was pulled toward the plumber. He couldn't control it very well though, and it smacked him right in the nose. The sudden impact made him drop the banana to the jungle floor.

"Using spells isn't so easy to learn," Twilight said from behind, seeing Mario's attempt. She found it amusing.

"No kidding," Mario said as he rubbed his nose. He didn't find it quite as amusing.

Twilight looked around and saw a banana bunch hanging from one of the nearby trees. She decided it was time to give this magic newcomer some lessons. Coating one of the bananas in magenta light, she pulled one of the bananas towards her, making sure Mario could see.

"They key is to concentrate and control your power," Twilight said. "Focus on what you want to do and how exactly you want to do it, and channel your magic energy to do that."

Nodding, Mario tried to take one of the bananas himself. It flew off the bunch and nearly collided with Mario's face, but he stopped it in place. He took the banana in his hand and released his magic grip from it.

"Better," Twilight said. "Baby unicorns have trouble controlling their magic when they're born, and often suffer erratic spell bursts. Considering you just got your magic an hour ago, perhaps this is a similar case."

"Maybe," Mario said, peeling the banana and eating it. "I seemed just fine during the battle with those Krushas though."

"You probably didn't have to concentrate as much in the heat of the moment," Twilight said. "Though that would imply your magic prowess is very high. Then again E. Gadd did make that mushroom with my DNA... without my permission..." She let out an annoyed sigh.

"E. Gadd's weird like that, but hey, he comes through when needed," Mario said. "Hopefully he can make more of those mushrooms, if I get to master this kind of power then it'll make my princess rescuing much easier."

"When all this is over, I'll get you a few copies of my spellbooks," Twilight offered.

"I'd like that," Mario said. He flapped his red wings a bit. "At the very least I can fly around easily. Pretty similar to the Wing Cap items back home, only the wings are on my back and not my head."

"You can grow wings out of your head with those power-ups?" Twilight asked.

"Maybe when all this is over I'll get you some power-ups to study," Mario said with a chuckle.

"Yo dudes!" Funky said from inside. "Plane's ready! Everyone climb aboard!"

Everyone stepped inside the treetop shack to see a giant barrel-like airplane with a runway out the back. Though there didn't appear to be any seating arrangements or any way to get inside the plane. The only visible seat was in the cockpit, which was where Funky Kong was.

"Um, how are we supposed to get inside?" Spike asked.

Donkey Kong climbed on top of the plane's barrel-like body and hopped inside. He peeked out and urged the rest of the gang to hop in as well.

"DK's got the idea," Funky said. "This barrel plane has no seats, you'll all need to pile inside like a barrel of monkeys!"

"Preposterous!" Rarity protested. "I'm a lady, and I will not be subjected to being sandwiched between others. There is such a thing as personal space, you know!"

"Well if you want private seating, you could use one of the VIP seats out back," Funky said, pointing behind the plane.

"Thank you," Rarity said. She walked behind the barrel plane, only to see a wagon attached to the back of the plane, with a helmet on it. She couldn't decide weather dangling on a wagon roped to a flying plane was better or worse than being piled up with ponies, apes, and a biting plant. After weighing the options, she reluctantly decided to take her chances with the wagon.

Everyone else piled inside the giant barrel, Fluttershy and Mario helping them aboard. First came Luigi, followed by Twilight and Spike, and then Applejack. Donkey Kong needed to reach overboard to help the two carry in Big Mac, who had decided to come along for the rescue. Needless to say, it was extremely uncomfortable. Fluttershy insisted Piranha Plant be on the bottom to protect him, ignoring the protests from her friends of potentially stepping on him. Big Mac and Donkey Kong meanwhile were stuck at the bottom, carrying the weight of everyone else. Luigi stood on Donkey Kong's shoulders next to Spike, Twilight, and Fluttershy, putting Mario and Applejack at the top.

"Everyone ready?" Funky asked. "Alright then, let's take to the skies-"

"HOLD EVERYTHING!" a raspy voice called out.

Mario and Applejack peered out of the barrel to see where that voice came from. Coming inside the shack was an elderly monkey with a cane, which Mario recognized as Cranky Kong. Following him was a similarly-aged green pony, who wore an orange bandanna around her neck.

"Granny Smith?" Applejack asked. "Yer here too!?"

"Of course Ah am, sugar," Granny Smith answered. "Ah overheard ya'll talkin' 'bout little Apple Bloom bein' foalnapped by those crocodile critters an' whatnot, so Ah'm comin' along too!"

"Uh, you sure about that?" Mario asked. "This is hardly a job for-"

"Well well well, look who it is!" Cranky Kong spat as he waved his cane. "It's the world-renowned Mario, the one who went on to become a world-famous hero, plumber, doctor, and all that other junk. The one who caged me as a pet and climbed up a construction site just to smack me with a hammer! Oh, but it was all to save the girl, they say. Bah, cliched motive if I've ever heard of it!"

"Ya really caged him up?" Applejack asked.

"Well-" Mario said before being interrupted again.

"No matter," Cranky Kong said. "DK! How could you go on this quest to save Diddy and not even invite your old man? The Banana Hoard could be at stake here, you'll need all the help you can get!"

DK couldn't see Cranky from inside the barrel, but he did seem happy to know he was around.

"Well dudes, looks like we got more passengers!" Funky said. "Make room for the old folks!"

Reluctantly, everyone shifted around again to let Granny Smith and Cranky Kong aboard. They had no idea how these two were going to help out, but they clearly weren't going to take no for an answer. Once the two boarded, Cranky beat his cane on the side of the barrel.

"Let's get a move on!" he said. "I'm already late for my afternoon power nap!"

"Hang tight, dudes!" Funky said as he started the engine. The plane drove across the runway and took to the skies, everyone struggling to keep balance when the plane took off. Cranky Kong and Granny Smith seemed rather comfortable on top of everyone else, though the others didn't have as good a time, being piled on top of each other and all.

And Rarity suddenly found herself wishing she had taken the barrel with everyone else, and she was now dangling off the wagon for dear life as the plane flew over the trees.
> The Heroes Storm the Gang-Plank Galleon to Save Diddy and the Crusaders
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Needless to say, the seating arrangement on Funky's barrel plane was less than stellar. The ones at the bottom of the barrel were squished between each other and the ones at the top needed to hang on for dear life so they wouldn't fall off. And that wasn't even mentioning Rarity dangling off the wagon behind the plane, regretting the decision to ever take it instead of being in the barrel with everyone else. And every turn, rise, and fall the plane took increased the pressure tenfold. Really the only one sitting comfortably was Funky Kong, since he had the only seat on the whole plane.

It only took a few minutes for Funky to maneuver the plane around and get a good view of K. Rool's ship. "Gang-Plank Galleon comin' into view!" Funky announced through the intercom. "Approaching destination in one minute!"

"That's a relief," Spike sighed. "Finally we can get out of this thing!"

"Hey Fluttershy, you're stepping on my foot," Luigi said.

"OH! Sorry about that," Fluttershy said. She did her best to move away from him, but in the process she bumped into Big Mac, who fell over. His weight caused the barrel plane to tilt slightly, making things worse for everyone.

"Them scaly salamanders got mah precious li'l Apple Bloom," Granny Smith sneered. "When Ah get mah hooves on them, Ah'm gonna let them have it, Granny Smith style!"

"Just wait until I get my hands on that K. Rool!" Cranky followed. "I'll turn that dumb gator into a new pair of boots!"

"I really don't think you two should get going down there with us," Twilight said. "You could get seriously injured and-"

"What are you trying to say? That old people can't get their hands dirty!?" Cranky said, beating Twilight over the head with his cane. "This generation I tell ya, no respect for the elderly!"

"Ya darn tootin'," Granny Smith agreed.

"We're close to the ship!" Funky announced. "We're heading in for a landing!"

Mario peered over the barrel and saw the giant ship below them. They were easily over a mile in the air, and they'd be dropping in for a surprise attack. They'd get rid of the Kremling Krew forces, rescue Diddy and the Crusaders, and be on their merry way. It was a plan that should have gone swimmingly.

Until Mario saw a black cannonball flying right at them.

"FUNKY!" Mario yelled. "PULL BACK!"

Funky pulled up, narrowly dodging the cannonball whizzing past them. The sudden shift caused more uncomfort for everyone in the barrel, and more agony for Rarity.

"Looks like we've been spotted, dudes!" Funky said. "We're goin' in for a counterattack!"

More cannonballs narrowly missed the plane thanks to Funky's superb piloting. Grumbling, Applejack got up on the rim of the barrel and stared downward at the ship.

"What are you doing?!" Luigi cried. "Get down from there!"

"Ah'm sick of playin' target practice," Applejack said. "Ya'll heard Funky, it's time fer a counterattack! Who's with me?"

Donkey Kong climbed his way to the top of the barrel and beat his chest, ready for action. He hadn't had a good Kremling Krew beat down in awhile, and couldn't wait to storm on board and take them down.

Mario readied his wings from the Alicorn Mushroom, prepared to take flight. "I'm coming down too!"

"The rest of you stay up here in case we need backup," Twilight ordered. "We'll go down and try to stop those cannons."

"Roger!" Spike saluted. Then he accidentally stepped on Piranha Plant's leaf, getting a bite on the tail in respose.

"Alright everypony, let's go!" Twilight called. With that, she, Applejack, Mario, and Donkey Kong jumped off the plane as Funky tried to get in closer. While falling, the four dodged even more cannonfire. Twilight used her magic to grab one and chuck it back at one of the cannons, taking it out. DK grabbed one and did the same, taking out a hoard of Kremlings in the process. Mario grabbed Applejack by the tail and flew outward with her, dodging another onslaught of cannonballs. They landed on board with flair, and hoards of Kremlings charged at them.

Donkey Kong charged in headfirst, beating down some Kritters. Applejack bucked a Klump in the stomach, sending him reeling back and falling overboard. Mario flew past the assault and used his alicorn magic to grab more cannonballs, flinging them at the crocodile soldiers. Twilight took out a Fire Flower and became Fire Twilight, using her fireballs to dispatch her attackers.

"Whoa nelly!" Applejack said. "Can Ah get some cool transformation like that?"

"Be my guest," Twilight said, offering her another Fire Flower. Applejack took it and became Fire Applejack, turning her orange coat red, her blonde main pink, and her brown Stetson white. Immediately feeling the new surge of power, she pounded her front hooves on the ground, creating a fiery shockwave that incapacitated a whole squadron of Kritters coming at her.

"YEE-HAW!" Applejack cheered. "Now THIS is more like it!" Twilight flew past her and shot some purple fireballs from her horn, taking out more Kremlings. Donkey Kong barreled through them without breaking a sweat. Applejack threw a lasso on the great ape, who caught it and swung it around like a mace. Applejack smacked into the Kritters with fiery force before he flung her forward. Like a fireball, she blasted into a Krusha, knocking him backward and into more Krushas.

Mario flew over and saw the rest of the cannons continuing to fire at the plane above. He grabbed a Klaptrap with his magic and flung it into one of the cannons, backing it up. This caused a chain reaction of explosions that took the Gang-Plank Galleon's artillery out. Seeing this, Funky flew the plane in closer to continue the assault. Funky flew the plane right over the ship, close enough for everyone to jump on board. Unfortunately for Rarity, the rope on the wagon snapped, sending her and the wagon careening into a Klump and knocking both down.

"Kick some crocodile butt, dudes!" Funky announced. Everyone else on board the plane jumped out to help in the fight against the Kremling Krew, while Funky pulled back to avoid getting shot down. Luigi took out an Ice Flower, and use it to shoot iceballs around the ship and freeze Kritters solid. Donkey Kong took one of them in his hand and used it to smash the other ice sculptures to pieces. Spike flew up one of the masts as some Klingers chased him, though he used his fire breath to burn the mainbrace down and the Klingers with it. Big Mac took his front hooves and shoved a Krusha through the lower deck, while Cranky Kong tried to whack another with his cane. It didn't have any effect, but it all served as a distraction while Granny Smith bucked him in the side, causing him to fall overboard.

"These ol' hooves are just as strong as they used to be!" Granny Smith hollered.

"You guys think old people can't fight, don't ya!?" Cranky yelled as he continued to swat Kremlings with his cane. "Back in my day I was the biggest, strongest ape in the concrete jungle! I'm still in my prime!"

Fluttershy clung to a mainbrace to avoid a swarm of Klaptraps trying to chow down on her. A particularly big one was about to take a bite out of her rear before Piranha Plant violently chomped on its tail. He flung it overboard and proceeded to take out the other Klaptraps, intent on protecting his master. Soon enough, all the Klaptraps were dealt with, and Fluttershy flew down to pet him.

"Aren't you just the most ADORABLE thing when you're fighting!" Fluttershy cooed as she scratched her hoof under the plant's neck.

"Fluttershy!" Mario hollered. "Less petting, more fighting!" He swooped in and kicked a Kritter in the chest before it could attack the yellow pegasus. She took Piranha Plant and tried to flee from the action. Rarity got her bearings back from the crash and found herself surrounded by Klumps. She quickly weaved out of the way of their blows, and bucked one in the jaw. She grabbed another with her unicorn magic and rammed it into the other Klumps before chucking it into the sea.

"All this fightin' and no sign of AB!" Applejack said, using her fire powers to take down a hoard of oncoming Kritters.

"They just keep coming!" Luigi said, using his powers as Ice Luigi to slow down some Klaptraps. A Kritter tried to get the jump on him, but Luigi turned around and froze it in a block of ice. He kicked the block of ice at the Klaptraps, and the ice block collided with a wall of the ship, revealing some stairs.

"Guys, I think they're coming from inside!" Luigi called.

"Me, DK, and AJ will go down and look for Apple Bloom," Mario said. "The rest of you stay up here and hold your ground!"

Donkey Kong wrestled his way toward the stairs and quickly climbed down into the ship's interior, Mario and Applejack quickly following. Everyone else continued their fight.



For the amount of Kremlings that were on board, the inside was completely barren of them. There was a long hallway below the deck with some rooms on either side, but they were all empty aside from a few barrels and bananas scattered about. It was quiet, almost too quiet.

Donkey Kong heard the unmistakable calls of his little buddy from one of the rooms further down, and rushed through the hallways to follow them. The others followed suit, but Applejack looked up and saw a small, caped figure enveloped in shadow standing on a large stack of crates, ready to toss a barrel downward. She saw this and tried to catch up with DK, realizing it was a trap.

Before she could even say anything, the barrel came down on the great ape. She managed to push Donkey Kong out of the way, and the barrel trapped her instead. The barrel rolled away toward another figure, this time with a tiny propellerpack who flew its way up and dumped the barrel in a giant box and sealed the top.

Donkey Kong quickly regained his bearings, Mario approaching to try and help him up. All of a sudden, the lights in the room started to dim, and a giant disco ball appeared. Then a strange beat started playing, catching the two off-guard. The singing fillies that followed made them even more confused.

Huh, huh, huh, Here we go!

So yer finally here!
We've been waiting for you!
If you know the words,
Stay for a minute or two!
Put yer hooves together
If you wanna clap!
As we take you through,
This Crusada' rap!

HUH! Cutie! Mark Crusaders!

Ah'm the leader of the bunch,
Ah founded this club!
Mah hooves will beat ya,
'Til yer nice an' numb!
The Kremlings brought us in,
Trained us in their dome!
And promised us,
That we'd get home!

HUH! Cutie! Mark Crusaders!
Cutie! Cutie Mark Crusaders!

In comes Scootaloo,
I'm so cool!
Used to be a fan of Dashie,
Now I'm all K. Rool!
My trigger hoof's itching,
To snipe a couple Kongs,
'Cuz you're taking our bananas,
Like a bunch of hogs!

HUH! Cutie! Mark Crusaders!

Next up, Sweetie Belle,
Hits the stage!
You let this beast,
Out of her cage!
You're beating up our friends,
You all are so mean!
I'll use that fur to scrub the floor,
And make it squeaky clean!

HUH! Cutie! Mark Crusadas!
Cutie! Cutie Mark Crusadas!

Finally,
She's here for you!
Babs is about to give ya,
The ol' one-two!
King K. Rool,
Taught me some boxin' tricks to use!
You apes better beware,
Cuz I'm after YOU!

After their music number, all four fillies struck a pose, and the disco ball disappeared as the room lit back up. Mario and DK looked at each other in confusion, having just witness something beyond human or monkey comprehension.

"What, no applause?" Scootaloo asked. "We worked so hard on that! You know how hard it is to rhyme with Kongs!?"

"Simmer down there, Scootaloo," a voice came. Donkey Kong instantly recognized it and looked behind himself, seeing none other than King K. Rool. He quickly got into a fighting stance, wanting nothing more than to beat him up and take Diddy Kong back. Mario turned around too, and readied his wings, preparing for any attack he may throw.

"You certainly dropped in unexpectedly, Donkey Kong," King K. Rool said. "I would have thought you'd be flung much further away from here after that strange anomaly struck our world. But I can't say I wasn't prepared."

He walked past Mario and Donkey Kong and went behind the Crusaders, each sporting their cute little outfits based on K. Rool's monikers over the years. "Meet my new Kremling Krew generals," he said. "I was able to train them to become just as good at combat as I am, and they have already captured Diddy Kong. And when we take you out of the picture, the Banana Hoard will be all ours!"

"And we'll be able to go back to Equestria, right?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Y-Yes," K. Rool stammered. "Take out Donkey Kong, and you will have the power to get back home."

"OK I wasn't going to ask this, but what does the Banana Hoard matter?" Scootaloo asked. "Aren't crocodiles meat eaters? Can you even EAT bananas?"

"Yeah Ah was wonderin' that too," Apple Bloom said. "If ya'll can't eat bananas, then all yer really doin' is just bein' jerks."

"We CAN eat bananas!" K. Rool said. "And Donkey Kong is the one thing between us and an all-you-can-eat fruit buffet!"

"But don't bananas grow on trees?" Babs Seed asked. "Couldn't youze just harvest 'em yourself? Why ya gotta steal from apes?"

"Yeah, that's kind of mean," Sweetie Belle said.

"DO I ASK YOU HOW YOU HORSES GET WEIRD TATOOS ON YOUR BUTTS!?" K. Rool roared, getting less and less patient.

As the argument continued, Mario looked over to see the giant crate the barrel that held Applejack was in. Using his magic, he tried to gently pull the barrel from out of the crate, and placed it behind K. Rool, who was too distracted to see what was happening. Mario used his magic some more to bust the country mare out of her barrel prison.

K. Rool turned around when he felt a hoof tap on his back, and he turned around to see the angriest death glare to have ever been conceived. Applejack's breathing was heavy, enraged by how he had tricked his little sister to do his bidding. Before he could even react, Applejack bucked him in the stomach with the burning passion of Celestia's sun, and launched him past Mario and DK and into a wall. Her fire powers were gone thanks to that barrel, but she was still strong as ever.

"A... Applejack?" Apple Bloom asked. "APPLEJACK!? Is that you!?"

"'Course it is, sugarcube!" Applejack said. The little filly threw herself around the mare, happy that she had finally seen someone familiar in this clustered mess of a world. Babs Seed was quick to join the hug, and so were Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

"Ah thought Ah'd never see ya again!" Apple Bloom said.

"And hey, if you're here, that means everypony else is here too!" Sweetie Belle said.

The reunion was interrupted by Donkey Kong running past the ponies, busting through the door to get to the other room. Inside, he saw Diddy Kong hanging in a rope net. The little monkey saw his big buddy and cheered. DK ran over and tore open a hole in the net, letting Diddy escape. The Kongs were reunited once more, and the celebrated by taking two bananas and eating them.

Mario had to admit that he found the scene charming, friends and family reuniting after being lost. However, he was interrupted by a grumble behind him. He turned around and saw King K. Rool, armed with boxing gloves. He sucker punched Mario before he could get out of the way, launching him into Applejack and causing him to lose his Alicorn Mushroom powers. DK and Diddy were ready to throw down, and the Crusaders looked nervous, now that they were no longer on the king's good side.

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" King K. Rool snarled, beating his boxing gloves together. "Have at you!"



On board, the raging fight against the Kremlings drew to a close. The last of the crocodiles were thrown off the ship, and the battle was won.

"I think that's the last of them," Luigi said, dusting off his shoulders.

"Thank goodness," Fluttershy said as she flew back on board from her hiding place just below the ship's railings. She set Piranha Plant on the ground, who seemed to be sound asleep.

"Now hold on everypony," Twilight said. "We still haven't found Diddy or Apple Bloom. We'll need to search the ship to-"

The alicorn was interrupted by Donkey Kong being launched through the floor of the Gang-Plank Galleon, whizzing near centimeters past her. He landed on a stack of barrels, but quickly got up. King K. Rool climbed out of the hole in the ship, dead set on defeating DK. He didn't even care about all the non-Kremlings that were on his ship. He charged at the great ape, but Diddy Kong latched onto his head and covered his eyes. K. Rool tried to throw him off, but that distraction let Donkey Kong get a punch in right in his gut, causing him to slide backwards.

"You apes haven't bested me yet!" K. Rool said as he charged at them again.

From the hole also came Mario and Applejack, carrying the Crusaders with them. Rarity saw Sweetie Belle and instantly ran towards her, pulling her into a hug.

"Oh darling, I thought I'd lost you!" Rarity said, quite happy to see her.

"Rarity... tight..." Sweetie Belle struggled.

"Uh... what's with the costumes?" Spike asked.

"It's a long story," Scootaloo said. However, Diddy Kong was thrown right into her, knocking her down.

"We can catch up later, we got bigger issues to tend to," Mario said. He took out a Cape Feather and became Cape Mario. Using his new cape, he flew right into K. Rool, who quickly parried out of the way. Donkey Kong went in for another attack, but K. Rool countered with an uppercut, sending the ape flying into the wall.

"Hey! Ya mess with mah sister, ya mess with me!" Applejack hollered. K. Rool turned around to see the orange mare coming at him. He took off his crown and threw it at her. She ducked under it, but couldn't see the crown boomeranging back to him. It hit her in the back of the head on the return, and K. Rool placed it back on his head. He ran up and grabbed Applejack by the tail, but before he could do anything, Big Mac barreled through and bucked the Kremling king with all of his might, sending him flying into a wall.

He pulled out his Blunderbuss to fire cannonballs at his foes, but they were all frozen by Luigi's ice powers. Rarity picked a few up with her magic and hurled them at him, though he managed to dodge the incoming projectiles. Rarity tried to pick up more, but K. Rool picked up one of the icy cannonballs and threw it at her. Spike tried to fly in, but he grabbed him by the tail and threw him into some barrels. Twilight then came from behind to shoot some purple fireballs, all of which hit him in the back. He turned around and threw his crown at the alicorn, but Applejack bucked him in the back.

King K. Rool got up and saw Fluttershy trying to carry Piranha Plant away from the battle. He leaped up and grabbed her tail, which caused her to yelp and drop to the ground with the sudden weight. Angrily, Piranha Plant dug his teeth into K. Rool's arm, who howled in pain as he tried to shake him off. Mario flew in and spun K. Rool around with his cape, putting him face-to-face with Cranky Kong riding on Granny Smith.

"This'll teach ya to mess with us Apples!" Granny Smith said as she headbutted K. Rool in the stomach. He leaned forward to clutch it in pain, only for Cranky to poke him in the nose with his cane. He was about to grab the old geezer in a fit of rage, but something snatched his tiny crown away. He looked up to see Sweetie Belle, using the propellerpack given to her to fly away with the crown.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Get back here! That's my crown!"

"Then have mine!" Apple Bloom called from behind. She took off her own crown and threw it at K. Rool, using the same boomeranging trick he normally used. He narrowly dodged the initial throw, but it still hit him on the return. He angrily chased at Apple Bloom, but Scootaloo stepped in front of her and used her Blunderbuss to pelt cannonballs at him. They all hit him square in the face. Now having an opening, Babs Seed ran in and threw a flurry of punches at the king with her boxing gloves. She finished him off with an uppercut, sending him to the rails of the ship, almost losing his balance. Donkey Kong swung at him on a rope to deliver the finishing blow, sending him overboard. Donkey Kong beat his chest in victory, having defeated K. Rool once again, and saving Diddy Kong.

"Aw yeah, that was AWESOME!" Scootaloo cheered, posing with her Blunderbuss. "Who needs flying when I can have this thing?"

"Ah bet that'll teach him to tell everypony his tricks," Apple Bloom said. "Ah had no idea you could make a crown boomerang back to ya."

"That was some mighty fine fightin' there, AB," Applejack said, drawing her little sister into another hug. "Ya'll sure showed that croc creep what Apples are made of!"

While everyone congratulated each other over their shared victory against the Kremlings, Funky Kong flew his plane over them and parked on board.

"I saw the whole battle from above," Funky called out. "You were rad, DK!" Donkey Kong flexed his muscles in response.

"I guess we'd better get outta here," Twilight said.

"Well, all of you can stay at Peach's castle," Mario said. "I'm sure she won't mind having you all around."

"Well hop aboard and we'll be sailin' the skies!" Funky said as he parked the plane on the ship.

"I uh... don't think we're all going fit," Rarity said.

"You could always use the VIP seat," Funky suggested. "I managed to fix it and put it back on the plane."

"Heavens no!" Rarity protested. "I'd rather sit with everypony else where it's safer."

"SHOTGUN!" Scootaloo called as she ran right into the barrel. The other Crusaders gave chase, each of them wanting the best seat on the plane as well. Most of everyone else reluctantly followed, eager to get back to the castle and rest for the night... except Piranha Plant. He looked around for Fluttershy, who somehow went missing after the battle. It didn't look like she was anywhere on board.



King K. Rool swam back up to the surface, gasping for air. He swam his way back to shore, and was too hurt to stand up straight. He saw his crown wash up next to him, and he stuck it back in its rightful place on his head. For awhile he just laid there, the water's cold waves splashing on him.

He sighed. Once again, he had been bested by those dirty apes. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to beat them in battle. He was bigger, stronger, and absolutely smarter than them, so what made him inferior in combat? Maybe he should bring out the Blast-o-Matic next time... and this time get competent soldiers to control it so it won't run into a rock and put it out of commission long enough for the monkeys to stop it.

"Um... are you OK?" a gentle voice said from behind.

K. Rool looked behind himself to see that yellow mare from before, floating in the air behind him. He was less than pleased.

"What's it to you?" he scoffed. "You're in league with those banana brains!"

"Sure, they're my friends, but that doesn't answer my question," Fluttershy said.

"Since when do you care about the enemy's feelings?" K. Rool asked.

"I've always cared," she answered softly. Fluttershy kept her voice gentle and quite throughout the whole conversation. "Because you still have a heart and feelings."

In its own way, Fluttershy's motherly voice was stronger than her signature stare. King K. Rool caved in, and used his remaining strength to sit up and stare at the sunset over the ocean. "I've never been able to beat Donkey Kong in battle," he sighed. "He always somehow finds a way to outsmart me, and foil my schemes. Even when it's just combat, I never come out on top."

Fluttershy flew down to the ground and sat next to him. "Why are you so against Donkey Kong anyway?" she asked.

"Because I sent my troops to his island one day to mine minerals," K. Rool explained. "I had them steal his bananas and scatter them around the island to distract him long enough to finish our operation. Not only did he ruin our mining facility and get back the bananas, he beat me in battle and embarrassed me in front of my entire army. From that day forward, I vowed revenge on those monkeys."

"Well... why did you steal his bananas in the first place?" Fluttershy asked. "If you meant no harm, I'm sure he would have understood."

"He's just a dumb gorilla," K. Rool snarled. "He couldn't understand anything. No animals like him can."

Fluttershy had to do her best to keep calm. She took a deep breath and pushed down the anger from that sentence. After a minute or two, she decided she was fine enough to talk again.

"Animals aren't dumb," she said. "Every animal in the world has feelings. From the giant elephants to the tiny spiders. You can make sense of them if you try."

"Oh yeah?" K. Rool challenged. "You saying you have?"

As if on cue, a couple snaps were heard from behind them. Fluttershy and K. Rool turned around to see Piranha Plant, having finally found Fluttershy, running at them, or at least running as much as he could within his pot. The mare turned around and opened her hooves, letting the carnivorous flower jump into her. She embraced him tightly, happy to see him again. The Kremling king just looked at them in confusion.

"Mr. Piranha Plant is a very misunderstood creature," Fluttershy said. "Most think him and others of his kind are just brainless monsters who eat anypony unfortunate enough to pass by. But when you take the time to know him... and be with him... you'll find out that he's a very loyal friend. He's eager to help any of his friends if they're in danger. Like when he attacked you when you pulled me down."

"Yes, I remember," K. Rool grumbled, rubbing his arm, which still had teeth marks in it.

"And back home I have plenty of animal friends," Fluttershy continued. "Angel Bunny is abrasive and sometimes not very nice, but he's always looking for for his friends and wants to do what's right. Rose is a tarantula I keep, and while most would just write her off as a bloodthirsty hunter, she's really sweet and wouldn't hurt a fly. There's also Moe, a newt that lives in the river near my cottage. He's a performer and always does funny tricks to make others laugh. Oh, and there's-"

"What's your point?" K. Rool interrupted.

"My point is animals have feelings too," Fluttershy said. She continued to hold Piranha Plant in her hooves. "They aren't brainless creatures whose only purpose are to fill out a niche on the food chain. They think, they feel, and they know just as much as we do. So perhaps the reason you always lose to Donkey Kong is you always underestimate his abilities and awareness."

As much as he hated to admit it, her words seemed to make sense. He stole the bananas in the hopes DK wouldn't be able to reclaim them, but he managed to do that AND beat K. Rool. He kidnapped DK hoping that Diddy wouldn't be strong enough to stop him, but he and Dixie Kong stormed Crocodile Isle and beat him on his home field. He kidnapped DK and Diddy as well as attempt to take over the Northern Kremisphere, but Dixie pulled through and stopped him once again. He wanted to blow up Donkey Kong Island as revenge, but the apes managed to deactivate the Blast-o-Matic and beat him in battle. Each one of his losses could be traced back to him thinking the Kongs were incapable of standing up to him... perhaps he hadn't been giving them enough credit than they deserved.

Calls for Fluttershy were heard on the Gang-Plank Galleon, coming from her friends in search of her. "I think it's time I go," Fluttershy said, putting Piranha Plant on her back. "Let's go."

"What do you mean 'let's go'?" K. Rool asked. "Are you suggesting I go with you and team up with those apes!?"

"Well um... I was talking to Mr. Pira-" Fluttershy said before being interrupted.

"Good, because there is nothing you can do to convince me to become an ally to them!" K. Rool huffed as he crossed his arms.

"Well, suit yourself then," Fluttershy said. "I'll just leave you-"

"You drive a hard bargain, pegasus," K. Rool said. "But I am not budging!"

"I'm not trying to-" she said before being interrupted once more.

"Fine. FINE!" K. Rool bellowed. "You convinced me! I will go on this adventure with you and the Kongs. Are you happy!? Let's go!" He got up and marched right back to the Gang-Plank Galleon, wanting nothing more than to get this temporary alliance with Donkey Kong over with. Fluttershy just stood there motionless.

Piranha Plant snapped five times, as if to say "Did you understand what just happened?"

"I have no idea," Fluttershy responded.
> The Gang Splits, The Other Gang Stows on Bowser's Airship, and Jr. Gets a New Ally
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To say Peach was surprised to see a barrel-like airplane fly around the castle would be an understatement. She was even more surprised to see the inside was absolutely crowded with ponies, humans, and various other creatures. She stepped outside the castle and approached the plane when it landed, Funky Kong stepping out of the cockpit.

"We reached our destination, dudes!" Funky called. "Thank you for choosing Funky's Flights!"

The airplane tipped over and everyone inside the barrel spilled out, thankful to be back on their feet and not tightly packed together. Some more than others.

"That's wrong, and you know it!" K. Rool shouted. "Power Ponies was ABSOLUTELY based off of Rise of the Koopa Bros.!"

"I can't even believe we're in this argument!" Spike shouted back. "I am so glad we're out of that plane so I never have to talk with you again!"

"Give me one SHRED of evidence that Power Ponies came before Rise of the Koopa Bros.!"  K. Rool challenged.

"THEY'RE FROM DIFFERENT WORLDS!" Spike yelled. "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHEN THEY WERE RELEASED, THERE'S NO POSSIBLE WAY THEY COULD BE BASED ON EACH OTHER!"

The two reptilians continued their on-going argument. Twilight just sighed and face-hoofed.

"Why did you bring him along!?" Twilight whispered to Fluttershy harshly.

"I-I didn't!" Fluttershy whispered back. "He just... decided to come with us!"

"AB, why haven't ya taken off that cape n' crown?" Applejack asked. "Ya'll aren't followin' K. Rool anymore."

"To be honest Ah kinda like it," Apple Bloom said, flipping her cape. "Plus K. Rool showed me that cool boomerang trick with the crown, and-"

Before she could finish, Diddy Kong jumped over the little filly and snatched the crown from her head. She hopped on Donkey Kong's shoulders as the giant ape took off running, his little buddy turning back to blow a raspberry.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Get back here!" She ran right past Cranky Kong and Granny Smith, who were sitting on wooden rocking chairs giving a story to the kids that sat around them: Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Piranha Plant.

"...And that's when Mario threw me down the construction site!" Cranky finished. "All to rescue some dame I just HAPPENED to capture during my rampage through New Donk City. Bet that's all he cared about."

"That's a cliche narrative if Ah've ever heard it," Granny Smith said. The two elders were becoming fast friends, and the kids they were telling the story to just looked at each other in confusion.

"So I don't get it," Sweetie asked. "Are you a good guy or a bad guy?"

"Little girl, I was Mario's FIRST bad guy!" Cranky said, waving his walking stick around and bopping her on the head. "But even so I got kicked out of the spotlight. Mario just used his victory against me as a way to rocket his popularity to new heights. Spotlight hog!"

"Boy do Ah know that feelin'," Granny Smith reminisced. "Ya'll know just how many members the Apple Family has? Real easy to make some ponies feel less important than others."

"See? Finally someone gets it," Cranky Kong said.

Sweetie, Scootaloo, and Piranha Plant just looked at each other in confusion and had no idea what either of them were talking about.

Mario and Luigi just watched the entire scene play out. It was nice they had the extra help, but with the addition of Funky, Cranky, Diddy, Big Mac, Granny Smith, K. Rool, and all four Crusaders, it was getting really hard to keep everyone under control. Peach approached them, surprised with all the new allies they had recruited over the course of a day.

"I um... don't think we have enough room in the sleeping quarters for everyone..." Peach said.

"I figured," Luigi sighed. "How many more do we have to find?"

"Well there's Yoshi, Birdo, Toad, and Toadette we still haven't found anywhere," Mario said.

"Of my friends we also haven't found Pinkie, Rainbow, Trixie, or Starlight," Twilight said as she approached them. "Come to think of it... we also haven't seen Princess Celestia or Luna either. And who knows how many more are still out there?"

"Well it is getting late," Peach said. "I'll make sure everyone has at least SOMEWHERE to sleep. In the meantime dinner will be served soon."

"Thanks, Peach," Mario said. The princess nodded and walked off.

"I'd say we had a pretty successful day," Luigi said. "I mean, look at all the friends we found."

"Well, I'd call most of them friends..." Twilight sighed, starting at Spike and King K. Rool still arguing with each other over comics. She could tell things were not going to get any easier from here.



It wasn't easy, but everyone managed to find a place to sleep around the castle. Mario, Luigi, Twilight. Spike, Fluttershy, and Piranha Plant all slept in the same bedroom as the night before, and another bedroom was provided to the Apples, Rarity, and the Crusaders. The Kongs were perfectly fine with sleeping outside, so they were lounging around in the backyard while Funky made improvements to his plane. This just left King K. Rool, who demanded he sleep indoors. But by popular demand courtesy of no one wanting to share a bed with him, he slept outside with the Kongs.

The king had managed to make himself a suitable bed, throwing together a couple of leaves to make a comfortable mattress, and stealing one of the castle's carpets for a blanket. He made sure to keep his distance far, far away from the apes, who have already dozed off. Soon, K. Rool drifted off as well.

The familiar jungle rustle managed to stur Donkey Kong awake. He looked around, and saw he was back in his treehouse. Everything was there, the piles of bananas, his TV, and various pictures of him and his friends. Eager to know how he got here, get quickly got up and beat his chest. Hearing a small groan behind him, he turned around to see Diddy Kong here as well, who was also waking up. Diddy was equally surprised with his surroundings, and got up to join his big buddy.

A particularly loud snore was heard, and they looked down to see King K. Rool, sprawled on the ground asleep. A pretty big bubble was forming on his snout, so Diddy Kong popped it. This instantly drove the Kremling king awake, who flailed his arms and legs around while babbling nonsense.

"NO OFFICER I SWEAR, SHE WAS-" K. Rool shouted before noticing he was in DK's treehouse. "Hold on... what in the name of Tiki Tong am I doing here? How am I away from that castle!?"

The trio noticed a peculiar navy glow coming from the window. DK and Diddy pressed their faces against it to try and get a good look at where it was coming from.

"Let me have a look!" K. Rool said as he pressed against the window too, practically squishing DK and Diddy.

The glow became stronger and brighter, and a strange silhouette appeared in the distance. DK, Diddy, and K. Rool were pushing so hard that they destroyed the window, creating a massive hole in the treehouse. Now that they could get a better view of the figure, it looked like a pony, though was pretty tall, with wings like Fluttershy and a horn like Twilight or Rarity. She also seemed to have very long and wavy mane.

"Who is this!?" K. Rool demanded. "Show yourself!"

The strange figure ducked down into a crouching position, and various costume parts flew away. Out of the costume came a strange creature who seemed to be a mish-mash of other animals, having a giant snake-like body, and arms, legs, and horns that were anything but matching.

DK, Diddy, and K. Rool's eyes widened, and their mouths were held agape. All they could do was watch as the strange beast scurried around the jungle, driven to tears with his laughing, proud of the massive prank he just pulled. Suddenly, another figure who looked like the pony before appeared behind him.

"ENOUGH!" she yelled as she bucked the strange creature away before he could react, his laughs still being heard in the distance. Now the trio were even more confused.

"Ahem..." she began. "Greetings. I am Princess Luna, princess of the night."

"Night?" K. Rool asked. "But it's sunset out!"

"You three are all in a dream," Luna explained. "I'm sorry this had to be so sudden, but there was no other way for me to reach you and your friends in my current situation."

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong jumped out of the massive hole in their treehouse to approach the tall pony. King K. Rool followed suit.

"So you brought us here?" King K. Rool asked.

"Not quite," Luna answered. "You three were all having a dream about being back home in the Mushroom Kingdom. I simply saw the opportunity to appear to you all in the dream realm."

"So why are you here, then?" K. Rool asked.

"I'm here because I can help with your journey to reset our worlds to their normal states," Luna said. "When you wake up, tell your allies that you saw me in a dream, and you can find me on Pi'illo Island. It's north from where you are."

DK and Diddy gave a thumbs up, while K. Rool nodded.

"I wish you all good luck on your adventure," Luna said. "I predict it will be quite a long one..."

Soon, the jungle landscape morphed and transformed, returning the three back to outside Peach's castle. They shot awake, and it was still nighttime. DK, Diddy, and K. Rool looked at each other for a moment before racing into the castle to tell everyone the news.

"WAKE UP EVERYONE!" K. Rool hollered throughout the castle. Aiding him were Donkey Kong and Diddy causing a racket, beating on the walls as hard as they could. Soon enough, lights began turning on, followed by the tired groans of Mario, Luigi, Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy walking downstairs to see what all the commotion was about. Piranha Plant was especially snappy, and Fluttershy was too tired to try to console him.

"What is it you want at 2:00 in the morning!?" Spike demanded, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait until morning," Twilight groaned.

"It can't," K. Rool said. "Me and the apes were pulled into a dream with this tall pony named Luna."

That got everyone's attention, specifically the ponies.

"Wait, you saw Princess Luna!?" Twilight gasped. DK and Diddy nodded to attest to it.

"Oh thank goodness Luna is OK," Fluttershy said.

"Luna is one of those princesses you were talking about, right?" Luigi asked.

"Yes, she's one of the royal sisters that rule over Equestria," Twilight explained. "She goes into the dream realm to help everypony with their nightmares and give them guidance."

"So what did she say?" Rarity asked.

"She said something about meeting her in Pi'illo Island to help us out on whatever we're doing here," K. Rool answered. "Said it was north from here."

"Hey, I remember that!" Luigi said. "That's where we helped free all the Pi'illo people and get the Dreamstone back, remember bro?"

"I remember it like it was yesterday," Mario said. "Had to go into your dreams a couple times too. It was weird... but fun at the same time."

"Well then Pi'illo Island should be our next destination," Rarity said. "We'll meet Princess Luna and-"

"Oh, looks like I caught all of you at a good time!" E. Gadd's voice cut through the crowd as he walked into the castle. Polterpup followed him into the room. "Have to admit, I wasn't expecting you all to be up this late."

"Neither were we," Spike moaned, still pretty tired.

"Well, anyway, while researching the various creatures I've come across in Equestria, Polterpup here found something interesting," E. Gadd said, motioning to the ghostly dog. Indeed, he seemed to hold something in his mouth, presumably a letter. Luigi knelt down and motioned the Polterpup to hand it over, which he obliged. He unrolled the paper and read it aloud.



To Twilight,

Starlight has been sending letters to you all over the place since this mess started. She's unavailable at the moment for reasons that will become obvious shortly, so the Helpful and Compassionate Trixie is writing this one in her place. If by some miracle you find one of them, we are both in desperate need of your help. The two of us are locked up in the Castle of Friendship, and there's these guys who keep calling themselves Wario and Waluigi running amok. They're digging through it for treasure, and they've found a bunch of spellbooks, using us as drones to cast them in hopes of them becoming even more rich. I don't know where exactly the castle is, Starlight should be able to write it down once her turn ends.

Signed,
The Great and Powerful Trixie



Thanks to Trixie not sending this letter immediately, we've probably just ruined any chances of this letter reaching you, but I'm sending it out just to be safe. We appear to be in a large, bustling city... kinda like Manehattan but way more busy. It looks like there's way more buildings too. I can't give clearer directions, but I hope you can find it yourself. And please hurry, what these two are doing to us is... less than pleasant.

Also signed,
Starlight Glimmer



"I'm assuming both of these are from your world?" Luigi asked.

"Yes, close friends of mine, in fact," Twilight said. "Starlight is my student who lives with me in the Castle of Friendship, and Trixie is a travelling showpony who hosts magic shows."

"Looks like Wario and Waluigi ended up here too," Mario grumbled. "First we get King Boo and now we have to deal with these two?"

"Well whoever they are, I can't imagine they're pleasant to be around," Rarity mused. "And it sounded like they were using Starlight and Trixie... whatever that entails..."

"Well I'll leave you to figure it out," E. Gadd says. "In the meantime, I'll just-"

"GAH!" Spike cried as the professor put a feather to his nose. He was too shocked to retaliate, and sure enough, the young dragon sneezed green flames. These would have hit E. Gadd had it weren't for the special container he pulled out to trap them inside.

"-take these flames from our good dragon friend," E. Gadd chuckled. "I need to get a head start on my next artificial power-up: Dragon Suits!"

"We're not lab experiments you know," Twilight shot at him, remembering how he used her DNA for the Alicorn Mushroom the previous night.

"But it's for the greater good of science!" E. Gadd said. "Just wait until I get the ad campaigns for this up and running! These Dragon Suits will be flying off the shelves! Oh ho ho!" With that, he headed back to his lab to get a head start on his new experiment, Polterpup tailing behind.

"Well that was weird, but I don't care enough to find out why," K. Rool commented.

"Y'know, I think Starlight and Trixie might be up in New Donk City," Mario said. "It's the closest thing I can think of when I think of a bustling city."

"Then perhaps we should split up," Twilight suggested. "Half of us go to Pi'illo Island, and the other half-"

"OK OK, hold on," K. Rool interrupted. "Who put you in charge of this whole operation?"

"No one," Twilight said, trying her best to push down her irritation. "I'm just saying that it'd speed up our search if we-"

"Well since I'm the only king around here, that puts me above you all in the scale of hierarchy, so I should be in charge," K. Rool said proudly.

"OK fine," Twilight spat. "You have a better idea!? Spit it out then!"

"With pleasure," K. Rool said. "We should split up into teams and go to Pi'illo Island and New Donk City separately, so as to make this search for Luna and the other two faster."

"But that's what I ju-" Twilight started before being interrupted again.

"We leave IMMEDIATELY!" K. Rool announced as he turned a heel and marched out of the castle front door. Noticing no one was following him, he turned back and gave an angry glare.

"Well!?" he demanded.

"We're goin' back to bed," Applejack said grumpily. 

"Indeed," Rarity agreed with a yawn. "A lady needs her beauty rest after all."

"Fine them," K. Rool said. "We leave IN THE MORNING!"

As he and the Kongs walked out of the castle, everyone else went back to their sleeping quarters to resume their sleep.

"Seriously, why did you invite him!?" Twilight groaned.

"I... I didn't... H-He just-" Fluttershy tried to say. Piranha Plant quickly snapped to her defense, and the alicorn turned to her pegasus friend for a translation.

"He says he doesn't like the way you're talking to me," Fluttershy said. The plant nodded in confirmation.

"OK, I-I'm sorry," Twilight said. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It's just... K. Rool is REALLY starting to get on my nerves."

"I don't think any of us like him," Mario sighed. "But we'll need to put up with him anyway. At least he's willing to help."

"True," Twilight said with a nod.



The Castle of Friendship starkly contrasted the taller, modernized, and much duller buildings of New Donk City. Stacked quite precariously on top of the city hall, the castle looked like it could tip over at the slightest movement, plunging it down and crushing any unfortunate souls who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Hopefully, that wouldn't happen.

Of course, with it being so high in the air and all of the entrances to the top of the city hall being blocked off, there wasn't any real way for the residents of New Donk City to investigate the strange fortress that loomed above them. This, in turn, allowed Wario and Waluigi to cause as much mischief as possible.

Starlight observed the dastardly duo run amok in the castle from behind bars, using Trixie like a kid's first magic kit. The two were scavenging the castle for any signs of money, particularly for the vault that this castle obviously had hidden away (it didn't). Not only that, but they were also nose-deep in spell books in search of one that could get them rich quick, and using the unicorns as their guinea pigs. Wario's portly body weighed down on poor Trixie, as he commanded spells left and right at the props Waluigi was holding up in front of them. With little success.

"What's the deal, Blue?" Wario asked. "Pink over there can use-a spells just fine! Why are-a you so difficult to work with!?"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie prefers not to be referred to such broad terms as 'Blue'," she protested.

"Just-a do the spell already!" Waluigi hollered, holding up the apple the spell was to be used on.

Starlight could only sigh. With Trixie only being real experienced in show magic, any and all efforts to use her to further their gold-digging were in vain. If she could, she'd warp out of the bars she was held behind, bust Trixie out, and make a run for it. But they just so happened to find a spell that restricted any and all use of their magic unless it was at their command. Otherwise, they were essentially earth ponies without their characteristic strength.

"Seriously, who makes a spell like that!?" Starlight thought to herself bitterly.

"Bah, she's-a useless!" Wario groaned, unsatisfied with Trixie's fruitless efforts. "Throw her back in!"

"We'll try with-a Pink later," Waluigi said.

Wario hopped off Trixie and led her back to the cell, throwing her in alongside Starlight. The two went on to resume whatever they were doing, leaving the mares to themselves.

"This is embarrassing..." Trixie sighed. "Since when were we fated to be enslaved but these morons?"

"Tell me about it," Starlight agreed. "I just hope one of those letters reaches Twilight... wherever she is..."

"As much as I hate to admit it... Trixie hopes so too..." the blue unicorn said.



Now knowing Bowser and his forces were planning to raid the Crystal Empire, the unlikely team of Yoshi, Pinkie Pie, Maud Pie, and Rainbow Dash stowed away on one of the Airships that were to take off. They hid themselves in a large crate, waiting to bust out and ambush the Koopa soldiers at the right time, and perhaps stop the invasion before it began.

Of course, being confined in such close quarters was uncomfortable, especially for jittery Pinkie.

"I'm so booooooorrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeed," Pinkie moaned, trying and failing to find a comfortable position among all the cannonballs and Bullet Bills they were laying on.

"Will you quite down?" Yoshi snapped in a harsh whisper. "Do you WANT to give away our hiding spot?"

"Whose brilliant idea was it to hide in a crate, anyway?" Rainbow Dash said, also getting a little antsy.

"Yours," Maud Pie deadpanned.

"That was a rhetorical question," Rainbow shot back. It was quickly proving to not be one of her smartest ideas. Truthfully though, she was getting antsy moreso because of her lack of wings and needing to rely on this dumb cape to fly around. She could hardly wait to pummel that wizard guy and have her wings back.

"Shhh, someone's coming," Yoshi said as everyone quieted down as footsteps were heard. Outside they could make out two soldiers walking by.

"So what was the plan again?" one Koopa asked.

"Didn't you hear Lord Bowser!?" the other Koopa snapped. An audible slap to the face was heard. "We're off to invade the Crystal Empire and take their princess. There's even rumors going around that he's gonna marry her."

"Marry her?" the first Koopa asked. "I thought his heart was for Peach."

"Well there is no Peach ever since that twister happened," the second Koopa said. "So we're going for one of those pony princesses, and if what we read is to be believed, they're heavily armed and we need to be on our A game. So hurry up and help me load the last of this ammo on deck!"

The four stowaways could feel their weight shifting as the crate was picked up and hauled on board. No one dared make a sound, lest they'd be found out.

"Since when did... Bullet Bills weigh this much?" one of the Koopas asked as he struggled to carry the crate.

"Yeah I thought we loaded the Banzai Bills," the other said, under as much strain.

The crate was soon carried on the Airship, and it was dropped with an big THUMP. Unfortunately, this caused one of the cannonballs to crush Rainbow Dash's hoof.

"YOWCH!" she shrieked.

"Who was that!?" a Koopa asked.

Rainbow had to quickly make up something. "Uh... just... one of the Bullet Barts... or whatever you call them! I hit my head when you dropped the crate and... yeah..."

The three others stared at Rainbow Dash in a range of expressions. Yoshi was looking daggers at her for not keeping quiet. Pinkie was on the brink of bursting in a fit of laughter for how terrible Rainbow's cover-up was. Maud just stared blankly, perhaps accepting the inevitable.

"Oh, sorry about that," the Koopa responded. They were heard walking away after that.

"Whew," Rainbow sighed. "Good thing those turtle guys are morons."

"We should be on board now," Maud said. "Now we just need to wait."

"But I haaaaaaate waiting," Pinkie complained. "Can't we just-"

"Shut it!" Yoshi said as he covered her mouth. "Someone else is coming!"

These footsteps were much bigger and heavier, no doubt belonging to Bowser. Two pairs of much lighter footsteps also came, seeming being Kamek and Kammy.

"Everything is accounted for, your Burlyness," Kamek said.

"And we have the finest troops on board," Kammy followed.

"Excellent," Bowser said. "Seems like you two aren't screw-ups after all. If things go well, I might just forgive you for that warp machine nonsen-" The Koopa king stopped himself as a realization just hit him. He looked around a few times before turning back to the two Magikoopas.

"Where's Jr.?" he asked.



"And then maybe I can put an outdoor pool here!" Bowser Jr. said to no one in particular.

Right now he was outside Canterlot castle, which was now being converted to Bowser's Castle. Sure, his father was in charge of remodeling, but why should his son not have any creative input? He wanted to make an outdoor playground in the backyard, for himself and himself only. Plans were going swimmingly, at least they were if it weren't for all the statues in the way.

"Stupid statues!" Jr. protested. "There's way too many of 'em. Maybe when Papa gets back, he can take some of them down. What are half of these supposed to even be anyway?"

While each one was either dedicated to one of the royal sisters, or major Equestria events, Bowser Jr. didn't know or care, and just wanted all of them gone so there wouldn't be any interruptions for his playground planning. However, just on the edge of the garden covered in shrubs, there was one statue that caught his eye. The Koopa prince moved in to get a closer look, and pulled some of the greenery away.

Three rather... interesting figures were depicted here. One looked like a spooky, grotesque version of those ponies his father bested. Another looked like some powerless old geezer. But the one that piqued his interest the most was the small little girl above them. To him, she just looked like one of those children that were being held prisoner in the castle. What was so special about this one? Jr. looked down and saw an inscription on the stand.

Here stand three of Equestria's most notorious, evil villains, all of whom were sentenced to become inanimate for their crimes. Queen Chrysalis, the Changeling queen who sought to feed off of the love of Equestria's inhabitants and take it over.

"Lame," Bowser Jr. said.

Lord Tirek, who escaped Tartarus in order to steal the magic from everypony in the land for his own selfish deeds.

"Boring," Jr. said.

And Cozy Glow, the filly who tricked everypony into befriending in order to destroy all magic in Equestria.

"What?" he said. "A little girl did all of that?"

The Koopa prince looked back up at the statue, and suddenly, he got an idea. It was a stretch... but if it could help his father in his efforts, surely it'd be worth a shot. He took out his Magic Paintbrush, and climbed up the statue to paint some of Cozy Glow's face. Soon, he could see the statue start to animate again. Now no longer a statue, or her face anyway, the little filly coughed up some of the paint and looked around, obviously surprised by her surroundings and that she was now set free.

"I'm... free!?" Cozy Glow asked herself.

"Almost," Bowser Jr. said. The filly turned her attention to the Koopa prince with the paintbrush. "I read your little story on the statue, and thought you might be helpful in Papa's takeover of this strange pony world! If you help us out, I'll free the rest of you."

Cozy didn't even have to think. "Deal!"

And so it was done. Cozy Glow was set free from her stony prison.