//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: The Calm After the Nightmare // Story: A Sweetie Dream Land // by Lucar //------------------------------// "What a day it was yesterday," Waddle Dee said. "You don't say..." Sweetie Belle replied. It was the day just after the events with Nightmare. Sweetie Belle and Waddle Dee were taking their breakfast, reminiscing the previous day, especially Sweetie. "Nobody told me that Kirby could spit fire! I was thinking that I would get eaten, but no! I got roasted!" Waddle Dee yelled while pounding the table. "Wait, he can spit fire? Why didn't he use it against Dedede?" Sweetie Belle asked in surprise. "What? This doesn't make sense!" "No more than the fact that he could use ice!" another Waddle Dee beside them said. "You got roasted? I got frozen!" "And I got cut!" a third Waddle Dee said. "He had a sword! I didn't know he could use weapons!" "King Dedede too, apparently." Sweetie Belle replied. "Kirby ate his hammer, and a few seconds later, he was being clobbered! The fight didn't even last a minute after that!" "I know what happened!" a fourth Waddle Dee said. "I saw it! I was behind a Waddle Doo! Then Kirby ate him, and next thing I knew, he was wearing some jester hat and a scepter from which he could shoot the same attack as Waddle Doo!" "He can copy what he eats?!" many of the ones listening him screamed. "But I don't understand!" a fifth Waddle Dee said. "I found myself against Kirby the first time, and I saw him eat a Waddle Doo too, and yet, he didn't copy his attack!" "Maybe he hadn't developed this ability yet," a Waddle Doo answered. "Does that mean he will gain more abilities in the future?" "I hope not!" the second Waddle Dee said. "If he can copy, then he is already powerful enough!" "I saw him in a UFO! He passed right above me!" "He crushed me! He had transformed into a rock!" "The others and I couldn't approach him! There were sharp needles all over his body!" And this went on for the rest of breakfast. "Sweetie Belle, you didn't say what happened to you. Did you face Kirby?" Waddle Dee asked after breakfast, as they walked in the hallways of the castle. "Sort of. I was trained all day by Dedede knowing that I would fight Kirby if he reached the fountain, but when I encountered him, he hugged me!" "Say again?" "He hugged me! And because of that, I couldn't resolve myself to hurt him! He was just so cute! That was not fair!" She sighed. "But in the end, it was for the better. He was able to beat Nightmare with the Star Rod." "Really?! He was able to use the Star Rod?" Waddle Dee said with stars in his eyes. "Yes. We saw him. He was shooting stars at Nightmare with it like this! Piouh! Piouh! Piouh!" At each "Piouh!", she swung her right hoof like Kirby had swung the rod in his fight against Nightmare. "Awesome!" "I know!" "So, will you continue to train?" Waddle Dee asked then. "Yes. I still want to get better at magic. And also, who knows when Dedede will want to try his luck at fighting Kirby again? I may end up facing Kirby, and this time, what happened yesterday may not happen." "I see your point." Having some free time, Waddle Dee decided to show Sweetie Belle more of Dream Land. So he packed a lunch for the both of them, and they exited the castle, going down the main path. Now that it was daytime, Sweetie could better see Dream Land and all its colors. She was amazed by the beauty of this kingdom, and contrary to Equestria, not a single bad place like the Everfree Forest could be seen... outside of Dedede's castle, and some place always covered in clouds that seemed ready to storm that could be seen from the windows toward the North. She could see the vast grasslands, with lakes, rivers and forests scattered a little everywhere, and mountains in some places too. She could see the vast ocean, reflecting the light of the sun, with a few islands here and there. She remembered flying with Dedede above it the previous day to go to the Fountain of Dreams. She could even see cloudy structures! She could feel a calm fresh breeze on her fur, making her want to go sit under a tree and just watch the lands in calm, and maybe sleep. This really was a land of dreams, almost perfect to live in. To think that just the previous day, all of this had been threatened... "I can see that you will love living here. Everybody does," Waddle Dee said. "Yeah. It's so beautiful, and peaceful. I wouldn't mind living here forever, if it wasn't for... you know." "Your family and friends back at your home. Yes. But if you find a way to come back and forth between our two worlds, then I'm sure Dedede won't mind you living at the castle. Unless you will prefer to build a house?" "Well, it would depend if I am still working for him or not." "Oh you know, you aren't forced to live in the castle to work for him. Most of us live a little everywhere in Dream Land, or even beyond. The castle is too small for our whole army. Dedede possesses a few more fortresses scattered around the kingdom. Maybe you will see them one day." "That's impressive! His army must be really big!" "And yet we got beaten, twice, by a puffball," he laughed. "And the second time, we even had the support of the Meta Knights. I don't know if I must be impressed or scared by Kirby." "Why not both?" "Yes. Both. Both are good. Come, I will show you something. Look attentively by where we pass." "And here is where the hero lives!" Waddle Dee whispered, both him and Sweetie Belle hidden in a bush. He pointed at a small white house that was a half sphere, with a door made of wood, a single window beside the door, and a chimney made of bricks. Beside the house was a tree, giving it some shadow. To reach it, Sweetie Belle and Waddle Dee didn't have to go too far, but Waddle Dee had to help Sweetie jumping above some holes and small cliffs. So that was why she needed to learn to jump higher? "This is Kirby's house? Why are you showing it to me? And why are we hiding and whispering?" Sweetie Belle whispered. "I am showing it to you so you know where he lives just in case. And we are hiding because I don't want to know what he will do to us if he finds out we are here." "But he is friendly. At least to me. And he had no problems forgiving Dedede once he discovered why he destroyed the Star Rod. I'm sure he would not attack you as long as you don't give him reasons to." "Maybe but... just... let's go. We will come back another time. He is probably recuperating after yesterday's events." "Yes... Probably." "Aah... It was good," Sweetie Belle said. "Yeah... The cooks are real masters," Waddle Dee replied. The two of them were sitting under a tree, Sweetie leaning against Waddle Dee. Beside them was the basket in which Waddle Dee had packed their lunch, now empty. Before them was a lake, as blue and clear as the sky. A group of Bronto Burts flying peacefully not far and the fresh breeze ended to make this moment perfect. Almost... "If only she was here," Sweetie Belle said gloomily. "Who?" "My sister, Rarity. She doesn't like being dirty, but sometime, she would take a picnic with her family and friends. And this place..." She waved at the lake before them. "It would be so perfect, having a picnic with her, in the shadow of this tree, with this breeze. We would sleep together, letting time pass, in peace..." She sighed. "I miss her so much, Waddle Dee." "Don't worry," Waddle Dee said, patting her. "You will see her again, one day. Remember, 'hope'? When that day comes, if you can, you will show her this place, and you will have a picnic under this tree, together. And you will recount to her every wonderful things that have happened to you." "Yes... You are right. Thank you, Waddle Dee. Thank you..." she replied, before closing her eyes, falling asleep on Waddle Dee. Seeing that, Waddle Dee put his arm around Sweetie Belle as much as he could to make sure she didn't fall, before falling asleep too. "Yesterday, I learned something," Dedede said. "You love cute things, and you have a hard time to bring yourself to harm one, especially if this cute thing is friendly to you." "Sorry..." Sweetie Belle said, looking at the floor of the boxing ring. "Don't be. You are a child, I should have seen it coming. This is why I will train you, from now on, to fight cute things!" "How?" At that, Dedede put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. A Waddle Dee came from behind one of the stands and jumped on the ring. "By punching him!" he exclaimed, pointing at the Waddle Dee. "This Waddle Dee will act all cute, and you will have to attack him despite that! You have the whole hour!" "I-I don't know if I will be able to do it! They are so adorable!" Her words made the Waddle Dee blush. "And yet you have to! If you don't punch him at least once by the end of the hour, no dessert at dinner!" "EH?!" "And we will start again tomorrow! And if you still don't, then the day after, and the day after, until you finally punch him! Until then, no dessert at dinner!" "EEEEEH?!" "Now, start!" And at that, Dedede exited the ring, letting Sweetie Belle with the Waddle Dee. Sweetie Belle stared at the Waddle Dee, who watched her back... with these eyes... these cheeks... He tilted his head. This will be hard. "Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out." "Five minutes left!" Dedede suddenly yelled. "Eep!" Already?! It's too fast! Seeing her time closing, she finally decided to try something. She passed the whole hour, eyes closed, breathing, trying to resolve herself to hit the Waddle Dee. Now in panic, she closed her eyes, took one last big breath, and started running toward the Waddle Dee. "I'm sorry!" she screamed. The Waddle Dee then did the worst thing he could have done to her. He stopped her in a hug and said, "It's alright." "Aah...! Not fair!" "Sorry." She stared at the Waddle Dee, then at Dedede in panic, then back at the Waddle Dee. She closed her eyes. "Raaaahhhhh!!!" She raised her right hoof, and brought it down fast right in Waddle Dee's left eye, throwing him on his back. "Ah! My eye!" he screamed in pain, putting his arm on his eye. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she yelled in panic at what she did to this poor Waddle Dee. "It... It's alright! You did what you had to do. I'm not angry," Waddle Dee replied. "But now, I have to go take a bag of ice... Good job. By the way you have one heck of a punch." The Waddle Dee got out of the ring and exited the room. Dedede clapped at Sweetie Belle. "Bravo! Bravo! This is a good start!" "Y-yeah but... he wasn't angry at me. He knew that I had to do it, and knew that he would be punched. But Kirby... I don't want to make him cry." Dedede sighed at her answer. "Then just tell him that you want to fight him. I'm sure he will understand. But it means goodbye to the surprise effect. So you will have to gain enough skills to surpass Kirby in a real fight." "Which means more training." "Exactly. Actually, from now on, you can train as much as you want. You will be both a servant and a soldier. So if you have nothing to do, you can come here. But don't overexert yourself. We don't have the Fountain of Dreams to recover your energy." "Okay. Thank you, King Dedede." "And now..." Dedede suddenly exclaimed. "We will take more time to train! I will attack you, you try to dodge me, and you attack me in return. Remember? Like you did yesterday, except you will also try to not be hit this time by my own counterattacks. "But, isn't it dinnertime?" Sweetie asked. "Dinner can wait!" "Owie!" Sweetie Belle shouted as she was dropped on a chair at the king's dinner room. The training went well for a couple dozen minutes, until she finally got hit by the hammer. Now her back hurt like Tartarus! That ended the training, and now, here they were, ready to eat. Before her was a bowl full of pasta, and behind it, a big chocolate cake, among other things. Dedede was really a big eater. "You did good today. Don't worry for your back, it will heal quickly, trust me. Actually, you will not feel it by the end of this meal." "How? It will take days before it stops hurting!" Dedede smirked at her. "You will see." After a moment, Sweetie started to eat her pasta. Almost immediately, some sort of light surrounded her, to her surprise. She looked around her, only for the light to stop. That was when she felt that her back hurt a little less! "What?!" she screamed. She then watched the bowl of pasta closer, putting a fork in it. "Is there some healing potion inside the pasta?!" At her reaction, Dedede guffawed. "Welcome to Dream Land! Where food can heal you! A simple fruit can heal a broken bone!" Sweetie stared agape at Dedede. "No way!" "And yet...!" He pointed at Sweetie's back. "Continue to eat and you will see!" Sweetie continued to stare at Dedede in disbelief. A world where food can heal?! If Twilight learns about it, she will have a meltdown! And Pinkie... Ooh boy... At the bath. "So, how was training? You took longer today," Waddle Dee said. "Awful. I had to hit a Waddle Dee. I was feeling so guilty! Then I got hit by Dedede's hammer, my back had hurt so much..." Sweetie Belle answered. "Yeah, I can imagine that it must hurt," Broom Sunglasses said, on his floating chair. "But then..." Sweetie continued. "I ate a bowl of pasta, and it didn't hurt anymore! You didn't tell me that food can heal here." "I thought you knew. You mean food doesn't heal in your world?" Waddle Dee asked. "Nope. It just makes sure that we aren't hungry anymore." "Then how do you heal?" Broom Sunglasses asked. "Healing spells, healing potions, or letting a doctor do their job, like stitch a big cut, put back the broken bone, put a bandage where it hurts, that kind of thing. Sometime, it takes months." "Ugh. Now I know I will never go to your world. Wouldn't want to spend months stuck on a bed if I get hurt," Broom Sunglasses said. "Me too!" Waddle Dee said. "Yeah... My world must seems like Tartarus to you, seen like that." "What is Tartarus?" Waddle Dee asked. "Hum... It's an underground prison where the princesses imprison the really bag guys. They spend eternity trapped alone in a cage, without food or water, and yet they somehow can't die." "Wow. Eternity in loneliness without anything good. Harsh," Broom Sunglasses said. "But if they are 'really bad guys', then wouldn't it be easier to simply kill them like Kirby did to Nightmare? They must deserve it." It made Sweetie uneasy. "Mmh... Ponies aren't really fond on the whole 'killing' thing... I think we only do it if there is no other alternative." "So your people are full pacifists? No wonder you suck at fighting," Broom Sunglasses replied. "Hey! I'm still a filly! Of course I don't know how to fight bad guys like Nightmare or powerful Warriors like Dedede and Kirby!" She crossed her hooves and pouted. "Beside, thanks to Dedede's training, I'm getting better! I hit a Waddle Dee today!" Broom Sunglasses clapped, slowly. "Woah... You hit a Waddle Dee? An exploit worthy of a god." Sweetie Belle stared at him angrily for a whole minute without saying anything while blushing at his obvious sarcasm. She ended it by sticking out her tongue at him and immersing herself more in the water until only her muzzle and above were left, her ears pressed against her head. It made Waddle Dee laugh while Broom Sunglasses started venting himself with a fan, his head all red.