In the dark of the night, who knows what is looming in the shadows? A dark form approached Castle Dedede, silently turning around it to spot what it sought. Not a sound was heard, all the inhabitants of the castle sleeping soundly despite some of them being on guard duty. The sleeping Waddle Dees on the walls proved it. But who could blame them? Nobody ever attacked the castle at night. The only time the castle was invaded had been during the day. Anyway, they were not what it sought.
It spotted a window larger than the others, and knew that it may be what it searched. So it approached the window and passed through it without a sound. And here he was, the king. Powerful, yet easily controllable. He will be perfect. Slowly, it approached the sleeping monarch. Soon enough, this world will fall into darkness.
Two weeks passed since the event with Nightmare, as peaceful as they should be. Sweetie Belle enjoyed them as much as she could, either working with the other members of Dedede's army, training mainly her magic, or going out to explore Dream Land, often with her friend Waddle Dee, and sometime with Broom Sunglasses when he was off cleaning duty. She had now fully entered her new life, her room now better decorated with more plushies, this time of Rarity's friends, a portrait of Dedede given by Dedede, a lamp, a shelf with some books, and a closet with some clothes including a maid outfit that Broom Sunglasses asked to be made for her to tease her because of how good she was at cleaning. She found it cute, so she decided to keep it, even if she will never wear it!
Well okay, she wore it once to get her revenge on Broom Sunglasses. She finally saw how Broom Sunglasses became all red each time she acted all cute beside him. When wearing this maid outfit, she looked absolutely adorable. Thus, by acting all cute while wearing it around Broom Sunglasses, the poor guy almost died, along with a couple dozens of Waddle Dees, a few Waddle Doos, and a Blade Knight. Dedede told her after that to only use this dreadful weapon against enemies invading the castle, and to make sure that no one else was present if it happened. That was before being sent back to his bed, because he lost consciousness when Sweetie had shouted "Yes sir!" and had saluted while still wearing the outfit. She immediately took it off after that.
At least, she could be proud to say that she was able to knock out King Dedede without even touching him.
Some of Dedede's servants started to name her 'Fatal Cutie' after this event, and now, a wooden plaque with written on it "Chamber of Sweetie Belle, the Fatal Cutie" with a skull at the bottom was studded on the door. Someone placed it here when she had been exploring outside. She couldn't help but roll on the floor laughing when she saw it the first time.
After, the inhabitants of the castle fully started to treat her as one of them, discussing more often with her, helping her, joking with her (jokes often linked to the 'Fatal Cutie Incident'), and pretty much being more friendly to her. Waddle Dee was still her best friend in the castle, but now, the majority of the castle's inhabitants could be considered as Sweetie Belle's friends. However, she still had problem to differentiate them, making it a source of teasing on their part.
And she was hugged, a lot.
Her training was also going well. She could now lift heavier weights, had an easier control on two objects at the same time and started training on three, she could jump high enough to punch Dedede in the face, and could now win a duel against a few of Dedede's soldiers. It started when, a few days ago, Dedede told her to fight a Waddle Dee until one of them was knocked out. She won, to his pleasure. The following days, she tested her skills against a few more Waddle Dees, a Waddle Doo, two Bronto Burts, and a Blade Knight. She won all her fight excepted the last one, where the Blade Knight, wearing a familiar red cape, was able to bonk the guard of his sword on the back of her head to knock her out.
Each day would end with a big dinner at Dedede's table, a hot bath with everyone else, and a good night.
She hadn't seen Kirby since the Nightmare incident.
Breakfast.
"And then, we were covered in sap! It took us hours to rid ourselves of it!" Sweetie said.
At the end of her tale, everyone listening to her started laughing. She then ended her drink with a proud smile at making everyone laugh, even if deep down, she was blushing in embarrassment at telling the misadventures of her and her friends to obtain their Cutie Marks. What a good way to start a day.
TUUUUUUUUUUUT!!!!!!!!
.... This day will be a bad one, right?
Everyone gathered at the main hall, only to be greeted by an unexpected sight: Dedede sleeping, while being on his feet.
What now? Sweetie Belle thought, worried.
Once everyone was present, they were starting to wait. After a moment, some of them started to wonder if they should wake up the king. That was when Dedede suddenly started to talk... while sleeping!
"Everyone," he started emotionlessly. "I have decided on the next plan to show everyone that I am the king and that I must be respected." He then stopped talking for a few seconds, before continuing. "We will go toward the Rainbow Islands, and destroy the Rainbow Bridges. This way, the inhabitants will be forced to take me seriously, and serve me." At that, the whole army started murmuring about this plan, and Dedede's state. Sweetie could only watch in horror, Waddle Dee told her about the Rainbow Islands, and she knew how the Rainbow Bridges were important for the inhabitants of the archipelago, and all of Popstar. "You are all dismissed. Let's prepare to depart for the islands and join the Dark Castle," he finally said before slowly walking... or sleepwalking toward the exit.
That's weird. Maybe I should wake him up. But wait, isn't waking up someone sleepwalking dangerous? Better take the risk, rather than letting Dedede do something evil in his sleep. Thinking that, Sweetie Belle followed Dedede. "King Dedede! Wait!" she screamed, only for Dedede to ignore her. So she continued running before sitting in front of him. "Dedede! Wake up! You are sleepwalking! I'm sure that in truth, you don't want to destroy those Rainbow Bridges!"
Dedede stopped, looked at her for a few seconds with his closed eyes, and said, still emotionlessly, "Out of my way and go prepare yourself to go to the Rainbow Islands. If you don't, then you will be punished."
Sweetie Belle took a step back. Then she gulped and went to his feet, poking him. "C-come on, Dedede. It's me, Sweetie Belle. Wake up. You are being scary."
But then, Dedede did something she hadn't expected: he kicked her out of the way in the belly. Hard. In the blink of an eye, she hit a wall, totally out of breath, coughing and hurting. He then said, "Last warning. Next time, I will kill you," and continued his way, letting Sweetie behind.
That... That can't be him. Or is it what he is deep down? I must do something, but what? Waddle Dee! Maybe he can help!
After recovering her breath, she ran back to the main hall, hoping that Waddle Dee was still there. "Waddle Dee!" she screamed. At her call, all the Waddle Dees turned toward her, but only one of them waved at her.
"Yes, Sweetie?" he screamed back, understanding that she called him specifically.
Sweetie ran to him. "Can we talk in private? In my room? Please?"
"Uh okay?"
"No way!"
"Yes! I swear! He kicked me! And after, he threatened to kill me! Please Waddle Dee, you have to help me stop him! He his not in his normal state!"
"Well I... I don't know... I'm just a Waddle Dee. I can't..." He stopped himself when he saw the filly starting to cry. He then decided to try to find something. After a moment, he talked, not believing what he was about to say. "Maybe... you should go warn Kirby. I don't see any other way."
"Y-yeah... You are right. Well then, I'm going. Thank you, Waddle Dee."
"You are welcome Sweetie. I will spread the word to the others, so they know what to expect. We may be forced to fight Kirby, so the king doesn't suspect us."
"Alright... As for me, I will hide in Kirby's house."
"No. The king will obviously find out that you have betrayed him. He may send one of his lieutenants to attack you, and nobody would be able to save you. I think it may be best if you follow Kirby, so he can protect you, even if it means we will have to attack you too. Consider that as more of your training to become stronger. I will make sure the others do."
Sweetie Belle looked at the floor, ears pressed against her head, before nodding, understanding that it was the best way. She then hugged Waddle Dee, who returned the hug. "Thank you."
"Take care, and good luck."
The two separated, and Sweetie ran outside of the room, leaving Waddle Dee behind.
She exited the castle, went down the mountain, and followed the path she and Waddle Dee had taken to join Kirby's house. After many minutes of running and jumping, she eventually reached it. Taking back her breath, she knocked rapidly at the door, shouting, "Kirby! Are you here?! It's me, Sweetie Belle! I need your help!"
Not a few seconds later, the door opened, showing the heroic puffball.
"Poyo?"
Sweetie Belle looked at him, took her breath, and said, "It's Dedede. I don't know what is happening. He is... sleepwalking. And now, he wants to destroy the Rainbow Bridges of the Rainbow Islands!"
Kirby gasped at this news and screamed, "Poyo?!"
"You must stop him! And wake him up! He is not himself!"
Kirby took a determined expression, nodded at her, and started to run toward the castle. But he was stopped by Sweetie Belle. "Wait!" He stopped and looks at her, tilting his head. "Let me come with you! Dedede has probably found out that I betrayed him, and may send someone to kill me!"
Kirby looked at her, smiled, and nodded, meaning she could come.
"Thank you! I will try to be helpful! I have learned how to fight a little!"
And so the two took the way to the castle.
They reached the castle, only to find it empty.
"Oh no! They are already gone to the islands! What do we do?!"
Kirby waved at her and exited the castle, followed by her. Outside, she found Kirby on a Warp Star, and he waved at her. Understanding what he wanted, Sweetie gulped, jumped on the Warp Star and clung to Kirby, remembering how fast the Warp Star could go. "Oh boy... Oh boy... Oh boy..."
After a few seconds, the Warp Star flew away above the ocean, with Kirby and Sweetie on it, the filly screaming at full lungs. The Rainbow Islands weren't too far of the main lands, so it didn't take long to reach them.
The Rainbow Islands were an archipelago of seven islands in a zigzag pattern. She could see that the first one had grasslands with what seemed to be a small lake, the second one had a big forest on its whole surface, the third one possessed an immense lake, the fourth one was covered in snow and ice, the fifth one was a canyon, the sixth one was a mountain, judging by the hole at the top, a volcano, surrounded by clouds, and the last one was a big fortress, certainly the Dark Castle.
And no Rainbow Bridges linking them... He already broke them?!
Kirby saw that too and became angry. He then took the Warp Star on a course toward the first island. If she remembered correctly what Waddle Dee told her about the Rainbow Islands, it was simply named Grass Land.
Whoever named the islands had one heck of an imagination...