The Warp Star disappeared like the previous times, dropping them on the snowy ground. The animals immediately took a formation around Sweetie Belle, Rick before her, Coo flying above, and Kine behind. Sweetie couldn't help but smile at how protective they became after her earlier... 'episode'. Kirby was at her right, looking at her.
"Poyo...?"
"I... I will be ok." she tried to reassure him. "Thank you all."
Kirby smiled at her before he did something that she didn't expect. He jumped on her back. "Poyo!" He moved a bit to correct his position, being a bit awkward since it was the first time he was riding an equine.
That made Sweetie laugh. "Kirby! You don't need to..." But she was then stopped by another unexpected event. A sudden light appeared around her, and her fur turned into white stone! "Wh... WHAAT?!"
Kirby seemed to know it would happen, or at least, he had guessed it, because he started to jump happily on her back, shouting, "Poyo! Poyo! Poyo!"
However, the animals were clearly surprised with how they were watching her with mouths wide open, or more open in Kine's case.
Sweetie looked at her stoned hooves in wonder, still being able to move, before looking at Kirby. "Since when...?" Kirby pointed at the sky. "On the Warp Star?" He nodded. "You got, just like that, the idea that I may gain the same Ability as Rick, Coo, and Kine if you were riding on my back?"
"Poyo!" He nodded again.
She looked back at herself. "But how... I don't even understand how the animals gain this Ability, but at least they are from this world, so there may be a link! But I'm not! I'm an alien! I have nothing to do with Popstar! So... HOW?!"
A paw pressed on her mouth, silencing her. When she looked, Rick was looking at her before he shook his head, as if to say "Don't question it, just accept it."
Sweetie gave him a deadpan look, then sighed. "You are right. Let's just say 'it's magic' and be done with it. Actually..." She looked at her horn. "Maybe it's magic!" She groaned. "Too bad Twilight isn't here, she would have probably been able to find out... after freaking out about it." She looked at herself again. "Well at least it's neat. I wonder now what I may obtain with your other abilities." She then put a hoof on her mane to feel it, only to hit more stone. "Wow! Even my mane is all rocky, probably my tail too! I wonder if I can eat rock, now."
The animals looked at her with a deadpan expression, clearly thinking, "Seriously?"
Sweetie saw their look. "What?" It made Kirby laugh.
Shaking their head, they turned back toward where they wanted to go, taking back their position around Sweetie Belle. Rick waved for them to move, and the group's journey on Iceberg finally started.
If only her turning into stone could also protect her from the cold. Hopefully, she will not catch something. She will definitely ask for a scarf once Dedede is awake and less evil!
One of these things flying with a propeller was their first encounter. It started to charge at them once they approached too much, and Sweetie shot it before it got too close, being the only one that was actually able to deal with it without taking its explosion. That was followed by one of these hedgehogs that gave the Needle Ability. As soon as they got close, it got on its belly and spread its spikes around to protect itself. Sweetie then thought about testing something, so she passed Rick and stopped before the hedgehog. Raising her right hoof, she then punched it, without even being hurt by the spikes, actually sending the hedgehog flying right into the Bouncy behind it. Sweetie looked at her hoof with a big smile. "Yay!"
Rick whistled and waved a paw, feeling for the poor hedgehog that must have a concussion now.
"S-Sweetie Belle?!" suddenly screamed a voice from above. When they looked up, they saw a Waddle Dee on a bridge, shocked. "Sweetie Belle, is that you?"
Sweetie Belle gasped. "Is that you Waddle Dee? Oh my gosh! I'm so happy to see you again! Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah... But... What..."
"I'm glad! Hey! Look!" She waved at her body. "I'm now made of stone! When Kirby rides on me, I can use his Abilities! Like Rick, Coo, and Kine!"
"That... That's good... Hum... Imustgoitwasnicetoseeyouagain!" He then ran away, screaming, "We are even more doomed! Fly, you fools!" They then saw a Sparky jumping from another bridge above before running away too.
That made Sweetie pout. "Oh come on! What a drama queen! I wasn't going to punch him too hard! He is my best friend, and we were okay that we would fight as if I was training! Mph!"
The others could only sweat. "P-poyo..."
They didn't encounter any enemies for several seconds before crossing a lonely Flamer after destroying a few blocks. Before the Flamer could charge at them, Kirby quickly gave up his Rock Ability, giving back to Sweetie Belle her normal appearance, before eating the Flamer for his fire, thinking that it could be useful in this island. With the Fire, not only he gained the hat, but Sweetie's mane and tail caught fire too!
"Wha- WAAAAH!! I'm on fire! Water! Quick! Quick!" She ran around in panic, jumping off the bridge on which they found the Flamer, tapping the fire on her head to try to stop it, without success, Kirby clinging to her neck for dear life. But then, she realized something. The fire didn't hurt! "Oh right! Fire Ability! Kirby is riding me! So I have Fire Ability too!" She gasped. "Does that mean I can spit fire?!"
"Poyo!"
"Wait Kirby, I must see!" She took a big breath, only to spit nothing, to her disappointment. "Aww..." But then, Kirby tapped her head to gain her attention. When she looked at him, he pointed at her horn. "Wait, my horn? Of course!" She then pointed her horn before her and concentrated like she did when she used her beams. Before long, a fireball was shot from her horn! She then screamed, "That's awesome!"
A sudden chill creeped Kirby's and the animals' backs, having the feeling that they unleashed a beast. Did she still need to be protected?
At least she stopped thinking about the giant fish almost eating her.
At the same time, far enough, Waddle Dee spied the group with binoculars. He said, "We are SO doomed... Maybe I should go say to everyone to go hide..."
Broom Sunglasses, also with binoculars, and eating popcorns, then said, "No need. Let her have her fun. If what I heard about what she has done in the forest is true, then it should be funny. This filly has great potential! Now just sit down, take some popcorns, and enjoy."
"But..." Waddle Dee started to say, only to be hit by a broom.
"I said enjoy."
Waddle Dee sighed. At least, I warned everyone around. I hope they will spread the word. He then turned to Broom Sunglasses. "What is it about the forest?"
Broom Sunglasses chuckled. "Ooh boy. What a story."
Sweetie and the others passed under the earlier bridge, approaching a door, only to have a bad surprise in the form of blocks of snow disappearing under them. Coo quickly caught Kine who almost fell. Now watching on what they walked, they entered the door to a small tunnel leading to some blocks of ice. Sweetie Belle immediately understood what she must do, and shot a fireball, melting the blocks and opening the way. Behind them was a small room with another bag.
Opening it, they discovered the same blue blob that they saved in the forest. Like previously, he licked them one by one, ending with Kirby, before jumping away, now spitting fire.
...
"Wait. Is he copying your Ability by licking you, Kirby?"
"Poyo..."
They got out and continued only to encounter nothing for a while, excepted a Propeller that Sweetie beat without problem, and a Shotzo, a living cannon that were numerous in Dedede's castle. Sweetie remembered thinking they were normal cannons, until she saw one of them move alone. Like the Gordos, they were pretty much invincible, so they had no choice but to avoid it. Luckily, the next door was just before it.
Taking it, they reached a new area where they were welcomed by a penguin spitting ice at them. Kirby quickly jumped on Rick so he could spit fire back and cancel the ice until the penguin stopped. He then jumped back on Sweetie Belle while Rick punched the penguin. Too bad, she would have loved to see what it would have been with the Ice Ability. Would her mane and tail become ice and would she be able to shoot ice balls? It would be cool!
The area was full of these penguins, but with Sweetie Belle raining fireballs on them, and avoiding the snow blocks, they had no problem reaching the next door. Guarding it was a Sir Kibble, so Sweetie thought it was the occasion to see how she was with the Cutter Ability, but Kirby refused to eat it, so Sweetie had no choices but to burn it.
The door led to an area guarded by a big, living grey block with a face and two feet. The block then jumped, trying to crush them under it. They avoided it, and Sweetie shot fireballs, nobody wanting to try their luck at punching it. The block then charged at her, but thankfully, it was slow, so she didn't have any problem avoiding it. A few more fireballs, and it stopped moving, falling on the ground. That opened the next door.
They ended up on a platform, below them were slopes. Just above them, on a block, was a Rocky. Everyone understood what had to happen next. So Kirby gave up the Fire and took the Rock before jumping on Rick. Now with the form of a round rock, Rick started to roll down the slopes, crushing all enemies they encountered, followed by Sweetie Belle and Coo, the last one having Kine in his claws. Many slopes later, they reached the bottom where there was another door, which they took after Kirby jumped back on the filly, turning her into her Rock form.
In the next area, a strong wind pushed them forward, the only one able to resist it being Coo. In the way, they had to jump on blocks to avoid the two chicks and the Cappy that were between them. Sweetie destroyed some more blocks, revealing that they were coming close to a hole where they had to jump on a small pillar to pass it. Rick took Kine in his arms, ran toward the hole, and was able to jump on the pillar before jumping again, landing on the other side of the hole, some blocks stopping them from being pushed further by the wind. Seeing her turn quickly coming, Sweetie gulped, regretting not having wings like Coo, before jumping. She quickly saw that she jumped too far, passing above the pillar, but not reaching the other side of the hole.
"Oh no!"
Kirby didn't lose time, clung himself to Sweetie, and inflated. The two of them started to float, with Kirby leading them to join Rick and Kine while Coo placed himself under Sweetie just in case. They landed beside Rick, who took the trembling filly in his arms while Kirby pat her back.
"Thank you, Kirby," Sweetie Belle said. It was the second close call! The journey was really starting to become dangerous. She had to pay a closer attention to everything, or else... She gulped, trying to regain courage, before saying, "L-let's go."
They looked at her for a few seconds and nodded. Rick let her go before turning and destroying the blocks. They then reached a wall of indestructible blocks, forcing them to jump on them. Still pushed by the wind, they barely had time to jump again to avoid the snow blocks and the Broom Hatter that was somehow able to walk on them without destroying them. They landed on other indestructible blocks and jumped again to avoid more snow blocks with a Kabu on them. The process repeated another time, this time with an hedgehog.
After that, they finally reached a place where the wind was not as strong, but still too strong to let them walk back. They were between floating indestructible blocks before and behind them, with doors on them. They now had to choose. The problem was that the wind stopped them from reaching the first door. Coo being the only one able to reach it, he will have to carry everyone one by one.
Not knowing which door to take, and if one of them lead to the Rainbow Drop, they decided to split the group in two. Coo carried Kirby and Kine to the first door, while Sweetie hopped on Rick and the hamster jumped before the second one. After Coo was finished with his task, he came back to Rick and Sweetie Belle. The idea was that the two smaller groups will enter the two doors, and if one of them was a door without a way back, then the group taking it will wait the other. If the two were doors without way back, then... they will just wait about ten minutes, then continue the journey in their separate way.
Sweetie's group entered one of these rooms with a bag and a more powerful enemy. Lucky for her, the enemy here was one that she knew very well: the brown parasol.
The parasol seemed to be a different one than the one they beat because it clearly didn't recognize her. It attacked directly by spinning toward them only for Sweetie to stop its attack with a beam. Rick quickly got behind the parasol and took it in a bear hug, trapping it. Sweetie then charged her horn and released a charged beam, more powerful, that the parasol took right in the face. Rick then slammed the parasol on the ground, jumped, and fell on it with all his weight, crushing the parasol under his belly, defeating him. Their enemy beaten, Coo took the bag, brought it back to the floor, and opened it.
That blue blob, again! How did he get captured so quickly?
Well, at least, they saved the blob, again. Now they could join Kirby. Coo carried them one by one to the other door, and once done, they entered it, finding Kirby and Kine waiting for them in the other side.
"Poyo?" the puffball asked.
"Nothing. Just that blue blob that we had to save, again."
That disappointed Kirby, because it meant they still had to search the place where the Rainbow Drop was. He then jumped back on Sweetie, turning her into stone.
The group united, they resumed their journey where Sweetie discovered that they were trapped between two walls of snow. The only way was up, by jumping on ice blocks, snow platforms sticking out of the walls or floating in the air, and ice platforms while avoiding stalactites falling from the ceilings. At the top, they found a door and a tomato that the whole group rushed to eat!
After the door, they found themselves in a small tunnel where the only way was blocked by Star Blocks. Destroying them led to a way down, and more blocks. After much more blocks, they found a door above ice blocks, and yet the tunnel continued. They explored further, only to find the way blocked by more ice blocks. They will need the Fire Ability.
Thankfully, the room behind the door had no less than six enemies that they knocked out, all of them giving a different Ability, among them a Flamer. There was also a Rocky, a hedgehog, a Sir Kibble, a green parasol, and a penguin. At that, Sweetie looked at Kirby with pleading eyes, seeing an opportunity. Kirby understood and sighed, accepting. Beside, he was curious to see too how Sweetie will use his Abilities.
Turned out Sweetie had been thinking right about the Ice Ability. It transformed her mane and tail into ice, and she could shoot ice balls from her horn. She could also skate on the floor, to her joy.
The Needle Ability gave her spiky fur all over her body except where Kirby was to not hurt him. Enemies trying close quarter combat with her will end up turned into cheese.
As for the Parasol, it made a parasol appear out of her horn, serving as a shield, the downside being that when it was open, she couldn't see before her. She was also able to use it to slow her fall, like Kirby and the Waddle Dees.
And finally, the Cutter Ability. With it, she could use her tail to send sharp crescent waves behind her. The waves had a boomerang effect, so after flying behind her for a second, they turned back and passed her to attack whatever was in their path before her. Thankfully, the waves didn't have any effects on her, as she saw after accidentally getting hit by one.
After testing all these Abilities, Kirby finally took the Fire one, and they got back in the tunnel. Sweetie Belle first destroyed the ice blocks under the door, only to end up in dead ends. So they took the remaining way, destroying the ice blocks blocking it, until they reached the end of the tunnel, and the door.
The next area was nothing more than a series of slopes where the Stone Ability and Rick would have done wonder. Instead, they passed it the normal way, punching and burning all the enemies they crossed, watching out for the Rockys and the stalactites. After the door, they ended in a small room with a new enemy and another bag.
"Again?" whined Sweetie Belle. "If it's this blue blob again...!" She then looked at the enemy. "Hum... Hello, mister...?"
"Frosty," the bipedal white walrus-like creature answered. He wore dark blue overalls and light blue shoes. No tusks on him, thankfully. He then turned around and lowered himself to do something, exposing his... naked buttocks...
"I... didn't need to see that..." Sweetie said with round eyes.
Thankfully, Frosty turned around, only to throw an ice block at them. Sweetie quickly got out of her shock and shot a fireball at the block, destroying it, then shot again at the walrus. He didn't like that because he then charged at them, rather slowly. Avoiding him, Coo used his claws to scratch his bald head. Trying to slap the owl, Frosty ended up crashing into the wall, and Sweetie took the occasion to shoot a fireball at his butt, making him jump in pain to the point that his head hit the ceiling. Back on the floor, on his belly, he was vulnerable to Rick, the hamster kicking him in the nose, stunning him even more. He was still able to get up and roar in rage, only to eat a fireball from Sweetie, which finally knocked him out as smoke came out of his mouth.
In the bag was the blue blob...
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us? You wouldn't get captured like that." Sweetie proposed. The blob seemed to understand her, because rather than jumping away, he started to think. After a moment, he finally nodded, accepting her proposition.
He then said something. "Gooey!"
"Is that your name?" Sweetie asked, and Gooey nodded. He seemed to be in many ways like Kirby. Gooey then wrapped his tongue around the unconscious Frosty... and ate him! After that, he started spitting ice!
"So he can really copy Abilities! He is like you Kirby!"
"Poyo?" Kirby raised an eyebrow. He really though that he was the only one with this Ability.
Let's hope that the guys he ate reappeared too...
The following area was another tunnel, this time with water. Gooey immediately jumped inside Kine's mouth, the fish almost shocking with how he hadn't expected that. But then he discovered that he could now use ice, surrounding himself with ice crystals. So Gooey could also influence the animals?
Well, anyway, they all jumped in the water (which was freezing!), Kine using the Ice Ability to freeze the fishes and Glunks that attacked them. Back on the ground, it was Sweetie's turn, using her Fire Ability to destroy the blocks in the way and burn the frogs behind them. They reached another water point with more frogs and Glunks, all turned into ice cubes by Kine. The fish also used the ice to destroy more blocks in the way, finding a way up to a room where there was a tomato, to everyone's joy. That was, until Gooey wrapped his tongue around it and ate it whole. Everyone stared at him for a long moment of silence, before tears started to fall from Kirby's eyes at having his favorite food stolen from him under his nose.
"Hum... Gooey... In the future, could you avoid eating the food by yourself unless we tell you you can please? We all wanted a part of that tomato," Sweetie said with sorrow, confirmed by all the animals nodding at him, disappointment in their eyes and Rick patting Kirby on the back.
Gooey sweated before rubbing his tongue against the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "Googoo..."
The second half of the tunnel being similar to the first half, it didn't take long for them to find the door. Back outside, Sweetie quickly used a fireball to eliminate a Propeller before they jumped on a big bridge with a few other smaller bridges above it. They encountered a few Poppys, but Kirby didn't dare to give up the Fire in case there were more ice blocks. Gooey decided to do it instead, giving him the Bomb Ability, which he used immediately to eliminate some of the enemies. Sweetie then looked at him with hesitation, before her curiosity won.
"Gooey? Do you want do get on my back please? I wanna see what the Bomb Ability gives me."
Gooey looked at Kirby, and the two nodded. Kirby hopped off of Sweetie, and Gooey jumped at his place. With him on her back, Sweetie began to test how the Bomb Ability worked with her. She used her horn, and a bomb materialized before her face before she caught it with her hooves. With an "Eep!" she immediately threw it as far as she could before it exploded. She did another test, this time not wanting the bomb to materialize before her, bur farther, and it did! She looked at one of the bridges above and was able to materialize another bomb on it! The main downside was that the bombs were smaller than Kirby's and were less powerful, but still! She could materialize bombs wherever she wanted! And because the bombs dropped, she could hit enemies hidden behind obstacles!
"We are so so SO doomed..."
"What? I love fireworks!"
They had to watch out when they reached the next door, because it was on a snow block. Sweetie, with Gooey still on her back, was the first to jump and pass it. Rick was the one following, jumping on a snow block a little below before jumping again to pass the door. Coo, with Kine in his claws, and Kirby just flew through it.
In the next area, they were immediately attacked by one of these black hedgehog things like Kirby and Sweetie Belle encountered before freeing Rick. The hedgehog jumped and fell back toward them like a meteor, forcing them to scatter. Kirby quickly jumped on Rick and the hamster started to spit fire at him, while Sweetie Belle materialized bombs after bombs. The poor creature didn't last more than ten seconds against the onslaught, opening the way under some ice platforms.
It became rather calm for a moment, not many traps beside a few snow blocks, and some enemies trying to surprise them from behind. But when they passed the next door after beating a Scarfy, they found themselves on snow blocks, Coo warning them of the danger. A quick jump later, and they saw that they did well because there were spikes under the snow blocks. Not thinking about the barely escaped trap, they started traveling the tunnel in which they ended up. They went up with a few jumps, they beat a few Sir Kibbles ambushing them, jumped above more snow blocks, and jumped again above spikes in the way, Sweetie exploding some Glunks at the same time.
After two rows of spikes, they ended up at an edge with two ways possible. They either went below or they continued before them where they would have to jump above a few more rows of spikes. They decided to go below where they had to destroy a few ice blocks before falling in a water point. Kirby going inside Kine's mouth, they eliminated two frogs and destroyed a few Star Blocks before revealing a door that only Kine could reach, currents stopping the others from swimming toward it.
They all looked at each others, questioning if they should take it or try the other way too. Kirby decided to take the risk and signed to Kine to go. They entered the door, only to get out a second later, Kirby smiling at them. Kine approached them, and Kirby signed them to cling to Kine. With the help of the fish, they all entered the door, into a room with ice blocks in a side, and Star Blocks in the other. They saw the walls and immediately understood where they were.
"It's one of these rooms with a Rainbow Drop!"
"Poyo!"
With Kirby still inside his mouth, Kine jumped on an ice platform and spat fireball after fireball to destroy the ice blocks, revealing a Rainbow Drop! Kirby didn't wait to take it, everyone jumping in joy.
"This makes four!" Sweetie screamed before turning to the Star Blocks. "I wonder what there is behind these blocks."
She answered her question by using bombs on the blocks, revealing a Gordo on a socle similar to the one that had the Rainbow Drop. "Seriously?"
They returned where they had had to choose a way and took the remaining one, avoiding spikes and snow blocks until they reached what was seemingly a dead end. Gooey then used his tongue on one of the snow blocks, showing that the rest of the way was hidden below these. After that, it wasn't long before they reached the door... on more snow blocks. And it wasn't hard to guess that these ones didn't hide some secret way or room.
Like before, the others let Sweetie jump first with Gooey, showing to the others that there were spikes under the blocks, followed by Kirby, Coo with Kine in his claws, and finally, Rick took a big risk by jumping directly through the door.
They appeared in a cavern with a high ceiling, facing something that reminded Sweetie of what Spike would be if he was obese. The creature was some sort of round bipedal dragon about the size of Dedede. He had light blue scales with a cream belly and teal spikes on his back. The problem? For a dragon, he was adorable! The other problem? He was roaring at them, showing them his fangs.
So, her first adventure, and she ended up fighting a dragon? Hum... Cutie Mark Crusader Dragon Slayer, yay?
Yeah, not sure about that. She already almost got herself eaten by a giant fish, and this oversized lizard had a rather big mouth. Well, if she kept her distance, she wouldn't be eaten, right? Yes! With her bombs, it should be a piece of cake!
That was until the dragon started to run toward them, mouth wide open, and there was not much space in the tunnel to avoid him. Sweetie started to panic, until she got an idea. She materialized a bomb just before the dragon's mouth. The dragon still running, the bomb ended up inside his mouth and Sweetie saw that it was gobbled, the bomb ending in his stomach. One second later, they heard a small boom and the dragon's belly briefly inflated. He then stopped, smoke getting out of his mouth. Kirby took the opportunity, got on Rick, and they attacked the dragon with fire.
The dragon quickly replied by spitting ice on the both of them, freezing them. The Fire Ability got knocked out, but Kirby was fast enough to get it back before it disappeared. They then stepped back.
So it's an ice dragon? It should have been obvious, with all the ice and snow and cold... It also means we have the right Ability, with the Fire.
Sweetie quickly got around the dragon, going at the opposite side of the tunnel. Coo dived toward him to poke him with his beak before having to fly back because of the dragon's ice breath. Kine jumped before his face and slapped him a few times with his tail before retreating too. Having enough, the dragon jumped high before falling back, Kine barely escaping being crushed. But somehow, that made stalactites to form on the ceiling before falling. Coo was hit in surprise by one of them, and Gooey took one too, protecting Sweetie. That got the Bomb knocked out of him, but he quickly used his tongue to take it back.
Before Sweetie could ask if he was alright, the dragon slammed a foot on the floor, making a stalagmite appear before him. With one hit from his tail, he sent it toward the filly who was hit, the attack violently sending her to the back wall which got Gooey a little crushed. Yet again, the Bomb Ability was knocked out. Lucky for them, the dragon was attacked from behind by Rick breathing fire at his back, which got his attention. The hamster retreated as the dragon breathed his ice at him, using his tail as a propeller to move forward, chasing them.
Meanwhile, Gooey yet again got back the Bomb, and Sweetie used one on the dragon's head. Coo, who took Kine in his claws, released the fish above the dragon, Kine headbutting him before jumping away. The dragon roared, then started to jump all around the tunnel, making stalactites rain. Gooey left Sweetie Belle to use his more powerful bombs to destroy a few of them, then attacked the dragon with another. Sweetie found herself having to use her beam, destroying more stalactites to save her friends, even if Kine still got hit.
The dragon then kicked the floor a dozen times, making a circle of stalagmites appear around him before he used his tail to send them all over the tunnel. Coo saved Kine while everyone else was able to jump above the projectiles. In mid-jump, Sweetie counterattacked with a few beams and Gooey threw another bomb before Rick took Kirby and threw him too toward the dragon. Kirby surrounded himself in fire and rammed the dragon on the head like a meteor.
That got the dragon to finally lose consciousness, falling belly first on the floor, almost crushing Kirby who had to run away. Everyone looked at the beast before approaching him slowly. Kirby poked him a few times to see if he wakes up, and confirmed that they beat him by raising his left arm with a big smile. Sweetie sighed in relief.
Wait until she says to Spike that she beat a dragon alongside a hamster, an owl, a fish, a blob, and a puffball. Still, that had been a tough fight.
Fourth island done, three to go. Next one: Red Canyon.