We will arrive at Canterlot in approximately five minutes.
"She's still out cold," I said. "What do we do?"
"Maybe this will work." Luigi pulled out a 1-Up Mushroom and fed it to my mother. 🎵 🎵 🎵
Heart Fist opened her eyes, slowly. "...Huh? Where am I? What's going on?!"
I explained, "Remember beating up Void Termina?"
"Yeah?"
"And escaping the battlefield?"
"Kind of, but I don't know what happened after that."
"Well, we couldn't escape the debris, so we must have gotten knocked all the way here, to the mystical land of Equestria."
"Ya fell right into one of mah apple trees," said Applejack, "and ol' Bandana Dee's spear hit it, knockin' ya outta there as well as a poorly placed apple. Hit ya smack on the head."
"I'm pretty sure this isn't a dream, so I'll try to prove it." I rubbed a Silk Scarf between my hands before poking Heart Fist.
Bzzt! "Ow! Okay, this isn't a dream."
I turned to the ponies. "Everypony--and Spike--meet my mother, Heart Fist."
"Nice to meet you, Heart Fist. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the princess of friendship."
"What's up? I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria!"
"Howdy, mah name's Applejack."
"My name's Fluttershy."
"I am Rarity."
"And I'm Spike."
We have arrived at Canterlot.
I exclaimed, "Here's our stop, Mom. Let's go." As we got off the train and headed for the castle, I filled Heart in on what was going on.
"But why those who know Kirby?"
Meloetta told her, "You'll see," with a smile.
As we approached the castle, the locals stared at us, either in awe, in shock, or in fear. Understandable, because we are visitors from another world far, far away.
"The whole gang's almost together." Lucario bounded to our location from behind. "There's just one member left."
"And that's me!" Keldeo was watching over us from the very top of the castle, and he leapt down to meet us. "So, Pummel, we gonna see the princesses or what?"
"I like the way this guy thinks," Rainbow Dash said. "C'mon!"
When we reached the gates, however, the Pegasus guards stopped us. "Halt! State your identities."
I was about to go first, but the doors opened and revealed, of all people or ponies... Kirby? "Poyo?"
The guards gasped. "Star Warrior Kirby, we have visitors. Are they of any familiarity to you?"
Kirby took a glance at us. Then he smiled. "Poyo!"
"The hero of the stars has spoken! Visitors, please allow us to escort you to the princesses." Hero of the stars? Kirby must have been a very incredible hero to get that kind of title.
Reading my mind, Lucario replied, "The Crystal Empire has Spike the Brave and Glorious, while Canterlot has Kirby of the Stars."
As we were led down a hallway, Meloetta told me, "It was incredible, what Kirby and his friends did. I know, because I helped him, as did your mechanical ally Roborygon."
"Yeah!" Kirby put on a big smile.
We found ourselves in a large throne room, where two thrones awaited us at the end. The taller one housed Celestia, a white alicorn with a rainbow, flowing mane. The shorter one held Luna, a dark blue alicorn with a dark, flowing mane. Surprisingly, Amy and Peach were there too. Celestia said, "Greetings, creatures from afar. I suppose you all know Kirby?"
We all nodded.
"Excellent. Do you know of the incredible feat that Kirby and his friends were able to pull off while in Equestria?"
I answered, "Twilight told me that Kirby and his friends took down the duo of Queen Chrysalis and Hyness. Wow, no matter how many times I say it or someone tells me, I just can't believe it. Was it very tough?"
Kirby looked away sadly. "Poyo..."
"Alas, it did not come without sacrifice." The last of my friends came in, as well as Discord. Roborygon was the one talking. "Rocky and Gim just couldn't go on."
I asked, "But couldn't you revive them, Kirby?"
"That's the thing. You see, due to Chrysalis transforming into a mighty Ursa Minor, Gim suffered damages that rendered him unable to revive, including a destroyed weapon and torn arm. As for Rocky, well... Have you ever seen an Ursa Minor use Rock Smash?"
"That must have been super effective on Rocky. What about NESP?"
"NESP wasn't there. He was actually waiting with Zan Partizanne for Kirby and Hyness to return. He eventually got bored and went over to Ability Planet, where all of Kirby's dismissed friends go to hang out."
"Well, that's somewhat a relief. Anyway, princesses, why did you want us to meet here?"
Celestia said, "Young Kirby here has done us a favor, so we want to return it. Let us start by asking: How did you meet, and what caused you to land here in Equestria?"
Prepare for a long story, readers...
I explained, "It all started when I discovered a strange, ring-shaped portal in my yard. After a bit of research, Heart Fist--my mother--and I went through it and entered the wonderful world of Pokemon! There, we learned to catch and train Pokemon for various purposes. After traversing some of the regions, I found the colt Pokemon Keldeo in the Unova region, being attacked by the villainous Team Rocket, who wanted to capture him for their boss. My Pokemon and I were able to take down Team Rocket and make them blast off. That's their signature way of being sent flying. And as always, they cried out, 'We're blasting off again!'"
Celestia chuckled, "Team Rocket sounds like quite the comical villainous team."
"True, but they were endangering my favorite Pokemon. Anyway, after discussing our goals and thoughts about each other, Keldeo wanted me to catch him in a Poke Ball, officially making us partners. Our bond was good then, but it reached its peak when we reached the lair of Kyurem, the Pokemon that Keldeo wanted to fight in order to become a Sword of Justice. That's because Keldeo, knowing that this may very well have been the last time we'd be together, chose to confide in me a secret that somehow completely coincided with my own. After I obliged to his request, our bond became airtight, unleashing a brilliant power within us known as Bond Phenomenon!
"One of Keldeo's mentors, Virizion, explained the transformation's effects before Keldeo and I proceeded to fight Kyurem. We had the advantage early on, but Kyurem found the weak point and struck it hard. It seemed like all was lost, until a surprising heroine rose to the challenge: Meloetta! She met Heart Fist after being amazed by Heart's Dewott's performance in the Pokemon Musical, and chose to become her partner. Meloetta's music empowered me and Keldeo greatly, so we could conquer Kyurem and become Swords of Justice."
"This is Kyurem." Roborygon pulled up a 3D image of a very large ice dragon. "And yes, this is his actual size."
Discord pulled out a stopwatch. "Wait a minute. A mere human being and a misfit unicorn defeated an ice dragon triple their size with music? Surely you jest!"
Roborygon took off the jester hat Discord put on him. "I jest not. Music is a powerful force that brings harmony, which induces friendship, which is magic. In other words, music is also magic."
I continued, "And that's how we maximized our trust levels. I met Lucario when he was given to me as a gift from Korrina, Gym Leader of Shalour City. After our adventures in the Pokemon world were over, we returned home, where we tried to keep our adventures secret. However, the portal never closed, allowing Pokemon to come to my home world, Earth. Therefore, Earth's inhabitants learned to become Trainers themselves.
"After a little while, Keldeo and I got bored. That's when I realized: the Pokemon world is fictional, so why not go to other fictional worlds? We decided to build a portal to visit the Mushroom Kingdom, where brothers Mario and Luigi--as well as Paper Mario--reside, and rescued Princess Peach from Bowser.
"Bowser was too easy to beat, so we came to Sonic's home world using one of those ring portals. While there, we teamed up with Sonic and Tails to beat Dr. Eggman's army of mechanical creations."
Rainbow Dash snickered. "Heh, Eggman!"
"I know, right? Anyway, we were completely exhausted after battling Eggman, so we visited Pop Star to relax. We immediately met masked warrior Meta Knight, who escorted us to Kirby's home after hearing why we came. After a nice meal, the swordsman challenged me to a duel. I used the Bond Phenomenon to gain access to a sword and engaged in a proper duel. Towards the end, Meta Knight knocked away my sword, so I used a powerful kick attack to finish. After acknowledging my skill and strength, he went to tell King Dedede about us. Kirby, on the other hoof, came with us to have fun."
Helix added, "And I met Pummel Fist in an attempt to vent my anger created by a dark past. I sampled the potion used to turn him and Heart Fist into Pokemon so I could become one myself. I then battled him but lost, even with the help of extremely dangerous villains Marx Soul and Soul of Sectonia. Then again, I'm glad I lost; otherwise, my backup would have taken over Pop Star and the neighboring planets."
Celestia suggested, "You do know you could've asked Pummel for advice on how to deal with your problems."
"I was corrupted by my emotions and couldn't think rationally."
"That's in the past. All that matters now is that you're on the right path."
"I am glad that they were forgiving enough to let me join them. I resolve to be an even better friend than before."
"That is a great resolution, Helix. Now then, how did you all fall here?"
"I'll provide the answer and proof." Roborygon displayed a video clip of my team taking on Void Termina. "This terrible masked giant is Void Termina, destroyer of worlds. Those star-shaped flying machines are created from a combination of the Friend Stars, star-shooting vehicles that are the embodiment of the team's wishes that is formed on a Friend Platform; and the Heart Spears that were keeping Void Termina sealed in the Jamba Heart until Hyness cast a spell that attempted to release the Spears but also accidentally shattered the Heart. The name of those machines: the Star Allies Sparkler! Pay close attention!" Team Kirby fired a massive laser at the eye on Void Termina's mask, shattering it and bringing the giant down, its mask coming off and revealing a vortex. "That was a textbook Team Star Allies!"
The gang went into the vortex and entered the giant's body. As I somewhat expected, Rarity was about ready to faint when she saw the fleshy... heart (?) of Void Termina, and Fluttershy cowered in fear. On the other hand, Rainbow Dash was staring in awe. Not at the heart, but at on-screen me. "Dude, is that you, Pummel Fist? You look awesome!"
I chuckled, "You bet I do. Or, really, we do. You see, that's actually a combination of me and Keldeo that occurred during Bond Phenomenon. It happened accidentally when I tossed both of my Thunderrangs--that is, my lightning boomerangs I got from the transformation--and they stuck together. Keldeo and I stepped towards it and simultaneously made direct contact as the Heart Spears circled around it, and boom! Instant awesome! Seriously, that is how you take our team nickname, the Kelduo, literally!"
Twilight smiled. "And as soon as I thought your bond couldn't get any stronger..."
Suddenly, handles appeared on the heart, and the team hung on to them, causing the heart to open and launch our team out. The giant's arms turned into wings, and its legs into a tail, and it began to fly around. Roborygon went on, "Let me tell you a tale of Void Termina. There was this God that gave its power to this civilization known as the Ancients, who became split into tribes: Magic users and science users. The magic users were considerably close to the God. However, a crisis of some sort caused the science users to fear the God. War began, and the victors were the science users, who banished the magic users and the God. The God became bitter from the negativity that resulted from the war and caused mass destruction, now known as the Dark Lord, the destroyer of worlds, Void Termina. A group of heroes rose up and sealed it in the Jamba Heart using the power of the Heart Spears. Now that Void Termina had come back, it was up to Kirby to stop him, with an army of friends." We brought down Void Termina and made its mask come off again. "Prepare to see the core of Void Termina."
Within the beastly body once again, there was a purplish floating ball with eyes and a mouth. Twilight gasped, "Kirby?!"
"Not quite. Kirby's actually theorized to be the embodiment of the three Great Forces of the universe that contains Pop Star: Heart, Soul, and Dream. The God created the Great Forces, so it seemed to come down to the Creator versus the created. The created won this ultimate battle... if he was the embodiment. But still..."
Discord laughed. "Oh, I just love how this guy keeps changing faces!" Discord began to change his facial features around. "First he's like this, and then this, then this..."
Roborygon stared at Discord. "If you keep that up, you'll end up like Jumbelina." We all stared at Roborygon. "You know, the Yo-Kai that changes people's--or ponies' in your case--faces? ...Okay, no one got that. Moving on, Kirby has had to defeat several of Void Termina's creations, including Dark Matter and Zero, often using an artifact such as the Rainbow Sword or the Love-Love Stick." He showed footage of Kirby using such weapons. "The Star Allies Sparkler is the most recent weapon used, obviously."
Void Termina emitted a bright light and expulsed us once again. The body disintegrated and ejected Void Termina's core. I announced, "Here comes the most awesome part of Kirby battling bad guys: a duel between Kirby's power versus the bad guy's power! In this case, it's..." We fired a great laser at Void Termina, who shot a laser back in its Dark Matter form. "...the Star Allies' Mega Friend Beam of Harmony versus Void Termina's Dark Villain Laser of Doom! ...I made the names up."
Rainbow Dash said, "Quiet, I want to watch!"
The Star Allies repeatedly shoved their laser at Void Termina, dealing good damage. Void Termina then fired its laser with more intensity, and it seemed to be winning. That was when Meloetta played Be a Hero on a violin, giving us the strength to fire a massive laser that completely overpowered Void Termina's. We did a fairy-like pose, holding our arms out like wings and standing on one foot, and energy surrounded the friends that had come to our aid. Our friends then charged into Void Termina, making it explode in bright light.
Fluttershy said, "That was a cute dance. Why did you do it, though?"
I grinned. "That was a Z-Move. Z-Moves are incredibly powerful attacks which look amazing, but they can only be used if you have two things..." I showed the bracelet on my left arm, which had a pink crystal in it. "...a Z-Ring and the necessary Z-Crystal. This is a Fairium Z, used to unleash Twinkle Tackle. Z-Moves take a lot of energy to use, though, so they can only be used about once per battle. And yes, the dance was necessary to use the Z-Move."
Celestia asked, "Was the explosion what caused you all to land here?"
Roborygon replied, "Not the explosion itself, but the collapsing battlefield that we tried to escape." We attempted to dodge debris as we flew away, but a big chunk of debris filled the screen. "We were knocked unconscious and must have free-falled into Equestria. If that is so, then Equestria must be in the same galaxy as Pop Star."
"And you want to return home?"
Keldeo said, "That's right, but actually, I'd kind of like to stick around for a while, if that's okay with you and my friends."
Helix nodded. "That wouldn't be a bad idea. It would be a chance for me to get to know the locals and learn about friendship."
"Fun!" Kirby added.
We all agreed on those reasons to stay.
Celestia said, "Then it is decided. You may stay in Equestria while we find a way to get you at least to Pop Star. Twilight, will you and the others show them around?"
"We certainly will, Princess."
Suddenly, a pink alicorn came in with a pink heart in tow. "Celestia, I have received word that a creature known as Kirby saved Equestria from Queen Chrysalis and a villain that Kirby seems to know, Hyness. He happened to fall in the Crystal Empire. Before he left to come here to Canterlot, he left me this. What is it?"
Celestia told her, "Cadance, that is a Friend Heart, the very weapon he used to defeat Chrysalis. Friend Hearts apparently cause whatever they make contact with to immediately befriend the thrower, as one of Kirby's colleagues told me. Because of their harmonic properties, they harmed Chrysalis. Perhaps he threw it to you to show his gratitude."
"But why do I feel no different?"
"You must already be his friend. Might I suggest you keep the Friend Heart as a memento?"
"I suppose I will. I am the princess of love, after all."
"*yawn* ...Huh? What's going on?" Mario's cap began to move, and eyes appeared on it. It transformed into a top hat-shaped ghost. "I knew I was in the presence of royal headwear!" The ghost bowed. "Cappy, hat extraordinaire, at your service, princesses."
Mario explained, "Princesses, this is Cappy. I met him during one of my adventures. He helped me defeat Bowser with his special ability, called Capture."
"Sounds cool," Rainbow Dash said. "What does it do?"
"Basically, when I throw Cappy on someone's head, I go inside their body to control them. I normally only Capture bad guys, unless it's an emergency. But don't worry, because it doesn't hurt those who are Captured. The only side effect is some dizziness after being un-Captured."
"That is quite a curious power," Celestia said. "Perhaps you could demonstrate it sometime. For now, however, it will have to wait. Why don't you go and meet the locals while we find a way to get you all home?"
I nodded. "Of course, princesses."
Twilight finished showing us around Canterlot and Ponyville. "...and here is my castle. Now that the tour is over, I suggest you split up, look around, and get to know the locals. I'm sure the princesses would approve."
Well, this just got a little more interesting.