Upon defeating Yin and Yarn, Sweetie Belle has gone out of the castle to try their power while waiting for Kirby and Dedede to return from Patch Land where the knitting needles has sent them with the sock. Thinking that they may come back from this same sock, she has used Yin and Yarn to knit a chair where she has put it on. And as planned, not long after, as she has been busy knitting a giant sword because why not, her two friends have come out of the sock along with a crowned blue creature that looks like Kirby made of yarn.
His reaction at seeing what she has done with Yin-Yarn has been priceless.
Once the shock has passed, he has presented himself.
"Nice meeting you Sweetie Belle. I'm prince Fluff, from Patch Land. Good job in defeating Yin-Yarn."
"Thanks. Frankly, the fight has been rather easy."
"Hey!" shout the needles.
"Don't say the contrary you two! The fight hasn't lasted five minutes, and you didn't hit me once, even with Mega Yin-Yarn. Your dragon was a joke, and all you did was destroying the castle with your missiles."
"What?! He destroyed the castle?!" shouts Dedede.
"Not all the castle, but the treasure room has been destroyed, and the rooms around it have been greatly damaged, especially the room below. We sadly lost a few valuable objects. I could do nothing, they were firing missiles everywhere."
Seeing Dedede becoming red, the needles gulp. Dedede then grabs them and starts smashing them on the ground.
"Could you avoid breaking them please?" says Sweetie Belle. "I was thinking of keeping them."
Fluff looks at Sweetie Belle has if she has lost her head. "Why would you keep them?!"
"Easy. If we seal them, they could escape again and try to conquer everything again. We could destroy them but... For once, I was able to defeat a villain without killing them, so I would rather avoid killing them when I'm not forced. So I thought that I would keep an eye on them until we find a way to make sure that they can't do any harm ever beside killing them. Who knows, maybe I will find a way to get rid of their corruption."
"But don't you fear that they will escape or try something behind your back?"
"Don't worry. I will keep them with me everytime. And they already know that they must avoid angering me." She looks at the needles being beaten by Dedede and giggles "And now, they know that they must also avoid angering Dedede. And let's not forget Kirby."
"Poyo!"
"Beside, they could be useful in the future against more powerful villains." She looks back at Dedede. "You're done?"
Dedede breathes heavily as he stands before the half dead Yin and Yarn. "Yeah. I'm done."
She takes the needles in her magic, and puts them in front of her. "So, I suppose that you haven't heard me in the middle of being beaten, so I will repeat myself. From now on, you will remain with me, and you will not try to take over the world." She lights her horn, and half a dozen spikes of ice materialize around her, all pointed to the needles. "Understood?" she finishes with a sweet smile.
"Un...derstood..." say the two needles weakly, crying.
For now, to make sure that Yin and Yarn are always with her, Sweetie Belle uses a rope to attach them at her left side. With a rope not being that practical, Dedede proposes to her to make a belt, which Sweetie Belle will also use to attach her whip (that she has been keeping under her cape until now) and a paintbrush for when she will start using the ability she has learned thanks to the Magical Paintbrush. For the canvas and the palette of paint, she will have to find something else. Learning to invoke objects like Twilight does with her feathers and papers to write her lists would be the best. At worst, she will keep them on her back.
With one swing of Yin, the creations of Sweetie Belle disappear, and they go to the castle to rest. Dedede takes the occasion to see the damages and... Yeah... It's not pretty.
He sighs. "We will have to report the vacations at Dedede Resort..."
"No way my king!" shouts Bandana Dee who has joined him. "Leave the repair to us! You and Sweetie Belle and Kirby need those vacations!"
"What about you?" asks Sweetie Belle.
He waves dismissively at her. "Next time. I can wait. WE can wait. Right guys?!" he asks the other servants around them.
"Yeah!!!"
She sighs. "You will not change your mind...?"
"No!!!"
"If you say so, then I will leave the castle to you," says Dedede. "Tomorrow, we will go to Dedede Resort!"
At dinner.
"So you and Kirby fight bad guys like Yin-Yarn regularly?" asks prince Fluff.
"Yes," answers Sweetie Belle. "To tell you the truth, Yin-Yarn was the easiest bad guy we have ever fought. I mean, I fought him by myself, and I'm the weakest of the heroes around here. When I fight bad guys, I'm always helped by Kirby. And yet, I won alone, and I didn't have to go all out."
"Nice for our pride..." comments Yarn.
They hear Dedede huff. "You don't give yourself enough credits. Remember you put-up a good fight against Kirby the other day. You are becoming almost as good as me."
"And one day, I will surpass you," she replies to Dedede before looking back at Fluff. "And you, you helped Kirby in his adventure in Patch Land. You must be strong too."
"Of course!" he shouts before taking a proud pose. "I'm the prince of Patch Land after all. It's my duty to be strong to protect my kingdom." He then frowns. "If Yin-Yarn hadn't taken me by surprise, I'm sure that I could have beaten him."
"Me too," says Dedede. "He got me because he took me by surprise. That coward. In a fight, I would have crobbered him."
"With how weak he was, it's no wonder that he was using cowardly tactics to get rid of threats," says Sweetie Belle as she hears the needles say "Ouch..."
"Yeah, no wonder," says Fluff.
"But Fluff, with how strong you are, will you help us fight the Dark God if he appears one day?"
"The Dark God?" asks Fluff.
They then hear the needles laugh. "Fight the Dark God?" shouts Yin. "Don't make us laugh! We are just insects compared to him!"
"Yeah! Fighting him would be suicide!"
"Hush you! Well, you see Fluff..." She explains to Fluff everything about the Dark God, precising that he is also indirectly responsible for Yin-Yarn. "So you see. One day, the seal may break, and we may have to fight him. That day, we will need as much powerful friends as possible. So, will you join us?"
Fluff raises his left arm fiercely. "You don't need to ask the question! From what you said, if this God breaks free, then the whole universe will be threatened! So as the strong protector of Patch Land, it's only natural that I join the fight!"
"Poyo!" shouts Kirby in joy.
"The day it happens, just use the sock to come to me, and I will follow you."
He is hugged by both Kirby and Sweetie Belle.
Prince Fluff returns to his world just after, using the sock, leaving it to Kirby who takes it back to his home. This night, Sweetie Belle makes sure to attach Yin and Yarn, and because we are never too cautious, she attaches them at opposite sides of her room. The next day, at sunrise, Kirby, Sweetie Belle, and Dedede get on a boat, direction the Popopo Islands, and Dedede Resort.
"Hey, you two, how about I show you what awaits you in the resort?" proposes Dedede on the bridge.
"Poyo!"
"Yes!"
Dedede nods happily before he whistles, calling a couple of Waddle Dees bringing a screen. "Then watch!"
The screen turns on, and it shows a beautiful island with a giant lake inside it. They can see many smaller islands inside the lake, including a big one at the center where there is a castle and a snowy area at one of the sides. The lake is surrounded by beaches as well as four domes in Dedede's image.
Then, they hear Dedede's voice talking through the screen.
"Welcome to Dedede's heaven on Popstar: Dedede Resort! In this tropical island, a ten stars hotel is waiting to make your stay the most memorable moment of your life! Everything here is made to make you feel like a king (or a queen) and to get rid of all the stress that you may have accumulated! Be ready to sleep in the most luxurious rooms, with beds made from clouds! And you will never get enough of the absolutely delicious local food! Only top quality! Massages, swimming pools, bubbles bathes, mud bathes, saunas, you will have the total! I never understood the mud bathes, but apparently, it's a thing..."
The screen shows everything that the voice talks about.
"Of course, the hotel itself is only the tip of the iceberg! You find the time a little hot, right? Then don't hesitate to take a dive in the clear lake surrounding the hotel to explore and observe the aquatic fauna and other wonders, including a sunken ship! Or you can visit the snowy area at the north, where you could do some skiing, or simply build a snowman. If you are lucky, you could even find the legendary ice monster! Just don't get too close to it if you want to live..."
At this, the screen shows the silhouette of a dangerous bipedal monster with what is clearly a big chin.
"And for the ones that love playing games, and especially games where you can eat, be ready to test your skill at catching bubbles full of fruits! Unless you prefer playing with the giant pachinko board where YOU play the role of the ball? And this wouldn't be a tropical resort without some surfing! And there are more! You are convinced? Then come! And let's pass a good time at Dedede Resort! Dedede approved!"
At this, the screen turns off.
Dedede looks at Sweetie Belle and Kirby with a smirk, seeing the puffball drooling and the filly with a huge grin. "So, now you can't wait to reach the resort, uh?"
"Yes!" shouts Sweetie Belle before she starts bouncing. "Yeyesyesyesyes! I know that I will try to find that ice monster! And I will definitely explore that sunken ship! And I can't wait to try a cloud bed! Scootaloo has always told me that they are the best!"
The rest of the journey is spent with the filly talking excitedly about the resort.
By the time they reach the resort, Sweetie Belle just can't hold herself in place, to the point that she is the first to get out of the ship before it even reaches the coast, flying away thanks to a shield platform, much to Dedede's amusement. Following her example, Kirby inflates and flies toward the island.
Barely she reaches the coast, and Sweetie already searches where she can do the surfing game. Quickly spotting a sign, she enters the dome beside it, and finds herself on a bigger Warp Star that can't really fly, only glide, but at least, she can jump with it before gliding to avoid obstacles and reach what is in the air above the lake. While playing, she obtains strange little gold coins, one of them glowing with a rainbow light.
When she asks Dedede about this once he reaches the coast, he answers this:
"Those are medals. The servants found some here and there in the island while we built the resort. I don't know where they come from, or why this one is glowing rainbow, but I thought that they would make good prices for the games. I'm also sure that there are more hidden in the island."
Sweetie's smile grows at this. "Really? Then I will find all of them! Cutie Mark Crusader, treasure hunter! Yay!"
"Hey there!" Dedede grabs her tail before she can run away. "Before you start exploring the wild that is certainly full of dangers -remember the ice monster?- you should first take a few days to rest and have fun with what the resort proposes."
She laughs sheepishly at him. "You are right."
The next day, Rarity receives an envelope, and she immediately knows that it is from Discord, and so, probably from her sister. Opening it, she finds out that the envelope contains a letter along with a few photos showing Sweetie Belle having what seems to be a very luxurious spa time. Other photos show her sleeping on what must be a really comfortable cloud bed, drinking a cocktail in a bubble bath, surfing, skiing, eating a juicy melon, and so on.
Wherever she is, Rarity wants to join her! Now she is jealous! This spa must be as luxurious as the ones in Canterlot, maybe even more!
All the photos have mini-Discord at the front despite clearly holding the camera that has taken the photos, smiling smugly and doing a peace sign with his fingers.
Strange way to take photos.
She then reads the letter.
Fun time at Dedede Resort! You mad?
Discord.
A royal tropical resort! She's on vacation in a royal tropical resort! Well, she is happy for her sister. After all she has gone through, that's what she deserves. But still! A royal tropical resort! Not even Celestia and Luna have one! This must be beyond luxurious! This... This...
"Discord! You dare making me jealous! This is ON!"
Maybe she should have a word with Twilight about... No! No! She will not use her friend's title! But... A royal tropical resort... No! No means no! Oh... Her sister is so lucky... But no! She will resist! The spa at Ponyville is already good enough! But they don't have bubble baths...
Why are you torturing me like that Discord?
Because this is funny.
OUT OF MY HEAD!!!
For the first few days, Sweetie Belle mainly rests, eating the delicious fruits, playing fun games, having a good time, and finding or gaining medals here and there, sometimes with the help of Kirby. When the fourth day starts, she has found a total of 29 medals, including 7 rainbow medals. 14 in or around the four domes, 5 on the shore or in the water beside the shore, 5 more in the sunken ship which has been nice to explore despite the few mummy creatures living in it, and 5 others in the hotel. She is sure that there must be more in the snowy area and in the lake, as well as in that big teetering tree that is beside the hotel.
So, with Kirby, they start exploring those areas, starting with the lake, where they end up finding 5 more medals while exploring an underwater cavern that has been full of dangerous giant eels trying to eat them, including a big one that has seemed made of stone and that they have been forced to kill. Seeing how this cavern is dangerous with those eels, Sweetie puts a sign at the entrances to warn the visitors.
While exploring the teetering tree, which has been hollow, they find three more medals, but they end up making the tree fall. Thankfully, they can fly, or else, they would have fallen with it. Also, Dedede hasn't minded the destruction of the tree. He has known that the tree would fall sooner or later, so he has mainly used it as a temporary attraction.
Finally, the snowy area at the north of the hotel. 10 medals are added to the collection, but they have had to fight the famous ice monster, some kind of T-Rex made of ice, in a cavern. A few streams of fire in the face, and he has left them alone. Sweetie Belle still puts another sign at the entrance of the cavern.
By the end of the day, they possess a total of 47 medals, including 11 rainbow medals. Good treasure! And they have made the resort safer at the same time.
Strangely, in their exploration, they have found white keys with skull-shaped heads. Upon touching them, portals have opened and have sucked them into dark areas where they have been assaulted by creatures with skull heads on black and purple clouds. Thankfully, those things are weak, and each time, it hasn't taken long for Kirby and Sweetie Belle to eliminate all of them and take the skull chests that they protected, containing medals.
Despite those things being so weak, their number worries Sweetie Belle. Are they a new threat?
The next day, Sweetie Belle decides to explore the other islands, bringing Kirby and a bag with her. The Popopo Islands is an archipelago possessing four main islands, Dedede Resort being one of them. The other islands are a volcanic island named Volcano Valley, a deserted island with ruins named Sandy Canyon, and an island full of grasslands and forests named Green Grounds. She leaves Volcano Valley for later, wanting to explore the most dangerous island last, and starts with Sandy Canyon, because it's another occasion to explore ruins!
Funny how desert areas always have ruins.
Many hostile creatures live in that island, including those mummy things that can revive if the bandages that compose their bodies aren't destroyed. They also have to avoid quicksands, crushing block-like beings, and dangerous sandstorms, but nothing too hard for the two veteran explorers. A few mechanical enemies, remains of that lost civilization, try to stop them, including a giant robotic gear and a giant robotic claw, but they are nothing compared to the likes of the Heavy Lobster or the robot fought in the human world, so they are destroyed in barely one minute. Sweetie Belle is thankful for Kirby to be here, because there are some medals that she couldn't have obtained by herself, like the one where they have had to eat floating green apples forming the word MEDAL to make appear. With the apples being almost as big as her, she could have eaten only two, three if she had forced herself. But for Kirby, that's nothing. Also, they find more of those skull keys, forcing them to fight more of those skull things. In an area close to the center of the island, they end up saving a bunch of chicks captured by flying egg-like creatures for some reason, and their mother, a big spherical yellow bird with a red crest and wearing blue overalls, happily helps them reaching the center of the island to thank them.
At the center of the island, they don't find any medals, but encounter Lady Ivy, the queen of this desert. She is a plant that looks like a snake with a body made of green, thorny spheres, and has a pink head with big tan lips, and eight-pointed leafs around her eyes. At first look, she also possesses a hat, but it turns out that it is actually a red petalled flower with a yellow middle. For some reason, she lives under a seesaw. Thankfully, she is not hostile, and welcomes them happily. She reminds Sweetie Belle of her sister Rarity, but much more talkative, spending hours telling the story of this island and the civilization that lived here. The poor lady must not have much people to talk to...
When the sun sets and they leave the island, bidding goodbye to Lady Ivy, promising her to come back one day, they return to Dedede Resort with a bag full of 49 medals that Sweetie Belle puts in a chest with the others.
The sixth day, they go to explore Green Grounds. But quickly, seeing how peaceful the island is, and how fresh is the breeze here, Kirby decides to go take a nap, leaving Sweetie Belle to find the remaining medals.
What a nice day today. A small breeze. Barely any clouds. Not too hot. The perfect time for Dedede to drink the best cocktail that his servants have prepared for him while lazing on a chair on the roof of the hotel, under a parasol, with a Waddle Dee playing some ukulele beside him.
Yes, perfect.
Nothing can ruin this day.
But then, a dark cloud covers the sky above the resort, and a sudden dark cackle resound just as dozens of skull things start to fly toward the island.
Dedede sighs.
Nothing can ruin this day, except a bad guy deciding to conquer the world.
Just his luck...
By now, Sweetie Belle has successfully explored most of the island. All that remain are the areas at the center. This island, despite its apparent calm, has reserved a few surprises to the filly. A dark forest, an underground area filled with half buried skeletons (and probably more that are totally buried), a fight against what must have been the husband of the miss mole that they have 'fought' in their adventure against the Squeak Squad (Gosh, I forgot to go talk to her!), and another skull key.
Before exploring the center of the island, she decides to return to Kirby to see if he has finished napping and if he wants to join her. But as she gets close, the sky is suddenly covered in a dark cloud.
"What? There was barely any clouds five seconds ago!"
"Well well well. It's sunshine and rainbows, and suddenly, everything is covered in dark clouds coming from nowhere. What do you think it means?" asks Yin sarcastically.
She sighs. "A bad guy is on the loose. I should hurry to get to Kirby."
Thankfully, she is not far. However, she sees a being floating down from the clouds in the distance, just above the place where she knows Kirby is napping. The being, with a body composed of the same cloud than the skull things, also possesses a horned skull as a head, with two curved horns at the sides, and a smaller, straight horn at the top. The skull seems to have three eye sockets, including one in the forehead, under the horn, but so far, she can only see two glowing red eyes. To complete this, the skull has a jaw full of sharp fangs. Strangely, he also possesses a round purple nose that seems out of place with the rest. The being possesses a necklace made of the same skulls than the small skull things, and two floating skeletal hands, the right one wielding a black staff with a purple jewel. And judging by his size compared to the distance, this thing is really big!
He's probably the leader, or the origin of those skull things that she has fought until now. Speaking of the skull things, many of them start to float down from the dark cloud in the sky to attack the island.
Welp, looks like they will have to suspend the vacations.
She takes Yin and Yarn and shows them the being.
"Hey! Look! THIS is a real bad guy!"
"No need to add more salt in the wound!" they both shout.
The dark being then points the staff down, and a black lightning bolt is shot from it at the ground, probably at Kirby.
"Oh no! I must hurry!"
As she runs, and approaches Skull-Head, a small star suddenly comes to her, and before she can say anything, the star disappear inside her.
"What? No. No time to ask questions. I must help Kirby!"
She continues running, feeling at the same time something inside her. Looking up at Skull-Head, she thinks about flying to him to attack him directly. As she is about to create a platform, she suddenly feels something shifting inside her, and the next she knows, wings appear at her sides, and her uniform changes to adapt to them!
She can feel it, those are the wings of the Wing ability!
Getting over her surprise, she starts using them to fly to Skull-Head. Wanting to gain speed, the wings then turn into jet wings from the Jet ability, effectively giving her speed. She then starts accumulating energy around her right hoof until she finally reaches Skull-Head, hitting him in the right eye with enough force to blow a part of the skull around the eye socket, propelling Skull-Head back a few meters.
Skull-Head uses his left hand to cover the wound and growls before pointing his staff at her. With a sudden move to her right, she is able to avoid the black lightning coming from it before she flies above Skull-Head, before she charges at him, a sword, the same from the Sword ability, appears at her side. Upon reaching the skull, she swings the sword, cutting the skull diagonally between the eyes, from above the right eye to below the left eye, before the hammer from the Hammer ability appears too and she hits the skull with it, crushing the small horn at the top and causing cracks to appear around it.
Skull-Head seems to have enough, because he flies back just as the smaller skull things start to attack her. Leaving the job to his minions, Skull-Head flies to the dark cloud and disappears in it before the cloud disappears.
Despite their numbers, a good fifty, Sweetie Belle quickly eliminate all of them with a few swings of the sword and the hammer, the sword covered in fire and the hammer covered in ice, while her wings return from Jet mode to Normal mode. When all the skull things are killed, and she makes sure that none are left when she looks around, before she flies down and lands with a relieved sighs.
And then, she is joined by ten small Kirbys all looking at her in a cacophony of poyos. The Kirbys are not even half her size.
"What?"
The Kirbys then start to shout 'poyos' after 'poyos' while doing various signs to try to talk to her. But she can't understand anything with all of them talking and moving at the same time!
"Hey! Calm down, please! I don't understand what you are trying to say! He- I say- Plea- SILENCE!!!"
This shut the Kirbys. She then points at one of them at the front.
"You."
The Kirby nods and starts to explain with poyos and signs what has happened, which is easy to guess. They... He was napping, and then, Skull Head came and hit him with this black lightning from his staff, dividing Kirby into those 10 smaller and weaker versions of him that can't even inhale anymore. Then, as Skull-Head started to attack them, she came and stopped him.
The star is also explained. It's Kirby's heart, as in, the origin of his powers. It seems like Kirby's powers, added to her magic and her mastery of her soul energy, gives her the ability to use all of Kirby's abilities when she wants, like with Wing, Jet, Sword, Hammer, Fire, and Ice earlier. She confirms that she can use pretty much all of Kirby's abilities by trying successfully various abilities that she normally can't use even with her magic or that she doesn't master yet, like the Magic ability, Ghost, Missile, Wheel, and so on. She can even use more than one ability at the same time, like when she has been using Jet at the same time than Sword and Hammer! So many possibilities! She could even use Crash! But she will avoid it to no hurt the Kirbys.
She can even inhale! Too bad she hasn't gained a bottomless stomach with it, making it almost useless.
The problem is that, with her getting all the powers, the Kirbys have nothing. All they can do is charge at the enemies and pummel them with their number. Maybe she could...
She passes Fire mode and touches one of the Kirbys. The next instant, the Kirby gains the Fire ability, even if clearly a weaker version.
She grins.
One minute later, Sweetie Belle, at the head of a small army of 10 mini-Kirbys with Fire, Ice, Spark, Bomb, Stone, Needles, Ninja, Sword, Hammer, and Cutter, starts a new adventure!
...
But where do they start?