//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Rock-Solid Bond (Rocky) // Story: Kirby Star Allies: Friend Hearts are Magic (REMASTERED) // by The Kelduo //------------------------------// “And here we are!” Rarity, as the white quadruped with the horn and lavender mane was apparently called, led me to a mine where gems were sparkling everywhere. They shone brilliantly, but I personally prefer gems that are more dull, like the ones that decorate my hat. “Maud’s right over there.” She pointed deeper into the mine, where a dull gray quadruped with a dull gray mane and tail was mining away at a wall. “Shall I introduce you to her?” “...” I wanted to introduce myself, but I couldn’t. I had not yet tried turning into stone letters, let alone stone words. That meant I could not convey my name to Maud. So I nodded. “Then let’s get you and her acquainted!” We walked together to see Maud. When I saw her face, it was clear that we would get along well. Her plain expression wouldn’t look special to most, but to the detail-oriented such as myself, it hid peace and satisfaction. Or perhaps it was because she was solely focused on mining? “Hello, Maud! I would like to introduce you to a new acquaintance of mine!” Maud stopped mining and looked at us. “Hi, Rarity. Who’s your acquaintance, that yellow rock with the nice hat?” My first guess was correct. Even when she stopped mining, the look on her face was still calm and plain. “Why, yes, actually. This is Rocky, a friend of a rather odd creature who…” In the brief moment that Rarity paused, I could see that she seemed to be doubting what she saw. “...fell out of the sky for some reason.” Rarity began to nervously sweat, probably remembering that she needed to check on the Gim she put in charge of the boutique. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to head back to the boutique in Ponyville so I can see how everything’s going there.” She galloped off in a hurry. Maud looked down at me. “Hi, Rocky. I’m Maud, Pinkie Pie’s sister. Nice to meet you.” I didn’t know who that was, but Pinkie Pie sounded like she would be good friends with Kirby. I looked up and met Maud’s gaze. “...” Her calm, yet serious gaze was one of someone who used to live with a versatile family: the happy one, the shy one, the grumpy one, the mother and father who are well-versed in proper etiquette, and Maud being the calm one. How was I so sure? Because the eyes are windows to the soul. That’s why my relatives and ancestors and I don’t tend to talk: we let our eyes and body do the talking. “...I’ve never seen the type of rock that you’re made of before. Your texture and color reminds me of yellow sandstone, but you don’t exactly appear layered like sedimentary rocks. And you’re too bright yellow to be igneous.” Maud blinked. “You’re… not from the planet Equus, are you? Could you be from another planet?” “...!” I quickly nodded, not batting an eye at the name Equus, which must have been the name of this planet. Maud was quite the impressive sort. With just a short inspection, she concluded that I was from another planet. And she barely showed much surprise at all. “That’s interesting. I should get to know you well so I can learn about non-Equestrian rocks and minerals.” She took a pebble out of her pouch and put it in front of me. “But first, I want you to meet Boulder. We’ve been good friends for a while.” Looking at Boulder, I could tell he’s been through a lot. Maud must have rescued him from weathering or erosion. We need more creatures like Maud, creatures who care for and know the usefulness of rocks. They stomp out fires, endure storms to keep creatures dry, and provide solid foundations for homes. And then there was that one rock who bestowed water to a group of humans long ago. I snapped back to the present just in time for Maud to ask me, “Is there anything you do for fun, Rocky?” “...” Fun? I never really thought about that. All I really did before I met Kirby was what my ancestors did: walk around, slide, and fall… Come to think of it, I suppose there was something I did for fun. I led Maud to a cliff. I walked to the edge of it, and I turned back towards Maud. I nodded at her. She nodded back. I did something that most beings would never do if they wanted to live: I jumped off the cliff. Long falls are nothing for beings with bodies of stone. … … ...THUD. An overwhelming surge of nostalgia hit me. I remembered the thrill of falling off of tall cliffs. I hadn’t done that for a long time, because I lived in an area where there were not many tall cliffs: Falluna Moon. I used to live on Pop Star, a place where there were very many slopes to slide down and cliffs to fall off of. Most of my relatives and ancestors rolled and slid down slopes, but not Grandpa Blocky. He taught me how to slide, yet he himself never slid before; he was an active rock who much preferred to walk around. So how did he teach me? He pushed me down slopes with his feet. We had plenty of fun together. But one day, Kirby came along and battled him. Grandpa Blocky took quite a beating, and then Kirby ate him and gained his stone powers. I was very saddened and understandably horrified, so I ran away from the Rainbow Islands and went to see Papa Golem in the Mirror World, where he gave me a white and blue bandana for my 12th birthday. However, a few years since then, Kirby came over to the Mirror World for some reason. To my relief, he just passed by Papa Golem... but then a red Kirby approached and struck Papa Golem with a wooden mallet, flinging him to who-knows-where. Realizing that nowhere on Pop Star was safe from harm's grip, I rode a stray Warp Star to Falluna Moon, where Yggy Woods took me in. Then several more years later, I was with the local Gim and Waddle Doo, who were conversing about whether Yggy was related to Whispy Woods, when Kirby (wearing a red hat and wielding a staff) came to Falluna Moon with a Bugzzy, a Broom Hatter, and a Wester in tow. I panicked when the pink puffball came near, but neither he nor his helpers attacked any of us. Instead, he threw a pink heart my way. When it hit me, my eyes were metaphorically opened; I learned Kirby's intentions and primary goal. It was at that point that I realized Kirby didn't mean any harm. He dismissed the Wester and recruited me to aid him during his mission, which was to stop a trio of mage ladies and to find out where some mysterious dark hearts came from. Even though I didn't know why he chose to befriend me specifically, I accepted his offer anyway. Kirby's antics left me with several mysteries to be solved. Not a single day has passed since the Papa Golem incident when I don't wonder about where Papa Golem was launched, or where that red Kirby came from. And I forgive Kirby for eating Grandpa Blocky, but I still wonder why he did it. The only thing I do know is that Kirby is actually a hero and not a villain, which I learned from our very recent journey to the Divine Terminus. Returning from my trip down memory lane, I saw that Maud found me at the bottom of the cliff. She didn’t seem scared, because I wasn’t risking my life when I fell. “Good job, Rocky. That was a great fall.” I had a great fall indeed, just like the old nursery rhyme. They were fun to hear, but I was confused by some of them. How could a Grizzo jump over the moon? And why would several Poppy Bros Jr. live in a shoe? These are but a few of the many questions I have inside my head as I explore and learn new things.