As much as I wanted to go with Pinkie Pie, I knew Twilight had the right idea pairing me up with Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus seemed like the kind of pony who's really nervous around new faces, but she really brightened up when she first saw me smile at the group back when I woke up on this world. She must really care about cute creatures and animals.
Oh yeah, and she's a really gentle flier. Riding her was like riding my Warp Star, but softer and less jerk-y.
And much less likely to crash, as I learned when she slowed to a stop and landed quietly on the ground at an intersection in the middle of Ponyville.
"Well, here we are, Kirby," Fluttershy said as I hopped off of her back. "Ponyville is a nice and peaceful place where everypony gets along. I think you'll like it here!"
"Poyo!" I beamed. Now that things were starting to settle down again, I could finally relax and have a look around.
But where to begin? Just minutes after I had left Twilight's castle with her to fetch some apples, I discovered that Ponyville was a really big town with a lot of things to do compared to my home town of Dream Land. In Dream Land, there were Dedede's castle, the forest where Whispy Woods lived, and my home.
On the other hand, Ponyville had a boutique, a farm, a market, the castle where Twilight lived, a mysterious forest, a whole school made for the sole reason of teaching creatures the power of friendship...
"Huh?" I lost my train of thought when a sweet scent hit me. If I was a Pokemon, my evasiveness would have dropped twice, because that's how much I loved the smell. "Poyo..."
I must find out where that scent is coming...
Oh. That wasn't so hard. I expected to go on a long and hard journey like I did to rescue my stolen cake, but instead it was just coming from a crumb trail leading to a nearby house.
"Um, Kirby?" Fluttershy asked as I picked up one of the crumbs. "Don't you think that's a little suspicious? Usually when there's a food trail leading somewhere, it's left there either for someone to remember where they went, or to lure something. And I don't think you'd have to use a trail to get back to your home, so..."
I gave her a disappointed stare. "Poyo." I may be young, but I'm not that gullible or stupid.
I popped the crumb into my mouth, eager to savor the taste of... Gulp!
...
I narrowed my eyes. "Poyo..." Wait a minute... Really creamy texture? Pudding-like taste? Didn't bring back memories of my adventure that ended with an anticlimactic fight against a black star with an eye?
...That wasn't a crumb of strawberry shortcake. It was a crumb of strawberry cheesecake. Being a huge foodie, I can tell these kinds of things. Ask my friends, they'd say the same thing about me. They'd also say that I love strawberry shortcake, and that's a fact.
Which is why I ditched the cheesecake trail and walked off to Twilight's castle instead, with Fluttershy following behind me.
I thought I heard a door opening, but I shrugged it off. What really mattered was that Twilight's castle was safe and free of evil transforming bug queens, and I was gonna be the one to scout out the place!
"Excuse me, Kirby?" Fluttershy asked after two full minutes of me opening and closing doors. "Are you lost?"
I shook my head. "Uh uh."
"...Trying to find something?"
"Hmm... Uh uh."
"Not really? Well, then... why else would you be opening every door you see and looking inside?"
"Poyo!" I closed the door I had just opened, the closet, and gave the Pegasus my full attention. I stood upright with a serious face and paced left and right like a soldier. "Ha-tu! Ha-tu! Ha-tu!"
Fluttershy took a few seconds to figure out that little game of charades. "...Oh! You're making sure Chrysalis hasn't made it back to the castle yet, and once you've ensured she isn't here, you want to stay and keep watch for Chrysalis!"
"Yeah!"
"That's a pretty good idea. The castle doesn't have any defenses against bad guys, so having someone to patrol it would--"
Thump! Slam! The sound of something hitting the ground and a closing door rang throughout the castle.
We turned around to look at what made that noise. All the doors were still shut, but I saw a small object on the floor. I slowly walked up to it.
A toy microphone.
I had an idea. It was a pretty dangerous and risky idea, but still an idea. The kind of idea that adults wouldn't dare to think of, but that a young kid may think of right off the top of their head.
I inhaled the microphone and gained one of my favorite Abilities: Mike. I would usually take my time with a fun transformation sequence, but the possible threat of Chrysalis called for a quick change. I instantly donned a pair of headphones and looked at the microphone that appeared in my hand.
I gave it a couple of taps, getting a feedback whine from it. "Poyo, poyo..." Testing, one, two...
Suddenly, one of the doors swung open, and a dark brown colt with a lighter brown mane and tail dashed out of it and bolted off, his propeller hat barely staying on his head.
He had the right idea. "Poyo!" I pointed at Fluttershy, then waved towards the direction that the colt ran away. "Poyo."
"You... want me to follow him? Um, okay. I'm not sure what your plan is, but if you say so..." She did as I instructed, going after the colt.
A few seconds after they were both out of sight, I turned to the opposite direction and prepared my first tune. I replaced my headphones with a white baseball cap and my microphone with a megaphone. I took a deep breath, and...
"POOYAAAAHH!!" My songs don't always burst eardrums like this, but they can if I want them to.
For my next earsplitting song, I returned to my headphones and desk microphone. I turned back to where the two ponies ran off, and...
"HEYAAAAAHHH!!!"
Before my final scream, I headed further into the castle. I went straight for the room that I thought was the closest to the center, and that was the Map Room.
I jumped onto the map table, and I changed into a spiky green Mohawk and grabbed a stand microphone.
To prepare for my grand finale, I crouched down and held my left hand outwards, towards the ceiling. It was time for the countdown.
Three...
Two...
One...
I tossed the mike into the air, then jumped up and grabbed it before it landed.
"CHESTOOOOO!!!"
The deadly noise echoed throughout the castle for several seconds, seeking out eardrums to murder.
My hat and microphone disappeared along with my Ability as I regained my breath from that last song.
Several more seconds passed before Fluttershy and the young colt ambled back to me, holding their heads in dizziness.
"Ugh..." the colt moaned. "Probably should've just plain got out of the castle instead of fleeing to the opposite side..." Poor guy. If he was my friend, he could've joined me in a Fatal Chorus to avoid getting his ears hurt.
Fluttershy wasn't much better. "Oh, my ears... Kirby, you sure do have a powerful voice for that... Song Ability?"
I'd correct her, but she was kinda traumatized by the loud noise, so I instead just sheepishly rubbed the back of my head. "Poyo..."
After the two pulled themselves together, the colt started talking. "I still can't believe this. I actually got to meet the one and only Kirbay!"
"Poyo?" Did he have me confused with somebody else?
"I'm pretty sure you mean Kirby," Fluttershy replied.
"Nah, it's definitely Kirbay. Take a look at this!" The colt took out a flat, rectangular container made of plastic. On the front was a round pink creature with hands and red feet like me, but it looked fuzzy and had round eyes like one of Queen Sectonia's bug minions. Behind the creature were a bunch of costumed ponies and a young blue dragon riding a wave of water. At the top was some kind of title: Kirbay's Stellar Friends. "See? That guy's got to be... Uh..."
His excitement faded away as he took a closer look at me.
"...Oh. Now I feel pretty silly. I just thought that because you were round and pink and could copy powers by eating stuff, you were the same dude as this wingless parasprite in my game. So... What did you say your name was?"
"Kirby!" I answered.
"Kirby? That's really weird. Same powers, similar appearance and names, out to save the world... It can't just be a coincidence that you remind me of Kirbay!"
"Excuse me," Fluttershy said. "Maybe you should introduce yourself before you get too far ahead?"
"Right, sorry about that." The colt put a hoof on his chest. "My name's Button Mash. Nice to meet ya, Kirby!"
"Poyo!" I shook Button's hoof.
"Now, where was I... Oh yeah, I was gonna thank you for copying my toy microphone to use your Mike Ability! At first I just wanted to make sure you really were Kirbay, but now that I knew Chrysalis could be here, I realized the Mike Ability could be useful. If she was here, then she'd definitely not be around now because she would be scared off by how loud your singing is."
I giggled. He's not wrong.
"Still, I feel kinda on edge since there's the threat of Queen Chrysalis. And... Fluttershy, didn't you tell me there was another villain who's new to Equestria?"
Fluttershy nodded. "Yeah, I think his name was Hyness. At least, that's what the friendly newcomers to Equestria told us. You remember what he looked and acted like, Kirby?"
"Uh huh!" I opened the closet door and dove in. I came out wearing a white hooded cloak that covered me except for my eyes. "Po... yo...?" I spookily swayed from left to right, sending a chill down Fluttershy's spine. "Po... Yo! POYO!" Then I wildly failed my arms around, making the Pegasus hide behind Button Mash. "Poyopoyopoyo! Poyo poyo! POYO POYO POOOYOOOOOO!!!"
"O-okay..." Button squeaked after my impression of Hyness. "Eerie and mysterious, but easily angered and wild when he's angry... I got it!"
"Got what?" Fluttershy asked, coming out of hiding.
"I just had a crazy hypothesis. So Kirby's super similar to Kirbay, right? What if... he's actually the real-life version of Kirbay from another planet, and somepony caught wind of his adventures and inspired other ponies to make games and stories based on them?!"
"Games and stories that were changed to fit the culture and citizens of Equestria, and also because the ponies who apparently heard about Kirby didn't fully understand the whole situation?"
"Exactly! That's why Kirby's name was changed to Kirbay, and why Kirbay is a parasprite while Kirby is something completely different! And if my hypothesis is actually right..." Button triumphantly raised his front hoof. "The Equestrian version of Hyness is Roiall, a half-insane tapir who learned how to use magic while he was still with the magic tribe of the Ancient Ones! Whoo! Am I good or what? I just solved a mystery!"
"Poyo...?" I felt happy for the little guy, but I was still a bit concerned about his nonchalant reaction to the threat of both Chrysalis and Hyness.
"I have a question, Button Mash," Fluttershy said. "Why are you wondering what Hyness looked and acted like? That shouldn't have to be on the minds of little foals like you."
"That's where you're wrong." Button put on a serious frown and turned so that he faced the direction of the castle's entrance. "Follow me, guys. I'm a gamer, so my Kirbay know-how may help you..." He lowered the pitch of his voice. "...get ready for the next battle."