"Princess! We came as soon as we got your letter!" Twilight announced.
"Good, as I've told you in the letter, this situation is very grave. Possibly a greater threat than even Discord, considering his intentions... This is Dark Matter, he's the one who told us about the situation."
She gestured to the black creature in the armor. He merely stared at the bundle of rope that Fluttershy was cradling. "....that... it's... kirby!"
Celestia looked at the bundle and took a step back.
"Ah yes, Princess... we found one of those 'stars' in the Everfree Forest.. and found this creature nearby... and it said that it's name was Kirby..."
"Dark Matter, is that little thing the Star Warrior you were talking about?" Luna asked.
"..yes... quickly... kill him!"
Fluttershy held him closer. "But he hasn't done anything wrong yet!"
"Besides scaring everypony in town." Rainbow Dash said.
"And robbing the entirety of the Farmer's Market." Applejack offered.
"Poyo!" Kirby grunted from inside the bundle of rope.
Celestia looked hesitantly from Dark Matter to the six mares. And then to the ball of rope. "...I want to see him and question his intentions first. I will not strike first."
"...but... the Star Warriors... already... struck first..." Dark Matter insisted.
"No. Fluttershy, please release him. If he escapes I'll deal with him myself." Her horn began to glow yellow. "I'm ready."
Fluttershy nodded and began untying Kirby. When Kirby was free he shook himself off and smiled at the Princess.
"Star Warrior Kirby... what was your intention in coming to this realm?" Celestia asked in a regal tone.
"...Poyo!"
Celestia raised an eyebrow and turned to Fluttershy. "What does that mean?"
"it... uh, we think it means 'yes'..."
Celestia narrowed her eyes and turned back to Kirby. "Can you understand everything I'm saying?"
"Poyo!"
"...is that a yes or a no?" Luna asked.
"Poyo!"
Celestia sighed and turned to her sister. "We aren't getting anywhere with this... Kirby, explain why you're here!"
"Warp Star!" He said proudly.
"Dark Matter, do you understand what he's saying?"
"...the warp star.... is a hellish construct... their vehicles..."
"Ah... the shooting stars... is he telling us how he came here?" Celestia bent down and lit her horn in a different shade. "This is a communication spell, understand? It will not harm you." She put her horn on Kirby's head and covered him in a soft glow. "Now then... why did you come here?"
Kirby smiled at her. "Star!"
"I don't understand.. the spell should allow him to speak our language perfectly."
"...Kirby... is... too young... his mind... is... too young...he is two hundred years too young..."
Celestia and Luna looked at Dark Matter with confusion. "What do you mean two hundred years too young?"
"Kirby is a baby." Fluttershy explained.
Celestia turned back to Dark Matter. "Is this the terrible warrior you told me about?! A baby, a little ball creature that doesn't come to my shins, and doesn't understand what's going on... that's the threat you warned me about?"
"...this... baby... has sunken battleships single handedly... has fought creatures with the powers to conquer the universe to a standstill... and has powers you and even he himself... cannot comprehend... and... he is a Star Warrior of the highest calibre... few could ever... reach the heights and levels of destruction he... has!"
"Poyo!"
The twin Princesses looked down on the puffball hesitantly. "But he hasn't done anything worthy of war yet..."
"If he is attacked... he will show prowess for battle... worthy of the greatest champions... in history..."
"Well..." The Princess said. "then the simple solution would be to simply not attack him."
Dark Matter's single eye fumed with rage. "No! He will destroy you for no reason!! Anything you do that will come off as mildly threatening will put your entire world at peril!! He is a terrible threat!!" Dark Matter practically screamed.
"That may be so... but he hasn't done anything like that yet.. Equestria is a peaceful land. We won't declare war on our visitors without being harmed in any way."
Dark Matter was now so angry he couldn't even contain his shape. The ponies watched in shock as the armor evaporated, as he became a huge, single cloud of darkness, a huge brown eye forming. "Mark... my words... the invaders from Dreamland... will spell your doom..." He spun in a circle and flew off into the sky. "Curses... I... will have to rely on...themafter all...."
☆☆☆
Braeburn brushed some sweat from his brow as he bucked another apple tree. He watched in curiosity as a gigantic apple rolled off from the top of the tree. "Whoa! Where did this come from?" He pushed the apple down the road to where several other workers were resting. "Hey everypony, look at this one!"
"Whoa!"
"That's a big one."
"We could make a big apple pie with just this one."
Braeburn smiled. "I think we should plant it."
"Plant it?"
"Yeah! Just think, what if this thing grows more giant apples?!"
The ponies agreed and they loaded the massive apple in a wagon, taking it to a good planting spot. As they came along they noticed a stampede passing through. "A little early today, are we chief?" Braeburn shouted.
"Apologies, Braeburn.. but we have something important for you to pass along to the Princess."
"Oh?"
"...in the desert, a massive object appeared overnight. It's filled with strange creatures, and they've been building non-stop since. They've already constructed a castle in the middle of the desert... and that massive metal object... well... I can tell it's damaged, but it looks menacing, it has huge spikes on it, and cannons... I would like you to warn the Princess... it might be a threat, my herd is steering clear of it for now, and we advise you to do the same."
"Well... I suppose we better get a message to the Princess... can you two plant the apple without me?"
"course' we can Braeburn. You go send a letter to yer' cousin."
Braeburn galloped back to Appleoosa and the buffalo went on their way. Leaving the two ponies to dig a hole and cut open the apple. They did the practiced motions of putting the seeds into the ground along with fertilizer and covered the hole with more dirt and fertilizer. Before one of them could even pick up a watering can though, the sprout had already forced itself from the ground.
"What the hay?"
They jumped back as the sprout glowed, becoming larger and larger. The sprout became a massive, colossal, full grown oak, but as the glow disappeared the two earth ponies noticed the gigantic apples growing on it.
"This... this is amazing! These things could be the solution to world hunger!" One of them said ecstatically. "They grow instantly and have tons of hue apples!"
"What should we call it? The Appleoosa tree?"
Then three holes on the tree opened around one of the lower, pointier, branches, creating something eerily similar to a face. It then yawned. "Hm..." It said. "Where am I?" It turned slightly to face the two shocked earth ponies. "What are you?"
"W-we're ponies..." said one of them hesitantly. "We're apple farmers..."
"And you've come here to take my apples?!" The tree shouted.
"Uh... yes?"
The tree's expression became angry and it sucked in a breath. The two ponies looked at each other before turning to run, but the blast of air hit them dead on, shooting them dozens of feet away. "You aren't allowed in my forest ever again!! I am the King of this forest! Whispy Woods!!!!" It shouted, and suddenly apples and strange spiky balls with eyes were fired from the canopy above Whispy. Large centipede-like creatures followed after. The two ponies got back onto their hooves and galloped for safety, the avalanche of strange things following after them. The ponies watched in horror as the spiky things exploded into nothing, while the apples planted themselves in the ground, sprouting more Whispies. The bugs either consumed the normal apple trees in instants or exploded as well.
As they got out of the orchard and back into town they watched as the fairly orderly and sparse orchard was quickly becoming a huge canopy of green, possibly rivalling the Everfree.
"Braeburn is not going to like this..."
☆☆☆
Dedede sat in his throne and looked over the desert. It was a boring landscape to be sure, but as long as he had his Waddle Dees and his castle, he was content.
Until he got hungry.
He got up from his seat and walked over to the massive elevator that connected the castle to the Halberd. He jumped up slightly and the elevator took him straight up. He came into the bridge and took a look around, he marched up to the sleeping blue puffball. A sly look crossed over his face and he checked around him again. Confident that there was no one to tattle on him the king inched forward, silently snickering, and began lifting the metal plate off Metaknight's face. The blue puffball woke up immediately and kicked him in the face. Dedede growled and grabbed Metaknight's foot, tossing the puffball across the room.
Bandana Dee and Sailor Dee were sitting on the deck playing cards when the bridge's main window exploded, the two minions looked up in terror as Dedede's rotund figure blocked the sun. Bandana Dee screamed as Dedede crashed through their table and through the deck. Sailor Dee sighed and threw his cards to the side. "And I was winning too."
"Oh whatever!" Bandana yelled. "What are we going to do?! King Dedede? Are you alright sir?"
The bird-like creature lifted himself from the hole, growling and fuming. "Metaknight!!! Get down here you... you... something... just get down here so I can clobber you!!"
Metaknight shot down incredibly fast, whipping out Galaxia and slashing Dedede as he came down. The King fell over, explosions wracking his bodies, stars firing off of him, before he simply fell over, dead.
Metaknight frowned down at the King and kicked him in the head again. "Walk it off you jerk." He hissed, pushing Dedede onto his stomach with some effort.
Dedede got up and shook himself off. "Thanks... ugh." Dedede winced as he cracked his back. "Did you really have to kill me?"
"You were being unreasonable." Metaknight justified.
"I tried to see your face!"
"I am a noble Star warrior, this mask represents my duty, my life of combat, my life far away from the lazy lifestyle of the other beings of pop-star!"
"...so, what, are you ugly or something?"
"I always thought he was hideously deformed." Bandana Dee added in. Sailor Dee pushed him.
"Take that back! Sir Metaknight obviously is ashamed of how adorable his true face is, since he wants to come off as a stoic and gruff soldier!"
Dedede raised an eyebrow and saw a blush in the darkness under the mask. "Oh? Hehehe... now I'm just more curious."
"Then I'll make you more dead!" Metaknight growled, spinning his cape around him and teleporting away.
"Hmph." Dedede sighed, turning to the two Waddle Dees. "So, what are you two doing here?"
"We were playing cards until you destroyed our table and lost half our deck." Sailor Dee said grumpily.
"Oh..."
The awkward moment was interrupted by another Waddle Dee, this one carrying a scroll. "Sir! Sir!!"
"What is it?"
"I have here for you a report from all over the place sir! Apparently a Whispy Woods has appeared in the desert thataway and it's growing... but it might take over the nearby town!"
"Huh? You found a town! That's great, I'll have to meet my new subjects immediately!"
"You might want to stop Whispy first..."
"Yeah, sure, sure... send a few Burnin' Leos and a few Sir Kibbles, I'm going to head straight to town! My subjects need to have the honor of meeting their new benevolent King! Wahahaha!!"
"Of course sir!" The Waddle Dee shouted happily.
King Dedede smiled and whistled for a Wheelie to come and pick him up. One complied immediately, arriving on the elevator the next second. King Dedede jumped in the air and landed with an 'oomph' on top of the poor wheelie, who groaned from the weight. "Waddle Dee? Where's this town?"
"It's right in that direction sir!" It said, gesturing to the southeast.
"Alrighty then!" Dedede said, pulling some goggles down from Hammerspace. "Let's go!!"
☆☆☆
Braeburn didn't even have time to pick up a pencil before he noticed the orchard suddenly springing to life. At first he was overjoyed at the sight, but the rumbling of the ground and the aura of anger that radiated from the new trees ended that feeling.
As soon as he realized that the forest was planting new trees on it's way down he had the entire town setting up barricades against apples, had them grab axes, and, though it pained him, had several ponies get ready to start fires. The first apple to reach a barricade sprouted immediately, creating another massive tree that had it's canopy reach over the barricade. His eyes widened and his pupils shrunk as a hoard of apples, centipedes, and spikes rained down from the tree. The ponies began panicking, and after the fourth tree in Appleoosa sprouted the efforts into building barricades were transferred into a town-wide evacuation.
Braeburn despaired. What cruel irony. A few Earth Ponies making a life for themselves in the harsh desert, surrounded by , at least at the time, aggressive buffalo. They spent so much work and effort into making an orchard there, risking their lives and careers by staying to build the town up from nothing... and that same orchard turned against them and drove them out of their home... but as the entirety of the town got onto the railroads and began chugging away from their beloved town a little filly shouted "Wait!"
The townsponies turned toward the orchard that had consumed half the town and watched in awe as the trees all turned red and began vibrating, stars firing off of them. Then it calmed down... and no more apples dropped. No more spiked balls with eyes, no more strange bugs. They had the ponies wait far away from the town, and then a group of the toughest ponies would go back and check if it was safe.
The trees were fine now. The faces were all depressed, and wouldn't react or say anything to the ponies pokes, questions, threats, or bucks. But the real surprise happened a few minutes later. Along the train track came a low whirring noise, and then a pair of the strangest creatures the town had ever seen came riding down the track. It was a large blue creature, wearing red robes and a bellywarmer, as well as a strange hat, riding a black rubber wheel with large eyes instead of caps. There was also a gigantic hammer tied to his back.
"Uhhh...." Braeburn began.
"Hello my wonderful and devoted brand spanking new subjects!!" The blue thing cried. "I'm King Dedede the benevolent, I just saved your town!" He stopped in front of the group and climbed off the wheel. "Well?"
"Uh... thank you?"
"You're absolutely welcome!! So, what are you all called?" He said with a wide, toothy, grin.
"Uh... we here are the ponies of Appleoosa... so.. you're the one who stopped the trees from spreading?"
"Yes! Well... kind of, it was done at my orders!"
The ponies in the group advanced angrily. "You mean you were controlling them?!"
"Uh..." Dedede looked nervously at the ponies. "Well, no! Of course not, Ah mean that my subordinates stopped the trees, all you have to do is kill the main one and they all die!"
Braeburn put a hoof on the tree. "Whaddya mean, die? This one's still kicking, in fact, all of them are!"
"Well of course they're alive now! They've had plenty of time to recover a bit."
Braeburn blinked.
"What?"