Kirby stirred in response to something gently nudging him. Yawning the last of his sleep away, the pink puffball stretched his little limbs and cracked open his eyes. A pair of blue ones stared back down at him, blinking in surprise. Kirby opened his eyes all the way, allowing him to see the creature in full. It was bipedal in shape, with a head of curly, brown hair, light skin, and five-fingered hands. The creature wore clothing consisting of a white tunic and navy blue tights, brown sandals, a laurel crown around its head, and several shiny accessories of various colors and sizes.
Kirby tilted his head, regarding the strange, but probably still delicious, creature with childlike curiosity. It only stared blankly back at him for a moment before shrugging and holding out a hand in greeting, “Hi, my name’s Pit.”
Kirby looked at the proffered hand with a critical eye, judging whether it might be tasty. Finding it to not be very appealing, visually at least, Kirby turned his attention to their surroundings. From what he could tell, he wasn’t in Dream Land anymore, or at least no part that looked familiar. They were situated in a grassy clearing with a few scattered rock clusters, and a forest surrounding on most sides. A small speck of sunlight shone above the trees, bathing part of the clearing in a warm splendor which felt good on Kirby’s body. Rising above the trees was a tall mountain, and upon closer inspection, Kirby saw a collection of spires rising from the top.
“So, what’s your name?”
Kirby turned back to the snack, then spent a few moments digging his name out in the ground.
Pit shook his head at the attempt. “Sorry, but I⋯ kinda can’t read.” He sighed depressedly.
Kirby furrowed his brows and huffed. He crossed his arms and turned away from the snack, visibly disgusted.
“Hey, it’s not like I don’t want to learn!” Pit exclaimed. He sighed in exasperation and continued. “Look, I need to ask you something, have you seen Lady Palutena? She looks kinda like me, but taller, and has long green hair with matching green eyes.”
Kirby shook his head no.
Pit deflated. “Oh man, why did this have to happen?” He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Lady Palutena! Can you hear me!? Where are you!?”
No answer.
“Lady Palutena! Please, answer me!”
Still no answer.
Pit sat down, resting his head on his arms crossed over his knees. “Well, at least I’m not alone this time.” He turned to the pink puffball, who had started wandering around the clearing. “At least this thing isn’t trying to blast me apart.”
Meanwhile, Kirby had begun to search the clearing for a less annoying snack. It quickly became clear that there wasn’t anything remotely appetizing in plain sight, so Kirby decided to check behind the nearest rock cluster. Peering around the side, Kirby was greeted by the sight of another creature, sleeping on the ground. What drew Kirby’s attention, however, were the long green hair and shiny accessories adorning its clothes.
Kirby stared at the creature for a moment, remembering what Pit said about looking for someone that matched this description, before his face fell into an expression of resolution. Kirby waddled up to the creature and swallowed it whole. His mouth now bloated, Kirby headed back to Pit, the added weight making his steps sluggish.
“Woah, why’re you holding your breath?” Pit asked upon his return.
Kirby spat the green-haired creature out, coming out first as a small yellow star before transforming into the creature, which fell to the ground with a soft thud between them.
Pit’s eyes widened and a large smile spread across his face. “Lady Palutena!” he cried in joy. he bent down and gently shook Palutena’s shoulders to jostle her from her slumber.
Palutena’s eyes cracked open after a few moments, and she let out a little yawn before looking up at him.
“Pit, what-” she noticed the look of relief that washed over his face, “-is something⋯wrong?”
“I was afraid I’d lost you again,” Pit said. His face turned serious. “But yeah, something is wrong.” He turned his head all around them. “We’re not in Angel Land anymore, for starters.”
Palutena looked around herself, quick to realize they weren’t in her palace, or even anyplace she recognized. “How did we get here?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” Pit pointed to the pink puffball. “But we’re not alone.”
Palutena followed his gaze. “Heh heh, it’s pretty cute,” she mused.
“It just carried you to me in its mouth,” Pit replied, rubbing his head sheepishly.
“. . . I’ll pretend I didn’t just hear that.” Palutena straightened her hair while continuing to speak. “So, what’s its name?”
“Well, he wrote it out for me.” Pit pointed to the place in the dirt where the creature spelled out its name. “But, well, you know⋯”
Palutena read the name out loud. “Kirby.”
“Hiiii!”
Both Pit and Palutena jumped in response to Kirby’s reply, the puffball having joined them without either noticing.
“Geez, don’t do that again!” Pit cried.
Kirby responded by inhaling Pit into his mouth and spitting him out. The angel was visibly shaken as a result. Kirby waddled off again while Palutena laid a comforting hand on Pit’s shoulder.
“Listen, Pit,” she said, earning his full attention again. “Regardless of whatever’s happening, I need you to be strong.” She smiled softly. “You are my one and only Guard Captain, after all.”
A sense of calm washed over Pit’s features, quickly replaced by his usual jovial spirit. “Don’t you worry, Lady Palutena! I’ve never let you down once before, and I don’t plan on starting now!”
“That’s good to hear,” Palutena said with a chuckle.
Pit clapped his hands together. “Alright, so what’s the plan?”
“First things first, we, meaning you, need to scout the area.” Palutena followed up her statement by bringing her hands together and then drawing them apart, producing her staff in a burst of bright light, which she grabbed out of the air. The blue orb at the end began glowing, and Pit felt the Miracle of Flight begin to course through his wings in response. “Let me know where to guide you, and rest assured if anything goes wrong, I’ll bring you back here immediately.”
“Thanks Lady Palutena,” Pit said before taking to the air. Palutena sat down on the grass and used her staff to open a window in front of her that showed Pit’s point of view.
Meanwhile, Kirby had resumed his quest for a snack, having decided to check beyond the clearing. Kirby strode over to the nearest gap in the trees and slipped through into the forest. He then searched a large portion of the forest floor for something that looked tasty, finding nothing of the sort.
Determined, Kirby ventured deeper into the forest, eventually coming across a large lake. The water was crystal clear and the sun’s light made the surface shine with a reflective glimmer that Kirby stared in awe over, quickly forgetting his quest for a snack. Deciding a swim would be nice, he approached the water’s edge and tentatively tapped his foot upon the surface. Finding it to be of decent temperature, Kirby hopped in with a jovial cry, making a light splash. He slowly sank under the water, his eyes quick to adjust to the watery depths. Looking around, Kirby found the lake bottom to be covered with lots of plantlife completely alien to him.
Kirby swam for a little while, casually bobbing through the water, occasionally letting a small inkling of wonder as to where he was cross his adolescent mind. In the end, he decided, all that mattered was being someplace with plenty of food. Good food, not like the yucky snacks he’d met already.
Eventually, Kirby returned to the surface, breaching the water with a small gasp. He then began swimming back to shore, but hadn’t taken more than a few strokes when a swarm of bubbles began rising in front of him. Kirby stopped and stared at the bubbles, wondering what kind of creature could be down below.
His answer came in the form of a scaly, green head that peeked above the water’s surface with a low set brow ridge and small, fish-like eyes. Below the surface, Kirby saw a bipedal body attached to the head, much taller than him, swimming idle.
The two stayed still for several seconds, silently observing each other, before the creature reached a webbed hand out from under the water to poke Kirby in the forehead. Kirby frowned at the sharp feel the creature’s hand had, feeling a small slice of pain where it poked. When the creature continued to poke Kirby all over his body, he let loose a puff of air right into the creature’s face, momentarily blinding it, and allowing Kirby to pass it on his way back to shore.
The creature let out an angry growl upon recovering, quickly locating the pink puffball and giving chase. It had no trouble keeping pace, being such a highly-advanced aquatic creature, and managed to reached the shoreline a scant few seconds behind its target. Stepping onto the shore, however, meant losing its advantage. A small part of the creature thought about forgetting the puffball and returning to its home, but its voice was drowned out by the burning desire to show the little thing why it shouldn’t be trifled with.
Kirby waddled as fast as his little legs could carry him through the forest, his arms naturally sticking up on either side of him as a result. At one point he stopped to check behind him for the creature, only to hightail it as he saw the creature moving at a steady jog towards him, a fierce look in its eyes that made it clear to Kirby he would suffer if caught.
The two continued their chase all through the forest, eventually breaking out into the rocky clearing. Pit had returned from his scouting and was conversing with Palutena when he caught sight of Kirby running towards them.
“Whoa, what’s wrong Kirby?” he asked.
Kirby ignored him and instead continued past them without stopping. Pit and Palutena gave each other a look before they heard a furious cry from behind them. They turned around just in time to see the creature spring through the trees and make a mad dash toward Kirby with its arms outstretched.
“What the- hey, leave him alone!” Pit shouted.
He rushed the creature, tackling it hard to the ground, resulting in a brief struggle before Pit managed to secure a firm enough hold with his hands. The creature struggled to break free, lashing out wildly at Pit with its own hands. Twice it managed to tear a bit into Pit’s wings, to which the angel winced in pain both times, but didn’t break his hold.
“Lady Palutena!” Pit called.
“I’m on it!” Palutena raised her staff and pointed it at them, its tip lighting blue once again. “Miracle of Capture!”
A giant multi-colored ball of energy shot from the tip at them. Pit let go of the creature and rolled out of the way just before it reached them. The energy wrapped around the creature from head to foot in a cage pattern before materializing into an actual, wrought iron cage. The cage settled onto the ground with the creature trapped inside, who continued its fight for freedom by pounding frantically against the bars, grunting with exertion all the while.
Palutena watched it with interest for a moment before looking to her Guard Captain. “Are you all right, Pit?” she asked.
Pit got up off the ground and brushed himself off. “I’m fine,” he answered, then turned to the creature. “Man, what is that thing? And why was it chasing Kirby?”
“Let’s focus on what matters first,” Palutena stated. “You said you saw some train tracks outside of this forest, correct?”
Pit nodded. “It looked like they lead up the mountain to that city. Do you want me to fly up there next?”
“Actually, I was thinking it’d be best if we all went together.” Palutena levitated the cage over to her, giving the creature a disapproving glare as it reached through the bars in an attempt to grab her. “We don’t know anything about this place, and for all we know this thing might be capable of breaking free. If that happens, I want to be there to cage it back up, and I can’t do that if I’m busy guiding your flight path.” Using her staff once again, she produced the bow of her namesake, which latched itself onto Pit’s wrist. “Looks like I’ll be joining you for the action this time. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Trust me, I don’t mind at all,” he replied with a sheepish smile. “Alright, let’s go.”
“Wait, where’d Kirby go?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah⋯” Pit cupped his hands together and called out, “Kirby! Where’d you go!?”
The little puffball poked his head out from behind the nearest rock, smiling upon seeing the creature was captured. He scurried out from his hiding place and over to them, and the creature reached his arm through the cage in a futile attempt to grab him. In response, Palutena lightly struck the creature’s hand with her staff, making it whimper in pain and retract its hand back into the cage to nurse it.
I might be overestimating this thing, she thought.
“Listen, Kirby,” Pit said, “we’re gonna go check out that city up on the mountain. You wanna come with us?”
Kirby smiled, and nodded eagerly.
“Alright then, let’s do this!” Pit exclaimed.
He began heading in the train tracks’ direction at a quickened pace, which Kirby followed with his own, and Palutena levitated the cage alongside her as she brought up the rear. The creature was quiet as it sat in the cage doing nothing except breathing deep, exhausted breaths, spent from pounding against the cage so much.
The group quickly made their way through and out of the forest, immediately finding the train tracks upon exiting. On the other side was another section of forest, which the tracks cut straight through the middle of. Turning left down the line, the group saw the tracks lead into a tunnel in the mountainside in the near distance. The group was about to head that way when the creature suddenly bolt upright in the cage, making a low humming noise as it looked the opposite way down the line.
“Hmm, something the matter?” Palutena asked. Pit and Kirby stopped and turned to see what was happening.
The creature continued to blankly stare down the line for a few seconds before it began pulling at the cage’s bars again. Only this time, it did so in a more relaxed manner than its previous attempt, its pulling more focused and with a lot more serious effort. The bars still held firm, but nevertheless the creature didn’t stop its struggle, and all while keeping its gaze down the line.
“What’s gotten into it?” Pit asked as he approached.
“Maybe⋯” she followed the creature’s gaze, “⋯something else is coming.”
“Really?” Pit cocked his head cocked his head. “But it can’t be a train.”
Kirby also followed the creature’s gaze and squinted his eyes. Down the line was a bend around the forest, from which he saw a small flicker of movement emerge. That small flicker increased in prominence against the forest backdrop, and it wasn’t long before Kirby could make out distinctive colors. Those colors each took on their own distinctive figure as they drew closer, eventually revealing themselves to be more people.
“What should we do, Lady Palutena?” Pit asked, eyeing the approaching group cautiously.
Palutena took a moment to think before replying. “We’ll meet them head on. If they’re friendly, we might be able to get some answers out of them. If not⋯” she turned to Pit with a sharp gaze, “⋯be ready to fight.”
“You’ve got it!” Pit cheered.
Palutena turned to Kirby. “Would you mind helping us out if things turn bad?”
Kirby nodded, his eyes fiercely narrowed.
Palutena turned to the creature with a cheeky smile. “Don’t you worry little guy, we’ll protect you.” She giggled.
The group began heading down the line to meet the other group. There was a brief moment when they stopped, likely just noticing the group of four, before continuing toward them at a quicker pace. As the two groups got closer, more details of the other group became clear to Palutena’s group.
There were eight people total, of various sizes. All of them were completely alien to Pit and Palutena, though, they recognized four of them as a pair each of winged unicorns and humans, but even then they looked vastly different from anything they’d ever seen. Kirby, especially, was enthralled by the sight of so many alien beings, and was quick to judge the likeliness of each one’s tastiness based on appearance. The creature merely watched the approaching newcomers with increasing curiosity, its attempts to escape completely forgotten in light of this new development.
Once the two groups were within a few meters of each other, they stopped in their tracks. Everyone’s collective gaze turned to observing the opposing group’s members with silent curiosity. No one advanced or retreated while they stared, waiting for the opposing group to either attack or say something. But no one did, and a long silence stretched between them as a result.
That silence was broken when the lavender unicorn stepped forward, earning a surprised glance from the others. The group of four watched as the oddly-colored equine cleared its throat and spoke to them in a level, feminine voice.
“My name’s Twilight Sparkle,” it said. “What’s yours?”
“It’s scary to think the things that Fallen Star described could actually occur in Equestria,” Twilight said softly, hanging her head in sorrow. “To think ponies would turn against each other, let alone do so with murderous intent . . .”
Celestia wrapped a wing around Twilight’s withers, being careful to avoid knocking the sleeping Pikachu off her back. “It is a troubling prospect, indeed,” she replied. She kept her gaze upon Twilight while she talked, only taking occasional glances forward to keep her hooves centered between the rails so she didn’t trip. “To my knowledge, nothing resembling this ‘Nightmare Umbra’ she described exists in my Equestria’s past or present.”
Twilight turned her gaze up to her, head cocked in curiosity while her face remained sorrowful. “She said you and Luna left in order to prepare for her coming. Maybe it’s a new threat? One we’ve yet to face?”
“Perhaps,” Celestia muttered. She returned her gaze forward. “But the notion of us leaving in response to her leaves me confused. Luna and I aren’t capable of foresight, only contemporary visions. This leads me to believe one of two things: either the Celestia and Luna Fallen Star spoke of are alternate versions of my sister and I that do have foresight, or we had actually known Nightmare Umbra as a contemporary.” She shook her head. “If the former is true, then we need not worry, since that means the events which lead to the horrors Fallen Star spoke of are long since passed and no longer possible.”
“And what about the Elements of Harmony?” Twilight asked, briefly glancing up at the tiara upon her head. “She made it sound like they have a strong connection with whatever happened. Not to mention, my alternate self had written an entire book about them, the last line of which being anything but reassuring.” She slumped as she walked, her sorrow showing even greater in her features. “It feels awful not knowing whether we’re set to return to a doomed Equestria.”
Celestia sighed, and retracted her wing. “I understand your misery, Twilight,” she said with measured neutrality. “I’d love to know the whole story myself, but until Aza tells us we’ll have to let it go.” She gave Twilight a soft smile, earning one from her in turn, which pleased the alicorn. “The last thing any of us need is another ‘Want it Need it’ incident.”
Twilight’s smile turned sheepish as a blush crept across her cheeks. “Right,” she said, and returned her gaze forward after taking a moment to rebalance the tin of Monster Blood on her back.
“Something bothering you two?”
Both mares turned to see James walking just a little ways behind them, eyeing them curiously.
“It’s nothing, James,” Celestia said, shaking her head dismissively. “Please, don’t inquire any further.”
James arched a brow in response before shrugging. “If you say so.” He stepped up between them and put his hands into his pockets, letting his gaze wander around the trees on either side of them. “So, how much farther is this new place?”
“I’ll know when we can see the mountainside tunnel this track runs into,” Celestia replied. They approached a curve in the rails. “In fact, we should be able to see it around this bend.”
Yugi stepped next to her. “I’ve been meaning to ask, why’s there only one set of tracks?” he asked.
“Because Equestria has only one train to use them.” Celestia grinned amusedly. “And it appears this version does too.”
“Why’s that?”
Twilight, ever eager to share knowledge, spoke up before her mentor could. “Equestria isn’t a very large country, at least not in regards to population. While the country is a little more than five hundred square miles in size, very little of it is actually inhabited. Equestrian settlements are so spread thin, yet densely populated in their own right, that it only needs a single train to run an efficient railway business.”
“That’s completely different from what I’m used to,” Yugi said.
“I as well,” James said. He turned to Twilight. “Does Equestria use it for goods trains as well?”
“Only occasionally, since each settlement is usually fairly capable of getting by without imported goods.” Twilight scrunched her face in thought. “Come to think of it, I've never even seen a freight yard anywhere.”
“There's actually one located within the Canterhorn,” Celestia explained. “I had intended to build it out in the open, but if there’s one thing you can count on from nobles, it’s their inability to put function over form.” She shook her head morosely. “Regardless, it exists, but unless you like glancing outside while in a tunnel, odds are you’d never see the siding which leads to it.”
“Fascinating,” Twilight muttered.
The group went silent after that as they rounded the bend. Sure enough, some distance away was the faint outline of a hole carved into the mountainside. The ground didn’t elevate along the way, meaning the tunnel started right at the mountain’s base. This, along with the forest running parallel to the tracks on both sides, made the entire scene look almost foreboding in its appearance.
“Alright,” Celestia said, gesturing toward the forest left of the tracks, “our destination is through those trees.”
“Wait, stop!” Twilight said, to which everyone froze where they were in response. She pointed straight ahead down the line. “Look.”
Everyone looked to where she was pointing, and their eyes widened upon sight of four distinct figures moving down the line towards them. It was impossible to make out any specific details, but it obvious to everyone that they were real people. Everyone turned to Aza’s puppet with varying expressions ranging from rage, confusion, and annoyance, except for Pikachu who remained asleep.
“Care to explain, Aza?” Twilight ground out.
”What? Surely you didn’t think I wouldn’t find a replacement for Ms. Cheeks, now did you?”
“Why would you need four replacements!?” Twilight screeched, waking up Pikachu in the process.
“Pika-pi!”
”Well, why not? The more the merrier, after all.”
Twilight growled in frustration while tilting her head back and shaking her hoof. Everyone else wisely gave the unicorn a wider berth, just in case she went spell-crazy. To her credit, Twilight kept her composure, merely sighing before returning her gaze forward. “Fine then, let’s go welcome our new fellow prisoners.”
The group resumed their pace forward, occasionally throwing irritated glances back toward Aza’s puppet in sharing of Twilight’s frustration. Though much more subdued, everyone shared thoughts of lashing out at Aza for abducting such a sizable number of additional people. Aza did and said nothing in response as the puppet trailed behind them.
The group kept walking until they were within just a few meters of the newcomers. The bulk of everyone's interest fixated on the scaly green creature being held in the floating cage at first, but eventually settled on the group as a whole, who did much of the same all the while.
Eventually, Twilight stepped forward, to the others’ surprise, and cleared her throat.
“My name’s Twilight Sparkle,” she said to the newcomers. “What’s yours?”
The two humanoid creatures shared a glance while the pink puffball focused its attention on Aza's puppet. The caged creature stayed silent, but remained attentive to the exchange.
“I’m Pit, servant of the Goddess of Light, Palutena,” the shorter humanoid finally said, pumping his fist while unbridled enthusiasm laced his words.
“That’d be me,” the taller one giggled, pointing her staff at herself.
Twilight stared for a moment before nodding. “Okay, and what about you two?” She looked back and forth between the pink puffball and the scaly creature, who she settled her gaze on with some discomfort. “And why are you in a cage?”
“That’s Kirby,” Pit said, gesturing to the puffball. “And that—” he pointed to the creature, “—we don’t know, but we put it in that cage because it tried to attack us.”
“Really?” Twilight looked surprised. “It doesn’t look very aggressive.”
“Trust us, it is,” Palutena said. She set the cage on the ground and regarded the group of eight with curiosity. “You’re all quite a colorful bunch, in more ways than one.”
”You’re welcome.” Aza’s puppet gave her a curt bow.
The sudden omnipresent voice startled the group of four. They looked all around in search of its origin before Twilight’s next statement brought their collective attention back unto her.
“You’re not gonna like this,” she said depressingly, then turned to the group. “Ryuk?”
The Shinigami nodded and floated up to her. Twilight turned back to the newcomers and lit her horn. “Now, hold still please,” Twilight said to them. “This won’t hurt at all . . .”