A Sweetie Dream Land

by Lucar

Chapter 5: Dream

She thought that the training last evening had been hard, but it seemed like Dedede decided to give everything in order to prepare her to fight Kirby. The fact that she could heal any injuries she got thanks to the fountain probably helped him because it meant that he didn't have to hold back.

The whole training consisted of only one thing: fight him. If she was able to fight against Dedede, then she will be able to fight against Kirby, knowing that Kirby had beaten Dedede. It meant that in the space of a few hours, she had to become powerful enough to win against Dedede, and become even more powerful again to win against Kirby. Unless Dedede had been able to get better than Kirby thanks to his training.

She had no chance... At least, when she will be eaten, she will not die, just reappear not too far.

Or she could use what she told Dedede yesterday. Be cute and innocent, approach him, and beat him with a well placed punch.

She will NOT kill him, so no backstabbing or whatever, even if it was probably the best idea. She will just punch him in the face and hope he didn't wake up. If he wakes up, well... at least she will have tried, and she will have an interesting subject of conversation with Waddle Dee about what it was like to be eaten.

As for fighting Dedede, right now, it was more a 'run away and hope to not get crushed', where she was the one running. She tried to punch Dedede, but she couldn't jump high enough to reach his face, and punching him in the belly didn't work because her hoof bounced on it. Dedede actually laughed at that.

If only she knew how to shoot magical lasers from her horn! Was her magic even enough to shoot a laser?

Eventually, she decided to try something. Rather than running, she dodged the hammer, and quickly hurried to Dedede's feet before crushing one with one of her back hooves. She couldn't buck as strongly as an earth pony, but hopefully, it will hurt him.

She was answered by Dedede holding back a scream, air coming out of his nose, before he swung his hammer at her from her side. Next thing she knew, she was propelled right into the water of the fountain. Ooh her back... Dedede quickly picked her up from the water before depositing her on the ground.

"This was a nice try, but you shouldn't let your guard down when you attack."

"Like what you are doing each time you bring down your hammer?" Sweetie Belle replied.

"Mph! Touché. Well, you have the advantage of being smaller and faster, so if you focus, you shouldn't have this problem."

"I will work on it... for my back," Sweetie Belle groaned, making Dedede laugh.

"My king! My king!"

The two turned their head to face a Bronto Burt coming toward them in panic.

"Yes?" the king said.

"Whispy Woods has lost!"

Dedede sighed at hearing this news. "Of course... I should have guessed. Thanks, return fighting Kirby."

"Yes sir!"

Sweetie watched the Bronto Burt go before asking, "You knew that that Whispy Woods would lose?"

"Yes. He is not really the most powerful. He is just a tree that throws apples and puffs at you. Against someone who doesn't know how to fight, he can do his job, but against someone with enough strength to hurt him despite his bark, he is a pushover. That's why I gave him one of the pieces. Who would guess that the weak tree is guarding such an important artefact?"

A living tree? Focus Sweetie! "Well, Kirby did."

"Mph! Probably because he already fought Whispy the previous time. He must have thought that because Whispy helped me the first time, he would still help me the second time."

"That was still a good strategy for you, King Dedede," a voice coming from behind them said. When they turned around, they found a masked blue individual a little taller than a Waddle Dee (but still smaller than Sweetie Belle), half hidden behind a dark blue cape with gold trimmings. They could see that he also possessed shoulder pads of the same color, his left one bearing a symbol that was a blue "M" with a sword of the same color pointing up at the center. Glowing yellow eyes were the only thing visible of his face.

"Meta Knight?!" Dedede shouted at seeing him. "What are you doing here?!"

"Who is this, King Dedede?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Meta Knight ignored her to answer Dedede's question. "I wanted to see what happened for you to give me one of the pieces of the Star Rod."

"An entity named Nightmare was corrupting the Fountain of Dreams, giving nightmares to everyone to gain power. I was forced to break the Star Rod to stop him, and now he is stuck inside the fountain. I have no idea where that Nightmare came from, or how to get rid of him, so this is the only choice we have for now."

"But now this Kirby is gathering the pieces, threatening to unleash that entity to the world. Does he know about Nightmare?" Meta Knight summarized before asking.

"Not at all. He came on his Warp Star, saw the broken fountain and the missing Star Rod, and immediately left, probably assuming that I am the cause." At that, he crossed his arms and pouted. "Really, why would I destroy the Star Rod and deny all Popstar from dreaming? Just for a bath in the fountain? Come on! I'm better than that!"

Meta Knight chuckled. "Well, your little stunt with Dream Land's food probably didn't help your case in his eyes. And yes, I have heard everything about it, including your lost." Dedede facepalmed, groaning. "Now that I know better about the situation, I'm going back to watch Kirby. If Kirby is able to gather the first five pieces, then I will fight him at Orange Ocean. If he has been able to beat you, I'm curious to see how he will fare against my Meta Knights, and against me. I will try to think of a plan to get rid of Nightmare in the meantime. Worst case scenario, Popstar will have to do without the dreams." With these words, he covered himself completely in his cape. Surprisingly, he suddenly got thinner before ascending to the sky in the blink of an eye.

It left Sweetie agape, and full of questions.

"Who... Who was it?" she asked.

Dedede sighed before answering. "That was Meta Knight, a lonely knight leader of his own little army named after him, and probably the most powerful warrior of Popstar, even more than me. I know it because I once tried to make him my general, but he kicked my butt in return. Outside of that, I don't know much about him, this guy is full of mysteries. I don't even know how he looks behind his mask, or where he comes from. It makes him our best chance to stop Kirby."

Sweetie still looked, agape, at where the knight disappeared, before she suddenly heard her stomach rumble, making her blush. It made Dedede raise an eyebrow before he heard his own stomach asking for food.

"Right, we had no breakfast," he said before taking some device with a big button. After pressing it, he placed the device beside his head and started talking after a few seconds. "Yes it's me. I didn't have my breakfast. Make one and get it transported to the Fountain of Dreams pronto. Make another one for Sweetie Belle too." He then pressed the button again and put away the device.

An invention to communicate in long distance? thought Sweetie, yet again agape. This was becoming a habit. Twilight would sooo want one! And maybe Rarity too, to take commands.

---

After breakfast, thankfully for Sweetie not as filling as last night's dinner, training resumed, with the same results as previously. At one moment, Sweetie found herself under the hammer without being able to dodge in time, so instead, she put her forehooves above her head and caught it with them. It didn't stop the hammer from crushing her with Dedede's strength, but at least it lost enough of its momentum to make sure that she was not turned into a pancake. But her poor legs... Owie...

This gave Dedede an idea, so after a quick bath in the fountain for Sweetie, he started it. He told her to take the same position, forehooves above her head, and to not move. He then started to press his hammer against her hooves, and told her to push it back. Little by little, he gave more strength to the hammer, until it started to be too much for Sweetie Belle and she started to buckle under his weight. So he stopped and decreased the pressure, making Sweetie push the hammer back. Then he started to go back and forth between increasing and decreasing the pressure.

Even after they heard that Paint Roller was defeated, they continued the exercise until Sweetie's legs gave up. He then told her to do the same thing, but with her magic, and the training continued, exercise after exercise.

After a heavy lunch, and after taking a break to digest, they continued. After hearing of Mr Shine and Mr Bright's defeat, they continued. At Kracko's defeat, they continued.

Rainbow Dash would love this place. Infinite training thanks to the fountain's water. She would pass days here, Sweetie Belle thought then.

Came Heavy Mole's defeat, and this was when they were interrupted by Meta Knight's sudden arrival.

"Kirby just reached Orange Ocean." he said.

"I know. I got the news," Dedede replied while Sweetie used his belly as a punching bag. "Stronger! I don't feel anything!"

"I can't hit harder!" Sweetie Belle shouted back. "I'm using all I have!"

Dedede sighed. "You weren't a big athlete in your homeworld, right?"

Sweetie rubbed her head before answering. "Not really. I ran a lot, and I did some stuff here or there, but I'm not the sportive type. My friend Scootaloo is the sportive one. And Apple Bloom is the strong one. I'm more... hum... the smart one. Not like my friends are stupid!"

Dedede just shook his head at that. He looked back at Meta Knight. "So you will fight Kirby?"

"Yes, I haven't changed the plan. But I think I have found a way to get rid of Nightmare, but it's risky."

"Better than nothing. What is it?"

"Let Kirby destroy him with the Star Rod."

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Dedede yelled.

"Hear me out. I think that Kirby can use the power of the Star Rod. Its power being the opposite of Nightmare's, making dreams, then he should be able to destroy him."

Dedede crossed his arms. "But you said 'I think', not 'I'm sure'. I will not take this risk. It has been countless years since someone has been able to use the Star Rod." He sighed. "I will think of it as a last resort for the worst case. Until then, I will continue to try to stop Kirby."

Meta Knight only nodded in answer before departing like he did earlier, soon to fight Kirby.

It was in the middle of dinner that they learned that he lost, to everyone's shock.

---

"I still can't believe that he lost. Are you ready?" Dedede asked to Sweetie Belle.

"Not really. But I will try," she answered, scared.

"I will hide behind the fountain. When... I mean, if he defeats you, then I will jump out and fight."

"O-okay..."

Dedede nodded, said, "Good luck," before hiding behind the fountain, which didn't work because the fountain barely hid him. But Sweetie will do as if she didn't see him.

And so she waited. And waited. And waited.

And finally, he fell from the sky.

Here he was, finally, Kirby, hero of Dream Land, supposedly now the most powerful warrior of Popstar. And he was... Oh my gosh! He is adorable! Sweetie barely suppressed a squee. Kirby was like the dummies had described. He was a pink puffball a little smaller than her, she would say about twenty centimeters, a bit smaller than a Waddle Dee, with tubby arms and feet that were a darker pink close to red. He had two small oval blue eyes, and blushing cheeks. And right now, he was watching her!

At seeing her, he tilted his head and let out a "Poyo?"

Squee! I wanna hug him!

Sweetie couldn't stop smiling has if she was Pinkie Pie. It was really him that was able to beat Dedede's army, Dedede himself, and Meta Knight? And Dedede expected her to hurt him? She couldn't!

Breathe, Sweetie, breathe! You have one job! Even if he is adorable, all this training and suffering would be for nothing if you don't at least try. Beside, there is a high risk that if you let him win, he will lead the world to its doom. You must do it! she told herself, trying to regain her calm.

Then she started to talk to him. "Hum... Hello! My name is Sweetie Belle! You are Kirby, right?"

She was answered by Kirby smiling, nodding and waving at her while saying "Hiiii!"

Gosh darn it! Stop being adorable! You are making my job harder! Is this what the adults feel when I do my 'puppy dog eyes'?

Then Kirby did something she hadn't expected: he hugged her.

"H-hey! What are you doing?! Stop! You shouldn't hug me! I'm an enemy! I'm working for Dedede! I have to beat you and... and..." she turned her head toward Dedede. "I can't! I'm sorry! I can't hurt him!"

Dedede facepalmed. Hard.

"Ugh! Just get out of here and let me fight then!"

"O-okay! I'm sorry! I really tried! I swear!" She turned to Kirby. "Sorry Kirby, I have to go so king Dedede can fight you." She then had an idea. "Hum... Can you lose please?" she pleaded, making her famous 'puppy dog eyes'. He shook his head and petted her on the neck. "Aww... Well, I'm going then. Good luck you two."

She quickly ran to get far enough of the future fight between Dedede and Kirby. Once she thought she was at a good distance, she stopped to watch.

Dedede jumped from behind the fountain and fell beside Kirby, who looked at him angrily. She heard him say, "I didn't think that you would be able to beat Sweetie Belle simply by hugging her. I knew she was not ready to face you, she isn't yet hardened to battles." He took his hammer. "But now you have to fight me, and it will not be as easy! I have trained hard for this day! Don't expect me to be sent flying again! I will not let you get the last piece of the Star Rod! Prepare to be clobbered!"

And he started the fight by swinging down the hammer. Kirby dodged, and the hammer hit the floor instead, making appear one of these yellow stars that appeared every time he hit the ground with the hammer or when he jumped. Then Kirby inhaled the star, making him balloon up, and he spat it back to Dedede who was hit.

So that's how, Sweetie Belle thought at seeing that.

The hit seemed to make Dedede angry, because he then charged at Kirby and fell on him at the last second to try to crush him under his weight. But it looked like Kirby already knew this move, because he had no problem avoiding it by inflating before flying away. Dedede immediately followed his attack by jumping, trying to fall right on Kirby. Because he was slower in the air, Kirby wasn't able to dodge this attack and got flattened under Dedede's feet. Sweetie was worried for a moment, until Dedede moved away. Kirby then got back to normal, shaking his head to regain his bearing. He quickly dodged another swing of the hammer and inhaled the star it produced before hitting Dedede with it.

Dedede opened his mouth, about to use the same technique as Kirby, but Kirby got out of the way just before Dedede started to inhale. Seeing that Kirby had dodged, Dedede decided instead to inhale the air to inflate his belly, making him float. Kirby seemed surprised at that, making Dedede smirk.

Yeah, I remember, it's a new move, Sweetie Belle thought. Watching these two fight was really something. Dedede unleashed all the techniques he possessed in hope of hitting Kirby, and Kirby tried to dodge them until a yellow star appeared to use it as a projectile. Was it really all there was? Had he really been able to beat Meta Knight with just that? It would seem that Meta Knight would be hard to hit because of his smaller size. There must be something else.

Kirby had a hard time trying to dodge Dedede while he floated around to crush him under his belly. After some time, he released the air and fell back on the floor and charged again at Kirby. Not hitting Kirby, he jumped again, but this time, Kirby was able to dodge before inhaling one of the stars appearing and spitting it back at Dedede. The king decided to get serious, and started swinging around his hammer, again and again, running after Kirby all the time. Kirby ran toward the fountain, dodged another swing, and jumped on the edge of it before making another jump this time to reach Dedede's head. He then used the back of Dedede's head as a springboard to bounce away, making Dedede fall, his head hitting the edge of the fountain.

Ouch! That must have hurt! Sweetie thought while recoiling at the impact, closing her eyes.

Dedede quickly recovered and started inhaling again. This time, Kirby was not able to dodge, and got sucked toward Dedede's mouth. Before entering it, Dedede closed it and swung his hammer right at Kirby's trajectory, hitting him full force and sending him away. Kirby bounced on the floor a few times before landing on his feet and running back toward Dedede who jumped, starting to fall in Kirby's trajectory. A back jump saved Kirby from being crushed, and he was able to hit Dedede with another star.

Another swing of the hammer, another star in the face. Kirby took the opportunity to jump again to Dedede's head, but rather than falling on it, he punched Dedede in the left eye, making him scream in pain as he covered his eye with his hands, releasing the hammer.

Sweetie's eyes became as big as saucers at seeing what Kirby did next: he ate the hammer! Not just that, but eating the hammer caused something in Kirby. In the blink of an eye, some kind of headband appeared around his head, and a smaller version of the hammer appeared in Kirby's right arm.

Dedede stared at what happened dumbly for a few seconds before he yelled, "Since when can you do that?!"

He was answered by the hammer slamming on his right foot, before bonking him on his head while he screamed again. He was able to slap Kirby away, but the puffball quickly came back for more hammer time.

So he can use weapons? I suppose it's how he won against Meta Knight, Sweetie Belle thought. It was good to know, if she ever ended up really fighting Kirby in the future. Cuteness will not always save him!

Before long, Dedede fell on the floor. Kirby then released his hammer, under the form of a brown star that bounced out of him before the star transformed back into Dedede's hammer, which fell right on his head. The piece of the Star Rod droped from Dedede, at Kirby's feet. Once Kirby took it, the seven pieces started to gravitate around him before forming the completed Star Rod in a big flash of light.

Star Rod in hand, he started to make his way to the fountain.

Oh no! We must stop him! But how?

To her surprise, Dedede woke up and clung himself to Kirby's foot. And yet Kirby continued to walk. How strong was this little guy?

"Stop! Don't put the Star Rod back!" Dedede screamed, only to be thrown away with a swipe of the Star Rod.

Sweetie started running to them, and yelled, "Stop!"

Too late.

Kirby planted the Star Rod right where it belonged, and the fountain started to work again. Everything seemed good, but Sweetie and Dedede knew better. Indeed, not a few seconds later, the fountain stopped working, and something black started to form at its center. Before long, a blue sphere, purple and pink at the bottom with white stars everywhere, got out of the fountain, knocking out the Star Rod, before flying away.

Nightmare was free.

Right as everything seemed lost, Dedede remembered what Meta Knight said. He then said to Kirby, who was panicking, "So, you want to play hero? Then go being a hero!" He then inhaled Kirby and the Star Rod, and spat them toward the sky in the direction where Nightmare flew. "Let's hope you are right, Meta Knight."

---

Turned out the impossible was in fact possible. Kirby could use the Star Rod like he used the hammer earlier. With it, Kirby could shoot yellow stars at Nightmare, and they seemed to hurt him. Sweetie and Dedede could see Kirby battling the sphere in the sky, which was shooting back blue star-shaped projectiles that he dodged. Sometime, the sphere also sent some blue waves to Kirby. They were big, fast, and hard to dodge, so Kirby got hit the first time. But eventually, Kirby was able to force Nightmare to retreat. A Warp Star then appeared and Kirby took it and followed Nightmare, toward the moon, where Sweetie and Dedede couldn't follow the fight to the filly's disappointment.

Soon after, they could see the Warp Star coming back from the moon, followed by an explosion at the surface of the moon like Sweetie had never seen before, leaving a big crater easily visible.

Dedede sighed in relief. "Let's go back to the castle, Sweetie Belle."

She hopped on his shoulders before Dedede inflated to fly back to the castle. As they flew, the Warp Star flew beside them for a moment, and Kirby waved at them. Sweetie waved back. Then the Warp Star went toward the fountain, and Kirby let the Star Rod fall right at its place on it, giving back the indescribable spectacle of the Fountain of Dreams working. After that, the Warp Star flew away, disappearing in the horizon.

Sweetie Belle will never forget this day.

Her first world crisis.

Her first look at Popstar.

Her first encounter with a real bad guy.

Her first encounter with Meta Knight.

Her first encounter with Kirby.

Her first 'fight' against Kirby.

The Fountain of Dreams.

What a day! And it was only her second day!

At the castle, Broom Sunglasses said, "I told you so."

Comments

[emeraldhuskydragon0]

*sees more chapter*

YESSSSS!

[sonictj3]

And so ends the nightmare in Dreamland. Man looking back this gave more development for the characters and also gave us some nice character moments. Sweetie meeting Kirby was so cute.

[Switch Swap]

Worth case scenario

Worst case scenario

Star Rob

Star Rod

[Lucar]

10422532
Thanks. All corrected.

[The Kelduo]

"Stop! Don't put the Star Rod back!" screams Dedede, only to be thrown away in one jump from Kirby.

Actually, Kirby doesn't knock King Dedede away with a jump, but with a swipe from the Star Rod, like in this animation.

Then Kirby does something she hasn't expected: he hugs her.

*Kirby is sparing you.

🗡FIGHT 🔊ACT 👜ITEM MERCY