Kirby is an unknown phenomenon. His powers confused the inhabitants of Dreamland and foiled the plots of evil masterminds. Over all, he's a super tough, pink puff.
After a warp in Kirby's spaceship, he is rocketed into Equestria, where he must adapt to the strange land and find a way to fix his ship, but not before shenanigans ensue...
The air was still. No sound could be heard... other than the snores of a certain pink creature. The world around him was glittered with the stars in space illuminating the air around him.
Kirby lay in his star ship as it slowly drifted through space, no certain destination highlighted. Kirby had been through many adventures in his life, yet he was still shrouded in mystery. Nobody had known where he had come from or what he was. He was an enigma. All he had to do now, was to rest in his ship until something happened.
Apparently, that time was now.
Out of the quietness of the air, a loud bleep from the ship's alarm sounded. Kirby awoke in an instant, confused by the sudden lack of silence. He had heard the alarm before. Last time, he landed in Dreamland. Something's gonna happen. Kirby looked at the controls as they blinked in unison with the alarm.
On the screen read the word: "WARP"
Suddenly, a sheet of yellow metal began to obstruct his vision as it began to cover the spherical glass used to see.
The ship began to kick into action as it suddenly accelerated rapidly. The ship was surrounded by a exuberant myriad of colors in the shape of a tunnel as the ship continued to propel itself through.
The ship began to slow as it exited the tunnel. The bright yellow cover began to recede as the world around Kirby was revealed. Directly ahead of him stood a spherical planet, bright in color. Kirby was elated to see that he was about to land in a new world. It was about time for fun.
Kirby's starship slowly drifted towards the new planet with adventures ahead.
The Equestrian sun shone above as the day progressed through to the evening. Twilight paced through the library as she checked most of the items off of her daily checklist. She had cleared next to everything on her list. She went to the grocery, watched over the library all day, and she sent her previous friendship letter to Celestia. Only one thing was left on her list.
Stargazing with friends.
She looked towards the clock before realizing that it was almost time to get going or else she'd be LATE. Being late was never one of her favorite things.
"SPIKE! I need you to get my telescope, a blanket, and my picnic basket! It's almost time to get going!" yelled Twilight as she proceeded to grab a scarf and saddlebag from the hanger by the door.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it all right here!" Spike wobbled down the stairs, holding all of the required items in hand. He was just glad that he didn't have to come. A nap was needed immediately.
"Thanks Spike! I'll see you later." Twilight then proceeded to place most of the items in her saddlebag before sticking the handle to the basket in her mouth. She then rushed out the door at full speed, wanting to get there on time.
The world around her dimmed as the sun began setting over the horizon, revealing Luna's beautiful night. Twilight rushed through the semi-filled streets of Ponyville, as ponies began to file into their houses, ready to rest for the next day.
The trot to the resting spot was rather quick as Twilight rested down in the top of a hill outside Ponyville. She proceeded to place her basket on the ground before lying a blanket on the soft grass. She quickly placed her telescope beside the blanket before resting on the blanket.
After a few minutes, Twilight's friends began to arrive. Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, And Twilight sat around on the blanket, enjoying the daisy sandwiches. Rainbow Dash, of course, was bored and flying around doing tricks.
"Okay everypony, it's time to start! The sky is perfectly clear!" Twilight was beaming with excitement. She had been looking forward to stargazing with her best friends! She could show them, and lecture them, and call them George-... Okay, maybe not that, "I'll use the telescope first so you know how to use it, okay?"
Everypony present nodded in agreement before Twilight adjusted the telescope into view, hoping to find any constellations Luna could have made. A few minutes passed, nopony made a peep.
Applejack took a cookie in hoof before looking up to the sky, " Twi, is there suppose' ta be a meteor thingamajig tonight?"
Twilight turned her head away from the telescope towards Applejack in confusion, "Not that I know of Applejack. I'm sure I did my research before-hoof." Twilight then returned to the telescope, trying to find something.
"Then what's that there flyin' light?"
Twilight responded by looking away from the telescope and in the direction of Applejack's pointing hoof. In the sky, there was indeed a falling light. It seemed to move slowly, but got bigger in size.
It then struck her like a tons of bricks.
'It's getting closer!'
"EVERYPONY DUCK!"
The mares quickly jumped to the ground before a star-like ship passed overhead, a few meters above their heads. It sped down the hill at an angle, scraping against the hill and leaving a dirt trail behind. The UFO slowly began to roll before coming to a stop.
Everypony was petrified in place by fear, unsure of what to do.
The ship just sat at the bottom of the hill. The engine stopped humming as the ship died down. Kirby's star ship had dents littering the surface of the yellow metal-like material. Kirby sat with his eyes closed. He had been knocked unconscious in the impact.
The world was still for a few moments before Twilight slowly rose to her hooves.
'I'm not sure what that is. I'll have to make sure it's nothing dangerous.'
Before anypony else could do anything Twilight began trotting down the hill at full speed. She didn't care if she would fall, she had too many questions that needed an answer.
Twilight had reached the bottom of the hill before running to inspect the ship. It was shaped like a star and made with a hard, yellow material that she was unfamiliar of. The UFO had a semi-spherical glass-like substance on top of the start. Inside the ship was many buttons and levers that had an unknown purpose.
Twilight noticed a pink object hidden behind what seemed like a seat. She quickly ran around towards the front of the ship before looking inside.
Twilight froze.
A/N:
I apologize for being so inactive lately. I got hit by a case of writers block, even though I had the old story planned out. I just wrote this to get me feel like writing again
Twilight could not believe what she was seeing. Not only was it what she least expected, but it was actually kind of adorable. She was gazing at an alien. The alien was a spherical ball of pink that consisted of two small, red, oval-ish figures that seemed to have the purpose of balance and walking, meaning it was bi-pedal, and 2 semi-spherical stubs that seemed to be arms, although they seemed to be too short for use. On what seemed to be the face, 2 small black lines stretched across it's face, presumably the eyes. There was also a very small ovular mouth that barely moved as it breathed in it's sleep. On both sides of it's mouth were a small ovular red blushes.
'Note to self: Very round.'
The alien seemed to be unconscious at the the moments, breathing in and out gently.
Before Twilight could investigate the ship any further, the glass covering the ship's fuselage began to recede. The alien inside began to stir to life as it awakened from its slumber. The creature rubbed it's eyes before revealing its eyes to her. They were a stack of blue to black to white. It began to get up before stumbling over the side, rolling off of the ship, and crashed into the ground.
"poyo~..."
Twilight just stood there. She didn't know what to do. The first thing that came to mind was to try to approach it.
Kirby sat on the ground, dazed by the impact. He had finally come to a stop after all the falling. Kirby hoped that they ate food because he was hungry. He hadn't eaten a good meal for days. If they did eat food, he hoped they knew the word food too.
Kirby had learned a handful of words during his adventures in Cappy Town. He just hoped they knew the same.
Kirby began to get up from his position on the ground and put himself into a sitting position, leaning against the metal of his star ship. He looked up before seeing what looked like an animal and smiled.
Twilight took notice at the creature's reaction to her before making her move. It seemed to be peaceful.
"I doubt you can, but... can you understand me?" Twilight was full of doubt.
'An alien falls into Equestria and the first thing you do is try to talk?'
Twilight quickly shook off the thought before bringing her attention back to the pink alien. To her surprise, it did what seemed to be a nod before putting on a giant smile and jumping to his feet.
Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing. An alien that could understand what she said.
'So many questions I need to ask! An alien right here in Ponyville that can understand what I just said!'
Twilight was beaming with happiness. What she failed to see, is that the creature jumped into his ship and pulled out a little box before running up the hill Twilight and her friends were just recently.
Kirby had jumped up at the sound of the familiar language. although some words still puzzled him. He looked up to the creature that had recently talked before seeing it's fixed state. Kirby looked back to his ship and pulled out the blue box from inside the cockpit. Kirby looked back to the purple thing before looking around where he was. He could see a town in the distance, but what he saw was most interesting was the top of the hill we rolled down.
At the top was 5 more figures like the purple one and what looked to be something like a basket. Kirby was rather curious and began running up the hill.
As Kirby reached the top, he managed to see the other five who seemed to be watching him. He saw a yellow and pink one, an orange and yellow one, a purple and white one, a rainbow and light blue one, and a pink one. He quickly passed those figures and took notice of the main objective. Kirby looked ahead of him where he saw a red and white checkered blanket with a basket in the middle.
In and around the basket were sandwiches and cookies. Kirby took no hesitation and dove right in.
Before something struck him in the side.
Twilight had run right up after the alien as he sprinted up the hill. He had no idea what his intentions were, but she couldn't take any risks. She reached the top of the hill before seeing the confused faces of five different ponies. She looked to the alien who had begun to dig into their picnic basket. She looked back to her friends who were still in the same state... except Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash was coiled, ready for action. Without warning, she dashed towards the alien before turning around and giving it a full on buck.
The alien was sent flying. It flew about 100 hooves at a steady velocity before the creature took in a large amount of air and stopped mid-flight. It slowly floated back to it's original impact point before giving Rainbow Dash a glare, thinking she was an enemy.
Before it could do anything, Fluttershy zoomed to the alien, fearful of it gaining injuries.
"Oh, my! Are you okay?"
"Poyo!" The alien jumped up, revealing he was completely fine. What surprised her was the fact that he just took a huge buck and barely had a scratch on him.
Fluttershy was rather surprised to see that it may actually have understood her. She tries again to reach it in hopes of succeeding.
"What's your name, little fella?"
"Kabii!"
The alien seemed to be rather young, but that was just a guess.
"Is your name... Kirby?" asked Fluttershy in a soft, calming voice.
The alien jumped up at the sound of it's name and put on a huge smile. "Poyo!"
Everyone else in the group was silent. They had not only just met an alien, but it seemed to be able to understand most of what they said. Everyone seemed to be thinking of different things, although all pertaining to the matter at hand.
Rainbow Dash stepped forward out of the silence and began to speak, "Look, I'm sorry about bucking you, but I still don't-"
Before Rainbow Dash could continue, Kirby turned towards the basket of food and ran over, completely ignoring Rainbow Dash. He started to dig in as everypony around him turned towards each other in a huddle-like fashion.
"Alright everypony. Kirby seems to be lost with a broken ship. We'll have to bring him somewhere for now." whispered Twilight, "I don't recommend taking him to town because Celestia knows what'll happen. That leaves out me, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie."
"I would take him with me, but I'm afraid how the animals might act..." added Fluttershy.
"Ah could take the little fella to Sweet Apple Acres. The critter's a little cute 'imself." said Applejack, in a certain southern drawl.
"Alright then, It's settled. You take him back to Sweet Apple Acres, let him stay in the barn, then we meet up again in the morning."
The ponies broke up as each individual left for their respected homes, Kirby on their minds. Kirby had finished off the rest of the food in the basket, leaving the basket and extras for Twilight to take home.
Applejack was the last on the hill, watching her friends leave one by one. She pondered about Kirby and his weird abilities so far. She'd have to find out tomorrow though.
"C'mon Kirby, let's get some shuteye at the farm."
Applejack waited a few seconds before turning back towards the pink ball of surprises. When she looked at him, he was lying on the top of the hill asleep. After such an event, she wasn't surprised that he had given up to fatigue.
Applejack slowly trotted over to the sleeping body of Kirby before slowly lifting him onto her back, careful not to awake him.
With that, Applejack head off down the road towards Sweet Apple Acres for a new day.
And the start of a new adventure.
A/N:
Hey guys! After all of the good comments and motivation, I feel like trying my hardest to make it better for you guys.
I really spent way too much time on this chapter and trying to make it just right.
Light shone through the windows of the apple family barn as the morning sun rose into the sky. An overwhelming fragrance of apples lingered in the air around Kirby. He had landed in a new world with new creatures to have fun adventures with, not to mention the delectable food they had.
Kirby slowly opened his eyes as he stirred from his sleep. He elicited a small yawn as his senses returned to him. The first thing that he noticed was the distinct smell of fresh. Juicy. Apples. Kirby quickly jumped to his feet as he tried to rule out the location of the smell. The unusual part was that there was no apple dish in the entire room.
It was just then that Kirby realized where he was. He was in a huge barn filled with hay and various tools. He had remembered falling asleep on that hill with the cookies and sandwiches. That must mean that one of his new friends brought him there after he fell asleep. Maybe he should have been more careful to not eat part of that blanket after all.
Kirby pushed aside the thought as he looked around him once again. He managed to spot a door towards what seemed to be the front of the barn. Weirdly, it had two functional doors stacked on top that seemed to open by themselves. Kirby walked up to the door before opening the lower part. He was able to barely go under without hitting the top door.
He was met with a beauteous sight. Around him stood hundreds of apple trees lined in rows upon rows. He couldn't believe his eyes. Those snacks from the other day had barely been able to suffice his hunger. he also hadn't eaten since he was in Dreamland because he was asleep the whole time. Kirby was rather curious as to why there were so many apple trees in such a perfect order, but that was the least of his worries.
Kirby put on a face of determination before taking a step back and opening his mouth.
Applejack was trotting along the apple trees as she went along with her apple-bucking duties. She had a wagon filled way past the brim with apples. It was indeed apple-bucking season, but this time, Big Macintosh wasn't hurt. She had been pondering the arrival of Kirby since last night. She knew he was a real cutie, but she wasn't sure if he was dangerous at all. She wasn't even sure if he was capable of doing anything bad. He seemed to be innocent enough to trust for now.
Applejack continued her trek towards the barn with her giant wagon of apples before coming to a stop by the barn. Right outside of the barn, was Kirby. She would've greeted Kirby to learn more, but Kirby seemed to be in deep concentration. Before she could do anything else, Kirby's face formed into a glare before he stepped back. He opened his mouth to about a large portion of his face.
Applejack was completely unsure of his intentions, whether it be a yawn or such until she began to breathe in. A small tornado-like wind began to form from his mouth. Suddenly, the wind around her began to increase rapidly. The leaves on the trees around began to ruffle profusely. Without warning, the winds increased tenfold. She was forced to jump against a tree as the wagon behind her began to fly forward along with all of the apples on the trees in a 50 hood radius.
The items all flew straight into the center of the tornado surrounding his mouth. Once all of the apples and wagon had flown into his mouth, he closed it with a big swallow following afterwards before spitting out the wagon as if it were nothing.
Applejack just stared from behind the tree in shock. She was unable to process all she had just seen. The little Kirby had managed to eat 30 apple trees worth of apples. She had absolutely no idea what to do. She was completely unsure whether to approach Kirby or not. One thing came to her mind though. She quickly ran in the direction of Ponyville, staying away from Kirby's view. He, in return, ran around the farm.
She decided what to do: Ask Twilight/
Applejack sprinted down the streets of Ponyville, catching a few confused looks by bystanders. Applejack wasn't usually one to act irrationally, so she needed some help. She was dealing with an alien who ate over 500 apples. If anypony were to eat that much, they'd explode. She needed Twilight's help.
Applejack reached Twilight's library before knocking on the door rapidly.
"Why do ponies always knock! It's a public library!" Spike quickly ran up the door before opening it. Before Spike could say hi, Applejack sprinted past the little dragon.
"TWIIIII!"
Twilight was busy reading a book in the corner before jumping up in surprise from the sudden change in volume, "What is it Applejack?"
"I-It's Kirby! He just did this swallow thing an' made like a thousand apples go into his mouth!" Applejack yelled, was still completely shocked from the incident.
Twilight froze. She wasn't even sure how to react. From what Applejack said, Kirby managed to eat a thousand apples. The only unusual part was that it was Applejack, the element of honesty.
"Are you sure of what you witnessed, Applejack? I don't think that little Kirby could eat that much," Twilight said, doubting it.
"Cross mah heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Applejack exclaimed as she went along with the motions of the famous Pinkie Promise.
Twilight, still in doubt, decided she needed to see for herself.
"Let's check it out then, I guess, maybe I'll get to learn about Kirby!" exclaimed the purple mare, optimistic as always.
Twilight put down her book before trotting out the door with a notepad in hoof and a quill on bag.
Twilight and Applejack trotted down the hills to Sweet Apple Acres. Being rather doubtful, she decided to at least get some details.
"Soooooo, what exactly happened?"
"Well, Ah was bringing my wagon full of apples back to the barn before Ah saw the pink feller. All of a sudden, Kirby opens his mouth before one of those tornado thingies went around his mouth and the wind got REALLY strong! It was so strong, he plucked every apple off every tree 50 hooves away from him. It was so strong, he even pulled my wagon along! He ATE the whole wagon too! He spit it out, but he fit the whole thing in his belly like it was nuthin'!"
Twilight was really confused. To her, he sounded like a parasprite, but he wasn't. He was much MUCH worse. He didn't seem to cause harm,but based on what Applejack said, He could deplete Ponyville food supply within months if he ate like that for every meal.
Twilight and Applejack reached Sweet Apple Acres before Applejack escorted her to the area where it happened before she stopped. Around them were tons of bare trees, no baskets or apples on the ground. On the ground was an overturned wagon with no apples in it. The bare trees were isolated from where Applejack had bucked in the morning. About twenty trees in total had no apples.
From their right, a rustle was heard from one of the trees with fruit. They quickly turned towards it.
Up in one of the apple trees sat Kirby eating an apple with a smile on his face.
A/N:
Sorry for the short break, guys! I was on a 2 day retreat over the weekend, isolated from my ponies. I hope I didn't do too bad. This is just something I pulled together in 3 hours. At least he swallowed something.
Quick Note: Kirby's chat will be pink from now on.
There he was. Kirby. Sitting in a tree. Eating an apple. The simple sight wouldn't have been such a big deal if it wasn't for the fact that THE SURROUNDING TREES WERE COMPLETELY EMPTY.
'How. How could Kirby have eaten all those apples. It's impossible. Even PINKIE wouldn't be able to eat that much and Kirby doesn't even look any bigger.'
Twilight couldn't accept the thought. She was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. Kirby couldn't have physically been able to eat it, while Applejack wouldn't tell a lie. She had no idea how to accept it, but the evidence was right in front of her.
"A-Applejack? Are you SURE you saw Kirby eat all of this?"
"Ah'm as sure as... well me."
Twilight was still extremely doubtful, but Applejack wouldn't lie. She decided on one thing. Twilight quickly looked back to Kirby before lowering her head. She slowly lifted Kirby from the tree with her levitation, stirring Kirby from his delicious snack time. She carefully brought the possibly dangerous alien in front of her before forcibly opening his mouth.
Twilight then simultaneously cast a light spell on her horn before stepping ahead. She carefully stared into Kirby's gaping maw. Twilight stared down Kirby's throat before freezing. Instead of seeing a digestive system or stomach, it was all black with few bright dots. The weird arrangement peaked Twilight's interest, causing her to lean in closer.
As Twilight leaned in, She forgot the fact that she was also levitating him and keeping his mouth open. As she got a majority of her body into his mouth, the magic wore of, dropping Kirby to the ground. Kirby quickly closed his mouth in reflex, but before it closed entirely, a lasso flew into his mouth and wrapped around Twilight.
Twilight was instantly sucked into his stomach, which to her surprise, was easily navigable due to the abnormally large amount of space. Twilight quickly reached the black dot before realizing what that black dot was.
Twilight realized that she was in space. Around her were various foods and stars glittering the area. She turned around before seeing a giant pile of apples. Twilight's mind was literally BROKEN. She could not comprehend the science behind all of this. Kirby managed to have an entire universe in his stomach.
Before Twilight could ponder the matter at hand any longer, she noticed a tug at her waist.
Kirby had been taken away from the apple tree somehow. He didn't know how he was even floating in mid-air. All he knew was that the purple thing was now looking into his mouth which he could not close. Kirby tried to squirm around. Much to his dismay, he was not capable of moving any of his limbs. The purple thing began climbing deeper into his mouth.
Suddenly, Kirby was dropped to the ground. He attempted to close his mouth immediately as a force of habit, but a rope flew into his mouth before-hand. Kirby closed his mouth before swallowing, relieving the pressure in his mouth. Before he could acknowledge what had happened, a flash of light permeated from him. Kirby opened his eyes to reveal that he was now wearing:
He had remembered that ability. He had used it before, but Kirby did not expect to get it at that time.
Kirby looked up in front of him. The orange creature from before was staring right at him, surprise in it's eyes. In its mouth was the same rope that was in his mouth. Before Kirby could do anything about the rope in his mouth, he felt a tug in his mouth. It continued to push on. Before long, Kirby began to feel a large lump enter his mouth.
Out of his mouth came the purple creature from before, a look of shock on its face.
Twilight had been, eaten, swallowed, and regurgitated by an alien half her size. It had clearly been an unusual day. Apparently, Kirby had: a galaxy for a stomach, the ability to swallow stuff, and the ability to eat stuff without it digesting or chewing. Now, Twilight was staring at Kirby, although now, he was wearing a silly hat and holding a wand with a ridiculously large bulb on the end... One rather unusual part was the fact that he was now... yellow.
Twilight slowly trotted over to Applejack before whispering into her ear.
"Do you happen to have anywhere to lock up Kirby for the time being while I regain my sanity?"
"A-ah have an old shack behind th' barn if ya need it." Applejack was just as confused as Twilight, but she had not seen what Twilight had seen.
"It's good enough!"
Twilight quickly lifted up Kirby before following Applejack to the shack. Applejack quickly opened it before Twilight placed Kirby inside. They then closed it on the confused face of Kirby.
The pair then walked to a nearby apple tree before sitting to rest. Applejack deserved an answer, so Twilight began to speak.
"Applejack...I'm so confused."
Applejack was surprised. Twilight was usually never confused on anything. She was the smartest pony she had ever met.
"What do ya mean, Twilight?"
"Kirby...just doesn't make any sense."
Now Applejack was worried. Twilight usually knows everything. Celestia knows what she witnessed in there.
"In his stomach... was an entire galaxy." Twilight said, visibly confused.
Applejack knew what to do to get Kirby off of Twilight's mind for now: a glass of Sweet Apple Acres' cider.
"Ah know this is real confusing Twilight, but I'm pretty sure that taking yer mind off of the little pink puff for the time'll probably help," Applejack got back to her hooves as she turned towards the barn before looking back at Twilight, "C'mon, let's go. My head hurts from all these things anyway"
Twilight slowly returned to her hooves before walking towards the barn.
Applejack and Twilight slowly returned to the barn. Twilight stopped right in front of the barn before looking back towards Ponyville.
"Thank for the offer Applejack, but I left Spike all alone and I need to get back to my studies. I have a LOT to study now. By the way, do you think you could look after Kirby again tonight?"
"Sure thing, Sugarcu-"
*BOOM*
Applejack was disrupted with the sound of a boom emanating from the shack where Kirby was held.
Applejack looked towards Twilight before Twilight nodded back. Together, they ran to the shack.
When they arrived back at the old shack, they were greeted with a rather...unwelcoming sight. The front side of the shack was almost completely blown away. The hole in the front was letting out smoke from the sides as if an explosive had gone off in there. They looked around them quickly, but spotted no Kirby.
Both of the mares looked at each other in anger before yelling.
'This was anything BUT good. I leave a pink little ball of adorableness inside a shed for one minute and he practically disintegrates the front of it. He looked practically harmless aside from the fact that he could out-eat everypony in Ponyville combined! How was I supposed to know he could blow giant holes in walls!
Twilight wasn't sure whether to be intrigued or deathly afraid. This little alien had been been able to do things even Pinkie couldn't do. Pinkie may be able to break holes into walls by running into them, but she couldn't eat thousands of apples and disintegrate walls with ease.
Twilight would have pondered and studied the enigma that is Kirby, but there were more important things to do. A potentially dangerous creature could possibly be headed towards Ponyville at this very moment.
'I'll have to get Kirby before he destroys anything else! I'm going to have to tell the princess immediately!'
"Okay, Applejack, I need you to find Kirby and tie him up. I'll go back to the library and tell the princess, okay?"
"You gotcha Twilight!" Applejack immediately run off in the direction of Ponyville, lasso in mouth.
Twilight then turned back around before closing her eyes.
'I'll just have to teleport back to the library. There's no time to waste!'
She vanished in a flash.
Kirby was upset. He met some nice creatures, and they ended up locking him in. He, on the other hand, had been bored. He wanted to go and meet the townsfolk. He wanted to have adventures with new friends, but they had him locked up. His beam power had already faded by then, but he didn't care. There was no use for it now, anyway.
Kirby was running down the road towards the town. He figured that he'd meet new friends in the town, maybe even find some great food! Now that he thought of it, what if those creatures were giving him a home? Kirby started to feel a little sad, but he shrugged the thought off. Maybe they'd forgive him.
The town came into full view as he neared the end of the dirt path. The town was vibrant in colors, similar to Cappy town, just with more pink. The townsfolk were just like the creatures from before, yet very different. They had different styles of hair on their heads and colors varied too. Their bodies were very different as well. Kirby also happened to notice that they all had different drawings on their flanks.
As Kirby stepped into town, the eyes of the various ponies shifted towards him. They were all frozen. They were completely unsure whether to identify him as adorable and harmless or a disaster in disguise. Kirby walked past them happily, taking in the sights of the town and their food.
Kirby walked past several stalls before coming to a halt before one of them. He eyed the watermelons on display until he decided which one he wanted, a watermelon practically the same size as him. He didn't have any money, but maybe they would let him have one for free. He turned his gaze towards the frozen cashier who sprouted a brown coat and green mane.
"Poyo! said Kirby happily as he pointed one of his arms at the watermelon of his choice.
"Uh- um, okay, uh~." The cashier was completely unsure what to say, as he had never sold watermelons to a pink ball the same size as his prized watermelon.
Kirby proceeded to jump up onto the stall before lifting the melon in his arms before jumping down. He quickly stuffed the entire watermelon into his mouth. The cashier and all of the other ponies around, proceeded to drop their jaws to the ground. Literally.
Kirby continued his trek through the silent town as he came into view with a building made in heaven. Before him stood an entire building that seemed to be made entirely out of sweets. What caught his eye the most happened to be what looked like a loose candy cane on the roof of it. Kirby had not really had a chance to eat any candy in ages.
The pink puff then inhaled a mouthful of breath before propelling himself skyward with his stubby arms. He flew up to the roof of the building before running to the giant "candy cane".
Not knowing any better, Kirby began to intake air. A small gust turned to large as the air surrounding the area flew into Kirby's mouth. before long, the candy cane broke away from it's perch and flew into his mouth.
Kirby hadn't thought to chew, as it seemed to be too big. Little did he know, the candy cane wasn't candy.
With a flash, Kirby instantly changed.
Kirby was no longer pink. His skin had changed to a distinct grey. A blue, metal hat that stretched down his back, riddled with small, gold rings that separated the blue scale-like structure of the hat. On top was tuft of pink string-like substance that merged together and bent back.
He had just transformed into stone Kirby. No wonder that candy cane didn't taste good.
The creatures around around him were gone. The only glimpse of one was it shutting the window closed in its house. Before long, a small, orange blob began to form in the distance.
Applejack got to Ponyville in no time. She had a job to do, and that was to round up Kirby before he could do anymore damage. Applejack noticed that all the surrounding ponies were quietly murmuring to each other, rather than hustling around on a normal day. She quickly trotted over to the owner of the watermelon stand before asking him what was going on.
"Hey, Melon Seed, have ya seen a little critter 'bout the size of yer prized watermelon?"
The cashier proceeded to point in the direction of Sugarcube Corner with his mouth still agape. Applejack hurriedly thanked the melon vendor and made her way to the sweet shop.
Applejack arrived by Sugarcube Corner before spotting something strange. On the street in front of it, stood a grey, circular figure with a blue hat and a pink tuft on its head. She neared in closer before identifying it as Kirby. She then passed it off as the same phenomenon she saw earlier regarding Twilight.
'Boy, this critter sure does change a lot!'
Applejack then took the lasso she had with her, and threw it around Kirby before he could react. Applejack then started walking towards the library before she heard a thud and something tugged against the rope. The mare quickly looked behind her before she spotted a distinct difference. Instead of Kirby, a giant, pink rock, shaped just like Kirby, was sitting in the lasso's grasp.
She was completely baffled. Not even the stealthiest of ponies could have the ability to replace themselves with a giant rock, heavier than what it looks like. That's what confused her even more. Applejack began to trot closer to the rock before the unthinkable happened.
The rock shifted back into the grey Kirby before her very eyes. She was completely unsure of how to react, but one sly idea came to mind.
"If ya come to the library with me, Ah'll get ya somethin' ta' eat."
With that, Kirby released all struggling and visibly brightened in mood. He seemed to begin to trust her more. Kirby and Applejack then set off towards the library, grudges aside.
With a flash, Twilight appeared on the library. Spike was startled by this, and fell off the step ladder we was previously on.
"Whoa, Twilight! You scared me! How'd it go?" inquired Spike as he lifted himself off of the ground.
"Spike, no time. Write a letter."
A/N:
Hello once again, guys! Here I am, across the country in sunny San Diego. Surprisingly, I have plenty of free time to write here.
Well, I would like for you to check out my new blog regarding this story.
Thanks again for all of the feedback and likes! It's what keeps me going!
Last night, I came across an amazing discovery! While the girls and I were stargazing, an alien ship crashed and rolled down the hill we were resting on. The alien is presumed to be called "Kirby", but I'm not completely positive. Kirby also seems to have abilities far beyond my understanding and may be dangerous. Please respond as soon as possible, I'm not exactly sure what to do. In the mean time, I'll try my best to research the alien to the best of my ability.
Your faithful student,
Twilight sparkle
"-Aaaaaaand send it Spike!"
In a flash, the scroll containing the letter disappeared in a shroud of green fire.
"Thanks Spike. I hope the princes-"
"WAIT!"
Twilight was interrupted by the deafening yell of a confused baby dragon.
"You've been telling me, 'Go do this Spike' and, 'Write this!' but you haven't answered me what in the wide world of Equestria is even going on! Who is this 'Kirby' and what's all this talk about aliens!"
Twilight was stunned by this sudden outburst, but regained herself quickly. Now was not the time.
"Just wait, Spike. Once Applejack gets here, I'll explain to you."
Spike, in return, just sounded a groan in defeat. Before the dragon could say anything, a roar sounded from the depths of his stomach.
"Uh, Twilight? Can we go somewhere to eat? I haven't eaten in-"
*THUD*
A large thud emanated from the door, where an orange farmpony stood, accompanied by a certain pink ball.
"Sorry, Twilight. Ah was busy tryin' get this 'ere critter away from Sugarcube Corner."
"It's fine, Applejack. Just bring him over here and have him get in the chair. If he can understand us, we can at least use this time wisely."
EARLIER...
'I've spotted the Kirby. He seems to be speeding towards downtown Ponyville. The target seems to be in search of food, but I can't be sure. The target may be dangerous, keep cautious at all times.'
Pinkie stood on top of a building, overlooking the Ponyville shopping district. She wore a black suit, equipped with a pair of orange night-vision goggles adorning her face. She had been scoping out Kirby since the night they met, barely sleeping a peep. She had her doubts about the pink puff's innocence. So far, Kirby has been a innocent as a foal, but Pinkie wasn't going to give up just yet.
Pinkie had gathered dozens upon dozens of pages of information on the pink puff, but she only held onto the important things.
'Mental notes: Kirby can eat lots and lots of food.'
The pink spy then gathered up her thoughts as she moved herself back to the subject. She quickly leaped from the building and into open streets below, careful not to attract the attention of Kirby. She then tip-hooved her way to cover behind a stall before looking over.
Kirby had stopped right in front of Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie was worried of his intentions, but she couldn't intervene just yet.
In an instant, Kirby flew to the top of the building and looked towards the candy cane on top. He then began to intake tons of air before the candy cane fell from its perch and flew into his gaping maw. In a flash, Kirby changed from pink to grey.
'Okay, Kirby seems to-' Pinkie was then interrupted by a certain voice with a southern drawl.
"Uh, Pinkie? What'er ya doing hidin' behind that stall?"
Pinkie looked behind her before coming to face with Applejack, who was holding a lasso in her mouth. In a fit of panic, Pinkie jumped meters into the air before flying in the opposite direction of the sweet shop.
"MY COVER HAS BEEN BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWN!"
Applejack just stood there dumb-founded for a moment, fazed by the sudden outburst.
"Well, that was kinda weird."
Kirby sat in the middle of a room. It seemed to be a tree completely hollowed out. He was surrounded by books of every color. He was surrounded by two of the "Ponies" from before. Kirby found out what they actually were from the pony who called herself Applejack.
Kirby was unsure of what he was doing there, but so far, he wasn't getting any of the promised food.
Suddenly, a bowl of candy was pushed in front of him. Kirby tried to dive for it, but he was pulled back by a rope that was tied around him.
"Answer, then you'll get some, okay?" said Twilight as she took out a notepad and a quill from her desk.
"Uh, Twi? Don't ya think this is a little... harsh?"
Twilight then turned around with a serious expression before nearing in closer to her and whispering.
"Applejack, this is probably the only way we can ask him questions without him running off!"
Applejack sat there for a moment in thought before speaking up, "Point taken."
The pair then turned back to Kirby, who instead of watching the pair, was eyeing the candy in awe. Twilight then took the opportunity to get some answers out of him.
"Talk"
"Poyo!"
"That's right, you can't talk..." Twilight sat there a moment before an imaginary lightbulb formed over her head. "Just nod yes or no to each question, and I'll give you candy."
The confused Kirby was lightened up at the thought of it, despite being tied up.
"Poyo!" Kirby began to nod vigorously at the thought of getting candy and potentially becoming friends with the ponies.
Twilight then took out a sheet of paper she had on the table before beginning.
"Okay. Question one!"
Princess Celestia sat in her throne room, contemplating her schedule for the day. She had a practically empty day ahead of her. No news had been brought to her and nopony had needed her assistance all day. The only event for her was tea with Luna later. She also hadn't heard from Twilight Sparkle in quite a while, which meant that all was going well in Ponyville. She only wished that the days like these wouldn't be so tedious.
Celestia emitted a yawn before slumping slightly in her throne.
'I hope that something happens soon enou-'
Celestia's thoughts were interrupted by a flash of green fire that revealed a scroll. On the outside of the scroll read the word, "URGENT". Celestia quickly opened the scroll before perusing through. The letter was from Twilight Sparkle.
The silence was interrupted by a gasp. Celestia knew what Twilight was talking about. It was what Celestia least hoped what it was. Celestia knew who Kirby was, and she was not happy.
'If a star warrior is here, that must mean-'
She was quickly interrupted by the sound of the throne room's main doors opening in a slam. In came one of her royal guards, running at top speed.
"Princess Celestia!"
The white stallion fell to a halt as he put on an expression of pure fear.
"IT has returned..."
A/N:
Hi again! Thanks for all the likes and favorites, I really appreciate it.
Sorry for the short chapter, but I didn't have much time. And for those who were wondering where Pinkie was, there she is.
P.S. The first arc won't exactly be canon, but close enough...
EDIT: Mega thanks to this guy. Go follow him. He's awesome. Please. He's super amazing.
'That is practically impossible! The spell was supposed to last for eternity! The arrival of this star warrior could not have been coincidental! I can only be glad that Twilight was able to find him in time.'
Celestia quickly withheld her shock as she collected her thoughts.
"Find Princess Cadence and Shining Armour!"
Celestia threw aside the stack of papers she was currently signing, and summoned a scroll and quill. She then began scribbling down a letter.
Dear my most faithful student,
While I enjoy your enthusiasm about Kirby, I require you to travel to Canterlot as soon as possible for a test. Sadly, I'm busy at the moment, so I require you to watch over Kirby for a day while I finish some errands. This is an important task. It's also imperative that you bring Kirby along as well.
Sincerely, Princess Celestia
"Okay! Question one!"
Twilight levitated her paper from a desk nearby. She then placed her pair of glasses on her forehead before scribbling down a few notes.
"Now, how did you get here?"
"Poyo!" replied Kirby as he attempted to reply.
Twilight cringed a slight as she realized her mistake. Kirby didn't seem to be able to produce normal speech, yet he could understand her. Twilight quickly scribbled that down before looking back to Kirby
"Okay then, I'll ask you yes or no answers, you nod or shake in reply. Each question, I'll give you one of these candie-" Twilight was interrupted by a sudden change in air. Each of the respective candies flew into Kirby's mouth.
Suddenly, Kirby began to blink softly as a small tune could be faintly heard.
"Uhh, Twi? I don't think that was the best idea to keep the candy there."
*THUD*
Twilight flinched as she face-hoofed a little too hard. Today had not been her day.
Twilight then wrote down a note in her notepad: Don't give candy to Kirby.
She then began to think of any yes or no answers to give Kirby. Weirdly enough, none of her questions could be answered with a simple nod. She just had too much to ask.
She then found a simple question, "Okay, Kirby, what-"
"Do ya' like apples the best?"
*THUD*
Twilight could have sworn she had bruised herself by then.
Kirby then slowly shook his head as images of Chef Kawasaki's delicious meals came to mind. He had eaten so many delectable meals there, along with many good memories.
Applejack seemed to become visibly upset by the gesture, but she regained her posture as she let Twilight continue.
"Okay, as I was saying-"
*BURP*
A small, green fire could be could be seen across the room where a small, baby dragon, who had been dusting the shelves, had his claw against his stomach.
Twilight visibly fumed at the matter. She had been interrupted twice.
"Spike! Manners!"
She then stomped over to the baby dragon before realizing what was floating in front of his face. In front of him was a letter from Princess Celestia.
Twilight was shocked. Not only was she surprised that she responded so early, but the fact that Princess Celestia was probably swamped with paperwork after a hurricane spawned due to a weather mishap in Manehatten.
Twilight then put aside the other things as she grasped the letter with her levitation.
She quickly opened the letter before addressing the shortness of the letter.
*GASP*
'A test!? OH, NONONONO! What could it possible be about!? I cannot fail this!'
Without warning, Twilight teleported to the nearest nearest desk before levitating her saddle bag off the hook by the door.
She then began emptying the contents of the desk into her saddle bag before throwing a giant stack of note cards at Spike.
"Spike! I need you to watch over Kirby while I go study, stat!"
Applejack then turned to Kirby, who had a confused expression on his face. Kirby then turned to Applejack before nodding in understanding and running to the door, followed by Applejack. Before long, Spike had stopped paying attention and walked out the door towards Kirby, with a look of concern plastered on his face.
Applejack, Spike, and Kirby slowly traveled down the Ponyville streets towards Sweet Apple Acres. They were unsure about what was going on, but it was bound to be serious. The mare slowly turned around before hearing an explosion as the tree house flew a good 30 meters into the sky.
'Hmm, I woulda expected a good 50.'
They then continued their way to the farm.
Celestia and Luna stood in front of a bright pink stain-glass window as they discussed the matter at hoof.
"Sister, why don't I come along to help?" asked Luna.
"Luna, this is Kirby and Twilight's burden to carry."
Luna grew rather upset at the remark.
"Just what is all this talk about Kirby and the star warriors?"
Celestia's eyes darkened as she reached into her mind and pulled the memories from long ago.
"Around a thousand years ago, a few years after your banishment, The Crystal Empire and its residents were attacked and enslaved by King Sombra. The had been forced to mine the surrounding crystals that only grew in that area. We believed that the crystals had been Sombra's source of power, but we were wrong." A slight gasp emanated from Luna's mouth. She knew who Sombra was, but the fact that previous research was wrong, surprised her. "The crystals were being taken to places unknown by ponies and never to be seen again. One day, a star-shaped ship fell from the sky. Inside was a peculiar female unicorn name Galacta Noble, who claimed to be a star warrior. The mare had offensive abilities like none other. She was a master in the art of fighting. She claimed that she came to Equestria to stop the impending evil after escaping from the grasp of an evil empire named N.M.E."
Luna was in shock as she took in the things just told to her. Celestia, on the other hand, continued talking.
"She came from the Meta Tribe, where they sent their youth to planets to protect them. She said that the tribe shaped upon maturity, which gave her the unicorn form. She had apparently landed in Equestria before, and shaped into a unicorn upon maturity. She had sent off her son before it had been intercepted by N.M.E., where they attempted to use his DNA to create the Anti Star Warrior weapon, used to stop the star warriors. The son, on the other hoof, was unable to perform the task, so they tried to shape him into the perfect weapon. They captured Galacta Noble, who was attempting to save Kirby, and used her to aid them. N.M.E. hadn't taken into account of the son himself, and he rebelled. With the newly gained power, he was able to escape N.M.E. and returned flew into space on his original ship, but not before helping his mother. Galacta was placed into stasis so she could witness the end of the star warriors, especially after the things they had obtained from her. Galacta was able to escape with the help of the son, and flew threw space. The son, on the other hand, continued another way."
Celestia was visibly strained from all the thinking. The words of the Star Warrior were engraved in her mind. She wished that they would never have to have been brought up again, but now it was too late. She continued.
"Galacta had been transported through space, and into Equestria. With her help, I was able to seal off Sombra and save the Crystal empire. Before Sombra left, he cursed the crystal empire and the people in it as it vanished. The star warrior was sealed away along with the empire, never to be seen again, until now."
Celestia then trotted over to the nearest window before pointing out to a specific statue in the gardens. The statue depicted a unicorn, unlike the others.
Luna was shocked. She had just learned about a new tribe of intergalactic warriors that existed for so long, yet she was completely clueless. The old stories had never mentioned anything about a star warrior. One thing confused Luna though.
"Celestia?"
"Yes, Luna?"
"How does the story about the star warrior's son have to do with this?"
Celestia's expression darkened ever so slightly as her a small phrase escaped her mouth.
"Kirby is the son."
A/N:
Hi guys! I'm sorry about the little delay. I was writing this on my birthday yesterday, but it froze and I lost all of my progress.
Yes, this is my twist. I'm sorry if it is rather sudden and/or rushed, but I did this quickly after having to re-write it. I took the info I knew/learned, and changed it up a little. All of the items hear may, or may not be entirely canon for Kirby and/or MLP.
Special thanks to Camlio for the help!
If anyone's wondering, This is just the first arc.
Quick Note: This part is not finished. It's a little extra detail and fun to be had before the main part of the story comes, rather than just write for a new story. If you'd like, you can just skip to the next chapter, but this one is still pretty fun.
Thank you!
P.S. I've changed the last chapter, so that Kirby stays in Ponyville for an extra day before going, for those who may be confused.
Kirby panned his head to view the world around it. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of a world where the colors shown brightly. The world was a beautiful. The people were fun. The food was delicious. What more could he want?
He hopped his way through town, slaloming through confused ponies, all who seemed to whisper among themselves at the marvel of the strange Kirby. They obviously had never expected to see another creature so unusual. They knew of the creatures around Equestria, but this one escaped their knowledge. They passed him off as more cute, than dangerous.
Applejack and Spike followed the bouncing pink blob through the streets. They were lingering behind. He was rather small, so it wasn't relatively hard to keep up, save for Spike, who had to sit up on Applejack's back. He was going as fast as just a quick trot for Applejack. To her, it wasn't even a problem, seeing as how she could go through the running of the leaves like it was a small walk. She had to call out to Kirby to keep him out of trouble and on the right path.
It was weird to Applejack, seeing as how Kirby understood her. It didn't make sense to her. He was an alien.
'Maybe he's got a translator doohickey...'
"Hey, Applejack," Called out Spike from her back. "what do you plan on doing with Kirby for the rest of the day?"
Applejack hadn't really thought of that until now.
"Ah dunno. Maybe he could do some work on the 'ol farm. Ah got no idea what the critter does 'fer fun."
Spike thought for a moment. He began to remember the cool things he saw Kirby do.
'I'm pretty sure I could find more... FUN things to do with Kirby.' thought Spike as he twiddled his claw's digits with a devious expression on his face.
Kirby, on the other hand, was devoid of any worries, plans, or otherwise things to do. He knew his new friends were going to take care of everything, so he just went along with it. He couldn't help but be curious.
He was in the middle of a new town in a new world. He required a tour of the village. He wanted to see the residents, the places, and the activities lying around town.
Without warning, his feet stopped as he did a quick U-turn. He sped his body straight to a quick run as he juked past Applejack, who in turn, tried reaching down to stop the pink missile, to no avail. He ran straight ahead, followed by a screaming orange mare and a baby dragon holding onto her tail.
Kirby flew through ponies at an alarming rate. Even though he was fast and agile, it really wasn't long before Applejack caught up to him.
"Hold on, Kirby! Where do ya' think yer going?"
Kirby turned around slowly before giving Applejack a face. A face that told her that he really wanted to see the rest of Ponyville.
This ancient technique was called the, "Puppy eyes". Few have mastered it, but it is a dangerous weapon.
Applejack stared at him for a moment before she let out a large sigh.
"Fine, Kirby. Ah'll give you a tour around Ponyville, but ya' have to promise not to run off again! You could scare ponies have ta' death."
Kirby looked behind Applejack for a moment, where he was met with the many stares of ponies that had viewed their little... race. He turned his gaze back to Applejack before give a nod in understanding.
"Alright then. Ah guess Ah'll have you properly introduced to Rainbow Dash, Ah guess. She's the closest by, since we're almost outta town anyway."
Applejack turned her glance backwards, where a beautiful, hued cloud house. It floated mid-air over a large plain of grass. It was where she'd take naps and practice flying most of the time. She always raced ponies there for no apparent reason, no matter who it was, stranger or opponent. She just had a knack for challenges.
Kirby stared at the house for a while before smiling. He liked the perfect rainbow color that was flowing off of the cloud like a waterfall. It was beautiful and mysterious.
"Alright, let's go."
Applejack turned around... only to find Spike in the center of the road, face down.
"Oh, um... sorry! Ah didn't see you fall off."
Applejack lifted Spike up from the ground and onto her back. She was slightly embarrassed at the prospect of not noticing.
"That hurt..." said Spike as his head bobbed back and forth, his claws massaging his aching head.
Spike jumped down off of Applejack's back before turning away from the two.
"Hey, sorry Applejack, but I'm gonna check on Twilight right now. I'm sure she needs my help. Also, I'm fine."
The purple dragon slowly walked off towards the Library once again. Little did he know of the chaos he was walking himself into.
Applejack turned her head back to Kirby before flashing him a little smile.
"Ah guess we'll just head on over to RD's now. We've got all day to waste since it's just the mornin'."
"Poyo!"
Rainbow Dash stirred from her sleep as the morning sun flew over the horizon. The light penetrated the cloud layer, turning the entire room a bright white. Her cloud wasn't made of very thick clouds, so it wasn't as hard for light to get through.
Her senses returned to her before she opened her eyes. She stared at the white ceiling for a few moments before using her right fore-hoof to push her blanket off her. She felt the cool, misty around her reach her coat, slightly cooling her down.
She felt great.
She pushed herself into a seating position on the side of her bed, letting the bones in her body crack. She then set herself on her hooves and did a few stretches. Dash inhaled a breath of fresh air, trying to wake herself up. It wasn't easy waking up, but it was well-worth it in the long-run. Anyway, she had to meet up with her friends early to talk about and meet Kirby.
She traipsed her way through the doors in her room before going to her kitchen. After a quick breakfast of oats and milk, she walked over to the front door of her house. She opened the door before readying herself and flying through.
Rainbow Dash usually did a few exercises every day, to ensure that she stays at her physical status. Dash flew to the ground momentarily before taking a deep breath. She then let go of that breath before shooting off into the sky, doing flips and tricks alike, going at high speeds. To other pegasi, it'd be an impressive feat, but to Rainbow Dash, it was a normal routine.
As she straightened out, she couldn't help but notice an orange and pink dot coming towards her cloud house. It unmistakable who they were, especially as how the pink dot was a perfect circle. She flew over to the pair nonchalantly before placing her hooves on the ground. She had a curious expression on her face as she eyed over Kirby for a few moments. She had just had the time to formally meet Kirby, without him eating their cookies.
"Heya Applejack. What'cha doing here?"
Applejack smiled to Rainbow Dash before gesturing her hoof towards Kirby.
"Twilight an' Kirby are goin' to Canterlot tomorrow, so Ah thought I'd introduce 'im to our friends and give 'im a tour around Ponyville."
Rainbow Dash eyed Kirby for a moment before Kirby give her back a smile. It seemed to be filled with excitement and happiness. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smirk.
"Cool. Hey, Kirby. I'm Rainbow Dash, the FASTEST flyer in Equestria!"
Applejack seemed to perform a slight face-hoof at this, but RD didn't notice it.
Kirby, on the other hand, seemed to jump at the sound of the word, "Flyer". Without warning he pulled himself off the ground and began to float in mid-air.
Rainbow Dash slightly jumped at this before she thought back to the night before, where Kirby shrugged off a hit and flew over back over to them. She was slightly surprised that Kirby didn't even seem to hold a grudge.
'Hey, wait... I wonder how fast Kirby really is...'
Rainbow Dash quickly left the pair for a moment before flying into her house. She rummaged through her shelves before stumbling upon a large cookie jar. She quickly snatched it before flying out of her house again. She reached the ground before showing the jar to Kirby.
Kirby's eyeballs grew a few inches as he gazed upon the cookies. He loved cookies. A lot. He couldn't help but pounce at the jar, to which Rainbow Dash pulled away quickly.
"Say, Kirby. You can have these cookie jars if you can beat me in a race."
Applejack face-hoofed so hard, it was audible. She hadn't heard of such a ridiculous ploy to race somepony to race her like that ever, taking advantage of Kirby's love for food.
'Sometimes that Dash's is way too full of herself...'
Kirby, on the other hand, was determined to win. He grew a face of determination. He knew he could do it if he tried hard enough.
Rainbow Dash grew a smirk at Kirby's response. She didn't really care too much about winning, but more about what he was capable of. Also, the fact that she beat an alien in a race would look good on her resume.
"Alright, I'll place this cookie jar on the other side of town. First one to it wins!"
"Hold up, RD!"
Dash began to fly away before she felt a tight tug on her stomach. She looked down to see a lasso tied around her. She tried multiple times to move, but she couldn't fly.
"What are ya' even tryin' to do? Ya' know you'll win regardless! Yer' just teasing the poor critter!"
Rainbow Dash flew down towards Applejack before stopping in mid-air. She clearly had an expression of annoyance plastered on her face. She knew it was inevitable for her to win.
"What do you want me to do? Give him a wheel?"
Applejack was about to say something before a strange thought came into her mind. She wasn't exactly sure if it was going to work, but it was worth a try.
"Actually, you do that."
Rainbow Dash was about to fly off to find a wheel in an alley or some other place, but she looked down and thought something felt... off.
"Hey, AJ."
"Yeah, Rainbow?"
"Could you, ya know, get this lasso off me?"
Applejack jumped in realization as she finally remembered. She couldn't believe she had forgotten. She quickly removed the lasso before Dash shot off. A few minutes later, she came back with a large, wooden wheel. It was used for carriages, but it had been lying in an alley between two buildings for some reason.
"Alright, NOW can I put the cookie jar on the other side of Ponyville?"
Applejack slightly sighed at this. She didn't think Rainbow Dash would stoop so low, but it didn't really matter. Regardless, Kirby's going to have fun, tour Ponyville, and meet her friends, so it was sort of a win-win situation.
"A'right, y'all can go now."
Without a word, Rainbow Dash sped off down the path towards Fluttershy's cottage, all the way across Ponyville.
As soon as RD was out of sight, Applejack sped over to Kirby, wheel in hoof. She placed it before Kirby, staring at 'im expectantly.
"Sorry, Kirby. I know Rainbow Dash is a little rash and full of 'erself sometimes, but she's a loyal friend at heart. Now, I don't know if this'll help, but here's a wheel. I hope you-"
Before she could finish, Kirby opened his mouth. He began to intake air at a large quantity and power, devouring the wheel within seconds. Kirby was covered in a blinding light. It was visible for close to a mile away for some, but his position caught the attention of nopony.
Applejack slowly opened her eyes, slightly cringing at the change of light. She couldn't help but stare at Kirby.
Wheel Kirby.
He wore a large, red hat. He wasn't relatively different, save for the hat. Applejack wasn't entirely sure what the power did herself, but she could only assume it had to do with wheels.
Kirby stared around with his new ability. In the distance, Rainbow Dash was flying back.
As Rainbow reached the area where Kirby was, she couldn't help but notice Kirby's new apparel. It was weird to her. She hadn't recalled seeing Kirby wearing that. As she neared Kirby and Applejack, she lowered herself to the ground. She stopped in front of Kirby, eyeing his hat warily.
"Alright, I left the cookies on the other side of town by Fluttershy's cottage steps. The first one there gets the prize!"
"Poyo!"
Rainbow Dash turned around before Kirby met up next to her. She slowly lowered her self into a starting position. Kirby just stood static, a stoic expression on his face. He was determined to win, but he wouldn't let anything keep him from winning.
"Say, since I'm so good, I'll let you have a head start."
Rainbow Dash stared back to Kirby, who in return, just smiled back as wide as he could.
"Alright, on the count of three, we go."
Kirby nodded in agreement.
"Alright, 3."
Kirby stared straight ahead. He memorized his way from Twilight's library, which was positioned near the other side of the town from where he was.
"2."
He lowered himself, preparing to start at any moment.
"1."
He could practically taste the cookies,
"GO!"
As soon as he heard the word, he transformed into a large, pink tire. He began speeding down the same dirt path he originally came down on. The tire picked up the dirt from below and flung it into the air. Kirby was flying down the path unbelievably quickly. He didn't think of it so much as competition, but of fun.
Rainbow Dash was frozen. She couldn't believe her eyes. He had just transformed into some sort of wheel thing. She had never seen anything like it. What she wanted to know just as much is where the wheel she gave to Applejack was.
"What was that!?"
Without a moment's notice, she sped off as fast as she could behind Kirby, who was speeding quickly. Rainbow Dash was slightly afraid of actually losing the race at the rate that he was going at. She followed Kirby down the path, trees flying by and bushed whistling in the gusts of air Kirby and she left behind them. It was only a matter of time before they were to reach Ponyville.
As they neared the end of the path, Rainbow Dash was behind him only close to 8 meters. It didn't seem very far but regarding the speed the two were at, it could take a bit more effort to catch up. She flew in closer and closer. meter by meter.
As Kirby saw Rainbow behind him, he began to go slightly faster. He focused his attention back towards the front of him. Ahead of him a while there was a large, arched bridge. On the other side was a myriad of buildings, ponies, and scenery. He knew what he had to do.
As soon as Kirby reached the bridge, he took off. The trajectory of the bridge sent Kirby flying through the air. The two had been going nearly 200 hooves per second, so he was sent flying. Rainbow Dash could only watch as Kirby flew out of her vision and into the air where she followed suit, making sure she makes it first before him.
Kirby landed on a rooftop, where he surprisingly didn't break it. Instead, he fell on the center of the roof, where it was flat. He didn't lose any momentum from the impact. He was now on the rooftops, gliding across them, similar to how Pinkie pie hopped across them.
Rainbow Dash could only watch in horror as the circular bullet bounced across the rooftops going over 5 houses a time. She had no idea that Kirby could put up such a fight, especially for cookies.
As the pair flew through Ponyville, the citizens watched in horror. They had no idea what was going on, and why a pink wheel was flying across the town.
Rainbow Dash was getting so close to Kirby for every hop. She didn't have to worry about bouncing across the rooftops to win, so she was quickly gaining the upper hoof. Sadly the initial shock after the flying wheel stopped her momentarily. Now she was a mere 15 meters behind and gaining quickly. Sadly the roof tops were ending. She was this close to winning. It hadn't been much inability to go fast, but more like the shock of seeing this.
As Kirby reached the end of the rooftops, he saw ahead of him: a stone pathway, a bridge over a river, then a small pathway to a cottage in the distance, where it rested outside of a large forest.
Kirby had an idea.
The pink wheel flew off the roof top, ponies scattering to get out of the way. They had created a straight path to the bridge.
As Kirby flew down the street at an extremely high velocity, Rainbow Dash smirked as she flew over Kirby. She had been able to gain the upper hoof.
'Yes!'
She flew over the bridge and down the short path quickly. She shot down the path, trees flying by. She could see the cottage right up ahead. She was so close.
But it was short lived.
As Rainbow flew through the clearing, she instantly slowed down to collect her prize. The jar rested a few feet ahead of Fluttershy's door, resting on her welcome place-mat. As she touched the cobblestone a few meters away from Fluttershy's cottage, a pink blob jumped from above her smashed into the jar directly, before flying forward into Fluttershy's door.
Rainbow Dash quickly flew through the door as fast as she could. She hastily searched around. The animals had all scattered from the shock. Rainbow saw Fluttershy huddled up in a corner shaking in fear, eyes dilated. In the center of the room, surrounded by rubble was...
Quick Note: This chapter is after the chapter I am currently making. The previous chapter is not necessarily imperative to be read, and you can continue reading regardless.
Applejack and Kirby stood by the Ponyville train station. Applejack had been trying to explain to Kirby some things regarding Equestria itself, but Applejack's method flew right through Kirby's mind. Kirby was intelligent and could memorize certain things well, but it would take more than a short session to get it through his mind. Back in Cappy Town, they didn't have anything like ponies and special unicorn magic.
Luckily, Applejack was able to explain to Kirby about her friends, their names, where they lived, their occupations, and many other aspects. Kirby, on the other hand, was more interested in the abnormalities of this world. This world had many noticeable differences. The colors in both worlds were both bright, the worlds both spoke the same language, and they seemed to be oblivious to Star Warriors. Kirby was also confused why he obtained the beam ability from Twilight. He was also confused why the giant gingerbread house had a giant stone candy cane on it instead of real candy.
Applejack had already purchased three tickets to Canterlot using the money Twilight threw at her in haste. One for Spike, Twilight, and Kirby. She had no idea why they had to go, but she just tossed it aside as Twilight's business. The train left in 15 minutes, which gave them plenty of time. They ride was only a simple 30 minutes, but it was still the quickest way to Canterlot.
'Ah wonder why Kirby's comin' along too.'
Applejack was about to start up another conversation, but before she could, a purple speck began to grow in the distance, along with another, shorter purple speck. As they grew closer, Applejack was able to identify them as Twilight and Spike. Twilight had a rather large saddlebag that seemed to be filled to the brim with scrolls, quills, and other items that had to do with writing.
The cowpony quickly trotted up to Twilight before giving her Spike and Twilight's tickets.
"Um, need any help with that?"
"No thanks, Applejack. I need to start boarding anyway, the train's leaving in 10 minutes!"
Applejack nodded in understanding before stepping out of the way.
The mares said their goodbyes before Twilight, Spike, and Kirby boarded the train.
Kirby was rather confused by all that was going on. First, he landed and slept in a barn. The next thing he knows, he's on a train to a place called Canterlot. He wasn't sure why he needed to go, but there must have been a reason his ship sent him here. Kirby then decided to go along with it. These ponies seemed really nice.
They quickly took their seats before Twilight took out a notepad out of the large bag and opening it to the page she previously had before their Q&A got interrupted.
'All this time, Kirby seemed to have a large interest in eating food. It would probably have to do with his UNIVERSE for a stomach. Note: I'll have to research that later.
"So, Kirby. I have another question for you."
Kirby seemed to lift his head in interest, for he had nothing to do the whole trip seeing how they said it would take 30 minutes.
"Do you like food?"
The train ride neared Canterlot as their Q&A came to an abrupt stop. Twilight had been asking Kirby many Y/N questions, most involving food. She did manage to get lots of unnecessary info that pretty much did nothing as well. Spike, on the other hand, slept the entire time due to the fact that he barely got any sleep while Twilight studied all night.
The train slowed to a stop as it reached the train station. The realization hit Twilight like a ton of bricks.
"I FORGOT TO STUUUUUUUUUUUDYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
The booming voice was accompanied by a purple blur flying out of the train. The voice echoed everywhere, and seemed to silence the whole city for a second.
As Kirby and Spike stepped out of the train, Kirby gave Spike a confused look.
"Oh, yeah. Twilight...does that. You'll get used to it."
Spike then began walking towards the Canterlot Castle, where Twilight was bound to be. For Twilight, it was be tardy, or not study. Kirby then followed suit behind Spike.
The pair continued walking down the streets of Canterlot. Spike walked casually, while Kirby skipped along in glee, which seemed to be the usual attitude of him. The ponies around them turned their attention towards them, and fell silent. Not a single sound was made the entire trip. The ponies were either aghast at the sight of Kirby, or just plain confused.
"Just don't pay them any attention. They'll get used to ya."
Kirby nodded in response.
Twilight ran the castle with haste. She didn't want the princess to think she was slacking and be tardy! Usually, she'd be crumbling under the weight of the saddle bags, but the thought of possible being late gave her an incentive not to take a break.
Twilight's mind raced with questions. All that had been taking place lately had been troubling her.
'Why does the princess want me? Does it have to do with Kirby? Who IS Kirby? Why does he have a universe for a stomach!?'
The ponies around her shot her glances of surprise, but Twilight was in too much of a rush to pay it any mind. She was too confused as is to care.
Twilight gleamed with happiness with a trace of worry as the castle came into view. She quickly rushed into the castle before the guards could do anything, but they quickly realized it was just Twilight.
She hurried herself into the throne room, where Princess Celestia stood.
*AHEM*
The princesses turned around before coming face to face with Twilight.
"You said you needed me, for, um, a test?" Twilight then levitated the large saddlebags off of her back.
"I made sure to bring lots of quills and scrolls to show all my work!"
The items in the saddlebags spilled out along with a lone scroll that rolled to the princess's hooves. She then lifted it up with her magic before rolling it up.
"This, is a different kind of test."
She then levitated all of the contents back into the bags.
"The Crystal Empire has returned."
Twilight was shocked. She had not ever heard of the crystal empire.
"I-I'm sorry! I thought I was sure about everything, but I couldn't find anything in my books about-"
"There wouldn't be."
Celestia began to walk to the back of the back of the room before lifting the glass of a pedestal before lifting the crystal inside the glass case to the floor in front of Twilight.
"Even my knowledge of the Crystal empire is limited."
Suddenly, Celestia hit the crystal with a beam of magic before a projection of a city emanated around it.
"But what I do know, is that it contains a powerful magic."
The projection showed crystal ponies prancing around the streets before the sky began to darken.
"One thousand years ago, King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart was black as night, took over the Crystal Empire, and enslaved all who lived in it."
The projection then showed of the land turning dark and the ponies in chains, walking, doing all that Sombra commanded.
"He was ultimately defeated and banished to the Arctic North."
It then showed Sombra being sealed between the cracks of ice.
"But not before he placed a curse on the Empire that caused it to vanish into thin air."
She then began to raise the crystal into the air.
"If the empire is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected above all of Equestria. But if hatred and fear take hold-"
Suddenly, Celestia horn emitted a dark, purple and green magic wave that struck the crystal before it turned an onyx black. A dark shadow then cast over towards twilight where a stalagmite of dark crystal grew from the ground right before her where it branched off around her and more stalagmites grew.
Suddenly, Celestia's horn glowed before she shot a beam of magic where it destroyed the dark crystals.
"-which is why I need your help to find a way to protect it."
Twilight looked in shock.
"You want me to protect an empire?"
Celestia then walked over to the pedestal before placing the crystal back in its place.
"This is why I told you it was a different test. You'll be with your friends, Shining Armour, Princess Cadance, and Kirby to help you."
Twilight finally understood, it was a big task, but she could do it.
"Where do I begin!"
"You will be meeting with Shining Armour and Cadance in the Empire."
Twilight was about to agree and carry on, but one giant detail confused her. One thing that was completely oblivious to her.
"Why is Kirby coming along?"
Celestia's eyes closed for a second before she spoke.
"You cannot ultimately defeat Sombra without Kirby. This is Kirby's fight. You are there to assist Cadance and Shining Armour and protect the citizens."
Twilight understood as she put on a brave face, but underneath, there was a layer of worry and doubt. Twilight then turned to the exit before walking.
"You can count on me, Princess."
"Okay, in you go, Kir-"
Spike was interrupted by Twilight walking through the door with an expression of doubt
"Well, that was quick!"
Twilight didn't reply.
"Did you pass?"
Twilight stayed silent.
"Did-...did you...fail?"
Kirby was confused for a second as music started playing from absolutely nowhere. Suddenly, Twilight began to sing a soothing voice. Kirby was confused for a second, before the uplifting voice brought him into a happy mood. Twilight then started to dance and act along with spike in different ways. Even Spike began to sing, which was actually pretty good.
Kirby contributed as he added a distinct, "Poyo!" between every line sung. The group danced through the streets and gardens, singing the whole way as they neared the station. Many dances and magic were used during it, including some rather brief stops.
The song came to an end as they reached to steps of the train stop. Spike sat down before a question reached his mind.
"Uh, fail what exactly?"
Before Spike could get an answer, The arriving train's doors opened. Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie all walked out of the car before coming to face Twilight. They all saw Kirby, but the passes it aside for the moment.
Suddenly, Pinkie reached out of nowhere and retrieved a cannon. Then, a loud voice boomed from Pinkie Pie as she turned on a huge smile.
"CONGRATULATIONS!"
Pinkie then cocked the cannon to shoot it, but before it shot, the cannon flew from its place and into Kirby's mouth in a huge tornado of wind. Kirby was enveloped in a flash before a blue cap adorned his head and a bomb appeared in his hands.
Kirby then took the bomb and ate it since he didn't need it at the moment.
The mares who recently exited the train were aghast, especially Fluttershy, who hid behind Rainbow Dash. The silence held for a few moments before Twilight spoke up.
"I'll explain on the train. For now, to the Crystal Empire!"
Silence.
"HUH!?"
A/N:
Hi guys! Here ya go. I only spent 4 hours on this one, with an accidental deletion, but otherwise, it's all good!
Some parts were botched because I deleted it, but I hope it's okay enough.
This is probably my longest chapter ever... which is sad.
The group entered the train adjacent to the previous train on a track parallel to the other track. The train was large and had many trains for different uses. The rooms varied from simple seating carts, to luxurious separate rooms reserved for the highest of elites, to even restaurant carts with simple booths.
Twilight and her friends retreated to a room where they fit their luggage before hurrying to the doughnut shop that was inside one of the carts. The mares then sat in a booth made for six. Kirby and Spike decided to sit at a booth on the other side of the room. Twilight had already warned the shop owner about Kirby and to not let him near the food.
As Twilight sat down in her seat, she was met with the stares of the rest of her friends. Rainbow Dash then leaned forward before talking in a hushed tone.
"What the BUCK is Kirby!?" Luckily, the group at the booth was only able to hear her, and she didn't attract the attention of anypony else.
Twilight sighed. There wasn't much to talk about Kirby other than her observations, and she didn't want to say what there was. She was too intrigued to focus on anything else.
"Well...for one, Kirby is an alien."
Twilight was met with a bunch of un-amused stares.
"No, I'm more interested where Kirby got that BOMB!"
This time, Kirby's attention shifted towards the group before he turned back seconds later.
"Well, I'm not exactly SURE, but after my brief 'field research' with Kirby has had me learn many things about him."
Twilight then pulled out a notepad from her saddle bag, where she was to be taking notes on Kirby and had been before.
"Well, for one thing, Kirby has the ability to fly. Another thing-"
"Well I bet he can't beat me!" While the other ponies were fascinated by this, Rainbow Dash was filling her already enormous ego.
Twilight face-hoofed before continuing.
"Another thing, as that Kirby has an infinitely large stomach."
Twilight was met with three bewildered expressions, save for Fluttershy who was aghast, and Pinkie Pie, who was visibly excited.
"O-oh my..."
"OH. MY. CELESTIA! Kirby and I could eat tons of candy and cake and have parties and fun and go places and meet new friends and go on adventures andpullpranksandhavefunand-!"
Pinkie was stopped by a sky-blue hoof that was stuffed into her mouth.
"Okay, say what?"
"Well, I was reading in my library for anything about Kirby, and Applejack came barging in, explaining to me how Kirby ate over a thousand apples within seconds."
Every other mare at the tables' faces contorted to a face of extreme confusion as they all turned to face the pink puff.
"-I then trotted over to Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack before finding Kirby in an apple tree, surrounded by many empty apple trees. I then lifted him down with my magic before I opened his mouth and looked inside. Inside, was an entire universe. I could see a floating pile of apples and many other foods. I may have seen some creatures in there, but I can't be certain. What I did see was a pile of various swords, torches, blankets, and other items which, for some reason, were there."
All of the ponies' faces never changed. Even Applejack, who was there was shocked by the news. Pinkie seemed to be very excited, but seemed to be confused simultaneously. Rainbow Dash, who gloated to be the best around, was shocked. Fluttershy seemed to be horrified at the thought of there possibly being creatures down there.
"That's not it. My magic slipped, and I fell into Kirby's mouth by accident. Luckily, Applejack caught me and pulled me up."
Twilight recalled the next part of the story before a chill went up her spine.
"When I came out, Kirby had been changed into a yellow ball with a red and orange jester-like cap on his head with a wand in his hand. Based on what I've seen, Kirby can copy the element of whatever he eats."
Everypony around seemed to finally understand as they each grew an 'Aha!' expression, save for Fluttershy who seemed to be even more horrified.
Twilight was about to wrap up before Rarity spoke up.
"Well, darling, one last question. Why is Kirby coming along with us to the Crystal Empire, and what IS the Crystal Empire?"
Twilight seemed to freeze for a second as the memories of the throne room returned to her. She slowly repeated everything Celestia repeated to her, save for the part about Kirby. She explained the apparitions she saw in full detail, describing what happened in terms of events and visual details.
"-Only one thing confused me. Celestia said that Sombra cannot be defeated without Kirby."
Rarity's face, along with the others' switched to one of deep confusion once again.
"But...what does Kirby have to do with Sombra, and why did the events happen so close together?"
"I...I don't know."
Kirby and Spike sat by the counter of the doughnut shop, minding their own business. Spike knew for a fact that the girls were talking about Kirby, but Spike figured that some of it was probably just chatter between themselves. Anyway, he had Kirby right there to talk to. Not that it would be two-sided, but Y/N questions worked pretty well.
Kirby, on the other hand, was eyeing the counter of the doughnut shoppe. The creamy delicacies were mere feet away from him, yet so far. Kirby had over-heard Twilight talking to the owner and was upset. He hadn't had doughnuts for years, and they were right there. Taunting him. He paid no attention to the mares behind him, yet he couldn't care less.
One thing did confuse Kirby. When he first arrived in Equestria, the ponies there seemed extremely familiar in un-explainable reasons. IT was like he had seen them before, yet he never had. Suddenly, his thought was interrupted by a voice to his right.
"Hey, Kirby," said Spike as he gained the attention of Kirby. "You seem pretty engrossed by those doughnuts. I can buy you one if you want."
"Poyo!" Kirby's face completely changed from one of thought into one of apparent happiness as he nodded vigorously. Spike then walked over to the counter before buying two glazed doughnuts. He then handed kirby one before munching on the other.
Kirby seemed to savor this meal rather than scarf it down in a bite. It had been a while since Kirby had been able to savor a delicious treat such as this one. It was by far the best tasting one he had ever taken.
Spike finished off his doughnut before standing up and walking toward Twilight.
"I'm gonna take a nap in my bed for now, okay?" It was a whole day's trip, so they each received a bed.
Twilight then gave him an understanding nod before Spike walked over to the table and picked up his stuff. He then turned to Kirby.
"Hey, you want me to show you where we're sleeping?"
Kirby nodded, having nothing else to do.
The pair then walked out of the cart before walking down a few carts, passing through quickly, due to the low amount of other passengers on-board. They then reached a room with small bunk beds resting on both sides of the cart down in rows. Each bed had a complimentary mint a blanket and pillow.
Spike then pointed to a specific bed that had a little paper sign that read "Kirby" on it, showing that it was, indeed, Kirby's bed.
Kirby's eye quickly met with the mint before he ran over to his bed. He quickly jumped on top before in-taking air. Much to Kirby's misfortune, he had forgotten to take the blanket out from underneath the mint before eating it. He unwarily swallowed the whole before a flash filled the room. A Blue sleeping cap with yellow dots appeared on his head.
Without warning, the room began to darken before he fell into a deep sleep.
Kirby slowly came to his senses as he awoke from his slumber. The world around him spun for a second before he became fully aware of his surroundings. Suddenly, Kirby realized the hat on his head had already disappeared, meaning that it had worn off long before in the night, but he slept through an entire night regardless. It must have been all those apples that made him tired. Kirby felt as powerful as ever and fully rested. He took a quick look around the cart they were in before spotting a clock on the wall. It had only been about 12 hours, but his dragon friend was still fast asleep, as if he hadn't gotten any sleep for days.
Kirby then peeked outside through the window. The surrounding area was covered in a gold sand. A small streak of green could be distinguished in the distance behind the train. in the other direction was sand, mountains, and a small, colorful speck in the distance.
Kirby turned away from the window before jumping off the bed. He looked both ways before remembering which way he came. Before he could choose which way, the voice of a male boomed from above.
"The train will arrive at Appleloosa station in approximately 5 minutes on our first stop to the Arctic North."
Kirby took in the information before heading back the way he came. The walk through the carts was relatively easy, as he remembered which cart they had been in prior. As Kirby re-entered the doughnut shop car, he couldn't shake the feeling of hunger that threatened his stomach. He quickly searched the floor for loose change, but came up with no luck. He then continued through the other cars before coming to a stop at what seemed to be a regular restaurant.
He spotted 6 figures seated in a large table at the other side of the room. They seemed like they had just been seated minutes ago, seeing how they had nothing on their tables other than menus. Kirby noticed two empty seats next to them, as if they had remembered to include Kirby and Spike.
Kirby then floated over to their table.
Earlier...
Twilight awoke from her sleep as the sun invaded her eyes. She began to gain feeling in her body before her mind was set straight. Twilight slowly sat up in her bed. She noticed the sleeping forms of Spike, Kirby, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. The rest seemed to be up and about. She took a quick peek outside. The area around was full of sand, sand, and more sand. Oh, there was a rock too.
Twilight pulled herself from her bed as she fell to her hooves on the clacking floors of the train. She trotted over to her bag before spying a peculiar blue box on the floor. It was next to Applejack's bed, but Twilight hadn't seen it before. As much as Twilight didn't like looking at other people's stuff, the curiosity in her over took as she levitated off the ground and lifted it in front of her face. She hastily opened it before peeking inside.
Inside, was a small, yellow star. As she examined it further, it suddenly blinked, as if it reacted to Twilight.
'I wonder... This seems awfully similar to Kirby's Star Ship.'
Twilight pondered. This box could hold great importance to Kirby. Twilight mostly wondered what caused the star to flicker.
Without warning, a very unlady-like yawn escaped from Rarity's mouth as she was shaken from her beauty sleep. Twilight quickly closed the box and placed it back to where it originally was.
"Oh, good morning, Twilight." said Rarity as she wiped her eyes, attempting to wake herself up.
"Good morning, Rarity."
Rarity then slowly rose to her hooves before levitating a brush from her bag up to her mane before starting to stroke it through her hair, making sure she looked her best. After a few moments, she lowered the brush down into her bag before bringing her attention back to Twilight.
"So, wh-"
*RUMBLE*
The large sound emanated from Rarity as she slightly cringed at the noise.
"Um, excuse me, darling. I'm rather hungry at the moment. Apologies."
"It's fine, Rarity. Let's head over to the diner down near the end of the train. I'm kinda hungry myself."
"Okay, but have you seen the others?"
Twilight thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion.
"Nope, but we might see them along the way. For now, let's let these guys sleep."
Rarity nodded in agreement as the pair walked out of the car. They passed through multiple train cars before stopping at a seating area. They met up with Pinkie, Applejack, and Fluttershy, who were having an engaging conversation. Twilight and Rarity then asked them to join for breakfast in the diner. The rest quickly complied before they all began walking to the car.
As they entered the restaurant, Twilight created a table for eight in case the rest of the group decided to join.
As the ponies all sat down around the table, Rainbow Dash burst through the doors and sat down with them. They each grabbed a menu before Twilight spoke up.
"Hey, does anypony know where-"
"The train will arrive at Appleloosa station in approximately 5 minutes on our first stop to the Arctic North."
Before Twilight could repeat herself, Applejack chipped in.
"Ah forgot that we're suppose ta' stop in Appleloosa first." said Applejack as a surprised grin grew upon her face.
"Yes, the first stop was to go west to Appleloosa before heading north to where the Crystal Empire is now. This way, we won't have to slalom through mountains.," answered Twilight. "Now, does anypo-"
"I wonder what the crystal ponies look like! They must look absolutely fabulous!" interrupted Rarity as she waved her hooved in the air for emphasis.
"Well Ah wonder what kinds'a fruits they grow over there in such harsh cold!"
"I want to see all the cutsy-wutsy animals they have there!"
"I want to show off my awesome skills to them!"
"I want to throw a PARTY!"
"WAIT!"
All the mares silenced as Twilight finally gained their attentions. She then cleared her throat before beginning to speak.
"As I was saying, did anypony in this group bring along a blue box with them?"
There was silence before Applejack sheepishly spoke up.
"Ah did. It fell outta Kirby's ship, and Ah thought it might be important."
Twilight seemed to be physically interested. She wondered what power and importance that little star could hold.
"Well, we'll just have to wait and see."
Suddenly, Kirby flew right into the seat next to them.
"Poyo!"
Kirby seemed to be as excited as ever, as if he hadn't been to a restaurant in years.
"Oh, hey Kirby." said Rainbow Dash as she flew up right next to Kirby.
Kirby just waved his arm in response. Kirby picked up a menu as the rest of the ponies put theirs down. Twilight then donned a confused look in Kirby's direction.
"Uh, Kirby? We're about to arrive in Appleloosa for a quick 30-minute stop."
Kirby seemed to grow upset at the message, but his spirits quickly grew to its natural glow. Kirby put his menu down as he stepped out of his seat, followed by the rest of the ponies.
"We are now arriving in Appleloosa station. We will be departing to the Arctic North in 30 minutes."
"Ahh, Well Ah'm gonna go say hi ta' Braeburn and the other Apple family residents around town." said Applejack as she stepped out of the car she was currently in. The rest of the ponies followed suit as they agreed on finding a good, quick place for breakfast to talk.
Kirby stood alone in the car before stepping to the door out. He wanted to explore the town for anything exciting. He took a quick step outside before looking around the town. In the distance, he saw a large orchard of apple trees in the distance.
It was so close. Only another hundred feet. Finally. Apples.
Kirby continued to run at full speed towards the orchard. He was always interrupted by something before he could have a proper meal. Kirby couldn't stand it. He was so close to so many of some of the best apples he'd ever tasted.
He ran past the ponies working and carts around. He then stopped in the middle of a path stretching through the orchard. He took a few steps back before he opened his mouth. Kirby then began to inhale as much air as possible, harder than ever before. The surrounding wind began picking up the pace in the direction of Kirby as it bounced through apples and leaves. The wind began ripping apples from their branches and launched themselves towards Kirby's gaping maw. The apples were then accompanied by leaves, branches, and baskets.
Moments later, the wind began to die down as the tornado around Kirby's mouth dissipated. The air grew still, not a sound was audible. Kirby then rubbed his stomach as a sign of contentment. He then looked up to assess the damage.
A total of seventeen trees were entirely bare, showing no sign of apples, leaves, or branches. Some of the surrounding trees were missing branches, leaves and most certainly: apples.
*EEK!*
Kirby turned around to what sounded like the scream of a little girl. Behind him was a pony. It was different from the ponies he had seen before. The pony was had fur with a similar shade as Fluttershy. It's mane consisted of two shades of orange in layers, a light orange, and a darker orange. It had a large, red apple on its flank, probably meaning he had to do with this apple orchard. It wore a brown vest on its front and a brown hat on its head. One weird part was the fact that it had a differently shaped head.
The pony looked in complete shock and fear, before turning around and sprinting at full speed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~"
The other pony workers around Kirby looked in complete shock at Kirby, but they did not react like the one before. They just stared at him with dilated pupils while slowly backing away.
Kirby then looked back towards the small town before going back to look for his friends.
Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all trotted down the streets of Appleloosa. They were all looking for a quick place to eat, yet all of them so far had been sit-down restaurants that sold primarily apples.
"So, anyone up 'fer apples?"
Everypony gave an unamused glance to Applejack before they kept moving.
"Ha Ha, good one Applejack." said Rainbow Dash as she did a barrel roll before falling to the ground and stopping. She quickly looked behind for a moment before giving a confused expression. "Say, does anyone know where Kirby went? I could'a sworn he was following us."
"I'm not sure, Rainbow. Maybe he-"
"EEK!"
The ponies stopped in place as a very shrill, girly-sounding scream emanated to their left. They all quickly looked to where the scream came from. In the distance, they saw an apple orchard, yet something was off about it.
"Those buffalo better not be messin' with the orchard again!"
Applejack then began running in the direction of the scream with haste. She quickly stopped a second before looking behind, signalling the rest of the ponies to follow. Most of the group of ponies then began flying in behind Applejack. They then continued on their way to the orchard. Behind them, a yellow figure hid behind a barrel, shaking.
The group continued towards the orchard, dodging civilians and carts along the way while weaving through streets before they reached a stretch in the road that had a sign that read, 'Appleloosa Orchard'. They followed the dirt path down towards the orchard before Applejack stopped, which caused the ponies behind to bump into her and causing them all to topple over.
They all stood back up before looking towards Applejack. A moment later, they looked towards the orchard before gaining the same expression as Applejack. Before them stood more than a dozen of entirely bare trees along with other damaged trees. It looked like a small hurricane was placed right in front of the orchard.
Walking coolly back down the path was a round, pink, and satisfied Kirby.
The mares looked to each other, mouths still agape. Nopony said a word for moments before their silence was interrupted by a noise.
*CHOO CHOO*
The station train's horn blew, signifying that they were boarding and were going to leave in ten minutes.
Applejack then walked up to the nearest farm-hand and dropping a bag of bits in front of them and gave the reason of, 'For the damage.'
She then trotted over before she turned towards the train and began walking in silence. The rest of the group then followed suit, followed by a bouncing Kirby along with a bouncing Pinkie Pie, who seemed to think Kirby's antics were fine.
The group reached the train, minutes before it was to leave. They each climbed the steps, one by one. Twilight was the last one in the line getting in. he was about to climb the steps to the station before something caught her eye on the street beside her.
Next to her was a blue box, identical to the one she examined on the bus. She was completely surprised by this.
'Why is this box on the street?'
Twilight levitated the box up to her face before opening it. Inside, was a star.
Twilight quickly lifted her head before jerking it around, looking for something.
On the road far away, was a pony-pulled cart. What was strange about it, was the fact that there was a huge amount of luggage on it. What was even more suspicious, was the fact that there was an easily distinguishable copy of Rarity's cutie mark embedded on the side of most of the luggage.
Without a word, Twilight grabbed the box in her mouth before lifting Kirby up from the station steps, who had been eyeing Twilight with a confused expression. Twilight then sprinted full speed towards the cart with Kirby in tow. She weaved past many ponies, carts, and other obstacles as they rushed through the streets of Appleloosa. It wasn't long before they reached the outskirts of the town.
They continued down the sandy path, getting closer and closer to the thieving pony. Twilight was planning to fire lasers at the cart's wheels, but holding Kirby made it impossible to do.
Twilight then came up with an idea. She lifted the star's box from her mouth before levitating it up. Using a burst of magic, she threw Kirby high into the air and released him.
'This star must provide some use to Kirby. He can fly anyway. Maybe he can help me catch the thief with it.'
Twilight then opened the box and took out the star. She got a good aim, before launching the small star toward Kirby.
"Kirby, catch!"
Twilight watched the star fly up to Kirby. Instead of it flying towards Kirby and him swallowing it, the star began to grow, and grow. The star then stopped growing and stopped right underneath Kirby. Kirby then fell onto the star before using it to propel himself down towards Twilight.
Twilight was about to question it, but she remembered about the chase at hand, and she continued on. Without warning, she felt the tiredness from continuous running catch up with her. She stopped for a moment before looking to the thief. He was close enough to fire at one of the wheels.
The unicorns horn began to glow as Twilight cocked her head forward. She concentrated for a moment as a small ball of energy formed on the tip of her horn. She was about to fire, before a burst of air pulled her backwards before it became dark.
Kirby flew in the sky, finally re-united with his Warpstar. He had not seen it since he crashed, and he was glad enough that Twilight had just happened to come along with it in hoof. Kirby looked down towards the ground where he saw the pony with the cart running away as Twilight was stopped in the middle of the road.
Kirby got an idea.
He quickly swooped down from behind Twilight. He noticed the small ball of plasma energy on the tip of her horn. He then flew right behind Twilight as he caught up with her motionless state. Without her consent, he inhaled deeply. Twilight and the energy ball were swept from the ground and into Kirby's mouth.
In a flash, a crown of plasma and electricity, topped with a green jewel appeared on his head as his skin turned a light shade of green.
Kirby then sped forward from the spot and quickly caught up with the pony. He flew down to his level and back a couble meters before charging a shot. A line of plasma emitted from Kirby as it flew through the cart, obliterating the cart and slightly singeing parts of the luggage. The pony in question had a large burn mark on his backside as he rolled down the road screaming.
Before anything could happen, a loud *choo choo* came from behind. The train then could be seen beginning to move down the tracks.
Kirby then lost his power as Twilight flew out of his mouth. He quickly began to intake air again as the luggage and Twilight began to move. They were quickly flown in his mouth, but not swallowed.
Kirby then lifted himself high into the air using the Warpstar before speeding off towards the train. Kirby sped across the sandy desert as the train came closer and closer. On the caboose of the train, he could see six figures, all lined up, leaning over the railing watching Kirby come closer.
Kirby then flew right over the caboose before descending down. He reached the hard, wood floor before hopping off the Warpstar. Before anypony could say anything, Kirby spit out Twilight and all the luggage onto the floor in a second.
The whole cart was silent for a second as the ponies behind him sighed in relief, glad to see their friend and luggage back and safe.
Twilight silently looked up towards Kirby with a deathly glare. She opened her mouth before she spoke in an icy tone.
The ground around the train was a pure blanket of white. Tiny crystals fluttered through the air past the speeding locomotive. The windows were icy cold, and the train was nearly an iceberg in temperature, yet the commuters felt nothing of it... all but one.
Kirby was shivering, covered in a blanket, as he watched the white specks fly past his bedside window. He had been admiring the beautiful scenery, and a little cold wouldn't stop him. He was just glad that he wasn't simultaneously eating the spiciest food in the planet like back in dreamland. Oh how much he missed it. He wasn't completely told what the reason for going to this place was, but he was glad to be going with new friends.
The mares in the room were huddled around a notebook on the floor, discussing what was to happen and where they were going. Kirby managed to hear his name several times through-out the conversation, but he passed that aside.
Spike had gone to the doughnut shop, once again, to snack. He had been told about what happened in Appleloosa while he was asleep. Instead of confusion or worry, he was just amused at the thought of Twilight being eaten.
As he thought on about what happened in the Apple town, it confused him more and more. Why did Twilight have his Warpstar? Why were the people scared when he ate those apples? Why did Twilight make him plasma? He would have to figure that out later, but what really mattered, was when they were finally going to make it there. He kept on hearing about Crystal ponies, Crystal Empire, and weird dark magic unicorns. He had never heard of them, but they sounded altogether cool to him.
Kirby hopped out of his bed, blanket worn around him like Meta Knight's cape. He walked over to the ponies on the floor before sitting down.
Twilight noticed him before turning towards him.
"Oh, hey Kirby. If you're wondering, we should be at the next train station in a matter of ten minutes!"
Kirby then put on a huge grin before standing up and running.
"Wait, Kirby! I need to ask you some que-!"
*SLAM*
Kirby ran down the halls of the train as he hurried towards Doughnut Joe's shop car. He wanted to hang out with Spike, who seemed to share more interests with him than any other pony he had met here, but that didn't mean they weren't his friends.
He quickly reached the car before jumping into a seat across from Spike, since he was sitting at a table for two. Spike looked up before getting a noticeable grin on his face. Kirby had been weirdly fun to be around in Spike's opinion.
"Hey Kirby!"
"Poyo!"
"Oh yeah, you can't talk. You want a doughnut? We're gonna arrive in about-"
"Arriving at Arctic Station in five minutes."
"-five minutes..."
Kirby vigorously nodded in response. He hadn't necessarily eaten a good, healthy, complete meal, but those were the best doughnuts he had ever eaten.
Spike stood up before walking over to the counter. He handed the bits over before picking out a doughnut and giving it to Kirby. He then sat down in his seat.
"Hey, just a question, but would you get a power if you swallowed me?"
Kirby stopped for a second before thinking. He didn't really know what Spike did. He could attribute to nothing in particular for all he knew. Kirby then did a shrug-like gesture, much to Spike's disappointment.
Kirby then hopped down from his seat before floating to the nearest window. For the most part, it was snow, but in the distance, he could see a large bubble-like dome in the distance with a tiny station up ahead. Closer was a sign that read, 'Arctic Station, where ponies come to look at large quantities of snow."
Kirby turned around before running back through the double doors he came in, ignoring Spike's voice. He quickly sprinted to the car where he had first entered the train. He then waited. And he waited. And waited.
A minute later, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack trotted through the doors into the same car Kirby was in before stopping at the sight of Kirby sitting right in front of the door, the employees staring at him in confusion.
Before any of the mares could speak up, the train began to slow down. Kirby began to roll on the floor before stopping at the wall. As the train came to a stop, Fluttershy flew over to him in worry, to find out that Kirby had been asleep the whole time. She quickly picked up Kirby before he awoke from his sleep and jumped down.
The doors to the car slowly opened as it revealed the numbing cold outside. Kirby then noticed a giant pile of suitcases on Spike's back, who had walked from the shop to help Rarity carry them.
They all stepped outside of the train and onto the station platform. Kirby was shivering like crazy from the cold. Suddenly, a scarf flew around his body before being tied. It strangely warmed him as if it was springtime.
"I told you these scarves would come in handy!"
The other ponies seemed to slightly annoyed by the comment, but they quickly threw it aside as they trotted down the steps.
Out of the blistering snow storm came a figure. As it came closer, it was revealed as a pony. It was wearing an unusual piece of clothing which seemed to have served the use of keeping warm, and snow out of the eyes, but it didn't seem to be of much use, seeing as how the other ponies were wearing nothing.
As the pony came into complete view, Twilight jumped up in happy surprise.
"Shining Armour!"
"Twiley!"
The two embraced as they finally met. They seemed to be acquaintances of some sort.
"Hey, we need to get back to the... who's that?"
Shining Armour stopped as he came into view with the pink warrior known as Kirby.
Twilight was about to speak up before Shining cut her off.
"You can explain later. We need to get back to the Crystal Empire with Cadance right now."
The mares nodded before they were interrupted by a sound from behind. They each looked backwards to be met with the view of a giant black cloud with a face. Before anything could happen, Shining Armour broke out into a run.
"RUUUN!"
The Mane 6, Spike, and Kirby all turned and began to run. Spike dropped the suitcases, where they all burst open.
The group all ran, as the cloud began to gain on them. In the distance, the slightly translucent barrier dome came into view. Inside was unlike the outside. The grass was green and the town was vibrant in colour.
Suddenly, Shining Armour stopped outside of the barrier and turned around, facing the darkness. Kirby, who was the last in the group running, stopped and turned around as well, as the rest of the group sprinted through the bubble.
Kirby took no haste as he began to inhale air at his best strength. The surrounding snow began filing into his mouth. The air was sifting towards Kirby, along with the dark cloud. The cloud began to bulge at the side, getting pulled in towards Kirby.
Before the cloud could get any closer towards Kirby, a large amount of scarves flew through the storm and into Kirby's mouth. This startled Kirby as he closed his mouth and swallowed.
A flash emanated through the storm as Kirby's physical appearance changed drastically. His body became non-existent, save for the yarn outline his body gained. His facial features floated in the middle of the the air where they used to be on his body. He turned entirely flat, yet somehow stayed on his feet and didn't fall over.
Kirby was aghast at the sudden change and quickly ran into the barrier, seeing as how he couldn't swallow the cloud in this state.
Shining Armour, on the other hand, was too surprised by Kirby's actions to take note of the battle commencing as the darkness swallowed his body.
Twilight and the other ponies were relieved to be away from Sombra, yet at the same time, worried about Shining.
They were each answered as the white stallion trotted through the force-field, head low. His horn was covered with tiny black crystals all over. He attempted magic, but the crystals prevented anything from happening.
Twilight was saddened by this, but knew not to lose hope so easily.
Shining Armour then raised his head before turning it towards Kirby, who was still in his yarn form.
The group was silent as they shared glances towards each other. Twilight in particular was skeptical on how to respond. She had been thinking about Kirby since they'd met. Not once did she think there could possibly be extraterrestrial life. The anomalies numbed her mind. Pinkie was known for her spontaneity, but Kirby seems even more confusing. No magic, origins, or explanations.
Twilight sighed, defeated. She returned her gaze to his brother's before settling on the best answer she could come up with.
"I... I really don't know."
The group stood silent for a few moments. Twilight stood in place, mulling over the possibilities of Kirby. Shining Armour looked towards Kirby, who did the opposite of everypony else. He seemed to be hopping around, enjoying the sun, and over-reacting over everything. Shining viewed Kirby as if he were a foal rather than an alien. He seemed so innocent and child-like in behavior, yet stood his ground as Sombra came towards them.
It wasn't long before the rest of the group dispersed. They all headed to be generally going in the same direction, towards the towering... tower in the distance. Pinkie and Kirby were bouncing around, taking in their environment in a more... physical manner. Rainbow Dash flew around the town at lightning speeds, scouting for anything to entertain her as she waited for the rest of the group to do something. Twilight walked silently, ignoring the magnificent empire as she contemplated what to do. She had to deal with so much simultaneously. Shining's horn, Kirby, Sombra... She just hoped that nothing else could happen. Fluttershy and Rarity walked side-by-side, silently admiring the architecture, although Rarity seemed to be enjoying it much more.
Shining walked behind the group, deep in thought, mind rushing, even though it was nowhere near Twilight. He had no idea how long he could keep Sombra back now. He had no magic. He had no back-up. He had no idea who or what Kirby was.
All he knew, was that he wasn't normal.
He thought back to outside of the Crystal Empire. Kirby managed to manipulate the air around him into his mouth at unbelievable power and speed. He managed to pick up scarves from far away and swallowing it. He then turned into a completely different thing.
His head began to hurt slightly as he looked back up. The group was nearly by the tower as they reached a crystal road. they ponies all gathered together as they nonchalantly trotted through the town, admiring the scenery and items around them. Rarity was bounding with joy at the spectacular myriad of crystals and colours around.
The group crowded under the tower as they moved towards the room where Princess Cadance rested. The architecture was practically all crystal in all directions. Kirby wondered where they would even get all these crystals. He looked forward as they moved into a room.
"Cadance!"
Twilight quickly ran towards the pink princess as Cadance took notice of Twilight and hurried over there.
"Sunshine. Sunshine. Ladybugs awake! Clap your little hooves and do a little shake!" they said as Kirby watched them simultaneously danced a small dance.
Before Twilight could say anything, Cadance cringed as the protective barrier around the empire slightly faltered. Twilight took notice of this before seeing the bags under Cadance's eyes. Shining trotted up beside Cadance before giving comforting her.
Twilight took notice of this. "Are you alright?"
"Cadance hasn't slept for days, she's been using her magic to keep Sombra back. I'd help, but my magic has been countered by king Sombra."
As the group talked, Kirby began examining the empire through a window. The city was large, filled with crystals everywhere. The grass was green, flowers and plants flourishing. The sky was clear and blue, even though the outside of the barrier was a harsh coldness. He took notice of the city streets. The streets were bare of any life. Kirby wondered where they may have gone.
As he continued to scout the area, he saw one thing he couldn't keep his eyes off of.
In the middle of a huge street, a large stalagmite of dark crystal jutted from the ground. Around the crystal, the grounds and roads were cracked. He tried to take his eyes off of it, but an invisible force compelled him towards it. It seemed like it donned some importance.
Ignoring the others, Kirby hopped out of the window. He gently floated down to the ground before running. He weaved in and out of streets, passing by stalls, shops, and houses, hurrying his was to it.
Kirby slowed to a halt as he reached the crystal. The crystal was not entirely opaque. The surface was an onyx black, darker than any other crystals in the vicinity. He looked closer, trying to figure out what drew him here.
As he examined, he noticed something very strange. Kirby noticed a figure inside. The figure was a similar shape as the ponies from before. He found this rather strange. He looked in harder, taking in the details of the figure to the best of his ability.
The pony was a female unicorn. It had pink fur and a white mane. The unicorn lay in a stasis similar to sleep, eyes closed. She seemed to be slightly taller than Twilight and the others. Kirby looked at her cutie mark. It was a mask, similar to Meta knight's, but in the shape of a heart. The mask was surrounded by two symbols: a silver boomerang shaped item, similar to Kirby's cutter, and what looked like a ball of energy, with energy leaping out in the colour of orange, red, and yellow.
Kirby continued to stare at the figure. He had no clue why, but something seemed oddly familiar about this unicorn.
"KIRBY!"
Kirby turned around towards the sound. Behind him was an angry Twilight Sparkle, followed by the other five ponies from before and Spike, who rode on Twilight's back. They all rushed to Kirby, ignoring the crystal behind him.
"Kirby! You can't just run off like that! We don't have much time. We were about to go research for info from the crystal ponies, and we can't have you get lost."
Kirby just stared blankly at Twilight before turning around and pointing at the dark crystal.
As Twilight lifted her gaze, her eyes opened in surprise.
"Wow, I can't believe I didn't see that."
Twilight then proceeded to walk up to it. She began admiring it, taking in the details and how it was not similar to any other crystal around.
Twilight looked closely before she gasped in surprise.
"Wait there's a pony inside! Everypony, stand back!"
The grouped then moved away from Twilight before she stepped back. She charged horn horn for a second before blasting off a shot. The shot hit the side of the crystal, attempting to shatter the crystal. The energy bolt just bounced off the crystal before flying into a crystal formation close by. The formation shattered.
Twilight looked in surprise. The crystal wasn't even damaged.
"W-what!?"
Rainbow Dash just jumped up in front of Twilight.
"Lemme handle this!"
Rainbow then flew up to the front of the crystal at high speeds. She quickly turned before reaching the crystal and gave it the biggest buck she could muster.
The crystal didn't budge.
"What the!?
Rainbow was confused. In NO way could a crystal be that strong.
Before any of the other ponies could do something about it, a light grew from the crystal. A glyph appeared before them on the front of the crystal in a bright light. Below, words began to form.
Twilight slowly walked up to it curiously. As she reached the crystal, she read the words.
"Only the purest of hearts can truly defeat him."
Twilight grew surprised as she began to think.
'Who could possibly be the most pure here? There has to be something about this that I don't understand.'
"Fluttershy, come here for a second."
Fluttershy peeked out from the back before slowly trotting up to the front with Twilight.
"U-um, yes?"
Twilight then turned and pointed her hoof towards the glyph above the words.
"Try putting your hoof there."
Fluttershy then grew visually worried.
"A-are you sure that's safe."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine!"
"I-if you say so..."
Fluttershy then shakily placed her hoof in the center of the glyph.
As the hoof touched the glyph...
Nothing happened.
Twilight stared for a moment in confusion.
'Fluttershy is the most kind, innocent pony I know!'
"Oh, well I guess we'll figure it out later." Twilight sighed, deeply upset. She really wanted to get this pony out. Maybe it had the answers she looked for.
"I guess we'll just have to hurry and figure this out ourselves. Maybe we'll find out-"
Before she could finish, Kirby ran right up past her. He jumped up to the words before floating in front of the crystal. Kirby examined the glyph before reaching his arm out to it.
As he touched it, the glyph grew brighter and brighter. The crystal began cracking outwards, light emanating from each crack, lighting the world around as bright as the sun. The cracks continued around the crystal before a large crack was heard.
*CRACK*
The world stopped.
Suddenly, the crystal burst, pieces flying everywhere before disintegrating into black smoke.
The figure inside fell to the ground, unconscious.
Kirby looked down at the unicorn before reaching out his arm and tapping her on the head.
Slowly but surely, the unicorn awoke from her slumber. She slowly opened her eyes, finally seeing the light after a thousand years.
Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light before she looked up. She stared straight into the face of Kirby.
She tried to remember, but nothing came up.
Exhaustion and confusion slowly grew onto her. As she stared at Kirby, one thing came into her mind before she passed out. One thing that she didn't know where it came from, yet she couldn't get it out of her mind.
The group was silent. They were stunned by the words the mare had muttered. Nopony knew the origins of the pony, yet it knew of Kirby. Somehow, this pony knew more than they did about Kirby than they did when they first started by muttering a single word. The silence lingered for a while, each pony contemplating on their own subjects.
Twilight herself was confused. She couldn't find a logical explanation for why that mare knew about Kirby. She realized that the mare had obviously had some prior knowledge of Kirby, whether it be folklore, myth, or straight-up history.
'Perhaps the mare has been in acquaintance with him sometime in the past...'
She deemed it unlikely, but knew it was a viable answer to her question.
'Okay, Kirby is an extra-terrestrial being... His age is unknown... Perhaps he had arrived before, yet that doesn't make sense, seeing as to how Celestia would have spoken more about him.'
She looked towards the rest of the ponies. They all exchanged looks before they all rested on Kirby.
Kirby was the most confused of all. He couldn't shake the feeling that he knew the pony. He could feel it in his stomach. She knew him, and he needed to know her. Simple as that. Maybe he had met her before. Needless to say, her cutie mark was ridiculously familiar. He had seen that mask on multiple occasions. Kirby understood his origins, but he couldn't pinpoint the information on the mare before him.
He continued to stare at the mare, eyes prying for detail. Nothing came to mind. He couldn't stop staring at her cutie mark. It struck him at the core. He knew she was a pony, but he just knew he had known her before.
He quietly walked over to the resting body before placing his arms on her and softly shook her from her slumber. The mare's blue eyes slowly opened as she came to. She squinted her eyes, attempting to block out the blinding sun. She had been stuck in a black crystal for a thousand years. A thousand years without light. She was also glad to finally be out of there.
The mare tried to think back, but an impending head-ache intervened before-hoof.
As the mare began to sit up, Twilight jumped into action.
"Hello there! My name is Twilight Sparkle and how did-"
Twilight was interrupted by a white hoof being shoved into her mouth.
"Darling! This mare has just awoken after a thousand year slumber! Let the poor mare breathe!"
Rarity glared at Twilight, who then proceeded to slump back onto the floor sheepishly. Rarity then turned to the mare before reaching out her hoof. The mare's hoof met with Rarity's as she was pulled from the floor.
"Apologies, Darling. Twilight does let curiosity take the best of her sometimes..." She sighed lightly, glancing back at the sheepish Twilight behind her. "...but I can assure you that she is as friendly as anypony once you get acquainted with her. That aside, My name is Rarity, a pleasure to meet you." Rarity said with a curt bow.
The mare seemed to relax as she had finally met a friendly face.
"Hello, it's really nice to meet a friendly face after so long. My name is, uh," The mare stopped for a second, trying to recollect as much as she could while ignoring the slight head-ache she received. Suddenly, she remembered. "Galacta! Galacta, er... Noble!"
Rarity was glad to see that she could retain that much memory, but was concerned on her health in general.
"Well I might as well introduce you to the rest of the group!" She gestured to the ponies, Kirby, and Spike. "These are, respectively, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Spike, and Kirby."
Galacta seemed to pause at the mention of Kirby. Rarity took notice of it and decided to pounce on it.
"Say, you seem to know about Kirby... have you ever been, say, acquainted with him before?"
Galacta thought back on it. She tried pressing for info, but nothing came up. All she could remember was a dark face with piercing green eyes. It didn't scare her, but it confused her. She didn't know exactly what had happened, only that she had been trapped by a mysterious being and lost her memory.
"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but we must interrogate the ponies in search of an answer to stopping Sombra. I'd be delighted if you could stay with us, seeing as we need to help you obtain you memory once again."
Galacta looked around before shrugging. "Okay, I hope I'll be able to help in some way."
She looked over to Kirby quickly as the respective ponies turned and split up. Each pony went in separate directions, but Kirby and Galacta decided to stick together. Galacta couldn't shake the feeling she knew Kirby, and Kirby couldn't either. They then decided on pursuing the task at hand. The only problem was that no one had informed them as to what they were supposedly doing. They had no general idea of what to ask, seeing as how Kirby couldn't speak and Galacta was clueless.
The pair just decided to walk back to the area under the large tower in the center of the Empire.
They waited while the other went around asking. Galacta tried to get something out of Kirby, but she was just met with multiple, "Poyos".
They waited and waited until Twilight and the others piled up in there. They each told a small summary of what happened. One weird part was that Pinkie came back as Fluttershy, but they placed it aside. Each mare shared their story of failure, and how everypony was clueless.
Twilight sighed, things were not going her way. Not a single pony had any memory of before. They could only account on their agony from Sombra.
'Where could I find the knowledge I need...'
Then it hit her.
"THE LIBRARY!"
Everyponys' eyes fell upon Twilight from the sudden outburst.
"Girls, let's all go to the library! They're bound to have something on the Crystal Empire!"
Everypony nodded in agreement as they slowly filed out of the area behind Twilight.
Eventually, they arrived at a large pony with the symbol of a book plastered on the surface of the crystal formation, symbolizing it's purpose. They all filed in.
Twilight was stunned. There were so many books. So many stories, journeys, and information. She could barely withhold herself. She could spend all day reading books in here. There were books piled from floor to ceiling, reaching stories high.
Twilight would have grown wings and high-tailed it towards those books, but she had more important things to do. She looked around before seeing an elderly mare staring at them.
Applejack approached her, assuming that she was in charge of the library.
"Excuse me. Do ya' know where Ah can find some books on the history of the Crystal Empire?"
The mare looked around in uncertainty.
"I don't know, maybe? I don't even know if I work here."
The ponies all sighed in annoyance.
Applejack turned around before shrugging. Twilight then stepped up.
"I guess we'll have to check around ourselves! Not like I have a problem with it."
For the next thirty minutes, the ponies scoured the bookshelves, searching for anything that could help them. Rainbow Dash fly through the lines of books at an unreasonably fast paste. She didn't even seem to be looking at the names as she threw them to the floor below. Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity Looked through each row, one by one, examining each book making sure not to miss one. Pinkie Pie did the most unreasonable of them all. She jumped stories high, just looking at random books on different areas. She was going so fast, she might not have been looking at each book.
Twilight and Kirby stood side-by-side as Twilight levitated a continuous line of books. She made sure to examine each book carefully, just to make sure that she didn't skip over anything. Kirby just stood beside her, standing idly. Spike and Galacta scoured Twilight's pile of past books to double-check she didn't miss anything.
"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, no-, Wait, yes!"
Twilight screamed as she released her grasp on the other surrounding books. They all fell to the floor in a thud as she laid her eyes on the book before her.
The history of the Crystal Empire
Kirby stared at the back of the book curiosity growing inside him. He watched as Twilight skimmed each page in extreme focus
She stopped as she closed the book and threw it off to the side. Twilight had read enough. She managed to find just what she was looking for: a way to protect the crystal empire.
One thing confused her, though. This plan was almost infallible, but that was the problem. She looked in front of her. Kirby stood there, oblivious to Twilight's thoughts and concerns. She knew she could easily do this herself.
'Why did Celestia bring Kirby all along?'
She quickly shrugged off the fact before turning to the group behind her.
"Okay, girls! It's time to set up a Crystal Fair!"
Everypony stood around Twilight for a second in a hushed manner. They weren't exactly sure what the purple mare was talking about.
Twilight took note of the group's silence, so she decided to reiterate with more... detail.
"Okay, apparently the 'Crystal Fair' was established to spread the spirit of love and unity in the kingdom to protect it from harm! I'm sure that we, together, could set it up!"
The group shared a few glances among each other before looking back to Twilight. They seemed to be rather skeptical at the thought, but they've seen more outrageous strategies that worked before. They weren't just going to jump on in though.
Rainbow Dash decided flew up in front of the group of ponies in a flash, an expression of slight confusion adorned her face.
"So... where do we start?"
Twilight just turned around towards the entrance of the library. She knew what they'd do, but she decided that they had to take care of a few matters first.
"Well, let's just head over to Cadance and Shining Armour first. I'm sure they should at least know our plan; maybe even get them to help somehow!"
Twilight turned around once again before starting to trot up the stairs leading towards the entrance.
"Twi, wait!"
Twilight stopped and turned around to the voice of Applejack, bemused and slightly annoyed.
"What're we even gonna do?"
Twilight started trotting up the stairs once again.
"I'll tell you guys once we get there. We don't have much time to spare, let's go!"
As Kirby walked through the streets, he looked towards Galacta. He couldn't help but feel a small spark fly through his mind. He shrugged it off for a second, but he couldn't drop it. He never felt that feeling when staring at the other ponies.
Kirby removed his gaze as he looked back forward toward the large tower. He couldn't help but feel the small vibrations of a melody. He couldn't pinpoint it, but he could feel it, just like before getting on the train to this place. It was distant, but recognizable nonetheless.
He shot a glance towards the ponies. They all seemed like nothing was happening, save for Galacta, who seemed to be sub-consciously searching around the immediate area for the sound.
Kirby just set it aside for now, but he could tell something... unusual was about to take place.
As the group reached the tower, they all hurried in, one-by-one into the room where Shining Armour and Cadance rested. As they crowded in, Twilight came in, book in grasp. The rest of the group just seemed to stay back and watch.
Shining took notice of Twilight's presence before he ran over to her. They exchanged a quick hug and greeting before he decided to ask.
"So, did you and your friends find anything useful to stop Sombra? Also... who is that new pony over there? She wasn't with you last time."
Shining shot Galacta a glance before returning to Twilight who just responded by opening the large book on the floor.
"We could use this: A 'Crystal Fair'. According to this book, it was established by their first queen, and became their most important tradition. The Fair was held every year to renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire so they could protect it from harm. My friends and I could put it together. Everything we need to know is in the book! All we need is just some time, and would it be too much to try to help us?"
Shining was delightfully surprised, but at the same time concerned.
"Well, I'd love to help you, but Cadan-"
"Yes, he can go."
His voice was interrupted by Cadance. Shining turned around in surprise, seeing as how she hadn't slept in a few days.
"But Cadance, you nee-!"
"No buts, Shining. Your sister needs you, and I'll be fine here by myself."
Shining raised his hoof to say something, but he was stopped as Cadance trotted up and put a hoof over his mouth.
"Now, go help Twilight and her friends."
"Okay, Cadance. If you need me, don't hesitate to call."
The two exchanged a kiss before he turned back to Twilight, who just nodded.
"Okay, Twilight. I know where we can plan. Just follow me."
Before Twilight and Kirby could walk through the door in the back of the group, Twilight stopped him with a hoof. She turned to Kirby before reaching back into her saddlebag, which she had left in the throne room by the door for the time-being. She pulled out a small, blue box before levitating it before Kirby.
"Okay, Kirby. I'm entrusting you with this for now. You may need to travel quickly, so you should hang onto it."
Twilight rested the box in front of Kirby before turning towards the door and trotting out.
Kirby stared at the box in confusion. He knew it was his Warpstar, but that wasn't what was confusing him. The melody he heard from before grew stronger. It grew louder and louder as he followed Twilight. He wasn't sure why it was there. He didn't see any instruments, speakers, or ponies able to make such a sound. He tried shaking it off, but it confused and... excited him.
As he stepped into the room, the book rested open in the middle of a large table. The ponies were all surrounding the book.
Suddenly, the music stopped.
In a instant, the music started playing again, louder than ever. Kirby jerked around in every direction, frantically trying to figure out the source, but he eventually threw it aside. He then started enjoying it, more than he should have. He even starting moving to the beat.
Princess Cadence needs our help Her magic will not last forever I think we can do it But we need to work together POYO! We have to get this right, Yes we have to make them see We can save the Crystal Ponies with their history! POYO!
It says that they like jousting!POYO!
They flew a flag of many hues!POYO!
Made sweets of crystal berries!POYO!
They had a petting zoo with tiny ewesPOYO!
And a Crystal kingdom anthem Can you learn it in a day?POYO!
"Oh we have to get this- POYO! Yes, we- POYO! -make them- POYO! We will sa- POYO! POYO! POYO! POYO! POYO! POYO! POYO!"
The music abruptly stopped. The ponies were standing in the middle of the town, where the Fair was hosted. In confusion, they all stared at each other before looking up to the source of the sounds.
Above them was Kirby, who decided to bust out his Warpstar while singing loudly and eating crystal berry pie, even though the music stopped. He continued flying around frantically, before he opened his eyes. He was met with the stares of eight ponies and a baby dragon. He started to slow down before coming to the ground and returning the Warpstar to its resting place.
Twilight looked around her, examining the Crystal Fair to its full glory. She was astonished. It was filled with all the things the book said. Crystal Berry pie, a petting zoo, hats, jousting, activities, and a crystal heart! They had undergone lots of mistakes and failures, but they finally had finished. Now, they had to initiate the next part. This was the only way of stopping Sombra as far as they knew. Twilight was filled with pride and hope. She knew it wasn't time to give up now, and that she knew that Celestia depended on them. She could do it.
*CLUNK*
"Uhm, what's this 'fer, sugarcube?"
Twilight turned around to see Applejack poking a pedestal.
"Oh! It's the crystal heart! It's the centerpiece to the entire fair!"
Applejack shrugged it off before trotting away. Twilight looked to Shining Armour, who winked in her direction. They all gathered up together before trotting up into the tower.
Twilight, Cadance, and Shining Armour entered the doorway leading to a balcony, that over-looked the empire and all its glory.They trotted in towards the edge of the balcony, accompanied by the sound of a cat being skinned ali-, Pinkie playing a fanfare on the flugelhorn... or at least attempting to.
As they reached the edge of the balcony, Twilight raised her hoof.
"Hear ye, hear-"
"FLUGELHOOOOORN"
Twilight turned to Pinkie momentarily, shooting her an expression of annoyance.
"My bad!"
Twilight then turned back towards the townsponies.
"Ahem."
She paused for a moment.
"Hear ye, hear ye. Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor do cordially invite you to attend the Crystal Fair!"
ALT. ENDING (Non-canonical)
Twilight, Cadance, and Shining Armour entered through the doorway leading to the balcony. As they trotted in, they noticed Kirby standing off to the side, admiring a flugelhorn. They then continued to the edge of the balcony.
Kirby looked at the flugelhorn in confusion. As a test, he inhaled it.
In an instant, he was transformed into Mike Kirby. He had a headset over his head and a mike in his arms.
Kirby looked over towards Pinkie who was attempting to play the flugelhorn, where he got an idea.
"Hear ye, hear-"
"POOOOYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Kirby screamed into the mike in a voice so high-pitched, the actual word was barely distinguishable. As the sound reverberated over the empire, everypony clutched their ears. The pain from the noise was so unbearable, they all slumped over unconscious. As the ponies fell over, large cracks were heard.
Kirby looked back towards the tower for an instant. The crystal on it instantly shattered into a million pieces, along with every single item in the entire empire.
Kirby began falling, the tower collapsing. The ponies were engulfed in the billions of shards falling, burying everything in sight.
As Kirby hit the ground, he was instantly covered in thousands of shards.
Silence.
Not a sound was heard. The dust settled.
Kirby climbed up from the pile of rubble. There were crystals everywhere.
As Kirby looked around, ponies started emerging from the rubble. One by one, they all turned to Kirby. Before long, hundreds of eyes were on him. In the last moment, he jumped up.
Twilight stared over the balcony. She watched as the crowds below dispersed into many groups, spreading out throughout the streets. They all hustled to various destinations as if it were nopony's business, admiring the fun activities and amusement that awaited them. She was delighted to see the citizens take interest and participate, but one part of her couldn't shake off the feeling of melancholy. She had something in the back of her mind that she couldn't shake.
'This is strange... Why did Celestia talk about Kirby stopping Sombra? This plan is working out just fine! There's something missing here...'
Twilight looked behind her. Cadance and Shining Armour had already left back downstairs to the Fair. They probably thought that Twilight could take care of it all. The only pony, -er... 'thing' behind her was Kirby, who just gazed over the city with his eyes, taking in as much detail.
Kirby couldn't take his eyes off of the sight below him. He couldn't stand being up here any longer. The smell of pie and other foods flew through the air like a graceful dove in the morning breeze, piercing through the dew. It lingered in the air around him, teasing him.
Without warning, he jumped off the balcony. Twilight stared at him as he slowly fell through the sky towards the ground. Nearby ponies just stared at the pink blob, flying down at terminal velocity, yet to them, he fell at a speed that was easily survivable, yet nopony knew exactly why. As Kirby neared the ground, he inhaled a mouthful of air. He inflated like a balloon, but that wasn't the only thing. He lost all momentum, having him floating in mid-air. The crystal ponies all just stared at him as he touched the ground with his foot before staring around in all directions and making a run for it at the slightest scent.
Twilight just face-hoofed. She really couldn't watch over the little guy. He was as much of an enigma at the moment as ever, and just seemed to impress her every single time.
Twilight sighed as she looked behind her, staring at the large crystalline door before her. She looked back to the sky, taking it in and saying a self-prayer before trotting on through to the stairs leading down.
"Come on in, y'all. Got food and drinks thataway, games and crafts are thataway, crystal heart to the back near the Princess." Applejack stood in the middle of a busy street, shouting out to the ponies. She had been mighty busy since they finally opened. Ponies back and forth seemed to change back to normal with a small *poof* at the sight of the objects of the fair, imaginary gears turning in their heads. Applejack was delightfully happy to see the ponies enjoying the festivities. She had her doubts, but it seemed Twilight was right in the end.
A crystal pony nearby took notice of Applejack's announcement. Something struck her in the brain, as if a light bulb had gone off in her head. She had heard that phrase before, and she was lots more giddy.
"Did she say... Crystal Heart?"
Rainbow Dash flew through the street slowly, examining their hard work. She was actually quite proud of herself, seeing as the whole fair was going off without a hitch. Rainbow Dash spotted a confused pony standing in the road before speeding up to her and stopping right in front of her, gently floating in mid-air.
"We totally nailed it, right? Must be feeling a lot of love and unity about now! Gonna have some grub, huh? What are you thinking? Crystal Empire berry pie? Maybe some crystal corn-on-the-cob!"
The pony just stared back nervously, before gently moving backwards.
"What is with these ponies?!"
A few feet away, a couple of mares walked side-by-side. They each examined the area around them. They seemed to be recognizing certain aspects of the area around them. Suddenly, one mare stops and seems to peruse through her memory.
"I-I think I'm starting to remember things before Sombra!"
The second mare stared at her before an invisible light-bulb went off over her head.
"Hey! Me too!"
Suddenly, they simultaneously gasped. They stared deep into each others' eyes, sudden realization flashing before them. They remembered on simple aspect of their memory of which they, along with the rest of the empire held.
"THE CRYSTAL HEART!"
Rainbow Dash turned to the sound of the sudden outburst. It surprised her momentarily, but she shook it off as she realized that it was just two mares. She quickly flew over to one of the mares before putting her foreleg around her neck.
"Of course we have the Crystal Heart! Can't have a Crystal Fair without it, can we?"
Suddenly another voice burst out from behind her again, slightly startling her. She removed her leg from the mare, who promptly walked away, before turning to be met with the face of the librarian from before.
"Of course you can't! The whole purpose of the Crystal Fair is to lift the spirits of the crystal ponies, so the light within them can power the Crystal Heart! *GASP* I do work at the library!"
Rainbow Dash stared at the mare in confusion, who in turn, just trotted away as if nothing happened. Rainbow looked around frantically as she came into realization of just what the mare said.
'Powering the Crystal Heart!?'
With a flash, Dash was gone.
"TWIIIIILIIIIIIIIIIGHT!"
Twilight turned around from the pedestal in the center of the opening underneath the tower, only to be met with a face-full of pegasus. The impact caused the unicorn to tumble head-over-heels for a few meters before coming to a stop. She looked up, rubbing her head to help ease the pain. She slowly climbed to her hooves once again, before looking up to Rainbow Dash who wore an expression of worry and embarrassment. She was floating in front of the 'Crystal Heart', which now had a blanket draped over it.
"WHAT, Rainbow Dash!? And why'd you cover the heart?"
Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight for a second before setting herself down.
"Twilight, I think we have a problem."
"I didn't know it was an actual relic! The book didn't say anything about powering the heart! Look..." Twilight looked at the book she had in her saddlebag. She flipped the book open to the previous page she was on. There, was a ripped off page of the book. All was left was the paper reaching from the center, the actual page nowhere to be seen. "A page is missing! How did I not notice!?"
Twilight, Cadance, Shining Armour, and Rainbow Dash were standing on the balcony Twilight was previously on. Rainbow Dash had explained everything that she had heard from the group of ponies and the librarian herself. She had then gathered brother and Cadance up to the top.
Cadance and Shining watched Twilight freak out at the simple thing she missed. They slowly approached Twilight from behind, where Cadance offered her a comforting hoof, which Twilight accepted.
"It's alright, Twilight."
Shining shot Twilight a worried gaze from behind. Before turning back momentarily.
"Twily..."
*BZZZT*
Shining, surprised, looked over to where the noise came from. As his eyes met with his wife, her horn flickered off its continuous magic usage. As it flicked off, Cadance swooned over, only to be caught by Shining.
Without warning, the barrier around the empire slowly disappeared. The energy from the walls wisped into nothing, allowing a dark smoke to slowly penetrate through. As the smoke flew through, It engulfed every crystal in sight. The smoke slowly moved towards the middle.
Shining lifted Cadance's head slightly as he looked over the balcony at the quickly-advancing smoke ahead. He could only look in despair as it got closer and closer.
"The empire is under attack!"
The smoke grew closer. In that smoke, a face loomed. A matter purely composed of darkness itself.
"Hehehe..."
Shining looked back from the smoke to Cadance. He quickly helped her to her hooves and gain her balance once again.
As she gained her ground, she knew just what to do. With a small burst of magic, she places another, smaller barrier around the area Sombra hadn't touched yet. Luckily, she managed to make it right before he could touch any part of the town.
Or so she thought...
Kirby walked through the busy streets, prying the eyes of passers-by from the sights and attractions and onto him. He didn't pay them any mind, and neither did he. He was too busy admiring everything around him, but most importantly, what was the most important of all. He could see the scent linger in the air. It was visible to him. He could feel its warm embrace.
The scent, of pie.
Kirby could see the grey smoke-like scent flying through the air in a straight line, leading him just to where the glorious circular pieces of heaven lay. Kirby hadn't had a good piece of pie in much long. He had been too afraid to eat pie since the... incident.
He shuddered as he accounted the memories of back in Cappy Town, where DeDeDe had summoned that demon-pie creating monster from NME. They had traumatized him after that, but this pie was unlike the others in smell. It was... exotic. He had tried one of those crystal berries from before, which he found quite delicious. He knew that if they tasted that good by themselves, that the pie must be glorious.
Kirby rounded a corner as he passed by a stall Rarity was stationed at.
"Kirby!"
Kirby stopped in his tracks as he turned around at the sudden voice calling his name. He stared back and forth behind him before he noticed Rarity waving her hoof, telling him to come there.
He was slightly upset, but he knew that he would always pick friends over food.
Kirby began running up to Rarity's stall.
"Poyo?"
Kirby stared up to Rarity who stood behind the counter, shuffling her hooves and using her magic to create multiple hats out of straw. She passed out each hat random ponies passing by, who just enjoyed the activities. As she gave a hat to the last pony in line before placing down her materials and looking down to Kirby.
"Oh, darling, would you like a hat? You seem to be mindlessly bouncing through the streets and I thought you would like one!"
Rarity looked back from Kirby down to the supplies before grabbing them in her magical grip and placed the materials into place, making the form of a sturdy hat. Kirby looked up to the hat, which Rarity slowly lowered onto his head.
"Aw, you look absolutely fabulous!"
Rarity stared down at her work. It was a hat in the shape of a stetson, and had placed a small feather on the top of it. It did fit his head quite well, as she had made it extra large, making sure the inside would fit snuggly on him.
Kirby looked up to admire his new had for a moment, before he looked back to Rarity. She was now making new hats for new ponies who began trotting up to her stall once again. He turned back around to his original route, and looked around. He could still smell the scent.
Without warning, he made haste.
Twilight looked down, she was sure that she could have done it herself. Now, time was running out. The real Crystal Heart was yet to be discovered, and here she was. She looked around. Cadance was exhausted, Shining was worried, and even Rainbow Dash, was freaked out.
Shining Armour removed his foreleg from around Cadance's neck. He took on an expression of courage, hope, and perseverance.
"I have to go find the heart!"
"No," Shining turned around only to be faced with Twilight, who was wearing a stoic expression. "You stay with Cadance. I'll find the heart."
Twilight turned around to Rainbow Dash. Dash immediately snapped to attention, and seemed to be itching to go.
"Let's do this!"
Rainbow raised her hoof and pumped it. She was excited to finally see some action.
"No, I have another thing for you to do."
Rainbow shot a confused glance at Twilight, but quickly regained her usual attitude.
"Name it!"
Twilight smirked at Dash's enthusiasm. She was a great friend of hers, but she needed to do something else for the time being.
"I need you to help keep the fair going. If you manage to keep their spirits high and distract them from Sombra, then the heart could stay powered up."
Rainbow thought on that for a moment before giving a small nod and speeding off the side of the balcony, meeting with her friends to inform them on what just took place.
Twilight then turned to the crystal door. She had no time to waste. As her she passed through the crystalline doors, she was struck with a slight spell of confusion. It couldn't leave her mind. It felt as if it clawed at the back of her mind.
The sky grew blacker and blacker, darkness filling the once exuberantly colored sky. A dark mist was visibly seen attacking the barrier protecting the Crystal Empire. A maniacal laugh was heard resonating from the evil force that threatened the land. A force called Sombra. It was only a matter of time before the Empire would be submit to a lifetime of slavery and suffering as the continuous pounding weakened the shield emitted by Princess Cadance, who also lost stamina as the ruthless attacks continued. Shining Armour was there at her side, to comfort and protect her while Twilight and Spike scoured the endless halls in search of the Crystal Heart. The rest of the Mane six were left to keep the fair running, keeping the crystal ponies lively and oblivious to the situation while simultaneously watching over Galacta.
That just left us at out curious pink puff, who wasn't just a citizen in the crowd. He knew something was off. In the distance, he had just witnessed the destruction and repair of the barrier surrounding him. He knew that this place was in more danger than he thought.
Kirby shot a quick look around him. The ponies were ignorant to the attack, acting as if nothing had happened. The fair was as lively as ever. The only ones out of place were his friends, who seemed obviously nervous. He only managed to see a select few of the group, watching the rest slip away from their post, announcing to themselves that the citizens had been successfully satisfied and stalled.
The rest of the ponies just trotted around the fair, enjoying the unmanned stations and games, most of which not requiring a watchful eye.
Kirby wasn't ready to just go back to the fair, though. He was sure enough that something was aloof, and he wasn't ready to give that up so easily.
In haste, Kirby ran down the streets towards the center castle. Surely enough, other ponies seemed to be attracted to this area as well, murmuring to themselves about a, "Crystal Heart".
As he passed by ponies, they didn't seem to pay him any mind. He wasn't sure if they had already grown used to him, or if they were to pre-occupied with their destinations to care. Nonetheless, it made it slower to traverse. He immediately jumped into the air before hovering above the ponies below.
Kirby squinted his eyes as he came into viewing range of the castle. He was able to distinguish 5 different colored ponies who he recognized immediately. The colors were unmistakable.
His feet landed firmly on the ground behind the pentagon of ponies. Their attentions were all focused on other ponies who seemed to try to barge pass them. Each and every one had his or her eyes fixated on the statue before him. He knew what was underneath, but he wasn't exactly sure why each and every pony in the crowds wanted to see it so badly.
He needed some explanation.
Kirby's head tilted around him, trying to spot all the ponies he knew.
There was Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Galacta, who seemed to be watching the insanity ensue before her.
Kirby thought for a second, using his hand stub to rub the area under his mouth in a thought-provoking manner. He counted six, but before, he had been with eight friends.
He mulled for a moment, before thinking in the sense of colors.
Cyan, Pink, Orange, Yellow, White, and...
Purple.
Kirby then perfectly remembered who he was missing. In a flash, he jumped to his feet, ignoring the other ponies around him. His body turned 180 degrees as he turned his body towards the main building's entrance, the same one the first entered through. Without skipping a beat, he sprinted towards the door, knowing that he needed to know what was going on and how to fix it. It was only a matter of time.
As Kirby burst through the door, he was met with the crystalline structure he had come to recognize at first view. He didn't know what lied behind each door, but he knew what took him where and what each room did, due a little... tour of the castle he took by himself.
He knew if there was one place to check first, it was the throne room.
Twilight and Spike stood in front of the large, ornate throne that rested before them. The two gasped for air fervently. They had just ran an entire lap around the castle, completely unsure of where to check. The had scoured the entire castle, starting with the throne room before checking each and every little room, using a spell to help search each room, only to come up empty.
"It's gotta be here somewhere! There HAS to be a clue!"
Spike reached over to a part of the crystal throne. He kicked his feet nonchalantly.
"I don't know, I'm sure you'll think of something!"
Twilight turned away, pondering in thought. Spike took this moment to try to get a taste out of those huge crystals.
"Not a claw, Spike!"
Spike looked to Twilight who still had her head turned away. He kicked his foot, annoyed before sitting down and waiting.
Twilight continue to think. She thought of everything Celestia had told her and what every book she read told her. From the beginning, she knew that Sombra tried to hide the heart from her in the first place. It was probably so that he had enchanted it to hide it.
'If the Heart is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across all of Equestria. If hatred and fear take hold...
"That's it!"
Twilight relaxed from her thinking state as Spike fell over in shock. In a flash, Twilight jumped towards the front of the throne. Her horn began to glow in a dark, purple, and green pattern. The magic emitted was unlike any other she had performed before, juicing her out quickly. Sweat began to form as the darkness grew brighter and brighter. Twilight rose her horn a tiny bit as her eyes shot up. Staring at a large crystal in the middle of the large throne, she shot. The dark beam shot off in the form of electricity, striking the crystal at lightning speeds. The force slightly shook the room in the process.
As the beam continued to bombard the crystal, the crystal began ti glow darker and darker. Once it was dark like the crystals from Sombra, it shot out a large amount of energy that impacted the floor in front of the throne. Slowly, a hole began to form in a large area around the energy beam. In the newly formed hole, a long spiraling staircase could be identified. it was too dark to tell how deep it was.
"Where did you learn to do that?"
A confused Spike stared at Twilight who bowed her head towards the throne in exhaustion. Twilight slowly turned her head towards the baby dragon.
"Oh, just a trick from Celestia."
Spike nodded before walking up to the side of the large, gaping hole.
"Hey, how long do you think this goes on?"
Twilight turned her attention to the large staircase for a second. She wasn't exactly sure how long down the staircase went, but she didn't care at the moment. She needed to retrieve that Heart before Sombra entered the Empire.
"There's only one way to find out!"
Without a second, Twilight began to run towards the staircase. As Twilight rounded to the right to start running around the stairs, she thought she saw something pink in her peripheral vision. With her attention shifted, her left rear leg managed to miss the stairs. It happened in an instant. Twilight lost her balanced and flew to the left, where there was an absence of stairs, leading all the way down the abyss.
Twilight fell.
Twilight tried to scream, but it felt like her voice had been stolen from her.
Twilight could feel her stomach drop immensely. She felt like her life had been ripped from her in mere milliseconds. It hurt to know that it all could have been easily avoided if she had just been more careful.
Twilight could only help but watch the stairs race past her at lightning speed. The blackness below her never stopped rising, yet it never moved. It kept charging after her for seconds after seconds. It felt like she had spent hours falling. Who knew how far the abyss led? Twilight could only muster a small thought.
'Why?'
Twilight couldn't help but think of how it could just end so simply; just a simple misstep. She thought of her friends, her life, her choices, her mentor, her family.
She wanted to just go back a few seconds and just change it. She knew she couldn't save herself anymore. There was nopony to save her. Nopony to help her. Nopony to comfort her.
She felt alone.
As Twilight finally saw the floor, she closed her eyes and braced for impact
Suddenly, something grabbed Twilight's body.
Before she could see what happened, a sudden force fell upon her as the momentum in her fall was annulled.
Twilight didn't feel any pain, but instead what felt like a soft marshmallow.
'Am I... dead?'
Twilight's body was slowly lifted to the ground. She felt no pain whatsoever, other than the initial shock of stopping so suddenly. The purple unicorn slowly turned her body, only to be met with a dark, circular figure. It was too dark to tell, so using her horn, she illuminated the small room.
Kirby stood before her, staring curiously at the shaking unicorn. He was a grey with an unusual hat instead of his usual pink.
Somehow, Kirby had saved her.
"Poyo!"
Twilight could only stare blankly. She began to clear her mind, trying to calm herself down. It began to help. One thing continued to gnaw at her mind though. One thing that befuddled her.
"H-how did you-?"
Kirby just stared blankly at her for a few moments. On his face was a face of determination. One that said he wouldn't let anything happen to his friends, to the Crystal Ponies, or to all of Equestria itself.
"Twilight! You okay?"
Spike's voice could be heard from the top of the hole, which caused Twilight to look up. The height up was extremely high, only being able to see Spike as a tiny dot in the distance. Without haste, that tiny dot began its journey down the giant staircase.
"Yeah, I'm okay!"
Twilight removed her view from the top of the stairs before looking back at Kirby who no longer was grey, but was now his normal pink hue. He still had that look of determination stained across his face.
"Thanks for catching me, Kirby. You're a good friend."
Kirby then turned towards Twilight before his expression changed to joy, accompanied with a large smile.
"Poyo!"
Twilight couldn't help but smile. She seemed that it was said and done, like she didn't have to think about what just happened. She felt calm.
Twilight turned around, searching for anything that would be of use there. Behind her was a large door with a crystal on top. It looked like an ordinary door, wooden and all. It was the only door down there though, so Twilight needed to check it. Her magic reached the handle to the door before she tried to pull it.
Instead of opening, the door flew away, doing a 180 around the room before coming to a stop as if nothing happened. Twilight tried once again, to which it yielded the same result.
This time, Twilight fired up her horn with the dark magic she used before to find her way into this hole in the first place. She directed it towards the crystal in the door.
The crystal grew a similar color before the door swung right open, revealing a burning white light.
"Yes!"
Without a beat, Twilight ran for the door, running into the light.
Not wanting to be alone, Kirby ran right in after her, not knowing that doing so would lead him right into what he feared most.
