"Well I'm glad to see that your leg is feeling better," Twilight said to Pinkie.
"Don't worry Twilight, the doctors said that I will be out of here within a couple of days," Pinkie replied with a smile. Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy sat around Pinkie's bed, each of them having already signed the cast that was on her leg. The Ponyville hospital was quiet that day, which Twilight took a small comfort in. After Sombra's attack, she had expected it to be filled to the brim.
"I'm just happy to see you smiling. You were pretty bad when we first brought you in here," Fluttershy said. "Your leg was all black and icky."
"Yeah, it was weird. It was like something in that crystal had messed with my natural magic," Pinkie said.
"Interesting. None of the crystals that Diamond Dust threw at you were that strange crystal Sombra used against us," Twilight muttered. "I wonder if that orb she shattered gave her extra powers aside from just making her stronger."
"Are you sure that you don't need anything darling?" Rarity asked. "Do you need one of us to stay with you or maybe a book or something?"
"Don't you guys worry about me. I know that you're all super busy with your own lives. And it's not like I'll be lonely! Cheese Sandwich and Lil' Cheese are going to be visiting me in a little bit," Pinkie smiled. "I'm going to be reading to him. I haven't missed a storytime yet and I don't plan on it today."
"I'm just glad that you're alright," Twilight whispered.
"Twilight, what's the matter?" Pinkie asked. Before Twilight could answer, the door opened and the room was flooded with light from a brilliant smile.
"I! AM! HERE!" All Might laughed. He walked into the room (after a quick struggle with the doorframe) and place a small basket of fruit on Pinkie's bedtable. "Hello, Pinkie! I am happy to see you in such high spirits!"
"Well how can I help it when there are so many smiling faces?" Pinkie asked. She smiled at All Might, who smiled back, and their combined smiles blinded everypony in the room.
"Madam Rarity, Ms. Fluttershy and Princess Twilight. Do you mind if I speak to Pinkie alone for a moment?" All Might asked. The ponies looked at each other and shrugged before they left the room. All Might waited until a few moments after they had left before he turned to face Pinkie, his smile no longer on his face.
"What's up, All Might? And why aren't you smiling?" Pinkie asked. All Might's response was to get down on his knees, before bowing over and placing his forehead on the ground and his hands next to his head.
"I am so sorry. I have failed you."
"Sorry? For what?" Pinkie asked with a half smile. "Oh, you mean this? It's nothing, a scratch really."
"It is not nothing. That wound proves just how close you were to being killed," All Might replied. Pinkie didn't know what was stranger. How he managed to contort himself so that he was bowing down despite barely fitting in the room. Or that he voice was devoid of the usual joy it held.
"All Might, it's fine. I'm okay and-"
"I was there. And you still nearly died. I nearly failed to protect you. The solemn duty of any hero. I am so sorry."
"Okay All Might, cut it out. This isn't you," Pinkie replied. "You should be smiling, helping others and being silly! That's the All Might that we all know and love. So I came close to dying. Not the first time. But you saved the day and me. Why are you taking this so hard?"
"Because I can't help but think, if I had been even a second too slow...I would be saying these same things to your family...your son...and saying how sorry I was for allowing you to be killed. That I had failed them."
Pinkie didn't reply.
"I know what you are trying to say. That you are a champion of Equestria. That you've saved it time and time again. And know that I have nothing but respect for you and all you have done. But at the end of the day, the failing of you nearly getting killed...and for you even being allowed to be out there in the first place...falls to me. And I am sorry."
All Might stood up and bowed once more to Pinkie before he turned and headed for the door, giving her a soft smile over his shoulder, one that she returned. "You shouldn't have to risk your life out there. That is why I am here."
He gave her a soft wave and left the room, closing the door behind him with a sigh. He glanced down the hallway to see Twilight at the end of it, motioning for him to join her before she walked out of sight. All Might walked down the hallway to see Twilight standing out on a balcony, staring up at the sky.
"Twilight, I must speak with you," All Might said as he approached the alicorn. "About what happened in the cavern...against Diamond Dust-"
"You were right. You've been right all along," Twilight whispered. All Might's eyebrows went up in surprise, before he joined her on the balcony. "I...I shouldn't have gotten them involved in this fight. I shouldn't have brought them. It's...It's not their responsibility. Not anymore."
"Twilight..."
"For Faust sake, All Might, I brought a mother into a fight against a psychopath!" Twilight nearly screamed at All Might. "A mother who has only just recently recovered from giving birth! And a farmer and...and..."
All Might gently placed a hand on her shoulder, waiting until she had gotten herself under control before he spoke.
"How is Rainbow Dash doing? I haven't had a chance to check on her yet."
"She's fine. She's taken worse blows to the head than that one. Applejack is staying by her side just to be safe. We got lucky that she was hit with the flat part of the crystal and not the sharp part...she got lucky...she could be dead...and it would be all my fault..."
"Do not blame yourself. I am the one to blame. I should have been faster. I should have taken out Diamond Dust right away...I should have taken them all out long before they made it to your home," All Might replied. "I am the greatest hero of my world and I let them get this far. It is my failing. So if you must be angry at someone, be angry at me."
Twilight didn't answer All Might right away. She stared out at the setting sun, her horn glowing slightly to help it along as it sunk beneath the horizon.
"They were chosen to protect the world. We all were. But at the end of it all...they never wanted to be heroes, to be protectors. They did it because they had to. Because they were chosen. Chosen by the Elements of Harmony," Twilight explained to All Might. "Fluttershy wants to have a home for lost and abandoned animals. Rainbow Dash leads the Wonderbolts. Applejack is going to keep working on her farm. Rarity has her fashion line. And Pinkie...she has a family. A husband and son that need her. They've already saved the world. They've done their part."
"I'm the only one who holds her old position. All my life I've wanted to master magic to help others. And to this day I continue to do that. I chose to be a protector of the world..." Twilight went silent for a while after she said that, before looking to All Might with lost eyes. "But I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can continue to protect the world without them. I...I've never been without my friends. Throughout thick and thin...they've been besides me. We're the pillars of harmony...together."
"Twilight...perhaps I have not been as clear as I could have been," All Might said. He flashed Twilight an embarrassed smile before continuing. "Being the number one hero, the pillar of your world, doesn't mean that you don't have any allies. I have a sidekick myself."
"You? With a sidekick?" Twilight asked, an eyebrow going up in disbelief. "This I've got to hear about. What do you call them, Small Might?"
"No, but now that you mention it," All Might muttered, putting that name on the backburner. "Yes, my sidekick. Nighteye. He's...well, I wouldn't call him normal, but then I wouldn't call anyone in my world normal. We all have our own unique...quirks, if you will."
"Booo," Twilight teased. "But you have someone that you'll let fight alongside you? Even against all the threats you face?"
All Might lowered his head and clasped his hands, letting out a sigh. "On the more...basic assignments, we work together in duo. But in the more dangerous assignments, he supports me, but I do all the fighting. The point I'm trying to make, Twilight, is that being a hero doesn't mean not having allies. Having allies is a great thing. It is what separates us from the villains. My best advice for any fledgling hero is to have allies with you."
"But?"
"But for us it's different. We take on the threats that no one else can. The threats that they shouldn't take on. If I let other heroes fight the threats that I have to use nearly everything to defeat, then the world would be deprived of dozens of wonderful heroes. I cannot...I cannot risk their lives by bringing them into battle against foes that they stand no chance against. I know that the heroes code is to risk everything to protect the innocent...but that sometimes means protecting your fellow heroes."
"I guess, what I'm trying to say in my own confusing way, is that I respect your friends. They are some of the bravest, most noble souls I have met. But it is like you said...they are not ones who have given everything to being heroes. They have other lives, other dreams...and families that need them. But they aren't willing...that's not fair to them...their true desires are not to constantly fight an unending darkness. They want to live their lives. Many heroes I know have other goals and lives outside of heroing."
"But I promised my master that I would be the best hero I can be. There are too many that count on me for me to be anything less. I cannot let all those who believe in me down. No matter what I must bear...just like you."
Twilight thought about All Might's words for a long time. And she found herself agreeing with all of it. She loved her friends. They had always supported her and been there for her when she needed them. They had always sacrificed everything to help her. But now she was the leader of Equestria. She was it's champion. It's...number one hero. Was it not her turn? Her turn to support them and allow them to lead the lives they wanted to lead?
"I think...you're right," Twilight finally said. "I still want my friend to be apart of my life. I want to laugh with them, cry with them and enjoy life with them. But...I also want to protect them. To make sure they can live those lives. As their ruler...as their friend, that is my most sacred duty. To keep them safe. I guess you're right after all, All Might. We are alike."
"You summed up everything I had said in nine sentences. I should probably take a speaking class. Now if you excuse me, I have a promise to keep," All Might said before he took off."
"Promise?"
====| V |====
"...and little red riding mare packed her basket and prepared to head into the woods," Pinkie read aloud. On her side, the young Lil' Cheese giggled and reached out for the picture book, getting Pinkie to giggle as she moved it away. "She exited her home and skipped away. As she passed by one of her neighbors, he asked her where she was going. And she said-"
The door to the room swung open and standing there, with a smile on his face, was All Might, with a red hood, cape and outfit, complete with a skirt.
"I am off to grandma's house."