"DIE, YOU STUPID PONY!"
With a groan, Twilight closed the book she was reading and started to head for her door. It was going to be one of those days. She could already tell. From outside she could hear shouting, but also the sounds of her student, Luster Dawn, trying to calm those outside down. At least somepony was keeping their cool. As she approached the front gate, she was surprised to see that Spike was standing there instead of dealing with the problem, a smile on his face.
"What's this all about, Spike?" she asked. "And why aren't you out there taking care of it?"
"Because I had to see the expression on your face. Come on out, you are going to love this," Spike laughed. Twilight took a moment to steady herself, certain that she was not going to like what she saw. She then pushed open the door to her castle and took a step outside.
Saying that she was shocked would be an understatement.
All around the courtyard were over twenty humans, all of who were wearing an assortment of costumes, outfits and armor. One of them looked like a knight with a purple cape and was constantly posing. Another wore an entire yellow bodysuit and was talking with the baker. A girl with pink skin and hair was breaking dancing against a pony in shades and a black coat. There were too many of them for Twilight to wrap her head around all at once.
Needing something the focus on, Twilight instead locked onto the human that had been yelling earlier. That boy was being restrained by Luster Dawn's magic and was suspended in the air. He had spiky hair, a scowl on his face and what looked like giant grenades on his arms. And he was still yelling at the top of his lungs. Twilight had enough.
"Enough!" she yelled. As she yelled, she cast an immobilization spell across every being in the courtyard, freezing them all in place. "Okay, look, I have no idea who all of you are, so I suppose I should start by introducing myself. I am Princess Twilight, princess of this realm. And I see that you all are humans...I think. You are not from this realm. So would somepony please explain to me how you all got here and why are all of you trampling my garden?"
"That would be because of me, Twilight."
Twilight's eyes lit up and a smile formed on her face at the sound of the voice, instantly releasing her spell over the courtyard. It had been over ten years since she had last seen him. The hero who had helped her to save her world. All Might. The symbol of peace. Twilight spun towards the sound of the voice, expecting to see the smile, the muscle and the costume...only for her eyes to go wide in horror and shock at what she actually saw.
Standing before her was a man...who looked more like a skeleton than a man. His face was sharp and narrow, his eyes were sunken and hollow. His hair was a mess and his clothes hung loosely off of him. But then she saw the smile on his face. A smile that she knew all too well. What she didn't know, what she couldn't begin to fathom, was how in the world he had ended up...like this.
"All Might?" she tentatively asked.
"Hello, Twilight. It has been some time," he replied. It was him. She could tell. The voice sounded all the same, if a bit weaker than his usual, boisterous self. "It seems we both have changed in these years. I do not remember you being so tall. You truly look like Celestia and Luna now. It suits you."
"Indeed, I guess I do. What...what happened to you?" Twilight dared to ask.
Toshinori gave a small chuckle before he lifted his shirt, causing Twilight to gasp as she saw the horrendous scar on his abdomen. "I got into a fight that was a bit much for even me. Not long after my adventure in Equestria, as a matter of fact. That is why it has taken me so long to get back in contact with you. Things...haven't exactly been easy. But I beat him. I beat the man that killed my master. Even though it cost me so much."
"I can see that," Twilight muttered. She scanned his wound with her horn before a frown crossed her face. There was nothing her magic could do for a wound like that. But as her magic continued to scan the man, she found something even more unnerving. She couldn't find the fire. That fire that had burned within him the last time that they had met. "Toshinori...your quirk..."
"Yes. It is gone. Come, sit with me for a moment," Toshinori asked. Twilight nodded and the pair sat down on a bench. They watched the ponies, mostly guards, and the human kids interact. "I am a teacher now. I teach at UA highschool, where we train future heroes. And this is class 1A. They are considered some of the best of the best."
"That would certainly explain their colorful attire and their...ease with being in a completely other world," Twilight said. She then glanced at the back of the group to see Warp Drive hanging out in the darkness. "Is that...?"
"Yes, he works with us now. Not as a hero, but he helps transport people who are in terrible accidents to the hospital in the blink of an eye. He's doing this for me as a favor. I helped keep him out of prison after telling the judge how he helped me...in securing the other villains. Do you remember them?"
"Of course I could. How could I not? Are they all still in prison?" Twilight asked. Toshinori nodded. Twilight nodded as well, before an old question crossed her mind. "And...about Heatstroke...?"
"Yes. You did kill him at the Crystal Empire. He was dead long before he hit the ground," Toshinori confirmed.
"Ah. Thought so," Twilight nodded. "Oof, that's going to weigh on me for a bit."
"You did it to save your family. It was self defense."
"I know...still...so how did you lose your quirk?" Twilight finally asked. "Did a villain manage to steal it like Sombra did? Did the damage to your body prevent you from using your might?"
Toshinori chuckled but didn't say anything. Twilight raised an eyebrow in response, but before she could say anything one of Toshinori's students came up to her, gaining her full attention. He had greenish hair, a green tracksuit with white gloves and constantly looked around at everything like he was trying to mentally write down notes on all of it. A look she knew all too well. But as she looked closer at his eyes, she saw something that made her gasp. She saw the fire. The same look of fire that she had seen in only one other.
"Hello there, Princess Twilight. I am Izuku Midoriya," the boy said before bowing to her.
"Hello. It is nice to meet you," she replied.
"I am so excited to meet you! All Might has only told me bits and pieces about the world of Equestria, so I'm so excited to be here. Is it true that you're entire species has magical properties? How about a rainbow haired one that can break the sound barrier? And what the heck is a Pinkie Pie?"
For nearly ten minutes Twilight answered all of the questions that Izuku put forward, her disbelief slowly turning into amusement as she learned more and more about the boy. He reminded her of somepony. Actually, he reminded her of both herself and All Might. After a bit one of Izuku's friends called out to him and he bowed to Twilight before taking off, leaving Twilight to give All Might a look.
"Did you...?"
"Yes. I passed on my quirk to him, just as my master once passed it on to me. He has the makings of a great hero. I can see it within him," Toshinori said. And then a smile crossed his face. Not a smile that was grand and large like he used to give. Nor was it a smile of bitterness and being left behind. It was a smile of contentment. A smile that told Twilight that, despite all that had happened to him, Toshinori was happy.
Spike was the next to come over to Toshinori and the man's jaw nearly dropped. Spike was the size of a car and built like a tank. He looked the way Toshinori used to. For a brief moment the two locked eyes and then Spike glanced down at All Might's skeleton body. The dragon nodded in understanding.
"Missed a day at the gym, huh? Don't worry. It happens."
Toshinori let out a laugh at that and spent a while catching up with Spike. How he was doing, what was his max bench, how was Gabby doing, what was his max squat,Spike asking about what all the signals Gabby was sending him meant, how was his max deadlift. All the important stuff. After a bit he smiled and walked off, looking forward to hitting the gym with Toshinori next time.
"Toshinori...what's the real reason you've brought all of these students here today?" Twilight asked. Before Toshinori could answer, Rainbow Dash flew in from above, Rarity, AJ and Fluttershy walked into the courtyard and Pinkie appeared out of...somewhere, screaming about how she knew All Might had come back. The students and the Ambassadors immediately started to mingle, with friendships quickly formed between the pink haired girl and Pinkie, the twinkling boy and Rarity, and a boy who Twilight had seen talking to birds and Fluttershy.
Rainbow Dash and the grenade kid immediately butted heads.
"Because I wanted to show them to you. And to tell you...that you were right," Toshinori said. "When I was last here, I believed in the number one hero. That only the best of the best could handle things when no one else could. That only I was strong enough to hold up the world. To be it's lone pillar. But it has been a long time since then, Twilight, and I have learned much."
"I learned that pushing away those that you care about won't protect them. That sometimes...they still leave," he whispered. "I learned that despite all my power and skill, I couldn't avoid age and damage bringing me down. And I learned that sometimes...you have to leave the fate of everything in the hands of others. That sometimes all the old generation can do...is trust in the young. To trust in others."
"That is why I wanted to bring these students to meet you and your friends today, Twilight," Toshinori admitted. He and Twilight gazed out over the students and ponies mingling, smiles on all of their faces (except Bakugo) as they traded tales and abilities with one another. Luster Dawn and her friends joined in with the kids as well, and after a moment it was like a painting of Twilight's students mixed in with All Might's. And that caused Toshinori's smile to grow a little wider.
"Because this is the future of my world. This is the future that I am entrusting everything, even my power, too. And all because I met you. Because you showed me the power and unity within friendship. So I have tried to take the lessons that you taught me and teach it to them as well. Because just as you and your friends held up your world, I entrust my world to them. Because Twilight..."
"These are my pillars."
"I see...you've chosen well," Twilight agreed. "And speaking of pillars..."
Then a girl walked over to Toshinori. She had black hair, wore white spandex and had a white mask on her face. As she approached the former hero, she slowly lowered her mask, revealing a smile that caused tears to well up in Toshinori's eyes.
"Hey All Might. It's been a while."
"Hikari," Toshinori whispered. He stood up and gently took her hand, smirking at how she was so much taller than him now. "You look...great."
"Yeah. And I'm actually feeling pretty great to," Hikari replied. She then lowered her head and bowed to Toshinori. "I want to thank you, for everything you did for me all those years ago. You saved me in more ways than one that day. I will never be able to repay you for what you've done."
"And you will never have to," Toshinori smiled. "Seeing you like this...is reward enough."
"Well you better watch out, All Might, because Hikari here has spent the last couple of years training hard to become a hero that can surpass you," Twilight revealed. Toshinori's eyes went wide and he looked at the young lady with surprise, who smiled back at him.
"That's right, All Might. I've finally realized what I want to do with my life. I want to be like you...and also surpass you. I'm going to become Earth's number one hero."
"WHAT WAS THAT, MASKED GIRL?! I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Try it, short fuse," Hikari snapped back.
Toshinori held a hand to his face as the two began to battle, with both ponies and humans taking sides. All Twilight could do was laugh as she and Toshinori watched, both of them smiling.
"That the future of our worlds right there," Twilight said.
"Yes," Toshinori said with a smile, a smile he hadn't worn in a long time.
"Yes they are."