It was a bright and sunny day in Canterlot City. Izuku was in the parking lot of Canterlot High School, helping the Rainbooms out with a car wash. Even though they had raised funds to save Camp Everfree from being turned into a golf course, they still needed to raise money to repair the damage that had been inflicted onto the camp. Izuku was very happy to help the Rainbooms out, being the good hero that he was. They had just finished washing a truck that belonged to Big Mac, Applejack's older brother.
I'll have to meet Big Mac later, he thought. He seems like a very nice fellow.
He waved as the truck drove off and went to join the Rainbooms, who decided to take a little break. Applejack saw him approach and tossed him a bottle of soft apple cider. Izuku caught it with a smile.
"Thanks, Applejack," he said politely before taking a sip. His smile turned even brighter as soon as he tasted it. "Wow! This is amazing!'
Applejack chuckled and blushed a little. "Awe, shucks," she said. "This is nothing."
"Nothing?" Said Pinkie Pie before giggling. "Try telling that to Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow rolled her eyes while blushing with embarrassment. "I drank three bottles in a row ONE TIME, girls," she said. "ONE… TIME!"
Izuku tilted his head curiously. "Should I ask what happened when you did that?' he asked with concern.
"Trust me," said Sunset as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You don't wanna know."
Izuku looked concerned. "Um… okay, then," he said. He glanced at Twilight. "How are we doing on raising enough money?"
Twilight let out a sad sigh. "We're only halfway there," she said. "I counted the money four times."
The other Rainbooms sighed sadly. "Don't worry," said Applejack. "We just need to wash more cars and…"
Izuku was already shaking his head. "I hate to say this, but I don't think that's gonna work," he said with a little bit of shame in his voice. He gestured to the parking lot. "There aren't any more cars out there."
The Rainbooms sighed before noticing their green-haired friend smiling at them reassuringly. "Don't worry," he said kindly. "I'll help you find a solution! I promise to do my best in helping you repair Camp Everfree!" He raised his fist to the sky and yelled, "PLUS ULTRA!!!"
He was met with silence at first. Then he heard Rarity giggling. He realized what had just happened and blushed in embarrassment. "S-sorry," he said. "I got a little carried away."
Rarity walked up to him and placed her hands on his cheeks. "No need to be sorry, darling," she said. "It's so adorable and sweet with how much you want to help us! You're such a sweet little darling!" She kissed both of his cheeks before looking at him with lidded eyes. "And a very cute hero," she added.
Izuku was a blushing mess. He still couldn't get over the fact that these girls had kissed him as thanks. "H-happy to help," he stuttered.
"Well, what more can we do," asked Rainbow Dash in a worried voice. "The money needs to be turned in by next week! Pinkie had a bake sale, Twilight and Fluttershy worked at a doggy daycare, and Sunset and I planned the car wash!"
"Not to worry, my dear," said Rarity. "It's my turn to come up with something for our fundraiser. Meet me in the music room this afternoon and I'll tell you my plan!"
The Rainbooms agreed and left. Only Izuku, Rarity, and Spike stayed behind. Izuku and Spike looked at Rarity and saw that she had a very nervous smile on her face.
"What's wrong, Rarity?" Asked Izuku.
"I think she's got nothing," said Spike.
"How did you figure it out?" Rarity asked nervously.
Izuku gave her a reassuring smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Rarity," he said. "I'll help you out."
"You will?" The fashionista asked hopefully.
"Absolutely!" Said Izuku. "I'm sure we'll figure out something if we take a walk around the city."
"Nice! Count me in as well," said Spike.
Rarity smiled widely. She gave Spike a good pat on the head. Then she threw her arms around Izuku and hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much," she said happily. "You're both my heroes!"
Before Izuku could say anything, Rarity grabbed his freckled cheeks and kissed him on the lips! Izuku was frozen with shock. He stared at the fashionista, whose eyes were closed as she held the kiss. Soon, she broke the kiss and smiled at him. Then, she realized what had happened and blushed bright red. The next thing she knew, Izuku fell to the ground and passed out, his face still bright red while Spike rolled his eyes.
*****
"I am so sorry about that," said Rarity for the fifth time in a row. She, Spike, and Izuku were at the Canterlot City Mall, looking for ideas to raise money.
"I-it's no problem at all," said Izuku with an embarrassed face. "I-it just threw me off guard, that's all!"
"I gotta admit," said Spike, who was chuckling. "That was both adorable and funny."
"Can we just focus on trying to figure out what Rarity's idea can be, please?" Asked Izuku.
"I certainly agree," said Rarity, who had a sad face. "It's been three hours, and we still haven't found anything yet." She sighed. "If we don't find something, we'll never be able to help the camp."
Izuku held her in a warm embrace. "Don't worry," he said reassuringly. "We'll figure out something. Right, Spike?" There was no answer. "Um… Spike?" He looked and saw Spike looking up at a screen. Curiously, he and Rarity approached and saw that the video was showing off a dance contest that would be taking place soon. A contest that involved the contestants making a music video of their own and sending it to the judges. The winner would make a lot of money.
Rarity's face beamed. "That's it!" She exclaimed. "We'll make our very own music video!"
Izuku glanced at her with a big grin. "That should definitely help," he said. "It might be enough to help the camp!"
Rarity took the boy's hand and dragged him off to a stand that had the dance logo on it. She grabbed a card and began to sign it when a new voice called out to her.
"Rarity, what a pleasant surprise." Then she whispered, "Not."
The three friends turned around and saw four girls standing there. Izuku noticed that they each wore the exact same outfit: purple uniform shirts with purple skirts.
The first girl had light yellow skin, purple eyes, and pink hair with a light blue stripe tied in a ponytail. The second girl had light bluish purple skin with white hair tied into long pigtails and dark purple eyes behind a pair of orange-framed glasses. The third had light blue skin, light purple eyes, and short purple-and-pink hair. The last girl had pink skin, long green-and-yellow hair, and amber eyes.
Izuku blushed a little at how beautiful these new girls were. Rarity smiled at them and said, "Sour Sweet! Sunny Flare! It's been ages!"
"It's only been a few months," said the girl with pigtails.
"Um… hello, there," said Izuku with a shy smile. "Are you all friends of Rarity?"
The new girls turned to look at the boy, and they suddenly had light blushes on their faces. Rarity giggled and ruffled his hair.
"Izuku, I'd like for you to meet the Shadowbolts," she said cheerfully. "Their names are Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare, and Lemon Zest. They're students from Crystal Prep Academy."
Izuku gave the Shadowbolts his million watt smile. "It's nice to meet you," he said. "My name is Izuku Midoriya!"
Sunny Flare approached him with a flirty smile. "Well, hello to you too," she said. "Where have you been my whole life?"
Izuku suddenly blushed heavily. "Um… Japan?" He said shyly. He suddenly felt an arm wrap around his shoulders and saw Lemon Zest grinning at him.
"How are you doing, dude?" She asked cheerfully. "You like rock and roll?"
Before he could respond, Sour Sweet approached him with a sweet smile. "Awe," she said. "What a cutie!" Then she scowled and said, "Don't think that this means I like you!" Though she had a small blush on her face.
Sugarcoat sighed and pulled them away. "Guys, I get that he's very cute," she said while trying to hide a blush. "But you're making him uncomfortable by being so close to him."
"I-it's no problem," said Izuku shyly. "It's nice to meet you all. H-how are you all doing?"
Sunny Flare gave him a smile. "Well, aren't you a gentleman," she said. "Things have been going quite well for us since Principal Cadence took over!"
"She's letting us have a dance party on a yacht," said Sour Sweet with a smile. "If we can raise enough money for it."
"Oh, that sounds wonderful," said Rarity.
"Are you signing up for the competition?" Lemon Zest asked.
"Indeed I am," said Rarity before placing the card into the box. "Are you signing up too?"
"We're not here because we like standing in line," said Sugarcoat bluntly.
Izuku's stomach growled and he blushed with embarrassment. "Um, sorry about that," he said. "I'll be right back, Rarity. I'm just gonna buy a snack."
Rarity smiled at him. "Go on ahead, darling," she said. "Try not to take too long!"
Izuku nodded and went to the food court with Spike following him. "Well, those Shadowbolts seem interesting," he said.
"Interesting is not the word I would use," muttered Spike.
"Huh?" Izuku asked as he looked at the little puppy. "What are you talking about?"
"It's a long story," said Spike. "I think you're gonna need a big snack for this story."
*****
Izuku munched on the big pretzel that he had bought and looked shocked as Spike told him all about the Shadowbolts. How they were mean to Twilight, how they acted prideful, and how they forced Twilight to release magic to win the Friendship Games.
"The Friendship Games don't sound very friendly," he said.
"I think the person who came up with that might have had the meaning of 'friendship' mixed up with 'rivalry,'" said Spike. "I still don't like what they did to Twilight."
Izuku patted his head. "It's okay," he said. "It's hard to forgive people for what they did. But I learned how to be forgiving to others."
"How?" Asked Spike.
Before Izuku could answer, Rarity came up to them. "There you are," she said. "Come along, darlings. We've got a contest to win!"
With that, the three friends left the mall. Unaware of what the Shadowbolts had planned.