• Published 7th Jul 2017
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My Little Academia: Friendship is Heroic! - Fullmetal Pony



Twilight Sparkle wants to be a hero. She didn't expect the most powerful hero in Equestria to lend her a hoof. She's now set on the path of legends, but it's not going to be an easy one. My Hero Academia Crossover

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Eleventh Hour

“Darn it.” Aloe bit her lip.

Bulk lay limp before her. When a purple mist had floated over him and Aloe, Aloe had managed to keep it at bay from herself. Bulk had initially been able to ward off the mist with his Talent, but then a figure had rushed out of the mist and shoved Aloe off of Bulk and wrapped its leg around his neck. Bulk had tensed up like he had been shocked and then his bubble had burst, leaving him in his current state.

The villain that had taken out Bulk and summoned the mist stood over him. He glistened radiantly in a white sequin vest, cape, and mask. The mask was also studded with shimmering jewels, as was the clasp of his cape. He even wore matching pants to conceal his cutie mark. Yet he was portly, and his mane had so much product in it, even if it did sparkle like silver. Aloe had to wonder how much of it was actually hair. It was a garish overall appearance that called to mind the seedier parts of Las Pegasus.

Aloe’s eyes locked onto his leg. It was bubbling like the surface was made of a thick purple goop rather than fur and flesh. The fumes it gave off swirled around Bulk and the villain.

“Now, I think would be a good time to settle down,” said the villain. “I admit, I’m the not the biggest fan of these bugs either, so it was fun watching you knock them down for a bit, but I’d rather not risk the unlikely chance somepony actually interferes with our little plan.”

Aloe said nothing, but she ran what the villain had said through her mind. She assumed he was from Las Pegasus given the recent changeling activity there, and his attire had already given her an inkling he might hale from there. His mention of interference made her muscles clench: if help was unlikely to come, that meant they had somepony with a Talent to keep others away.

Focusing back on the present, Aloe decided to appear to heed the villain’s demand and laid down with her legs spread across the ground. At the same time though, she sent an aroma across the ground, too low and too direct for the villain to notice. She had to work slow— the slightest wrong move and Bulk was done for.

~~~

Rarity stood amidst downed changelings and dragons. There were some more tears and stains on her costume, but the only damage her body showed were a few bits of singed fur and the puncture wounds on her leg where Garble had bit her. Small gashes spiderwebbed out of the wounds, but the blood from them had long since dried. Spike rested on her back, angled so that he could shoot out flames to Rarity’s right. Both breathed heavily, but taking in the silence around them, they managed to grin.

“I think…” Rarity huffed, “that’s it.”

“Okay,” Spike wheezed. His right eye was still shut from getting seared by Garble’s flames and his legs felt like they were getting pricked from every angle, which was an improvement from the burning pain of earlier. He left arm lay limp across Rarity’s back and it still throbbed every now and then. His working eye stung from sweat, but he had not been able to raise his right arm to get to it while he had been fighting. He had needed it to hold onto Rarity. After he rubbed his eye and restored vision out of it, he asked, “Rarity, can you put me down?”

“We should probably keep moving,” said Rarity. She lit up her horn floated Lyra and Bon Bon to her sides. With them secure in her magic, she used her horn to coalesce some water out of the fog. Forming it into a sphere, she took a drink from it and then offered it to Spike.

Spike obliged, gulping it down and feeling relieved at that cooling sensation it provided to his raw throat. Wiping his mouth and giving thanks, Spike then said, “We should, but there’s something I need to do first. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Okay.” Rarity gently deposited Spike on the ground.

Reaching into his chest plate, he rummaged around. A look of relief flashed across his face when his claw clasped onto a crumpled sheet of paper. He felt around a little bit more, but only felt the shattered remains of quills and ink bottles. He placed the paper on the ground and pricked his palm, drawing a bit of blood that he used to write out: Emergency WTF Help.

Spike let out a small jet of flame. The paper vanished in a puff of green smoke. Spike then turned to Rarity. “Alright, let’s get mo—”

The air near him crackled and popped. Rarity dove in front of him and crystalized a second before an explosion crashed against her back. The blast blew away the rest of her costume save for the tattered remains of her sleeves, which slipped off her legs and burnt at her hooves.

Spike’s eyes shrank. Little bits of paper flitted through the heated air and vanished into tongues of regular fire.

~~~

Sunset spotted a clearing down below. “Okay, enough with the pigasus-back ride.”

Fluttershy looked to Twilight, who nodded at her. The three of them circled down, searching for any signs of either villains or their classmates, but found none. Touching down, Fluttershy released Twilight and Sunset from her talons and reverted to her base form.

Twilight’s horn stung, but it was not enough to prevent her from casting a spell that scanned the area. Sunset stood by and harrumphed, but a close inspection of her eyes showed that she had activated thaumic vision. Fluttershy remained between the two of them, eyes closed and taking deep breaths. With her wings spread wide, she felt out the air, but could not sense any disturbances in it.

After a moment of making sure the coast was clear, they regrouped. Twilight looked to Fluttershy. “Time to get some help.”

“Who made you the decision maker?” Sunset snorted.

“This villain attack was no coincidence. I don’t know how, but they knew we were coming,” Twilight said while skirting around Sunset’s annoyance and focusing on the bigger picture. She rested a hoof on her chin. “The way they separated us doesn’t make sense though.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’m clearly the target, so why not isolate me?” Twilight posited. “Why teleport the others? I’m willing to bet it didn’t stop after that villain teleported us either.”

“We’re largely unknown factors,” Sunset answered after thinking on Twilight’s words. Her jaw tightened. “Bastards must have gotten our schedule but not our personal information.”

“That still doesn’t explain Fluttershy. It’d make sense to isolate the both of us since we’ve both been in the news, but Fluttershy seems like a complete unknown, especially with the way she took out the Sirens’ Song.”

“So, both sides are working with incomplete info is what you’re getting at.”

Twilight nodded. “Which means getting help is our wisest move. Besides, you saw what the villains’ leader had with her.”

Fluttershy shuddered recalling the patchwork monster. “D-draconequus.”

“Intimidation tactic. Scare the greenhorns with something that looks like the boogeyman we all learned about in kindergarten.” Sunset shot Fluttershy a look. She flinched. “Seems pretty effective.”

“Their leader didn’t show any hesitation going hoof to hoof with Tantabus,” Twilight countered.

Sunset paused. The air grew thick between her and Twilight for a tense moment before she spun around in a swirl of embers. She made sure avoid landing on her left foreleg. Underneath Sunset’s greave, Twilight could see that it was singed and throbbing. “Do whatever makes you feel safe. I’ll still take down anypony dumb enough to think they can take me!”

Twilight let out a relieved sigh and then turned to Fluttershy. She beckoned her over and lit up her horn. “Fluttershy, I’m going to cast invisibility and anti-detection spells on you, then I want you to fly up to Cloudsdale as fast as you can. If anything looks suspicious, run for it, don’t worry about us.”

“But Twi—”

“We can handle ourselves,” Twilight reassured her. She could also feel the air heating up near Sunset. A jittery grin came to her face. “You get what I’m saying?”

Sunset’s rising annoyance was not lost to Fluttershy. “Okay, Twilight.” She gulped. “I’ll do it!”

“Just stay still.” Twilight brought the tip of her horn to Fluttershy’s chest. Aura flowed out of it and began encasing Fluttershy. Both of them remained in place while Sunset took a seat but kept peering out into the forest with enchantments on her eyes.

After a few minutes, Fluttershy vanished from both Twilight’s regular vision and Sunset’s enhanced view. Since Twilight had cast the spells, she could still vaguely sense that Fluttershy was in front of her. “The spells are timed, but everypony should still be able to hear you. Good luck, Fluttershy.”

“You too.”

There was a whoosh of air. Twilight sensed that she and Sunset were the only ones in the clearing now, but she kept her head up to the sky for a moment.

Sunset pulled her back to the ground. “Now what?”

“I’ll stay here.” Twilight took up refuge under a nearby tree. “I’m the one they’re after, so if I hide and they divert more energy and time to finding me, it’ll give the others a better chance to escape.”

“Broodmare,” Sunset cursed.

“What?” Twilight gasped at having such a harsh insult thrown at her for seemingly no reason. When she saw Sunset grinding her teeth, whatever objection she had caught in her throat.

“That stupid broodmare.” Sunset slammed her right foreleg against the ground, sending up flames. “What could you have done to get on the bad side of somepony like that?”

Something involving the Elements, Twilight thought, but answered, “I really wish I knew.”

“Tch, would at least make sense if she went after both of us, but sounded like she wanted to kill just you and sell the rest of us enough bull to make the hick’s farm profitable.”

“No need to insult Applejack.” Twilight blinked. “Wait, how do you know Applejack’s family runs a farm?”

“Because I do my research.” Sunset flashed Twilight a smug grin. “Not that it takes a genius to figure out she’s an Apple. She’s even in a few articles talking about Bonkin’ Big Mac. Shame such Talents can barely keep them afloat.”

“That’s not very nice to go peering into other po—” A gust of air cut off Twilight.

“Sorry, Twilight,” Fluttershy’s voice called out from a little above the clearing. “There’s something wrong with the air up there.”

Sunset glanced up. “I don’t see anything.”

“I… I could just feel it.” A branch snapped off a nearby tree and floated above Twilight and Sunset. “Let me just test it to be sure.”

There was another gust of air. Sunset and Twilight both kept their eyes locked straight above, watching the branch climb higher and higher until it was nearly out of sight. Then, the sky cracked. White veins, like frozen bolts of lightning, lingered in the sky for a few moments before fading away into the air. Twilight and Sunset's pupils shrank.

Something landed near Twilight. The scent of burning wood filled the air. “Fluttershy!”

“I-I’m o-okay,” she chattered. “If… if I hadn’t sensed that though…”

“Let’s move,” said Twilight. “Concealment or not, somepony must have seen that.”

All three of them fled into the shadows of the forest. They stuck close and treaded lightly, slipping among the trees until they came to one with an exposed overarching root. They took cover under it and waited. While it remained quiet, Fluttershy focused back into visibility. She was still shaking.

“That couldn’t have targeted just you,” Twilight thought aloud.

“You trying to say there’s a barrier up there as big as Cloudsdale?” There was a twinge of hesitation in Sunset’s voice despite the sharp tone she used to ask the question.

“I…” Twilight gulped. “I have to assume so.”

“W-who are these villains?” Fluttershy stuttered.

~~~

Enigma stood still for a second. Maud’s shadow pierced his chest and Lotus’s needles phased through his right side and shot out of his left.

Tree Hugger strafed around him. “Close! Near his right flank!”

Maud and Lotus redoubled their efforts: Maud striking from below with her shadow and Lotus striking from above and the sides.

“Hmmm.” Enigma swerved his head and leveled his horn at Tree Hugger. He loosed a bolt of magic that zigzagged through the air. Shadow enveloped Tree Hugger before the bolt could strike her. The bolt faded away, but Enigma poured more magic into his horn.

A pained wheeze hissed through his teeth and mask. A needle stuck out of the small of his back.

“Now!” Lotus screamed.

Shadow swallowed Enigma up from the right while Tree Hugger burst forward and jabbed Enigma at precise points on his neck, back, shoulders, and flanks. She danced around him, picking up Lotus’s needles as she did, and driving them into Enigma at pivotal areas of thaumic flow in a pony’s body. Lotus joined in, and the three kept up the offensive until Enigma was on the ground, bound by Maud’s shadow, and covered in needles.

Lotus gasped for air, Tree Hugger coughed, and Maud let out a snort. Enigma remained silent and still.

“Tough one,” Tree Hugger huffed.

“What now?” Lotus gasped.

“Throw him as far away as possible and get out here,” Maud stated.

Enigma squirmed. “I’m afraid I can’t allow that. Equality would be quite upset.”

Enigma’s legs burst out of Maud’s bindings. His costume had been torn, revealing well-muscled legs that his skin-tight costume could not have possibly concealed. Tree Hugger, Maud, and Lotus jumped back as he slammed his legs into the ground, sending tremors through it.

“No way,” Tree Hugger gasped. She blinked and shook her head, but her Talent still showed that there was a mass of magic now around Enigma’s legs. The rest of his body was still a scramble of colors, but the aura around his legs was clear to her. “How are you using earth pony magic?”

“He’s what?” Lotus yelped.

Maud’s eyes widened. The students’ combined attacks had torn Enigma’s costume apart, revealing light cyan fur. His eyes were a dull cobalt and his mane, despite having been pressed under his costume, was neatly styled with his horn parting it into two well-maintained bangs. Contrasting with his groomed appearance, he had a cutie mark of a balloon animal surrounded by confetti. He wore an unnerving grin.

What truly chilled Maud and the other students though was what was on his barrel, neck, and left foreleg. While he had the balloon animal on his flanks, the way his fur was tinged with color at those spots to display the dotted outline of a pony, a glistening shield, and a canyon could not have been anything other than cutie marks.

“What the hay are you?” Maud asked.

Enigma’s grin widened as he re-summoned his costume over it and the rest of his body. “An enigma.”

~~~

Twilight saw her breath in front of her. The forest was growing sparser around her group, and the trees that remained were evergreens and the like. Sunset marched ahead of Twilight, but her increased pace could not hide the aura that cushioned each step she took with her left foreleg or the angles she bent it to avoid putting additional stress on it. Fluttershy was the point of the group, floating a few feet above the ground.

They stuck close to the trees, but ahead they could see that the forest was giving way to a frost laden plain. Beyond that, snow floated down and even further, where the terrain sloped upward, flurries obscured the path, save for the distant peaks of mountains that could be glimpsed in the midst of raging blizzards.

Once they had been certain they were not being pursued, they had gotten out from under the tree and had made the decision to head for the edge of the WTF. It meant traversing through the worst that the facility had to throw at them, and they could only hope that whatever barrier kept them from escaping to Cloudsdale did not extend to the ground too, but it was better than risking tangling with the leader of the villains and her main lackeys. Even Sunset recognized the situation they were in. It did not stop her from wearing a scowl though.

They had been quiet for some time now, and the silence, while reassuring, was getting to Twilight. Left to its own devices, her mind was swimming with so many thoughts and theories on the invasion that it was beginning to hurt. The dull ache from her horn was not helping matters.

“Fluttershy?” she asked. “What exactly did you do back there with the Sirens?”

Fluttershy tensed. “Um, what do you mean?”

“Gah,” Sunset moaned. “Enough with the daintiness! We both know you’ve got an ace that’s equal to a high-level anti-magic spell. Not just anypony can break a Sirens’ Song.”

“I would have put it a little more delicately.” Twilight blushed and flashed Fluttershy a demure grin. She then cast her eyes down. “It is pretty impressive though, like nothing I’ve ever seen… or really want to see again.”

“That… that’s what I was afraid of. My Talent involves bonding with animals, but sometimes they get so unruly that I…” She shuddered and hid her face behind her mane. “I just have to make them listen and that Stare is my last resort.”

“Hmm, ponies do have an innate ability, no matter which race, to subjugate most other species,” Twilight postured. “Maybe your Talent allows you to bring out an enhanced version of that.”

More theories boiled up Twilight’s throat, but she held her tongue when she saw Fluttershy shaking. “I don’t know that much about it myself. I really don’t like using it though. Th-this is only the second time I’ve ever used it on a pony.”

“Waste of a Talent,” Sunset snorted. Twilight shot her a glare, but Fluttershy just drifted forward.

They were just passing some pine trees when Fluttershy stopped. She landed, but kept her wings spread.

“What’s wrong?” asked Twilight.

“It’s warmer.” Fluttershy shook her head. “That can’t be right.”

She reached out and touched a few blades of frost-covered grass. Her pupils shrunk when her hoof went through the grass and squished down on soft mud. Both Twilight and Sunset crouched and readied themselves for battle. The evergreens, cold earth, and frost gave way to a variety of trees, damp dirt, and mud. The temperature went from chilly to moderate. Ahead of them now was the center of the WTF.

Twilight’s heart thudded in her chest. She dared to glance at Sunset. “Did you notice anything?”

“Nothing should have gotten past me!” Sunset furrowed her brow. She kicked a nearby tree. “Damn it!”

“Q-quiet,” Fluttershy pleaded.

Sunset ground her teeth and pressed up against a nearby tree. Twilight and Fluttershy did the same. Once more, it was quiet.

“High level illusion?” Twilight muttered.

“Or teleportation,” Sunset spat. “Damn those freaks.”

“It doesn’t feel like there’s anypony else approaching,” said Fluttershy.

“That means jack,” Sunset snarled. “They’re toying with us.”

“Or they could have taken preparations,” Twilight suggested. She took some breaths and let her brain work through what had just happened, quelling the panic growing up from her gut. “With enough time, you can disguise a spell like it’s not there. They made a big entrance but that may have just been a distraction. They could have been here for hours.”

“Well, that settles it.” Sunset got out from behind her tree. She walked toward the center of the facility.

Fluttershy rushed up to block her path. “Wh-what are you doing?”

“Outta my way, yellowbelly.” Sunset shoved Fluttershy aside. Twilight raced up to stop her, but Sunset’s next words made her stop. “You gonna try and stop me too, wuss? Stay here and hide if you want, but those bastards are coming for us and they’re making sure help doesn’t get here before they do. They think they’ve got us under their hooves, but we’ve taken out their flunkies! I’m not just gonna cower around while they have their way! Damn villains, I’ll show them not to mess with heroes!”

Sunset galloped off. Twilight and Fluttershy stared at her for a second and reflected on her words. They had touched something deep within them even though both understood Sunset’s words had partially come from the fear they also felt at the situation. Yet, they knew her words rang true.

“Fluttershy.” Twilight strode over to her and helped her up. With all her might, she summoned a shaky smile to her face. “We’re heroes. Let’s show them what’s what.”

Fluttershy shook, but she managed to smile too. “A-and give Sunset some b-backup.”

The two turned to face the center of the facility, gulped, and stepped forward. Every move they took sent a chill up their legs. Both readied themselves for stepping into a magical minefield. Yet, the field was quiet, with a slight breeze rustling the grass. Sunset had vanished over a slight ridge. Twilight and Fluttershy crept forward, staying low and hidden in the tall grass.

An explosion shook the ground and forced them onto their stomachs. They looked up and saw smoke rising up from beyond the ridge. Then, silence once more. Twilight was shaking now just as Fluttershy was, but she got back into a crouch and slowly, very slowly, climbed up the ridge. When she could look over it, she stopped.

Her blood froze. Past the ridge, parts of the field now resembled checkered tiles and other parts of it bubbled with a pink liquid. A large amount of it was charred black and ashen. Glass spires poked out here and there. The field looked less like a field and more like a bizarre art piece.

Spitfire lay on the ground. Her eyes were still open, and her jaw was clenched, but her own limbs pinned her down. Her left foreleg was small and flabby like a foal’s while her right was shriveled and weathered like an old mare’s. Her right hind leg was twisted into a corkscrew shape and her left was three times the size of the rest of her body. One of her wings pressed against her back, its feathers a solid mass of granite. The other wing was just bones, yet it still moved like it had skin and muscle.

Tantabus was also pinned to the ground. The draconequus swirled over her with its tentacle somehow constricting her ethereal form. Twilight could not spy any of her limbs, just her body and her head. It looked like more and more of her was dispersing into the air.

There were gnarled masses of earth nearby. To Twilight’s growing horror, she saw Maud, Lotus Blossom, and Tree Hugger ensnared in the earth. Maud’s shadow flailed at Maud's confinement, but it could not even dislodge a pebble. Enigma stood below and gazed up at the captured students.

Sunset floated in the center of the chaos. Her helm was gone, and her greaves were torn apart. Aura constricted around her neck. Equality glared at her. “Ah, so brave, yet so foolhardy.”

Sunset snarled at her despite a growing lack of air and fired off a blast of fire at the aura choking her. It singed her neck but did nothing to the aura. Equality slammed her into the ground hard enough to crack the checkerboard tiles.

She bent low and summoned more aura to press down on Sunset. “Now, you took a while coming here, so you wouldn’t have happened to pass by Twilight Sparkle?”

“S-stop going on about that wuss!” Sunset hacked. She shot a blast out at Equality, but it fizzled against her costume. “You damn freak! I’ll kill yo—”

Equality bashed Sunset’s head into the ground. Sunset went limp and Equality sighed. “We’ll deal with that attitude later. You really could have saved yourself the injuries if you’d just told me they followed you.”

Before Twilight and Fluttershy could react, aura clasped onto them and dragged them out from behind the ridge. Equality drew them close enough that Twilight could feel her hot breath on her face. She could tell that behind the mask Equality was grinning ear to ear. She felt like vomiting. Fluttershy eyes were bugged out and she appeared on the verge of passing out.

“Finally.” Equality drew out the word, savoring each syllable. “It’s finally o—”

Fluttershy glared straight at Equality, unleashing the full brunt of her Stare. The two looked at each other for a moment before Equality shook her head. “Well, I guess when you can’t fly, you have to fight. Just for insurance though, I can’t have you mucking things up.”

Equality leveled her horn at Fluttershy. The aura around it made Twilight feel like someone had ripped open her gut. The steeliness in Fluttershy’s eyes faded and gave way to fear again. Equality tucked her head and then rammed it up at Fluttershy’s chest.

“No!” Twilight screamed. Her horn flared and the aura holding her in place burst apart. Her irises swirled with rainbows and her cutie mark glowed bright. Her horn turned blinding as she aimed it at Equality.

Equality snarled and chucked Fluttershy away. “Paradox!”

Twilight let loose a torrent magic that washed over Equality. After just a second, the torrent stopped, and Twilight fell to her knees. Over half of her horn was black and smoking now. It throbbed and blurred her vision, but Twilight managed to focus enough to look over to her right. “Fluttershy, are you ok—”

A series of clomps silenced Twilight. The dust in front of her cleared, revealing the draconequus had wrapped itself around Equality to shield her. Its patchwork hide had taken on the texture of white marble. Equality peered out from it. “Well, that actually gave me a scare.”

Cracks appeared across the draconequus. Pieces of stone popped off, revealing that it was squirming beneath its marble confinement like a sack filled with snakes. It burst out of its imprisonment and swirled above Equality.

“Paradox was made just in case this happened.” Equality’s grin showed behind her mask. “That was a half-hearted attack anyway. If you want to kill somepony, you need to commit!”

Equality summoned the sickening aura to her horn again and drove it straight at Twilight.

Stop!” Tantabus rose up between Equality and Twilight and took the full brunt of Equality’s horn into her stomach.

“Professor!” Fluttershy shrieked.

“Tantabus!” Twilight cried out.

Light was spreading out from Equality’s horn across Tantabus’s shadowy body. She let out a guttural hack. Yet, she still glared at Equality. “Monster, you will not plunge Equestria into chaos for your own selfish gain! You will not destroy our future!”

“Your future is hopelessness.” Equality drove her horn in deeper. “I will correct the failures you have made.”

The light had spread all across Tantabus. She summoned a leg and reared it back, but she froze for one brief horrible moment and then burst apart into smoke. Twilight and Fluttershy could only watch the last wisps of her disappear. The sight struck them with absolute terror.

Somehow, that terror managed to grow even more in Twilight when Equality turned to her. “Now to finish th—”

A hoof burning far brighter and hotter than anything Sunset could summon smashed into the right side of Equality’s face. The blow sent her flying and blew away the earth underneath her with the immense pressure and heat it generated. When she finally came to a stop, there was a smoldering trail left in her wake and a massive pile of dirt behind her.

The snow and rain that spilled down around parts of the WTF stopped. The roaring tornadoes and the whipping winds ceased. Fog melted away. Everyone left standing felt the temperature, no matter where they were, rise a few degrees.

Celestia lowered her leg. Gone was the serene smile Twilight always saw her display in this form. In its place were sealed lips, but Twilight could tell that the teeth behind them were clenched tightly together.

“Villain,” Celestia called out with icy precision to Equality, “you have made a grave mistake.”

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