• Published 31st Aug 2020
  • 8,081 Views, 385 Comments

The Reason to Smile - Onomonopia

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Let's Burn This City

All Might didn't think it was possible for crystal to burn. The Crystal Empire proved him wrong.

The moment he and Twilight appeared in a flash of light, he knew things were bad. The crystal buildings were burning (which amazed him), ponies were running around screaming, and meteors were raining down from the top of the giant tower in the center of the empire.

"Heatstroke. It has to be him," All Might told Twilight.

"Agreed. All Might, I'm going to deal with the meteors and try to put out the fires," Twilight instructed. Her horn flashed and six meteors were blasted to rubble. "Go. I can handle things here. When everypony is safe, I'll join you."

"Sounds like a plan!" All Might laughed.

He rocketed towards the tower, dodging meteors, extinguishing fires with his speed and rescuing those who were in danger along his way. He reached the bottom of the tower, crouched down to kick off, only to stop when he noticed something strange. A heart made of crystal floated before him, radiating a calm, but powerful, energy. He narrowed his eyes at it...then smiled once more and kicked off.

With a shockwave powerful enough to extinguish the nearby flames, All Might shot to the top of the tower, spinning a few times for effect, before landing boots down on the top of the tower with enough force to shake the tower.

"Do not worry. Because I am-WHOA!"

All Might snapped his head to the side just in time to avoid the fireball that had been launched towards his head. His eyes narrowed as he spied Heatstroke, confirming his suspicions. "Heatstroke. Only you could find a way to burn a shining city such as this one."

"It's what I'm best at All Might," Heatstroke laughed. Then he extended both palms and two, massive balls of fire appeared in them. All Might kept his smile but narrowed his eyes, noticing that Heatstoke's fireballs were five times the size of what they were supposed to be. But they weren't the meteors that had been raining down on the town. Where had those come from?

"After all, I'm the strongest fire user in the world," Heatstroke continued.

"HA HA HA! Oh, never let it be said that you don't have a sense of humor, Heatstroke," All Might laughed. He then smiled wider. "Because we both know a certain fire themed hero that has bested you before."

"That was before now!" Heatstroke roared. He slammed his hands down and created a tidal wave of fire, one that came crashing down towards All Might. "Now I'm stronger! Stronger than Endeavor! Stronger than all of the Fire Force! But most of all...stronger than you!"

All Might snapped his arms back, before swinging them both forward and clapping his hands together to create a massive shockwave. The shockwave parted the sea of fire and gave All Might a straight shot to Heatstroke. With a kick All Might tore towards Heatstroke, who had just enough time to register what was coming at him before All Might was on top of him. All Might brought his fist back, preparing to bring the evildoer to justice, but right as he swung a part of the crystal came to life and intercepted his attack.

"What in the hell?" All Might asked. His arm was being held back by a crystal shaped man, one who radiated the same power and glow of the crystal heart he had seen below. And there was only person on Equestria that could copy it's powers. "Vein Mine. So I see that you have decided to start to work together to fight me."

"You act like we're idiots, All Might. No single villain is a match for you," Vein Mine said. "But two enhanced villains...well, that might even be too much for you!"

"Enhanced?" All Might asked. He didn't have time to wait for an answer. Heatstroke fired a column of fire towards All Might and the hero had to deal with that first. He kicked off the ground and leapt over the fire, dragging Vein Mine with him. He swung a fist at the villain, but while the punch connected, it didn't do much more than snap the villains head to the side.

"Sorry, All Might, but even your freakish strength means nothing to me now!" Vein Mine roared. He threw a punch that All Might blocked, before All Might tore the villains arm free. All Might spun the villain around him before hurling the villain at the top of the tower, where he slammed into it with enough force to crack the crystal. Yet with a laugh Vein Mine got back up, no worse for wear.

All Might lunged towards Vein Mine, but another wave of fire forced him back. He caught movement and moved to the side to avoid the shards of crystals that whirled by his head, nicking a bit of his hair. All Might hurled a punch in the direction of Heatstroke, the speed of his punch create a bullet of air that rocketed towards the fire user. Yet Vein Mine stepped in the way of the attack and the air punch dissipated harmlessly against him.

Another wave of fire forced All Might back, only for his foot to nearly slip off the top of the tower. All Might glanced behind him and saw a very far drop, telling him he didn't have much more back to retreat to.

"Heh, we've got you figured, All Might," Heatstroke laughed, sending blast after blast of fire at All Might. All Might countered with air punches, able to extinguish the flames before they could reach him. Then Vein Mine stepped between the punches and the flames. The punches faded harmlessly against him while the fire washed over Vein Mine and continued on its course to All Might.

"You are strong, tough and fast. But even you need room to maneuver," Vein Mine continued. "And if you're forced into a corner, well, predicting your next move becomes easy to tell. Now come on, let's end this!"

Vein Mine ripped up a large chunk of crystal out of the ground and hurled it into the air, while Heatstroke used his power to turn it into a crystal meteor. "Time to die, All Might!"

"You are right. It is time to end this," All Might said darkly. He clenched a fist and tucked it in tight. "Detroit..."

The meteor came to a hard stop as a sphere of violet magic ensnared it. All Might felt his smile return as he looked up to see Twilight floating towards him. She flashed a quick smile to All Might before glaring down at the villains. "So you two are the ones responsible for burning down the home of my brother and his wife. What have you done with them?!"

"No need to get your mane in a knot. Your little pony friends are perfectly fine. They're just enjoying the dungeons that they've built," Heatstroke laughed. "We're keeping them nice and safe until Sombra can decide what he wants to do with them. He said I get to keep the foal if I kill All Might here. Sounds fun! I've always wanted a pet."

"Be quiet," Vein Mine snapped at him. "Let us get this done first, then we can-"

All Might was on him in a moment, driving a massive right hand into the side of his head. While his crystal form may have prevented All Might from knocking his block off, it still sent him spiraling backwards until he collided with a part of the tower top. Heatstroke snapped his hands towards All Might and summoned his fire, but a force of violet magic slammed itself on top of the villain, nearly crushing him.

"That is enough out of you," Twilight snarled. "You dare to threaten my family? Be thankful that you still draw breath. Now how about a nice nap and-"

Vein Mine rocketed off the ground and hurled himself towards Twilight. She snapped her head towards the villain and fired a beam of pure magic...only for his body to turn into a black material that completely negated her spell. She was fast enough to create a barrier around herself, yet just like with her spell, Vein Mine plowed clean through her barrier. Twilight had just enough time to ask how before Vein Mine slammed into her, tackling the princess out of the air and dragging her down to the tower top.

"Wondering why your magic isn't working? Negastones. Little gift from Sombra," Vein Mine explained. "They completely negate all magic they come into contact with. And since I can completely turn my body into any material I touch...well you're smart enough to figure it out."

"Twilight!" All Might called out. He rocketed towards her, ignoring the fire that Heatstroke shot at him. He raised a fist and prepared to hit Vein Mine hard enough that he might never wake...only for a blast of dark magic to halt his advance as it caught the hero square in the chest.

All Might coughed in pain as he was sent rocketing off of the tower, crashing down into the city below. He plowed through a few house that shattered like glass before his might and dug his hand into the ground to slow himself. He gritted his teeth as he felt crystal shards biting his back, but he rose all the same...only to narrow his eyes when he saw a dark horse standing across the street from him.

"Yo," Sombra greeted. All Might's shadow covered Sombra as the hero aimed a fist for the horse's head.

"Washington...SMASH!" All Might replied. His punch obliterated the ground where Sombra had been standing, as well as any of the buildings that had been nearby. All Might raised a hand as crystal shards rained down around him, glad that Sombra had chosen to stand in an area All Might had already cleared out. Then he looked up at the tower. "Hang on Twilight, I'm on my way."

"Might want to hold on there." All Might spun around to see Sombra standing behind All Might, holding a small foal in his grip. "After all, this foal has been wanting to meet their favorite hero. It would be rude to just leave them, especially since it seems they could use a hero right about now."

"Is there no depths to which you won't sink?" All Might snarled. Sombra shook his head with a smirk. "You may be the most vile, evil, underhanded villain I have faced."

"All Might, flattery will get you everywhere. But what it won't do is help this foal," Sombra laughed. "I know what you're thinking. What's the fastest way I can save this foal and then go rescue Twilight without risking the foals life. Well let me tell you this now. This foal is in my grasp. My magic is in their body. If you try anything, and I do mean everything, they will go boom. But if you just sit here...well, perhaps they'll live to see another day."

"You...bastard," All Might snarled. Sombra let out a gasp and held his hooves over the foals ears.

"All Might. Language. I am ashamed of you. Is that how a hero should talk?" Sombra chided, though he couldn't keep a smile from spreading on his face. "Now how about you have a seat and we have a little chat? After all, you've been fighting so hard and could use a rest. Sit, my friend. I would love to learn more about you. Or perhaps you want me to turn my attention back to this foal?"

All Might said nothing, but sat down on a piece of rubble. "There. See, we can be reasonable."

"Why are you doing this?" All Might asked.

"Well it all started when my daddy said he never loved me..."

"Why are you just sitting here with me? Why not take your cheap shots now? Why not try to kill me when you have met at such a disadvantage?"

"Well, that would be dishonorable. And I am nothing, if not...snirk...a pony...giggle...of honor," Sombra managed to choke out. He then giggled to himself for a moment before regaining his composure. "To be honest, it is simply because I am curious to see what you will do."

"Explain."

"Twilight is going to die. We both know that. With her magic, she could easily handle Heatstroke. With her princess strength, she could probably handle Vein Mine, or at least get away from him. But with the Negastone and Heatstroke now really cooking, she can't handle both. And we both know this. So I want to see what you will do. Will you sit here and allow the princess to die? Or will you go after her and allow this foal to blow up. I don't know...but I look forward to finding out."

All Might snarled and slightly began to stand up, but when Sombra smiled and placed a hoof on the foals throat, All Might sat back down. Loathed as he was to admit it, Sombra had him trapped. He knew Twilight was losing. He could see the top of the tower from where he sat and it didn't look good. She probably wouldn't last much longer. But he knew that if he tried anything, Sombra would kill the foal. He could see it in Sombra's eyes. Beneath the talk and jokes and facade...Sombra was one of the most evil foes he had faced. All Might didn't know what to do.

So it was lucky for him at that moment a rainbow colored sonicboom exploded overhead.