Midoriya Izuku has had a very rough life.
In a world where superpowers - or quirks as they are called - are the norm, not having one is an immediate sentence to a life of isolation, abuse, discrimination and torment.
Such a terrible fate befell upon the innocent Midoriya, all because he drew the short straw in the genetic lottery. Something that was not his fault, completely out of his control. But with society obsessed with quirks and the superficiality of flashiness, grandeur and splendour, they saw Midoriya as a stain upon their perfect world.
And they treated him as such.
It started with his father. Within days of his son’s diagnosis of ‘quirkless’, as the term coined by society called it, all his things were packed for a “business trip” that would ultimately turn out to be a thinly-veiled excuse for a divorce, leaving Midoriya’s mother all alone to take care of him. She constantly told her son that his father would one day return, but as the years passed, Midoriya put two and two together and realised that his father was never coming home…
...because of him.
Midoriya was a smart lad, and he quickly drew the conclusion that his father left because he didn’t have a quirk. And while the spiral into self-hatred began its slow, agonising course, Midoriya was determined to stay positive, for both himself and his mother, who through silent observations was distraught by her husband’s departure.
But the tide was not in his favour.
The next to fall was his childhood friend, Bakugou Katsuki, affectionately known as Kacchan. While he initially didn’t seem to care that Midoriya was quirkless, all that changed one innocuous summer’s day, when he and Kacchan were out bug-hunting in the local woods, and Kacchan slipped and fell into a creek. As any good friend would do, Midoriya went to help Kacchan up.
Only for Kacchan to slap his hand away, screaming that he didn’t need help from someone useless. Not only did that hurt Midoriya, it was the first domino in a chain-reaction where Kacchan would turn from a childhood friend to a hatred-driven bully hell-bent on making his life a living torture. Kacchan would instigate a campaign of ostracisation, malice and contempt against Midoriya with his peers, starting from daycare all the way up to middle school.
Bullying came in all forms - physical, verbal and emotional. Midoriya was regularly beaten up by Kacchan and his friends, had his things stolen, became the victim of cruel pranks, and verbally harassed with crude name-calling. The teachers were no help, either being apathetic to Midoriya’s plight or were complicit in the abuse.
This went on for years, slowly destroying Midoriya’s spirit and his dream of becoming a professional hero like his idol, the Symbol of Peace and the country’s number one hero, All Might. As the only two things tethering him to the world eroded, Midoriya desperately sought out any means to hold on.
When hero analysis presented itself, Midoriya welcomed it with open arms.
But that didn’t mean the slow destruction stopped. It was merely pushed into the back of his mind, out of sight while still corroding, as Midoriya tried to alleviate the pain of living everyday with studying heroes down to the minutest of detail.
As the years passed, a twisted form of status quo was established. Midoriya would suffer horrendous bullying and abuse from Kacchan and everyone else, and he would try to soothe the pain with his hero analysis and the love from the only person who ever supported him, his mother.
But everything came to an abrupt end one fateful day when Midoriya was about to turn fifteen.
“Can someone without a quirk become a hero?”
The day was already a terrible one to begin with for Midoriya.
Kacchan and his lackeys had accosted him at the end of the school day, which was already rough from the get-go as he was once again teased by the entire class for aspiring to get into Yuuei without a quirk. After the explosive blonde and his lackeys beat the crap out of him, Kacchan destroyed his latest hero analysis notebook and threw it out of the classroom window. And then, in an especially cruel move, Kacchan told him that if he so desperately wanted to become a hero, he should pray that he’d get a quirk in his next life and take a swan dive off of the school roof.
That one blow was enough to deepen the cracks in Midoriya’s fractured heart. And it was only the afternoon.
As he was walking home, Midoriya was attacked by a villain entirely made of slime in the middle of a barely-used underpass. The odds were dire, and Midoriya was almost killed when out of the blue, he was rescued by All Might (!!!), who had been in pursuit of the villain.
After an initial freakout and an autograph, Midoriya still had an important question that needed answering. However, All Might was in a rush, and just as the Symbol of Peace was about to leap into the air, Midoriya did the most reckless thing possible - grabbing a hold of All Might’s leg and stowing away on the flight.
One terrifying ride later, All Might landed on the roof of a skyscraper to safely remove Midoriya from his leg. As he was scolding the teen for being so reckless, the Symbol of Peace proceeded to give Midoriya a heart attack when he suddenly exploded in a cloud of steam, revealing an emaciated figure once the steam cleared.
With no other choice unless he wanted Midoriya to mistakenly call the police on him for being an imposter, All Might - or Toshinori Yagi in this form - made the teen swear on confidence, before divulging in the truth behind his actual form - a villain so strong that he only narrowly defeated, at the cost of his lung, much of his stomach, and his time as All Might.
Toshinori stressed the importance of keeping this secret between them, before taking his first step towards the roof stairs. Then Midoriya asked the million-dollar question that would halt the number one hero in his tracks.
“All Might, before you go, I need to ask you a question that I’ve been waiting for years to ask. I always wanted to be a hero like you, but I don’t have a quirk. Can someone without a quirk become a hero?”
A few beats of silence followed, which seemed like an eternity for Midoriya. Nonetheless, the last embers of hope held out. All Might always propagated that anything was possible in his televised speeches, so perhaps there was a possibility for him?
He did not expect the incoming answer.
“My boy, I’m sorry, but you simply can’t be a hero without a quirk.”
Midoriya’s fractured heart cracked even more.
“You have to be realistic,” All Might continued, not even facing the quickly spiralling teen as he gazed out into the city skyline, “The heroics industry is a tough and dangerous one. You need the greatest of strengths and powerful quirks to deal against the often life-threatening dangers everyday. Yet, my boy, you have none of that. You’ll just be a liability to other heroes because you have no means of defending yourself against villain attacks.”
Pieces of Midoriya’s heart slipped off as it began to fall apart.
“There are other ways to give back. There’s a constant need for doctors and paramedics, or if that is too stressful, there are charitable efforts that benefit the victims of villain attacks. All these are still noble endeavours.”
The first tears began pooling under Midoriya’s eyes.
“My point is, it’s okay to dream. But you need to face reality, otherwise you’re deluding yourself into a fantasy.”
Midoriya did not register anything else, as All Might brushed past him without a further word. The sound of the rooftop door closing barely reached Midoriya’s ears, as his legs gave out and he crumpled to the floor.
The tears that had been pooling dropped steadily onto the concrete, yet Midoriya did not weep. He did not scream, cry, or condemn the heavens for abandoning him to the hell that was his world. He was far too broken to make any noise, too much in shock from hearing that his idol was no different from the long line of people who beat him down everyday. He so desperately wanted to convince himself that this was all a nightmare, that he would wake up any moment.
But All Might’s words, like a broken record stuck on repeat, grounded him to reality.
You simply can’t be a hero without a quirk…
You have to be realistic...
You need to face reality, otherwise you’re deluding yourself into a fantasy…
The words faded, replaced by his mother’s apology to him not long after he was diagnosed as quirkless at age four.
I’m so sorry, Izuku!
That was quickly replaced by Kacchan’s cruel words from earlier that afternoon.
If you’re so desperate to become a hero, useless Deku, there’s a quick way to do it. Pray that you’ll get a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof!
Those last words echoed like a siren. Slowly, Midoriya pushed himself up from the floor. His tears were still flowing, and his face catatonically-blank from the shock. Following the call of the deadly song, he sauntered towards the railing that lined the edge of the roof. His hands gently clasped the rusting, paint-peeling railing, shuffling his feet to slide them out of his red high-top sneakers, before kicking the shoes to one side.
As he was doing so, one side of his brain went into panic-mode, sending electrical signals to his conscience to get away from the railing, to not do what his body was intending to do for the sake of his mother waiting for him at home. But the other side, dulled by years of pain and torment, quickly and efficiently silenced the alarms, leaving Midoriya to continue the deed.
With a bit of effort and maneuvering, Midoriya climbed over the railing, and stood on the precipice of no return. The skyscraper that All Might left him on was one of the taller ones, the street and the pavement below barely visible from such a great height. There was no way one would survive a fall from such a height.
Midoriya did not care.
There was nothing worth living anymore.
For all the pain and torture he was forced to go through, he was almost certain that his next life would be infinitely better.
One single thought flashed through his silent mind.
Sayonara
With a push, Midoriya tipped over the edge.
A split-second of weightlessness, then the inevitable plunge to the ground.
It was a surreal feeling, falling from a great height. Nothing but air beneath, and the rush of the wind roaring in the ears. One should also note that it was possible for someone to go into such a deep shock during a fall from a great height, that their entire body shuts down and they are long dead before they even reach the ground. For Midoriya, who was already effectively catatonic when he pushed himself off the ledge, all bets were off.
All his bodily functions had slowed down to dangerous levels, darkness shrouding his vision as his life began to cease from existence. The wind was nothing more than a faint echo, and if the people below had noticed his plunge and were screaming, well...he didn’t hear it.
But then, just as the darkness fully shrouded him and his soul on the verge of permanently separating from his body, there was a loud ripping sound of air being torn apart. Sounds never before heard in the world echoed, followed by a blinding flash of light.
When the light faded, Midoriya was gone, halfway down the skyscraper, as if he had never existed prior to that moment.
Twilight Sparkle was stunned.
“W-Where’s the Sixth Element?”
She didn’t have a moment longer to realise the failure of the orbs in defeating Nightmare Moon. The tall, imposing alicorn of darkness laughed maniacally. With a stomp of her front hooves, the orbs shattered in a cloud of crystal shards.
Twilight gasped in horror.
“You little fool!” Nightmare Moon declared, “Did you think some silly little orbs could defeat me?!”
Twilight quivered under the menacing aura.
“Now you’ll never see your precious Princess Celestia, or your sun ever again! The night will last forever!”
The purple-furred unicorn shrunk under Nightmare Moon’s evil laugh, thinking that all the effort she and the others had made to get here, the trials and obstacles they overcame with their defining traits, was ultimately all for nought. For once in her life, she was at a loss of what to do. There really appeared to be no solution to this burgeoning crisis that would have widespread ramifications to everypony in Equestria.
And yet, when all seemed to be lost, came familiar voices hurrying the staircase to the room where she and the alicorn of darkness were.
Twilight recognised those voices, and suddenly, she came to an epiphany, her eyes sparkling.
“You think you could have just destroyed the Elements of Harmony just like that?” she turned back to Nightmare Moon, “Well you’re absolutely wrong! Because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!”
Standing by her, were her new friends that she made during her short time in Ponyville - Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
The broken shards began to glow in coloured hues, and levitated up.
“W-What?” Nightmare Moon took a step back.
Undeterred, Twilight turned to the blonde Earth pony, “Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the Spirit of Honesty!”
Orange-glowing shards came to orbit around Applejack.
“Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the Spirit of Kindness!”
Pink-hued shards orbited around a nervous buttery-yellow pegasus with a pink mane.
“Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the Spirit of Laughter!”
Blue-hued shards rushed towards the excitable, party-loving pink Earth pony.
“Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift at the expense of her own appearance, represents the Spirit of Generosity!”
Purple-sparkling shards swirled around the white unicorn.
“And Rainbow Dash, who would never abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire, represents the Spirit of Loyalty!”
Red-glowing shards circled around the rainbow-maned pegasus.
“The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge that you threw at us!” Twilight declared.
“You still don’t have the Sixth Element!” Nightmare Moon rebuffed, “The spark didn’t work!”
“But it did,” Twilight retorted, “a different kind of spark.” She then turned to the five ponies whom she could call friends, “I felt it the moment I realised how happy to hear you, to see you, and how much I care about you all. The spark ignited inside me…”
Tears began trickling down her eyes, “...when I realised you all…”
Wiping them away, Twilight turned back to face Nightmare Moon, “...are my friends!”
Suddenly, rays of light burst overhead. There hovering above, was the sixth orb. As it lowered down over Twilight, she continued, “You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element:The Element of... Magic!"
Nightmare Moon flinched back when the glowing orb ignited into a supernova of light. The shards orbiting the five ponies coalesced into golden necklaces bearing a jewel that resembled their cutie marks. As for Twilight, the glowing light morphed into a crown bearing a star from her cutie mark. Then, light from all six ponies converged together and split into a double-helix rainbow that shot up towards the ceiling of the ruins, then rushed down towards Nightmare Moon.
Her anguished wails echoed throughout the chamber as the rainbow wrapped around her. The energy built up larger and larger until it exploded with seismic force, throwing all six ponies to the floor hard. It would take several moments for the light to fade.
Rainbow groaned, “Oww...my head…”
Applejack winced as she picked herself up, “Is everypony okay?”
“Oh thank goodness!”
All eyes turned to Rarity, ecstatically marvelling at her regrown tail.
“Why Rarity, it’s so lovely,” Fluttershy quietly gushed.
“I know! I’ll never part with it again!” the white unicorn hugged her tail.
“No...I mean your necklace...it looks just like your cutie mark,” Fluttershy corrected.
The five ponies all gushed at their new accessories.
“Gee Twilight,” Applejack turned to the purple unicorn, “Ah thought ya were just spoutin’ a lotta hooey, but Ah reckon...we really do represent the Elements of Friendship.”
“Indeed you all do,” came an unfamiliar voice.
Everypony turned to a window which faced the mountains. The night was quickly pushed away by the rising sun, filling the room with its warm rays. From the shining star that brought daylight to the world, an orb of light shot into the chamber before the six ponies. And from the orb, out stepped a majestic white alicorn who towered over the six ponies, with a long flowing mane of green, blue, purple and pink - Princess Celestia.
One by one, everypony except for Twilight bowed before their monarch.
“Princess Celestia!” the purple unicorn rushed up to her mentor.
“My faithful student,” Celestia nuzzled Twilight, “I knew you could do it.”
Twilight took a step back, “But...you told me that Nightmare Moon was only an old ponytale.”
“I told you to go make some friends, nothing more,” Celestia corrected, “I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon’s return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, which you could not unleash until you let true friendship into your heart.”
Twilight turned to her five new friends, who nodded in agreement with Celestia’s words.
“Now if only another would do the same as well…”
All eyes turned to the pony whom Celestia was referring. Laid prone amidst the smoking pieces of her armour as Nightmare Moon, was a night-blue alicorn.
“...Princess Luna.”
At the mention of her name, Luna suddenly awoke with a gasp, eyes flitting about in confusion. When she noticed Celestia approaching her, she flinched.
“It’s been a thousand years since I’ve seen you like this…”
Luna shied away from the white alicorn, only opening her eyes when Celestia crouched down to her level, “It is time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister…”
“Sister?!” the six watching ponies were shocked.
“Luna, I am so sorry for not noticing your pain, and I hope you forgive me for my error. The night is equally important as the day, and you mean so much to me. So please...will you accept my friendship?”
Tension filled the chamber, all six ponies leaning in with anticipation, though the moment was broken by Pinkie Pie, who leaned so far out she toppled over.
Luna felt tears pooling in her eyes, and with a quiet sob, she threw herself into her sister’s warmth, “I’m so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!”
Celestia felt her own tears pool as she embraced Luna, “I missed you too.”
All six ponies sighed in relief, incredibly moved by the reunion.
Pinkie Pie wiped away tears of joy, “Hey! You know what this means? We should throw a celebration par-”
Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of lightning, and an almighty clap of thunder so strong it shook the eroding foundations of the ruins, sending bits of stone falling from the ceiling. Twilight and her friends stumbled from the tremor, Celestia immediately shielding Luna from the falling stone.
“W-What’s going on?” Rarity shrieked.
Applejack quickly found her bearings and galloped over to the window.
“What in tarnation…?”
Everypony gathered around the orange Earth pony. Outside, the blue sky of the morning had turned deathly overcast, with bolts of lightning cracking over the clouds. But this was no ordinary thunderstorm, the clouds appeared to be swirling in a circle, growing faster by the second. Suddenly, the centre of the swirling clouds opened up in a hole like that of the eye of a hurricane. Out of nowhere, something akin to a green comet shot out of the hole and plummeted to the ground at alarming speeds. It hit with a loud boom, the tremor shaking the ruins for the second time.
“What the buck is that?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“Everypony stay close,” Celestia instructed as the overcast clouds began to dissipate, “We’re going to investigate.”
It took the group a while to cut through the Everfree forest into the clearing where the green comet crashed into the ground, fending off the creatures that tried to hinder their path. Celestia led the way, coming to a stop at the clearing where the ground had been kicked into a crater with something smouldering within.
“Twilight, you and the rest stay here. Luna and I will go inside to see what it is.”
The purple unicorn nodded, and the Mane Six took to peeking over the edge of the crater to get a better look. Celestia and Luna approached the smouldering object, and gasped when they realised what it was.
“Big sister...is this…?”
Celestia gingerly rolled the object over, only in doing so confirmed that it was not a mere object.
It was a colt, probably no older than Twilight or any of the Mane Six. His fur was a light mint-green, his mane cut short, curly, and a dark forest-green with black highlights, as was his tail. But perhaps the main detail that shocked the two royal sisters the most was that this colt was an alicorn, his wings unfolded and draped over his unconscious body, and his horn glowing faintly with green-coloured sparkles. He had cuts and scrapes all over his body, no doubt from his collision with the ground from such a great height.
“Oh by the sun!” Celestia choked, “This colt needs medical attention!”
Quickly and as carefully as possible, the monarch of the sun lifted the unconscious colt up with her magic, and turned to the six ponies watching, “We must make haste, everypony! We need to get to Ponyville General Hospital immediately!”
“Why? What wro-” Twilight’s curiosity died and was replaced by concern when she noticed who was wrapped in her mentor’s magic, “Is that…?”
“It’s a colt, my student, and he needs help right now!” Celestia replied distractedly, “There’s no time to waste! His very life is on the brink of extinguishment!”
To Be Continued.
Author's Note
Hey everyone, this is my first story here on FIMFiction, so please go easy on me, yeah?
I used to be an avid fan of MLP back when it first aired, but as life continued, I eventually drifted away as my interest shifted towards anime and manga.
After several years, I return with one hoof into the fandom. I don't know how much has changed since I left, but either way, your honest feedback will be greatly appreciated, yeah?
Anyway, I hope everyone stays safe in such troubling times, and if you guys like the story, I'll be back with a second chapter!
Take care, everyone!
