It was time for the Quarter-Finals and things were heating up as the first match was between Applejack and Ghidorah. Applejack's [Core] allowed her to tank through Ghidorah's myriad of attacks without slowing down thanks to the increase in muscle, skin, and bone density and the removal of her pain inhibitors.
"Guess this is the unstoppable force against the immovable object, huh?" Ghidorah smirked as he fired bone bullets from his fingertips.
"Yeah, but I gotta be careful with using my Quirk. If I turn it off at the wrong moment, all the pain I've absorbed will return to me!" Applejack grinned back.
"Then I'll make sure not to land any fatal blows!"
Ghidorah turned his left arm into a serpent head made of magma but Applejack jumped over it and delivered a diving kick to his face. Ghidorah blocked with his free arm as Applejack delivered a flurry of bicycle kicks, slowly pushing him back inch by inch.
"Looks like AJ has got Ghidorah on the defensive!" Eijirou noted from the stands.
Applejack then raised her leg high and prepared to deliver a powerful Axe Kick to Ghidorah's skull, only for his head to turn into that of a minotaur, locking Applejack's leg with his horns as he grinned and then shook her around before slamming her into the ground.
Applejack grunted before springing back up to her feet, kicking Ghidorah in the face as he transformed into a full minotaur, letting out a bellow as he punched the ground with both fists, making gouts of fire erupt around him.
"Whoa, nelly!" Applejack yelped as she stood back from the heat.
However, that was just a distraction as Ghidorah charged forward, wrapping his legs around her head, flipping backward, carrying Applejack with him, and slamming her down.
"HOLY CRAP! THIS IS TURNING INTO A FULL-BLOWN WRESTLING MATCH!" Present Mic cried. "GHIDORAH JUST CAME IN WITH A DEVASTATING HURRACANRANA!"
Applejack slowly picked herself up. She dusted her hat off and glared at Ghidorah, who smirked as he flexed his bulging red muscles, flames emitting off of them in the process.
"All right, pardner, you wanna rassle? Lemme show you how an Applelane gets down."
Applejack then rushed toward Ghidorah and despite him being a good couple of feet taller than her in his Minotaur Form, she lifted him without issue and delivered a German Suplex.
Ghidorah quickly rolled to his feet, dazed a little before grinning, steam blowing out of his nostrils.
"Now we're getting somewhere..."
He and Applejack rushed at each other once more, locking arms as Applejack ignored the blistering heat coming off his body thanks to her Quirk. A pushing match ensued as the two vied for dominance. Eventually, Applejack's greater leg strength started to win out. A grin came to her face as she started pushing Ghidorah back.
However, Ghidorah had a lot of upper body strength and he flipped his head up, breaking the hold, and chopped Applejack across the chest. He then immediately followed it up with a bulldog slam, grabbed Applejack's head in a headlock, and ran forward, slamming it down.
Applejack grimaced, rubbing at her neck as she rolled to her feet. As Ghidorah charged again, Applejack launched a dropkick, catching him in the chest with enough force to send him flying back. As Ghidorah struggled to right himself, Applejack followed up with a clothesline that sent him sprawling.
"Yeah! How do y'all like that?!" Applejack crowed as she flexed for the crowd, the whole stadium cheering wildly.
Before she could fully enjoy it, though, Ghidorah grabbed her legs, knocking her over. He wrapped her legs around one of his own and turned over, pulling Applejack into a submission hold.
"GAH!" she yelped, her legs bent at an awkward, painful angle. "Lemme go!"
"Not until you submit!" Ghidorah said, sitting down on her back and bending her legs even further, pinning her in the center of the ring.
Applejack grimaced as her legs were in pain from the hold. She couldn't get leverage to break her legs free, Ghidorah's minotaur arms strong enough to match her mighty legs. She struggled, but couldn't get free.
"All right, all right, I'm done," Applejack said, tapping the ground.
"AND WINNER BY SUBMISSION, LOR D. GHIDORAH!" Midnight announced.
Ghidorah let go of Applejack and got up, turning back to normal as he helped her to her feet.
"Honestly, that was pretty fun."
Applejack smiled. "Don't mind the next time we tussle when we're training."
"I'll hold you up to that then."
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie went up against each other next. The whole fight played out like something from a Road Runner cartoon, with Pinkie simply outsmarting every one of Rainbow's attacks with sheer speed.
"Darn it, Pinkie! Can you please take this seriously!"
"Sorry, if I take this seriously, Pinkamena takes over!" Pinkie replied.
"Crud, that's true..."
Izuku and the rest of the Mane 6 shuddered upon hearing that. Pinkamena was Pinkie's negative emotions that she kept under control for the most part. But if something really bad happened, then Pinkamena would be let out. It had only happened once and her friends still had nightmares from what they saw.
"I'm afraid to ask what this Pinkamena is..." Kyouka muttered.
"You DON'T want to know, darling..." Rarity said with a shiver.
Eventually, Pinkie managed to trick Rainbow into flying herself out of bounds while trying to tackle her, causing her to comically splat against the wall. Thankfully, Pinkie's Quirk was in effect on her and she harmlessly yet hilariously slid down like she hit a pane of glass.
"That's gonna leave a mark." Midnight winced. "The winner by ring out is Pinkie Pie!"
"Whoever ends up facing Pinkie Pie in the Semi-Finals better give their A-Game in dealing with her shenanigans..." Izuku said.
The next match picked Tenya against Izuku. The two stood on opposing sides of the arena, getting ready for Midnight to make the call.
"Let's have a good match, Midoriya. We may be friends, but that's no reason to hold back."
Izuku nodded. "Just remember, I don't intend to hold anything back."
"START!"
Almost immediately, both Izuku and Tenya seemed to vanish in mighty blurs of green and blue.
"Whoa! That's fast!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed from the stands.
The two boys popped into view just long enough to strike with flying kicks, the strikes creating a massive shockwave on collision. Izuku grunted as Tenya's superior leg strength ended up twisting his ankle slightly but he refused to show pain.
Landing, the freckled lad lunged forward and punched Tenya in the jaw before pulling back for a left hook.
"DETROIT SMASH!"
With a powerful strike, Izuku had Tenya knocked down on the ground. Tenya grunted as he tried to get up, but he had used his Recipro Burst to meet Izuku earlier and his engines were now stalled.
"I yield..."
With a powerful strike, Midoriya had Ida knocked down on the ground, long enough for his Engine to stall. Ida quickly realized he wasn't winning this fight, not with his Quirk unable to properly fire.
"And Ida surrenders!" Midnight announced. "Izuku Midoriya is moving to the Semi-Finals!"
Meanwhile, Tensei Iida, the Turbo Hero: Ingenium, was having troubles of his own. He was currently down and clutching a nasty wound from the Hero Killer, struggling to breathe through the pain as blood pooled around him.
"Fame... Money... That's what all of you so-called heroes are after." He stomped on Ingenium's phone as blood dripped from his blade. "You bastards are not heroes at all. But there is one exception... He's the only one with permission to kill me. Only All-Might is worthy."
The Sports Festival continued with the final match of the Quarter-Finals, Twilight against Katsuki.
"So...been a long time huh, Nerd Girl?"
Twilight frowned. "You're just as crass as ever. Even after I showed you up all those years ago."
"You just tripped me and those loser extras up when we were babies. Age brings wisdom you know, and I intend to show how much I've changed."
"Then show me," Twilight said, swiping two fingers as magical energy emitted from them.
With a growl, Katsuki lunged forward and threw an explosion at Twilight, who blocked with a magical barrier before teleporting behind him and striking him with a quick energy bolt. Snarling, Katsuki stood back up and spun around, throwing another explosion at Twilight, who was sent flying back from the force of the blast.
"Your senses sure are sharper than I anticipated..." Twilight said, standing up and rubbing her mouth before holding both hands out. "But you'll find magic is everywhere!"
Katsuki realized what Twilight meant when he saw multiple blunt magical energy spears surrounding him from all sides. As Twilight made them converge, he unleashed an explosion beneath him that sent him flying above the attack, sailing over and then launching himself down on Twilight like a cannonball.
"EAT THIS!"
Twilight formed another magical barrier to block the incoming explosion, only to be forced to her knee as Katsuki's attack caused the barrier to crack like glass. Slowly getting to her feet, Twilight formed a magical blade of energy and swiped it, forcing Katsuki to jump back before grinning.
"You've got a pretty powerful Quirk, Nerd Girl...but my Quirk is still the BEST!"
Katsuki rushed forward as Twilight prepared to intercept him, only for her eyes to widen when he charged up an explosion in both hands.
"STUN GRENADE!"
The massive blast created an intense light, Twilight letting out a cry of distress as she stumbled back, Katsuki jumping back a quick distance as he watched her struggle to regain her sight.
"Like this attack? Despite the blast radius, it's one of my weaker explosions, meant purely to emulate a flashbang grenade."
Twilight kept her eyes squeezed shut, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself as Katsuki took that as his cue to rush her down for a finishing blow.
However, much to the blonde bomber's shock, Twilight's eyes shot open, glowing an ethereal white before a massive sphere of pure magical energy surrounded her, lightning crackling off of it as a blast of it struck Katsuki surrounding him in a stasis field as he struggled to move.
"What the hell?!"
Twilight grunted as a giant claw of magical energy formed from the sphere surrounding her and then swatted Katsuki out of the arena like a common housefly. The explosive blonde was knocked unconscious as he hit the wall and fell onto the grass below, Twilight grunting as she struggled to keep her magical power under control.
Eventually, Twilight managed to calm herself down, falling to her hands and knees and breathing heavily as Midnight ran over to make sure she was okay before checking up on Katsuki next.
"Alright, that was sure something...The winner by ring out is Twilight Sparkle!"
"I hope Twilight and Bakugou are okay..." Fluttershy said worriedly.
"Don't worry, Bakugou is made of tough stuff. He'll pull through." Junko reassured.
Suddenly, Tenya began shaking, freaking out the rest of his classmates.
"ACK! IIDA IS A BOMB!" Pinkie cried before hiding underneath Terumi.
"Don't worry. It's just my phone." Tenya reassured before taking it out to prove his point. He was shocked when he checked the message and saw it was from his mother.
"Mother, sorry to tell you, but I was stopped at the Quarter-Finals."
"That's not why I'm calling..." his mom clarified, sounding like she was close to breaking down in tears. "It's Tensei...a Villain..."
Tenya's eyes widened in shock, a few of his classmates leaning in with concerned looks on their faces.
"What's wrong?! Is Tensei alright?!"
"He's in Hosu General Hospital..."
Tenya was shaking, looking ready to drop his phone in disbelief right then and there. Tensei, his brother, his hero, the one who always did his best to save as many people as he could...had been hospitalized by a Villain.
"Oh no..." Fluttershy whimpered as she stood up. "Iida...d-do you want me to come with you?"
"And me?" Jotaro asked, standing up as well. "My parents work at Hosu General Hospital. Due to my Quirk, I have special permission to help any severely injured patients!"
Tenya looked at Fluttershy and Jotaro weakly, a look of gratitude on his face.
The Hero Killer, Stain, looked down on the scene as Ingenium was taken away on a stretcher while the female Pro Hero was taken away in a body bag.
"This world is filled with hypocrisy. I will open its eyes, and those of its heroes."
He sensed something behind him and stabbed, only for his blade to find itself in the mist created by Kurogiri.
"So you wish to remove heroes from this world? Perhaps we can guide you to that end... Hero Killer Stain. We've been looking for you for quite some time now."
The Quarter-Finals went by relatively quickly. Twilight had managed to beat Pinkie Pie by using her knowledge of her friends' usual hijinks to trick her into throwing herself out of the ring while Izuku and Ghidorah's match was a little more high-tense.
Izuku dodged bullets of bones and blood fired by Ghidorah before wrapping him up in [Blackwhip], lifting him into the sky, and then slamming him into the ground. Ghidorah let out a primal roar as he burst free from the tendrils and then breathed a massive burst of fire at Izuku, who pulled his fist back before throwing a right hook.
"TEXAS SMASH!"
The shockwave pushed apart Ghidorah's flames, making him stumble back and allowing Izuku to rush in and deliver a spinning kick to the face, sending him spiraling out of the arena.
"AND SO WE HAVE OUR TWO FINALISTS; IZUKU MIDORIYA AND TWILIGHT SPARKLE!" Midnight announced. "WHO WILL BE TAKING HOME THE GOLD AT THE END OF THIS SPORTS FESTIVAL?!"
After a brief bit of warming up, Izuku and Twilight headed back out into the arena, determination etched on their faces. As Twilight walked through the halls, she looked down as she thought back to her childhood.
"I used to wonder what friendship could be...until you shared its magic with me, Izuku."
Twilight had been a studious girl even when she was little. She came off as rather distant and didn't have many friends as a result. That all changed when she saved Izuku from Katsuki and his cronies at the park and on that day, she made her first genuine friend.
As the years went by, they met Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy and their friendship circle grew. Twilight even met her idol, Celestia, who turned out to be an old friend of her parents and got to learn under her personally, which is also how she met Trixie, Sunset, and Starlight.
In middle school, she met Flash and they ended up dating for a time but things sadly didn't work out. Despite the breakup, they remained friends. Throughout all of the ups and downs of her life before coming to UA, Twilight had Izuku as her first and closest friend, standing beside her through all of it.
Izuku was thinking similar thoughts, recalling how much he had been able to improve and take control of his life despite his initial Quirklessness thanks to Twilight and all the friends they made along the way before that fateful day with All-Might.
"Izuku/Twilight...thank you for being my first friend."
The two finalists entered the ring, Present Mic making sure to get the crowd hyped up for the final match.
"AND WE HAVE OUR FINAL FIGHTERS FOR THE TOURNAMENT! FIRST OFF IS THE LEAN, GREEN, FIGHTING MACHINE! THE ADORABLE DORKY HERO... IZUKU MIDORIYA!"
The crowd cheered as Izuku waved with a smile on his face.
"AND HIS OPPONENT, THE ARCHMAGE! THE WOMAN OF 1000 TRICKS! SHE'LL PUT A SPELL ON YOU... IT'S TWILIGHT SPARKLE!"
Twilight looked around at the crowd cheering, looking slightly nervous before steeling herself up and keeping her gaze focused on her opponent and only him.
"ONLY ONE WILL WALK AWAY A CHAMPION THIS DAY! THESE TWO HAVE BEEN SHOWING THEMSELVES TO PRACTICALLY BE THE NEXT ALL-MIGHT AND CELESTIA! BUT THEY'RE MORE THAN DEFINITELY THEIR HEROES WHO WILL SURELY SHOW THEY AREN'T JUST CARBON COPIES! LET THE FINAL MATCH COMMENCE!"
Twilight grew her wings and flew forward while Izuku let out a fierce war cry, both of them charging toward each other before colliding in the center, a massive shockwave of force and magic emitting from them.
Twilight then cupped her hands together and held them forward, firing multiple bolts of golden magical energy at Izuku, who jumped and flipped through the projectiles before aiming a finger flick forward.
"DELAWARE SMASH!"
Twilight saw the attack coming and lobbed a massive spear of magical energy that collided with the air bullet, causing another shockwave to rock the stadium as the two moves canceled each other out.
"This is getting good!" Tony grinned wildly.
"Man, those two are on a whole other level!" Denki said.
"Show him just what you're made of, Twilight!" Starlight cheered.
"You can do it, Midoriya!" Ochako added.
Twilight suddenly grabbed Izuku in a pair of giant magical hands before throwing him into the air and flying up after him. She then formed an ornate gauntlet over her fist and delivered a powerful downward punch that sent him crashing back into the arena.
Izuku struggled to get up before seeing Twilight flying down to strike him down like a meteor. He quickly activated [Blackwhip] and fired a single tendril from his wrist with as much precision as he could.
"PRECISION SHOT!"
Twilight gasped as she swerved to dodge the attack but that allowed Izuku to get out of the way, forcing her to land on her feet. However, Izuku's speed was not taken into account and he rushed her with a clothesline to the chest, sending her onto her back.
"Izuku and Twilight are giving each other their all," Celestia noted.
Toshinori nodded. "They are both refining their abilities little by little. They may have learned from us, but their powers and skills are their own."
Twilight managed to unleash a magical burst to push Izuku back, allowing her to get back up onto her feet. She then took a few heavy breaths, feeling winded before smiling.
"That's what I want to see, Izuku!"
Izuku smiled back. "Same to you, Twilight!"
Twilight then closed her eyes before opening them up again, once more an ethereal white. She then floated into the air as magical energy surrounded her but instead of being out of control like her fight with Katsuki, it was controlled, flowing like a river.
Izuku saw what Twilight was doing and nodded his head, channeling [One For All] to as much as his body could handle. Both friends knew it was time...to unleash their ultimate attacks.
Twilight let out a fierce cry as a unicorn horn of magical energy formed on her forehead while her wings grew more majestic before firing a massive energy blast that took the shape of an Alicorn AS Izuku lunged forward, putting everything he had into this last attack.
"ALICORN ARCHBLAST!"
"HARMONY SMASH!"
The two blows collided in mid-air, tearing up the arena and sending a massive shockwave across the stadium.
"That strength...it's uncanny!" Bang Silverfang noted with surprise.
"What the hell are those kids even made of?!" Tatsumaki asked in disbelief.
"I'll tell you what they're made of..." Blast, leader of the S-Rankers said with a smirk. "The power of good spirit and harmony."
Toshinori and Celestia were both surprised the most out of everyone in the stadium. Toshinori especially noticed the way Izuku carried his attack.
"Young Midoriya pushed himself to the limit to make his version of my United States of Smash!"
Celestia smiled. "And it seems Twilight awakened herself to the fullest to give her friend the battle he deserved."
The shaking soon settled as everyone peeked to see the outcome, only to gasp in shock when they saw Twilight passed out on the ground, sprawled out as if she was dead. Izuku was kneeling beside her before gently picking her up and holding her close.
"Twilight...are you okay...?"
Twilight moaned as her eyes fluttered open before smiling softly.
"You win, Izuku..."
With those words, Twilight did something that shocked the whole stadium; she kissed Izuku right on the lips.
"Twilight Sparkle has conceded! The winner of this year's Sports Festival is Izuku Midoriya!" Midnight announced, having seen and heard everything.
"AND THAT'S ALL, FOLKS!" Present Mic called out. "AND HOLY CRAP DID WE END ON A BANG! A TRIED AND TRUE LOVE CONFESSION RIGHT THEN AND THERE!"
The rest of the Mane 6 didn't know why, but they all felt both proud of Twilight and yet also jealous at the same time.
Izuku's brain short-circuited as he stood still as a statue, his eyes glazed over as he kept Twilight held gently in his arms while she just giggled and nuzzled into his chest.
"And now it's time to relax and enjoy the award ceremony for UA's first-year students." Midnight called out.
Izuku had recovered enough to stand on the 1st place podium with Twilight right next to him on the 2nd place podium and both Pinkie and Ghidorah standing on the 3rd place podium.
Tenya had gone to check up on Tensei in the hospital, Fluttershy and Jotaro both joining him. Tenya would have gone sooner, but he wanted to see the Sports Festival through to the end.
"WE ARE HERE! WITH THE MEDALS!"
All-Might and Celestia both flew down, arriving at Midnight's announcement as the crowd went even wilder than normal. The two top heroes went over to Pinkie and Ghidorah, both presenting a bronze medal to them.
"Diane 'Pinkie Pie' Hanasakura, you showed admiral skill and capabilities in your matches. You should be proud of how far you've managed to come." Celestia smiled.
"As for you, Young Ghidorah, your strength and determination showed you are your own man and not just your father's son. And while your methods were a bit strong, you managed to save Young Todoroki from his worst enemy... himself."
Ghidorah and Pinkie smiled and nodded as they accepted the medals, Pinkie taking the time to wave to her family, who were all there in the crowd watching. Despite their stoic expressions, she knew them well enough to know that they were proud of her.
All-Might then took the gold medal while Celestia took the silver medal and they both went to Izuku and Twilight respectively.
"My faithful student, Lydia 'Twilight Sparkle' Yugure. You have come a long way from the wide-eyed little girl I knew. You've blossomed into a mature, strong, and noble woman who kept standing tall despite adversity. You may not have won, but you showed the spirit of sportsmanship this day."
Twilight smiled with tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Celestia..."
"Young Midoriya, you gave the world their showing of the next Symbol of Peace. You should be more than proud of how far you've come."
Izuku nodded. "I'm just focused on how far I'll go."
All-Might smiled proudly and both he and Celestia pulled their pupils into a hug, making them both shocked before they began tearing up and hugging back. After breaking the hug, All-Might turned to the crowds.
"Here they are! The winners of this year's Sports Festival! But remember, any of the first years could have ended up standing on this podium. You've challenged each other, learned from each other, and climbed ever closer to your goals of being Pro Heroes. I think the next generation of heroes is proving to be our most promising yet! So everyone, yell it out with me..."
"PLUS ULTRA!"
"GREAT WORK!"
Just like that the entire stadium's mood died as Celestia, Twilight, Pinkie, and Izuku giggled while Ghidorah smirked, many people in the crowd complaining about how it was a perfect 'Plus Ultra' moment while All-Might rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Sorry about that..."
And so the Sports Festival comes to a close! Dear God, that took a lot out of me!
Anyway, we have established a romance with Twilight giving Izuku a Big Damn Kiss. How will things go from here, find out in the next chapter, everyone!