Chapter 27: A Festival Stampede

Elsewhere on the sprawling festival grounds, another first-year student was having a significantly less positive experience than others at this celebration.

Pony Tsunotori wandered through the packed pathways with growing panic in her wide blue eyes, dragging an oversized suitcase behind her as crowds of students and visitors flowed around her like a rushing river. The girl’s large bull-like horns poked out from her blonde hair, making her stand out even more amidst the sea of unfamiliar faces.

“Okay, Pony… ya got this…” she muttered to herself, with the heavy twang of an American from the south. “Jus’ gotta find the dorms…”

Unfortunately, that was much easier said than done.

Like many incoming freshmen, Pony had arrived intending to move into her dorm for the start of the semester. What she had not expected was for UA to apparently host an entire amusement park-sized festival at the same time. Booths lined every street, music blasted from multiple directions, and nearly every sign she saw was written in Japanese she could barely decipher.

It also did not help that her mother had abandoned her almost immediately after arriving. Well, “abandoned” was probably unfair. The older woman had apparently spotted an old pro hero friend somewhere in the crowd and vanished with a cheerful, “You’ll be fiiiiine, sugar!” before Pony could protest.

And now she was alone and very overwhelmed.

Pony stopped near the edge of a crowded plaza and unfolded the campus map her mom had given to her earlier. The problem was that her dearest mother hadn’t noticed that she had grabbed the wrong one and that this entire pamphlet was written in Japanese characters. Pony squinted at it desperately, trying to remember the little her father had taught her when she was growing up.

“…Nope. Still squiggles.” She sighed before a tiny, distressed noise escaped her throat.

A dozen minutes passed with absolutely no progress being made. If anything, she had somehow wandered farther from where she needed to go. The crowd pressed around her from every direction, and the combination of noise, confusion, and language barrier steadily chipped away at her confidence.

Eventually, Pony’s shoulders slumped.

“…Lord, help me,” she whispered pitifully, clutching the map to her chest.

As if in answer to her prayer, a voice suddenly spoke nearby. “Um, excuse me? Do you need help?”

Pony looked up sharply and saw a young man approaching her through the crowd. He was taller than her, muscular without being bulky, and had fluffy green hair that framed a pair of kind green eyes. His expression was openly concerned rather than judgmental, which alone made relief begin swelling in her chest.

Unfortunately, he had spoken Japanese.

Pony immediately panicked and tried to respond in kind. “Uh… yes? I… dorm… lost… very sorry!”

The young man blinked once, then his face brightened with understanding. “Oh! Do you speak English?”

The words came out with near fluency, and Pony nearly burst into tears on the spot.

“Oh, thank goodness!” she cried in English, practically lunging at him in relief. “Ah thought Ah was gonna die out here!”

Before Izuku could properly brace himself, the petite but very curvy blonde all but tackled him into a hug, pressing herself tightly against his chest while nuzzling into him as if she had just been rescued from the wilderness.

Izuku awkwardly chuckled, face turning slightly pink as he tried very hard not to think about the very soft sensation currently squishing against him.

“It’s okay! Really!” he assured her quickly. “You’re fine now.”

Pony finally pulled back enough for him to breathe, though she still clung to his arm with both hands, as if he might vanish if she let go.

Izuku noticed the massive suitcase beside her and tilted his head. “Are you a student moving in, too?”

Pony perked up instantly. “Mhmm!” Then her expression turned sheepish. “But Ah ain’t got the slightest clue where mah dorm buildin’ is…”

“Well, I can help with that,” Izuku smiled warmly, and the sight nearly made Pony’s heart skip clean out of her chest.

The blonde girl visibly brightened. “Really?!”

“Of course.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Oh, uh, I should probably introduce myself first. I’m Izuku Midoriya, Hero Class 1-A.”

Pony’s eyes widened even further. “A fellow hero student?!” she gasped excitedly. “Oh mah gosh! Ah’m in 1-B!”

She immediately grabbed his arm again and enthusiastically pulled it right into the valley of her cleavage without the slightest awareness of what others around them were witnessing.

“Ah’m Pony Tsunotori!” she declared brightly, completely sincere as she squeezed his arm tighter. “Ah, look forward to workin’ with ya, Partner.”

Izuku had to admit, part of him really liked the way she called him “Partner”

“Likewise, Tsunotori.” He smiled as he gestured to her things. “Shall we get moving?”

“Mhmm!” The blonde nodded vigorously, her horns coming dangerously close to Izuku’s face. “But Ah beg, please call me Pony. Ah forgot how y’all like using last names and all, but Ah’d prefer just mah name if ya don’t mind.”

“Sure, I can do that,” Izuku replied as the two began to move. However, before Izuku and Pony could take even three proper steps toward the dorms, a familiar voice cut through the festival noise behind him.

“Yo, Green!”

Izuku turned, Pony still wrapped around his arm, and immediately brightened at the sight of Kyoka walking toward them. The punk rocker had one hand in her pocket and the other loosely holding her phone, her expression caught somewhere between amusement and disbelief as her eyes drifted from Izuku’s face to the curvy blonde American clinging to him.

“Well,” Kyoka said dryly, “I leave you alone for five minutes, and you ditch the group to pick up another chick.”

Izuku laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “You know that’s not what happened.”

“Uh, huh.” She chuckled, sauntering in as she closed the distance between them.

“It really isn’t,” he insisted, though his red cheeks were not helping his case. “I ran into her after using the restroom. She’s lost and trying to find the 1-B dorms. She only speaks English, and the map she has is in Japanese.”

Kyoka’s teasing expression softened a little. “Ah. Yeah, that’d do it.”

Izuku blinked as his own words caught up to him. “Wait. Actually, this is perfect. You’re in 1-B too, so you can help her check in.”

Kyoka nodded easily. “Yeah, sure. No big deal.”

Pony, meanwhile, had been looking between them with mounting anxiety. Since the two had been speaking Japanese, she had no real idea what they were saying, and the thought that they might be talking about her made her grip on Izuku’s arm tighten.

Kyoka noticed and offered Pony a small, reassuring smile before switching to smooth, confident English. “Yo, I’m Kyoka Jiro, and I’m in Hero Class 1-B too. Nice to meet you.”

“You speak English too?!” Pony’s entire face lit up like a sunrise as she cried.

Kyoka barely had time to brace herself before Pony launched forward and wrapped her in a grateful hug. “Oh mah gosh, thank you! Another pal ah can talk with!”

Kyoka stiffened instantly, arms hovering awkwardly at her sides as the shorter blonde squeezed her with surprising strength. Her cheeks flushed as the sudden contact pressed Pony’s curvy frame firmly against her.

Izuku, now freed from Pony’s grip, could not help but smile.

Kyoka noticed over Pony’s shoulder and narrowed her eyes. “What’re you smiling about?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Izuku’s smile turned sheepish but fond. “I just forgot how attractive your husky English voice is. I really like it.”

Pony released her just in time for Kyoka to turn red from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears. She immediately looked away and began fidgeting with her earphone jacks, twirling them around her fingers like she had no idea what to do with her hands.

“D-Dork,” she muttered, though the embarrassed tilt of her mouth ruined any attempt at sounding annoyed.

Pony looked between the two of them, her anxiousness already replaced by bright curiosity. “Y’all are cute.”

Izuku chuckled, trying to move things along before Kyoka overheated completely. “Come on. Let’s get you to the dorms.”

Pony nodded eagerly and grabbed her suitcase handle again, though she stayed close to Izuku’s side as they started walking. Kyoka, of course, took his other side.

After a few moments of walking, Pony glanced between them again. Her blue eyes sparkled with open curiosity.

“Sooo,” she asked, drawing the word out with a southern lilt, “are y’all datin’?”

Izuku’s steps slowed slightly, and Kyoka locked up as if someone had hit pause on her body.

For a second, Izuku looked toward her, quietly letting her decide how to answer. They had already admitted their feelings, and they both knew there was something between them. But Kyoka had been the one holding back, determined to prove herself as a hero and as a person before stepping fully into that relationship. As such, he’d let her answer the question.

“W-We’re not.” Kyoka’s blush returned twice as strong as she stared straight ahead. An unspoken ‘yet’ could almost be heard.

Izuku studied her for a moment, then gave Pony a gentle smile. “That’s how it is.”

Pony looked genuinely shocked. “Really?”

“Really,” Kyoka said, a little too quickly.

The American girl hummed thoughtfully, then looked up at Izuku with sudden renewed interest. “So are ya single?”

Izuku laughed awkwardly. “Ah, no. I actually have two amazing girlfriends. They’re both in the Hero Course, too.”

Pony’s brows shot up. Then a slow, impressed smile spread across her face.

“Well, Ah’ll be,” she said, casually slipping back onto his arm as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “You must be a real stallion, huh, Partner?”

Izuku’s face went scarlet. “I-I wouldn’t say that!”

‘Partner, huh?’ Kyoka watched Pony cling to his arm again and let out a quiet internal sigh. ‘Of course. He helped her for five minutes, and she’s already a love-struck puppy. That’s just how he is.’

The walk across campus ended up being much shorter than Pony had expected. That fact made her feel more than a little embarrassed. The Class 1-B dorm building stood just beyond a curve in the path, clearly marked and painfully obvious now that she was looking at it from the right direction. Pony stared at it for a moment, then slowly glanced down at the Japanese map in her hand as if it had personally betrayed her.

“…Well, shoot,” she muttered. “Ah, really was goin’ in circles.”

Izuku gave her an encouraging smile. “It happens. The festival makes everything look different.”

Kyoka nodded from Pony’s other side. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. First day on campus is confusing enough without a crowd and fifty food stalls blocking the paths.”

Pony brightened at that, clutching the handle of her suitcase. “Thanks. At least Ah got to meet y’all, so Ah guess gettin’ lost weren’t all bad.”

Kyoka pushed open the dorm entrance and looked back toward Izuku. “I’ll help her check in and get sorted, then come right back out. We can head back together.”

Before Izuku could respond, Pony perked up. “Actually, Ah wanna come with y’all for a bit, if that’s alright. Just wanna put mah stuff up first.”

Izuku nodded easily. “Yeah, that works. I’ll wait out here.”

Pony smiled widely, then pointed at him with sudden seriousness. “Oh, and if ya see mah Ma, keep an eye out. You’ll know her when ya see her. She looks a lot like me.”

Izuku blinked, then laughed softly. “Got it. I’ll watch for someone who looks like you.”

“Thank ya kindly, Partner,” Pony said, giving him one more sunny smile before following Kyoka inside.

The doors slid shut behind them, leaving Izuku standing alone in front of the 1-B dorms. For a few quiet moments, he simply looked around. Compared to the festival grounds, this part of campus was calmer, though the distant music and crowd noise still drifted on the spring breeze. He took out his phone when it buzzed in his pocket and saw a message from Ochako.

GravityGal: “Hey, where’d you go? Was the bathroom hard to find?”

Izuku winced slightly and quickly typed back.

AllQuirkedUp: “Sorry! I ran into a lost student from America. She’s in 1-B and needed help finding the dorms. Kyoka and I are helping her get checked in.”

The reply came fast.

GravityGal: “Aww, of course you are Don’t worry! We’re still near the game stalls. Mina is trying to win a giant plushie now.”

Izuku was still smiling at his phone when the dorm doors slid open behind him. He turned, expecting Pony and Kyoka to have finished surprisingly quickly, but instead, two unfamiliar boys stepped out.

The first was a short, chubby young man with soft features and short ice-blue hair. He had a polite, somewhat reserved air about him. The second was even shorter, but what truly drew Izuku’s attention was his head. Rather than a normal face, he had what appeared to be a large, rounded, cartoonish white speech bubble.

The bubble suddenly popped into a spiky shape, and a bold exclamation point appeared in the center.

“Yo!” the speech-bubble-headed boy called, voice lively and expressive. “You in 1-B, or waiting on somebody who is?”

Izuku quickly pocketed his phone and gave a friendly wave. “Heya, just waiting on my friends. I’m Izuku Midoriya, from Hero Class 1-A.”

A big thumbs-up emoji appeared on the young man’s head.

“Cool! I’m Manga Fukidashi,” he said brightly. Then he gestured toward his companion. “And this is Shoda. We’re in 1-B if that wasn’t obvious.”

The ice-blue-haired boy gave a polite bow. “Nirengeki Shoda. It’s nice to meet you, Midoriya.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Izuku said, bowing in return. “Are you heading to the festival?”

Manga’s bubble shifted, displaying a small shopping bag icon. “Yep! We just dropped off some merch. The festival’s got some pretty good stuff, and I didn’t wanna carry it around all day.”

Shoda nodded. “We planned to return before the next event on the main stage began.”

Izuku smiled. “That makes sense. A lot is going on today.”

Manga leaned slightly closer, his bubble showing a curious question mark. “So, who are you waiting for?”

“A new 1-B student,” Izuku answered. “Her name’s Pony Tsunotori. She’s from America and got a little lost. My friend Kyoka Jiro is helping her check in.”

At that moment, the doors opened again, and this time Kyoka and Pony stepped out together. Pony looked much lighter without her suitcase, practically bouncing as she rejoined them.

“Ah, there they are,” Izuku said, lifting a hand.

After a quick round of introductions, Izuku gestured between Pony and the two boys. “Pony’s from America, so she doesn’t speak much Japanese yet.”

Pony gave an embarrassed smile and a tiny wave. “Ah… Hello! Trying but hard. No good.”

Manga’s bubble suddenly displayed “Howdy!” in bold English letters.

“Oh, no problem,” he said in surprisingly smooth English. “Howdy! Nice to meet you, Pony.”

Pony gasped as if she had just witnessed a miracle. “You speak English too?!”

Manga gave an exaggerated bow, his speech bubble filling with comic-style stars. “Lifelong foreign comics fan. American comics, French bandes dessinées, a little bit of everything. English was basically required reading.”

Pony clasped her hands together, looking close to tears all over again. “Ah’m gonna survive this school after all.”

Kyoka snorted softly. “You were here for thirty minutes.”

“Thirty scary minutes,” Pony insisted.

The group began walking back toward the festival together, though Manga and Shoda soon angled toward a different path leading closer to the carnival game district.

“We’ll see you around,” Manga said, his bubble flashing a cheerful waving hand. “Welcome to 1-B!”

“Thank you kindly!” Pony called after them.

Shoda gave one last polite nod before following his classmate into the crowd.

Once they were gone, Pony looked between Izuku and Kyoka with open excitement. “Everybody here is so nice!”

Izuku smiled as the three of them followed the flow of students back toward the heart of the festival. “That’s U.A., I guess.”

Pony regrabbed his arm again, clearly more comfortable now that the worst of her anxiety had passed. “Well, Ah’m glad you found me, Partner.”

Kyoka glanced down at Pony’s grip, holding her crush's arm between her generous bust, then up at Izuku’s rosy face.

‘Seriously,’ she thought. ‘You’d think he’d be used to getting glomped by chicks with big boobs by now.’

The trio eventually found their way back into the heart of the festival, where the noise of the crowd swelled around them once more. Music blared from Present Mic’s stage in the distance, food vendors called out to passing students, and excited laughter rose from the carnival game section like a second soundtrack layered over everything else.

“There they are,” Kyoka said, pointing ahead with one earphone jack.

Izuku followed her gesture and spotted the rest of their group clustered around one of the game booths. Ochako, Tsuyu, Itsuka, Tenka, and Mina were gathered near a Shateki stand, though Mina was clearly the one at the center of attention.

The pink girl stood at the counter with a toy cork rifle in hand, her eyes narrowed with intense concentration as she aimed down the sight. On the shelf in front of her were several small targets, each corresponding to a prize hanging above the vendor’s booth. The largest prize was impossible to miss: a gigantic plushie shaped like a bright pink slime, round, squishy-looking, and smiling with stupidly adorable eyes.

Mina wanted it. Badly.

“Come on, come on…” Mina muttered as she lined up the shot. “This time for sure.”

She pulled the trigger, and the cork popped forward, sailed just past the target, and bounced harmlessly off the back wall.

The vendor, an older Business Course student with an increasingly smug expression, gave her a practiced customer-service smile. “So close.”

Mina’s eye twitched. “You said that the last five times.”

“And you were very close the last five times,” the vendor replied smoothly.

Itsuka stood nearby with her arms crossed, clearly trying not to laugh. “Mina, you’ve already spent enough to buy one straight up.”

“That’s not the point,” Mina insisted, slapping more coins onto the counter. “I’m not letting him win!”

Ochako noticed Izuku approaching first and lit up. “Izuku! Is this the lost student?”

“Yeah,” Izuku said first in Japanese, then switched to English with a warm smile as he stepped closer. “Everyone, this is Pony Tsunotori. She’s in Class 1-B.”

Pony lifted a hand and waved with bright, nervous energy. “Howdy, y’all. Nice to meetcha.”

The girls immediately perked up.

“Aw, she said howdy! She’s adorable!” Mina said, briefly distracted from her sworn enemy behind the booth.

Tsuyu blinked calmly, recalling her English lessons. “Nice to meet you, Tsunotori, kero.”

Tenka gave a formal bow and spoke in very stiff English. “Welcome to UA. I am Tenka Iida. Class 1-A.”

“Itsuka Kendo, 1-B,” Itsuka added with a friendly smile, more casual than Tenka but still not as fluent. “Good to have you with us.”

Ochako stepped forward next, offering both hands in greeting. “I’m Ochako Uraraka. Nice to meet you!”

Pony’s eyes widened as she looked around at them. “Golly… y’all speak English too? Does everyone speak English here!?”

“Somewhat,” Itsuka explained. “English is mandatory in lower education here, so most Japanese students know at least the basics. Some are better than others, though.” She gestured toward Izuku and Kyoka. “Those two are way more fluent than most of us, it seems.”

Pony clasped her hands together, looking genuinely relieved. “Ah’m so glad. Ah was scared Ah wouldn’t be able to talk to anybody. Now ah have so many folks!”

“You’ll be fine,” Ochako said kindly. “We’ll help where we can.”

Pony looked like she might hug her, too, but before she could, Mina slammed another set of coins on the counter.

“Alright, enough wholesome international bonding,” Mina declared, grabbing the cork rifle again. “I have unfinished business.”

The group turned back toward the booth just in time to watch her take another shot: pop and a miss. The cork clipped the very edge of the target and spun away uselessly.

Mina stared at the shelf in silence.

The vendor smiled. “Very, very close.”

Mina slowly turned her head toward him. “I’m starting to think that phrase is your quirk.”

“Mina,” Itsuka said, chuckling, “maybe take a break. We have other games to play, you know.”

Pony tilted her head at the setup, then looked at the tiny target linked to the pink slime plushie. “Can Ah try?”

Mina blinked and looked at her. “You shoot?”

Pony gave a small, bashful smile. “A little. Mah papa taught me when Ah was younger. Said if Ah was gonna aim mah horns, Ah’d better learn how to aim everything else too.”

‘Aim her horns?’ Izuku's mind wandered as he tried to imagine what his new American friend meant by those words.

The vendor accepted another payment from Pony, then handed her the cork rifle. The change in her posture was immediate. The sweet, anxious cowgirl who had clung to Izuku’s arm vanished for a moment, replaced by someone calm, steady, and focused. Pony planted her feet, raised the rifle, and lined up the shot with one eye closed. Her breathing slowed. The noise of the festival seemed to fade around her.

Pony pulled the trigger, and the cork flew straight and true, striking the tiny target dead center with a crisp clack.

“Holy shit! You’re a real cowgirl!” Mina shouted, and the others in the group mirrored her excitement with compliments and praise.

Pony lowered the rifle, cheeks pink as she smiled. “Aw, shucks. It weren’t nothin’.”

The vendor looked significantly less smug now. With a huff, he gestured toward the prize wall. “Which one?”

Pony did not hesitate. She pointed straight at the massive pink slime plushie. “That one, please.”

The vendor retrieved the giant plushie and placed it on the counter with clear reluctance.

Pony picked it up, though it was large enough to nearly swallow her upper body, and turned toward Mina with a bright grin. “For you.”

Mina froze, then her eyes went huge and sparkling. “For me?”

Pony nodded. “You wanted it real bad, so Ah figured Ah’d win it for ya.”

Mina let out a delighted squeal and launched herself at Pony, wrapping both arms around her and the plushie at once. “You beautiful cowgirl angel!”

Pony laughed, stumbling slightly under the sudden hug. “Glad ya like it.”

Mina squeezed her tighter, burying her face into the plush slime’s side. “Like it? I love it! You’re officially one of us now.”

Pony beamed at that, her earlier anxiety melting a little more. And with Pony officially folded into the group, the rest of the afternoon took on an easy, wandering rhythm. The group drifted through the carnival section of the festival, stopping whenever something caught their attention.

Mina, meanwhile, carried her giant pink slime plushie like it was a treasured child.

“Imma have to figure out what I’m going to name this cutie,” Mina hummed, hugging the enormous plush to her chest.

Kyoka glanced at the plush, then at Mina. “You sure it isn’t just your long-lost twin?”

“Maybe!” Mina giggled, squeezing her slime even harder. “We are both cuties!”

It was while they were passing a strength-test booth that they finally ran into the other half of their scattered friend group. Katsumi, Masako, and Eiko. Katsumi’s expression was sour enough to curdle milk, while Masako wore the smug grin of a lioness who had not only caught her prey, but had decided to play with it first.

Izuku immediately noticed the mood difference and raised a hand. “Hey, guys. How’d the obstacle course go?”

Masako’s grin widened while Katsumi’s eye twitched.

“I won,” Masako said proudly, her tail giving a satisfied flick.

“You barely won,” Katsumi snapped, then mumbled under her breath. “Bastard wouldn’t let me use my quirk.”

“But I did win,” Masako replied, leaning closer with a teasing smile. “Which means you still owe me. Loser does whatever the winner wants, remember?”

Katsumi crossed her arms and looked away. “Tch. I remember.”

Masako tapped her chin and flicked her eyes toward Izuku, clearly enjoying herself. “I’m still deciding what I want. Gotta make sure it’s good.”

Izuku, sensing danger, gave a nervous laugh. “Maybe keep it reasonable?”

Masako gave him a playful look. “No promises, my mate.”

Meanwhile, Eiko’s eyes suddenly locked onto the giant plushie in Mina’s arms. Her face lit up as if she had just found treasure.

“Oh my gosh,” Eiko grinned and pointed at the plush. “It’s Mini Mina!”

Izuku looked at the plushie again and immediately pictured Mina as a tiny pink slime creature bouncing around the dorms, giggling and causing chaos wherever she went. The mental image was so vivid that he had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing too hard.

Mina pouted from the teasing and pointed her “Mini” towards Izuku. “You’re imagining it too, aren’t you?”

“Maybe a little,” Izuku said quickly.

Once the laughter settled, Izuku glanced around and realized one person was missing. “Wait, where did Sato go? Didn’t he head to the course with you guys?”

Katsumi jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Sugar Guy got destroyed by us, then ran off with Bird Boy and Blowhard somewhere.”

Masako chuckled. “Pretty sure he just wanted to go get food with the guys.”

“Sounds about right.” Izuku chuckled. Knowing how competitive the girls can be when they get heated, he didn’t blame his rare male friend for wanting to get away for a bit.

With everyone gathered, Izuku and Kyoka introduced Pony to Katsumi, Masako, and Eiko. Pony greeted them with bright enthusiasm, a little bow, and then a “howdy” that made Eiko grin immediately.

“Nice to meet you,” Eiko said warmly. “Any friend of Midoriya’s is welcome with us.”

Mina jumped in, squeezing her giant plushie. “Eiko-babe, help me take Mini Mina back to my dorm before I have to carry her all day.”

Eiko chuckled and nodded. “Sure. I wanna see how many people stare at you on the way.”

“They’ll stare because they’re jealous,” Mina said proudly.

The two peeled away from the group, Mina waving her plush’s cute face goodbye as she and Eiko headed toward the dorms.

As the group resumed walking, Pony looked up at Izuku with open curiosity. “So, Partner, Ah was wondering. You never mentioned where’d ya learn English so good?”

Before Izuku could answer, Katsumi cut in from his side. “He’s an All Might fanboy. More than half the stuff he watched growing up was in English.”

Izuku huffed. “You say that like you weren’t watching the exact same interviews, movies, and everything in between.”

Katsumi opened her mouth, closed it, then glared. “Shut up, nerd.”

“Ooooh!” Pony’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Y’all are All Might fans too?”

Izuku and Katsumi both turned toward her at the exact same time, equally intense.

“Of course!” Izuku said.

“Obviously,” Katsumi added.

Pony clasped her hands together. “Well, ain’t that somethin’? We’re all peas in a pod, huh? Mah mama actually went to school with him back in the day.”

That stopped everyone. Izuku’s eyes went wide, and Katsumi’s head snapped toward Pony so fast it was a miracle her neck did not crack.

“Your mom went to school with All Might?” Izuku asked, voice rising in excitement. “As in, she went to UA back in the day? Who is she? Is she a hero too?”

Pony opened her mouth to answer, but another voice called from nearby.

“Pony Lee Tsunotori, there you are.”

The group turned to see a tall, curvaceous woman with bovine horns and a confident southern charm approach through the crowd, dragging another suitcase behind her. Izuku recognized her almost instantly from old international hero clips and magazine scans.

“The Bovine Belle…” he whispered. “Cow Lady.”

Pony perked up. “Mama!”

The resemblance was impossible to miss. The horns, the blonde hair, the warm expression, even the easy country confidence in how she carried herself. Pony had not been exaggerating when she said he would know her mother on sight.

Cow Lady reached them and placed a hand on her hip, giving her daughter a mildly stern look. “Baby girl, did you not check your messages?”

Pony winced. “Ah was a little busy gettin’ lost.”

“I noticed,” her mother said, though her expression softened immediately. “Scared me half to death, sugar.”

Pony’s expression turned downcast. “Sorry, Mama.”

Cow Lady sighed, then turned to the group with a bright, charming smile. “Well, thank y’all for lookin’ after my girl. Jess Tsunotori, Pony’s mama. Based on some of y’all’s expressions, you may know me as Cow Lady.”

Izuku’s inner fanboy immediately broke loose, and his handy notebook was in his hand before anyone could see him take it out.

“It’s an honor to meet you!” he said, bowing so fast he nearly smacked his forehead into the air. “I’ve seen footage of some of your many feats, as well as from when you and All Might studied abroad together in California during your fourth year at UA!”

Jess blinked, then laughed warmly. “Well now, ain’t that sweet? Didn’t expect to have a fan all the way over here.”

Katsumi, despite herself, looked impressed too. “Huh, so you actually knew All Might back then?”

Jess smiled fondly. “Sure did. Toshinori was a good friend back in the day. Big-hearted, loud as thunder when he wanted to be, and always tryin’ to save somebody before anyone else got their britches on.”

Izuku looked like he might ascend. Not many heroes were still around and active from the era of All Might’s rise. This was an opportunity he’d never let pass.

Jess chuckled at his expression. “Heck, he even got his partner, David Shield, to help design the outfit I still wear today.”

Izuku made a sound only dogs could hear.

“David Shield designed your costume?!” he cried. “The David Shield?”

Most of the group looked blank.

Masako tilted her head. “Who’s that?”

Izuku spun toward her, horrified by the lack of recognition. “David Shield is one of the greatest support scientists in the world! He was basically All Might’s first partner and support during his time in America. His work influenced modern hero support technology on an international scale.”

Jess nodded approvingly. “That’s about right. Those two were practically inseparable while they were studyin’ in California. Toshinori had the heart, David had the brains to keep him from tearin’ every costume to ribbons.”

Kyoka folded her arms, smirking faintly at Izuku’s excitement. “Careful, you look like you’re about to fall over.”

“I am not,” Izuku said, his attempt at sharpness blunted entirely by the enthusiasm radiating off his entire form.

Jess looked around the festival thoughtfully. “Speakn’ of David, I’m surprised I ain’t seen much from I-Island here. Figured they’d have some kind of booth.”

“I-Island?” Ochako asked, not familiar with the name.

Izuku turned to her, still buzzing. “It’s an artificial moving island where top scientists from around the world develop support technology. It’s one of the most advanced research centers on the planet.”

“Yessir.” Jess nodded. “Though now that I think about it… Rumor has it this summer’s I-Expo is gonna be the grandest one yet. Might be why they’re not showin’ off too much here.”

Izuku’s eyes went distant as he imagined it. An entire island of support technology, hero research, international heroes, and maybe even All Might-related exhibits. The thought alone almost overwhelmed him.

“That sounds amazing…” he murmured.

Jess smiled, then tapped the handle of the suitcase she had been dragging. “It is. But for now, Pony, how about you lead me to your dorm so we can put this away? Then we’ve got dinner plans, remember?”

Pony immediately pouted. “Aw, but Ah just found everybody.”

“You’ll see them again,” Jess said knowingly. “You’re all at the same school.”

Pony sighed dramatically, then turned first to Kyoka and wrapped her in another big hug. “Thank ya for helpin’ me, Kyoka.”

Kyoka froze for a second, then awkwardly patted her back. “Yeah. No problem.”

Then Pony turned to Izuku.

He barely had time to brace himself before she hugged him too, squeezing him tightly and pressing her cheek against his chest. “And thank you too, Partner.”

Izuku smiled softly and returned the hug with one arm, careful and respectful. “Anytime, Pony. I’m glad we found you.”

Pony pulled back, her cheeks faintly pink, then hurried after her mother as Jess began leading her away.

As they walked, Pony leaned against her mother and spoke with a soft smile on her lips. “Thanks for givin’ me the wrong pamphlet, Mama. If ya hadn’t, Ah might never have found mah darlin’, just like how you found Papa back when y’all were studyin’ at U.A.”

Jess gave her daughter a long, knowing look.

“Oh?” she said, lips curling into a smile. “That so?”

Pony turned red but did not deny it.

Jess glanced back at Izuku once, who was still glowing and passionately retelling a tale of All Might’s time in America. Then she looked back at her daughter, recognition settling in her eyes.

She knew that look. A crush at first sight. And if Pony was anything like her mother, that poor green-haired boy had no idea what kind of storm had just wandered into his life.

---

AN: Howdy Howdy! Sorry for the delay again! This one took some thinking for me to write, and I got quite distracted by some IRL stuff. I hope y'all enjoyed meeting Pony and getting to explore some fun AU stuff by expanding her family's history. Plus, we got an I-Island name drop! I wonder if we'll get to see it...

As always, thank you all for reading, and be sure to check us out on my Discord for behind-the-scenes looks at all my writing. Lastly, a special thanks to Zephyr0F8, Lizzy, and Benthom for beta-ing this chapter!