Elements of Heroism: Season 2

by Bahamut0

Episode 8: Hero's Destiny

Fang was walking around Ponyville with Burst when the two noticed Rainbow flying out of a well with a little girl on her back. They had also noticed that a crowd had gathered and started cheering for her. Fang then shot a look at Burst. "Hey Burst?"

"Yeah?" Burst asked.

"I remember you told me that you and the other guys defeated the Nightmare Forces. Then you and the other Elements of Heroism plus the girls defeated Discord. So..why didn't you get a huge crowd like Rainbow Dash over there?" Fang pointed to the crowd still cheering for Rainbow Dash.

Burst scratched his chin in thought. "Well, Ponyville did celebrate me, the guys, and the girls triumphing over evil. But to be honest? I could care less about all the praise. Same goes for the other guys. We fight to protect people because we want to." Burst smiled. "I guess that's just the kind of hero I wanted to be."

Fang wagged his tail happily. "That's a good reason to be a hero." Fang then looked at Rainbow Dash getting a bunch of priase from the crowd. "Here's hoping Rainbow Dash learns that same lesson." The day went on like normal, and Steel was strolling around town.

"Yup." Steel said before taking a deep breath. "I picked a good day to be outside." Steel then panicked when he saw a stroller speeding away! "Seriously?! What's up with all the accidents today?!" Steel was about to intercept the stroller when Rainbow Dash once again swooped in and grabbed onto the stroller! Making it skid to a halt using her feet as brakes! Steel flew over and landed next to her. "Geez. Ponyville's accident prone today. What's next?" Steel then notied the crowd cheering for Rainbow Dash. "Wow. Looks like someone's getting pretty popular."

Rainbow Dash smiled before feigning shock at the baby. "Oh no! There's something wrong with the baby!" Steel froze in shock! "She's not cheering for everyone's favorite hero! Rainbow Dash!" Steel then frowned.

"Rainbow Dash. That's not cool." Steel said sternly. "You really had me worried for a second."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Relax Steel! I'm just having some fun!" Rainbow Dash flew the baby back to its mother, and paused when some photographers snapped a few pictures of her. Steel watched Rainbow Dash bask in the praise as picture after picture was taken. He then went to Twilight and the other girls.

"Is it me? Or is Dash letting this whole 'hero' business get to her head?" Steel asked.

"Ah reckon' yer right sugarcube." Applejack said with a nod. "Modest ain't one a' the words Ah'd use for her in this case." The group then saw Rainbow Dash make a cloud symbol of a thunderbolt in the sky. Burst and Fang showed up just in time to see Rainbow Dash at her most show-off-iness.

"Not to sound rude, but do we need to take her down a peg?" Fang asked.

Burst shook his head. "No. Let's just see how much this escalates. Right now? Let's just admit the fact she is kinda awesome. Steel? You're with me and Fang." Burst looked to Twilight and the girls. "We'll keep tabs on Rainbow Dash for you. Let's go guys." And with that, Burst, Steel, and Fang set to work. They observed Rainbow Dash saving a punch of elderly folks from a collapsing balcony. And they noted her getting more boastful of the crowd's cheers. They made their way over to Twilight and the other girls.

"Call me crazy, but I think this 'hero' thing has gotten to Rainbow Dash's head." Twilight noted.

"Nope. You're right as usual Twilight." Steel informed. "It's gotten to her completely." Steel sighed. "The ego level of my girlfriend is well over 9000 at this point."

"I'd say her fan club gathering at Sugarcube Corner is all the indication we need." Fang said as he pointed to the crowd of children flocking to where he'd mentioned. "Let's just see how bad the damage is." The group made their way over, and saw Rainbow Dash recounting all of her various exploits that had occurred earlier that day. The fact she had a pair of shades resting on her forehead didn't help the fact either. "Whoa. She's even got Spike writing notes about her."

"Awesome. Heh! Awesomely arrogant is more like it!" Applejack noted with a huff.

"Hey Applejack!" Rainbow Dash said as she zipped over. "How'd you like to be immortalized as my friend?" Applejack barely had any time to respond as a photographer snapped a picture of her and Rainbow Dash. Twilight was even more dumbfounded when she found Spike writing things down in a notepad.

"Are you...writing down notes?" Twilight asked.

Spike nodded. "Rainbow Dash hand-picked me to write down her autobiography!"

"Autobiographies are supposed to be written by the person they're about." Twilight noted sternly.

Burst frowned. "Maybe Rainbow just thinks she's 'too awesome to write down her own life.'"

"I AM pretty busy saving lives." Rainbow Dash said with a smug grin. Burst immediately face palmed.

"I was joking." Burst muttered to himself.

"This way, I can keep performing those acts of bravery everybodyelse doesn't have the guts to perform! Yeah. It takes guts. But it also takes brains. And sometimes a bit of lunch and a nap." Rainbow Dash said with a grin as children took photos with her. The others frowned as they saw Rainbow Dash's ego inflate to titanic proportions. "Being a hero surely isn't for everybody. But I'm up to the challenge!"

"....Is she serious?" Steel asked with a disappointed look on his face as he looked to Twilight. "Me and the guys defeated the Nightmare Forces. Plus, we ALL banded together against Discord. I'm pretty sure there's plenty of people up for the job." Steel crossed his arms and sighed. "Being a hero's nice. But you've gotta be one for the right reasons. I think I need to have a talk with her." About an hour later, Steel found Rainbow Dash napping on a cloud. He then flew up to her. "Hey, Dash?"

Rainbow Dash yawned before addressing Steel. "Yo Steel! How's Equestria's most awesome boyfriend doing?"

"Dash...listen." Steel sighed. This isn't gonna be easy.. "Could you...maybe tone down the boasting?"

Rainbow Dash's gaze hardened. "...Excuse me?"

Steel took a deep breath. "I can't deny that you've done great things today. But...maybe you've let it get to you a bit? Being a hero's not about all the fame and praise. That's just not the right reason for doing good things!"

"So you're saying you're jealous?!" Rainbow Dash shot back.

Steel's eyes widened. "What? No! All I'm saying is you should be a bit more humble about this!"

"Oh! So you just want everyone to NOT notice my awesomeness?!" Rainbow Dash said in anger. "No! I'm gonna make sure everyone knows who their hero is! Some boyfriend you've turned out to be!" Rainbow Dash flew off leaving a saddened Steel in her wake.

"My first fight...with my girlfriend." Steel said with a sad look on his face. "That settles it. Something's gotta be done." Steel found Burst, Fang, and Twilight sitting together. "Looks like my plan blew up in my face. Dash snapped at me when I told her to be a bit more humble. Then she just flew off. Probably to drown out my words with the cheers of her fans."

Twilight put a hand on Steel's shoulder. "I'm sorry Steel. But, we are coming up with a plan to teach Rainbow Dash a lesson. Time to show her what real heroes stand for!" Steel smiled as his friends told him what they had in the works. Later on, Rainbow Dash was signing autographs when a hot air balloon started falling from the sky! Rainbow Dash took off only after getting things done, but a somone else showed up and saved the person inside! The person was a girl, and she was wearing a purple costume with a dark blue mask that covered her whole face, and gloves, boots, and a cape of the same color. The new masked hero only stayed long enough for the woman she rescued to say thank you before dashing off.

"Looks like Ponyville's got a new hero." Steel said with a hero. "The mayor's even dubbed her The Mysterious Mare Do Well. Fitting name."

Rainbow Dash scowled. "Mare Do Well huh? Well she'd do well to stay outta my way! Ponyville's only got room for one hero! And that hero is me!"

Steel was absolutely livid. "What's your problem?! You getting upset just because you're not the center of attention anymore?"

"What if I am?!" Rainbow Dash demanded. "Maybe after I'm not in the spotlight, you'll come in! Maybe you set this up!"

That tore it for Steel. He really hoped he didn't have to go this far into the plan, but there was no choice at this point. "Rainbow Dash. There IS room for more than hero. You. The other girls. Me and the other Elements of Heroism. We're ALL heroes. But you're losing the right to call yourself one just because someone's doing what you are! You know what? We're through." Rainbow Dash froze at Steel's words.

"...What?" Rainbow Dash asked in shock. "You...you don't mean that!"

You're right Rainbow. But this might be the only way to get you to learn. "I do. I can respect you wanting to be the best. But I can't stand seeing you go down this road." And with that, Steel left Rainbow Dash. If that doesn't get her to learn her lesson, I don't know what will. I just wish I didn't have to say that. Steel stole a glance at Rainbow Dash. She looked so sad and defeated. Especially since it devastated her like this. I know she's tough, but Dash is way more fragile than she lets on. Later on, another one of Rainbow Dash's rescues was intercepted by Mare Do Well. Rainbow Dash was stunned to find that Mare Do Well was stronger than her! Rainbow Dash then came across a collapsing construction site, but Mare Do Well showed up again and used a bunch of crazy reflexes to get everybody out! Burst walked up to Rainbow Dash who was once agains tunned by Mare Do Well's feats.

"You know? This is why I never came up with a catch phrase." Burst said with a nod. "Too time-consuming." Rainbow Dash just scowled at Burst before taking off into the air. "I...Don't think things are going according to plan. Steel NEEDS to talk to her about this." Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash arrived at a dam. Nothing was happening, but then she spotted a small leak in it. She covered the leak, but this only served to increase the pressure! Rainbow Dash was washed away with a jet of water! And like the previous times, Mare Do Well once again showed up to save the day. This time, Rainbow Dash saw her use magic to fix the dam and Rainbow Dash saw Mare Do Well fly with wings under her costume! However, Rainbow Dash's ill feelings toward Mare Do Well were only magnified by how much Twilight and the others praised the masked hero's actions. Burst, Steel, and Fang showed up soon. And they didn't like the look Rainbow Dash had on her face. The three grabbed a seat with Fluttershy and Twilight. "Twi? I think the plan's backfired."

Twilight was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Look at Rainbow Dash." Burst whispered. "She looks like she's gonna go crazy if another person says how great Mare Do Well is!" The group looked at Rainbow Dash lying down on her back with an angry look on her face. Burst then looked to Steel. "Steel. Talk to her. Please. She's your girlfriend."

Steel sighed. "I tried Burst. She snapped at me the second she thought I was jealous of her. But maybe she'll listen now." Steel walked over to Rainbow Dash. "Bad day?" Rainbow Dash looked at Steel and just huffed as she turned away from him. Steel only advanced more towards her. "Hey, Dash? I think I know why everyone thinks Mare Do Well is so great. It's because she's not like you." Rainbow Dash shot up and glared at Steel.

"What are you talking about?!" Rainbow Dash growled.

Steel sighed. "You've changed Rainbow Dash. At the start of today, when you rescued that girl, you did it just because it was the right thing. Not because you wanted recognition or attention. But that changed over the course of the day. All that fame and praise got to your head and inflated your ego. You became an arrogant, attention-hungry hot-shot. And the second some new hero showed up, you got upset just because they got the attention. Tell me. If I had shown up to save the day instead of Mare Do Well, would you be upset at me?"

Rainbow Dash snapped up in shock and looked Steel straight in the eye! "What?! No! I-I'd never do that to you Steel!" Rainbow then dawned on a realization. "But...but what do you care! You broke up with me, remember?"

"Dash...I lied." Steel said with a heavy sigh. "I only said that in the hopes of getting you to snap back into reality. Heck, Twilight and the girls set up this whole 'Mare Do Well' thing just to remind you of why a hero should do what they do! Because you let the attention get to you, it isolated you. Drove people away." Steel then gazed sadly at the floor. "You even drove me away too..." Rainbow Dash had a hurt expression on her face as she looked at Steel before addressing Twilight and the girls.

"You all thought...I was that bad?" Rainbow Dash asked. The girls were hesitant, but nodded slightly. Rainbow Dash then hung her head in shame. "I guess...maybe I'm not as awesome as I thought." Fang looked at Rainbow Dash and sighed as he walked over and crouched down in front of her.

"Look. There's going to be times when you won't feel so awesome. When you don't have everyone's attention." Fang said sternly. "But let me tell you this. You shouldn't care about everybody's attention. All that should really matter is what the people you care about think of you. It's good to think highly of yourself. But if you focus only on you, everyone else winds upset." Fang looked Rainbow Dash right in the eye. "Being a hero isn't all parades and cheers Rainbow Dash. It's also about learning to be a better you. So long as you're determined to learn from what's happened, you'll be fine." Rainbow Dash then smiled. Fang beamed at her lifted mood. "There's the Dashie we know and love!" Fang then tilted his head forward. "This will be the only time I let one of my friends treat me like a pet."

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Heh. I guess if anyone knows about being real heroes, it's you guys." Rainbow Dash then scratched Fang's ears. "Good boy Fang." Fang wagged his tail at the compliment. "Way to be determined to cheer me up." Rainbow Dash then looked to Steel. "Sorry for earlier. I messed up big time."

Steel smiled as he put a hand on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "Yeah. You messed up. But you've learned for it because you've got good friends to help you see what was wrong. Besides, everyone messes up on their way to getting better. And I'd be more than happy to keep walking that road with you." The two shared a hug, and Rainbow Dash soon got to writing a letter to Princess Celestia. Satisfied that all was well, Fang was about to order something. However, his ears picked up on something. A howl. One that seemed to resonate in his sould. Whatever was howling for him, Fang's instincts compelled him to go to it. Fang followed the source of the howl to a cave in one of the safer parts of the Everfree Forest. Fang ventured in, and found a spirit waiting for him. It looked like an older version of Fang, but it was white with solid blue eyes.

"Greetings my descendant. I have been waiting for you." The spirit said.

"Who...who are you?" Fang asked.

"My name is Fenrir young cub. And I have long been guarding this weapon for the next descendant who would awaken their wolf spirit abilities." On a pedestal was a clawed gauntlet. Fang walked over, and slipped it on. " And now, my final task is complete. Farewell young cub. May your forge your destiny with your new Duelist Arm." Fenrir's spirit turned into a white spirit wolf and gave one last howl before fading away with the wind. Fang returned to Sugarcube Corner and notified his friends of the development.

"Well, that leaves only one issue." Burst said with a nod. "Now we need to give our weapons names."

Comments

[Bahamut0]

8182073
Next chapter's up.

[ArcticAce01]

8193924 So great! I loved everything about this! And I like how Steel little lie that he broke up with Dash to get her to get to her sense's and like Fang determination he had with her near the end and like how that he let that only time be treated as a pet and now he gots his own Dueliest arms all next chapter can be about the guys naming there Duelist Arms

[I need a new name tbh]

8193924 fenrir... was that a Harry potter reference?

[Bahamut0]

8194553
No. It just seemed like a good name considering the whole wolf spirit thing.

[I need a new name tbh]

8194596 huh. Unintentional reference. Nice

[HorribleFrenRen]

8194640
Fenrir is from more than Harry Potter, it's the name of a wolf that the vikings said would end the world... so Final Fantasy names a lot of things after it because of that.

Also lol I am alive though I don't want to be.