Chapter 1
Hero
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She blinked up to the stars and the stars blinked back at her. The nightly air around her was chill, but not chill enough. It wasn't cold enough to make her go inside, even though the breath by the windigos could still be felt in the air. It was barely more than 24 hours since the reunification of the three pony tribes banished the evil winter spirits back to where they came from and it still hadn't become completely Summer again. But to her, that didn't matter.
Lemon Crumble wasn't used to low temperatures more than anypony else. Not more than the average pony was. But right now, the temperature around her wasn't important. It was the temperature inside of her that was on her mind. A strong fire was burning in her chest and she could feel its warmth spreading throughout her entire body. It felt good.
Sighing in bliss, Lemon Crumble removed one of her hooves from the back of her head and relocated it to her chest, where the warmth was the strongest.The piece of metal that covered it clinked as her hoof brushed it away. A smile formed on Lemon Crumble's lips; blissful, strong, enthusiastic. She detracted her eyes from the nightsky and looked down at her chest.
They had all been honored. By the Princess of Friendship and Headmare of their school. Silverstream, Yona, Sandbar, Smolder, Ocellus, Gallus, Raspberry Dazzle and her. All of them had become awarded with shiny and beautiful gold medals, which were adorned with the School of Friendship emblem, a stylized representation of the six Elements of Harmony. They had also gotten good grades for rallying and mobilizing their people and leading them into battle to assist the Element Bearers in their fight against Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis. Headmare Twilight treated their contributions like a test at school, but what they did, what she did, it was so much more.
Lemon Crumble turned around, resting her head on her right hoof. She took the medal in the other one and did a good, long look at it. Her name was engraved right under the emblem. It was a mystery to her, how the headmare could organize all of this in such a short time. Crafting these medals, all eight of them, planning an entire award ceremony at the School of Friendship and then the banquet that was held in their honor. The food that had to be baked, cooked and prepared for it. All of it in less than a day. Lemon Crumble had no clue how all of this could have been prepared in such a short time, with most of everypony still shaken and frightened, no less. All she could tell from this was that there was a huge desire by Headmare Twilight to honor her best students as soon as possible. She had pulled all the stops for this.
But, as much clueless as Lemon Crumble was about this, it wasn't the big thing on her mind. That was a mere afterthought, quietly ringing at the distant corners of her mind. On the forefront of it, right in the middle of the proverbial room, was something else. Something Headmare Twilight had said. “A national hero.”
That's what she had called her. National. Hero. The blush was returning into her face now, the same one she had after these words had been spoken. She could feel the blood shooting into the tiny vessels in her face. A national hero, that's what she was. Lemon Crumble turned on her back again. Hooves planted behind her head once more, she gazed up into the sky again.
She was cut out to be a hero. It was something she had always known. Equestria was her home for less than a decade, but as long as she could think, she wished to do great things. Heroic things. Like the Elements of Harmony. Like the Pillars. Like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in the history books she consumed ever since she had learned to read. And what she did on the day before, when Equestria needed her, proved it without a doubt. She was cut out to be a hero. She had become a hero, now.
Lemon Crumble's eyes zeroed in on a shooting star that crossed the sky above her. Would that nightsky still be here if she hadn't done anything, if she hadn't given a peptalk to the other pegasi and led them into battle against the fiends? She shook her head. Of course it would. She was only leading the pegasi, after all. If she hadn't done this, there still would have been the unicorns, the earth ponies, the yaks and many other creatures. Even without the pegasi, they still would have been enough to save Headmare Twilight and her friends from certain doom and to distract the conquerors from the impending counterattack that vanquished them in the end. But still, she was a hero. There was no reason to downplay what she did.
She had done the right thing. She, as the only pegasus, had been thinking about the wellbeing of the unicorns and the earth ponies who couldn't hide behind a protective wall of clouds. She had contributed to the effort, independently, when she didn't even know that her fellow seven students who got honored alongside her today were doing the same. And she prevented her people from a nasty and shameful record in the history books. She gave the pegasi a reason to be proud of themselves and she did what she had to do for the safety of Equestria, her duty as an Equestrian citizen. She felt warm inside and proud of herself. There was only one problem.
“What is a hero?”
For her entire life, she had been dreaming of diving headfirst into an adventure. Of fighting villains. Of traversing dangerous and deadly landscapes. Saving Equestria. It was all she could think of, most of the time.
She had been to the Everfree Forest a few times. Not often, living in Canterlot posed a hurdle in such plans, but she had been there. Moving to Ponyville, if only for the bulk of the year, when she enrolled in Princess Twilight's school, made her visits become a lot more frequent then. And it was always easy to tell Gooseberry a story about where she went, to not make her suspicious and keep her from coming along or following her. But the trips weren't always equally exciting.
Soon she learned that the activity of the forest differed from day to day, even from hour to hour. There had been days when there was a cockatrice at every corner and behind every tree. The treetops lined with them, so that a pegasus filly like her could attempt to dodge them in the lethal parcours they formed to avoid being turned into a statue. It let the adrenaline in her boil, but it wasn't always thrilling like that. On other days, she could only find a few scattered timberwolves, or, nothing at all. The path to Zecora's hut was usually peaceful, so she avoided it, but even the rest of the Everfree could be disappointingly boring on certain days. And, of course, schoolwork didn't allow to visit the forest on every single day.
It wasn't enough. She wasn't even sure if what she did yesterday was enough, even though she had almost ended up as a pile of ashes a couple times when she distracted her pegasus-turned-alicorn opponent. Right now, she was almost ready to curse her unsatiable thirst for risky business. If it weren't so addictive, getting into situations in which her life was on the line. She felt no fear of such situations, only pure and unfiltered excitement.
Lemon Crumble sat up, abruptly. In front of her, the pond of the Friendship School reflected the white light of the moon. It was full and round in this night. Lemon Crumble stared and let her eyes delve into the white ball in the water while countless questions circulated in her mind. Mechanically, she started to flap her always protruding wings and took off from the ground.
She flew towards the school slowly, not really sure where she was flying to. The window of her and Gooseberry's dorm room was black and so was the rest of the dorm. It was way past midnight and everypony and creature was asleep. Except her. All the other heroes of the school probably dreamt about their deed, their victory and their contribution to the cause. But she could not afford sleep, she had to find answers on the nagging questions; what is a hero, what defines a hero, what motivates a hero?
Lemon Crumble scrunched her face and held a hoof at her forehead as a stinging pain flared up inside of it. It distracted her from flapping for a moment, but she caught herself before doing an involuntary dip in the cold pond water. Back in control, she aimed for the roof of the school and, a few wingflaps later, sat down on it, sighing. The pain ebbed away and, seeking relaxation, she let her eyes glide over the inner courtyard.
The courtyard was a serene sight. It was empty, unsurprisingly, this late into the night. The gentle sound of babbling water that came from the fountain in the middle and the reflection of the stars in the clear water were soothing to her head and the last aching stopped. In its place, the questions returned.
Why did she help? Why was she worried about the unicorns and the earth ponies in the lands below, while she and the other pegasi were safe in Cloudsdale? Why did she lead them out of this safety and into battle? Was it because she truly cared? Was she scared for her adoptive mother and adoptive sister? Did she feel guilty, because her initial reaction was the same one as that of the other pegasi, to leave them behind? They were both earth ponies..... Was that the reason?
Lemon Crumble squinted as she felt tears emerging in her eyes, caused by a fresh wave of guilty feelings in her heart. For a moment, she did nothing, only slumped on the tile she sat on. Then she quickly brought a hoof to her eyes and rubbed the salty substance away.
There was no need for tears. She had been tricked and blinded like the rest of the pegasi and abandoned her family when emotions were high, but she had figured out how wrong that had been all by herself and encouraged the other pegasi to follow her example. She made a mistake, but she owned up to it and compensated for it tenfold and her family already forgave her. Guilt wasn't needed anymore. Yet, the questions remained anyway.
Why did she help? Was it to do the right thing or did she just follow the call for adventure?
This was what plagued her since the first excitement over what she did and accomplished had worn off. Was it really a selfless deed or did she only do it for her own benefits? To help ponies in need or just to get the chance to face off a real villain for once?
Lemon Crumble taxed her brain to find answers on these questions, until a yellow light interrupted her thought process. It was right in front of her, at the other end of the courtyard. In its shimmer, Lemon Crumble could make out leaves and branches. Somepony was sitting in the tree over there.
She did not have a particular desire for company in this night, but curiosity to find out who else was awake and outside at this time drove her. She flapped her wings once more and, flying straight across the school's courtyard, approached the tree. She dove between the leaves where she had seen the light and landed on a branch, right next to another filly.
“You're still up, too?” she spoke, after a gasp of surprise.
Lemon Crumble found herself staring at Raspberry Dazzle, the unicorn filly who had travelled all the way from the Friendship School to Canterlot and who had convinced the unicorns to come out of hiding and join the battle. She was wrapped in a blanket, which she pulled tighter around her when she shivered slightly. Instead of giving the obvious answer to Lemon Crumble's question, she bit into an apple with a loud, crunching sound. Chewing, she somewhat formed a smile while giving her a sideways glance. It was all the answer that Lemon Crumble received.
Unsure what to do, Lemon Crumble sat down at her side, legs dangling over the edge of the branch. She eyed her fellow student and lifted an eyebrow. “You're still hungry?” She accompanied the question by reaching down to her own stomach. It still felt full and heavy after the scrumptous meal she had eaten during the banquet that had been held in their honor.
Raspberry Dazzle swallowed. “Um-hm. I'm younger than you and still growing, I need all the energy I can get!” She bit into the apple again, demonstratively.
“Okay. I guess,” Lemon Crumble answered, a little taken aback. “Hey, where did you get that apple from?” It was an appropriate question, as the school's kitchen had to be closed for hours now and of course nopony was selling anything that late into the night.
“I broke into the kitchen and took it,” Raspberry replied, nonchalantly.
“You did what?” Lemon Crumble swayed a little on her seat as she abruptly turned her head to the left.
“I broke into the kitchen and took it,” the other filly repeated, completely calm. “I'm a hero now, I can do everything. Equestria owes me that!”
“That's not how–” Lemon Crumble began, but then found herself interrupted by a pink hoof booping her nose.
“I was just joking! The door was open. Headmare Twilight said we can go and take the leftovers of the banquet at any time if we crave a late-night snack.” She reached into her blanket and pulled out another apple. “Do you want one? I have a few apple fritters in here, too.”
Lemon Crumble shook her head. But before she could explain her friend that she was far away from being hungry, another voice sounded up to them.
“That wasn't very funny,” it said, timid and weak.
Raspberry Dazzle ignited her horn for another light spell and they could make out Ocellus beneath them. She walked in a slow tempo towards the tree, insecurely.
“Hey, you can't sleep either?” Lemon Crumble kicked off a conversation. It wasn't hard to spot that something bothered the changeling.
“No.....” Ocellus answered, simply, her voice desperate. She buzzed her wings and took seat at Lemon Crumble's side.
“What's wrong?” Lemon Crumble inquired. Raspberry Dazzle just watched the changeling quietly, chewing on another piece of apple.
“It's my family!” Ocellus whined. “Ever since yesterday, I can't stop thinking about them anymore!” A few tears built in her eyes and trickled down her face a second later.
Moved, Lemon Crumble lowered her eyelids and gave her fellow student a look of sympathy. “Do you miss them?”
“No, that's not it, I've just seen them yesterday! I'm afraid they could get hurt! What if the same thing happens again?!” The confession broken out of her, Ocellus fell into a series of whimpers, eyes covered by her hooves.
Instead of Lemon Crumble or Raspberry Dazzle, yet another voice answered from the darkness. “Why are you worried? Aren't changelings able to transform into really powerful creatures?”
The leaves in front of them rustled and Gallus appeared between them. He hovered there for a moment, letting his eyes wander over the little gathering, before he sat down.
“Not always,” Ocellus answered after a couple more whimpers. “We can transform into powerful creatures we've seen before, but changelings can only stay in such a form for a few minutes. So many had to fight Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow untransformed.”
“And the problem is?” Gallus lowered his eyelids to underline his confusion. “Why didn't they transform anyway? A few minutes would have been enough.”
“They did, but most of them can't fully control bodies like that! The changelings aren't used to fight anymore since we stopped to serve Queen Chrysalis!” Ocellus snapped back.
“Fine. Then why did you call them?” The griffon rolled his eyes.
“I DON'T KNOW!” the words burst out of Ocellus and she buried her face in her hooves again, crying now.
Gallus flinched back. “Okay, whatever,” he said after calming down from the outburst. “I'm just here to think about better strategies to convince the griffons of fighting the next time Equestria needs them, anyway. A lot of them still refused to join.” Gallus huffed, then the little group listened to Ocellus' crying in silence, none of them quite knowing what to say. The only other sound was Raspberry's quiet munching.
The silence lasted until, when it had become almost unbearable, the branches above them got separated and a pink blur crashed into their little retreat. The branch they sat on began to shake strongly by the impact. A yelp rang out of Raspberry's Dazzle throat when she lost her balance, then she fell down the tree.
“Raspberry!” Lemon Crumble shouted. Quickly, she took off with her always ready wings and flew down the tree, where she caught her friend in the last moment.
Raspberry lay in her hooves, her body limp and her mind startled, still grasping the blanket with her left hoof. “T-Thanks,” she stammered. A smile appeared on her mouth and a bright blush formed above her nose. She looked away while Lemon Crumble carried her back up, until she sat at her place again, neatly covered in her blanket once more.
Gallus narrowed his eyes sarcastically. “Can't get enough of being a hero, huh?”
The remark came out of nowhere for Lemon Crumble. Her pupils shrunk and something sparked in her heart, warm and pleasant. She only nodded in response, suddenly stern-faced.
At the far right of her, filling up the branch's last space, sat the pink blur that had caused the commotion: Silverstream. A jovial expression and a broad grin adorned her face. There was not a trace of tiredness, however.
“So, what's your problem that keeps you from sleeping?” Lemon Crumble asked the hippogriff, unwittingly revealing to the others that she had a problem herself for the first time since she arrived on the tree.
“Nothing!” it burst out of the hyperactive creature. “I'm just so stoked after all the amazing things that happened!” Silverstream's body started to vibrate from all the energy she radiated.
The reaction caused the four other creatures to narrow their eyes at her, disillusion setting in.
“You wouldn't say,” Gallus commented with a snark.
“I wish I could be so carefree about everything.....” Ocellus suddenly spoke again. “My family was in such danger, what if Chrysalis would have murdered them all?!” She gulped, now tears forming in her eyes.
“Again,” Gallus began “why did you call–” He couldn't finish his sentence, as he received a wingslap from the right.
“Let her explain it!” Silverstream's voice rang out, the cheerfulness obstructed by only a tiny amount of firmness. Gallus groaned.
“My dad's carapace has been broken five or six times.....” Ocellus continued, the whine in her voice increasing. “It will need so many moltings to heal and even then it still might not look the same again!” A sniff followed her words and Ocellus wiped her nose.
“I don't know why I made them come. I thought I was doing the right thing, but all of them could be gone now! It was a mistake to ask them for help!” Done with the explanation, Ocellus erupted into a new series of sobs.
The somber atmosphere that Silverstream had chased away returned and laid itself back over the five students. This time, it was rather quickly interrupted, though.
“But it was the right thing to do!” Lemon Crumble objected. The statement came reflexively and instinctively.
“But my family could have gotten killed, didn't you listen?!” Now anger got added to Ocellus' despair.
Firmly, and not the slightest bit intimidated, Lemon Crumble nodded. “They could have, but if they hadn't come, many other creatures might have died in their stead, because they weren't there to help!”
“But, I–”
“And what they did was still their own decision. You convinced them to do it, but they were okay with risking their lives, so there's no need to feel guilty! It was them who selflessly decided to sacrifice themselves for Equestria if that's necessary, just like–” A wave of epiphany washed over Lemon Crumble and made her interrupt her speech. Her eyes grew large. “Just like.....”
“Just like what?” Ocellus inquired, still shaken, but the words had taken an effect already and curiosity drove her now.
“Just..... like.....” Lemon Crumble sat down, eyes still big as plates. “Just like I did,” she finally breathed a complete sentence. “I-I wasn't selfish.”
“Selfish? What are you talking about?!” Ocellus asked, incredulously.
“Yeah, you motivated all of your people to help save Equestria, what could be selfish about this?” it blurted out of Silverstream, the confusion ringing clearly in her voice.
All four pairs of eyes rested on her. “I wasn't selfish,” Lemon Crumble muttered again.
The four creatures exchanged looks with each other.
“I wasn't just doing it to have an adventure and fight villains.” The words that expressed her realization trickled out only slowly.
“What, that's what you were worried about? That you maybe only did it for yourself because you wanted to experience an adventure?” The tone in Gallus' voice indicated disbelief.
“Y-Yes.....” Lemon Crumble answered, simply.
“Well, that's completely ridiculous.” Silverstream punched his side. “Ouch!”
“I was so worried, but..... I could have gotten killed, just like the changelings could have, but I fought together with the other pegasi anyway. It was my first real adventure and it could have been my last one. But I still did it. I risked it all to help.” Lemon Crumble took a deep breath. “I was selfless. I did it for the right reasons.”
As all the words had been spoken, Lemon Crumble fell silent. She stayed like this for a good, long minute, then she got up on her hooves and lifted the medal close to her face. “Now I can look at this with real pride,” she spoke, solemnly.
Finally, smiles made the rounds among the four other students. Even Ocellus, despite still shaking, managed to muster one. “At least one of us could solve their problem tonight,” she whispered.
“And it doesn't have to stay that way!” Silverstream chimed in. “Let's all go inside and help Ocellus, Gallus and Raspberry with theirs!”
Raspberry Dazzle nodded in agreement, alongside the others, before she realized her mistake. Wearing an ashamed expression and a new blush building on her face, she jumped on all fours. “But I'm not having any problems! I'm here to watch the stars!”
Lemon Crumble, Ocellus, Gallus and Silverstream stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded, then broke out in hearty laughter. Raspberry Dazzle watched them with a red face and a pout on her lips.
As their laughs subsided, Silverstream took the floor again. “Let's head inside where it's warm! I heard the kitchen is still open!”
“But I said–”
Silverstream turned at Raspberry Dazzle and addressed her before she could finish her sentence. “And I guess you don't have a problem anymore, after all, so there's no reason to talk about it!” She gave the filly a wink, having taken the hint as the only one in the group. “But I bet there's lots of food left!”
The red color and the pout vanished from Raspberry's face and she playfully puffed up her chest. “That is something I can agree on!” She giggled, then set herself into motion and began to climb down the tree as the first one of them.
The others watched her pick up her blanket, that had fallen down the tree earlier, and run into the school building, then followed her, already exchanging idle banter on the way in.
Unbeknownst to them, a shadow stood at one of the windows of the Friendship School and watched them on their way inside, with a smile on the lips.
“The Magic of Friendship grows.”
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