Origin of a Hero

Chapter 4

She sat a few paces away from the princess’s tent watching Celestia and Luna try and coax her new patient outside. It wasn't really necessary for her to examine the filly outside, in fact she could do just as good of a job inside the tent as she could out. However the princesses insisted that she waits and sees their handy work on their guest.

Healer Clover has been in the service of the royal family the longest out of anyother pony in their company. She was by no means old, she was an apprentice healer at a very early age and became very good in medicine very quickly. Her skills were sought after by the royal family as the personal healer for Princess Celestia and latter for Princess Luna.

She felt the presence of somepony come up next to her, it was a familiar hard walk, "Good morning, Heavy." she said without looking

"Morning Clover, are they trying to get the little one out of the tent?"

Clover simply nodded and said, "They did something to her after they got up this morning. I'm not sure exactly what it was."

"I saw what they were doing when I brought them breakfast earlier."

"Oh, and knowing you and how your mind works you'll keep me in suspense." she said

They sat next to each other in silence watching the spectacle for a moment, then Clover spoke again, "I overheard you and Princess Celestia talking last night about your reason to help out the filly. I must admit your response was out of character."

"Do you disapprove of my actions like Councilpony Quill?"

"On the contrary, I trust your instincts and your judgment."

"Thank you Clover, for your support." Heavy Shield said

"Not a problem, I'm just waiting to hear what your instincts say about me after all of these years." she said as she inched closer to Heavy Shield while he sat still and silent as they watched the princesses.

xxXxx

"Come on dear, you'll have to come out sooner or later." came Celestias voice outside the tent

"Hurry up everypony is waiting to see you new number one look." called Luna

"I feel like number two." The filly replied, which drew a few chuckles from the crowd outside

"Okay you can do this, it's the least you can do for all of the kindness that they've shown you." she thought to herself

The filly stepped out of the tent and got a chorus of "Aww’s" and some "Isn't she cute" from the dozen or so ponies that had gathered. Her mane and tail were put into thick braids but her bangs were left lose over her face. Some makeup was applied to add to the effect that the princesses were looking for.

"I feel so embarrassed." she muttered

"Don't be ridiculous, you look wonderful." said Celestia

"Now you're ready to meet some friends of ours." said Luna as she dragged the filly to Heavy Shield and Clover for introductions, "You already know Heavy, but this lovely creature next to him is Healer Clover."

She looked took a look at the mare in front of her. Her mane and tail were a light blue color, with the mane brushed back and held in place by a red head band. Her pale green coat looked as though it was well taken care of.

"It's good to see you up and about little one. The princesses were a bit worried about you." Clover said

"And this Clover is... um, what should we call you?" asked Luna

"Yes, we need to call you something other than 'little one'." said Celestia

"A nickname would be nice till you find a name for yourself." Clover commented

Heavy Shield gave Clover a questionable look as to how she might know about how devil ponies are named.

"I overheard the two of you talking this morning." Clover answered his silent question

"Sometimes I ask myself if you're a security hazard with your hearing." Heavy Shield said

"How about Lilly?" suggested Celestia

The group looked at the elder sister with a somewhat questionable look, but it was Luna who spoke up, "How do you get 'Lilly' as a nickname?"

"Well she used to be called 'Little Sister', I thought of lil-sis, and then I took lil and added the 'y' at the end." explained Celestia

"Tia, your mind is a strange place, and I hope that I never visit the inside of your head." Luna said

"It's cute, simple, and can easily be replaced by an actual name." Clover said

"I think that Lilly is a real name." stated the filly

"So you don't want us to call you Lilly?" asked Luna

"No, I think I'm okay with Lilly for now."

"Very well, we will call you Lilly till you chose your name." said Celestia

Clover directed Lilly to her tent; which was just north of the princess’s tent, and began her examination of the filly. During the examination Clover asked, "So, Lilly, why is it that a young filly, like yourself, is wandering around in the forest in the middle of nowhere."

Lilly stiffen at the question and started to shake.

"Are you alright?" Celestia said with deep concern

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just a little nervous about being examined." Lilly said as she turned her head, only to come in eye shot of Heavy Shield, who was standing nearby.

"You know lying can be a very dangerous habit for a young filly." Heavy Shield said

She bowed her head and started to breathe slowly for a moment then spoke, "I know that what you did was with only the best intentions. Also that none of you are aware of the customs of my herd, and I'm very grateful for all of your kindness and generosity." She looks at the four ponies gathered around and continues, "However because of your actions I can never return to my own herd."

A series of "what's" and "why not's" erupted from the girls. They were talking so fast and all at once that it made it difficult for Lilly to keep track of who to answer. Then came a very heavy stamp, hard enough that the three of them suddenly clamped their mouths and looked over at Heavy Shield.

"You were saying." he nodded towards Lilly

Startled, Lilly continued, "As I said, I am grateful for your help, but for you to get an idea of the reason why I can't go back to my herd I need to explain my culture. We devil ponies are taught that the weak are to be cast out so that the strong might survive. When a pony is unable to receive their mark by a certain age then they are cast out of the herd. However if they are able to live a year, without receiving any help, then they can return to the herd with or without a mark.

"But as I said, they must survive alone. They can't be helped in any way, wither it was intentional or not, it doesn't matter if the help was approved by the pony in question. Once it happened it has happened."

"Well why don't we act like it didn't happen at all, like we never even met?" asked Luna

"I know a few things about devil ponies and their unicorns are very good at truth based magic. They feel that secrets are very powerful tools that they can use." stated Heavy Shield

"He's right, I would be subjected to an evaluation to see if I'd been helped or not. And lying carries a severe punishment." Lilly said

There was silence for a moment so that everypony could absorb what they were just told. Then Luna asked, "How far were you into your year?"

"I only had a couple of weeks left when you came along."

"Oh Lilly, we're so sorry. We had no idea." consoled Celestia

"I know, that's why I'm not more upset with what's happened. In fact I've been thinking a lot lately as to whether or not I actually wanted to return to the herd."

"Well why wouldn't you want to return to your herd, isn't that where your family is?" asked Clover

"I have no parents, and any family I would claim would cast me aside as filth because I became friends with you all."

The statement caused the three mares to "aw" and comfort the little filly, however Heavy Shield sensed that there was more to her story than what she was letting on. But he knew that pressing the topic would cause more harm than good, and decided to let it be.

End Chapter 4