Well, some of mine are a bit silly but I hope that everyone understands them. Anyway, here's a short list of my personal heroes. I don't have any in real life at the moment, as I relate better to fictional characters anyway, but still they are real to me in some way.
While not my favorite of my pony princesses, Princess Luna is the one I relate with the most. I remember watching the first episode with Nightmare Moon and feeling a connection between her and me, as her form was taken in by jealousy and sorrow of never being what everyone (or pony) wanted. I relate that, even now after watching that episode, as my form was once that of a darker self that was driven by the anger of being rejected. I understand the pain she must have felt being cast away, as it was the same I felt when I was cast from those who claimed to love me. And now? In later episodes, the show covered how Luna felt horrible about what Nightmare Moon was and did and so do I. I hurt a lot of people during that time and I regret it, but I move slowly everyday to learn to forgive myself. She's one of my many personal heroes, and I admire her for that.
Another pony I admire greatly is Starlight Glimmer. A lot of people drag on her for having a 'weak backstory' as to why she was a villain, but I don't think she did. She was replaced and ignored! And as a result, she became to relate cutie marks with change, and change with the pain of replacement. I relate to this thought, as I lost many friends and instead of knowing that time alters all relationships, I grew to think that those friends were getting rid of me or replacing me. The Same Town was something that related to be sort of abstractly, in a way, as it reminds me of a time where I believed true equality was everyone suffering the same. When it was revealed that she never gave up her own cutie mark, it was like me realizing that my vision of true equality was nothing more than other people having no power while I did as to sate the control desire in me that was never given a chance. She's my personal hero because now she is a hero, despite being a villain once. She learned about friendship and balance, and now? She's probably going to be the next princess and help people learn to love and accept the magic of friendship, and I admire that.
I remember when I first started watching Steven Universe after flipping to C.N after a show on Animal Planet was running commercials. I remembered catching the end of one episode and the start of another, and already then I was hooked! I love this show, I loved the gems and the story and the design and everything! It's not uncommon to hear about a S.U fan relating to a gem but for me, that gem will always be Amethyst. I'll preface by saying this - I'm transgender (a transgender male, to be exact) and I've always been ... small. I'm 5'6 and most of the guys around me tower over me, and I know that they don't care as I'm still the same dude despite my height and strength differences, but it ... bothers me. It bothers me knowing that I'm considered short and weak and different than the others, and that's something that Amethyst has to deal with as well. The fight with Jasper really just sums up my fight with society and myself, always having to prove that I'm male enough to be male and knowing that I'm considered 'failed' in the eyes of Homeworld (or society). The reason she's my hero is because she doesn't stop, ever. She knows she can't win against Jasper alone, and while some see it as a way to preserve an ego, I see it as raw desire to prove herself. She's also as goofy and food-loving as I am, and my room probably has some corrupted gems in it as well but I'll always admire her for her strength to exist, even though she's a runt.
The second gem I admire is Pearl for everything from her fighting to her voice. Pearls on H.W aren't made for anything other than being poodles in purses for high gems or assistants to high gems as well. Pearl is neither, she's her own gem and she's a fighter! I admire that why being not as physically-bodied as a Quartz or a fusion like Garnet, she can still roll out the punches just as well as they can and do. She's quick to learn and even quicker to execute, and might I add that all her songs are beautiful and heart-felt! Another reason I consider her to be a personal hero is because of her grief over the 'death' of Rose Quartz. I've lost a lot of people, both physically and mentally, and I feel for her grief for her unrequited love as it reminds me of my own. But even as she grieves (openly sometimes) she knows that she must be there for Steven (or in my case, my duties) and cannot let her emotions cloud the future. That doesn't mean she bottles her feelings, as in the show she is seen expressing her emotions and sorrow through song and her sometimes outbursts, but the biggest way she does is through her loyalty to the battlefield (i.e Connie's training) and how devoted she is. You can really see how she grieves for Rose by being everything she can that she might not have been for Rose and more, and that's why I consider her to be a personal hero of mine.
That's my (short) list. I have many personal heroes but I decided to write about my favorites here. Hope I didn't bore you! Anyway, nice topic there, King and I love your choices as well!