//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: New Friends // Story: A Hero’s Origins // by MlpHero //------------------------------// Lunch. My favorite time period of the academy. Apart from all the ones I like. I looked over to my small group of friends. We’re all boys by the way. I have a few friends who are girls, but it’s mainly boys. We’re mainly telling jokes, (some more offensive or inappropriate then others). We were laughing and joking as usual. Then, I mentioned that I was going to sneak off for the Canterlot Invasion. They immediately burst out laughing. Way to boost my self confidence ya mooks. Unfortunately, they didn’t believe me. So, buck… As you can expect, most of my classes are boring. There are two sections of the Academy. The military part, then the normal boring classes. Guess where I’m at. Judging by this math equation, I’m in the normal classes. I sighed, looking at the problem. Math was never really my strong point. After school, I was laying in bed, drawing a couple of comics. The current one was called Fallout Equestria: 37. The plot was about a Stable called Stable 37, where a Stable guard leaves the Stable after it’s attacked by a group of Raiders. He soon meets with a mare named Blackbelle and— I’m rambling, ain’t I? Anyway, I continued drawing said comic. And I would do so for a good while. I chuckled, laying back on my bed, smiling. I feel relaxed after a good bit of comic writing/drawing. Don’t ask. After a while, I got bored and set the comic aside. I looked over to the butterfly knife my papa gave me. I chuckled and picked it up, spinning it in my hoof. I smiled, opening it, then closing it. It took a while, but I was able to do it after a while. I chuckled, looking at my calendar. The Canterlot invasion was just days away, and I had to prepare. By that I mean, I pack a buckin’ bag. Seriously, I had my plastic army figures, my comics and pencils, heck, even food and water. At least now I know I’ll be prepared. But for now, I have time to rest. I walked out of my room (mainly because I haven’t been out in a while) and walked down the hallways. I looked around, noticing a few changeling nymphs running around. Now, it’s probably important to know that I’m an introvert. I hate interaction with new creatures. Well, I won’t say ‘hate’, but I just don’t like social interaction. That changed when I bumped into him. I looked at a changeling nymph, looking around the same age as me (thirteen). He had two colorful eyes. One was blue, the other green. “Um… hello?” I greeted, waving a hoof. “OhshootI’msorrypleasedon’tkillme!” Huh, eight words in five seconds. That’s a new record. Judging by the panic in his voice, he expected me to do something to him. I don’t know what he was scared of. I mean, I had my knife on my side, but I wasn’t planning on using it. “Er… what?” I asked. He stopped breathing like I was gonna murder him. “Y-You’re not gonna hurt me…?” I shook my head. “Nooo?” The nymph sighed in relief, then stood up. “Okay, sorry about freaking out like that.” I chuckled. “It’s alright. You ain’t the first ‘ling to walk into me.” I stood up as well, dusting myself off. “My name's Hero. What’s yours?” “Z-Zenex…” he muttered, but I couldn’t really hear it. “Huh?” “Zenex,” another voice cut in. We looked over to see a red eyes, red winged, red… carapaced(?) changeling with a chipped horn walking over. “Hivey,” Zenex said, walking over to the older changeling. The older changeling scooped him up. The nymph nuzzled him. “Heheh, hey Zenny Boy,” the red changeling said, resulting in Zenex blushing furiously. “Hivey! Don’t call me that in public!” ‘Hivey’ chuckled. “Why not?” “It’s embarrassing!” Zenex whined, flailing his hooves. I chuckled myself, looking at them. The older changeling looked at me. “Hello there. I’m Hivehunter, and I’m sure you’ve met Zenex.” “Mhm.” I nodded. Hivehunter chuckled and cradled Zenex. I tilted my head. “Are you his father? Or brother?” Hivehunter chuckled. “I guess you could say that.” Zenex nodded. “Mhm. Hivey has taken care of me since I was five.” Hivehunter nodded. “Yeah. Zen has been my closest friend ever since.” I nod, understanding a bit. I mean, if someone took care of you since you were five, wouldn’t you be their best friend? I know I would. Probably… I have a habit of being back stabbed. Probably my own fault for being a little gullible bit— Anyway, I started hanging out with Zenex more often. Over time, I learned about how he was bullied for his eyes and he learned about my parents and how I was “bullied” for my braid. I put quotations there because I don’t care about what other changelings say. They’re just incompetent fu— So, after a while, I told Zen about my plans to join the invasion. He had an… unexpected reaction. “Really? Funny you mention that…” I looked at Zen. “What?” Zen chuckled a bit. “I’m Uh… sneaking off to join the military.” “You’re what?!” I asked. Zen is usually a shy guy. I never thought he’d run off and join the militia. Huh, maybe I should join as well. Eh. Actually, while I’m on the topic, I should mention that we changelings have four divisions of the military. First is the very recognizable Devil Horns, led by General Scarab. They’re our main infantry unit and they’re pretty much the main military division you’d see. The next division is the Wasp Division, led by General Yellowjacket. They’re primarily built from the hive Elites (the changelings who are born ‘wealthy’) and have more specialized training. Hivehunter is part of that division, and me and Zen are apart of the regular ‘lings. Next is the Naval force called the Water Striders, led by General/Admiral Larax. As you see, they’re the Navy, working primarily in the water. Not much to say about them. Finally, we have our air force, the Raging Hornets, led by General Webwings. They’re well known for their tactics. One of them isn’t much, but a whole group of them (perfectly named a ‘Hornet Swarm’) can be fairly deviating. That’s all of the divisions we have so far. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Chrysalis added a new division to the militia. Anyway, Zenex and I talked about the prospects of joining the military, and I mentioned my papa was a military ‘ling. Although, I had to explain to him that papa was a soldier during peace times, so no stories really. Anyway, that’s how I met Zenex and Hivehunter. The days I spent with the nymph sped the days up like a clock. Tomorrow was the Canterlot invasion. Maybe then I could decide what to do with my life. Who knows.