Changing For The Better

I jogged to the entrance of the hive, smiling when I remembered the other's reactions to my mission. The poor Overlords started off disbelieving, turned to shock, and then once again denying the news. I had expected as much. It wasn't until mother herself came out to collect some love from the supply that she could back me up. They had all taken it pretty well, Frost Flash bumping my shoulder, Coarse stone, the oldest Overlord, giving me a respectful nod, Onyx Blade, my youngest brother, giving me a warm smile. But Night Whisper..... She shocked me with what she did. She glided up to me and placed a gentle kiss on my lips, and I could feel heat flood my cheeks. The blush was invisible to the others, but the awkward smile wasn't. She had shot me a cheerful look before she pressed herself against my side.

"Come home soon, North! I'll see you when you get back, be sure of it." Night stated, flashing me one last smile before trotting over to join the others. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her slender body, muscles stretching and contracting in rhythm with her perfectly toned chitin, gracefully sliding over to the others and shooting me a look that made my insides well up with joy.

But she was my sister, and I couldn't help but feel a prick of shame at the interaction.

"Thanks, everyling. I'll make sure to make it to Canterlot tomorrow, and back the day after. Those stupid princesses won't know what hit them!" I stated, though I felt a twinge of doubt at those words. My mind was overanalyzing again, and I thought of all the traditions they might have, what my aunts were like, and what kinds of art they would have, architectual and hoof-painted. I remembered my mother saying that she had posed as my cousin, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

I wonder what I should say when I meet them. I wondered. It wasn't until I had finished subconsiously saying my goodbyes and trotted out of the main hive exit that I realized the situation was worse than I had been thinking.

I'm being sent to overthrow the throne, not meet them formally! What was I thinking? Great, now this will be harder than I expected... I feel alot stronger kinship to my family than most, and I remember that my new cousin Shining Armor is the captain of the guard, not to mention I didn't expect Cadenza in the first place. Well, I guess this means I won't be going on a rampage any time soon. And how will I be able to kill them? I've only killed rival changelings and wild beasts, not another being such as myself. Well.... Except for Black...

I remembered the blandness of hive life and my mother's inital scorn when I had killed Black. I also remembered how boring life was, sitting around and waiting for either an attack or a problem within the hive to occur.

But only one thing rose above all other thoughts and memories.

Can I really kill four of the most powerful ponies in Equestria?

Canterlot, Equestria

I groaned inwardly as I made my way to the barracks. The others had nothing to do, so they decided to bug me during their free time. I had tried my best, but they had managed to envoke an angry response from me, which got me in trouble. Of course they didn't care about my side of the story. Being a recruit in the guard was an absolute pain. We had to wear silver armor, unlike the royal guard who wore gold, or the even more famous of the princess's personal guards. I had promised my sister I would do my best to make my way into the ranks, and so far, that wasn't working out too well. I sighed sourly as I glanced back over my snow-white coat, flicking my black tail as I looked over my body. I was slightly small for a stallion my age, and I found the closest comparison to me I could make was the holders of the elements of harmony. They were about my size, we thought alike..... but they were famous. I was sure they'd never even imagine talking to me.

I shot a wry glance at my cutie mark, a red shield with crossed horns in front of it. It was inspiration enough to recruit into the guard, but I knew for a fact that I was treated worse than the local populace. I refocused my attention ahead of me as I entered the large structure that was the Canterlot barracks. My captain, Red Leaf, glanced up at me as I entered. I flashed her a crisp salute before turning toward the stairs leading into the underground. She frowned slightly as she stood up.

"Private Fallen Snow, report." She ordered.

I turned back towards her. "Everything went well, ma'am, except for the fact that Corporal Sharp decided that it would be a good time to interrupt my duties." I stated, growing frustrated at the look of annoyance in her gold eyes.

She finally sighed and waved her hoof towards me. "You're dismissed." Red stated.

I nodded and trotted down the stairwell, coming to a stop in the armoury. I silently made my way to my spot, and I took off my helmet, feeling my mane slip out of it's silver prison and down in front of my eyes. I absently brushed my mane out of my eye with a forehoof. It's family tradition to grow our manes long, but it's just another taunt Spear gets against me. I remembered his scornful remarks.

"It's kind of cool that your eyes are the same color of your armor, Snow." A voice behind me suddenly spoke up. I jumped and whirled around to see Rain standing there.

"Rain, you surprised me. Don't do that!" I scolded him in mock annoyance. We were the only two recruits in Canterlot, so we grew to be quite good friends. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm just saying, Your eyes go well with your armour. My blue coat and orange eyes don't go well with anything." He stated, shrugging slightly and walking over and placing his helmet on the rack beside mine. "I'm just saying, you look fancy in that armour, bud."

I smiled at that and proceeded to take off the rest of my armour and stretch. I quickly cracked my neck and briefly stretched my wings, smiling at the relief of tension in the muscles. Rain glanced over quickly and shot me a smile. "You remember what tomorrow is?" He asked.

"Must have slipped my mind, no, I don't." I replied after a brief pause to think.

He magically pulled his helmet off the rack and hit me in the head with it. "Tomorrow we get to guard the Princess's quarters, you doof." He snorted exasperatedly.

I shot him a questioning glance. "I don't remember being told that. Seriously?" I asked.

He nodded. "I'm serious. One of us gets to guard each princess's door with our captain."

I glanced away as I heat flushed my cheeks. How could I say no to a day where I would not only get to be near one of the Princesses, but I would be spending most of it with the pretty red pegasus that was my captain? "Sounds like fun." I finally managed to say.

He just nodded and grunted, still seeming frustrated that I had forgotten.

I couldn't help but smirk as I climbed into my cot in the recruit's room.

Tomorrow should be fun. Everything seems to finally be working out for me!