Blue Syringe
I like to imagine people like to keep a necromancer happy in general, or that's what I've noticed from experience, or maybe it's the dirt cheap doctor that might tilt the scales on my side.

Favours, that's my true form of payment and while it seems absolutely cruel to ask a favour to someone who can't really refuse it after what I do for them it's how I've managed to stay hidden for all these years.
You ask if you can put their name on the deed for the apartment, you ask if they can provide you heavily restricted medical equipment and you can ask for information on practically anything.

And it seems one of my favours has come through.

The solar guard, known as the personal protectors of Princess Celestia, combat ready, elite, inscrutable…ish.

I suppose you can only train a pony on so many principles but how do you even drill in against the grief of losing a loved one?

This is the conundrum that a Sergeant Swift Wing had to weigh up.
On a training drill, years before he ever joined the solar guard, Swift Wing led two privates to the Everfree in an attempt to bolster their skills when they heard a mare screaming her head off…
it was me, I was visiting Zecora, a lovely zebra whom I buy some powders from and too be honest I like hearing her talk,
sorry that was a bit of a slight tangent,
I decided to go for a bit of stroll and strolled straight into a manticore,
Of course I was very brave!
.
.
.
I hid under a log.
Screaming my head off in a desperate attempt to find any help, I was very shocked when three guards came sprinting out of the woods to my rescue.
The two privates fell in battle and Swift Wing managed to dispatch the beast but was heavily bleeding, so I did my thing and cured them all.
I of course was terrified at the time, this guard knew what I was doing and was obligated to arrest and I was enabling that but I couldn't leave them.
I got lucky, and sadly Swift Wing was drawn into my web of deceit. He didn't write it up and promised to help me in the future.

The help in question is now in my hoof. He'd responded to my letter which I just picked up from a Dropbox that I've got near my apartment .

I get home hastily and after putting away my bag, I rip open the letter and start reading.

Twilight Sparkle? Elements of harmony?

I drop the letter on the table and somewhat recoil backwards.
Why are they sending the realm's heroes after me?
I know what I've done is wrong in Celestia's eyes but isn't this overkill? I expected some guards or something.

An image flashes through my eyes being hit by the element's beam and I feel a sense of dread course through my body.

They must know something, I must have left a clue somewhere then, I imagine they are very busy mares otherwise.

I picked up the letter again and read on.

Several ponies names are listed as potential aliases, some of them I recognise, some I don't, which says to me that they are suspicious of medical ponies with certain qualities looking at this. I reach for my notebook, marking the compromised identities when I notice that Baroness Bones was on the list.

When I set up these personalities, I go through a lot of time and effort, and gold bits I might add, to make sure that under a microscope they should be secure on the paperwork side and I tie them to locations around the country. Baroness Bones lives in Manehattan for example, and rather stupidly I had to take a carriage disguised as her all the way to Griffonia.

It was a link that I am just going to hope isn't one they notice.

I mark off the baroness in my book and read the last notes on the paper.
It seems the last Swift knew, they were going to go and talk to my mother.
It makes sense, I didn't really have friends in Canterlot, and I hear dad isn't in the greatest moods but can't they just leave her alone? She's not seen me in over a decade, I can't see her providing any clues.

So all in all not great, in terms of my options they were actively seeking me is last on the list but I've still got ways forward and it doesn't sound like they've actually confirmed I'm still kicking just suspect it.

Lets work with that.

Oh, as a matter of personal interest, it seems the local university lab was able to create the apparatus for my changeling nerve replacer thingy (better name needed) and I need to start doing tests, I'm like 90% confident I've made it correct and from the changeling data and my own research I'm ready to test it! On what, is a different question entirely, I had a few patients that had paralysis in limbs and such but I can't imagine that they'd be willing for such a test.
I do miss the comforts at times of working within the medical community, test subjects were a lot easier to find.

The principle of the apparatus is relatively simple in principle but as it'd still a prototype it will require medical knowledge while applying it, I do have plans to make it so it's self-adapting but that will require a lot of sleepless nights that I don't have enough coffee for, basically it wraps around two nerve fibre ends pinches them down too prevent any substances from spreading and then applies a small amount of changeling goo which tries to start the conversion process.
Now the major issue is how well will the nerves will interface with each other and I think I've alleviated that fear somewhat, that's why I'm 10% unconfident in my mind, from what I've been told the conversion process is slow and methodical which means that is naturally going to be in an in-between state and clearly they are surviving that so they should be okay, I hope.
For now, I am going to prepare a few and take them with me as they are not that heavy and I can imagine some Ponies might be desperate enough to take the plunge.

I actually have a potential new client I'm lining up at the moment, three in fact, from the basic reading I've done on their cases it seems that there was a build up of a lethal gas in their house, quite a simple fix aside from the death part, I need to scrub the poison out, provide pure oxygen and repair the dying cells.

I also have some ponies I will need to have talks with. I need to manufacture some new identities to replace the ones identified and need to make sure they can't figure out my location, maybe I need a new apartment?

Most importantly, I need to do some reading into my hunters, I know the general gist Elements of Harmony, excel at making friends and that enables them to fire all powerful rainbows at Equestria's enemies, I'll be honest and say that I'm really hoping that doesn't happen to me, but their individual personalities might be useful to know, maybe I plan around where they are heading?
Yeah, I am not great at this but I know the way forward is at least information and I know ponies that deal with information better than I.

I head to the Bathroom, dye my hair orange and put in some orange tinted lenses. Afterward I put on a business suit I had made with a fake cutie mark over the cloth, apparently it's a trend to put your mark on your suit which I find weird but it means I can do way easier inponyations, which is in the shape of a pill.

Leaving my apartment, I resolve that I am going to have to walk for a fair few miles, which I am entirely not looking forward to. I've done hikes before but usually in the right gear and not a business suit, and then I can get a cart the rest of the way.

Complacent, that's what I've been getting over the years, that is the only explanation for it, I must have slipped up somewhere and revealed something to a patient or maybe I've been too aggressive in my treatments… but I don't think I've been aggressive enough, I have only been able to average out about twenty a year and I almost break down when I can't do anymore.

This is not fair, they obviously didn't read my notes, and in their ignorance they are letting lives be extinguished too quickly. Don't they care? Even if they think I'm wrong they should at least consider it, not just send some ponies with what's effectively a superweapon at me.

I suppose this is my mantle to bear, I knew what I was doing when I ran away from home and I knew when I continued with this that this might happen. So as usual, I have to continue till I can't.
Appleloosa here I come!

Author's Note

SURPRISE!
Two chapters in a week, aka I noticed that this story turn 8 years old and felt I've been doing it injustice.
I like to imagine that Blue just like to switch topics in her head whenever she panics and these days she's got a lot to panic about
But the game of chess has got started