Finding myself in a cell was moderately intriguing. It went smoothly compared to what most of the other drones would have done. I felt myself teetering on the edge of consciousness while I tried to steady my hunger. The cell had already been bust open by some powerful force. I thought maybe I'd gone deaf, unable to hear my rescuer. Examining the ruins of the bars, I saw not the traces of changeling magic, but long-since formed rust. These had been down for a very, very long time. The cracks in the walls told me this already but it was hard to believe I was here this long. I had most likely been placed here recently, probably a wandering pony who didn't want any trouble.
Ponies! That meant I needed to get out of here. Whoever put me here was going to get help. And help meant trouble, a unicorn or some other battle-ready entity. I tried to generate a disguise, but to no avail. My horn had an amethyst ring around it. I could barely make a light. The sparks gave me enough vision to see past the scattered debris and I made my way out of the dank dungeon.
Walking past the ridiculous amount of banners depicting the holy light of Celestia, it became clear that this was, in fact, pony territory. Canterlot would never have blown out, so this had to be the ancient castle from millennia ago. Why someone would put me here of all places confuses me. They seemingly went to the effort of restricting my magic and removing my wings, but didn't go the extra mile and tie me up? I would have found a way out any way, but it was dangerous to get cocky. I still had a lot of danger to contemplate and I wasn't going to lose it on some useless confidence.
When I finally reached the doors to step outside into daylight, one of my deepest fears came true. I was blaming it on being underground, blocking the signal, but I was wrong. I couldn't feel the buzz of the Queen's thoughts. That meant she was either dead, or more probably a continent away. She hid after her defeat at the wedding. That was a cowardly thing to do, and I hate cowards. I hate dwelling on the past even more.
The wide forest around me only increased my sense of paranoia. I could be tailed so easily. I figured I could get a grip on where I needed to be if I went to the nearest settlement: Ponyville. Going West would bring me there shortly, but I knew I couldn't stay long or I would be noticed. I just needed that ring off. I couldn't fly, so getting through the woods would be a pain in my flank. Manticores do not take well to insects.
Trudging through thorny, mangled bushes of all kinds and avoiding every single kind of poisonous plant in existence fatigued me quite easily. I found myself once again thinking on where I could be right now, surrounded by my comrades, enjoying a nice leeching of some sweet, intoxicating love. Dramatically playing around with other ponies' lives, causing all sorts of trouble. Drifting from reality was so alluring...
Nobody even noticed. Even with all of the mistakenly placed clues as to my true nature, nobody even noticed. The bond between them was what I was really there for, but messing with them was even more fun. I, of course, had a rule to kill nobody until a major battle occurred. Mischief was a good way to pass the time. Over the course of several months, I had sneakily created a ring of lies based on my 'partner.' Constantly dropping all sorts of controversy on them and leading more and more ponies to believe that he had committed all kinds of crimes.
I even started a rumor that I, myself, was a changeling. I left clues all of the time, but nobody said anything. No matter how extreme or blatant it was. I almost morphed back into my original self because it was so boring waiting for them to come to conclusions. They were just too afraid, I guess. Too afraid of me. But I could not get enough! The amazing stupidity of them all almost HURT, even. I took some weird satisfaction in taking responsibility for their dumbness. Whenever I hung out with them, I made sure that they looked brainless. The faces on service ponies were priceless.
But that doesn't tend to make them any less suspicious. They always start to blab about the rumors, and create their own gossip about me. I wasn't concerned and I never had to be. The love probably contributed to the carelessness, but it never went anywhere and I was perfectly safe. I miraculously avoided sex in all possible situations, probably because they were nervous teenagers. That kind of love wasn't fulfilling, anyway. It was a weird, spicy version that didn't last long. Changelings that fall into that trap never make it out.
Once the time came that my cover was significantly exposed, I restored the memory of my 'victim' and sent her back and let that play out on its own. I got what I needed and prepared for the battle of Canterlot that was oh-so hyped up when I was doing that operation. As expected, we got blown to Tartarus. A lot of changelings died that day, and quite a lot of ponies. I didn't partake in the killing. I did some structural damage so I didn't have to get blood on my hands. That doesn't mean I like ponies, just that I prefer to keep myself clean.
I finally burst through the last wall of painful, thick woodland soup and halfway crossed into the open plain. In front of me, a medium distance away, I could see the hazy shape of Ponyville. I couldn't stay long, but I was going to make use of that time while I could. I don't even know what transpired after that explosion, or how long I'd even been out. I could have been administered an amnesiac, but those are outlawed in pony law. I guess as a war criminal, I didn't really get rights anyway. Without a disguise, all I'd be able to do was eavesdrop. Safe haven seemed to be my only option, and crossing a long distance seemed to be my only option in getting there.
On the first night, I assessed the population and determined that there were far too many unicorns to operate in daylight. Most of them had been instructed on how to identify changeling magic. The amethyst ring on my horn that was constantly collecting that energy served no help, only functioned as a beacon. My only option to get supplies was to break into the various buildings around town. Unable to attain any emotions from the ponies, I instead sought physical food for temporary sustenance.
It became very clear that this town was a lot less formal than Canterlot. As such, I had a lot less to worry about while scurrying across the rooftops. There weren't as many nightly activities. I was almost caught while infiltrating the local bakery. The building itself looked like food. After ripping off a few of the shingles, it was easy to bust in from then on. There wasn't much actual food to be had, only pastries and candy. Beggars can't be choosers, I guess.
After gathering other odds and ends from the stores around town, I made camp outside of town. The night went smoothly, though I often found myself drifting back into that strange, dream-like state. I slept the following day. There wasn't much to be had in the sunlight, anyway. My hooves hurt because of the painful darting from roof to roof. If I had holes in them like most of the other changelings, it would have been even worse. I was lucky to be hatched whole.
The second night, I was almost caught. A small dragon somehow resting within their community may have noticed me crawling along the roofs. I raided more supplies that night, extra careful to leave as minimal a trace as possible. Not much happened the coming nights after that. Things went smoothly and I ran into no problems. I was ready to set off, but stayed behind a little bit longer just in case.
I must've let myself slack on the cleanup or something, because that dragon figured out my predictable path. While going in for one of my last supply thefts, I was met by a tackle accompanied with a green blaze. It didn't seem to have that much heat, and only warmed my face. It did a number on my eyesight, though. I fell over into the bakery. He attempted to restrain me, but his tiny form didn't give him enough weight. He didn't take kindly to my presence, if that wasn't clear enough.
"Stop stealing my friends' stuff! That's not cool!" he shouted at me, rather pathetically. That was my cue. I had a significant combat advantage, what with his lack of muscle. In a short spar, I managed to wrap his tail around my horn and sling him out of window and crashing onto the ground. Immediately, I bolted. There was no use finishing the fight, and he was just a kid. He gave chase, attempting to be a hero. It didn't turn out well for him, and I managed to snag his tail once more. With a flick of my head, I sent him flying through the window of a boutique.
As if it wasn't clear enough, the scream from inside told me to move out of sight as fast as possible. I ran for what seemed like hours. I went to the North, closer to where I needed to go. Travelling the plains was something of absolute boredom, but I had the food I needed. The Crystal Empire was my next destination, as I couldn't reach my intended target without stopping. Safe haven was one step closer.
