Escape meant a plan, but every plan had its flaws. As I moved towards the stable bathrooms to free the grime and dirt off my chitin as well as a bit of 12's… blood, I considered every option of exiting my quarters without anypony noticing. All of the plans amounted to nothing, as they required tools I simply didn't have. I recalled my quarter’s hidden belongings. Over the years I had picked up small, easily hidden odds and ends. The most prominent being a single strand of metal wire that had been discarded in a trashcan by a technician pony years ago. That and the pathetically few bobby pins I had acquired for keeping my hair up. Though, without other tools, lock picking my door would be impossible . Even if I had such tools, the skills needed for such a lock wouldn't come from nowhere. As I advanced, I spotted out of the corner of my eye, a technician heading out of the main hallway doors of the arena in utility barding of stable 103. In front of him was a trolley in which he was pushing, carrying the numerous deceased Changelings that had were my former friends and enemies.

I winced and was about to turn away, until I noticed it, a screwdriver was hiding out on the edge of the cart, among various tools I didn't recognize. Suddenly, I had a plan. The cart jostled around, narrowly avoiding Scientists and Changelings alike. As it went down the hallway, I reminisced about the bitter rumors of my youth. My telekinetic grip wrapped around the screw driver, stopping it in place and causing the janitorial pony to walk right over it. The small tool sank towards the ground. Before anypony could notice, it zipped around a corner of the hallway and straight into my messy mane, the knot having been let down after the combat exercise . With a fugitive glance around, I sighed in relief and continued on my way to the bathroom, noting the new knot in my hair that now held the precious instrument in place .

Once washed, I headed back to my room in order to stash the instrument with the few belongings I had . I was given the rest of the day off and I couldn't wait until nights out. Looking around I could already see several panels, though the obedience collar around my neck garnered the most attention. If there was one thing I was good at, it was memory. I could still recall how the technician placed the collars on my ex-classmates. Logic implied I would have to do the reverse in order to take them off. Both of my classmates’ collars had used the same three digit combination, as did many others during the mass collaring of mine and several other groups. I recited it mentally, Three four three.

Again I found myself wondering about the significance of the code , but resisted the urge as I went on throughout my day. Eventually , I was met with a surprise visitor. Over the ever present hum of the stable’s generators, Grey Iron had been humming the Equestrian Anthem as he entered my quarters. Eyeing me up and down, he spoke first at my hasty salute. "At ease." he whinnied "I just came to congratulate you on surviving your fight." he added , giving me a salute in turn before standing at ease himself.

I admit I looked down, contemplating his words . The shock hadn't fully set in that the only few ponies I had known for most of my life were gone. One was dead because of a fellow changeling, the other after my… less than tender ministrations. I had to stifle a sob before I could gather the strength to respond to his congratulations. No look of joy, but rather one of mourning was more than obvious in my features, "Why..." I asked him.

He seemed confused; my old grizzled teacher was honestly confused! I went on "Why... did I need to kill my fellow classmates to win?..."

His confusion cleared, as the stallions gaze averted downward. He was obviously lying through his teeth , his feelings of self-frustration; something I had regularly thought was just him being angry, surged as he bit through his words "There can only be one queen."

This was new to me, "What?"

Grey Iron deadpanned muttering under his breath "Ever wonder why the others are about the size of average ponies?..." he looked up and scoffed at my curious look. "Never mind that, I came to give you a present." He handed me a small wooden box, roughly the size of my foreleg. The stallion looked back in the hallway before gesturing for me to open it.

Inside was something I had seen many of, worn by scientists and older, more experienced Changelings . Before I could react, he gave me a brief hug, tugging at my unconsciously extended wings causing them to close awkwardly. The veteran gave me a tight squeeze leaving me gasping for air before he moved away. "Life here is no better than Tatarus." he explained awkwardly, "I don't like this anymore than you do, though they have something of mine that makes me stay, unlike you."

What? He knew? My incredulous face made him smirk. "You may be a Changeling but you're not an expert on stealth. I know all about that screwdriver of yours, as well as those other tidbits in here ."

My eyes widened. If he had seen it, I was concerned about who else might have . He chuckled again, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. In fact I want to help, if only to stop these Celestia-damned idiots from trying their next ‘Stage’ on somepony I’ve personally trained." The words seemed to leave a foul taste in his mouth, as he took the antique looking PipBuck (a 2500 series by the inscription on the bottom) and moved it over my left foreleg. He grinned as the device started to warm up and adjust to its new owners measurements. Before long the bulky device's weight seemed to disappear as it became fully operational. I looked up at him questioningly to find his eyes locked on my obedience collar. "I can't help but warn you of a few things before you try to leave." he waited until I was listening.

With a nod, I gestured for him to go on. "With that screwdriver you... acquired." he said, avoiding the word 'stolen' "You should be able to get that collar off, if you unscrew it and use a bobby pin on the combination." he stated with unease. "However, that combination I do not have . Only the overmare and her technician should know that, so you-"

"Three four three, sir." I intoned to him, making my senior officer blink. I explained "I watched him put them on, remember?"

"Oh..." he then motioned for the PipBuck now attached to my leg. "The rest should be on there. Take good care of it. It was my great grandfathers."

My eyes widened at the words. I gave him my thanks as he began to leave the room. Checking it out, I was amazed by the sheer amount of things it could do; from organization, to tapping the local stable’s radio, which consisted of various marching themes that were usually only present on the training grounds. As dinnertime began to approach, I had found out about the built-in flashlight the device possessed . Though, where others had an 'Eye Forward Sparkle' friend or foe detection, the 2500 series apparently had something called the S.E.C . Further activation ejected a short pair of prongs that ended barely past my hoof and sparked. This appeared to be some sort of close range weapon, but I couldn't be sure until I had actually tested it out on somepony.

Deactivating it, I went through the S.A.T.S. System, a targeting spell matrix that I was familiar with, because of the four months Grey taught my class about the type of technology that might be employed in combat. Finally , came the messages. Several of them required a password to unlock however, leaving me slightly frustrated at Grey. Of the few that were unlocked , was a note with the words "Password for Stable 103 : Wrong Morals."

The only other unlocked message was one labeled 'Plans', written by G.I. (or Grey Iron). My eyes widening at the time constraints, I prepared my stuff, wrapping up my few belongings into a combat backpack, that each room was supplied with in case of a field drill. Not much later until the first step of the plan came into action.

The ever-present whine of the generators stopped, casting everything into gloomy silence and darkness. In this gap of time, I worked swiftly with my screwdriver to undo the first few bolts and uncover the back plate of my obedience collar while the power was off. A standard mirror and the PipBuck's light aided immeasurably as I took the firm cover plate off and with the bobby pin. I readied myself to press the first digit. Three.

There was sounds outside, several ponies and Changelings questioning what was going on. I ignored them, navigating the bobby pin to the second digit, right next to the three. Four.

My collar was so close to unlocking. One more press of the three and the collar popped off as though imitating a spring. Barely catching it with magic , I placed it and its parts down on my old bed before the emergency generators came online. The gap between bursts effectively allowed me the time I needed to take the collar off without anyone noticing. A dark red light became present throughout the stronghold. No doubt, as the backup power activated low powered lights , they cast a very dim, gloomy look upon everything. I began to levitate my best friend, the screw driver, up to the only other exit of this cramped room, the ventilation system. Luckily it was secured with screws of the same shape as the bolt head screwdriver. As I took out the last screw , I pushed the thing up and off to the side of the interior vent. Then there came a noise from behind me.

Setting the screwdriver near the vent's grid, I readied my PipBuck’s S.E.C., causing the prong to extend again and jolt idly with small, nearly inaudible bursts of electricity. The door opened, in what seemed years later, as a security pony opened the door. Immediately, I lunged forward hitting him in the exposed face of his raised security visor with the electrical instrument.

The effect was instant. The pony fell over, spasming as though he had just been struck with lightning, his body freezing up as the current flew through him , rendering him unable to move as paralysis took over his body. With a look outside into the hallway, I noticed that no one else was wandering the hall and dragged him in, clicking the only button to the door and locking both of us in the same room. Now, I had an idea of how to stall them from noticing my absence. It was no secret that my kind could disguise themselves as others, and I DID have an obedience collar lying around that was registered to me. Stripping the guard of his security barding and helmet, I applied the collar to him, typing the same activation numbers from before, using my so-far extremely useful screwdriver to apply the previously removed plate. Afterwards, I put him in my civilian barding, exchanging that for his 9mm pistol, a few clips of ammo, a potion and security barding . After having equipped myself with my newfound gear, I left through the ventilation systems of the huge underground facility. Grateful now, that I had a proper weapon as well as my PipBuck 2500's electric stunning device .

It was easy enough to get into the vent thanks to having wings , but to say it was cramped would be an understatement. It was amazing how tight it was in this vent. As I closed the ventilation grate behind me and loosely secured the screws with magic, I squirmed. It was far too uncomfortable in here. I guess it was only meant for larger amounts of air to pass through . I found myself crawling with both of my skinny sides rubbing against the walls of metal, as I passed over grate after grate. I must have checked my PipBuck thirty-some odd times, but it has only been five minutes, making the crawl so much more aggravating. As I slithered through the ventilation, I couldn't help but examine each room I passed by. Most were similar to my own, minus the guard of course. I couldn't help but wonder how many of my own kind were here in this twisted nightmare.

Half of an hour passed before I finally cleared the ventilation to the main hallway. If my PipBuck was right, I was running out of time to crawl the rest of the way . Instead, I opened the ventilation grate of the main hallway and looked out. As I expected almost nopony was wandering this hallway. A majority of them must be busy with calming down the smaller Changeling children, or making sure no one else took this opportunity to make a run for it like I was. Concentrating, I took the form of the knocked out guard as I moved on, focusing to maintain the form and passed in to the atrium.

The room was absolutely full of scurrying scientists and guards. I quickly joined their masses, being equally frantic, taking another route into the hallway. Beyond that my PipBuck’s map had an area labeled as an exit. As the door shut behind me no one paid any attention to it. Instead, concentrating on the hallway I had just arrived from.

The stable door was massive; unlike anything I had ever seen before. The giant gear shaped contraption was positively astounding to look at. My PipBuck pointed out the counsel I needed to activate. A quick trot to the machine later, I uploaded the password required to open it. I was proud of myself; I had thought of and also done everything according to plan .

The door gave a massive grinding sound as it started to slide outward, causing my ears to ring through my ears from the volume of it.

Okay… Apparently I only thought of ALMOST everything . The door rolled aside deafeningly, as the bustling noise behind me became louder. I dove behind a ridiculous looking counter on my far left, getting out of view as the door I had so recently shut behind me burst open, revealing a large group of security guards. As if they were choreographed, all took aim at the console, then the exit.

“Alright, so I thought of only a little bit Luna”. I breathed the prayer, knowing that she held no respect for the Changeling race. Still I prayed anyway “Please, if you're there. Please help me escape..."

I was never one for prayer, but I also didn't like the odds of running from that many ponies armed with pistols, down a probably straight corridor. (if the map was still accurate anyway) Though, it seems the guards weren't the only thing that had heard the ground-shaking noise of the door opening. That was when I had my first taste of the wasteland. T he other side of the door had been a nest, oddly enough . The door opening had drawn the creature’s interest. With a hoof-full of tasty looking guard ponies around, countless sets of eyes opened to stare at them. All of the guards’ jaws dropped. Several of them not even moving as dozens of mutated parasprites the size of their chests ascended and began to advance. As they flew in, the guards began opening fire, retreating back through the door as dozens of the mutated bugs began shooting spikes from their abdomen. Having been knocked by its brethren as they swarmed through the open doors, one of the clumsier ones accidentally fired a shot far off course, jamming itself into the computer monitor, inches from my head. Their projectiles appeared to be live larva, tipped with spikes.

It was still squirming. Backing away from it I waited as the gunfire continued , drawing the remaining of the hideously mutated insects through the door to the atrium. I shut it behind them while dropping my disguise, clicking the button to close the stable door. As I turned to leave, I hesitated for a moment. I then turned and stated shooting the door with the guard’s pistol so that it wouldn't be able to be reopened without repairs before running through the shutting metal door.

I wanted to be nowhere near my own stable, which meant I kept running after I cleared it. The ground had been dirty, the was only thing I had been looking at with my reckless sprint, not stopping until I was breathing heavily in the ruins of a building tarnished by the after-effects of the war. The upper floors clearly succumbed to rot and the first floor’s walls having crumbled from either the megaspells and age. As I regained my breath I looked higher. Nopony was within sight and the place I stepped into, upon leaving the Stable, was helpfully labeled by my PipBuck as "Old Vanhoover City". I was at the westernmost edge of the wastelands. I had all of the directions but west to go, unless I wanted to go swimming in a probably still irradiated sea.

I was in the wastelands; the end of all ponies, the place where death was rumored to be around every corner. The events of the past hours caught up to me as I realized what I had done. Countless guard ponies and perhaps scientists were probably going to die, being trapped in there with so many of those flying... things. I vomited. A reaction that came from a mixture of horror due what I had released into my Stable and the disgusting smell that seemed to lurk even here. I was honestly horrified; I had only intended to escape, not cause an invasion of horrifying monsters in the process. Part of me wondered if Grey Iron knew about them, but the reasonable side of me pushed it aside pointing out that he couldn't have known without opening the door himself. Looking at the ground around me, I noticed something. A miniature statue of somepony. The paint had already peeled off leaving the statue barren with a fancy hair-do of similar whiteness. The pedestal it was attached to read "Generozity", in poorly carved letters and improperly spelled . Whoever had discarded it probably realized that it had been fake or worthless. So I let it be. Besides, I was anxious began to search the surrounding area for supplies.

Footnote: Level up: New Perk: Changeling magic II: Your experiences with your magic over a stressing time has improved so that you can maintain disguises easier and longer than previously. You could probably go for an hour without growing tired, and be more convincing to their friends. Don't hope to fool closer members though without some research beforehand. As a result of your training, you gain five points to speech and barter checks while disguised.

Thanks Spitzthegod for editting this chapter as well!