//------------------------------// // The Escape // Story: A Changeling's Heart // by TheAnimerican //------------------------------// I was in a panic. I wasn't sure what to do in this situation. My body went cold as I watched Circe curl up in pain from the glow. "Titanium... It hurts..." Circe cried in pain. I didn't know what to do. All I could do was watch and comfort her the best I could. I sat by her side and held her hooves. She hugged my foreleg so tight she practically cut off my blood circulation. "I'm here," I assured her, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for you Circe." I repeated over and over again to comfort her. I have never felt so useless in my life. I closed my eyes and contemplated on what I should do. I feared the worst, but then something happened. Her moaning and breathing began to slow down. I opened my eyes, "Circe? Circe? What is it?" "It... It's going away..." Circe said in a weak tone. I looked toward her chest as the glow began to fade away. I gave a sigh of relief, "Oh thank Celestia." My heart began to race again when she let go of my foreleg. I called out to her, "Circe? Hey, stay with me." "I'm okay now... I just nee-," she lost consciousness before she could finish her sentence. I checked her for a pulse to be sure. Thankfully she was okay, but it was weak. I had to take her away and get help. "Compass Rose! She studied the changelings. Maybe she knows what is wrong with her." I thought to myself. "Hello? Anyone here?" A voice was heard near the entrance of the house. It sounded like they had already entered. I couldn't let them see Circe. I immediately rushed out of the room. As I sprinted down the hall, I ran into two fellow royal guards; one earth pony and one unicorn. "Good evening sergeant," said of the the guards, "Are you already conducting an investigation? We have received reports of breaking and entering at this address." Well, that's what I get for ramming down a door in a quiet city like Canterlot. "Uh no this is my house. I thought I saw a thief inside and I tried to catch him. He was smart to lock the door and hence the reason why I had to break it down." "I see. Has he been apprehended?" "No, unfortunately. He had enough time to escape out the window in my room." "Why don't we search around? He probably left clues and we can make a note of anything that was stolen," the other guard suggested. "Uh no. No thank you. That um... won't be necessary. I saw him run down the street towards the fashion district. Gather a party and question the civilians in the area. Maybe somepony spotted him." "Yes sergeant," the guards saluted before leaving the house. As soon as they were gone, I ran back to the master bedroom. Circe still laid on the bed in cold sweat. How long was she in pain before I got there? Would she have... died? Either way, I had to get her out of here, but her changeling form already made it too difficult. My mind was at war with the thoughts of Circe health and the thoughts of my next move. I can carry her with ease, but a guard carrying a changeling wouldn't go unnoticed. I can try to hide her in a wagon, but would I be able to rent a wagon at this time? Most shops are closed and the guards at the gate always check the cargo. What was I going to do? "Sergeant, can you co-." My heart sank when I heard a familiar voice return. I turned around to see him and his partner in stunned silence. "Sir, is that a changeling?" I had to think fast, "Yes. It was disguised, but it gave its position away and I subdued it." "Excellent work sir. We can take it in for questioning." Over my dead body they were. As much as it upset me, I let them get close and took hold of Circe. One took hold of her front hooves and the other her hind legs. I was close to the unicorn guard that got her back legs. While he was distracted, I took off my helmet and hit him as hard as I could. Luckily, I knocked him out cold on the first swing. "Sergeant! What are you doing!?!" The earth guard shouted. I ignored him and threw my helmet at him. He had quick reflexes and knocked away the helmet. He dropped Circe in the process, but luckily she landed back on the bed. I ran around the bed and fought him as best I could. However, being an earth pony guard, he was better trained in hoof-to-hoof combat than I was. What the earth guard lacked in flight or magic, they made up for it with their elite training. I am embarrassed to admit that even without a rank he was kicking my flank. Whenever I struck, he would either block or counter it. I took out the unicorn first because I didn't have a chance against his magic, but now this guard made me question those actions. No, either way I was in trouble. At some point during the fight, I began to run out of breath. My strikes became weaker and he became faster. Finally, he gave one good buck to my chest. Luckily my armor provided enough protection to prevent serious injuries, but it hurt like tartarus and got knocked the wind out of me. I landed on my back; squirmed on the floor as I gasped for air. I was unable to move as the guard closed in to apprehend me. "Sir, you are under arrest for attacking a fellow guard and under suspicion of-," he was cut short as he crashed to the floor near me. With what energy I had left, I seized the opportunity and wrapped my legs around his neck to perform a sleeper hold. I ignored the pain of his helmet digging into my forelegs. He struggled and fought back as best he could, but I refused to let go and tightened my grip even more. He violently rolled around and swung in every direction in hope of landing a hit. In less than a minute, I felt his strength get weaker and with little to no resistance. Once he stopped moving, I let him go. He wouldn't be unconscious for long, so I got up as fast as I could. Standing up, I saw Circe on the floor with my helmet in hoof. I assumed she saved me by attacking the guard. "Circe," I knelt down to her, "We need to go." "I'm trying... but... I feel... so weak..." she replied with heavy breaths. There was no way she could get out of the city in her condition. Although I tried to find the stealthiest way out, at this point I had no choice. The family next door had a wagon I could use to carry Circe. Before I left, I decided to tie up our guests. After they were tied up and muzzled, I got out of my armor and put on the standard issue winter cloak. It was dark out and the cloak was a dark grey color, so I hoped that nopony would notice. I went to Circe, "I will be right back. I promise." She didn't reply. Before leaving, I couldn't help but kiss her on the head and cover her with the bedroom blanket. Once I reached the broken down front door, I peeked my head out and observed the surrounding area. There were not many ponies walking around as before. I walked out nonchalantly to my next door neighbors. I knocked on the door, but nopony answered. I heard laughing, so I was sure somepony was home. I knocked again, but harder in hope of an answer. My hopes were answered, "Hello! How can I-," he paused and saw my bruised face, "Oh my goodness. Are you okay? Do you need help?" This would seem weird and out of the ordinary, I felt I needed to play dumb in this case, "Huh? What do you mean?" "Well, I don't mean to be rude, but you don't look well," he said in an uncomfortable tone of voice. "Oh this? Well this is embarrassing, but I'm a pretty clumsy stallion. You see, my wife was helping me with our front door. We wanted to get it replaced. I had her unscrew the hinges while I held it up. The door was heavier than I thought and well..." I made a circle around my face with my hoof. "Oh! Was that all the noise was earlier?" "Yeah, sorry about that. Anyways, I lost my balance, hit myself in the face, and now we made a mess. I was wondering if I can borrow your wagon to pick up the mess?" "Oh sure! Not at all. Would you like some help?" "No! Uh no, there is not a whole lot. We should have this back for you tomorrow afternoon," I lied. "No problem. You should really see a doctor when you have enough time." That's the plan. "Thanks. I owe you one," I said as I waved goodbye. He returned the wave and shut the door. I didn't like the idea of lying to such a nice pony, but you would do a lot of things for that special somepony. I went around the side of the house to grab the wagon. The wagon was old, two-wheeled, and a bit small, but I was sure Circe was able to fit. I put my body through the harness and pulled to the front of our house. I went back inside, happy to see Circe was still there. "Circe," I called, "I'm back." I wasn't sure if she heard what I was saying, but it brought me comfort just to talk. I was still sore from the fight, so I couldn't get Circe on my back entirely. "Circe, can you stand? I need your help." Still no answer. With no other options, I crawled my way under her belly until she laid across my back. She was heavier than I thought, which made it even harder to get up. Every attempt to get back on my hooves was painful. After a few tries, I decided to catch my breath and think of an alternative option. "Ti-...Titanium?" A soft whisper called my name. "Circe?" I was relieved to finally hear her voice. "How are you doing?" "I'm... So tired..." "I don't know what is happening," I said, "But maybe your mom has an idea." "My mom...?" "Yeah. She will know what to do. She has to," Not only was I trying to convince her, but also myself. "Circe, I need you to help me a little to get back up." I felt her struggling to get back up. As the weight was taken off my back, I got back on my hooves. It was slightly harder to breath because of the pain in my chest, but I endured. Once I got to the entrance, the moon was completely raised and the streets were illuminated by lamp posts. Thankfully, the streets were empty for the moment. As I carried Circe to the cart, I leaned to the side so she would slide off my back. Sadly, only the upper half of her body made it in the cart. "Come on Circe," I started to lift her up, "Just a little more." She was still very weak, but able to lift herself into the cart. Before anypony could see her, I quickly covered her with the blanket. As soon as I touched her, I was shocked at touch of her cold body. I hoped that the blanket was enough to keep her warm during the journey. That is, if I was able to get out of the city at all. *** From where we lived, it took about an hour to get to the main gates. As I suspected, there was a caravan preparing to leave the city. From what I saw, there were only a couple of guards posted. One inspected the cargo, while the other talked to the pony about shipping details. I had to get out as quickly as possible. The only chance I had of escaping would be to try and blend in. I put on my hood before I walked to the center of the line. The guard already inspected that group of wagons and I figured our wagon was too small to be noticed. "Okay! They all check out!" The guard at the end of the line called. "Thank you all for your patience! Stay safe and come back soon! Open the gates!" The guard in the front shouted. I became more relaxed as the doors began to open. One by one, the wagons began to leave the city. It was taking a little while longer, but it was about to be our turn to move. "We are almost out Circe," I whispered to her. Finally, the wagon in front of me began to move forward. I took a deep sigh of relief as I followed him. A small grin grew under my hood as I was about to exit the city. Until... "Hold it! Stop the caravan!" The guard at the post shouted. My body was frozen cold as I was afraid to look up. I heard him step away from his post as he drew closer and closer. Looking down, I was able to see his armored hooves. "Arrowhead, why isn't this wagon flagged? I thought you said all the wagons were inspected." We were so close... I completely forgotten that wagons get a flag to show approval. With my head still down, I heard another set of hooves approach us from behind. The new set of hooves then walked around the entire wagon until he joined his partner next to us. "I'm sorry about that. I guess I missed one.." "It's fine. Don't let it happen again." "Yes sir." "You keep watch here while I inspect this one. Excuse me sir," the guard then concentrated on me. "I'm sorry, but I need you to step out of the line to not cause a hold up. Everypony else move along!" The entire time, my heart was beating faster than me running on all four hooves. I tried to be calm about the situation as I never looked up. I followed his directions by moving to the side. I tugged on my hood to cover my face as much as possible. I didn't wait long until he came up to me, "Thank you for your cooperation." "Not at all." "Now then, I'll need to inspect the entire wagon and it's contents." "I'm sorry, but is that really necessary? I'm afraid the caravan is going to leave without me." "Sir, I understand that you are on a tight schedule. However, I need to inspect every wagon before approving. If I let you go, I have to let everypony else go. As for your party, there are plenty of wagons still leaving the city. Don't worry, this won't take long." "Ri-Right," I was glad that I wasn't wearing my armor. If I was, I'm sure we would have been heard the rattling armor plates. I was still attached to the wagon, so I couldn't see what he was looking at. I was hoping he wouldn't be too thorough. "Sir what is this?" Well, so much for hope. "What uh... What is what?" "I'm going to have to check under the blanket." "No wait-!" Before I could protest, I heard the fabric flailing in the air. I couldn't believe what was happening, a guard has discovered a changeling. "I failed her..." I thought to myself, with my eyes closed and waiting to hear what happened next. I waited for what seemed like an hour and nothing happened; no shouting, no alarms, and no attacks. I opened my eyes, tried to control my breathing, and licked my dry lips. I stood there while I listened to the blanket being gently placed back into the wagon. Slowly, from the corner of my eyes, the guard walked back in my line of sight. He looked behind me one more time before he leaned next to my ear, "Are you one of us?"