Pupa had just finished packing. It had been an incredibly difficult decision. She had chosen to leave the only home she had ever known. Where she had learned to fly. Where she did her first transformation. Where she and Buzzy would play hide and seek in the castle. She could recall so many fond memories of this place, but the overwhelming rush of her father's change had driven her to running.
Far, far away, she knew there was a land. Full of peace, prosperity, and where everyone was welcome. This land was called Equestria, and her mother mentioned it in her stories. Over the mountains, past the everfree forest, it lay. It frightened her when she was little, but now, that fear had evaporated, replaced with steely determination. She pulled a dark cloak over her head, and bent back over her belongings, double checking she hadn't missed anything.
She was so absorbed in planning her escape that she didn't notice the small changeling entering her room. She didn't notice her stopping, and only when she gasped did Pupa turn around. Buzzy, staring in disbelief, had caught her. Buzzy opened her mouth to scream, when Pupa clamped a hand over it. "Don't scream," she hissed. "It's me, Pupa." She took her hand off her cousin's mouth, and Buzzy stepped back. Her eyes were wide in fear, and disbelief. She never imagined her cousin a quitter. It was completely against her nature, and even more so to run away. Yet here she was, bag in hand and ready to escape.
"W-what are you doing, Pupa," she asked timidly. Pupa sighed, touching her hand to her cousin's cheek. "I'm leaving," she whispered. "Venom loves somepony else, and I really want them to be happy. I can't just marry somepony I don't love, especially if they don't love me back-"
"How long have you been planning this," Buzzy asked, interrupting her. Pupa sighed. "Three days," she confessed. "I decided to leave the day Feelers escaped the dungeon." Three days, thought Buzzy alarmingly. She's been plotting to run away for three days?! What happened to her?!
"I changed, Buzzy," said Pupa, reading her expression. She smiled sadly, and shouldered her bag. She walked towards the window, then turned back to face her cousin. "Goodbye," she whispered, giving her cousin a farewell salute with two fingers. Then, opening the window and stepping onto the sill, she let herself fall into the dark below.
   
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Pupa had the feeling of being weightless, and she embraced the feeling. The wind blowing through her hair, the force stinging her face. She unfolded her seaglass colored wings, and felt herself surging upwards. She opened her eyes to see the beautiful city of Shiftria, glowing with light in the beautiful night. She alighted on a rooftop to get a better look at her surroundings. Then, she assessed her situation. She had just run away from the palace by falling out of a 5-story high bedroom. She had been spotted by her cousin who was famous for being unable to keep secrets, and she was currently on the roof of a house in the Changeling village of Shiftria.
So far, things were looking pretty good.
She pulled her hoodie farther over her face, hoping nobody had seen her swooping around. She dropped from the roof, putting her wings above her to form a parachute. She hit the ground, and shifting the weight of her backpack around, continued on the dark roads. She illuminated her horn with a light spell, turning the pavement in front of her an ethereal green color. She looked to her left, then to her right. She dimmed the light a little, decided it was too dim and turned it back up, then started creeping along the street.
She was being secretive because of the guards. They would be wondering why somebody was out during curfew hours, and even more so if it was the princess. So, it was the utmost importance that she wasn't seen by anybody, whether they were guards or not. Thankfully, every changeling was sure to be asleep at this time of night, so the chances of her being seen were slim. On the other hand, Buzzy had already spotted her and she hadn't even gotten out of the palace. So her chances of being spotted were also high. She continued on, ducking into alleys or hiding behind crates and barrels full of farming supplies whenever she saw a strange shadow. This routine continued on for around 3 hours. Run, see a shadow, hide, repeat.
After another half hour had passed, she began feeling the fatigue of running for awhile. Before, her adrenaline had been pumping, but now since the thrill had worn off, she was tired and hungry. She had just sat down in the shadow of a looming pile of crates, when she heard the clomping of hoofsteps. She sat up, startled. Surely the guards hadn't seen her. After all, she hadn't seen any; but that didn't mean they didn't see her. She cursed her bad luck, and got into a crouching position. A hooded figure, with a cloak longer than Pupa's, came walking past her hiding spot. As soon as the figure was in view, Pupa lunged. She connected her head with that of the hooded stranger, and both changelings fell to the ground, the stranger yelling curses. Pupa snarled, horn glowing with malice, and was about to deliver a strike to make him see stars, when the figure screamed, "It's me, Buzzy! For Celestia's sake, don't kill me!"
Pupa reeled back. In the struggle, the stranger's hood had come off, revealing a familiar face. "Buzzy," she hissed, "What the hell are you doing out here?!" Buzzy stood up, shaking the dirt from her mane. "I'm coming with you, what's it look like I'm doing," she snipped, rubbing her forehead just below her horn. "Jesus, woman, you have one hard head." Pupa was shocked, but even more worried. Her disappearance was one thing, but her cousin too?! Feelers might get blamed for kidnapping the two of them, or even executed! Pupa had a sick feeling in her stomach. She wanted Buzzy to stay, but if she did, she'd have to find twice as much food. She just couldn't afford to let her cousin go hungry.
"You need to go back," Pupa said firmly. Buzzy folded her arms across her chest, then plopped down with criss-crossed legs. "No," she said. "I'm not going back. I deserve to get out there as much as you do."
"Buzzy," Pupa said in a warning tone.
"No," Buzzy shouted, standing up suddenly and interrupting Pupa. "We've been prisoners in our own home for the same amount of time, and nothing you say is going to change that! We've been planning to one day leave and travel the world! Don't back out on me now!!" Pupa remembered her promise.
She and Buzzy would spend hours in the royal gardens, looking out towards the distance and imagining their future houses. Neighbors, right next to each other, with ziplines between their bedroom windows. Buzzy wanted a treehouse, Pupa wanted a large mansion. Each dreamed of having these luxuries, and Pupa had promised her they would escape together someday. However, as time went on and they grew older, they also grew into their own responsibilities as royal children. Now, Pupa was torn. She could escape, but she didn't want to leave Buzzy here. She might be interrogated. She was closest to Pupa, and they might hurt her. Also, Pupa never broke a promise.
On the other hand, Pupa needed to be as stealthy as possible, and the fact that she was royalty was enough to blow her cover. With a second royal running free in Equestria, she was certain to become discovered and then hauled back to the altar, with her father waiting for her. Pupa put her face in her hands and moaned. Why did my cousin have to be so damn stubborn, she complained mentally. She turned to face Buzzy, who was standing upright, waiting for an answer. "You know if we escape tonight, we're never coming back, right," Pupa said. "You'll have to pull your own weight, even if something happens to you." Buzzy nodded her agreement. Pupa nodded back. "Okay," she said. She continued forward, Buzzy trailing in her wake.

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    It had been an hour since Buzzy met up with Pupa. It turned out, the second Pupa went window-diving, Buzzy ran to her room and started packing. She had packed as much canned meat as possible, dried fruits and trail mix as her bag could carry, then threw in some shoes and a hoodie. Then, she had tossed the shoes and grabbed a gallon of water. No wonder her back was so lumpy, thought Pupa. Buzzy had relayed all this information through hurried whispers.
The two girls kept on walking, their feet becoming more and more sore and their attitudes becoming more and more sour. The night was growing longer, and finally, Buzzy shouted in anger and punched the wall of a store. Crumbled bits of brick fell down, some catching in Buzzy's hair like dry snowflakes. "This is taking forever," she shouted angrily. "We've walked, and walked, and walked forever!! When will we get to the mines?!"
"Shut up," Pupa hissed, slapping her hand over her cousin's mouth. "You'll get us caught, you idiot!!" Buzzy pulled her cousin's hand off her face, and was about to shout something in return, when she froze, eyes widened. Pupa turned her head and saw it too. "Hide," they said in unison. Pupa dove into a nearby crate, Buzzy flew under a tarp. Two guards, decked in emerald green armor, passed them by. Pupa listened to their disappearing footsteps, the only thing she heard besides her breathing and her rapidly beating heart.
After she counted to a slow 100, she peeked over the rim of her crate. She clambered 0ut, and stretched her sore neck and arms. She jogged over to Buzzy's tarp and lifted it up. Buzzy wasn't there. Pupa started to panic. She looked under the tarp again to confirm her cousin's absence, then she walked around the area, calling to Buzzy in sharp whispers. "Buzzy," she whispered, "Where are you?! Buzzy!! If you don't come out here in 1o seconds I'm gonna blast your sorry *ss all the way to Canterlot!!" Still, Buzzy was nowhere to be found. Pupa crossed her arms and thought hard. If I were Buzzy, she thought, Where would I be?
Suddenly, one of the tarps began to move. Pupa turned to see a looming, humanoid shape in a sheet. She yelped, and cast a protection spell. "Blocadus," she shouted, and was immediately covered in a lime-green dome. The figure beat against it with its fists, but to no avail. Pupa was really glad that she could do magic. The figure then lowered its fists and said, "Fine, you win." Pupa lowered the shield in shock. "Buzzy," she said, dumbstruck. This was no time for games!! Dawn would come at any second, and when it did, the farmers would be harvesting their crops!! They would be done for!
Buzzy laughed. "I got you so good," she wheezed, tears crystalizing in her eye corners. Pupa punched her arm in response. "Ow!!" Buzzy rubbed her arm. "Celestia, not only do you have a hard head, you have a hard right hook too!"
Pupa snarled in response. "You could have gotten us caught," she hissed. "Now, come on, the mountains are only another mile away." The girls soon left the city behind and started walking through giant fields of wheat. The wheat was soft, and it tickled Pupa's hands as she walked. She did not laugh, however, when they got to the castle borders. The walls extended just past the farms, three meters thick and guards positioned every 10 feet. The security measures had increased ever since Moonlight Dusk and her friends had escaped the kingdom. Their parent's attack had left the citizen's homes in ruins, and resulted in the death of Buzzy's parents.
Pupa kept walking, pushing the bitter memories of her aunt and uncle aside. She had a quest, and she wasn't going to back down. She approached the walls, and hiding in a ditch ten feet away, Pupa told Buzzy the plan. "We'll turn into guards, then approach for a shift. Then, when the others leave, we'll run for the mines." Buzzy listened to the plan, nodding every so often. "Okay, then," Pupa said, standing from her kneeling position, "Let's go." Pupa shut her eyes, and imagined General Mantis. His eyes, his legs, his wings, every single tiny detail was key. Transforming took not only effort, but knowledge of the subject as well.
Pupa opened her eyes, and for a moment, all she saw was green. Then, when it died down, Pupa was looking General Mantis in the eyes. "Hey, you stole my idea!" Buzzy's voice came from General Mantis. Pupa rolled her eyes. "Well, we can't have two General Mantises running around. Besides, I call dibs. Choose somebody else." Buzzy groaned, but shut her eyes anyways. When the green light surrounding her cousin died down, she was Lieutenant Carapace.
Pupa sighed. "Tacky, but it'll have to do. You know what to say?" Buzzy nodded. "Alright, let's get moving." The two royals approached the entrance to the walls, and climbing the rope ladders inside, reached the top of them. They walked across the wall until they were right above the mine entrances. If you descended into the wall, you could walk out into them. The mines were caves, abandoned years ago when an explosion caused most of the tunnels to cave in. Nobody was killed, thank Luna, but there were many injured changelings. One man, named Cricket, lost a leg and an eye. He gave up work altogether and just sat in his old porch chair, watching the farms. He was the oldest changeling, and could tell you anything you wanted to know, from the age of Sombra to the Royal Wedding.
Pupa cleared her mind, steeling herself for her performance. She walked towards the ladder leading down into the walls, and grabbing the thick rope, descended down it. She was greeted with the sight of many Changeling guards. She had just dropped into the dining hall. She was thinking of screaming a very inappropriate word when they saw her. The moment the men noticed her, they all stood and put a hand where their hearts should be.
"Hail, General Mantis," they cried, their voices echoing throughout the walls. "Uhh," Pupa mumbled. Her mind was a complete blank.
"At ease, men," Buzzy barked. "The general has to work on a plan to capture that horrible grub that escaped the palace." The guards nodded and returned to their food. The girls wove through the smelly soldiers, the stench of beer and grime reaching their noses. Pupa held the urge to gag. When they rounded the small pub, she stopped. "Those princesses sure are hot," giggled one of the soldiers, clearly intoxicated.
"Yeah," said another, "But that Pupa's creepy. With those cursed eyes and crazy mind? She's asking to be imprisoned." Don't listen, don't listen, she told herself, trying in vain to block out the comments. Her whole life, people had made fun of her because of her eyes. The servants, the dukes when they thought they were alone, even most of the citizens mocked her. Sometimes, even openly.
Pupa never knew why her eyes were like that. They just were different, and that was that until age 10. When some of the duke's daughters had called her 'freak show', 'demon woman,' and even 'tartarus spawn'. She had been so angry she wanted to hurt them. She wanted to hurt them like they had hurt her. "Boy, you've got your eyes on the wrong woman," a third man suddenly said. "Buzzy's the prettiest girl in the palace. Boy, what a lady! She's really bad-flank! Very attractive quality in a woman." The men ad libbed, "Yeah! Totally! So pretty!" Then, the man who  said, "Her cousin can go to Equestria with the rest of the Tartarus spawn."
Then, Pupa exploded.