Codex found her deep in the hive, several hours after Harlequin began. “I heard you were back. You didn’t even say hello?”
Harlequin stopped, turning away from the construction bugs constantly rebuilding the support to the central tower. They had to, or the weight above would tear the building right off the rock.
She noticed something else right then—there were dozens of drones all around her, a crowd of every one she’d fed and more that were hoping for food. It was a little like being back in the hive, the real one. Except she couldn’t feel all their minds around her. Just the names she’d given them, and their eyes watching her like a queen.
Finally she found Codex in the crowd. He was taller than all of these, though no longer larger than she was. Actually, they were probably the exact same height now, or close to it. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was going to check on you, but I didn’t think you needed me back as quickly. These bugs, though…”
“You brought food for them,” he said flatly. “Has Hydrus been forcing you to…” He looked sick, turning away. “Have you been working for two days straight?”
Why was he suddenly so disgusted? At first he’d been just curious, but now she was having a hard time reconciling those emotions. She probably wouldn’t have been able to without her last feeding. But now all these layered feelings made sense to her. This was why ponies had seemed so alien—they weren’t just guided by their instincts to feel whatever made the most sense. There was a little storm inside each of them, including the ones that got changed into bugs.
She understood. “Not that kind of work,” she said, looking up the steep stone tower to the top. “I’m hoping never to work there again. But… there’s something else, I’m glad you’re here.” She reached forward, yanking him into the center of the group of drones. They all watched with unblinking eyes, curious.
Hydrus hadn’t even been right about them all being broken. Some were, but plenty of others just looked like they hadn’t had enough food. Harlequin had a sick feeling that she might know why. He’s probably replacing them as they die off. But why doesn’t he feed the new ones properly?
Of course, plenty were broken—limping, missing wings or eyes or legs. But that didn’t make them watch her any less attentively.
“Everyone, this is Codex. He taught me things.”
“Codex,” many repeated. Some were too weak to speak, or couldn’t manage to say they name correctly. But they all tried, and that was enough.
“What are you doing, Harlequin?” he snapped. “I don’t believe for two seconds that Hydrus sent you down here. He doesn’t care about these changelings.”
“He should,” she whispered, quiet enough that only he could hear. “They’re my brothers and sisters. They were part of the invasion. They did their part, they risked their lives. They fought. Shouldn’t they eat? Shouldn’t they get names?”
Codex pulled her in close, lowering his voice. “Harlequin, I don’t know what got into you… but there’s nothing you can do. You’re not the one in charge here. You don’t control where the food goes. I’ve been here longer than you now, and I’ve been up here most of the time. I saw the way this works. Hydrus is in charge of everything. He has all the food, and all the money.”
She shook her head. “You were teaching his harvesters, weren’t you?”
He nodded. “I thought you were dense. But they’ll learn. They’re very good at imitation, and for their job, that’s probably good enough. Nopony who comes to a place like this really cares what the entertainment has to say.”
“Could you teach them too?” she gestured out at the drones around them. “When they’re not working.”
“They’re not working now,” Codex pointed out. “How long until somepony notices? You can’t just… you can’t just gut this thing from underneath and expect to get away with it. There are consequences.”
He was probably right about that. They weren’t in a separate chamber, and on levels just above theirs bugs were watching. Bugs who would talk to Hydrus, eventually.
“Everyone,” Harlequin said, a little louder. “Go back to the jobs you were given before. But I’m going to come back here tomorrow. Meet me, uh… right here. When I come back.”
It wasn’t so easy. Plenty of the bugs didn’t seem to know how they’d got there, and she had to lead them back to their jobs. But once she did, they went back to the routine—looking far more alive than they had when she found them.
Finally they left the lower levels behind. Without a word exchanged between them, Harlequin knew where Codex wanted to go. They found their cell, tucked away among so many others, and climbed inside, sealing it behind them. It wasn’t that she needed sleep—she’d done that the night before, while she watched over Silver.
But once they were sealed inside, Harlequin no longer worried about being overheard. “What did you do out there? You’re… different, Harlequin. Going straight down to those bugs like you’re their mom. And… are you taller?”
She nodded absently. “A little, I think. That… happened last time too. Only this time it was from saving somepony, instead of just feeding on them like you.”
“Oh.” His ears flattened, his wings folding to his back. He pulled away from her, and she could taste his anger. “All this time, and you didn’t learn.”
“Don’t start!” she cut him off. “The pony was bleeding to death. Someone tried to kill him, and I stopped it from happening. You want to fly back with me and tell him he should be dead instead? Maybe you want to get a knife and kill him yourself!”
Codex’s eyes widened, and he spread his wings again in the tiny space, looking away from her. “Alright, alright! You’re… really defensive about this. This pony must mean a lot to you. Or… not pony anymore. This changeling.”
“Not really,” she answered honestly. “I did learn his name, and a little bit about him. But… does it matter? He would’ve died without my help, Codex. I was there and had the magic to save him. I used it, and now he’s still alive.”
“I guess it doesn’t.” Codex looked away from her, obviously concerned. Again she felt a complex mixture of emotions that wouldn’t have made sense only a short while ago. “That sounds an awful lot like… like you have morality. I didn’t think bugs had those. You just did what the Swarm told you. You obeyed, and you weren’t allowed to question. Is that not the way it is?”
“Not for me,” she answered. “Basically never was. I didn’t want ponies to die during the invasion, even you. And I think there are others like me. I can’t ask around without the Swarm.” But if there had still been a Swarm, everything Hydrus had done would be impossible. The collective will of every trapped bug would’ve found another way, probably to escape. Fighting in the open as the Queen had forced was uncomfortable and unnatural. Bugs belonged in the dark, where they could be safe.
Harlequin should probably have just kept her mouth shut, but she couldn’t help trusting Codex. In a way, he was the first member of her swarm. First of two. Or maybe a hundred, thanks to the drones. And S. Can’t forget her.
So she told him everything—what she’d been sent to do, and what she’d accomplished. His expression got more fearful the more she told him. Until eventually he had pushed into a sitting position against the stone wall on the far side, horrified. “Harlequin… do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
She watched his feelings, trying to guess. But whatever he was afraid of, it was still too complex for her to read. She shook her head.
“You played both sides. We were supposed to be working with the Charmings, but you gave even more help to Irongate. You brought him back to life—we can only hope that Blueblood wasn’t actually the one who wanted Silver Smith dead. Because you can bucking bet he’ll guess you had something to do with it.”
“I don’t think so,” Harlequin argued. “Not even you knew that bugs were able to make ponies into more bugs. You wouldn’t be in prison in the first place if anypony believed you. He’ll accept the story I gave about their assassin failing. And Silver is going to do everything he can to keep me out of the story. He has as much to lose as us.”
“Well yes, but… he’s also a second point of failure. Him being out there means that no matter how perfect we do things here, we could still have the guards crashing down on us tomorrow. If he’s revealed, he could compromise the whole thing.”
“I didn’t tell him where we were. I didn’t tell him what we did, or… Codex, ponies are coming here from all over the city. It isn’t going to be some noble stallion a city over who turns us in, it’ll be one of our clients. And even if he was a risk, he’s also a big important pony. He’s got lots of bits, he’s got somewhere safe far away. His farm is so huge, I bet hundreds of bugs could live there and never be seen. Isn’t making a new friend worth the risk?”
That shut him up. He looked her up and down, then closed his eyes. “That’s weird from you. You’ve grown… so much, since you left. I wonder if that’s how changeling queens come to be. Just steal enough magic from ponies until you’re more powerful than they are.”
“I don’t know Swarmlore, but maybe. My magic feels stronger. I think… I could probably learn real spells if I really tried. Instead of just moving things around. Guess you probably couldn’t… oh, but I want to learn something else!”
Her horn lit up, and she started drawing in the slime with her hoof. Recreating some of the letters she’d seen. “Could you teach me how to read? I wish I’d asked the Swarm how to do that before it died forever, but I never needed it, and now… now I can’t. Forever probably, if it doesn’t come back.”
“A changeling soldier, turned spy, turned charity worker. Why would you want to know how to read?”
She rolled to one side, embarrassed. “When I was out there, I saw so many secrets. Books, signs, scrolls, tickets. They all had secrets I couldn’t get to, because they were hidden with words. I want to learn to see them. Maybe to make some secrets of my own, one day.”
“I’ve never heard it put that way,” he said. “And I don’t know if I’ll ever teach those harvesters. They’re so set on learning things that can help with their work that nothing else sticks. But maybe you could. I’m not sure why I should.”
“Because if you do, I’ll share love with you, and you won’t have to harvest it yourself.” She shuddered at the thought, thinking back to those tiny rooms, and the stallion who’d looked at her like a thing and not a person. “I didn’t like it. You’ll like it even less.”
His face went green. “That sounds like… I can’t wait to teach you how to read.”
“And the drones too! Not how to read, but… help me teach them. I taught a bug for the first time yesterday, and I don’t think learning how to copy is the most important thing for those drones. Maybe talking would be a more important place to start.”
“Tall order,” he said. “But considering I could be starving to death in a cave, or cast into… sexual indentured servitude—I’ll take it.”
Harlequin... you really don't know what the consequences of your actions are going to be, do you?
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Doesn't matter. She is growing into a Queen and there is no way Hydrus won't notice it. So even if Harley keeps playing along the fight for leadership will eventually erupt.
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More than that. It's not just Hydrus that's going to notice things chang(eling)ing. I'm sure this is going to upset more than a few (metaphorical) applecarts, starting with a certain well-loved unicorn prince... (said with enough sarcasm to drown Chrysalis)
9759093
is your namesake who I think it is?
Also, yeah Harlequin is gonna take this shit DOWN
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A certain wizard who seems the illegitimate son of Gandalf and Dr House.
I dunno...faex urbis, lex orbis. Dregs of the city, turn of the world.
...God dammit now I’ve got Les Miserables stuck in my head. That quote opens the novel, you see.
Whooo! You go, bug! Codex is a good pony, basically, but he really does need a bit of a tongue-lashing and to be broken of his White Stallion’s Burden attitude. And to treat you a bit better.
No, but it’s God-damned adorable so you best be teaching her, Codex.
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God Raistlin was a fuckin tool. but he was also my favorite character. Every story they found new ways to make him a total piece of shit until he was asked the ultimate question: "yeah, you'll get what you want. But will it make you happy?"
2 questions: how on earth do you have so much time to write
Why do you write like all my favourite stories man
The little bug who could... up until the higher-ups notice what she's up to, anyway. Still, by the time they do, it might well be too late. I suppose we'll see how long Harlequin can caper about before people think to worry about the jester.
With Hydrus ending up in the trap of greed and having very little value for the drones he is holding, could Harlequin not just buy them all out from under him with the help of his new noble-turned-changeling buddy?
To me it seems like something which might work very well to someone who has gone petty tyrant and been engulfed by greed.
Answered your own question right there, Codex. Hydrus doesn't care...But she does.
C'monnnnn, Codex, this isn't rocket science! You're still thinking of yourself before everyone else, and not considering these changelings as equals. Basically, you're being no better than Hydrus in that regard, refusing to see them as anything more than less than you.
And if Hydrus is really the one stopping that from changing because he's the one in charge...then, obviously, we know exactly who should stop being in charge, don't we?
I'll give you that one, Codex, but that's precisely why Harlequin needs your support on this--you can help her see and plan for the things she's overlooking because she doesn't know better. She may have grown lots while she was...aboard...but that doesn't mean there isn't still plenty more she needs to learn. Teach her while you're teaching the others too. Properly. And for heaven's sake, approach it from their point of view for a change, instead of your own selfish viewpoint.
Look...way back at the beginning of all of this, Codex indicated he wanted to use his studies in such a way that it helped others learn from it. When he became a changeling, he lamented loosing that chance, but he hasn't lost it all. He still has that chance, it's just not in the manner he expected. Instead of ponies, he can teach the changelings. He's in an excellent position to make a difference that'll help improve things for everybody, both pony and changeling, and Harlequin's giving him an excellent method to do so. Don't pass it up, because it might not come again. Hydrus inevitably will catch on, but for the moment, he hasn't, and now is the chance to get the ball rolling far enough so that, hopefully, by the time Hydrus does catch on...it'll be too late for him to truly stop it. Not without going back and starting from scratch with his plans.
You truly are dense, Codex! Even I could've told you that she had morality, even just from going off your point of view on things, and if she has it, so could others. But nooooo, you had to be all caught up in the whole "woe is me, I'm a bug, nobody will respect me" routine, and... *continues ranting on off into the sunset*
*suddenly comes running back from the sunset*
Ooh! Hadn't thought of that! And anyway, if I said it once, I've said it a hundred times--you don't want Blueblood's help, or even involvement, with the changelings' affairs anyway. He's more trouble than he's worth, and will, at best, only do precisely what Hydrus is doing, and use you as a means to an end for his own personal gain, not yours.
Actually, Harlequin's honestly got this more thought out than even I was expecting. Kudos to her! So shut up and just listen already, Codex.
Heh. If there was ever a good motive to follow her lead, there it is. Pretty sure Codex wants to keep himself as far away from the brothel as he can, and as he's so very big on looking out for himself and all...
See? Knew you'd see it her way, Codex.
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Rastlin's right. It doesn't matter at this point whether Harlequin's plans are smart or not, a confrontation is inevitable at this point. So I say we just dive right in with this scheme and try and get it as far along as we can before Hydrus can try to intervene. The further along it gets, the more unlikely it'll be that Hydrus can successfully undo it and restore the established norm he desires.
Besides...we all know it's the right thing to do, successful or not.
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Love how you put it there.
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Mm, except Hydrus needs the hive, or less his "power" to pander to that greed is severely reduced. He wouldn't be getting far without his ability to "outsource" them out to paying parties, whatever the plans of those parties might be.
Besides, it's not just greed he's succumbed to, its also the power of command. He likes being the one in charge, the one in control, for a change.
If nothing else, literacy will allow Harley to further learn pony culture. Understand friendship.
Does that mean he's creating them, or moving existing ones around? The former would really change our understanding of Changeling biology. The latter means that the whole scheme is unsustainable due to attrition.
Don't think I've ever seen her this angry before. Guess saving Irongate literally provided character development to our growing Harley.
Really perceptive, Harley. Hopefully, Hydrus isn't as such. This whole thing is becoming more unstable by the second and She'll probably have to make some power plays against him soon if she wants to save any changelings.
Harlequin wants to read? Well, that's novel....
... I'll show myself out.
Harlequin seems to have a habit of strolling along the fence, but she's bound to fall soon....
Hydrus isn't going to like that development.
On the other hand, maybe he isn't paying enough attention to either notice or care.
It's probably a question of how long she can work on it before being noticed. Long enough, and she'll have a larger power base than Hydrus has.
Damn. You tell him, Harlequin.
DO IT FOR S.
Additional points of potential failure are bad, but Irongate is probably a good enough asset that he's worth the risk.
Learning how to read is a really good idea.