Chapter 38: Shattered
Harlequin followed Hydrus’s instructions about her disguise, though she didn’t really need them. There was no way she would travel across Canterlot without making herself look like a pony first.
She found the carriage parked beside the complex, and this time there was no missing the huge mark plastered along its side. It wasn’t the only one, either. She wondered briefly what had changed Blueblood’s mind about being seen, at least until she bothered to look down the street.
There were hundreds of ponies wearing that same mark—on sashes, shirts, hats. A massive metal bin as big as a building itself had been used to block the street, and a huge crew of ponies was hard at work making the finishing touches to a large warehouse. It looked mostly unfinished, though the basic structure was in place and the walls of steady wood were thick enough that even an earth pony probably couldn’t crack them.
Harlequin knew little about them, though she had seen ponies going in and out of them more than once. There were shops in there, and she was pretty sure some ponies lived on the top floors.
Not anymore.
Harlequin climbed into the carriage, and she hadn’t even got her back legs in before they started to move.
“About time. We’ve got a difficult day ahead, and it won’t be made easier with your delays.”
“Of course.” She lowered her head submissively. The unicorn didn’t frighten her the way a smaller Harlequin might’ve been frightened, but it still seemed like the right thing to do. It was what Hydrus did for Blueblood, and he was the master at this. “You’re our Nightmare goat?”
“I have… no idea what that means,” she answered, settling across the carriage. The pony glowered at her as she sat, almost as though she expected her to stand awkwardly in the aisle for the entire trip. But Harlequin wasn’t that committed to being afraid.
“It means you’re going to make sure the bugs don’t cause trouble,” she said, filling the air with frustration and indignation in equal measure. This pony hated that she’d been given this job. I just felt more love from a changeling.
Well, that was what she remembered. She was obviously wrong, somehow. Bugs couldn’t share love, that just wasn’t how it worked. It was just what happened when she shared so much of her supply. She was getting hungry again, that was it.
“Yes,” Harlequin agreed. “Hydrus said I’m supposed to help you bring them down here to the new prison.”
“The ones we can salvage,” she repeated, looking away. “I’ve been in that prison, and I have a realistic idea of our ability to find anything useful there. But we’re here to make a new world together. Your master, my employer. We can engage in functional cooperation even when we find each other detestable, can we not?”
Detestable. Harlequin hadn’t even recognized the emotion until Marquesa put a name to it. She wasn’t just afraid of her, she was actively disgusted to be near her. It was the same feeling Harlequin might have for an old cocoon left in the sun for a few days, or the refuse pile at the corner of a hive.
“I can work with anyone,” Harlequin answered reflexively, her tone flat. “We’re making a better world for my kind. One where we can live in the same city as yours. That seems worthwhile to me.”
Marquesa rolled her eyes. “You better not be bloody telling me that Hydrus sent me some kind of… idealist. How in Celestia’s name do you even get anything done in that hole?”
She didn’t wait for an answer, though. She turned away from Harlequin suddenly as they reached something outside the carriage, something Harlequin could see through her window.
There was a gathering of ponies there, packed in tight military rank and file. Harlequin’s confidence faded instantly as her memory filled with images taken from tiny eyes high above this city, where ponies in gold armor defended their homes from an army that shouldn’t be there.
But the crossbow bolts didn’t fly around her, killing dozens of her brothers and sisters while they were nameless. They didn’t even see her.
“If you have some kind of attack in front of me, I’m going to throw you out into the street.”
Harlequin blinked, straightened her posture, then looked back out. “Apologies,” she said, imitating the tone Blueblood had used. Then she looked again.
Most of them weren’t the guards in gold armor, but burly ponies with rusty metal instead, and sashes across their chests with the sun and pillar. House guards. Irongate’s house had similar guards, though far fewer.
Blueblood has his own army.
Marquesa leaned out past her, shoving the door open for a moment. “Captain Fortnight, is your company prepared?” Past the marshaled soldiers, citizens looked on with confusion. Harlequin could sense their worry, rising as they saw the armed soldiers, then fading again once they saw the golden armor around them. The house guards outnumbered the City Watch ten to one, but their presence still reassured them.
You’re wondering if your city is being invaded again. So am I.
“We would’ve been ready two hours ago on schedule, if it wasn’t for the city auxiliary.” A pegasus emerged from the crowd, pulling off his helmet. He was a pink pegasus, with a black streak of a mane that was shaved almost to nothing. Fortnight, apparently. “We’re ready, ma’am.”
“Then lead on,” she said. “Time to clean the castle dungeons.”
“Crimson Guard!” he roared, pulling on his helmet and taking to the air ahead of them. Every soldier in dull metal armor straightened, raising weapons over their shoulders. Their movements were more precise than Harlequin had ever seen from the watch. “Left-pace!” They spun together, somehow keeping their perfect lines, just facing towards the back road leading to the upper city. “Trot-march!”
Harlequin felt almost as little from them as she would’ve from an army of drones. They seemed to move even more in sync than the drones might. Only a slight edge of anticipation tinged the air around them, mixed with fear from their companions.
The City-Watch ponies followed in a disorderly mob, and Harlequin could see why. These were mostly recruits, so much so that she even made out a few familiar faces. Apple Cinnamon, what are you doing here?
She watched him through the glass, trying to get a sense of what he might be feeling in the crowd of so many. Was that… guilt? Hope? I bet he volunteered for this. He wants to see if I’m okay.
She would have to tell him, somehow.
They marched like that all the way to the upper city, stopping once or twice for the beleaguered City Watch to keep up. Harlequin felt their satisfaction grow a little each time, and the embarrassment and resentment of the City Watch grow in equal measure.
Even if the crowd of citizens wasn’t following from the lower city, there were plenty of ordinary ponies here to see. Traffic stopped as they approached, and Harlequin could catch a little of their fear. Of what the army was going to do, or maybe the army itself? She couldn’t tell.
She knew where they’d be going—past Canterlot Castle’s glorious front entrance, and around to the back where there was a squat stone fortification of perfectly regular blocks. There were no tourists here today, or in the gardens all around it. The whole area had been emptied.
They waited for a moment, watching as house guards poured into the double doors, forming a dense circle around the entrance. Even as she watched, another carriage pulled up, this one filled with identical wooden crates. She watched a pony empty them out, opening the first.
Fortnight landed beside it, yanking it open. “Crossbows, line up. Remember, aim for the wings. If one bug flies out of this, you’re bucked. It is better to kill than to risk an escape. If you see any suspicious behavior, you will shoot.”
Harlequin shrunk down into her seat, removing the glowing jar from where it was tucked into her satchel. The warmth of the love inside gave her no comfort, however. It tasted hollow even through the glass, compared to what she’d eaten lately.
Finally, Fortnight approached their carriage, knocking once on the wood. “Do we have our goat?”
“Get out there,” Marquesa said. “Tell them not to do anything stupid, please. I’m going to have enough paperwork after today.”
Harlequin slipped the jar away, then clambered out. The armored pegasus towered over her, as thick as two bugs. He had a crossbow on his back, and wings.
He squinted down at her, removing his helmet and holding it under one leg. “Is that supposed to fool me?”
She met his eyes, glaring. “No.”
“Good.” He started walking towards the double doors, forcing her to hurry to keep up with him. “You’re going to go in there and tell them they’re being moved. You tell them there’s food where they’re going, tell them whatever the buck you want to tell them so long as they cooperate.” Unlike Marquesa, he wasn’t disgusted by her. She could feel almost nothing for her. Almost. This still wasn’t a bug.
Harlequin passed through the doors, down the same hallways she’d once been sent to guard. It felt like so long ago, like she’d been a different bug then. But she still remembered the way. Changelings had good memories.
There were no opportunities for mistakes, in any case. Hallways had been blocked up from one end to the other, and any passage that didn’t lead directly to the prison was either sealed or guarded. Nothing that would’ve made a difference against the Swarm fighting together—together they could’ve seen the whole battlefield, and dismantled any barricade. But the Swarm was dead.
Harlequin reached the final set of doors, and a set of nervous-looking house guards. They backed away from her as she approached, holding spears out towards her. “We know what you are,” one of them said. “Go on. Do whatever you’re going to do. Make it quick.”
Harlequin walked around them, keeping out of reach of their spears. She knew incompetence when she saw it. As a matter of fact… “Get out,” she said. “And give me the keys. I’ll take care of this.”
She imitated Fortnight’s tone almost perfectly—enough that one of them actually dropped his spear. The other was a little more disciplined, and he tossed her the keys. “You know what they’ll do to you if you try to escape, right?”
“We’ll all die, I’m sure,” she said. “We have no reason to escape. I’ll make them see.”
That was apparently satisfying, because the two of them did nothing more than trot-march to get out of her way.
She passed through the final doors, then down the ramp into the prison.
The first thing that hit her was the smell, like bugs who hadn’t washed or molted in weeks too long. There was an unhealthy mildew to the place, and more than one of them had mold-spots on their coats. It was what happened when a bug didn’t have the energy to molt. She could feel the agony from them.
Harlequin felt eyes on her as she stepped into the room. There were far fewer eyes in here this time. She didn’t want to know what had happened to the others, but she could guess.
Hydrus had been right about the madness too. She felt their wild, unfocused attention, very much like the drones she taught below the hive. They watched her because she was something new, though there was no expectation in them that anything good would come of it.
She walked along the cages all the way to the end, where the pit that emptied into the lower dungeons was located. She had half a mind to let them all loose into it, flipping the magical lever so they could escape. Fortnight and his army were obviously not beholden to Hydrus. Could she really trust her kind to their mercy?
I don’t have a choice. The drones still in the tunnels down there will tear these weak bugs apart.
Harlequin stopped at the end of the hall, changing back into herself. Magic melted away the disguise, and instantly every bug in the room focused on her. Bugs that were too weak to move at least sat up, while many others rose from their dozing to stare.
These were the noble and great of her swarm, or they had been. Now they were barely alive and mostly starved. “Every bug on your hooves,” she instructed. “We’re leaving.”
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Does Celestia know and approve Blueblood personal guard ( army) "relocating" changeling prisoners? Because even if she doesn't give a damn about bugs the fact her nephew is overruling her orders should concern her.
9781487
Especially since we know Luna is keeping an eye on things.
This is something that has bugged me since the start of the prison part, but how come none of the Princesses seem even remotely concerned with the starving prisoners in their care?
9781516
Possibly they just don't know how to feed them, and it's possible that the bugs here might not have told them, preferring death over owing ponies anything. Or something, I'm not sure. Hopefully we'll get an explanation sooner or later, because the callousness of the princesses is starting to wear a bit. I'm waiting for a moment where everything starts to make more sense, but given the extremely limited perspective we're viewing things through, just Harlequin, I'm being patient.
Maybe some of these changelings will provide answers.
Great, we now have what amounts to a PMC controlling the prison. And they definitely look like the "shoot-first, ask questions later" type. Wonder if Hydrus knows how easy it is for his hive to get utterly exterminated?
If this timeline deviates from canon, we might see a "reformed" changeling transformation soon. Of course whoever it will be will be under the wrath of Hydrus and any xenophobic pony determined to grind changelings to dust.
And here I though, Blueblood would invest in making his army more aesthetically pleasing. He certainly has the bits. Well, at least Harley won't have to deal with anymore hateful swords.
I want to know too.
I like confident Harley.
The queen is dead, long live the queen.
9781487
We were told he took the contract. Whatever he did, whether pleasing or displeasing Celestia, he apparently got it legally. Otherwise, the city guard wouldn't have permitted the transfer.
Well...not knowingly.
Yeah, and just who, exactly, is doing the invading...
Eh, I'm not that impressed. So they've got their formations down pat...that doesn't necessarily mean they're any better a military force than the royal guard would be. Put these guys in actual combat, and then we'll see just how capable they are or are not.
Speaking of...why do I get the feeling we're actually going to see that, sooner rather than later?
Grr! I really, really, really, really, need to know how much does Celestia do or do not know about the changeling state of affairs in this prison! The story keeps making me bounce back and forth between believing they know everything to they know nothing, or at least not enough. It's getting kinda frustrating! At the very least, just what are her views on this? What is her angle? What is she planning? I know she's not a central character to the story, but whatever her agenda is in regards to the changelings ought to be trickling on down the line so we should at least still have an inkling of what it is...instead, the story seems to almost conflict itself on this matter, because one moment it implies Celestia would intervene if she understood the full story, and then at other moments, such as here, it suggests she hasn't cared enough. Or remains oblivious to the solution.
Gah...just...I'd like at least some clarification on that sometime soon, please?
Assuming there are even still any alive down there. They were in way worse shape than these guys up above already when we last saw any of them, and that was a week or more ago, story time. I shudder to think what sort of scene of horror lies down there...
Yeah, how the mighty have fallen and all that. I do pity them, really, but I also have to remember that they probably were complacent with the whole failed invasion in the first place, so in a way, they did probably bring it down upon themselves.
Not that Equestria is justified in letting their decay happen or for it to continue. One thing I will give whatever Blueblood's mad scheme is credit for, it is giving these bugs the chance for a slightly better treatment. I say slightly because they're just exchanging the poor treatment of the ponies for the poor treatment of Hydrus, but...still an improvement, technically. I guess.
Actually, makes me want to see Harlequin succeed at her attempts to turn things around for everybody all the more, but a topic for another chapter at the moment.
9781487 9781516
See, this is what I'm talking about. I know Luna's up to something, and knows probably whatever Harlequin knows at the very least, so I can understand her, but not everyone else. Is Celestia even involved in this whole affair, or did she just wave a hoof and delegated it to somepony else and never looked back? Honestly, whatever you might think of ol' Sunbutt, that doesn't seem right to me...
In one sense, "Nightmare goat" makes sense. It's not like ponies have a Judas. But given what an actual Judas goat does, it raises those old questions about why exactly the Apples raise pigs...
It's amazing how many allegedly impossible things happen anyway.
Well, that rings a Poe poem's worth of warning bells. Seriously, talk about making new worlds never ends well.
And with that setup, I'm deeply worried about the original meaning of Judas goat. This certainly seems like a setup for a slaughter. If Hydrus asks, they can just say the prisoners tried to make a break for it and shower him in bits until he shuts up. I'm probably being excessively paranoid, but in a changeling-focused story, is there such a thing?
Should be "face".
There are other details concerning platoon formations as well I noticed.
Somethings gonna go wrong. How could it not under these circumstances.
Celestia being either incompetent or evil might matter less here. What matters is that i think we have just confirmed that Luna indeed does not care about starving, broken and dying changelings. If SMILE is good enough to catch her in train and have a rational discussion with her then they have resources to have access to that prison and know what they need to survive. If they would not know about it they would have asked from this said Changeling when they had a change and chose to let her go.
Luna has an objective of some sort, and few starving Changelings dying lying broken in the jail seems to be a worthwhile sacrifice. I am quite certain anyone having this kind of rationale can be called evil, but it remains to be seen if Celestia is being kept in the dark by her sister or is she willing accomplish.
Well unless she is actually mentally damaged or truly incompetent.
Edit:
Could be there is a reason for all this but this is starting to seem really stupid from my point of view. I mean sure story might be good and plans might be rolling but it just simply starts to feel like idiot ball is being shoved to various places in anatomy where such things do not belong.
9782299
I've not felt the reaction yet personally, but the tone of your comment reminds me of my feelings for how The Last Migration eventually wound down, I hope this one turns out more coherently than that one did
Marquesa is going to single-handedly hate a dozen changelings to death.
It's going to be a miracle if they get everyone transferred without someone being shot with a crossbow.
Finish this, put a paperback on it and PLEASE sell it....... honest to god.
I have several dozen novels on my shelf... a few of which i felt regret buying... one i even tore to pieces, so nobody had to suffer reading it... yet this? This needs to get OUT there! Every chapter got my fullest attention like its addicting and the lore, character, and undertones... -some wish they could put half as good a story together!
Even as Harlequin works her own changes under everypony/ling's muzzles, if that sudden focus on Blueblood's house army is any indication, there's a lot more building to a head outside. It's one of the typically, captivatingly frustrating things about your stories- identifying with a character thrown into the middle of unknown sociopolitical upheaval, so that both they and we are trying to stay afloat.
9781516
This story isn't about them. It's about Harlequin. And while we all love our Princesses, having them in the foreground here would reduce our protagonist's opportunity to shine.