Princess Celestia loomed over her, horn glowing with magical might. This might be Harlequin’s last few seconds of life—that magic could burn her to nothing just like the city shield had done so many times. But that terrible spell never came.
“What is your name, changeling? I know you must have one, if you were clever enough to reach me.”
“Harlequin,” she answered. Stole that too.
“Harlequin…” the princess repeated, ignoring the protests of the various nobles scattered around the room. “This solution of yours is… almost pony. You might very well be the most civilized changeling I have ever encountered. But… your fate is secondary. Bailiff, escort this changeling to a castle holding cell. She’s been polite thus far, I’m sure she’ll continue to be.” She straightened. “Court is adjourned. My sister and I must… deal with this threat to Canterlot. It’s… probably too late to keep this information private, but please don’t cause a panic.”
She vanished in a flash of bright light. Sure enough, ponies began to disperse, getting as much distance between themselves and the changeling as they could. Harlequin backed down the stand, wings flat to her back so they’d know she wasn’t going to run. “I’m not going to fight,” she said flatly. “Or run. Just… tell me where to go.”
They did, leading her from the hall. She passed through a torrent of emotions in the hall as they led her toward a door near the back, four stern looking unicorns in armor. This was what she’d expected—but her own future didn’t matter.
They opened an old metal door, then proceeded down a dark stone hallway. The ramp took her below the castle, in the same stone labyrinths where she had spent so much time a prisoner. At least the pressure of emotions on her mind wasn’t confusing her anymore. She could think.
“Almost done, Harlequin. The bishops of greed are burned. The knights of knowledge are severed. The queen of scorn has abandoned her children. All that’s left is the king of conquest. He would not bow. He wouldn’t accept your place in the story. But you will. You understand the value of being part of something greater than yourself.”
It was more than the voice had told her in a long time. It seemed almost conversational. I don’t understand, she thought back, hoping it would hear. She didn’t want to give these ponies any excuse to kill her before she could face judgement from the Alicorns.
She got no response, and so her mind began to wander again. The space around them didn’t look like it was going to lead to the dungeon she knew well. The torch brackets here were long empty, and there was thick dust on the floor.
That was when she realized, and her whole body tensed. They’d gone some distance from the pony court now, so she couldn’t feel them at all. She should’ve felt the hatred of these ponies, or their indignance, or just their commitment to duty.
Their feelings had been so confounded with those other ponies before, but now—they were flat. Hydrus. He replaced the bailiffs.
She barely skipped a beat, walking along as though she hadn’t noticed anything. But it was pointless. Her spike of shock and surprise was too obvious.
The guards walked two ahead, two behind, weapons always at the ready. Now one of the ones behind her finally spoke. “Do you know why Queen Chrysalis always ate her inferiors?”
The question was so matter-of-fact that she almost didn’t realize what she was hearing. The guardspony who spoke it sounded so casual, and so familiar. She knew that tone.
“Ponies crave domination and control. They’re eager to give their freedom away and have powerful rulers make them safe. They’re quick to forget what their impotence earned them.” They reached the end of the path, and a heavy iron hatch in the floor, recently pried free. Through the opening was darkness, and a terrible stench of decay.
Something flashed, and suddenly Hydrus was there, still wielding the spear in his magic. The rest of the uniform was gone. “We’re the inverse of ponies, I think. Every bug wants to be their own queen, they can’t help it. In the end, they always betray the ones who know better. That’s why I was content to be a in the background. While other bugs tore each other down to excel, none fought with me. I hoarded something much more valuable than glory: talent.”
He advanced on her, spinning his spear through the air. Harlequin retreated by reflex, towards the opening in the floor. There were no other exits, no windows. They were so deep underground that nopony would hear her scream. And if she tried to teleport past them, that spear would be in her neck before she finished the spell.
“I misjudged you. When I first saw little H, I thought she was something unique. A creature with some real loyalty. I took a gamble on her, and I thought it had paid off.” Then he moved.
His body blurred impossibly fast as he spent some of his vast wealth of glamour. He smacked the butt of his spear into her right foreleg with the force of a rock-crusher, shattering the exoskeleton. She screamed as the blow broke her, dropping to the ground. Thick blue slime oozed from the wound, momentarily stunning her.
“Turns out, you were a changeling after all. Maybe the truest bug of all. You didn’t just betray me. You betrayed all of us.”
“You…” She could barely form the words. She couldn’t concentrate on anything, her whole body fuzzed. He’s going to get away. The princess is going to attack a colony without a tyrant. It was all for nothing. “You stayed. Didn’t… take your hoard somewhere else?”
He chuckled. “I moved my hoard a long time ago.” He stopped just beside her, then smacked her again with the spear, shattering more of her chitin along her back. She screamed, body spasming in pain… but there was nowhere to go. No one to hear.
“You’re so young, Harlequin, you can’t see time the way I do. Drones live in the moment, and you’re… still stuck thinking that way.” He rose, tapping the side of his head with a hoof. “Think! The ponies aren’t stupid, they were going to realize how to feed us sooner or later. Realize we were missing. I’ve been laying up in store against that day, investing in talent as I never could before. Thousands of harvests, and ponies who see our powers as something to be envied. That was the last piece of the puzzle, Harlequin. We don’t need a queen to build the swarm, when we have so many ponies all around us.”
He dropped down beside her, his voice a whisper. “I was going to make you part of it, Harlequin. For a time, I thought you were my most faithful servant.” He shook his head. “But you’re a slave to something you don’t even understand.” He rose, circling past her to where the open shaft must be.
The place they were going to dump her body, obviously. It smelled like she wouldn’t be the first one. Or… no, that smell wasn’t just rotting bodies. It was the changeling prison, with festering pony food, dead bugs, and living creatures that weren’t quite bugs anymore.
“Y-you.. You know?” she whispered. But even as she said it, it felt wrong. She hadn’t fought him because the voice told her to. She fought because what he did was wrong. The bugs in the swarm with no names deserved their own chance to live. They deserved a leader who wouldn’t murder them to cement his own power. “The voice, the… Storyteller.”
He laughed, voice bitter and angry. “The Unturning,” he corrected. “A master crueler than Queen Chrysalis ever was.”
“W-who…” she stammered. “Who is she? What is she?”
For a second, it seemed like Hydrus was just going to stab her with the spear for her inopportune question. But he’d already shared so much information with the bug who was about to die. He almost seemed like he couldn’t help it. “The Lorekeepers are gone,” he said flatly. “With the mind gone, I lost that wisdom. But I remember one thing. She is our oldest sworn enemy. We gave up our… everything, to fight her. And yet she has made you a tool to destroy us. Our oldest adversary almost won.”
“Untrue. I have never meant to destroy you. Your actions will purify the Swarm’s ancient taint. You’ve learned so much from your time with ponies, Harlequin. Love as they love. Accept your place.”
He swung again, another terrible blow. She was bleeding from so many places now that she could hardly keep track. Every movement was another spear of agony through her body, making it hard to concentrate.
If only she’d had a weapon, she could’ve… well, not fought Hydrus, but at least killed one of his guards before she died. That might not sting so much.
“Your loyalty to another master has bought you more than just death. I could kill you here in the dark, and nopony would ever find you… but the punishment for treason is worse than simple death. It needs to be a death that bugs will tell stories about. Bugs in my swarm.”
She tensed, expecting him to swing again. She’d be beaten to death in a hallway, bleeding out onto the stone… but no.
Instead of swinging at her, Hydrus braced his spear up against her, and pushed. The other “guards” helped as well, shoving her roughly towards the opening.
Then she heard it. A hissing, animal roar. Her eyes widened as she recognized it—feral bugs. The last survivors of the changeling prison.
“I didn’t hurt your wings,” Hydrus said. “But I’ve never known a bug who could fight the instinct to use them. If you want one last mercy, hold still long enough to hit the ground and die. It’ll be easier than what they do to a broken bug like you.”
Then they shoved, and Harlequin tumbled over the edge.
Hydrus was wrong about her, though. She was plenty strong enough not to use her wings. She just didn’t want to. I want to live.
She buzzed her wings—not enough to fly back up, her body was too broken for that. The very act of falling filled her with pain, showering blood through the air behind her. Like chumming the water for a shark.
“I have a place in the story waiting for you, Harlequin. I require a queen who will abandon all the old feuds. I think that’s you.”
She landed with a harsh thump, bumping and rolling along rough stone. It felt familiar under her body as she spun, legs turning over each other and wounds getting worse. Finally she fell still, a moaning heap on the floor.
She hadn’t dared heal herself with Hydrus there, knowing full well that he’d keep breaking her until she had no magic left to spend. She stopped holding back, and all the magic she’d been hoarding exploded through her.
Her broken shell began to glow, as the vast fortune of love she’d gathered repaired the damage Hydrus’s blows had caused. With magic like this, she didn’t have to wait for her next molting.
She screamed with pain as the magic burned through her, and an incredible wealth of glamour was erased. But that didn’t matter—nothing mattered, because she was alive.
Harlequin stood, her legs shaking as she found her footing.
Somewhere far above, in an opening without even a glow from a pony’s horn, she heard Hydrus laugh.
Then she learned why. From all around the cavern, down a dozen different unseen passages, the degenerate things that had once been bugs all roared with hunger. Their voices had nothing of intelligence left in them anymore, only bestial need.
They would’ve noticed her blood eventually, but her magic was like a beacon. Every monster in the Canterlot Caverns was coming for her.
Run, bug, RUN!
Speaking of, here’s a soundtrack for our next chapter, probably. Actually I feel like this piece could probably be used to great effect throughout this story...
Not 100% the reaction from Celestia I was hoping, but about 75% of it, and if I’m being real Celestia hugging Harley was always just a pipe dream. She still cares, and couldn’t have reasonably known about Hydrus. She’s doing the best she can with what she has.
"Accept your place" is one of those sentences that heavily relies on context to understand all of the implications. Mind you, I think I see where this is going, and Hydrus may have just stabbed himself in the foot as much as Harlequin. Still, Miss Unturning Storyteller has some questions to answer.
That being said, Hydrus's approach to her is a fantastic demonstration of how dangerous incomplete knowledge can be. Yes, she's the hive's oldest, most hated enemy... but why is that? For the ways he's trying to revolutionize changelingkind, he's never thought to question that particular detail.
In any case, we're in the endgame now. Three chapters left for the little changeling that could. Let's see if she does.
Good grief, what IS your endgame here, mysterious voice? Despite everything, I'm still not confident on just what it is you want from all of this...
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Well. Perhaps I've misjudged you after all.
Or so I hope.
...I wonder if the whole deal with the Storyteller and the feud with the changelings was simply the changelings didn't like someone else trying to tell them what to do and so they rebelled, not realizing they were only making it worse for themselves and the Storyteller wanted to help prevent that...
But never mind that! Our Harlequin's in a real pickle here. And that darn Hydrus is about to get away! GRR! That dolt is really starting to get on my last nerve here, and he's being just a little too full of himself to boot, which doesn't help. Oh, I'd love to see the tables turned and him stuck in Harlequin's place right about now...that'd seem fitting.
I don't suppose Harlequin's got any magic left for a quick teleport, does she? I suppose that'd make it too easy if that was the case. But if it was, if I were her, I'd teleport back upstairs, right behind where Hydrus is standing there at the hatch and looking in...and then just give him a little shove.
Just remembered...where did Irongate get off to?
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Celestia's a good pony princess, but she's also logical--she knows better than to just take Harlequin at her word, especially when she's a member of a race that excels at deception, and Celestia's just been burned by deception a few times too many just prior to this, so of course she's going to play it cautiously until she's closer to getting to the bottom of this and confirmed for herself that things are precisely as Harlequin claims.
Which means there could still be trouble ahead--if what I'm reading is correct and Hydrus is already a step ahead and prepared for this, then, from Celestia's perspective, what she finds might not be as Harlequin claims and could serve to discredit her in Celestia's eyes. So let's all hope Hydrus doesn't get away with this.
That all said...yeah, a hug from Celestia would've been nice. Maybe another chapter.
Not gonna lie, Hydrus is really damn smart. Leaving the room was a fake out to get Harlequin complacent. He only briefly gave orders to close up shop at the brothel and kill Harley's friends before returning to the courtroom. How he got back inside without anyone noticing beats me, but he knew he was the only changeling around who could take down Harlequin, so he prioritized her.
Of course, he got cocky and without the knowledge of her healing and teleportation skills, basically let her go scot free. And let's not forget that Harlequin has also been feeding three changelings down in the caves, so if those show up at some point they could be huge. *the changelings, not three
Hoping and praying for Thorax and Codex. And what is Silver Smith up to? If Hydrus really thinks he's Pharynx, he'll really go after him. Good for Pharynx, but Silver is in big trouble.
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Harmony. The Storyteller is Harmony.
She cursed the changelings' ancestors to become parasites until they the day they embrace her.
And after so many millenia of getting away, she found her opportunity with Chrysalis' defeat; by promoting another, more "receptive" Queen.
Knowing that, Hydrus resembles Milton's Lucifer: He will rather reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.
And just like with Lucifer , I can sympathize at some extend with his position despite being an unexcusable asshole.
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Well, he hasn't even confirmed that he actually has done that--for all we know, that might've been another bluff (of sorts) as a last ditch to try and get Harlequin to fall in line, to give her one last chance to give in to his control over her.
It really wouldn't surprise me, honestly, especially now seeing that he already has Harley right where he wants her, doesn't expect her to escape, and, according to him, has already taken steps in preparation to prevent what Harley has told Celestia from seriously harming his plans, let alone stopping them. Unless Harley escapes his little "punishment" for her, he doesn't actually need to kill off or even really harm Thorax or Codex now, especially since he still has uses for them both and they, unlike Harley, haven't been toeing the lines despite not totally approving of Hydrus themselves. Further, they're all just followers--they played along with Harley's schemes because she presented herself as a sort of leader figure, but without her, they don't really have the gumption to fill her spot and face Hydrus themselves, and so that's probably the end of that (or so Hydrus could see it).
I mean, he might still do so anyway, just out of spite...that seems like something Hydrus would do...and maybe all he did was send a changeling operative to go carry out his orders at the brothel while he remained there at the castle, never actually leaving, seeing it seems he has a few faithful changelings already there and inside the castle with him. This is certainly just as possible too.
But still, you gotta take all of the possibilities into consideration now, because Hydrus is starting to prove himself way more capable and intelligent than I had ever first thought him to be. Seriously, except a hiccup here and there, most of which can be summed up as just "Harlequin," this has pretty much gone as he planned and intended it. He's consistently stayed a step ahead at pretty much every turn, only inconvenienced at most thus far whenever his plans are disrupted. Not only has he thought this out very well, he's clearly been playing the long game here, and expects to keep doing so--he even implies he intends to soon rule the ponies too by eventually swaying them into letting the changelings take control by letting them see their skills are useful to the ponies and let them exploit that for their own agendas, only for Hydrus to turn it on them for his own uses--basically the same thing he did with Blueblood but on a much grander scale. It's actually almost genius...in a very dark, twisted, and evil way.
Speculation: It's actually got me wondering if Hydrus had something along these lines planned from the start, from before the invasion, which would explain why he was even complacent with the invasion in the first place--he fully expected it to fail, and saw an opportunity to enact his own plans when it did. He knew he stood to gain from the failed invasion. And even better, even if the invasion had succeeded, he still would've won out on the grounds that the changelings as a race won out and Chrysalis would've just seen him as the loyal subject that helped make it happen, leaving him free to keep scheming. So no matter how the invasion went, it was still mostly win-win for him.
I'm surprised Hydrus managed to replace the bailiffs so easily and subvert Celestia's orders to bring Harlequin to the deepest dungeons instead of the castle holding cells so shortly after the invasion. You'd think ponies would be a bit more closely on the lookout for sudden changes to clear commands.
I could almost bet that Harley will eventually just spill all her glamour out to the raging masses thinking it might stop them from attacking her, thus perhaps becoming a skittlebug? (Though that isn’t the canon of Friendly Fire...but still it seems it’s been leading up to this)
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A thousand years without any major conflict has dulled the Royal Guard a lot, and seems they have yet to implement reforms to sharp them into proper standards. Plus the Captain is still enjoying his Honeymoon.
Also let's be honests, shapeshifters are OP
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It may also be that with the eventful things that transpired in the court and Celestia no doubt now in the middle of mobilizing her forces to go check out the brothel has generated enough chaos in the castle that it helped to allow Hydrus and Harlequin slip away from public notice.
Maybe somebody somewhere still noticed them, though, and will be appearing shortly to intervene...we do have a few possible candidates for that whose current whereabouts aren't currently accounted for.
But I think Starscribe has something else in mind for this.
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Maybe not a full on skittleling reformation, but the thought that something loosely similar to it might happen has crossed my mind too.
I've been reviewing past comments on the story, see, and I noticed that in one chapter, it was mentioned that it was never seen a changeling that has been starved to the point of becoming feral has ever recovered from it, and I commented to that wanting to see if we could "prove that claim wrong" at some point, and demonstrate an instance where a feral changeling recovering. Assuming how much she has left at her disposal, perhaps Harley can give these feral changelings a huge feast of love, and, once properly fed, they all "recover" from their states.
I mean, if there was ever a time to put this to the test, I daresay that it's now. And of course, if that happens, it wouldn't be hard to guess who those recovering changelings would want to put their loyalties with.
But we'll see.
Well...this is an even BIGGER CLIFFHANGER then the last one!!! Xd
Awesome.
The "Unturning" ...
Well, that certainly sounds like a benevolent entity. Whatever she is, Harley must approach her with caution. There's still too little known about her. Returning the changelings back to the story does not necessarily mean caring for their well-being. While there are reasons to distrust Hydrus, there's certainly none to trust the Unturning.
As for now, perhaps this is the moment of truth. This feels like the moment where Harley can see the hive in its utmost despair. Perhaps she will have pity and actually share love. And she might actually transform. It'll be a strange and redefining moment for all involved. The changelings, Hydrus, Equestria, Celestia, and Luna. Maybe this is what the Unturning desires? Of course Harley will have to survive long enough to give instead of getting ripped apart and taken from.
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Celestia not vengeful thankfully, but she's still resentful and rightfully so. She will find justice for the changelings, but other than that, there will be no forgiveness and no friendship for the near future.
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If what Hydrus said was true and there's a species-wide fear and hatred for reasons unknown or lost, then at the very least the Unturning must be treated with utmost caution. Harley wishes to see her species' survival, not bring them to a possible sword regardless of how justified it might be. And even if the Unturning is benevolent, the Changelings only know their existence outside the story and it's not ethical to bring them back in such a forceful manner until they know how they were separated and why it's important to put them back in.
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Harley is not the tyrant Hydrus is. Will she leash her species to the Unturning or choose to defy her? Would it be considered evil by default to defy the Unturning if she is an aspect of Harmony or Harmony itself even if Harley's actions are not?
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A good pony princess but even after Harley's claims are proven right and everything is resolves, I wouldn't expect an offer of friendship. The changeling attacked and are guilty. There is resentment and hatred among the populace and love will not be given easily.
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They're a new enemy with new abilities. Protocols are virtually nonexistent. So are countermeasures. Whatever countermeasures are available are either expensive to mass field or bypassed relatively easily. They're just too new and too difficult for the guard to effectively deal with for now.
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Oh no, of course not--whatever changelings survive this are still going to have to earn that friendship. BUT, the fact Celestia's willing to permit even a chance for that to happen will, in of itself, go a very long way.
First, though, we gotta take care of Hydrus. He be spoiling everything currently.
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Harley and, in fact, most changelings involved in the invasion weren’t even capable of morality when the invasion happened. Chrysalis, Hydrus, Pharynx, even Thorax to an extent, sure, they can be blamed reasonably and called guilty. But not the drones like Harlequin.
I am a bit confused here, did Harlequin actually provide some level of solution to this? To me she just basically came in told the truth to Celestia throwing herself a her hooves and beg for mercy. And she calls this civilized and a pony kind of a plan? It seems to me i am missing something or she is extremely self-possessed. Anyone can help me, what is she referring to?
As for this, do note what the voice is saying. "He would not bow." This voice is as tainted as all other players he talks about, it wishes to bring Changelings to heel and force them into her way. That is not something benevolent entity would do, see what it says here? He is talking with Harlequin because she WILL bow to her. Also it is quite uncertain thing to say, but how much has she had hand in all this bloodshed and suffering? It appears she has had an active hand in much of the bloodshed, either actively or passively.
Edit:
Just a small note the entity could have expressed this in any manner, but she CHOSE to say 'bow' which is an insight into the mind of the entity, and what it sees to be proper order of things.
Wait a minute. Celestia said she had guards looking into Harlequin's claims. Where are the guards investigating the prison? All replaced? No way. And they definitely haven't already done it. So they just haven't gotten around to it yet, which does imply that Celestia was being dishonest, but ok. She does that. Could guards just show up behind Hydrus and catch him in his evil laugh? There's no way he'd be that dumb. He probably has scouts making sure the coast is clear.
But if guards do arrive, and Hydrus skidaddles, they might realize there's been foul play.
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Note the evident racism in her words. Despite everything she has just find out, she still thinks ponies are the epitome of morality and civilization.
Oh crap.
Interesting.
Time to 'love as they love', Harlequin. Become the shiny rainbow beetle you already are deep inside.
I don't particularly think Hydrus has particularly thought out his end game really. Rule by envy? Sure for some of the corrupt elites in Canterlot, but overall that just doesn't seem like he thought it through much. He seems to be banking on an overwhelming opinion based on a minority; statistical error, oops.
Let the Hunt begin...
It appears to be most likely that Hydrus has actually done nothing whatsoever to Thorax or Codex. From Harlequin's perspective, Thorax and, to some extent, Codex are close friends, and Hydrus's threat against them is very real. But Hydrus himself has probably been keeping track of them and knows that:
1. Codex and Thorax are both somewhat irreplaceable. Codex for his knowledge, and Thorax for his accounting.
2. They clearly haven't been coordinating anything with Harlequin, given that Hydrus should know Harlequin never went to the hive after the fire.
Assuming he hasn't told them about the prison fire or Harlequin yet (which would meet my expectation of him, given his cleverness), they wouldn't pose a threat to him until Harlequin's long dead.
I hope you subvert my expectations here Star because while fuzzy I think I can see the broad strokes of the rest of the fic here.
Okay THAT reveal was THE SHIT.
From light comes darkness and from darkness light.
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Starscribe's story never logically make sense as a whole. Scifi/Fantasy concept and drama are what priotized.