Chapters
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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…-
102.0 K •
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It took hours, but Harlequin had never had a more attentive student. Actually, she’d never had any kind of student who actually cared about what she was teaching before. For everything Codex had been, full of resentment and anger at her for what she’d done, this pony was all gratitude. Silver Smith had no idea what was ahead of him—he’d given up more than drinking tea. But considering it was that or being dead, he seemed to think it was a worthwhile trade.It was only afternoon by the time she…
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102.0 K •
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Harlequin didn’t tell Silver Smith everything, but she did tell him everything she thought mattered about being a changeling. What she knew about their powers, even those she’d seen from bugs who actually mattered, instead of a little drone like herself. She told him what she’d learned during the last few weeks living without the Swarm, a concept that clearly made no sense to him.Though Silver’s emotions were faded and washed-out, he clearly wasn’t angry with her anymore, wasn’t afraid. There…
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102.0 K •
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Harlequin learned something that night. As it turned out, not everything she did had to be taught to her by the Swarm. She remembered this process, though the bug who had done it had been barely alive by her current understanding. Feeding on Codex and transforming him was something she never could’ve done without Hydrus.Every second she worked, she could hear Codex’s voice in the back of her mind, chastising her for how insane this was. You met him for five minutes. Why didn’t you let him die?…
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102.0 K •
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In the beginning, Harlequin’s infiltration plan worked perfectly.The Irongate guards let her past without resistance, looking more than a little confused as she went by. But they didn’t try to stop her, or even question what she was doing there.The same held true for the house steward, who seemed either like her boss in the house, or the one who she told what to do. Maybe both?After giving her contrived story of the sudden change of plans and feeling unwell, she was escorted to the lady’s chambers…
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102.0 K •
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Harlequin stared at the strange pony, body completely frozen with horror. So far as she knew, she’d made the trip totally safely, without doing anything to reveal who and what she was.Yet here was a pony to show her just how wrong she was. Without any effort, this pony had known she was a changeling. And she still wanted to claim that she wasn’t here for some hostile reason? “What do you want?” Harlequin asked. It was the closest thing she dared to a denial. “First, to introduce myself,” she…
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102.0 K •
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Harlequin couldn’t leave that hidden vault fast enough for her liking. Even as she hurried up the service stairwell and out onto Canterlot’s streets, she imagined she could still feel the eyes of Prince Blueblood watching the back of her head, just daring her to make a mistake.If I can do this, I’ll be able to set the other bugs free. Or free to come back to us. They won’t have to starve.She didn’t need to be told to hurry, or to treat the mission as urgently as she could. She couldn’t imagine…
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102.0 K •
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At least I’m with a pony who spends almost as much time pretending as I do, Harlequin thought, as she made her way into the single unmarked door between two fancy shops. On either side ponies moved—one sold food, with a line running out onto the streets filled with eager ponies.How easy would it be for her to slip off into that group, change into somepony else, and vanish completely? She could be free of this entire world forever—leave Canterlot, not look back.She didn’t feel the same loyalty to…
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102.0 K •
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Harlequin emerged from the darkness of the secret colony into a sunny courtyard. There were walls on all sides, and nearby an ancient-looking building with holes in the roof and a few missing windows. What few it still had were bright and colorful. Between the walls, shades were strung up, obscuring the courtyard where they stood even from the eyes of pegasus ponies flying above. But while standing close, she could see the outline of the upper city high above, and closer, the shapes of ponies walking along…
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102.0 K •
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Harlequin froze completely still as the guard met her eyes; horror plastered all over her face. They found us. She hadn’t been in this colony one day and Equestria had found them. This is when we get shut down and we all starve, just like before. It was like the voice said. They weren’t part of a story, so they were destined to lose. Every single thing they tried…“You, uh… I kind of expected you to be more charming than this, if I’m being honest.” The guard walked slowly up to her, apparently…
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102.0 K •
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