Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Rachel
Being so deep underground unnerves me. Whenever we go below the surface it’s either a raid on a Yeerk Pool or...no, that’s pretty much the only reason these days. Of course, it wasn’t just that which bothered me at the moment. These Changelings were so similar to insects; their appearance, their home, they even obey a queen. Just being in the tunnels brought back unpleasant memories. So you can probably imagine my immense relief when that eerie green glow finally gave way to true sunlight.
I inhaled greedily and relished in the feeling of fresh air filling my lungs for what felt like forever. The sun was still pretty high in the sky and shone over some pretty barren landscape. There weren’t any trees, mostly rock formations and the odd dead bush. Turning back, I saw that we’d emerged from a concealed entrance between a rocky outcrop.
“Ah, feels good t’see the sun again,” Applejack said, bounding out of the darkness and into the light. Marco and Jake followed soon after her, both of them shielding their eyes from the sudden flash of sunlight.
“Yes, I must admit a certain fondness for its warmth as well,” the queen Changeling said as she came out, still leaning against Ax.
“Yes, the sun’s nice, but do you know where we are?” Marco asked with a hint of impatience.
“We are several kilohooves north of the main Hive entrance,” the queen explained patiently. “I had this tunnel made not long after my coronation, in case there was ever an upheaval. It’s always good to have an exit strategy after all.”
Kilohooves... You know, one really had to wonder just how far the horse-related puns stretched on this planet. Marco could probably get a decent job naming new towns and items for a living.
“So, how do we get back to the airship? I’m not exactly looking forward to walking back into a battle.” Jake paced back and forth as he spoke.
“Hold up. What about Twilight? We can’t just leave her down in the Hive alone,” Applejack protested.
“We don’t have the time to go back and look,” Jake continued, though he’d lowered his tone to a more compassionate one. “She’s smart, so hopefully she can find her own way out and meet up with us.”
“Twilight?” the queen asked, a familiar note in her voice. “You don’t mean Twilight Sparkle, do you?” At a nod from Applejack, she gave a huff and stared at the ground. “She saw through my ruse at Canterlot, forced me into a position where I’d accept the Yeerks, and now she brought my saviors to me. I’m not sure whether I should hate her or reward her.”
“Purple unicorn saved Queen,” Illusion said, catching me off guard. I’d almost forgotten he was still with us. “Purple unicorn should be rewarded.”
“I suppose you have a valid point, Drone. What happened to her, anyways?”
“We got separated when the Hive collapsed,” Applejack quickly explained. “Ah hope she got out ok.”
“Given her magical capabilities, I am inclined to agree with your Prince’s statement.” Her face scrunched up in thought for a moment. “Unless...”
“Unless what?” I prodded.
“This area isn’t safe,” she replied. “I’ll explain it to you once we’re away from unwanted ears.”
<I agree, Prince Jake. I would feel more at ease once we have returned to the airship. With luck Twilight is already waiting for us,> Ax added afterwards.
Jake nodded and turned to the queen. “Do you know anywhere more private?”
“Yes, in those nearby mountains is one of several safe houses for my Changelings if they’re caught up in a dust storm whilst on patrols,” the queen said. “It should serve our purpose well.”
“Alright, we’ll head there,” Jake said. “Ah, but someone should head back south to notify Rainbow that we’ll need a pick-up.”
“I’ll do it,” I immediately volunteered. “I’m the only one of us with a flying pony morph.”
“Too risky, if you’d go you’re going as bird of prey,” Jake replied.
“Hold up, the Yeerks would be on red alert after our little stunt,” Marco added. “Anything unusual or out-of-place would certainly warrant investigation. Heck, they’d probably just shoot anything that flies by.”
“Not if what flies by is something they feel they can trust,” the queen said. At first I was a little confused, but then I saw she was gesturing towards Illusion. And yeah, a Changeling around their hive did make sense, but I couldn’t help feeling a little insulted. Illusion, for his part, was practically aglow with pride.
“Yes! I fetch rainbow pony!” Without another word and before anyone could protest, he took off.
The trip to the Changeling safe house wasn’t overly long. It was about halfway up the mountainside and concealed behind a triangular rock which — at first glance — looked like any other stone. But if you looked carefully it actually resembled a crooked horn along the lines of what the Changeling queen had. Beyond it the area was fairly roomy, for a Changeling. We were all able to fit inside but I couldn’t even extend my arms halfway before bumping into Ax or Applejack. Not to mention that the only source of light was another of those weird glowing mosses from the Changeling’s Hive. I briefly wondered if there were anything like Changeling farmers growing this moss.
After we were all inside the cramped space, the queen looked at all of us and cleared her throat. “I think, given what has recently transpired, that it would be wise for me to tell you what I know.” I bit back a sarcastic retort, hoping Marco would as well.
“After my infestation by the Yeerk who called herself Visser Seven, they began taking over my Changeling soldiers at an alarming rate. Once enough of them were controllers, the Visser instructed them to travel to the nearby towns to infest a sizable populations of ponies. Though she knew that even if she got nearly half the population of Equestria, she couldn’t take the land as long as The Princesses were in power.
“She spent a long time trying to figure out how to remove that problem, since there wasn’t any way she could get a controller into Canterlot and infest either of them normally. That is, until the weapon ship she had sent for crashed into their palace.” I saw Jake pinch the bridge of his nose out of the corner of my eye, but the queen continued, “The confusion allowed several controllers to sneak into Canterlot and infest a few hosts, but the Princesses eluded her grasp. Even so, this gave her the opportunity to move operations closer to Ponyville and acquire even more host bodies.”
“Hang on a moment,” Marco interrupted. “Why go the subtle route? If the Princesses are the only things standing in the Visser’s way, why not just attack with a Blade Ship?”
<I agree with Marco. It seems the quickest and most probable way for the Yeerks to either acquire or eliminate the Princesses,> Ax added.
“Simple, the Elements of Harmony,” Chrysalis replied, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. “If the Visser were to attack in force, the Elements might be used against them. She wanted the Elements in her possession before attempting a full-scale invasion.”
<If these Elements are as destructive as the Visser believes them to be, it would be wise for us to acquire them before she does,> Ax said thoughtfully.
“But the Elements aren’t destructive at all,” Applejack interjected.
“Not the point,” Jake cut in. “If the only things keeping the Visser from bringing her ship down and attacking in force are the Princesses and the Elements, I say we do what we can to keep them out of her hands.”
No sooner had Jake’s voice died down did the room burst into light, a far brighter, white, pure light than the eerie green glow of the moss. Strangely, the light didn’t sting or blind me in any way, though I did throw up an arm in front of my face out of instinct. It only lasted a moment and soon the cave was as dark as ever; even the moss seemed to take a few seconds to realize it was no longer glowing.
<I am beginning to dislike this planet,> Ax said, breaking the silence.
“Oh mah stars,” Applejack gasped. I turned towards her and saw that a golden necklace with an orange apple shaped gemstone was now fashioned around her neck. Next to her were four similar necklaces — though the gemstones were different colours and shapes — and a single tiara.
“The Elements? Here? Now?” Chrysalis cried, jumping up in shock, only to cry out in pain and slump against the wall once more.
<These are the Elements of Harmony?> Ax asked in a strange mixture of disappointment and surprise. <Why would the Yeerks fear jewelry?>
“These ain’t just any pieces o’ jewelry,” Applejack said. “There are the most powerful items in Equestria. There’s plenty o’ reasons t’ be scared of ‘em.”
Before Ax could reply there was a single sharp tap from the rock blocking the entrance. The Changeling queen looked to it and used her magic to help slide it aside. The cave was then flooded with sunlight as Illusion walked in, a sour, unpleasant look on his face.
“Rainbow...gone...” he gasped out, his chest heaving. “Ship missing...”
“Did you see any clue as to where they went?” Jake asked. “Anything that would say if they got away or not?”
Illusion shook his head. “No clues.... nothing...” He gasped for breath a few more times. “Changelings...gone too...”
“Well of course they’re gone,” I said. “We tore down their Hive and sent them scattering.”
“If they’re worth anything, they should be busy at work repairing the damage you did,” the queen snapped at me.
“Calm down, both of you,” Marco said. “Looking over what we’ve done already is great, two thumbs up people, but we need to focus on the next step now. Like why did these Element things come to us anyways?”
<They do not appear to be sentient. I doubt they chose to come to us,> Ax said.
“Maybe the Princess sent em to us?” Applejack said.
“Why would she do that?” I asked. “Twilight said that they only work on you six, but we only have you with us.”
“And why all of them anyways?” Marco wondered. “If anything, what she should have done is sent each Element to whomever it belongs to. That is how these things work, right?” he added after a moment’s thought.
“Oh dear.”
We all turned to look at the queen Changeling. Her forehead was creased with worry and she barely managing to keep a calm facade.
<You have a theory?> Ax asked, to which the queen nodded.
“Yes. The Visser wanted to get close to the Princesses and the Elements. If Twilight Sparkle...if she were-”
“No! Twi couldn’t betray the Princess!” Applejack interrupted. “Ah know her!”
“You’re suggesting Twilight is a controller?” Jake asked, ignoring Applejack’s outburst. “That would make some sense; she could have easily escaped with her magic and found the others.”
“Convinces Rainbow to leave us behind and goes straight to Canterlot. No one suspects a thing from her,” I added. “But something goes wrong, the Princess discovers her ruse, and sends the Elements away, out of her reach.”
“Oh, this is bad,” Marco whined. “Twilight knows about us. Two minutes back on the Blade Ship, and Visser Three knows about us as well.”
“You don’t know Twilight’s a controller!” Applejack shouted, somewhat desperate. “She...she can’t be...”
<The evidence all points towards it,> Ax said. <I think it is safe to assume that the main invasion will begin in earnest soon.>
Jake walked over and picked up one of the necklaces, passing it between his hands curiously. “Then we’ve got to stop the Visser before that happens.” A small smile slowly formed on his face, and he looked at the queen. “Maybe there’s a way we can trick her.”
The queen shook her head. “I am still far too weak to be of much use.”
I barked out a laugh, clueing in on Jake’s half-formed plan. “You want to acquire a Changeling now, Jake?”
“Hold on a sec, Ah thought yah ha d t’ ask fer permission?” Applejack said.
The queen looked between us in confusion, but that quickly gave way to realization and she grinned. “If it means liberating my Hive, then I consent. So long as you promise not to abuse my form.”
She took an uneasy step towards us before Illusion rushed to her side for support. She stopped in front of Jake, who carefully stuck a hand out and placed it on her neck. I nearly thought she was going to fall over from the acquiring trance, but managed to stay upright. After a moment he backed away and Ax stepped forward, followed after by Marco and finally me.
“Yah mind if Ah look away fer this?” Applejack asked as she gathered the other five Elements together and placed them under her hat.
“Sure, this will probably be unpleasant anyway,” I said before focusing on the new Changeling DNA in my system. Almost instantly I felt my bones begin to liquefy and vanish. Pretty soon I found it incredibly difficult to stand, what with my organs sloshing around inside me and my legs feeling like jello. Tiny pinpricks began to form on my arms, quickly expanding until there were massive holes going right through my body. I took the time to look at the floor through them before my skin darkened to black and became a hard, yet still flexible chitin. I can only imagine how silly I must have looked right now, being a human, insect, and swiss cheese hybrid.
I felt a popping sensation from my back and swerved my head around. Sticking out of my back were a huge pair of transparent insect wings. Suddenly my back gave way and I was forced into a quadrupedal stance as the exoskeleton around my midsection hardened and turned a swampy green. My hair also turned that colour and lengthened down my back, as well as shoot out from the base of my spine. It seemed to grow naturally tangled, and even left several opening in itself to match my legs. My face then extended into a muzzle and a large, crooked horn shot from my forehead. Finally, my fingers and toes whittled away while my eyes grew and my teeth sharpened into fangs.
I stood there for a moment after the morph was completed. The dark cave suddenly seemed brighter; the corners were plainly visible and no longer vanished into shadows. And yet, even as I stood there something seemed...off. I couldn’t place precisely what was wrong, but it felt as if some part of me was simply missing. I was dimly aware of other Changelings nearby, but paid them no mind. I was incomplete, unfinished.
No, there was a pony close by as well. It stood out like a beacon and I found myself drawn towards it, that sensation of missing going away as I neared.
“Uh, can Ah help you?”
The voice broke into my thoughts and I awkwardly stepped back, giving a shake of my head. “Ugh, wow, sorry Applejack. Lost it for a moment.”
“This is a most peculiar morph,” one of the queens said. From the tone I’d guess it was Ax. Behind me the real queen laughed and I turned to see her staring at me with a warm smile.
“You were acting like a Hunter on its first feed. Very amusing to see myself do that.”
I grinned back to her, but then something else caught my attention. Illusion was hyperventilating and whipping his head between each of us so fast I half-expected it to just fall off. His wings were fluttering madly and a very high pitched buzzing sound was coming from his mouth.
“Bzzzz... Five Queen... Can’t be five Queen. Who to serve? Who to protect? Can’t be five Queen! Bzzz!”
“And Ah thought seeing two o’me was bad enough,” Applejack muttered.
“Speaking of that, shall we get to saving Cassie and Tobias?” I asked.
“What about mah friends?” Applejack asked.
“I was getting to them.”
Jake looked at the queen. “You can manage here until we get back, right?”
She nodded. “Yes, I believe I shall manage so long as my Drone assists me.”
I looked back at Illusion, who hadn’t changed in the slightest. “Then I think we’d better get going before he has an aneurysm.”
Jake nodded and looked at the rock blocking the door. His horn began to glow a sickly green as he channeled magic into it and moved the rock aside. Carefully we all exited the cave, with the exception of Illusion and the real queen, and sealed it back up.
“Ax, you think we can make it to the capital within two hours?” Jake asked.
“I am uncertain. From what I have seen these Changelings fly quite well, and are much faster than the airship. Still, we have much ground to cover. The possibility of exhaustion claiming us before then is quite high.”
“So why are we wasting time talking? Let’s do it!” My wings buzzed to life and I fluttered into the air. Quickly I wrapped my hooves around Applejack’s midsection and took off towards Canterlot.
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Army of Chrysaliseseseseses!
I would've expected they'd ask for a crash course on Changeling transformations, though.
Chrsyssies.... its raining damn changeling queens lol
YAY!!!! Awesome chapter!
It's raining changelings. Hallelujah!
Morph changelings!
Funny because changelings "morph", too!
They could probably morph in their changeling form- wait, what?
Just kidding. This is getting interesting- and funny!
Poor Jake and associates, they just can't catch a break, even when they had little to no control over matters, like where to crash that hijacked ship of their. Heh, and things just adding up in excitement in this story! Mark me as curious to Jake's plan, that for sure. Can't wait to see what he got in mind.
C&Cs:
“Too risky, if you’d go you’re going as bird of prey,” Jake replied.
> Comma after ‘go’.
But if you looked carefully it actually resembled a crooked horn along the lines of what the Changeling queen had.
> Comma after ‘But’ and ‘carefully’. Capitalize ‘queen’.
...the queen looked at all of us and cleared her throat.
> Capitalize ‘queen’.
...but the queen continued...
> Capitalize ‘queen’.
Before Ax could reply there was a single sharp tap from the rock blocking the entrance.
> Comma after ‘reply’.
[In case the term ‘queen’ is use to describe a specific one (usually it follows by ‘the’, and in this chapter, ‘Changeling’)...]
> Capitalize ‘queen’.
If they’re worth anything they should be...
> Comma after ‘anything’.
2498206
The only correction I feel is necessary is your final one. The choice to have Rachel say 'queen' rather than 'Queen' is a stylistic one. Illusion uses 'Queen' because that's what she is to him, while Rachel uses 'queen' because that's how she sees Chrysalis. To Illusion, Chrysalis is an individual, but to Rachel, and theoretically the rest of the Animorphs, Chrysalis is not the queen, but rather a queen, akin to a queen ant or queen termite.
If you wouldn't mind, could you go into detail as to what bothers you about these passages? They look fine to me as is.
-Tricondon
2495199
Well, this chapter seems to suggest that nope, that is not a thing that happened. Possibly. I can see a few ways around it.
2498435
Okay, I can understand that. Remember that my C&Cs are just suggestions and that I can't completely tell what your intention are with words, so I usually just trust the author to make the decision themselves on how to used my C&Cs. Honestly, if you want to keep the 'queen' in a lower case in most of the cases, I'll be fine with it. The only one that I won't let up would be: 'the Changeling Queen', since that one is being a bit more specific than the others, but according to what you told me, I think that might be the only time you need to capitalize it.
The flow of the sentence just seems off, grammar-wise. But, thinking about it a bit more, I think the second one is fine as it is, so sorry about that one. Don't worry about it, I will erase that one from my C&Cs. Comma placements is a bit hard, since you have to think about how it affect the flow of the sentence, so sometimes I accidentally overthink it and made my own mistakes. I keen to give comma placements a bit more thoughts than most of my C&Cs.
The Hive Strikes Back! Cue Star Wars music!
>Changeling morph
>Changelings can morph themselves, instantly.
>Swiss Army Weapon Form!!!
2498435
I like it when authors put so much thought into word choice. It makes me happy.
FINALLY, the Idiot Ball is left alone!
Also, Changeling Queen morphs?
Ellimist to Crayak:
global3.memecdn.com/where-is-your-god-now_o_162463.jpg
2500948 what part of Hell is that road in?
Multiple changeling queens.
This is going to go well.
2547170 yes yes. Absolutely NOTHING can go wrong!
2497389
Well, if they ever REALLY need an army, a swim in the mirror pool would take care of that. Of course, then there'd be the issue of an army of Marcos annoying the crap out of an army of Rachels...could get ugly.
Huh. But, why the elements of harmony? I thought that was a natural part of them knowing that they were out of harmony somehow.
2497370 Why bother with Changeling transformations when they can just Morph?
2914546 I can't help but chuckle endlessly at the image this brings to mind.
3472207 About the Miror pond Marco and Rachel armies, that won't end well.
Animorphs morph into morphing creature.
~<•>MORPHCEPION<•>~
4421163 Really late and all, but we've seen that a natural morph can reset the morphing clock, even if one was locked in a morph. Cassie did it when she became a butterfly. Does becoming a changeling basically mean infinity morph time?
Huzzah! But nobody told them about the emotivore part. Hmm.
There's going to be a lot of confusion about who's on what side when the two groups meet up again.