Chapter 21
Author's Note: Written by Samaru163 and Tricondon.
Chapter 21
“Yer not Applejack, are you?”
My heart skipped a beat as she finished her sentence. I felt my mouth open and close on its own as I tried to think up a convincing lie, but lying never came easy for me. At best all I was able to make were a few sideways glances and an unconvincing smile.
“Ah bet yer not even a pony, are you?” Applebloom persisted. Quickly I looked around for something, anything I could use as an excuse to leave. Applebloom huffed angrily and sat down. “Ah thought you wouldn’t be here for another day or two.”
The lump in my throat suddenly vanished and I looked at the little filly while still trying to seem natural. She didn’t seem to care, however, and instead began fumbling with her bow.
“Ah hope you didn’t do anything to Applejack. We still need her and her friends.” She looked up at me, glaring from beneath her bow. “You ain’t too smart, walking around looking like her. And you didn’t even do it right. Ah thought you Changelings were supposed to be good at imitating others.”
“Er, sorry, I’m new.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Applebloom rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, Ah hear it takes some time to learn to control them. Lucky you, though, getting a Changeling host, while Ah’m stuck as a little filly.” She sighed. “Then again, there aren’t many of them to go around in the first place.”
“Yeah, they are such confusing creatures.”
Applebloom let out a small huff of annoyance and looked towards me again. I put on my best blank expression and leaned back with an uncaring attitude.
“Ah suppose ya know the plan already?” I shook my head, causing her to shake her head. “Of all the Changelings they send me, it had t’ be the new recruit.”
Though I wasn’t showing it at the moment, I was scared. I had no idea how long I’d be able to keep this ruse going, and for all I knew Applebloom already knew I was lying. Silently I wished for Jake, Tobias, or somebody to come and help. At the moment though, all I could think to do was give a calm shrug.
“Well, Ah guess it makes sense, after what happened on the train and the death of Duma166 we’d need t’ keep a lower profile.” She let out a small laugh. “Not that it matters.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, leaning slightly forward.
Applebloom - or rather, the Yeerk inside her, since it was obvious she was a controller - gave me a strange look.
“You really don’ know? What, did you just get here from Earth or somethin’?” She gave a small laugh. “Makes sense though, what with all the soldiers Visser Three kills, he would be just down t’ basic recruits.”
An idea occurred to me just then. “Actually, yes. I did just arrive from Earth. Not more than three days ago, in fact.” Applebloom gave me an incredulous look, and I had to struggle not to smile at her. “So, yeah. No one’s bothered to fill me in on any plan yet.”
“T’ain’t fair!” she cried. “Ah’m here for four months and Ah get a little filly with a speech impediment, you just arrive and get one of the few Changelings we have available!” Applebloom stopped grumbling and looked at me oddly. “Wait, three days ago? But the last shipment of troops got here five days ago.”
“Well, I, um, am still getting used to controlling my host’s vocal systems. I sometimes tend to slip up on different words.” I stammered. My heart started pounding in my chest again, but to my relief Applebloom just laughed.
“Ah understand. Ah had trouble talking at first, too. This body is far different from a Taxxon. And while this accent is annoyin’, it beats the insane and ravenous hunger.”
“Yeah, my first host was a human. Much different than these Changelings.” I spoke while fighting back a horrible shiver in my spine. I didn’t like to remember my brief time as a Yeerk. “If you don’t mind me asking, why take this planet before Earth? An army of human hosts would have sped this up exponentially.”
Applebloom just shook her head. “Ah don’ know. Ah’m not high enough rank to be privy to that kinda information. But if ya ask me, Ah think Visser Seven wants Visser Three’s rank. An’ besides, Ah think a couple dozen pegasi an’ unicorns could help make Earth’s takeover a bit faster, too.” A small smile appeared on her face. “Since Visser Three still hasn’t succeeded in killing those Andalite Bandits. Ah’d love to see the look on their faces as a unicorn host levitates a chunk of a building on top of them.”
I forced out a small chuckle. “Yeah, that would show them,” I said lamely.
“Oh, yeah, Ah meant to ask you. What happened that made the weapon ship crash? You know that thing sailed clear over Ponyville? It got a lot of ponies upset. Balla961, he’s got the mayor in town, was running himself ragged making sure everyone stayed clear.” Applebloom huffed. “Ah managed to convince him to send Applejack an’ her friends to the wreckage, but they were there and back before we could capture them.
“And what’s worse is that the ship crashed straight inta the palace, so they’ve gone and enhanced their security. It’d take forever t’ get one of ours in, what with their force fields and Changeling tests,” Applebloom explained. I had to fight not to smile; it seemed crashing into the palace helped, in a way.
“I haven’t heard much, but I think the general idea is that there was some sort of computer glitch,” I lied, unless you count hacking as a glitch.
“Ah bet the Bandits had a hand in it,” Applebloom said after a moment. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they sabotaged the ship. Visser Three’s security protocols have gotta be worse than any other Visser Ah’ve seen. Ah think he’s only even a Visser ‘cause he’s got an Andalite host.”
“You think Visser Seven should have his position?”
“Any Yeerk would be better than him. Even me in this host.” Applebloom looked around for a moment. “It’s getting late. Ah think Applejack’ll be lookin’ fer me about now. You should head back. Remember, we don’t have permission t’ move until the moon overtakes the sun.” With that she began quickly making her way back towards the farmhouse. I waited until she was a fair distance away, then bolted, running for the barn where the others were staying as fast as I could.
I burst into the barn, panting and heaving for breath. I looked around quickly; Jake and Marco were still in morph, practicing their magic. Ax was standing right beside them, watching with what I assume was astonishment. Rachel was standing against the far wall while Tobias was perched above her. The two of them seemed like they were having a deep conversation, but both looked up at me as I ran in.
“Oh, good, you’re back,” Twilight began. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d gotten lost.”
I shook my head incessantly.
“Guys, we have a problem.” I quickly filled them in on my conversation with Applebloom. When I told them she was a controller Twilight refused to believe it at first, but she soon agreed with me once I’d finished explaining.
The room was quiet for a long while. Everyone shifted nervously and cast furtive glances at the large barn door. Finally Jake broke the silence.
“We have to help.”
<Prince Jake, I do not believe it to be wise for us to interfere,> Ax said. <We have no way of telling who is infested and who is not, we have no way of determining how many of these...Changelings we may need to fight again, or how many normal ponies are controllers. And while we waste time here, Earth is left defenseless.>
“What about my detection spell?” Twilight pitched in. “I could teach it to you and Marco, then we could see if somepony is infested.” She looked at Jake and Marco. “It’s not that difficult of a spell, and you two have been making remarkable progress.”
<We cannot rely on your illusions to stop the entire Yeerk force,> Ax said.
“Plus that still leaves us with the Changelings,” Marco said.
“I’ve seen the Changelings before, when they attacked Canterlot during my brother’s wedding,” Twilight spoke again. “They are near identical to the ponies they copy, but if you know what to look for they are easy to spot. Plus ever since their attack the Princesses have developed ways of detecting them.”
“Oh, that’s a big help,” Marco sarcastically said. “All we have to do is get to know each and every pony personally, then we can tell when a Changeling is trying to fool us.”
“Well then, what’s your big plan Marco?” Rachel asked in a near angry tone. “Run up to a controller and levitate a stick in front of them?”
“Everyone shut up!” Jake shouted. The room went silent almost immediately and we all looked at Jake, who was scowling. “This pointless bickering isn’t getting us anywhere.” He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before continuing. “Look, the fact of the matter is, Equestria seems to be in just as much trouble as Earth. We were just supposed to deny the troops coming here their weapons, but we failed in that regard. From what Applebloom told us, the Yeerks are planning to make their final move soon, which means the entire planet will be overrun.
“If that happens, the Yeerks will have a very powerful resource. No one on Earth would be prepared to fight unicorns and pegasi. I can’t think of any species we’ve come across that would know how to react to seeing an army of ponies marching on them. We cannot let them take Equestria, and I’ll stake everything I have on making sure they don’t succeed here.”
The room was silent for what felt like eons after Jake finished talking. The silence was broken, however, by the faint sound of chimes bumping in the wind. Curiously I followed the sound and my eyes fell on Jake’s flank. Just then the chimes stopped and his flanks emitted a bright light that lasted no longer than a second. When it receded a beautiful banner, orange on black and with a crouching tiger as its sigil, was displayed.
“Woah, what’s that all about?” Marco asked after a moment. Jake looked at him in confusion, and Marco gestured at the strange symbol.
“Oh, wow! You got your Cutie Mark!” Twilight exclaimed.
“My what?” Jake asked, following Marco’s outstretched hoof and looking at the banner. His eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open in shock.
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Wow, fresh and clean with no comments, this is kind of nice.
Edit: Dang it!
WHY MUST APPLEBLOOM BE A CONTROLLER? WHY, TRICONDON?
Ooooooh shit,
Jake now has his tramp/ rump stamp and it's really different to Twilight's.
This...is going to end really badly. Will the Cutie Mark carry over to human form?! Oh, that'd be hilarious!
1174751
Because if it were Scootaloo, everyone'd be calling Scootabuse on me.
1174745
You fool! You've ruined the pristine cleanliness of my story! I defy you, comment-man!
-Tricondon
1174770 Yeah . . . *sighs*
aaaaand cue spit take.
Awesome Prince Jake moment there
I'm also kinda curious if the mark will carry over
1174805 Jake with a tattoo on his ass?
I'm sure his parent's would love that. =3
Yesssss...
I am enjoying this, very much. I still feel bad about what happened to Sweetie Belle.
1174759
He's a guy. Stud Stamp.
everyone listen to the animorphs the radio drama uncensored
What? Nopony saw this coming? K.A APPLEgate? Anypony?!
653667
Someone crossed Code Lyoko with ponies?
...this bothers me, because I just realized that I watched more mature shows when I was a child.
UPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*has nothing constructive to say other than I like the chapter*
Huzzah! Animorphs was my favorite book series as a kid. Love ya for making this.
Just don't make the ending stink as much as the original.
the nostalgia, oh man, i devoured this series! definitely adding to my read later list.
Jake got a Cutie Mark? Cool! I call Marco next, with a similar banner having a gorilla on it.
Oh shit, 4 months? Poor Applebloom...
Though I wonder why it took them that long to capture the Elements.
The moon overtakes the sun... Shit, they got Luna?!
I want to see Chrysalis entering the field, she is probably difficult to control thanks to the hive mind.
So I suppose this will have an ending that diverges from the books, or is this being like a in middle story?
Cause the ponies are a wild card.
1174860
Actually, I think it would look like a tramp stamp.
The time for the Yeerk offensive is when " the moon overtakes the sun " ?
This does not look good for Luna's fate...
who already met them in the woods...
If she isn't a controller yet she is their current primary target.
Still, Sparkle would have been a infinitely easier target, and she would have all but guaranteed access to Celestia and Luna.
Then again Yeerks are known for their illogical methods.
But now, lo and behold, I see this in the featured box. I remember everything about the series- the names of the characters, personalities, favorite animal forms, the Yeerk lore, and the overarching plot (no, not THAT plot!). So, I'm definitely going to read this, and I am adding it to my 'read later' list. Unfortunately, that list is nearing 200, so it may take a while. However, rest assured, this will sit in my brain like a burning-hot ember that must be tended to ASAP.
1174751
To make it easier for Jake to relate to Applejack and Rarity? His older brother has been a Controller TWICE now, and he himself was possessed once...Cassie too now that i think of it, though in her case it was voluntary and short lived.
Good grief, for all we know Visser Seven is either Derpy or Trixie...hell I wouldn't be all that surprised if she used Chrysalis as her host.
...
Dear Lord. If the Animorphs think Pinkie is unbelievable, what's going to happen when they meet Discord?
1175473
Discord could be a powerful ally against the Yeerks, actually. What do Yeerks depend on for infiltrating a planet? Subversion, stealth, and long-term plans. What's completely inimical to planning anything? The spirit of chaos!
Depending on whether Discord is restricted to just Equestria or not (when he isn't encased in stone), he may even have a stake in keeping the world safe from the Yeerks. Bonus points: Discord doesn't hurt anypony, just trolls them. Yeerks hurt a lot of ponies, and Discord wouldn't really approve. (Then again, the Animorphs hurt their opponents, too.)
I forget, is there a reason Twilight hasn't sent a letter along the lines of:
Dear Princess Celestia,
There is a threat against all of Equestria, and I need to talk to you about it face to face. This is related to the ship that hit the palace last week, too. I'll be in Canterlot soon, and I hope to see you then.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
1174935
EPIC NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. How long I have it was how long I held it.
Jake with a cutie-mark?!
Now that's funny! I wonder how he's going to get outta this one now.
KEEP GOING.
1175202 Luna probably isn't a controller yet. If she was she could've destroyed them all then and there.
damn the animorphs was a great series! loved them :D and i read all chapters just now its fantastic tracked and thumbed
Ah! I was beginning to think you forgot about this, Tri!
Ah wish ah'd thought ah makin' a pony/animorphs crossover
't'ain't fair!
love this so much
lol... Jake has a cutie mark... can't wait till marco get's one!
1177404
You get half an oatmeal cookie, one internet point per 3 chapters, and you must shill Samaru's Deltora crossover at every opportunity.
-Tricondon
Shit just got so motherfucking real the boards have yet to come up with a reaction image to describe it.
Aw great, now I'm gonna have to redraw the Twilight-Jake pic :P Nice job with this chapter. :D
Yay, the first cutie-mark! But sadness at 'Bloom being a controller. :(
I like the mark you gave Jake; it really fits him. And now Marco will forever torture him about this.
1178066
I do so enjoy giving you extra work. And besides, you haven't done any of the others yet aside from Ax/Pinkie, have you?
1177831
Make the image yourself then, lazy.
-Tricondon
Oooooooooohhhhhhh, interesting. I almost can't believe that the yeerk fell for the changeling routine. I know minions don't often realize the works of the strategist, but don't you think they might have suspected the bandits were AJ rather than changelings? Of course, the hardest thing about such things is getting the full picture from a drop.
And then, Cutie mark time! It appears that Jake's life long talent is inspiring and leading people. Figures.
1175622
Yeah, the one good thing you could say about Discord (other than the fact he is epic and is voiced by Q himself) is that for all the trouble he caused, he never actually HURT anyone. He's just a big kid really, wants to have fun without the 'adults' (Celestia) getting in the way. (Which is kind of ironic given he's older than Celestia and Luna combined).
And my money's on Discord being on speaking terms with the Ellimist and Crayak. Possibly not on the same level of power, mind you, but as the spirit of CHAOS! TM there's little doubt he'd know two of the biggest meddlers in the universe.
As for Twilight not sending a letter to the Princess: Well, originally Spike was being controlled, then he needed time to recuperate, and now there's a Yeerk Pool built right outside of Ponyville. Factor in Twilight's easily distracted nature when it comes to learning new things (Eggheads are so cute) and you could forgive her a mild brain-fart like this.
...
Well, Marco and Rachel probably wouldn't, but the rest would.
1175343
Okay, I have to admit the ending to Animorphs left me wanting.
I personally like to believe that the Animorphs didn't die when they rammed the ship, that they ended up taking it over and went on to face 'The One', who may or may not be an agent of Crayak depending on K.A. Applegate's statements regarding the entity.
Rachel's death, while an upset, didn't affect me that much, but it WAS how I'd have expected 'Xena' to go out: Fighting. What REALLY ticked me off was that no mention of Alloran was made after he was freed from Visser Three/One. I mean really? The Andalite who helped free him disappears and the War Prince just sits back and does nothing?
Animorphs was my first real Sci-fi series growing up (I wasn't an X-files fan, though i did watch the occasional ep), so I'd like to see more fics out there that do it justice.
And part of me is just DREADING the moment Pinkie Pie bakes Cinnamon Buns.
And if Ax thinks the PONIES are bad, just wait till he meets Discord.
Marco:...it's like the Ellimist on crack...
1175622>>1179827: "Never hurt anyone"? You call psychologically breaking the Mane Six to the point that they stopped being themselves not being hurt? You might want to try reading Pony POV. That explains this much better than I can.
Now, for an actual review.
Well, I didn't see Apple Bloom coming. The Mayor wasn't really a surprise, but Apple Bloom was. Quite clever of Cassie, though, I'm sure I would have slipped up somehow. As for the Cutie Mark... meh, I was kinda hoping they wouldn't get them. I dunno, it just messes with my perception of the canon.
"Until the moon overtakes the sun."
...they have Celestia. Why else would the moon overtake the sun unless Luna kept the moon moving, but Celestia refused to put the sun down? They have Celestia... odds just became even more impossible. Fortunately, heroes can't do that kind of math.
1174945
is getting memetic we have mlp crossovers with
anime: ranma, naruto, sailor moon, saint seiya, one piece, bleach, death note, hellsing
series: stargate, buffy, eureka
books:harry potter, lord of the rings, coraline, animorphs(this one)
comics/cartoons: avengers, spider-man, batman
videogames:dragon age, knighst of the old republic, megaman
and those are only the ones that i have at the top of my head and counting only fics if i can count images i can guarentee that we have at least a 70% everything crossed with ponies
1180510
Except they weren't psychologically broken. The Mane 6 were each put under a chaotic spell that flipped their primary virtues to the opposite. (A spell which, I might add, was broken by simply remembering events over the past year.) Rarity also suffered from an illusion that Tom was a diamond rather than a boulder.
Ponies under Discord's first rule were unhappy, it's true. There' nothing in canon to imply that any of Discord's antics ever directly harmed anypony, though. He even damns Celestia for a punishment that he would never do - turning somepony to stone. (If he knew about the Nightmare Moon incident, he's probably call her out on that, too.) Discord's character is like a child with godlike powers: he just wants to have fun.
Update. NAO!
That is... if it's okay with you...
653667
Code Lyoko with ponies?
All of my yes.
Come to think of it, when do you think the next update will be? Time between updates is getting longer... and the updates are shorter...
1179842
Well, no series ever ends satisfyingly. Lost, Harry Potter, um... other examples to lead up to a more satisfying last sentence... so, we might as well never end MLP. Ever. For eternity.
And, I know they didn't die. I just don't KNOW for absolute sure what did happen. Which sucks. But, that's what fanfiction is for- writing better endings to stories. *cough, Mass Effect, Halo, Gears of War, cough*. Well, there's more than that, but, you know what I mean.
1182556
Samaru had been having internet troubles the past few weeks. I apologize on his behalf. As to when the next update comes...dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Twilight_Sparkle.png
-Tricondon
Alas on the Twishrug! I'm still curious to see who the Big Host is, that's like the major reveal to come!
1182045: ...and you don't think that being put under such a spell might be psychologically damaging? At all? As for just wanting to have fun, there's fun, and then there's lying, tricking, and manipulating several ponies into misery. Okay, maybe Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy wouldn't have been especially unhappy, but Pinkie losing laughter? Applejack forced to live under the spectre of the end of their friendship? Twilight losing every close connection that she had spent a fragile year or so building up? I don't call that harmless fun.
As for there being no evidence that there was direct harm: Granny Smith dancing. What're the odds that Discord fixed her hip first? Sure, you could argue the other way and say that he probably did fix the hip, but even if you subscribe to the harmless trickster version of Discord, is he the sort to think of that?
As for the stone thing, my thought is that he simply doesn't like the idea of himself being turned to stone. Yes, this point is my weakest, but oh well.
1189092
None of the mane six seem traumatized at all after being un-discorded, and they certainly don't exhibit psychological trauma while under Discord's spell. Applejack's reaction to the "vision of the future" (before getting discorded) is the closest they come to trauma, and honestly, if a mild waking nightmare is all it takes to truly break one of these characters, then they aren't nearly the strong role models we make them out to be.
As for Granny Smith, where's the evidence that she was injured by her dancing? Hell, Twilight's attempts to "help" (read: violently shove) her across the street would have probably been more harmful. Or being lifted into the air by ropes tied to her hooves - why didn't her forelegs get dislocated by the CMC? Granny's proven to be tougher than AJ's claims to her needing a new hip imply, and she doesn't act any more frail in s2 than she did in s1 so it's highly unlikely Discord's magic inflicted any physical harm. (Also, Granny was smiling while she was dancing, so it's unlikely she was in pain at the time.)
1189138: Point taken as to the Granny Smith thing. However, to the rest of this I say: it's a kid's show. They can't show reasonable responses to trauma. But in the real world, should something so integral to us be forcibly reversed and warped like that, there would be trauma.