My request for a reprieve is denied for two reasons. The first reason is that Celestia is moving over to the twitching pieces of pony left on the ground as the body that was protecting the cerebrate starts falling apart. The second is a creeping sensation in the back of my mind as I feel the creatures and living structures in the area slowly connect with me. I stiffen briefly in surprise as Liz wraps an arm around my shoulders and squeezes gently. I give a quick mental command to the drones here to construct a suitable bedroom for myself and one for Liz while imparting an image of the exact meaning of that.

"Morning Glory?" I don't need my extra senses to hear the pure sadness in Celestia's voice, nor do I need to look to know that this isn't going to end well no matter what happens. She's infested, mutated beyond the realm of possible recovery, and now she's dying as the only things keeping her alive were the twisted will and the vascular connections of the cerebrate. Nevertheless, I walk over and kneel down next to the dying pony and lay my hand on the side of her neck. "Excuse me, can I have a moment with an old friend in private?"

"I'm trying to give you that moment, princess." I close my eyes and focus on the infestation inside of Morning Glory, but I feel my entire body tense up at the effort of making the connection so soon. The effort to undo the alterations to her throat alone is enough to cause a stab of pain in my head; one that must have echoed through the hive as I faintly hear dozens of alien hisses. My queen, you are hurting yourself trying to do this alone. I try to ignore that voice, one that is so similar to the cerebrate except feminine. I manage a smile, despite feeling my nose start to drip with blood, as I hear the mare's labored and ragged breathing become slightly less arduous. "If I do anything more than this, she dies now instead of in a few minutes."

"Su-" she begins coughing, her remaining muscles spasming violently until I do my best to soothe her without making any further changes. "Sun...beam, is that thee? I cannot see anything. The mind-demon took my sight at some point. Is Moonstone with thee?" Something tells me that the translation spell is struggling with an ancient dialect, and doing its best to render the words into an understandable form of phrasing.

"Nay, Lu-Moonstone is not with me. I have two new friends here, and one is working to ease your passing."

"'You?' When didst thou become so formal, Sunbeam?" Another set of wracking coughs comes from the dying mare. "Mine oldest friend, wilt thou indulge me with our greeting one last time so that I may die with a final pleasing memory? Sun-sun...shine..."

I hear Celestia sniffle, and her guard just drops as she struggles to keep herself from crying. I find myself crying as I see a few flashes of her memories and can't help comparing the healthy mare in them to the dying wreck I'm connected with. "Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and...and..." She sobs, her voice so thick with emotion that she can't finish saying it.

"And do a little shake." Morning Glory coughs again; her body starting to fail as the hive shuts off support to the dead body of the cerebrate, which cuts off the only thing keeping her alive as well. "Thy new friend is so bright, Sunbeam, not a beast at all. A wall of purple, parting to allow me to pass through to the blessed fields of Elysium. I hope my family has not been long in wait for me." Her voice begins to fade, becoming weak as she struggles to get the last few words out.

"I have it on good authority, Morning Glory, that they are most eager to reunite. You will also always be welcome in a guest suite in Chronias."

"As if I...would ever...be...worthy..." I open my eyes and quickly lift her off the ground as I feel her breathing cease, my wingtips moving quickly to sever the various tissues that connect what remains of her body to the hive. I'm not surprised to see Liz hugging Celestia and offering what comfort she is able to give just by being a person to be there.

"Princess, if you want to have her buried somewhere other than the swamp you will have to cremate the remains, or perhaps even use one of those spells that leaves behind only a pile of dust." My queen, if you have a mome- I slam my mind shut to that voice, forcing my face to betray none of the annoyance I feel as it intrudes again. This isn't a hard thing to do, as I feel the full weight of Celestia's sadness despite trying to close her off as well.

Celestia sniffs a few times, looking from my face to the body in my arms and back as if struggling to speak. She settles for wrapping me in her magic and pulling me in close to the side opposite Liz while wrapping us both in her wings. "Later. Do either of you know any good songs for mourning? Something from your culture might be appropriate as the two of you helped rescue her."

Liz and I share a look over Celestia's neck, she mouths a few song titles and I shake my head quickly. I mouth one back to her and she frowns before nodding in agreement as it is the only one we know with no overt religious overtones. "Sarah has one, but I'd ruin it with this hoarse voice I've been given, so we're going to hope this translates properly."

I clear my throat before starting; glancing around the cavern and thinking that it might be better if we had a place that wouldn't echo. "Should auld acquaintance be forgot..."*

We comfort Celestia the best we can after the song, and she spends a fair amount of time crying on both of us as well as telling us both a fair bit about some of her adventures in days long gone. It isn't until a pegasus guard flies into the entrance and hovers in front of us that we realize how much time has passed. "Bnehlacc Lamacdey, ed ec ymsucd tyfh. Ed ec vyn bycd dra desa yd frelr fa cruimt ryja nadinhat du Lyhdanmud."**

Celestia looks at the two of us and the questioning expression on my face before standing and taking Morning Glory's corpse from my arms. "Captain Blueblood was just reminding me of the time and of prior obligations. I will send a courier within the next twelve hours with a selection of books to get you started learning our language as well as various other subjects. I'll include a book of non-poisonous plants as well as herbal medicines just in case."

"Send anything you have on abilities that come solely from the mind and willpower as well. It may take me a while to understand it, but that would possibly help me get a grip on how my new abilities work a bit faster."

"I'll take anything you have on medicine and anatomy. I'm a paramedic back home and that's something that will be incredibly useful to spread goodwill towards us in the town we're guarding."

Celestia smiles, the first one not to have sadness to it since she started talking to Morning Glory. "I will see what I can do. The two of you have much work to do before I can officially present you to Equestria at large as new citizens and the protectors of even such a remote place as this. Oh, when the courier arrives it will most likely say the following;" I can tell that she turns the translation spell off as I only recognize two words of what follows. "Tamejano vun Sarah yht Elizabeth."

"Right, I'll keep watch for them." Liz volunteers almost eagerly, but the rest of what she says is unheard by me as I once again get a call from that voice. My queen, I am hurt. The cerebrate did not care if I could move as long as I could help it create more larvae. Tell me why I should care about how much pain you're in instead of reverting you to biomass and starting over? I was given the name Chrysalis, my Queen, and I am now the only being who knows how to work magic into the banelings based on local patterns. "Sarah. Earth to Sarah!"

"What?" I shake my head, trying to clear the cobwebs induced by the telepathic conversation. "Sorry, there's another intelligent mind here. I was just having a conversation." I look around again, trying to figure out where to go. "I take it Celestia left with her soldiers?"

"Yeah, while you were staring at the wall like you were trying to think it into a different type of stone. I just wanted to let you know I'm going to be in the 'doorway' if you need me, that way the pegasus doesn't have to land on this purple shit. You might need to yell a couple times, I'm going to be testing a few things to see what else I can access from my old phone."

"Great. I'll have a zergling bite you if it's important. I have to go meet Chrysalis."

"Sarah, that's not funny. I have no way to repair myself if I get injured."

"You're made of an alien metal of unknown strength. I think you'll stand up to a few teeth from one of the pony-based ones. The cerebrate was either a moron or a genius, and I'm leaning towards moron."

Author's Notes:

Well, shit. I seem to have hit publish when I meant to hit edit...which proves the folly of trying to edit on my phone.

Okay, I'll work with that.

* Yes, they are Italian, but that doesn't mean they don't enjoy songs and such originating in other places and virtually permeating the entirety of western society. Enjoy the song.
** Translation: Princess Celestia, it is almost dawn. It is far past the tim*** at which we should have returned to Canterlot.
*** Typo, should be time. Will have to fix that.