Author's Notes:

This chapter, being from Elizabeth's point of view, contains clusters of untranslated Celestia speech. As such this ends the opportunity for a single person to come up with a good name for Sarah's zerg brood as I am forced to disclose the secret both in the narrative and for you readers to not be completely lost with only half of the conversation understandable.

The pony language is Al Bhed, from Final Fantasy X.
Online translator can be found here.

"Ouin cecdan-"

"Did nothing wrong! I'm not budging on this, Celestia. Elizabeth did what she thought needed to be done to ensure her own continued existence." I tried to ignore the argument coming from down the hall while reading one of the books that had been left behind as part of the care package from Jason and Twilight. Three more books, including the pony-language children's primer, lay on my bed open to pages with interesting things.

"Hudrehk fnuhk? Cra cissuhat y lnaydina fru fyc ypma du nafneda naymedo yht ica femt sykel uh y fres! Rymv uv dra ledewahc uv Lmuitctym yna eh y byhel tia du cittahmo ryjehk tevvanahd fehkc; aja druikr dra lremtnah tuh'd caas duu ibcad." The cadence of her speech nags at my mind, and I think back to previous times I'd spoken with her; when I could understand what she was saying.

"Did anyone die?" Sarah's question rather obviously makes Celestia think, since a response doesn't come immediately. I play back a portion of a previous conversation in my mind; my new brain actually capable of bringing it up as a recording of the event from my perspective.

"Her mouth matches the length of the English words I'm hearing..." I quickly cut off the memory and walk over to hit the doorframe in order to close the special privacy membrane. I look through the books delivered a week ago; finding another one with a more basic premise quickly based on the three stylized letters on the cover and the fact that it had only a few dozen pages at most. The letters are shocking in their similarity to those used in English, but with numerous accents and flourishes akin to those found in old illuminated manuscripts. "Y, P, L... it can't be that simple, can it?"

On the first page is a picture of an apple with the embellished Y next to it; page two has a bear with P next to it. The pattern continues through twenty-six pages; with the final two pages bearing pictures of a monstrous serpent with arms and a humanoid torso next to an O, and a zebra next to an ornate W. "It's a fucking substitution cipher! The written form is just English with letters swapped around..." I turn back to my bed; grabbing the children's book and smiling as I watch the text switch around and alter itself in my perception. I can finally read the basic story. The text on each page doesn't instantly translate into English, but it only takes a few seconds for my mind to register the letters and begin swapping them for their English counterparts.

"Maybe Hodgepodge was right about not minding if a few things start slipping through. Taking advantage of the fact that my brain is a fucking computer now means I could master the theory of any documented process and would only lack in practice..." I begin to pace as I think; the motion helping me come down from the high of discovering a new capability of this body that I hadn't previously considered. "Engineering, metallurgy, anything defined more by science and methodology is essentially a free skill. I'm going to need some help on the tech side of things, but Sarah likely won't mind if I ask for one of those ten forms to be one of the smarter aliens."

I grab one of the spellbooks left behind by our recent visitor, and I don't wait around after hitting the area that causes the privacy membrane to retract. This turns out to be a mistake as Celestia and I collide as I try to exit while she barges in only to each have our progress halted by the other. "Cunno," her voice rings out as I step back and glare at her. I prepare myself for some kind of confrontation; bracing myself to try and move out of the way if she starts casting that sun-laser spell only to relax a bit as I notice Sarah behind her in the hall. "E theth'd aqbald oui du pa dnoehk du mayja."

"I told you to not try going in the second she opened the door; now back up so she can leave. Cast your damn translation spell so she can understand you and you can understand her. She can't read your mind or project her thoughts at you, remember?" Sarah seems more in control than she was a few minutes ago when the two were yelling at each other.

"No. Don't cast your spell just yet." I shake my head as I step back again and motion for the two of them to come in instead. "I want to see if my theory is correct first, because I just found out that the language you speak is essentially the same as one of ours." I wait for Sarah to repeat this after they both walk in; since my shaking head seems to have been interpreted just fine. I turn to Celestia and smile while calculating the best phrase to attempt. I hold up a finger to ask for a bit of patience while I close my eyes to avoid other distractions. Translating: Nice to meet you, Celestia. My name is Elizabeth. Preserving original name. Say: "Hela du saad oui, Lamacdey. So hysa ec Elizabeth." I open my eyes after saying her name, and I laugh at the utterly baffled expression on both of their faces. "The written form is English with a simple letter substitution algorithm."

Celestia's horn glows, and she clears her throat while sitting on the floor. "Your accent is atrocious, but it was understandable at least. I'm sure you will get better with practice." Her eyes move as she looks around the room; pausing for a few seconds as they spot the cannister rifle. "Five hours. I had to listen to my 'nephew' complain for five hours about how he no longer has rear legs and his wife has scales on her neck. I had to spend eight hours attempting to calm the people of Cloudsdale. Another two hours were wasted assessing the flight capability of the Wonderbolts since half of them were visiting family in Cloudsdale. I have not yet been given a full assessment of all changes and damages caused by the actions of your friend, but I noticed more than a few ponies in Canterlot with enough demonic heritage to have two horns curving back slightly where they had previously been unicorns. The only two consolations are that flutterponies are no longer numbered in the single digits of random births a century, and that this change didn't hurt anypony other than causing some emotional distress. Neither of you are to bring that entity here again unless there is a threat that could possibly destroy the planet entirely."

"I told you there are worse creatures than him she could have picked to summon. Not many of them would have been able to help her quite as readily, but plenty of them could have caused more damage." Sarah has a smug smile on her face as she leans against a wall. "Plus we gained some valuable items as well as information. Remember our deal, Celestia."

"Yes, I know. Now I must deal with your sister." Celestia flicks her ears, not having bothered to look away from me while listening to Sarah. "You are to come with me and bring your weapons to be examined by the artificers and tinkerers in Canterlot. The long one clearly has the destructive power of at least a basic combat spe-"

"No." My refusal is instant, and it clearly takes Celestia by surprise. "I'm not going to be poked and prodded anywhere but here; where my sister can intervene if I am unable to stop anything that I find uncomfortable." I walk over and grab the rifle; holding it by the barrel so there is no mistake of intent. I only barely notice a flash of text and a progress bar in the lower left of my vision about assimilating assembly data as I bring it over in front of her. "You can take this. It's purely a mechanical design as far as I know, so figuring out how to make more of them will advance your technology and manufacturing capabilities to the point where we will be able to help each other much more readily."

"You assume I will take no for an answer."

"To paraphrase Solus Prime*; freedom is the right of all sapient beings, Celestia. I have committed no crime, therefore you have no right to detain me." I narrow my eyes, almost glaring at her. "You don't come across as a tyrant, normally, and I can offer something better than examining me if you bring me some texts you have on metallurgy and local elements of matter."

"What would that be, Elizabeth?" Celestia arches an eyebrow as I pull the Key out of my thigh. "I remember you showing that before, but you never explained what it does."

"The Key to Vector Sigma is a cybertronian atrifact. The main use is in operating Vector Sigma, the computer that controls the creation of new life. A secondary use is that it can turn organic matter into metal on planets other than Cybertron. We have an endless source of organic matter here: creep. With a few books on metallurgy I could possibly fine-tune which metal it creates."

Celestia's eyes widen at this, but she smiles and nods eagerly. "One weapon to examine in exchange for all the knowledge we can give you on the various metals we have here, and all the cloud-iron you can make with that knowledge."

"No. I'm not agreeing to an endless supply of anything. Sixteen tons."

"Cloud-iron has no weight, but you make a good point. Sixteen supply contracts from the crown with quantities measured in cubic meters instead?"

"Cubic anything is going to be hard to make using creep alone. Square meters and a number of layers or plates." Sarah interjects while looking at me. "Why sixteen? That's an odd number to start with."

"The old coal-working folk song, only I'm not going to get deeper in debt." I keep my gaze steady on Celestia's face. "Additionally, I want it to be made public where this supply is coming from so that outsiders can get some of this metal. The way you all but started dancing at the idea tells me this is a versatile substance. A weightless metal would be extremely useful in constructing larger buildings as well as whatever your plans include."

"Very well. I will have some lawyers draft up a simple formal agreement. I wouldn't want to complicate this too much, but none of us have anything to record thi-"

"My brain is a computer, Celestia. I think that should be enough on our end." I hold the rifle out again; a bit of my irritation with trying and failing to figure things out over the previous week slipping into my voice. "I do have one last question for you before you head off to do whatever it is you do to rule your country. Why is one of the books you sent us blank and marked with the symbol on my collar?"

"That is an enchanted volume. I have a matching tome in my quarters. If either of us needs to contact the other, but it isn't urgent enough for a face-to-face meeting, whatever one writes in their book will appear in the other."

"You have spells that can create a quantum entanglement effect? I have got to figure out how magic works, because this is some crazy shit." I clear my throat, and cause that sound like grinding gears to emit again, while pointing to the spellbooks on my bed. "Oh, right, we have resources of our own to peruse on that now, as well as other things we need to take care of."

Celestia nods and stands up. "Very well, I suppose it is time for me to return anyways. We wouldn't want the guard trying to storm this place thinking you were trying to detain me." Her horn lights briefly before she and the rifle both vanish in a flash of light.

"So, what's next, Sarah? Did you want me to teach you the cipher, or show you a few neat spells I think could be useful?" I fold my arms carefully across my stomach; struggling to keep my fingers from tapping at my sides.

"Actually, I think I'm going to need your help choosing those forms. You're more familiar with the cartoon Jason's device came from and I just remember the fact that the Omnitrix could scan and repair damaged DNA. The idea of him trying to 'repair' the zerg sent me into a bit of a panic." I can't help but laugh a bit at this. "It's not a joke, Liz! Neither of us knows what that thing could have done if it had decided that I needed to be fixed, or that the zerg were horribly mutated...which they really are."

"Alright, alright. So, do you have any major goals in mind for these forms?" We head out of my room; leaving the books alone as we head for Sarah's to sit down and examine the device Hodgepodge had given her.

"Well, I want two intelligent samples at a minimum to help me with genetic manipulation and integrating new strains and features. I was thinking one of them should be good with tech so you could borrow them in case you had any ideas for things to make. I already picked three forms that I want to see if I can combine into some kind of ambassador strain." She picks it up and carefully twists a section, which causes a hologram about a foot tall to show above it in the shape of a bipedal version of a unicorn. Another twist is given and there's a pegasus in its place. A final twist brings up something that looks like a fusion between one of the two previous forms and Mera, except much closer to a fish becoming bipedal than a human becoming fish-like.

"Well, if it's pure brains and the ability to quickly comprehend just about anything, as well as use basic information at hand to figure out a solution to a problem, you're going to want Brainstorm. Twist that dial until we get a crab-like thing with frail-looking pincers and a lower body with four thin legs." As she twists the dial I note that size seems inconsistent in the holograms. Most are around a foot or so tall, but that includes forms like Nanomech. Seeing Nanomech as tall as that just feels weird. Sarah stops twisting the dial, staring at the hologram of a blob with an almost euphoric expression. "Oh, look, your next boyfriend?"

"Liz...that's a paw."

"WHAT?" I stand up and move around the table to examine the hologram from every possible angle; finally noticing the claws and fur. "Why is it so big? Everything else has been small or large enough to at least get an idea of what it looks like..."

"Maybe it's just too big to be reduced any further. I'm locking that one in..."

"Are you completely out of your mind? Do you have any idea how huge that thing could be if that's just its paw when reduced enough so that we can see it?"

"Yes, I know it's going to be big. I need something like the Leviathan for long-range transport and base mobility in case this wasn't the only zerg infestation on this planet. I want to be ready the next time we have to face that cerebrate, and I want to be able to bring soldiers with me rather than being forced to create them all in the field." She looks at me, her eyes full of anger and hatred. "You didn't see into Celestia's mind. That thing tortured Morning Glory for millenia, and I want to make it suffer the most humiliating defeat possible when it revives."

"Okay, okay, I'm not going to argue that with you. I still don't get how it was different from her when it was growing out the back of her head."

We take our time going through the various forms present for selection, and Sarah makes a few choices that seems a bit odd to me. Upon selecting number ten it shuts down for a few seconds before coming back to full power so I can look trough the final choices one last time. "Alright, so you chose those three humanoid-pony forms, Brainstorm, Grey Matter, XLR8, whatever has that giant paw, whatever had those two big hooves, a changeling of some kind...and a boar. Why a boar?"

"Well, your basic boar from Earth is a dangerous-enough creature by itself what with the tusks and powerful running muscles. I want to see if I can make something at least close to an uninfected sample from that one for easy trade goods. Connect a boar to the hive mind and that's docile butchering meat right there. If I can create partitioned strands I could even make something combat-applicable out of it. That and this was the only form on there that flat-out looked like there was no way for it to be intelligent at a basic level, so I kinda want to know what makes this one different."

I shrug in response, not really seeing the point in having yet another small quadrupedal battle beast thing as an option. "Alright, so what else did you want help with aside from learning how to read the language?"

"Right now? Nothing. I want to get to the spawning pool so Chrysalis can help me get these samples integrated, and get started on growing Brainstorm at least so I have my advisor council as soon as possible." She doesn't even wait, and I stare at her as she walks out. It takes me a good five minutes to calm down from just being brushed off like that, but I eventually do find somethingapproaching peace and stability as I slowly walk back to my room.

"I need to get out and socialize with the locals soon, I think, otherwise my sister getting weird is going to drive me batshit..." I pick one of the pony anatomy books up and flip to the first page. It takes a few seconds for that self-written program trick to come into effect and translate the text there: Y pakehhan'c kieta du dra bufanc uv dra seht; Dra Bceuhelc Rhytpuug. Once it finishes getting swapped around I end up staggering and falling onto my ass: A beginner's guide to the powers of the mind; The Psionics Handbook. I close the book quickly and stare at the illustration gracing the cover: A pony head, cut in half to expose the brain and the various other features inside the head and skull. "Well, shit. No point in not reading a bit more I suppose. I wonder if I'll even be able to use any of this stuff without upgrading with the driver though..."

*The version of Earth that Sarah and Liz call home had a bit of a different history with certain things. To those not knowledgeable of Transformers lore; Solus Prime is officially the only female prime of the original 13.