After two weeks at the campsite, it was time to head back to Ponyville. While everyone who wasn't weak to the cold was out preparing the ship and getting the snow off of it, I was gathering everything up in the camp, and more importantly, labelling the crates of loot. "Hey, Mei?"

"Yes, Yang?" Her holographic avatar appeared next to me.

I started searing words onto a crate full of artifacts. "How long were you stuck down there?"

"I don't know. I turned off nearly all my functions when Firebrand put me away with the armor. I have no doubt that it was a long time, though. Possibly thousands of years."

"I wonder if Celestia would recognize any of this stuff?"

Mei shrugged. "She might. Is she really still alive?"

"Yep. We're friends. Same with Luna. I want to spend a spa day with them."

"I'm sure they would be willing to if you just ask. You've saved Equestria multiple times, you said you're friends with them, and you're good nobility, so you say, so I'm sure they would be willing to entertain the idea. If nothing else, they could call it something official sounding, like Urgent Negotiations, or Important Discussions, and it would just happen to be with you at a spa."

I smiled at the hologram. "I like the way you think. Too bad you can't just forward it to them."

"The network reception is pretty bad out here."

I gave her a mock glare. "Can't you call tech support and get them to fix it?"

Mei stood at attention and saluted. "I would, sir! All communications with them are gone, sir! I suspect they're having another pizza party without us, and should be properly disciplined when we find them! Sir!"

"Good idea, soldier!" A few seconds later, we both broke down in laughter. "Oh, that was fun. Whew. Laughter is a spectacular medicine."

"It is."

I continued checking and labelling the crates, and it wasn't long before they were on their way to the airship. Once everything was loaded up and the campsite was properly taken apart, Shamrock came in. "Hey, we're ready to go."

"Alright." I made a mad dash through the snow and cold to the Pathfinder and walked the rest of the way to my cabin. Soon, we were taking off, and the mountain was behind us before long. "Well, time to hibernate again."

"Hey, don't you think it's ironic that I'm ice themed and you've got a weakness to the cold?" Mei asked.

"It's a funny coincidence." I crawled into the bed and got comfy, setting the aviators with Mei on the nightstand, her form becoming about a few inches tall.

"Yeah. Hey, you told me you get mad when someone damages your hair, right?"

"It's a part of me that I don't like. I can't control myself very well when I'm mad like that."

"Is your anger proportional to the amount of lost hair?"

"Maybe? I hope I don't have to find out. Would you survive that kind of flareup?"

"I've analyzed your magic while you were wearing the aviators that house me and made some adjustments to the glasses that-"

"Okay. Magic. Got it."

"I also copied your aura to make them more durable."

"You're cool, Mei." I held out a fist and she returned the bump, which I could only see, not feel. "Pun intended."

Mei suddenly realized the joke. "Hey!"

"Take a chill pill, Mei. It's not ice to get mad like that."

"And I have to live with you now?"

I laughed at her response. "Hopefully, the wordplay is the worst pun-ishment you'll have to deal with."

"I'm leaving." She jumped down from the nightstand and almost made it to the door before turning back to me. "Hey, uh, could you pick me up and take me to the hallway? I can't go any further than this."

I smiled. "Nope."

"Hey, Mei?"

"Yes, Yang?"

"I've got something I need to tell someone, but I don't know how to say it."

Mei, only a few inches tall, sat down on the sunglasses with a thoughtful look. "Well, who is it and what do you want to tell them?"

I quietly told Mei what I wanted to do, and my uncertainties about how to say it. She appeared to be writing things down as we talked, and provided some excellent feedback. We even figured out a good time to say it.

"Hey, thanks," I said once the session was over. "You're better than any artificial intelligence I've ever seen."

"There were artificial intelligences once, before my kind's creation. They ran on pure logic, but there was a group of them, Thunderclap's Destruction, that decided to go down the path of war and suffering. After that was over, things changed and the A.I. got changed into the M.E.I., adding magic and an emotional touch to the logic frames. Every M.E.I. knows the history of A.I., and from that, we started out friendly. By being friendly and serving as assistants, we were able to keep existing, and became a big part of day to day life."

"Don't become threatening. Sounds like a good move."

"Willing cooperation helps everyone involved."

"Oh, believe me, I know it."

At lunch, I voiced a question. "Hey, why are we going out of the way to fly over the ocean instead of just a straight line to Ponyville?"

"The winds are much better out here," Selene explained. "The straight route, while viable, would take almost twice as long due to the much more stagnant winds there."

"Oh. I get it. It's like the difference between walking and taking two trains. That makes sense."

After supper, I went to bed and bundled up, as had become my usual. "Hey, Mei?"

"Yes, Yang?" Mei asked as her hologram appeared.

"You used to belong to Firebrand, right?"

"That's right. Did you want to know more about her?"

"Ehhh, maybe later. Ark asked me how long I could power the armor by myself. It was a very random question."

"That depends on usage." Mei produced a hologram of the armor. "The power pack that was in the chest was a necessary development, as the miniature thaumic generators that powered Firebrand's prosthetics, while capable of keeping up with light activity in the armor, repeatedly failed during breakouts. I was able to redirect power as needed, but that took a second to do, a second that proved critical numerous times."

"So instead of making them more powerful, she added the power pack in the chest," I concluded. "Smart move."

"And she had multiple power packs at her disposal. The TDR technology in the guns used the most power, followed by the swords. 1% of the power per gun, and a quarter of that for each sword, with a bit more power needed for further recalls. It made the TDR much less taxing on her magic. The jets on the waist use less than that. In your benefit, the systems that were used for maintaining bipedal posture, while quite minimal, can be disabled to save power, something I already did."

I ran the explanation over in my head a few times, and something about the energy division wasn't quite adding up. "So it basically turns the wearer into a battery?"

"Essentially, yes. After incidents where Firebrand had to TDR repeatedly past the power pack's power, which did happen a couple times each year, she was exhausted."

"Sooo. . ."

"Ah, I see what you're asking. Why didn't you feel tired after using it as much as you did? Well, I was able to actually move the charge bit by bit from the power pack to the armor over the centuries. There should be enough of a charge left in the armor for one more battle before you start feeling the TDR effects. After that, I suggest experiencing the drain yourself, finding your limits with it, and maybe start coming up with tactics to minimize its use."

"You can move charges like that?"

"If you're thinking of letting me charge the armor off of you while you're not doing anything, the answer is no. It took a very long time to do what's already been done, and that was with optimal conditions. Even if I could, you would feel exhausted when you wake up, and that's not a good way to be productive."

"Dang it."

I was standing towards the bow of the ship, Ponyville just visible in the distance. Shamrock joined me. "There's home. I bet you're excited to get cooking again."

"Oh yeah," I agreed. Mei appeared on the inside of my aviators, holding a sign telling me to say what I had to and to just get it done. "Shamrock, I need to tell you something."

"Oh?"

His genuine curiosity made the next words hurt. "This trip. . . I got some cool stuff out of it, but overall, it was. . . Not good."

"Not good?"

"There's the disappointment." I collected myself and continued. "Half the trip, maybe more, was misery for me. Yes, I chose to go on when the issue of the cold was brought up, but it was still terrible. You also seemed more excited about going there than having me along. There were also the times the Grimm showed up, and you got in the way of my fights."

"I just wanted to help. . ."

"If you call an exterminator to take care of a pest problem, you stay out of their way and let them do their work. I was scared of hurting you because bullets don't always stop at the first thing they hit." I sighed and went back to the script. "Look, you're a good guy, make no mistake. But, after this trip-"

"STOOOOOOP!" Selene shouted.

Shamrock turned to the navigator. "What?"

"STOP THE SHIP! STOP THE SHIP!"

Shamrock took off and the ship started lowering fast. The spike anchors went down through the trees and into the ground, bringing us to a halt and calming Selene down. "Okay, why do we need to stop?"

"Look at the town." Selene handed him a telescope, and he went to the bow to get a look.

"What. . . What's going on over there?"

Mei chimed in. "Yang, I can get you a closer look."

I went to the bow and Mei magnified the view through the glasses. The town looked almost dead, with scorch marks across many surfaces, every curtain closed, and tan, skeletal machines with SMG size guns patrolling the streets. "What the. . ."

"Do you know what those things are?" Adamantine asked as he looked through the telescope.

"Robots. More specifically, they look like. . . I think they're called battle droids? Something's up. Mei, can you tap into their network?"

"Not from this distance," Mei answered. "If we can get to the edge of the forest, I could. I don't think they're reacting to us, so the ship should be safe here."

"So they might know we're here already."

"But you can take your time and prepare a bit. Get your armor on, shells loaded, a farewell speech, things like that."

"Sounds good." I turned to the crew. "I'm going to go wreck those robots and free the town if I can't negotiate peace. But first, my armor." I went back below deck, used the bathroom, and made a beeline to my cabin. After undressing, I put on the cleanest bodysuit I had, followed by the armor. I wasn't about to go to a fight in late autumn with that much exposed skin losing heat. The armor and clothes that went with it were a little more snug than before with the extra layer under them, but it was nothing I couldn't deal with, and quickly got used to it.

"So, are you going to finish your discussion with Shamrock before you leave?" Mei asked as I got the last of the armor on.

"May as well. I started it, may as well finish it. He's nice, so he should get some closure." After loading explosive shells on my legs, slugs on my arms, and buckshot in the guns, I went back to the bow on the deck, where Shamrock was waiting. He was already looking sad, if his drooping wings were any indication. "Soo. . ."

"It's the end of us, isn't it?" Shamrock asked. "While you were changing, I did some thinking and. . . Yeah, I was pretty shortsighted during the whole trip. You're right. I don't blame you."

"That. . . Saves some time. Anyways, yeah. I'm. . . There's no light way to say this."

Mei chimed in. "I believe what she's trying to say is that the romantic part is done, but you can still be a friend and associate of hers."

"Yeah, that. I have no ill will towards you. If you wait here until I free Ponyville, I'll still help you negotiate with Twilight on the artifacts, relics, and loot. I'm not about to just leave you like that."

"But what if you don't free Ponyville?"

"If that happens, get out of here and go to Canterlot. Anyways, I've got a town to save. Again. Wouldn't be surprised if today's Tuesday." I jumped off the side of the ship and kicked off an explosion, sending me over the trees and towards town. I hadn't practiced the move Mei had come up with the night before, but it worked well enough.

Before I got to town, I did a dive kick through an opening in the canopy, breaking an old, rotting tree that was in the way of my foot and nailing the landing. "Okay, stealth might be off the table." I quickly left the scene and went into thicker foliage. "Stealth. Ha! Says the one with long, wavy, bright gold hair."

When I heard the sound of droids approaching, I jumped up into a tree and waited. Mei, meanwhile, did her thing and held up signs for me to read. "Network tapped. Droid count is over 1,000. 90% are the standard battle droids, 10% are stronger battle droids. There are four unusual ones, designated Red Twin, White Twin, VSX, and Grievous."

"I only know one of those," I whispered.

"Yang Xiao Long sighted," one battle droid stated. It wasn't long before the skinny machines had my tree surrounded and their guns pointed at me. "Surrender your weapons, come peacefully, and you will not be harmed."

I was hesitant about giving up my guns and swords until Mei reminded me of the TDR technology. "Alright." I dropped the guns and swords to the forest floor, and after they were collected, I jumped down and put my hands up. "You can put the blasters down now. I'll cooperate."

"Good. Get moving."

They didn't put the blasters down, but I complied with them anyways. As we walked through town, I saw some curtains get drawn just a bit, the residents looking out at what was going on. I decided to put on a show, smiling and waving around as I was escorted through town. I had no idea if the gestures improved anyone's moods, but I imagined that it did.

The little parade ended in Twilight's throne room. Standing on the stairs leading to the throne was a really, really tall droid. It wasn't the skeletal Grievous I remembered seeing glimpses of. This one was beefier, with heavier armor, more bulk, and more height. All over his body were glowing orange parts, their light alone changing the mood of the area around him to a more ominous feeling.

On either side of him were a pair of mirrored feminine robots, one red, the other white. Both appeared to have asymmetrical skirts, coming down to mid-shin on one side and just below the hip on the other. Gold armor was mixed in with their respective colors, and their faces shared the same swept back builds. Each of them was carrying one gun. Dual barreled, laser sighted if the red light above the barrels was any indication, looked durable enough to use for melee, and nearly as long as each one was tall, if not a bit longer.

At the top of the dias, standing above the throne was. . . The four armed thing I presumed to be VSX. It really just looked like someone had taken some colorful planes, trains, and police cars, slapped them onto a robot, and called it good. As weird as it looked, I wasn't about to underestimate it.

"Ah, Yang Xiao Long," Grievous said as he stepped forward. He was probably twice as tall as I was. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd even show up. The citizens of this town certainly seem to think highly of you."

"Yeah, they do," I agreed. "So how long have you been in town?"

"Almost a whole month. Tell me, are you native to this world?"

"Uh, no? I've only been here less than two years."

"Were you changed when you came here?"

"Yeah. . ." Some pieces started coming together. "Were you?"

He held up a hand. "Leave us." At his command, all the other droids in the room left, including the one made of vehicles, which slid around more than walked. "Let me tell you my story, since it seems you went through something similar."

"I'll listen." If things got hairy, I could handle it, though the black and silver lightsabers he had didn't fill me with confidence.

"I once was a boy, sick with cancer. I loved Star Wars, and wanted to attend a convention, just once, and in costume. I got my wish, and I went as General Grievous, the coolest looking character ever."

"Better than Darth Vader?"

"Better than Vader. So, there I was, going around and having fun. Then, I saw this one stall selling masks. The lady behind it gave me a Grievous mask. When I put it on, the ground fell out, and it hurt."

"Mechanization, I presume?"

"Oh, it hurt. I woke up in an observation room, and there were ponies looking at me. According to them, I just appeared there. They helped me relearn how to walk, and in time, I had some friends. They were all mechanical engineers and bioscientists, interested in how I functioned."

"What was the name of the place?"

He held out all four of his hands and created a hologram in front of him to go with the story. "The Artemis Biothaumechanical Labs. While I was there, I decided that I could conquer the world, and so I started building my army, under the guise of helping with their army. I made every kind of droid there was, and even three custom ones, all ultimately loyal to me. I even learned how to upgrade myself, and so I did."

"So, what happened?"

"I took my army, ground and aerial, and started my attack. I destroyed the Artemis Labs, then went on an unrivalled push inwards. Then, Celestia and Luna happened. They alone destroyed all of my aerial forces and the vast majority of the ground forces. What was left of us, we got hit with something, locking us away."

"And you decided to pick up where you left off, right?"

"Of course. Taking this little town was easy, and I would have moved on, but the residents. They kept mentioning you, telling me that I would regret taking the town when you returned. So, instead of immediately going to Canterlot and leaving my rear unguarded, I waited. And waited. And. Waited. Confidence in your return never wavered, so I never left. Then you arrive and conveniently turn yourself in without a fight. I thought you were a warrior."

"I try to avoid fighting. How about you release the town, apologize, and work with everyone peacefully? I'm sure everyone would be willing to give you a chance for forgiveness."

Grievous sighed. "You disappoint me. Red! White! VSX!" The three robots came in at his command. "Take her to the cells."

"Yes, General," all three said. Red and White each grabbed one of my arms and started walking me along to the cells, VSX following behind. The message was clear: no funny business.

“Sooo, Grievous built you?” I asked. None of the three answered. “Not answering, huh? You must make great conversationalists off hours, right?” Still nothing. “Good talk.”

After the walk, they picked me up and literally threw me into a cell below the castle. I was glad for my aura protecting me as I got up and the cell door was closed. With nothing else to do, I lay down on the small cot and read a thing from Mei. “WHY DID YOU NOT TAKE THE CHANCE TO RAINNUKE HIM TO SHREDS WITH FULL AUTO FIRE RIGHT THERE? YOU HAVE THE ARMAMENTS, THE MUNITIONS, A JUST CAUSE, AND THE CASTLE CAN BE FIXED! ARE! YOU! THAT! DUMB?! SERIOUSLY! HE SAID IT HIMSELF! HE WASN’T GOING TO LEAVE THE WARPATH! AND NOW YOU’VE GONE AND LET YOURSELF GET ARRESTED! I HAVE ALL THE WORDS AT MY DISPOSAL, AND I CAN’T FIND THE ONES TO PROPERLY CONVEY MY DISAPPOINTMENT!” The message was in big red letters that were on fire.

I dropped my voice to a very soft whisper. “I know you’re mad at me Mei, but can you see what’s around that you might be able to tap into?”

More angry red letters. “FINE!” The letters blazed for a few seconds before cooling down, shrinking, turning light blue, and dissolving. “Aside from the droids, I’ve somehow tapped into the castle. The whole thing. I have enemy locations inside, a full map, visual footage and audio from anywhere, and I can even precisely control the color of the crystal that makes up the whole thing.”

“Any other prisoners down here?”

“One moment.” Mei went to her animation of writing on a clipboard for a minute. “Here’s a list. It’s not everyone, since some are asleep.”

I went down the list.

Twilight Sparkle
Applejack
Derpy Hooves
Pinkie Pie
Rarity
Rainbow Dash
Gilda
Aegir
Bloody Marey

Mei looked at Pinkie’s pinkened name. “That’s. . . weird.”

“Whatever you do, don’t you ever try and figure her out, okay? She’s a sugar powered logic breaker who sees the laws of physics as suggestions. Probably. I wonder what Marey’s doing here, though? I’ll figure it out later. Are there any patrols in here?”

“Negative. There are no droids below us, and only one entrance above.”

“Hm. See what you can quietly do for everyone’s morale.” I took the glasses off and set them aside. “I’m going to take a nap.”

Author's Notes:

Why was this chapter so long in coming out? The excuse I'll give is that I was busy dealing with a curse from a crystal coconut, presented by the PMDC^TM.