I woke up, still wearing my armor, in a soft bed. It was dark, but I could see by the moonlight that my aviators were on the nightstand nearby. “Mei?”

Mei appeared, bright enough to see and dim enough to not blind me. “I’m glad you’re okay, Yang,” she said as she sat down on the glasses. “I talked with Celestia, Luna, and Twilight while you were unconscious.”

“What did they say?”

“They’re glad you’re alright, and glad you freed Ponyville. They’ve been waiting for you to wake up. You've been asleep for quite a while.”

“Well, no point in making them wait.” I climbed out of bed and felt pain all over. “At least, not for long. Ow.”

“They can wait a bit longer. Oh, while you were unconscious, Twilight flew out to the Pathfinder and brought Shamrock and his crew in. Your clothes have been cleaned and put in the closet. She is having a really tough time not opening the crates, but they are waiting for you before opening anything.”

I started taking the armor off, tossing each piece on the bed. “Yeah, they can wait. I need a shower first. Let Luna know what I’m up to.”

“Can do.” After gathering up some fresh clothes, I went to the shower and turned the water to max temperature. Before I could pick up the body soap that was in the shower, a glass bottle filled with a purple fluid suddenly appeared next to it with a flash of magic, along with a scroll. I opened the scroll and read it. “Dear Yang: Mei informed me of your aches, so I’m giving you a strong healing ointment to help with that. Sit back, relax, and mix the potion in with the water. You will feel it work quickly, I promise. Use the whole bottle and take your time. Not too much time, though. I really want to see what you got. Sincerely, Twilight.” I picked up the bottle and looked it over. “Well, if she says so.”

I stopped the drain and let the water fill up a bit before sitting down, opening the bottle, and dumping its contents. Immediately, it started lathering up on its own, and I quickly had a bubble bath going. It wasn’t long before I felt the stuff working, my aches melting away and really letting me relax. “Ahh, this is the life. Note to self: more bubble baths.” It was almost like I didn’t have to even put in the effort of cleaning myself while it did its thing. “A spa treatment would be goooood. Oh, I could get Celestia and Luna to join me. They could use some relaxation time. I think Mei said something about it? Oooh, taking a nap in a hot tub! That sounds divine! I’m sure they wouldn’t object.”

After getting dressed and taking some time to simply enjoy the feeling of clean clothes, I grabbed Mei and followed her directions to where everyone was waiting, her appearing to ride on my shoulder. Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Shamrock, Adamantine, Ark, Queen, Selene, and, to my surprise, Bloody Marey.

The reformed noble was the first to approach me. “Yang, I’m glad to see you’re alright. I had no idea what happened when I showed up and these. . . Things were here.”

“Well, it’s all over now,” I assured her. “If you want to talk business, I can get the numbers, but now’s not the time.” I turned to Celestia and Luna. “I presume you two have told them the history behind Grievous?”

“We haven’t,” Celestia said. “We were waiting to tell everyone while you were here.”

“Sudden appearance, Artemis Labs, droid army, you two wrecked his forces and sealed him.” I intentionally left out the part about him being Displaced. It was a mess I did not want to get into.

The sisters were quiet for a moment. “That’s a. . . succinct way to describe what happened,” Luna said. “Did he tell you about it?”

“Yeah. And what were you two doing while he held Ponyville captive?”

“We were ready to defend Canterlot, since it’s a valuable location and close to Ponyville,” Celestia explained. “We didn’t move out to attack him because we were worried about leaving Canterlot defenseless.”

“When you knew he had no air forces because you destroyed them all?”

“I. . . forgot about that.”

“Tampered memories again,” Luna lamented. “And I didn’t bother to check for myself.”

“Let’s put it to a vote,” I suggested. “Everyone who wants to look at the goodies now and get the story later, raise your right arm.” Shamrock, his crew, and Twilight raised their right arms. Twilight even raised her right wing. “Well, that settles that. Marey, you’re free to look at the stuff with us.”

“Really?” Marey optimistically asked.

“Yes. You’re here, so why not? Dare I say why not?” I turned to Twilight. “Lead the way.”

As we walked, I formally introduced Mei to everyone who hadn’t met her. Celestia and Luna marvelled at how she was still working, just like my armor. Twilight was overly eager and was ready to ask all the questions she had prepared for meeting a sapient A.I. from a list she had made for just that occasion. Marey, quite contrary, was very wary of Mei.

The first crate of relics and artifacts consisted of what few physical notes there were that hadn’t crumbled at a touch, material samples, some small trinkets, and signs.

The second and third ones held some collapsed furniture. Apparently, folding furniture was a science or art among the ancient ponies, since anything that didn’t seem designed to contain something had that capability. It certainly made moving them easier, at least.

Crates four through six contained another variety of things, including weapons. When those came out, I explicitly explained the rules of the weapons to everyone. Assume they work, assume they’re loaded/charged, and if anyone was unsure about something, to ASK ME.

Crates seven through ten contained the Real Treasure: every CPU we could find, along with the monitors, keyboards, and mice. At the sight of all the compact CPUs, Twilight looked like a kid in a candy store, and her wings went up and became very twitchy.

Luna teleported her away. “Yang, I’m afraid you’ve brought us a mixed blessing. On one hoof, we have relics from the past, which is always nice. Knowing the past is good, and these have a lot of information in them. On the other hoof, you’ve-” Twilight teleported back in, snow on her coat. Her wings were down a bit, until she saw the CPUs again, and Celestia teleported her away. Luna continued. “-managed to effectively take a princess out of the picture for who knows how long.”

Twilight teleported back, with more snow on her. “Okay, I know I’m getting a bit excited about these relics, but is that any reason to teleport me to the outskirts of the Crystal Empire twice?”

“Have you looked at your wings, Twilight?” Celestia asked.

Twilight looked back at her rigid wings. “Ehehehe. . . I’ll just see myself out now.” She teleported herself away.

“I will never look at Princess Twilight the same way again,” Marey stated.

“I’ve never seen someone get so excited about information,” Selene said.

“Twilight’s always been a bibliophile,” Celestia explained. “This is probably a logical progression of that.”

“I may have given her a teaser about it too,” Mei admitted. “So that probably didn’t help.”

“Hey, Mei,” Shamrock said as he approached us and held up his pendant. “I found this in the ruins the rest of this was in. Is it anything special?”

Mei looked at it and adjusted her glasses a bit. “No. It’s just a piece of cheap metal jewelry. There’s nothing special about it. I’m surprised it’s lasted this long.”

“Aww. . .”

“You can keep it,” I said. “You’ve had it for a while, so don’t worry about it. I won’t tell Twilight.”

In Twilight’s stead, Luna and Celestia negotiated on prices for everything. As the appraisal was going on, Marey, Ark, Adamantine, and Queen left to go back to sleep. It was probably better for Equestria that Celestia and Luna did it instead of Twilight. I could just imagine her giving every single bit in the treasury to them and bankrupting the nation over it.

Ultimately, the value for everything was rated at a whopping 66 MILLION bits, which Celestia and Luna would personally distribute to us, evenly split six ways.

After Shamrock and Selene left, Celestia approached me. “For your deed of stopping General Grievous, you deserve a separate reward. Name it, and Luna and I will make it happen. Financial rewards, however, are not an option.”

Mei turned to me. “Yang, this is your chance! Do it!”

“Alright, alright.” I turned to the Princesses. “I want you two to take some time off from everything except for raising and lowering the sun and moon and go on a relaxing vacation with me. We can plan it out ahead of time.”

It looked like Celestia was about to object when Luna put a wing over her. “Well, sister. It looks like we’ve got a difficult task ahead of us. We may even have to close the castle to petitioners while we’re gone. Let’s just call it, oh, an official trip? How does a cruise sound?” Luna realized what she said and suddenly looked to me.

I simply smiled. “A cruise sounds great. The sea breeze, lounging on the deck in the sun, complimentary massages. . . Is there a cruise like that here?”

“You’re not worried about being on the ocean?”

“You could say I got over it while we were flying. Kind of a spontaneous recognition thing once Selene pointed it out.”

Luna gave me a flat look. “That was a pun. A serious pun. Wasn’t it?”

“It was.”

“I’m not sure whether to be happy for you or upset at the delivery. Still, that is good to know."

"Yep. Oh, speaking of things that are good to know, have you found anything else in Celestia's memories?"

Luna shook her head. "Nothing significant. Lots of cake, though. So much so, I think I may have put on a few pounds."

"Lulu!" Celestia recoiled at the sudden jab. "You wound me! How could you say that about your big sister?"

"'Tis because you are my big sister that I can say that."

"Oh, is that how it is? How about I tell Yang about how the expression 'mooning' really came about?"

Luna went slack jawed at the suggestion. "You wouldn't dare!"

Mei turned to me. "Do they always do this?"

"Dunno," I answered as the sisters continued their jabs at each other. "But considering their daily responsibilities, this might be all the fun they get for the month. And it's amusing to watch. I could make a fair bit of money selling tickets to see this stuff."

The sisters heard me. "I want 10% of the ticket sales!" they both said at the same time.

After a moment of silence, all four of us burst out with laughter.

Marey approached me at breakfast in the castle's dining room. "Good morning, Yang."

"Good morning, Marey," I responded. "What's up? Aside from the sun?"

"I want to say. . . Thank you. For saving everyone. Including me."

I set my fork down on my plate. "Well, you're welcome. How's your. . . reformation been going?"

"Well, I decided to visit Fancy and Fleur a bit, since they. . . Well, they always got the good attention while we were plotting against you. They told me that an easy way to not slip back into the negativity that led to Twilight's judgement is to not try and control anything through legislation."

"How's that been working for you?"

"I tried writing some new bills, but each time I did, I found myself slipping back. I asked Alistair for some advice, and he suggested not writing anything. So I did. I left the paper blank."

"Well, good for you. Nothing at all is a good step away from overbearing control. Besides, is it written anywhere that you must present new bills at each meeting?"

"Well. . . No, I guess not."

"Then you can take your time."

"Yang, can I talk with you for a minute?" Twilight asked. "Aloneish?"

I turned to Marey. "I'll meet you at the Carne Den to discuss business later, okay?"

"Very well then." Marey excused herself and left Twilight and me.

"So, what's up, Twilight?"

"I want to talk to you about your fight with Grievous."

"Honestly?" I scratched the back of my head as I thought back. "I don't remember anything shortly after he lopped off my hair. I remember saying 'rip and tear,' but then it's just blank until I tossed away his mask and saw the seal thing explode. Do you know what happened?"

"After casting a town wide spell to unlock everyone's restraints, I caught up to you. After you said 'until it is done,' you unleashed an inferno. You tossed your guns aside and leapt at the vehicle robot thing-"

"VSX."

"Yes, that. You tore off and melted through multiple layers of armor, then set off a big explosion inside it, destroying it and most of the surrounding robots. Your guns exploded and then appeared in your hands and you ran around slashing anything in your path. The red and white ones stepped in with their guns and actually managed to keep you at bay."

"How did I get out of that?"

"I took their guns away. They're safe in the castle."

"I hope so."

"Once I'd disarmed them, you went after the red one first. The white one joined in and they ganged up on you, but you beat them. While you were fighting them, I sent a message to Celestia and Luna. They teleported in just in time to see you rip the red one's head in half before putting the white one on the ground, ripping its arms off, then blowing apart the body."

"Good thing they're robots."

Twilight seemed to swallow a bit of bile before continuing. "I don't think I could tell it otherwise. Anyways, as you were fighting, the various soldiers around got caught in the gunfire or were used as shields. Their numbers were going down. Once they were all defeated, Grievous came back in and started going after you. I thought you were going to dodge, but you kept on hitting him with explosions whenever he got close. It wasn't until after I took his swords away that you really started attacking him."

"The lightsabers are safely stored?"

"Yes. Anyways, you started at his legs, tearing them apart. Then you got on top of him and started ripping and tearing at his armor. He tried to get you off, but you held on. When we flew down, you stomped on his chest armor, causing an explosion that made him seize up. After that was when you braced your foot against his neck and tore off his mask. The seal exploding confirmed that he was dead, then you started attacking us."

"That, I kind of remember. Not my finest moment. Thanks for restoring my hair, by the way."

"It was only when I did that that you started slowing down. Celestia carried you back here after you passed out, and Mei introduced herself during the walk."

"Ah. Ah! Mei?"

Mei appeared on the table. "Yes, Yang?"

"I know you're okay now, but what was it like for you while I was going nuts?"

"Well, it was a bit scary, but I managed to use some of your magic to ensure my survival. Honestly, before Grievous lopped off your hair, I thought you were just exaggerating about your reaction to it."

"I wouldn't exaggerate about something like that. I don't like angry people, and I don't like being angry. But now, I have a very good case to not get my hair cut."

"That would probably be something you'd have to do yourself," Twilight pointed out. "If you ever decide to."

"I probably won't. Is there anything else you need to talk with me about?"

"Can you set up one of the computers for me? Just one?"

"After I finish my breakfast."

The computer I set up for Twilight was Firebrand's, so she could see the same things I did. She watched me set it all up, and marvelled at how it didn't need any wires at all. On the way out, I found a dragon. "Hey, Spike, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, Yang. What's up?"

"Twilight's got a bunch of computers full of ancient Equestrian history from a science lab. Make sure she takes breaks."

"Ehh, I don't know, Yang. Celestia and Luna already asked me to do the same thing, so I don't know if I'll be able to fit in your request with theirs. I'll see what I can do, though."

I smiled at the same time he did. "I guess all I can do is ask. Thanks."

"It wouldn't be the first time. I already asked Rarity for a total blackout blindfold for this."

"You're a good dragon, Spike. Keep it up."

Out on the streets, almost everyone gave me friendly waves as I walked by. I returned the waves, glad that nobody was coming up to personally thank or praise me. I didn't want the attention anyways.

I found Marey waiting by the Carne Den entrance. "Well, you took your sweet time," she said.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's talk business." I let her in and paused to take a deep whiff of the place. "It's good to be home again." Once that was done, I took her to the office and started rifling through the drawers. "So, what brought you to this neck of the woods?"

"I was looking through the reports on the shipments and noticed that you hadn't ordered any for a couple weeks, so I decided to investigate, then I went and got arrested. You know the rest."

"That makes sense." It wasn't long until I found the folder I was looking for: Bloody Marey Trial. "Ah, here we go. What did we. . . Well, it looks like sales were really good until Grievous appeared. About 50 drinks per jar, and some nights went through nearly four jars. I like that. Let's move out of the trial stage and go on to a proper business relationship."

"I was hoping you would say that," Marey said with a smile. "And to help kick it off, here's a few free jars, to help make up for what was lost during the takeover." She levitated some jars of the mix from her saddlebags and set them on the counter. "How does twenty bits per jar sound?"

I glanced at the paper again. At five bits per drink, it was a no brainer, even with the other ingredients factored in. "It sounds like a deal. Now, do you want to be associated with the mix?"

"I. . . Still don't feel comfortable enough for that yet. Oh, the Grand Galloping Gala's coming up in a few weeks! It would have been a couple weeks ago, if not for Ponyville being besieged and putting the Sisters on high alert. You will definitely get an invitation, I'm sure. I'll be there, so you can ask me again while you're there."

"I've had enough travel for now. I'll be turning down any invitations to go anywhere for a while. Is it too much to ask to have some time away from vacation so I can work?"

Marey snickered at that. "You know, it's usually the other way around."

"Well you didn't just come back from two cold flights, two weeks of camping, shadow monster slaying, and being the cause of a robot massacre. I need some time to get back to the old rhythm. The grill's closed up, but I'll be happy enough in my kitchen. What is today anyways? I forgot to ask."

"It's Sunday."

"So we're closed today anyways. Well, can I offer you anything for the road?"

"Do you even know what you have?"

"Uh, no. Hey, thanks for the mix I've got to check everything bye!" I didn't wait for a response before dashing out of the office and going around checking everything, starting behind the bar. "Okay, hard stuff. . . Local stuff only. Bloody Marey mix is topped off." As I heard my guest leave, I went into the kitchen. "Okay. Vegetables. . . Good. Fruit. . . Good. Bread, eggs, butter, cheese. . . Good. Seasonings are good. Meat. . . Nothing." There wasn't a single strip of bacon in sight, but despite my rising panic, I forced myself to calm down. "It's okay, it's okay. This happens all the time. There will be a meat shipment tomorrow morning, and after I get the manifest, I can send off the order form at the post office with their time machine. Everything's fine. Desserts!"

I rushed out to the shed, got on Bumblebee, and went as fast as I could through town. Safe to say, I was in a bit of a panic.

"Aaapplllejaaack!"

The farmer I sought was in the orchard, tending to her trees, and she saw me running at her as soon as I got off Bumblebee. I couldn't slow down in time, she sidestepped, and I ran face first into the tree. "Well, howdy to you too, Yang. Need somethin'?"

I extracted myself from the tree. "Desserts! There's no dessert stock at the Carne Den!"

"Woah woah woah, calm down, sugarcube!"

"But there's no dessert!"

"Yang, you're on the way to a Twilight level breakdown. Take a few breaths. We've got time, and bein' all panicky never did anypony any good. Now, slow down. . ." I followed her advice. "In. . ." I inhaled. "Out. . ." I exhaled. "Now do that a few more times." I repeated the slow breaths and I felt the panic step back a bit. "Good. Now let me tell you what's happenin' with your desserts: They're going to be late."

"Late? Why?"

"Yang, Ah don't know if you know this, but we're just getting over the town bein' held by a freaky metal thing and his army. Since food is important, he didn't hit us that hard here, but he still hit us, and even arrested me. Most of our better equipment was destroyed, so we need to replace it."

"Let me help with that. I'm stinking rich, and I want my desserts flowing again."

Applejack smiled. "Well, that's mighty nice of ya. Granny's got a list of everything that needs to be replaced. She's in the house."

"Thanks, Applejack."

I knocked on the front door. "Granny Smith?"

"Hold on a minute!" came the elderly mare's voice. A minute later, she opened the door. "Well, howdy, Yang. Here for your desserts?"

"Yeah, but Applejack told me there's a delay on them due to busted equipment that needs to be replaced, so I'm here to help with that."

"Hmm. . . I see. Well, let me get you the list of things we need. Come on in."

I closed the door behind me and immediately smelled something delicious. "Is that?"

"One apple pie. It's almost done baking. You can have the first slice."

"Oh it smells good."

"We would have more, but the things we need are in short supply. Stupid invasion."

"Yeah." I sat down at the table while Granny picked up a notepad from the kitchen counter. "At least it's over."

She set the notepad down in front of me. "Thanks for stopping them. Now, this list is every piece of equipment we need that we can't make or repair on our own, along with how much each thing costs."

I glanced over the list. "Okay. . . That's a good few thousand bits there. I don't know why I wasn't expecting that. And I don't know what some of these things are."

"If you change your mind, that's fine."

"No. I want my desserts at the Carne Den, and helping with this will get them back that much sooner. Besides, I can afford all this."

"Mac knows where to get everything." A ding came from the kitchen. "Ah, it's done."

I dropped the list. "I'll get it!" I went past Granny Smith, found the oven, and took the pie out. "Oh that smells good. Where do you want me to put it?"

"On the table." I promptly followed her direction and gently set it there. "You just handle hot stuff like that?"

"Being burnproof is awesome. And that was before I got my fire magic."

"Ah. Well, you'll have to wait for the pie to cool before you have a slice."

"Aww. . . Alright." I sat back down and picked the list back up, rereading it to see if I could try and glean any extra meaning from the words.

I left Sweet Apple Acres with some warm apple pie in me and a copy of the list and information on where I could either buy the items or have them made. It did mean my day would be busy, but it felt good to be working again.

When I saw Carousel Boutique, I knew I had to make a stop there, so I did. "Hey Rarity?"

The unicorn I sought appeared a moment later from the stairs. "Ah, hello Yang. I take it you're doing better?"

"As good as I can. What about you?"

"Well, I can add a week of forced jail time in Twilight's castle to my list of life experiences I never expected to have. Ponyville has a way of making life interesting, you know? Anyways, do you need something?"

"Well, I have an idea for something new, if my embargo on new things here's been lifted."

"Mmm, let's dial it back to case by case approval."

"Okay. Here it is: leggings with pockets. Eh?"

Rarity thought for a bit on the idea. "I think I've seen some pictures of those in the magazines Twilight's given me. It is a neat idea, and the design is good. Give me a few days and I'll have something for you. I really need to get this place back in order and catch up on my backlog first."

"Sounds good. I'll see you in a few days, then."

When I got back to the Carne Den, I saw some delivery ponies unloading some crates from a big wagon. "Yang Xiao Long," the head pony said. "We've got a few more things than usual for you today. Heavy things."

"Hm?" I looked over the crates. One was the usual meat crate, and another one held a variety of hard drinks. The rest came from a farming supply place. "Ah. Hey, can I ask you guys to do me a little favor?"

"Maybe."

"These farming supplies need to go to Sweet Apple Acres. Could you take them over there? I think I forgot to put their place on the forms instead of mine. I can compensate you and help with loading and unloading."

The crew paused while moving another crate out. "Hmm. . . You're sure? These are pretty heavy."

"I'm strong. Just let me get the meat and hard stuff inside and I'll come help."

"If you say so." He turned back to the crew. "You heard her! Get these loaded back up!"

I started with the meat crate, carrying it into the kitchen before getting the crate of hard drinks in and near the bar. Both were rather awkward, but I managed to do it alone. After that, I helped get the last crate loaded up in the wagon. "You guys coming back this way after it's delivered?"

"Yep."

"Stop here and I'll get you some compensation for this. Thanks again." Once it was all secured, the delivery ponies started taking it through town, and I followed along on Bumblebee.

"Yang, what's this?" Applejack asked as I helped unload everything at the barn.

"New equipment from the list," I answered. "Any time delivery is awesome! Hey, can you pull the delivery paperwork from these crates for me? I'm going to need them later."

"Uh, okay?"

"Thanks."

When I got back home, I gave each delivery pony twenty bits for going out of their way to help me before going back inside and putting the meat away. It was good to be on the path to working again.

Author's Notes:

Yes, Yang went total Slayer mode on the droids. Once the royals stepped in, there was nothing that could stop her.