It’s been a few days since Twilight put the restraint on my music magic, and in that time, I’ve taken to meditating in the shower. Due to how long ponies were, the tub was made fairly wide compared to the ones back on Earth, allowing me to comfortably sit down cross-legged. Meditating and finding the magic I now had was quite the experience, helped along by the hot water on my back. I’ve even been able to experience THE TRANQUILITY through this shower meditation.

During the second round of meditation, I figured out how to make a feedback loop of sorts with the music magic. I’d find a calm tune amidst the magic, play it around me, and that would allow me to get better control of the magic. I don’t know how much of Twilight’s spell was left, but I felt more in control of the magic. Maybe control wasn’t the right word. In tune? Synced? Harmonized? Something along those lines. Magic is weird.

Still, I was getting better day by day. I still had moments of spontaneous singing and stuff, but I’ve been able to stop the music with a bit of effort. It’s not as easy as hitting a Pause or Stop button; the music actually has its own kind of inertia where it wants to keep going until the song is over.

Yesterday, I got a letter from Twilight asking me to come to the castle today. She didn’t say why she wanted me to come today, but whatever the reason was, it was important enough for her to call off court for the day. That sounds really important. That, or she’s just giving herself a day off and wanted me to join her. Either way, it coincided with one of my off days. I was just going to take a lazy day basking and napping on the roof, but it looked like that was going to be postponed until at least noon.

After finishing my meditation and shower, I dried off and got dressed. Today’s outfit was my red and black athletic outfit under my casual outfit. I’d set the athletic outfit aside for today last night, but meeting with someone meant I needed something better. Then again, I’m in a world where clothing is viewed more as an option most of the time. Heck, the athletic outfit alone was more covering than what the Princesses wore on a daily basis, and they were the highest authorities in the world.

After making a quick breakfast burger and cleaning up, I left home and walked towards the castle. As I had my breakfast, I realized that I was often staying home for days at a time, especially with the convenience of all the Carne Den’s groceries, and thus mine as well, being delivered. I needed to get back to running laps around Ponyville again, even if it was just one or two in the morning.

While I was walking through the market, and just after finishing my breakfast, I caught sight of some of my employees looking at various goods in the market. One of my griffon employees, a dishwasher, walked out of a home decor shop with his family. “Hi, Yang” he called out, bringing his family with him, a wife and a son.

“Hi Greenwick” I returned. “If I recall, you’ve got today off.”

“Yep. I decided to make today a family day out. Today marks our first shopping spree.”

“Here?”

“Ever. With both of us working, we barely had enough money to survive and get by back in the Empire, but now, with only me working for you, we’re making way more than before.” Wow. Things were bad back in the Griffon Empire. “Would you like to see the painting?”

“Sure.” It wouldn’t take too long.

Greenwick’s wife adjusted the painting on her back to where I could see it.

“That. Is a very nice painting. Also, piece of advice: even, no, especially when you’re on a shopping spree, do be careful with your money. Anyways, I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you later, Greenwick.”

“Bye, Yang.” Greenwick and his family waved to me as I resumed my walk to the castle, though now with a big smile on my face.

I rode the wave of happiness all the way to Twilight’s throne room. “Good morning, Yang” Twilight greeted. “What’s got you so happy?”

“Just knowing that I’ve helped improve lives with the Carne Den. It really makes me feel, well, like a hero.”

“Really? And defeating two magic draining villains doesn’t?”

“That was simply returning magic to its rightful owners. What I’m doing actually improves lives. Big difference there, Princess.”

“History will remember you for your big fights though. Still, I’m not going to tell you how to define your hero status. Anyways, I brought you here because Celestia’s going to visit us. She wasn’t specific about what she wanted to talk about, but she said to keep it quiet. I’ve already set aside a room for us, so let’s go.”

I followed Twilight through the halls of her castle. “Are your friends going to join us? They seem kind of important.”

“They are, but they can’t make it. Rarity has a big order due really soon that she has to work on, Fluttershy is overseeing an animal’s birth, Rainbow has a shipment of clouds to oversee, Applejack has crops to plant, and Pinkie Pie is foalsitting the Cake twins again.”

“And Spike?”

“He’s waiting for us in the conference room we’ve set aside for today. Fortunately, he hasn’t been waiting for long. He only got there about ten minutes ago.”

The rest of our short walk was in a peaceful silence. When we entered the conference room, Spike was already sitting at the small round table reading a comic. It took a bit for me to read the title, but I was able to see that it was called Power Ponies.

I wonder if they had giant combining robots in that comic?

“And now all we need is Celestia” Spike said without looking up from his book.

“She should be here any minute” Twilight said as we sat down.

“I have known her to be quite punctual” a fourth voice said. Somehow, Celestia had sneaked in behind us and was standing behind Twilight. I didn’t say anything since I wanted to see how this would play out. “In fact, you might want to say ‘any second’ instead.”

“That’s a good idea, Celestia. She’ll be here any second.” A moment of silence followed. “Wait, Celestia? When did you get here?”

“Exactly when I meant to” Celestia playfully answered before taking her seat. “How has your restaurant been doing, Yang?”

“Still successful” I reported. “I’ve got no idea how many bits we’ve made so far, but it’s probably a really big number.” And we haven’t even been open for a whole month yet either.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. Still, I didn’t call this meeting to talk about how we’ve all been doing, though that certainly is a good bonus. No, what I’m about to tell you is related to my cutie mark.”

Total and utter silence asserted its dominance and reign over the room. Twilight, Spike, and I collectively broke its tyrannical rule with a synchronized “What?”

“Luna and I have fought many battles in our time, some of which couldn’t be won with brute force, clever tactics, or blitzes. In those cases, we had to seal them away ourselves. Luna would go into the fray herself while I would provide support. She would weaken our adversary and I would seal them away. In order to make the seal strong enough to properly contain them, I had to imbue both them and the seals with part of my own essence, making the process easier and the seal stronger. Tirek drained our magic before we sealed him away, so his seal was the weakest.”

“Is that why he was able to break out of Tartarus the first time?” Spike asked.

“Yes. Luna and I would have sealed him away again ourselves when he escaped, but he got us before we could do anything. Of course, you know how our last attempt went.”

“But how is this related to your cutie mark?” I asked.

Celestia stood up and turned so we could see her mark. “As you can see, two of the flares have disconnected from the center of the sun. When Yang defeated Tirek, I thought he would have been the only one. However, with Yang’s recent triumph over the Unmusician, I have grown concerned. There are seven more that Luna and I sealed away, and I’m afraid they’ll be breaking out in the near future.”

“Who are they?”

“I wish I knew for certain. Aside from Tirek, I’ve forgotten their names and titles.”

“You forgot them?”

“Most of them were a really long time ago. Long enough for even me to have forgotten them. There is only so much even I can remember, and the same goes for Luna.”

“So we know that they’ll happen, but not what they’ll look like, act like, or anything” Twilight summarized. “Do you at least remember where they were?”

Celestia looked up to the ceiling as she thought. I looked up as well, though more out of a longing to get out onto the roof for some sunbathing. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was part reptile with how I’m drawn to heat. Maybe even part dragon with my heat immunity.

I was drawn from my musings when Celestia spoke. “I believe they were all within a 150 mile radius of Canterlot, 200 at most.”

Celestia had barely finished her sentence when Twilight was already putting quill to paper. We waited for her to finish. “That’s over 125,000 square miles, Celestia.”

Twilight was good at math. “That’s a lot of area” I commented. “Was that the 150 or 200 mile figure?”

“150.”

I would have whistled at that if I knew how to. “That’s a big number.”

“Multiplication will do that really fast.”

“But what’s the plan?” Spike asked. “Even if we send out squads of guards in every direction to search the area, they don’t know what to look for. For all we know, the mountain could have been put there to contain these bad guys, or the Everfree is the way it is because of one of them.”

“Spike, don’t be silly” Twilight said. “Those ideas are crazy.”

“But what if I’m right?” Twilight had no response to that.

“So, is there anything else we need to discuss?” I asked.

“There is something less threatening I wish to say” Celestia said. “This is more for you, Yang.”

“What is it?”

“Most of the nobles are seeing you as a disruptor to their lifestyle, and they tend to be rather petty. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make moves to try and make your life miserable, difficult, or inconvenient in one way or another.”

“Great.”

“And they don’t realize that they’re disrupting their own lifestyles when they’re out for their revenge” Spike added. “If they simply left Yang alone, then they could do whatever they do outside of those financial meetings and we could all just get along as before.”

“Which is why they have a Princess, or someone appointed for that meeting by a Princess, as the head. They have shown that, without one of us to keep them in check, they would legislate Equestria into oblivion.”

“Really?” I wasn’t too surprised at the idea. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve got lots of experience in politics and their effects on citizens. You could say I’ve seen it all before, so I know the signs. I can also think out the effects a law would have on those it does and does not target.

“Anyways, since we’ve got the discussion of those sealed enemies likely breaking out done, let’s turn to a lighter side. What do you have planned for today?”

“I’m going to go over the books on manufacturing law, see if I can’t streamline and simplify some of them” Twilight said.

“Comic books and gems” Spike said.

“Sunbathing on the Carne Den roof” I said.

“How long are you going to be sunbathing?” Celestia asked.

“Until I need to use the bathroom. Or I get hungry. Then it’s right back to the roof.”

“Aren’t you worried about getting sunburnt? Or overheating?”

“No, I’m immune to those things. I’m also fireproof. It’s awesome.” Especially in the kitchen. Now if only I could spread that immunity.

“Well, I think you’ll have a sunbathing partner today, Yang.”

“Thank you, Princess.” I’m sure just about everyone in Equestria, maybe even the world, would be overjoyed at the idea of Celestia spending a day with them. And I’ll admit, I was feeling a bit of excitement myself at the idea, but it felt more like an acquaintance wanting to visit and spend time with me.

The walk home was surprisingly uneventful, considering I was casually walking with the ruler of Equestria through the market. Maybe Celestia came to Ponyville often enough that nobody really cared.

We eventually arrived at the Carne Den/my home. “If you want to go ahead and go up to the roof, go on” I said. “I have to change really fast.”

“What for?” Celestia asked.

How to explain this. . . “I’ve got different clothes for different occasions. You could just say it’s a human thing.” Especially prominent on the female side. I went inside to my room while Celestia went up to the roof. After taking my shirt and jeans off, revealing the athletic outfit underneath, I put them in with the laundry, opened a window, and went up to the roof.

“Do you have a particular spot in mind?” Celestia was standing on the sloped roof with apparent ease.

“Yeah. I’ve got a spot that’s both in the sun and hidden from the front of the restaurant.” I lead Celestia around the roof to the spot I had in mind. Thanks to the sun’s exposure and the dark color, the roof was already warm.

I laid down on the spot I’d chosen and Celestia lay down next to me. “So, is this really all you’re doing today?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Most ponies would want to actively do something with me, not just lay down on the roof all day.”

Just from the brief time already up here, my breathing was slowing down and I was relaxing. “Well, if you want to go do something, I won’t stop you.”

Celestia was quiet for a bit. “I really don’t get to just laze about and look at the sky all that often.”

“Too many responsibilities?”

“Even with Luna and a sizeable staff to help, yes.”

“Well, this is a chance for you to forget everything for now. Just close your eyes, relax, let the sun do its thing, and maybe THE TRANQUILITY will come to you.”

“How did you make that echo sound with your voice?”

“Huh?” When did I do that?

“When you said ‘THE TRANQUILITY’, your voice echoed a bit.”

Oh. “Music magic?”

“I guess that’s about as good an answer as anything. You must he getting good at controlling it if you can use it at will like that.”

“Yeah, sure.” I closed my eyes and began to lightly doze off.

I don’t know how much time had passed since I closed my eyes, but I woke up suddenly feeling so angry that I was extremely calm. Something had happened to my hair.

“Discord, give Yang her hair back” Celestia said. “She looks like she’s ready to hurt you.”

I sat up and saw Discord standing at the edge of the roof, holding my hair like it was a wig. That was on fire. He looked between it and me. “You make a very good point, Celestia.” Discord put my hair back on my head, which was quite an odd sensation. “And I think I’ll make a hasty retreat right now.” Discord ran to a far off hilltop, leaving a cartoonish cloud of dust as he left. Even though having my hair back had calmed me, I was still a little upset at Discord’s move, so I held up a hand ready to imagine flicking him off the hilltop. Amusingly, he acted as if I was about to flick him. “No no no no” he said in a small voice before I flicked him. He let off a little scream as he was knocked over the hill, accompanied by a variety of cartoonish crashing sounds.

I laughed a bit at that, the anger completely gone. “Well, that was a thing.” I suddenly felt a familiar pressure building in me. “And I have to use the bathroom now. I’ll be right back, Celestia.”

“Do what you must” Celestia said. She looked quite relaxed in her spot.

I made my way back inside and to my bathroom, where I took care of relieving the pressure. I guess I could thank Discord for waking me up before I had to go, though that’s not really something to thank someone for.

Once I was done, I went back up to the roof. Celestia hadn’t gone anywhere and I took my spot by her. “Hey, what time is it?”

“Half past two” Celestia answered.

“Cool.” I closed my eyes and relaxed again. With my bladder emptied, relaxation came back pretty easily. Along with the quick return to relaxation came a slow return of THE TRANQUILITY.

“Hey, you two want anything?” a mare asked.

I opened my eyes. “Sylvia?”

“The main dinner rush is going to be here in about half an hour, and I saw you two napping up here when I flew in earlier. I figured I’d check to see if you wanted something to eat before then.”

“A generous order of potato skins should do.”

“Potato skins?” Celestia asked.

“Basically hollowed out wedges of potato with melted cheese and bacon bits on it. It’s really good.”

“That sounds good.”

“One generous order of potato skins coming up.” Sylvia said before flying back down to the Carne Den.

“So, how’s your day been, Celestia?” I asked.

“It’s been a long time since I was able to relax like this” Celestia answered. “When I get to relax at the castle, it’s not so much that I’m off as I am not working. Even Sundays are like that.”

“I can kind of relate to that. You get a day off from work, then someone calls in sick and they call you in. That always sucks.”

A few minutes later, Sylvia came back up with the potato skins. “Here you go.”

“Have you ever had one of these?” Celestia asked Sylvia.

“Not yet, your highness.”

“Go ahead and try one.” I held one out for her to try.

Sylvia plucked and ate the potato skin right out of my hand. She chewed on it for a little while. “That is good. That’s one more strong recommendation in my books.”

“That’s good. Now get back in there before the rush starts.” Sylvia didn’t spare a farewell for us, instead going straight back inside. Once she was inside, Celestia tried a potato skin. “What do you think of it?”

“It is good” Celestia said as she inspected another one. “Is it really just three ingredients?”

“A section of lightly salted potato skin covered in bacon bits and melted cheese. Cook in the oven for a little bit and it’s done. So, technically four ingredients.”

A wistful sigh escaped Celestia. “Why can’t my chefs keep the meals simple like this?”

“Hm?”

“They always insist on making meals as fancy and elegant as possible for me using the finest ingredients. I have learned how to live on those fancy meals, but it just doesn’t cut it. But because of these light, fancy meals, I would get quite hungry at night and go to the kitchen for a snack. It wasn’t uncommon for a whole cake to vanish.”

“You must have gotten really hungry.”

“Such is the problem of being a big alicorn with regular pony chefs. They can’t seem to think of making things bigger and heartier than what a normal pony needs.”

“Did they all go to a high end culinary school?”

Celestia casually popped a potato skin into her mouth as she thought. “No, not all of them. Unfortunately, the ones that didn’t go to a school got relegated to dishwashing duty. The kitchen has its own stratification system, and there’s nothing I can do about it without messing up just about everything else there.”

I took a bite of a potato skin myself. It was delicious. “I don’t know what to do for that. Everyone that works here gets along and sees everyone else as partners. There’s nobody here that doesn’t perform some kind of important duty. The only time for laziness is between rushes.”

“Aside from where they work, can you think of anything that might be different between our chefs?”

I had to think for a bit. I didn’t have anything to go off of for Celestia’s except what she told me. “Well, mine don’t work here for the prestige, that’s for sure. They were all looking for some way to provide for their families, or simply to get a better job. They also know that if they mess up enough times, they could lose their job, and that’s not good for them.”

“Maybe that’s what I need to do. Of course, I can’t just fire someone for a single mistake or just because they didn’t do something entirely right.”

“Tell them what you want, and if they learn how to make your meals how you want, keep them. If they keep going back to the artistic meals, despite what you ask, then you can fire or move them around. Maybe you could even have a competition between all the kitchen staff at some point to see who makes the best meal for you. You could even allow the dishwashers to participate.”

“I’ll have to see about trying that.” We continued laying there on the roof, talking and snacking on the potato skins. Celestia had most of them, and I don’t blame her. She was bigger than me, and based on what she had told me, needed food badly. Eventually, the sun started to get low. “I must say, Yang, it’s been a good day. I had fun doing nothing with you.”

Now there’s a statement if ever there was one. “And, as you can see, I am totally unburnt.” I didn’t even have a hint of a tan anywhere on me. My skin was the same color and texture as before, as if I’d been inside all day.

“I can only imagine what my sun’s rays feels like on bare skin. It must be nice.”

“For a lot of people, yes, but it really depends on the temperature. Anyways, I’ll let you go so you can make the trip back to your castle.”

“Farewell, then.” Celestia stood up, stretched a bit, then took off. I watched her fly until she was but a speck in the distance, then she teleported the rest of the way to her castle in a flash of golden light. Cheater!

“May as well go inside myself.” I picked up the plate the potato skins were on, and not seeing an easy way to swing back inside with it, I jumped down to the ground and went in through the back door to the kitchen.

The kitchen was abuzz with activity, so much so that my presence was more noted than acknowledged. There was so much activity going on, the only pony who could have walked through with no problem was Pinkie. Fortunately, I was no pony, and I was able to slip through the crowd of cooks with no problem, though one came close to hitting the side of my breasts with her head in her rush. I would have forgiven her for that if it had happened though.

I was in and out of the kitchen and free of the used plate in under a minute. Free of the item, I jumped back up to the roof and took a moment to admire the sunset before swinging back inside for the night.

I really should go visit Rarity again sometime. It’s been too long since I spent some time with her.

Author's Notes:

Even a Princess could use a lazy day away from her duties occasionally.

Also, brief and vague exposition is vague. And brief.