It’s been three days since I fought the diamond dogs. I woke up in a cold sweat the day after the fight. I thought the fight was a nightmare, but my clothes and Rarity’s story told the truth: I had fought and defeated almost a whole pack of diamond dogs. It had even gone to the newspaper. While I couldn’t read the writing all that well, I didn’t need to. The pictures of the damage I dealt was enough to scare me again. I didn’t even finish my breakfast after seeing that. I went back up to my room, turned the desk in the corner of the room, and just sat there.

Since then, I’ve been staying right here in this small corner, leaving only to use the bathroom when I had to. It’s a nice, dark corner, and nobody’s bothered me.

“Yang?” Rarity said from the other side of the closed door.

“Go away” I answered, though with no force to it.

“Yang, get out of your corner.” Rarity’s tone left no room for argument, but I made some anyways.

“No.”

Back on the other side of the door, Rarity, her friends, and her sister were gathered together. A few moments after Yang refused to come out, she said, “Was I this bad after the dress incident?”

“Yeah, but you were also being overly dramatic, which was at least somewhat amusing” Rainbow answered. “Yang, on the other hoof, is just depressing.”

“Maybe I could go in?” Fluttershy offered.

“No, I don’t think you’d do much good, Fluttershy” Twilight said. “Sorry.”

“Maybe a quiet party could help her?” Pinkie said, a party hat resting on her mane.

“You’re all using your heads too much” Applejack stated. “Ah think Ah’ll take the direct approach to getting Yang out.” Without waiting for a response, the farm mare walked straight into Yang’s room.

It didn’t take long for Applejack to open the window, pick Yang up, and defenestrate her. Applejack followed her target out the window and everypony else gathered around it. They saw Yang on the ground, not even attempting to move. All of them were concerned for Yang, but also knew she wouldn’t be hurt badly, if at all.

“Yang, why aren’t you stopping me?” Applejack asked as she started using some wrestling moves on me. I felt a bunch of joints popping. “Would you put up this level of resistance if you were all that stood between Equestria and someone who wanted to destroy it?”

“Yes” I honestly answered.

Applejack apparently didn’t like my answer. She released me, then grabbed one of my ankles with her mouth, and started swinging me back and forth over her. I didn’t bother counting how many times my face hit the dirt. I got a brief reprieve from the dirt when Applejack stopped swinging me around, but only because she threw me at a tree.

The pain was only a dull ache, and I idly noted that what I just went through with Applejack would have at least severely wounded anyone back on Earth.

“I think I know what’s gotten into you, Yang” Applejack said as she sat in front of me. “You’re afraid of hurting somepony with your power, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Let me tell you a story from my foalhood.

“Before I got my cutie mark, I decided that the farm life was not for me, so I went to Manehattan to live with my aunt and uncle Orange. During the weeks I was there, I became afraid of my strength. My farm upbringing made me stronger than even the adults there, and there were a lot of delicate things around me. I think I caused at least 2000 bits worth of damage by accident while I was there. I chose to stay in my room more often than not, and I felt bad about all the things I had broken. It weighed on my mind, and I moped around quite a bit. Not helping was the tiny portions of food they served that looked more like art than a meal.”

“So what happened?” I wanted to hear the end of the story.

“I was at the window and I saw a rainbow leading back to Ponyville. Turns out that was Rainbow Dash breaking the sound barrier for the first time, but I didn’t know that. I left Manehattan and came back to the farm, where I got my cutie mark.”

“Is there more to that story?”

“There is. I came back with an improved control of my strength. I don’t think it was as bad as you’ve got it though, but think about this: before you fought the diamond dogs, the only thing you broke was Twilight’s castle, which you couldn’t control.”

“I also broke some of Rarity’s tape measures.”

“Oh. Well, you still haven’t broken as many things in Ponyville as I did on my first day in Manehattan. Point is, you shouldn’t be afraid of your power like I was. In fact, Ah know just how you can use that muscle of yours for something good.”

“What?” I was interested both in Applejack’s idea and her brief change of accent. The latter was kind of perplexing, really.

“Construction! Sweet Apple Acres needs a new barn, and you can help us build it.”

“But what if I accidentally destroy it?”

“Then we’ll just clean up and start over. It actually happens quite a lot. Sometimes, we have to build three barns just to get one that doesn’t fall apart. There’s even a relative of mine out in a swamp that had to build four barns on the same spot before he got one that stayed up. The first one sank into the swamp, the second one fell over and then sank into the swamp, the third one burned down, fell over, and then sank into the swamp, but the fourth one stayed up.”

I thought on that for a bit. “That sounds like a strangely familiar story with the four barns in the swamp.”

“Ah guess there was a similar story back where you’re from. Now, get out of that robe and come back out here. And bring those bracelets of yours too.”

“Alright.” I didn’t really want to go and help Applejack, but if it kept her out of my hair, I’d give it a shot. I could only hope that she wouldn’t take up the role of an alarm clock. I jumped up to my window, but fell a bit short, landing on the roof instead. I climbed inside and saw Rarity and all her friends there, except for Applejack. “Can I help you?”

“Are you going out?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, I’m going to appease Applejack and come back. Could you leave so I can change?”

All of the ponies except Rainbow went out the door, which Twilight closed behind them. Rainbow left through the open window instead, which reminded me to close it and the curtain. After I took care of that, I changed all my clothes, switching the robe set for the usual white t-shirt and black jeans, along with fresh undergarments. After having worn the same clothes for three days straight, it actually felt pretty good to change into something else.

I took some time to contemplate the Ember Celica before putting them on and heading out through the window. I would say that I nailed the exit, but my stomach chose that moment to vocalize how it hadn’t had anything for a while, which caused me to trip and fall onto the roof, then down onto the ground, where my stomach gave an even louder growl.

“Rainbow?” Applejack said.

“Yeah, AJ?” Rainbow asked.

“Ah need you to fly to the farm as fast as you can and tell Granny Smith to fix up something for Yang. An AFH meal. No grasses.”

“I’m on it.” Rainbow took off, quickly disappearing in the distance, leaving a rainbow contrail that ended on a distant hill.

I made my way to my feet, Applejack offering her back for me to use for support. I took the offer, which made standing that much easier. “You gonna be able to make the walk there, Sugarcube?”

“I don’t know.”

“If you need me to, Ah can carry you on my back.”

“Thanks.” I set off with Applejack, though I was walking quite a bit slower than normal. She didn’t seem to mind though.

After the fifth time I had to stop to let my stomach quiet down, I figured that it would be wise to take Applejack up on her earlier offer. I got on her back and she resumed the walk, now going faster than when I was walking with her.

“Hey Applejack?” I asked.

“You can call me AJ” she replied. “What’s up?”

“Are you really alright with me on your back?”

“Sugarcube, I’ve carried things that were far heavier than you, critters that were less cooperative than you, and critters that were both heavier and less cooperative than you on my back.”

“I’m feeling kind of awkward about this. Back home, horses and ponies were ridden and used for various tasks, but they weren’t intelligent like you. Riding one I can talk with just messes with me.”

“Yang, just relax. So many odd things happen around here that you riding on my back isn’t going to draw much attention. There’s also Pinkie Pie.”

“Oh.” I saw Pinkie wave at us moments after Applejack mentioned her. I weakly waved at Pinkie, who I still preferred to keep some distance from. Applejack also waved at her without breaking stride. Somehow. I don’t have any personal quadrupedal experience, so I wouldn’t know how she did that.

Applejack carried me until we got to the front door of her house, where I, with all the grace of a waffle, fell off Applejack. Once again, I picked myself up, using her as support. Once I was up, she opened the door. “Granny, we’re here!”

“You got that Yang girl with you?” an elderly female voice, presumably Granny Smith, called back. “The turnovers are almost done.”

“She’s here.” Applejack turned to me. “Go ahead and take a seat at the table, Yang.”

I found the dining room with little problem and sat down at the table, soon followed by Applejack. “So, what is this AFH meal?”

“Apple Family Hospitality. We cook it up for anyone who needs it, and you really need it, Yang.”

“Applejack, could you help me get the food out?” the presumed Granny Smith said.

“Sure thing, Granny.” Applejack went to the kitchen, and moments later she came back with a serving plate filled with food. Once she set it down, she went back to the kitchen and returned again with another serving plate full of food. This continued until the only empty spaces at the table were the many spaces for someone to sit down and eat, and even those were crowded by all the dishes. “Soup’s on, everypony!” Applejack shouted. I heard a herd of hooves behind me and saw Applejack’s friends coming in, each grabbing a spot at the table. Shortly after that was a yellow earth pony filly about Sweetie Belle’s age and a red stallion. He was both the largest pony I’d seen in person so far and the first male pony I’d seen.

I took a headcount once everyone was sitting down. There was Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Applejack, a light yellow earth pony filly, Rainbow, an orange pegasus filly, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, the red stallion, an old green mare (presumably Granny Smith), and me. A whole baker’s dozen. Did they beat us while Applejack and I were on our way here?

“So, you must be Yang” the old mare said to me.

“Yes, I am her” I said. “Are you Granny Smith?”

“You bet I am. Ah heard you haven’t eaten for three days, so we’ll let you take what you want first.”

I looked over the spread of food. There were too many dishes to really choose from, so I grabbed some of the stuff from what was nearest, putting a bit of everything on my plate until there was no plate visible. I also had a bowl, so I put a layer of rice in it and put some of a thick vegetable stew on top.

As soon as I got everything I wanted, everyone else started getting their food. I didn’t pay them much mind though, as I was busy eating. I’d almost forgotten what food was like. Once I slowed down enough to actually take in the flavor and texture of the food, I noticed a distinct difference between what was here and what Rarity made. Rarity’s cooking was finer and made more to be enjoyed slowly. This food was simpler, but it was clearly made to fill someone up and make them feel great. It had some seasoning to it, but the flavor of the food was what I tasted most. It was delicious, and if it didn’t melt in my mouth, it was decimated by a few quick chews.

I wound up having a bit of everything. The slice of apple pie I finished on was good, but it would have been better if there wasn’t so much apple flavor to nearly everything else. But still, I felt rejuvenated and energized, like I could face any problem that didn’t involve fighting. Even my aura felt stronger. I also felt very full.

“You must have been really hungry, Yang” the yellow earth filly said.

“Yeah, I guess I was” I answered. “And you are?”

“Ah’m Apple Bloom. Applejack’s my big sister, Big Macintosh is my big brother, and Granny Smith is our grandma.”

“Nice to meet you all. And who’s the orange pegasus?”

“I’m Scootaloo” Scootaloo said. “I’m kind of Rainbow Dash’s little sister.”

“Kind of?”

“We’re not actually sisters, but we act like it.”

“Oh.”

“Feel free to rest up a bit, everypony” Applejack said. “Yang, we’ll be starting construction in half an hour or so.”

“Alright. Wake me when it’s time to head outside.” I went to the living room and saw a nice, wide couch there that was unoccupied. I lay down on it and found that it was the perfect size for me. One armrest comfortably elevated my head and the other was a perfect footrest. I soon slipped into the blissful type of sleep known as the food coma.

Author's Notes:

Good news everybody: chapter 12 is in the works and 13 is roughly planned out.
Bad news somebody: my other stories aren't getting as much attention.
Neutral news: Weird Al's Food Album is excellent, except for Taco Grande.