It was the last Thursday of November, and it was both chilly and quiet inside the Carne Den. It was the second day of the closure for the Fall Feast Festival, and I was curled up in a corner of my room with some winter clothes on, Asada on my lap, and a thick blanket over both of us to keep us warm. I could have curled up on my bed, but I felt like sticking to the corner for some reason. Probably because it was further from the window.

As we’d done for most of Wednesday, Asada and I were doing something between napping and hibernating. When we weren’t staying warm together in the corner, one or both of us were either eating a bit, drinking a bit, or relieving ourselves. It was cozy, quiet, and peaceful, which was perfect for us.

A knock stirred us slightly from our slumber before Gilda came in, looked around, and saw us. “There you are, Yang. Everyone’s waiting for you downstairs.”

“Huh?” I couldn’t suppress a yawn from my eloquently phrased question.

“Do you not remember what you said last month? That you would do something special for all of us and our families?”

“Nuh-uh.” My mind was still heavily clouded with the sweet embrace of sleep.

“You would cook a meal for all of us by yourself.”

“Is that today?”

“Yes it is.”

“Oh.” I looked at Asada, who had grown a bit since I took her in. “I have a bear on my lap.”

“Yes, well, some of us thought you might do something like this because of the cold, so we decided to do our own thing.”

“Yeah?”

“To show our thanks for all you’ve given us, we decided to do the cooking ourselves at home and just bring it all here for a big lunch.”

“Ah, it’s a Thanksgiving feast then.” I suddenly remembered the promise I made and nearly jumped to my feet. “I messed up on that, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you did kinda slip up on that promise. But, like I said, we’ve got it all under control. What did you call it, a Thanksgiving feast?”

“Yeah. Oh, right, it’s the Fall Feast Festival here, isn’t it?”

“Come on, everyone’s waiting.”

“Alright, just give me a moment.” I pulled the blanket off of Asada and me, nudged her awake, and stood up, my joints popping from the extended inactivity. Asada did something similar as well. “So, there’s food downstairs you all brought?”

“A whole lot of it.”

Asada and I left my room and went downstairs. The tables had all been rearranged into a long rectangle with an empty chair at the end closest to the stairs. Along the sides were a lot of griffons, a few ponies, a dragon, and a minotaur. All in all, it looked like there were at least 80 at the megatable, and there appeared to be enough food for way more than that.

I stood at my spot at the table for a moment and everyone quieted down. “Uh, hi everyone. I totally forgot about the offer to cook for everyone today, and judging by how many are here, I may have underestimated the task, so, I’m sorry for that.” A consensus of forgiveness was proposed and passed unanimously in under ten seconds by everyone at the table. “Now, as I just realized, this is the first Fall Feast Festival for a lot of you, maybe even the first time you’ve been at a spread like this. However, I don’t want to consider this a feast for the end of fall. Gilda told me how thankful you are for all I’ve given you, so instead of celebrating the end of the season, I propose we turn the focus of this to us giving thanks for what we have, both the tangible and intangible. Let’s call it Thanksgiving, and let’s each say something we’re thankful for. Just the first thing that comes to your mind will do. I’ll go first. I’m thankful that I have the Carne Den, both as a reliable source of income and as a source of meat. Gilda remembers what happened to her steak when I saw it all those months ago. Speaking of which, I believe she’s next since she’s to my right.”

Gilda stood up as I sat down. “That was a very nice speech, Yang. Anyways, I’m thankful for the time Yang and I fought over the steaks I’d brought with me that one time. She had been living on a regular pony diet for a couple months and she was apparently getting restless due to a craving for meat. It was from that encounter that the Carne Den was conceived, and here we are.”

Gavan and his family all stood up as Gilda sat down. “I believe I speak for my family when I say that we’re thankful for the Carne Den’s existence. The money I’m making here is amazing, and the money flowing to the family butchering business has helped them so much. New knives, new hires, and a new outlook on life. Yang Xiao Long, for all you’ve done and given us, we would swear our lives to you if you asked it. Thank you so much.” A round of applause was given to Gavan and his family and I could feel a blush on my face from the praise.

After Gavan and his family sat down, Glynda went next, alone. “I’m thankful to Yang as well, for if it weren’t for her, I would still be poor in the Griffon Empire. For all you’ve done, I’d swear my life to you.”

All around the table, every griffon expressed their thanks for me and all I’d given them, through their words, brief tales of their life in the Griffon Empire, and promising to swear their lives to me if I asked. A job that paid well enough for them to send some money back home and still live comfortably, have a brighter outlook, make friendships, and fill stomachs, well, who wouldn’t be thankful? Those who weren’t griffons expressed a more general sense of thankfulness for what I’d done.

Finally, the last griffon gave their thanks and I added one extra thing. “Finally, let us all be thankful for the feast in front of us, the shelter in which we will enjoy it, and the effort put forth by all of you to make this happen. And with that said, let’s get to the real meat of this meeting: the food, but especially the meat.” With a snap of my fingers, everyone started going after the food, including me.

During the meal, Asada found herself a spare chair, pushed it up next to mine, and joined us. Some of the griffon cubs and chicks, apparently having only heard of how dangerous bears were, pressed up against their parents when Asada did that. They calmed down a bit after some assurances that Asada was very nice and wouldn’t hurt them. The fact that Gilda could apparently understand Asada helped as well.

Due to how many griffon children there were, no alcohol was served, despite the stuff being displayed only about fifteen feet away. Many of the young ones hadn’t seen me before, and the parents that worked with me likely spoke of me like some kind of legendary savior, based on their faces. A very friendly savior who can’t stand the cold, pays them nicely for their work, and has a pet bear named after a meat dish they don’t know about and I don’t know how to define or make.

Eventually, one of the griffon cubs either worked up the courage or was coerced by others into coming up to me. “Miss Yang?” I did not miss the nervous glances at Asada.

“Yes?”

“Is it really true that you defeated Tirek with one punch?”

“No, it took a lot of punches for me to defeat him. But the last punch I delivered was the one that defeated him. I was a mess after that, tired and still a little mad. I even used Princess Celestia’s horn to pull her face to face so I could tell her what I wanted for my reward. In any clearer state of mind, I wouldn’t have done that.”

There was a knock at the door. As the owner of the house, I was the one to go answer it. A light blue pegasus was hovering there. “Rainbow? What are you doing here?”

“I’m looking for the griffons. We’ve got this big Fall Feast Festival event that we’ve planned downtown and we can’t find any of them. We figured you might know where they are.”

A devious idea popped into mind. “Asada, can you get us a chair?” An affirmative growl was the answer. “Come on in, Rainbow.” Before she could properly respond, I grabbed Rainbow’s forehoof and quickly pulled her inside and ran around to the tables. I saw the chair that was pulled out for Rainbow and set her in it.

“What’s going on here?”

I quickly threw together a turkey and bacon sandwich, got a few side items together, and set it in front of Rainbow. “Thanksgiving, that’s what. Eat up. Oh, is there anything you’re thankful for? Anything you really appreciate?” “Please don’t be praise for me. I’ve had enough of that.”

“Well, I’m glad the Carne Den is here. Ever since I’ve been coming here for lunch, I’ve felt my wings getting stronger. I credit the meat.”

“Shoot.”

“Well, this certainly looks good.” Rainbow started on her sandwich and soon, she was part of the crowd. “It is good.”

“There you are.” Twilight walked over to Rainbow. “Wait a minute, you’re walking. And you smell like you’ve had your muzzle in a bunch of food.”

“Twi, I found the griffons.” Rainbow’s voice was happy and sedated from all she had eaten and the good time she had. “They’re doing their own thing with Yang. They called it Thanksgiving, or something. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll just take a food nap. Wake me up when the weather is due to be changed.” Rainbow closed her eyes and went to sleep on the spot.

“Well Pinkie, it looks like the introductory Fall Feast Festival’s fallen flat.”

“That sucks” Pinkie said. “At least I have a backup plan ready!” Pinkie zipped around to all the signs that were meant for the introductory party and pulled them away, revealing standard Fall Feast Festival signs. “Let the festival commence!”

“Hi Luna.”

“Hello, Yang. You seem content.”

“I’m warm in bed, Asada’s with me, and I had a big feast with my employees, their families, and surprise guest Rainbow Dash. You would not believe just how much that mare can eat. I’m surprised she didn’t fall into a food coma on the spot.”

“That actually happened when she arrived downtown. She’s still sleeping where she stands. So, how was your Fall Feast Festival? Or should I say, Thanksgiving?”

“Thanksgiving. It was good, except for everyone heaping their praise onto me. I understand why, but I had heard enough of it after Glynda expressed her thanks.”

“You didn’t stop them though.”

“Because I couldn’t find it in me to interrupt or preempt them. I dropped the ball on preparing a feast for them, and they stepped up to the plate. I’m glad they did, considering just how many showed up, but I wanted to help with the food in some way, aside from eating it. They didn’t even let me help clean the dishes.”

“They likely believe that you had already given the most out of everyone. Even in the mere months they’ve been with you, they may believe that they will never be able to pay you back for what you’ve done for them. It was also your home that they used. Even if it was just the restaurant portion, it’s still part of your home, especially since that part’s closed.”

I sighed and sat down as well as anyone could in a galactic void. “Being praised as a hero by everyone I work with isn’t all that fun for me.”

“As I am aware. But look at it this way: you gave them a day to get it out of their systems. You gave them a day to openly express their gratitude for anything, and they gave the gratitude to you. You gave them the means for a better life. You gave me the idea to propose the idea of replacing the Fall Feast Festival with Thanksgiving.”

“Huh?”

“The Fall Feast Festival is a last hurrah to celebrate good weather before winter gets started up. From what I can tell, Thanksgiving is about expressing gratitude for what you have. And with its timing, it could serve as a reminder of what one has before winter is in effect. I love it.

“Enjoy your rest, Yang. You have earned it.”

Author's Notes:

And after Luna's last words in the dreamscape, Yang woke up, appreciative of the wise words, but more importantly, she needed to go to the bathroom.