I was roused from my food coma by a hoof gently tapping on my head. I slowly opened my eyes and noticed that the hoof was clad in a light silver shoe. “Hello, dreamscape to Yang” Luna’s voice said.

I made a finger phone and put it up to my ear. “Hello dreamscape, this is Yang” I answered. “How can I help you?”

“How have you been? It’s been a while since we last spoke.”

“Well, I did get in a fight recently” I admitted. “I didn’t like it.”

“I read the article. So did Celestia, but I changed some words with a bit of magic before she read it to keep you hidden from her a bit longer. She now thinks there was a big fight among the dogs that just got out of hoof and escalated very quickly thanks to the pink one’s antics.”

“Thanks. Why are you keeping me hidden from her again?”

“So you have more time to get used to our world before she does something drastic like drag you to Canterlot and force you to train for combat.”

“Yeah, I’m not too thrilled with the idea of fighting. I don’t want to accidentally hurt someone.”

“But you seem to have gotten over that, at least partially.”

“Applejack shared a story with me.” I looked around at the nothingness of the area. “Could you, um, change the landscape? This void is kind of dreary.”

“Of course. What would you like? Perhaps the beach again?”

“Sure. How about putting us at a smoothie bar too?”

Luna’s horn flashed for a moment, and the blank dreamscape transformed into a beach. It was pleasantly warm, and my clothes were swapped out for some lighter, more beach appropriate ones. Behind me, the smoothie bar, a nice wooden shack, was quickly built. When I turned around, I saw a row of counter seats. Luna was already in one seat, so I sat next to her.

“How’s this?” Luna asked me.

“Quite nice” I answered. I turned to the server, a light yellow unicorn stallion with a straw hat on. “Sir? I’d like a cherry, orange, and lemon smoothie. What do you want, Luna?”

“I’ll have a chocolate shake.”

The stallion nodded and set to work on the drinks.

“So, Yang, would you mind telling about that fight?”

I sighed. “Well, I know my first punch was very sloppy. It did nothing. After that, the dog punched me into a wall, then it called for help and I ran. I found myself in a big chamber and then I was surrounded. After that, I kind of went on autopilot, just punching until I destroyed the wall with them.”

“And what spurred you to fight in the first place?”

I blushed and turned away as I gave my answer. “The dog guarding the cell messed up my hair. I saw some of it on its arm. It’s probably one of the stupidest reasons to get in a fight, isn’t it?”

“I’ve seen worse reasons.” Luna got her shake in a tall glass. “Like this one noble pony around 1200 years ago that shouted at his accountant for three days straight over a two bit miscalculation. That turned out to actually be part of a rival noble family’s plan to assassinate him, and it worked. After shouting for so long, he unwittingly took a poisoned drink and died a couple days later. Turns out the accountant had been bribed to make that mistake and the maid to poison the drink. Those two wound up getting the dead noble’s estate since nopony else in the family wanted it.”

I was stunned at Luna’s story. “Wow. That’s just, what were the families fighting over?”

“Who knows? That rivalry went back a few generations, so nopony remembered. But we’re off topic, aren’t we?”

“What was the original topic anyways?” I took a sip of my smoothie. The cherry, orange, and lemon flavors kind of clashed, but also kind of worked together. I liked it.

“I merely wanted to see how you were doing. You appear to be alright.”

“I guess. Applejack kind of roped me into helping her build a barn today. She also had a feast prepared for me, and it was good. It really helped me get out of my depression after the fight.”

“Physical activity and good food are the best ways to get rid of depression, so the doctors say. See if you can find something to do regularly.”

“At least once I’m able to properly read. I’ve been working on that.”

A pleasant breeze blew through the area. It felt nice. “That’s good. I saw how similar our alphanumeric systems are in one of Twilight’s dreams. I’m amazed at how they’re so similar and yet so different.”

“Yeah, but writing out the letters here is tough.”

“I’m sure you’ll get used to it.”

“I suppose.” I took a long sip of my smoothie. It was good. “So, is there anything else you want to say?”

“No, I suppose not. I suppose there’s only one matter of business left to take care of.”

“What is that?”

Luna’s horn lit up with a silvery glow. “A blessing for you.” The glow blasted off from the tip of her horn straight to my body. “When you wake up, you will be refreshed and energized.”

“Cool.” I was already feeling more energetic in the dream. “How long does this last?”

“Only once, but I’m sure it will be enough for today.”

I nodded in acknowledgement and grabbed my smoothie, taking it to a beach chair out in the sun. While this may be a dream, I intended to relax in it. I did not notice Luna’s departure, but that was alright.

I was roused from my food coma by a hoof gently tapping on my head. I slowly opened my eyes and noticed that the hoof was orange. “Time to wake up, Yang” Applejack said.

I gave a quick yawn. “Alright.” I started to get up, feeling refreshed and energized, but something was on me. I looked down and saw Applejack’s sister, Apple Bloom, I think it was, napping on my body. “I seem to have a bit of a problem, AJ. Your sister’s got me pinned down.”

Applejack looked over and saw my predicament, sighed, came around, and tried to pull Apple Bloom off of me. This only resulted in the filly wrapping her forehooves around my waist and holding on to me more securely. “Ah think you’ll just have to sit up. That ought to wake her.”

I thought on that for a moment before bringing myself into a sitting position, which did wake up Apple Bloom. “Yang?” she asked. “Could you lay down again?”

“Sorry, but I can’t” I said. “Applejack needs my help.”

“But you’re so nice and warm.”

I brought the back of the exposed portions of my fingers up to my forehead. It didn’t feel like I had a fever. “Really?”

“Really.”

I had to think my way out of this. “Do you ever have sleepovers with your friends?”

“Yeah. Our next one’s at Sweetie Belle’s. Why?”

This could not be more perfect. “If you get off me yourself, I will participate in your next sleepover.” Apple Bloom perked up at this while Applejack held her hat over her heart and hung her head. Huh.

“You mean it?”

“Yes.”

“Hm, alright.” Apple Bloom released and jumped off me, running off to do something. I stood up and stretched. “So, are we going out to get this barn built or what?”

“We are” Applejack said. “The supplies are already out there, ready to go. Just had them delivered yesterday.”

“Then let’s go.”

Our first stop was the tool shed. We probably spent fifteen minutes finding all the tools we’d need and putting them and a basket in a cart, which she hooked up to herself. That shed needed some slight organizing.

As we walked towards the pile of wood out on a distant hill, Applejack stopped for a moment. She set the basket under an apple tree and gave the big plant a single kick. A bunch of apples fell neatly into the basket. No other apples fell from the tree. I chose not to ask how that worked, and simply elected to take the basket of apples myself. The weight was barely noticeable over the rest of the walk to the hill.

I must say, whoever delivered everything here must take pride in customer satisfaction. Everything was neatly stacked and organized. They had set what looked like the outer wall pieces on the inside of the stack and the inside frame pieces on the outside, with a few sawhorses thrown in as well. There were boxes of long, sturdy nails on a piece of plywood that was sticking out a couple feet off the ground. Smart.

The whole stack was a couple feet taller than me and took up a lot of ground. “So, where are we starting with this?” I asked as I set the basket of apples down. “And this looks like way more than you’d need to build a barn.”

“Like Ah said before, we usually don’t get it done on the first try, so we always get more than we need” Applejack said. “We’ll start with the back wall first.”

Since I had both a pair of hands and a good jump, Applejack had me go on top of the pile and get some of the longer beams down. They had to be sixteen feet long and looked to be around 6x6. Wow. Seems the Apples did not mess around with structural integrity.

I pushed each beam until they were hanging over the edge of the stack before jumping off and going around to the parts that were sticking out. With a smaller jump, I reached up and grabbed one of the beams, my weight pulling down on it until I was standing on the ground again, at which point I walked it off the stack. I did forget that it would fall though, and that caught me off guard, causing me to stumble a bit. A quick readjustment of my position to the middle of the beam let me pick it back up, but this also revealed that, even with my enhanced strength, it was still heavy.

“What is this stuff made of?” I asked as I moved it into place at her direction, making half of the bottom of the wall.

“Solid oak. Nothing but the strongest wood for an Apple family barn.” Applejack picked out some wooden stakes connected with rope from the cart and started sticking them in the ground along the beam. While she did that, I put the other beam in place.

“So, are those where we’re going to build outwards?” The stakes were placed at regular intervals along all 32 feet of the beams.

“Yep. Are you sure you haven’t done this before?”

“I’ve seen others do it.” I didn’t mention that it was only in ads that came up before videos. I didn’t want to start that kind of discussion now.

“That makes things a bit easier. Put some 12 foot beams up at the stakes.”

As I found some of the specified beams, a thought crossed my mind. “Hey, AJ? Why do you use the foot for measurement when you have hooves?”

“Discord made the measurement systems, so Twilight says. It’s does explain how strange it is.”

“Huh.” I placed the beams where they were needed while Applejack brought up a box of nails and a hammer. Applejack actually had to teach me how to drive in the nail, and that putting it in at an angle would hold the two beams together. It made me wonder how earth ponies did it with any degree of efficiency.

Soon, I was elected to take the saw, a hand saw, and cut some angles in some of the beams. Big Mac usually cut them, but Applejack told him to not help this time. Once again, I had no idea how they did it.

“This is surprisingly easy” I noted as I cut the beam. It was like the saw was an extension of my arm.

Applejack looked over at my work, already nearly halfway through. “Easy? Yang, that’s solid oak you’re cutting through with a plain saw. Sure, I could do it, but I wouldn’t be that far by now.”

“Really?” As I finished cutting, I thought back to what I’d seen in RWBY about aura. It was a defense mechanism, and could be used in other ways, mainly with weapons. It was what allowed bladed weapons to stay sharp in battle, shields to not break, and so much more.

I chose to keep that revelation to myself.

Soon enough, we had a wall, at least the frame for it, done. “Phew. That’s done, at least” Applejack said. “Time to lift this one up into place.” She started tying a rope around the top of the wall.

“Uh, AJ, are you sure that’s wise?” I was concerned.

“Don’t worry, Yang. The ground’s level here, so it won’t tip once it’s up. I think.”

“But wouldn’t it be safer to add some supports to make sure it stays up? Just put some of the bases for the walls on one side and use some angled beams to keep it from falling on the other.”

Applejack thought about the idea for a bit before reluctantly agreeing to it. “Fine, go ahead.”

I quickly cut some more beams and set them in some gaps in the framework before grabbing some more beams, these even longer and heavier than the first ones, and setting them down. I held the first one up in place while I got to see Applejack set a nail in place with her mouth, then pick up the hammer with her mouth and drive in the nail. It looked horribly awkward.

“That did not look fun” I noted.

“Normally, Ah’d use my hoof for putting nails in, but this is too tough for that” Applejack said. “Ah always go to the spa for a massage after building something out here.”

We repeated the process with the other side, then spent a moment figuring out how to lift the wall up. A few ideas were tossed out, but the one we stuck with was Applejack and me slowly lifting it up, then once the wall was up, she would brace the wall to make sure it stayed up and I’d get the supports in place as fast as I could.

I’d like to say the plan went off without a hitch. No, really, it did. The supports on both sides worked perfectly. Applejack was impressed as well. We were both beat (me more than her) and decided an apple break was in store.

Once the apple break was over, we started on one of the long walls. It went like the back wall, but three times longer and without the arch on top. Applejack started building up a sweat under the sun, but I was feeling alright. Not a bit of sweat on me. I suspected that I had a heat resistance ability.

Partway through the building of the third wall, Big Macintosh showed up with a cart. He looked at the wall that was up, the wall that still had to go up, the wall that we were working on, and the pile of materials in the middle. He got this perplexed look on his face and started scratching his head with a forehoof.

“Uh, sis?” he said. It was the first time I’ve heard him speak.

“No, we don’t need your help Big Mac” Applejack answered.

“Not yet!” I quickly added.

“Which barn is this?” he asked.

“This is the one that’s being built” I answered before Applejack could. Then I remembered something. “Oh, this is the first one. If all goes well, we should have all four walls up soon, then we can put everything else in place, then there will be a lot of leftover wood and I have no idea what to do with it all.” I was feeling quite good.

Big Mac was quiet for a bit. “Are all humans this productive?”

“No. We have our share of unproductive people, and politicians.”

He was quiet again, seemingly in thought. “I brought some water for you.” He disconnected from the cart and walked off. A moment later, Applejack and I resumed work on the wall. We were nearly done with it when Big Mac showed up and talked with us, so we chose to finish it. Once we did, it was time for a water break.

There were two buckets of water. Applejack removed her hat, took one of the buckets, and dunked her head in it. I took the other, removed the Ember Celica, cupped my hands, and drank some water that way. The water was refreshing and cool. No wonder Applejack chose to dunk her head. Speaking of her, she pulled her head out once she had run out of air, and after taking a few breaths, poured the water over her entirely. I drank some more water while she took some time to breathe.

“Want some more?” I offered my bucket of water.

Applejack looked at the offered bucket. “You sure you don’t need to cool down? It’s been in the low 90s while we’ve been out here.”

“I think I’ve got heat resistance now. It’s actually pretty cool.”

Applejack facehooved. “That was a bad pun.”

“Hm?” I thought back on what I said, then facepalmed as well. “I didn’t even realize that was a pun. How about we just get the long walls up and get the last one built?”

“Sure.” Applejack and I each drank a bit more water before putting our respective items back on and turning back to the walls. “So what’s your plan this time?”

“Hm, cut out a few more supports, get one wall up, brace it, then do the same on the other side. Once that’s done, the walls can be nailed together. Think you can lift that wall up by yourself?”

“Oh, you bet I can. Now get to cutting!”

After I cut four beams, Applejack lifted the wall up, though apparently not with ease. She clearly struggled to get it up, so I was quick to get all of the supports in place. The other wall went up similarly, though not as easily since the first one took quite a bit out of AJ. She was breathing quite audibly and decided it was time for a five minute breather and apple break.

“Hey, Applejack, how about we stop here for today?” I suggested. “I can come back and help you finish up tomorrow.”

“No, we can finish it today” Applejack said. “Ah’m not stopping until this barn is done.”

“Don’t think of it as stopping. Think of it as, um, holding off the satisfaction of completion until a later date?”

Applejack glared at me. “Ah’m not buying that.”

“Oh alright.” I took a breath before saying what I really thought. “You’re getting exhausted, it’s apparently hot out here, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself through overworking yourself. I had a friend whose father worked on a farm and almost had to go to the hospital a few times because he overworked himself in triple digit heat. Regularly.”

“What happened to him?”

“He was talked down from his overworking tendencies after the 5th close call. He started taking regular breaks and actually started working more effectively from there on out. With that in mind, I say we stop here for today and come back to it tomorrow. And maybe get another set of hands here.”

“Hooves, Yang” Applejack corrected.

“Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow when I get here.” I waved and started to walk away before I remembered something. “Which way is the gate?”

As I walked past one of the boutique’s windows, I looked inside and saw Rarity talking to a tan earth pony mare who was wearing, in my opinion, a rather ridiculous white, blue, purple, and gold outfit. At least her hat was sensible, being white with only a purple ribbon on it.

I decided not to interrupt them and made my way around to the back of the building, where I jumped up to my window and went inside. I could barely make out what they were saying, so I went out of my room and sat on the stairs.

“I know you’re fine now, but what if Yang hadn’t come along to save you?” the mare who was not Rarity asked.

“Spike would have probably sent a letter to Celestia” the mare who was not Rarity’s guest answered. “Even if he had been captured with us, I’m sure Pinkie would have gotten us out somehow. She works in ways nopony can understand.” Amen to that, Rarity.

“Rarity, we’ve been friends longer than I’ve been a pop star. I’d rather lose my career in music than see a friend get hurt doing something for me.”

“It turned out fine in the end. I’m pretty sure the diamond dogs won’t be bothering me again since Yang beat them like she did.” Cue the start of the mild depression.

“You said they wouldn’t bother you again after you whined your way out of their tunnels. Please understand my skepticism.”

Rarity sighed. “If I must.”

“Could you tell me a bit about Yang? Ever since I read that article in the paper, I’ve been curious about her.”

“She’s an odd one” Rarity started. “Her body is lean and powerful, and she’s quite strong, too. I would pity whoever chose to pick a fight with her if she had the will to fight.”

“What do you mean?”

“She does not like to fight. In fact, that fight with the diamond dogs was the first time in her life that she’d ever struck back at anybody. As the story said, she fainted after the fight. After she realized her actions, she became depressed and just sat in the corner of her room. Fortunately, Applejack pulled Yang out of it earlier today.”

“I’m not sure if I’d want someone like her living with me. With how she broke your tape measures, I’d be afraid to let her into a dressing room or a Chineighse pottery store.”

“She’s quite gentle, actually. Opal loves her, and she even volunteered to be with the Crusaders when they come over next Friday.” Who were these Crusaders? “I think you should come by later so you can visit Yang yourself. As far as I know, she’s still helping Applejack build a barn.”

“I’m actually done for the day” I said.

“Yang? When did you get here? Where are you?”

I stepped out from the stairwell. “I’m back here. I heard some of your conversation too.”

“Oh, uh, did you now?” Rarity said as she turned around.

“Yep. So, am I a small time celebrity now?”

“For saving the mares who have saved the world multiple times?” Sapphire said. “I‘ve heard a lot of ponies talking about you in Canterlot over the past couple days. I knew Rarity was involved, so I came to make sure she was okay.”

“She was surprised to hear that you were living with me” Rarity said.

“I’d bet” I said. “So, what now?”

“What do you want to do, Yang?

“Honestly? I’m about ready to call it a day. You have no idea how heavy some of that lumber was.”

“And in today’s temperatures too?” Sapphire said. “I’m surprised you’re still standing, or at least not sunburnt.”

Ponies can get sunburnt? “I think I’ve got heat resistance now. And now that you mention it, I might also be unburnable. I am not going to test that theory though.

“Now then, if you’ll excuse me, I’m a little hungry, a little thirsty, and kind of tired, so I’m going to fix those in that order.” I didn’t pay any attention to Rarity or Sapphire as they started talking again.

Looking around the kitchen, I didn’t find much to eat. Rarity probably didn’t take any leftovers from the meal earlier. Maybe there weren’t any leftovers to take. With a quiet sigh, I chose to have a glass of milk. So much for a snack.

After having my glass of milk, I chose to have a second. Pony glasses are smaller than I’d like. Once that was done, I cleaned the glass, set it on the rack to dry, and headed upstairs.

I took off the Ember Celica and was in the middle of changing to my robe, which Rarity apparently cleaned while I was at Sweet Apple Acres, when a thought hit me. Well, more of a smell that hit me. That smell was me. The bed would have to wait.

I gathered my sleep clothes together and went to the bathroom. The shower was still a little daunting. I’m mostly used to my body now, at least when I’m wearing clothes and doing things. It mostly keeps my mind off all the changes. Personal hygienics brought all the differences to light though, and I didn't like it. I still put up with it though, since I had to.

I made my shower quick, as I preferred to. It kept the personal awkwardness down. I still had to figure out how to effectively wash and dry the golden mass that was my hair. I’ve gotten better than the first time I tried, at least.

After I was done in the bathroom and wearing my sleeping clothes (an idea I’ve actually warmed up to), I made my way to my room and into bed. Before I could fully fall asleep, I heard knocking on the door. “Hm? Who’s there?”

“May I come in, Yang?” Rarity asked.

“Sure.”

Rarity walked in, and I saw her carrying a brush in her magic. “I couldn’t help but notice a lot of tangles in your hair a minute ago, and I was wondering if you’d allow me to brush them out.”

“Go ahead.” I turned onto my side and let Rarity brush my hair. It felt good.

After a moment, Rarity spoke up. “I suppose I might have other reasons for doing this as well.”

“Hm?”

“I miss doing this with Sweetie Belle. Maybe I just want to cling to that a bit longer.” Anything else she said after that was lost to me as I fell asleep with her brushing my hair. It felt good.

Author's Notes:

The barn shall be raised! Note the spelling.