A breeze drifted through Sweet Apple Acres during a moderately warm spring night, making what would have been a slightly sweaty night into one of open windows and pleasant half-sighs. Applejack was just beginning to relax in her bed as a strangely colored light began to shine through her bedroom window which caused her to tense up. A few exasperated thoughts about work the next day ran through her mind before the slowly strengthening light forced her to roll out of bed and head outside quietly so she wouldn't disturb the rest of her family.

Once outside and on the porch she found herself in shadow cast by the light, so she walked to the end and dropped onto the grass to see what was going on. Following the light to its source, Applejack stopped dead in her tracks as she contemplated her early demise. She thought that specific thought because, raining down from the sky was an enormous sphere of magical energy, a deep purple color at its core with flashes of midnight blue, gold and a very light pink flashed and flared across its surface. Staring for a second more before springing into action, she ran back inside yelling for her family to wake up and to run into the orchard as fast as they could.

It took only a few seconds for their peaceful sleep to be shattered as they roused their selves and heeded Applejack's words as past experience had told them to do what she said when she was half panicked and do it double time when she was panicked. Well, this was one of those times where she was panicked, so they were out of the house in ten seconds flat and running for the safety of the trees with Granny swaying precariously on Big Mac's back. Applejack looked over her shoulder to see how close the thing was to making landfall just as they passed the first trees and saw it had reached the peak of her house's roof, only it seemed to be falling on the empty hill just to the northeast of the homestead.

It seemed to be slowing down the closer it got to the ground, but that didn't stop it at it seemed to evaporate the ground it touched. It slowed further as it consumed more and more earth until it finally did, once it has eaten almost a third of the small rise and wafted away like smoke in the wind. Once it was over and she waited for a few minutes, Applejack felt it was safe enough to leave cover and investigate whatever damage this magical tomfoolery had caused. Following her lead, the rest of her family trailed her at a reasonable distance. Once she reached the lip of the crater, she noticed a distinct lack of smoke and stopped once she could see over it in the dim light of the moon.

“Oh, Celestia, not another one...” she muttered in slight exasperation.

The cause of her ire happened to be lying asleep in the lowest part of the crater, wrapped in a thick sleeping bag which was soon kicked off as it suddenly became warmer, revealing a large dark brown dog as well. It scratched itself in a spot that made Applejack blush slightly before rolling over to wrap an arm around its companion.

“An' it brought company too. Just great.”

It had been a long night for Rainbow Dash as she, Lero, and the rest of their herd as they had just gotten Twilight back from wherever she had been when she was transformed into an alicorn. They were drinking tea long into the night in the kitchen as they just spent time together in each others company, delaying the topic of Twilight's ascension until tomorrow when they could talk to Celestia privately. It turned out that their night was going to get a lot longer as the door to their humble abode knocked at the presence of a visitor. With a slight smirk at the rest of her herd, Lyra lit her horn and opened the door to reveal Applejack on the doorstep.

“Applejack?” Twilight asked as she saw her friend back in town after having had such a long day herself. “What's wrong?”

“We got another one, Twi,” she responded wearily.

“Another one?” Twilight asked as her mind drew a blank. “Another what?”

“Another human.”

“Oh... Uh... I guess I should send a scroll to Princess Celestia then?”

“Might be a bit helpful. He's sleepin' in a crater at the moment, but he seems right as rain for the most part. His dog too.”

“Crater? Dog?” Twilight said as her eyes widened drastically.

“Yep. Ah figure if they wake up in a bed, they might be a bit more hospitable when they wake up.”

“I can see that,” Lero quipped with half a smirk.

“Lyra, could you please help with our new guests while I handle the letter to the Princess?” Twilight asked surprisingly calmly.

“Sure, Twilight,” Lyra replied with an easy smile as she moved off to leave with Applejack. Just before she left, she looked back over her shoulder with a mischievous sparkle in her eye. “Oh, one thing Twilight? Stuff your muzzle in a pillow before you scream your lungs out? Our neighbors get enough of an earful as it is.”

That happened to be the last straw for Twilight because as the door shut she ran to the couch and unleashed a scream so loud the pillow barely seemed to do anything as she vented her stresses of the day.

Galen reached both arms above his head as he stretched while he held a deep breath that got his heart pumping more as the bright noon sunlight finally pierced his eyelids. He held that pose for a good five seconds before relaxing slightly before he noticed that he wasn't sleeping where he had put his head down last night. Normally, he didn't sleepwalk unless he had been eating before bed, but that hadn't been the case last night. He cracked an eye open as he warily scanned his surroundings while he slid a hand down in search for one of his knives, only to find their familiar presence missing.

Well, don' tha' sod all.

He sighed as he decided to give up the act and sat up in one of the most comfortable beds he had ever been in. He looked around and saw Riley, his German Shepherd rolled lazily on his back, still asleep. Worst guard dog ever.

“Sleep well?” asked a moderately deep male voice from behind and to the left.

“Yeah, real well,” Galen replied as he stifled any reaction from being startled. “Sorry t' impose on ya like tha, but I'll be on my way soon 'nough.”

“That's some accent you have. You from Ireland or something like that?”

“As a matter o' fact, Ah am,” Galen replied after a snort of amusement.

“Well, highlander, you ain't in the moors anymore,” the voice replied. At that, Galen turned and found himself looking at a well built man sitting in the corner of the bedroom with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair, braided simply on the left side of his face and holding a cerulean feather.

“Whaddya mean by tha', stranger?”

“I mean, I have some news for you that you may not like,” he replied. Galen said nothing as he tried to get a read on this odd man and waited for him to continue. “Well... You're not on earth anymore, so that's as good as any place to start.”

Galen felt the pit of his stomach drop out from inside him. Here he was, stuck in a small bedroom with a man that could go hand to hand with him and was likely crazy enough to think they weren't on earth anymore. Someone who had taken away his weapons and likely had one or two on his person.

“Really, now,” he said cautiously, keeping his face as flat as possible. “Well don' tha' beat all, huh?”

“You think I'm crazy, don't you?”

“Shit happens, righ'?”

“No, it's doesn't. It really doesn't,” he said with a lighthearted chuckle. “Sorry for the shock in advance, but do you think you could take a look out the window?”

“Don' see any harm in tha,” Galen replied as he turned slightly to look outside while trying to keep the other man in his peripherals for any forewarning of sudden movement. As he glanced out the window, he caught sight of something incredibly colorful. He glanced back quickly to the man and was met with him reclining slightly in the chair, waving his hand to egg Galen on. Alrigh' then, Galen thought to himself as he turned to look at a pair of surprisingly large and aggressive cerise eyes, partially obscured by a mane of many colors as its ears seemed to constantly swivel in search of sounds from inside the room. Galen tried to make sense of what he was looking at and found himself at a loss, so he turned back to his not-quite-as-insane-as-he-had-initially-thought host. “Wha's tha' outside tha window?”

“That's Rainbow Dash. She's really protective, so she insisted standing guard outside being the big sweetie she is,” he said with a smirk and a chuckle. “I wouldn't try anything around her because she's one tough cookie.”

“So...” Galen waffled for a moment in search of his next thought. “Wha's she anyway?”

“Well, they're called ponies, though not like we think of them. They're just as smart as we are, speak our language and they're not strictly ponies either. Rainbow Dash here is a pegasus. Could you flap your wings to demonstrate for our guest, love?” he said loudly enough for her to hear him.

Galen whipped his head back around to the window in time to see a brief flap of, yes, those were apparently her wings.

“Huh...” Galen said dumbly at the display.

“There are also unicorns, but Twilight and Lyra are trying to run damage control at the moment outside the house,” the man continued. “I know it's a bit of a shock, but since you're here, I figured that it would be best to get you adjusted as quickly as possible, especially before the Princess drops in for a visit.”

“Princess?”

“Yeah. She visited me when I first arrived as well, so this is all standard procedure.”

“Ya think Ah could have a moment ta maself?” Galen asked in a surprisingly calm voice.

“Sure, I'll ask the Princess to give you a little bit,” the man replied as he slowly got to his feet, revealing to Galen that Lero was almost a full foot taller than he was. “Don't try to leave though. It would be rude to the Princess and Rainbow wouldn't let you get so much as a finger out of that window, anyway.”

“Got it,” Galen replied as the man went to leave the room. He stopped just as he was about to open the door and half turned back to Galen.

“Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I'm Lero. Pleased to meet you...” he trailed off.

“Galen. Pleased ta meet ya, too. This lazy boned dog is Riley.”

“I'll let you be for now. Maybe after you meet with the Princess, I can take you on a tour of Ponyville. It's a nice place once the locals get used to you. For the most part, anyway.”

“Thanks, Leera,” he replied. “Migh' take ya up on tha' offer.”

“Cool. See you later, Galen,” Lero answered before finally opening the door and making his exit. Once the door shut, Galen flopped back down on the bed causing Riley to snuffle around and squirm in his sleep. At least something was still normal in this strange place. Now it was time for Galen to go through his mental checklist. The situation. He was now in a new and strange land inhabited by sentient ponies, pegasi and unicorns. His current state of affairs. He and Riley were both alive and healthy, though all his means of self protection were missing; Riley not being good for anything except barking at squirrels on a good day and being a good dog. More or less. His mental condition. Not the best. Reeling and more or less in shock, he had no real idea as to what he going to do next. He had been out along the northern edges of the moors, near the bluffs, camping and living off the land as he had planned to do for the next four months as last night had been the beginning of his expedition.

So, what was he to really do? Could he even get back to earth? Could he make a living with his skills in a land of sentient mythical ponies? At least he could do some hunting to help sustain himself and Riley with food, but would they even allow him to hunt. If they were herbivores, they would likely abhor his largely carnivorous diet.

He sighed as he ran a hand through his auburn hair before sitting up to look around for a mirror so he could at least attempt to make himself presentable for the Princess of a foreign world. He found a small one set up on a modest dresser and got off the bed to move over to it, noticing his hair sticking up in unruly spikes, though his shortly cropped beard looked to be free of any debris. His moss green eyes looked a back from his reflection a bit dully, but at least he didn't have any bags under his eyes. He checked his clothes and found them pretty ruffled, his linen shirt stained with dust and dog slobber from Riley, his leather vest doing nothing to hide the stains. His jeans fared little better, stained by grass and dirt. He sighed at his unkempt state and doubted any of his hosts clothes would fit him with his much larger build across his chest and arms while his pants would like Galen was playing dress up with his dads clothes.

“Riley! Time ta move yer lazy bones, ya lazabout,” Galen said over his shoulder to the dog who was now squirming on the bed. Riley whuffed and snorted a couple times to clear his nose before whipping around into a sitting position and looked around with bleary eyes. “We're gonna be meetin' royalty, so you had best be good, ya scamp. Need ta make a good impression an' all tha'.” Riley just wagged his tail and projected nothing but honest happiness as his tongued lolled out the side of his muzzle. “Righ'.”

Galen stood and moved to the door and knocked to get Lero's attention to let him know that he was ready and turned back to the bed to seat himself. He noticed that Rainbow Dash was still watching him like a hawk, so he just gave her a wide grin and waved at her which got him an audible snort of amusement from her despite her unchanging expression before he turned around and half fell onto the bed in a sitting position. It didn't take long before the door opened and Lero poked his head in to look around.

“You ready?”

“Ready as Ah'll ever be unless Ah have time ta wash mah clothes.”

“I guess you're ready then,” he said with a half smile as he withdrew and opened the door all the way. “May I introduce the Princess Celestia, one of the sovereign rulers of Equestria and daily raiser of the sun.”

“Lero,” a warm and melodious voice chided with a bit of mirth out of sight in the hallway, “There's no need to be so formal. I'm just here to visit our newest human inhabitant.”

“Come on, Princess. It's not everyday I get to be a herald to royalty,” Lero joked back.

“Keep that up and I'll assign you a herald, Prince Lero,” Celestia shot back jovially, “since that is now your official title since Twilight is an alicorn and Princess as well.” Lero looked like he swallowed a sour plum at her joke, while Celestia chuckled at his reaction. “Now, I think we could use a bit of privacy while I explain everything to Galen.”

“No problem, Princess. I'll take the girls and Spike over to Sugar Cube Corner for a drink. Let us know when you're done and what's going to happen.”

“No need to worry, Lero. I'll let you know,” Celestia said as she finally came into view and walked into the room. Galen was slightly stunned as he saw Celestia with her regal bearing and demeanor, pastel mane waving in an unfelt breeze. Not to mention that she was eye level with Lero so she practically loomed over him, had a rather imposing horn and large, graceful wings folded at her sides. She made eye contact with Galen as she half turned and shut the door behind her, leaving a small crack and sat herself on the hardwood floor.

Galen snapped out of his stupor as she sat on the floor and hopped off the bed and gestured to it, “Please, Princess, take tha bed. T'ain't right fer me to sit in comfort while yew sit on the floor.”

Celestia beamed warmly at his words but replied, “I sit in comfort almost every single day, Galen. Sitting on the floor for a little while is a nice change of pace, not to mention it's not every day I get to meet with another being from another world, Lero excluded.”

“Still...” he tried to argue.

“Truly, it's alright, Galen,” she said as she gestured for him to sit back on the bed. He did so after a brief moment of hesitation and sighed. “Now, I know this is a bit of a shock, but I'm honestly surprised you're handling yourself so well.”

“Well, if that isn' the understatement of the century, Ah don' know what is,” Galen snorted in amusement, though Celestia chuckled a little. “Ta be honest, Ah'm not quite sure what ta make of it all.”

“You'll find your place soon enough, but please tell me about yourself and where you came from.”

“Well, Ah don' know if it's all tha interestin,' but Ah hail from Ireland. Ah grew up in a little tourist trap o' a town where we lived like th' people of old, though we had school an' the like. Ah became an apprentice blacksmith when Ah was little more than a sprat an' came ta like it enough t' come out a fully fledged 'smith by mah eighteenth year. Ah'm a bit o' a hunter an' survivalist, likin' ta live offa tha land fer months at a time by mah own skill an' hands. 'Part from tha, Ah'm pretty much a regular fella. Not much ta me, really.”

“There's always more to ponies... er, people, than just that, Galen. Do you have any family or loved ones back home?”

“Not as such, no. Ah was raised by mah Gram since Ah was born, though she died a couple o' years 'go. Mah Da died in an accident a month before mah birth an' mah Ma died from mah birth. The village helped raise me, but mah Gram was th' only family Ah had an' she's gone now. Never had no sweetheart though.”

“I'm sorry for your loss, Galen,” she said.

“Can' miss what ya neva had.” Galen said with a wave of his hand. “'Sides, Gram woulda came back ta kick mah ass if Ah mourned her dyin'. Where Ah come from, we celebrate life, not death. It's jus' a goin' away party, not a farewell.”

“Oh...” Celestia said with a slight look of surprise at his explanation.

“Don' fret none, Princess. No harm done,” Galen reassured her.

“Thank you, Galen. It makes me feel better knowing you harbor no grief at my mentioning your family,” she said with a small smile. “But now, let's move on to more serious matters. If you are to live within Equestrian boarders, I must put you through a stress test of sorts to see how you will react when angry or frightened. Even after that, you'll reside here with a probationary citizenship status, your first offense coming to my personal review. If it seems your actions are not out or proportion and all terms of the sentence are met, you will be promoted to full citizen status.”

“Seems 'bout right ta me,” Galen replied. “But jus' so ya know, Ah don' stand fer insufferable fools. If someone gets mah hackles up, Ah won' be afraid ta let'em know where they stand with me.”

Celestia smiled and chuckled at that, “Hopefully you can resolve it as peacefully as possible.”

“We'll see. Jus' like tha bullies back in mah home did.”

“I'm sure they learned quickly enough.”

“Some did, not all, but a split lip an' a helpin' hand after made more friends than jus' takin' a beatin' would 'ave.”

Celestia just laughed at that and gave Galen a thoughtful look after she settled down before speaking again, “You're a lot different than Lero when he first came here. You seem a lot more open with regards to your feelings and seem to act on them more quickly.”

“Not a problem, is it? Ah've never been one ta hide what Ah'm feelin' from others. Gram always said Ah'd pop like a cork if Ah kept'em all bottled up.”

“Not at all, Galen. It's quite nice, really, for someone to express their emotions so openly like you do. But, now I think it's time for the stress tests, if that's alright with you, but might I ask if you send Riley out in the hall for the time being? I wouldn't want to frighten the poor dear.”

“Yew heard tha Princess, out with ya,” Galen said to Riley who looked up at Galen with a slightly hurt expression. “Don' yew try tha' with me righ' now, Riley. Fágaim, madra^,” Galen said in a serious tone which made Riley sulk as he got up, tail between his legs. The door opened by Celestia's magic and closed behind Riley once he was outside the room. “He's a spoiled dog, so Ah have ta put mah foot down once in a while, even though Ah hate ta do it,” Galen replied as he leaned back slightly with a slightly weary sigh. “Ready when yew are.” At that, Celestia took a bracing breath and closed her eyes before opening her eyes in a glare of white light that washed out the colors of the room. Galen's eyes widened and his breath caught in his chest as his heart began racing, he deliberately closed his eyes and moved his lips in a silent mutter as he drew a shaky breath. He opened his eyes again and stood up to face Celestia in her terrible visage. “Ah mus' not fear.”

Celestia blinked in surprise and her power whisked away just like that. “What?”

“Ah mus' not fear,” Galen replied with a small, albeit shaky smile. “Gram taught tha' ta me. She told me tha' fear is a nat'ral thing an' all, but when it stops me from doin' what needs ta be done, it would kill me a little on tha inside. Jus' be glad mah bladder was empty or there'd be a mighty embarrassin' puddle fer me ta clean up. ”

Celestia snorted in a very non-majestic manner and laughed a bit before she calmed down.“Sounds like your Grandmother was a wise woman.”

“Eh, she 'ad 'er moments,” Galen said with a firmer laugh, “Turns out she was quotin' lines outta some sci-fi book at me.”

“Wisdom can pass from person to person without ever having its value known. It looks like it found a worthy vessel in you, Galen.” He blushed slightly at the praise and smiled back at her. “Now, let us begin the next test.” Galen nodded, his smile disappearing. “Let us discuss one of the penalties for your breaking the before mentioned parole. Riley's life will be forfeit if you or he seriously injures another of my subjects.”

Galen felt a wash of cold across his entire body at her words. No one threatens a mans dog, not even potentially deific pony princesses. His mind went still, calmer than in the moment before he would loose an arrow at his quarry. “Yew will nae touch a hair on his living body so long as Ah'm alive. Beidh mé tú a mharú má dhéanann tú, a dhéanamh aon botún^^,” he said in a deathly calm voice.

“I'm sorry, Galen, dear, I don't understand you,” she said cautiously.

“Ah said, Ah'll kill you if you do, make no mistake,” Galen repeated in English, his tone not changing in the slightest.

“Then worry not, because you've passed the stress tests quite well, only threatening but not acting upon your impulse to protect or preempt my threat,” Celestia said as she lowered herself into a supplicating stance on the floor. “I truly meant no harm to Riley. I'm sorry for bringing him into this, but he was the only way I could think of to make you truly angry. I promise you, the both of you shall be under my protection as long as you live within the boarders of my country. If any bring harm to you, they shall be found and persecuted as though you were a member of the royal court. Lero has the same protection, though both your actions and his are not without consequence. If you seek out vengeance or revenge on your own, you will suffer the consequences. I thought I should make that perfectly clear.”

Galen took a few deep breaths before he turned expressionlessly and left through the door. “A ligean ar dul!^^^” he snapped at Riley who whined and followed on his heels, tail still tucked between his legs as he sensed his masters mood. They walked through the house and left by the back door as it was closest and struck out in the direction of the closest copse of trees. They entered the tree line within a few minutes and kept walking until they would have lost sight of Lero's house if they even would have looked back to see, then continued in a different direction. They kept walking until Galen finally couldn't take it anymore. He sat down heavily at the base of a tree and pulled Riley close in a tight hug. Riley whined pitifully and licked at his face as a few tears escaped the corner of his eye.

“Ah guess this is it, huh Riles?” Galen said half choked, the events and shock of the morning finally taking their toll after his closest companion had his life threatened. His comfortable village life back on earth was likely going to end up nothing but a memory. He would have to start all over again, building his way back up from literally nothing but what he had on him. “Well, screw tha' Princess an' 'er test. She 'ad no cause ta threaten mah only friend in this place. Don' yew worry, Riles. Ah'll never let any o' them lay a wrong hoof or whatever on ya.”

They sat that way for a long while, Riley even going so far as to take a nap on Galen as he held him. Galen's stomach eventually growled in complaint at the long neglect of his body. A soft thump next to him drew his attention to it as a plump, red apple fell from the tree he leaned against. He reached out and picked it up, giving it a quick polish before bringing it to his mouth only to be stopped by a voice.

“Ain't much fer apple thieves in mah own orchard, but ya seem ta be havin' a rough day. Ah'll let it slide this time.”

Galen turned slightly to take a look at the owner of the voice and saw a mare with a wheat gold mane and tail while her coat had a healthy tan color. He noticed that she was wearing a well worn stetson as she raised a foreleg to adjust it on her head, revealing emerald green eyes only a few shades lighter than his own. “Yew could say tha',” Galen said before biting almost bitterly into the apple.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Nay.”

“That supposed ta be funny, stranger?”

“Take it how ya will, Ah really don' care righ' now.”

“Ah'll let ya be fer now,” Applejack said with a slightly worried look. “Ah have ta get back ta work, but if ya want a bite ta eat, make yer way south till ya find the path and take it west up to the house. Let'em know Applejack sent ya.” Galen just grunted in response. “If nothin' else, yer dog can get its fill. Ah've got a collie an' Ah buy food in bulk. Don't know what breed ya got there, but Ah doubt it'll matter too much.”

“Thanks,” Galen said as he relented slightly at her generosity to Riley if nothing else. “Name's Galen.”

“Applejack,” she replied. “Hope ta see ya fer supper.”

Galen just gave a noncommittal nod in reply which seemed to satisfy her enough that she left him in peace. He sighed once he no longer heard her steps as she walked far enough away, finally deflated and surprisingly empty. There were a few more hours in the day before supper would come around, so Galen finished off his apple and fell asleep in the sweetly scented orchard as a gentle breeze blew through the treetops.

Author's Notes:

Just to let you know, he was raised quite traditionally and grew up speaking Gaelic for the most of his life. He has a very strong accent and it's quite the challenge to write it down properly. I hope you'll stick around with me as I tend to be quite busy and this is only the beginning.

I'll be using Gaelic phrases and words every so often, so just CTRL+F the ^ symbol to jump to it in the notes

^Leave, dog,
^^I'll kill you if you do, make no mistake.
^^^ Let's go!