Applejack woke up in the last few moments before dawn, a steady rhythm from something outside finally breaking through the veil of her sleep. She blinked and yawned before she rolled to the edge of her bed and moved across her room to look out the window in the silvery predawn light. The source of the steady metronome revealed itself to be Galen out by the corner of their barn, ax in hand and shirtless. She watched for a few moments as he brought another round of wood to the chopping block and placed it on its end. He moved into position once again, thick ropes of muscle bunching and springing into action for a brief moment as he brought the ax down in a perfectly controlled strike. The wood seemed to split apart of its own accord, almost as if it were afraid to be struck by the ax. He moved one of the halves back up and repeated the process to split it into easily manageable quarters.

She watched him for a little while more, until the sun rose and gilded his sweaty form in golden light that shone off the hard edges of his muscles. She smiled and thought about getting breakfast started before he came in. She left her room and made her way to the bathroom, brushing her teeth and freshening up quickly before heading down the stairs to get started. Once there, she gathered the ingredients for apple cinnamon pancakes, making sure to gather a little extra for their guest with the extraordinary appetite. Once the first batch was sizzling away on the skillet, she went back to the pantry and brought out the kibble for their dogs, quickly pouring out a generous portion before putting it back. About halfway through her cooking, she noticed that the sounds of Galen's wood cutting had stopped.

It wasn't long before she heard a loud splashing and sloshing from just outside the window as Galen doused himself from the water barrel outside before he entered through the kitchen door, shirted and soggy, Riley following on his heels. “So ma gracious hostess cooks as well?” he asked with a wide grin once he saw her in front of the stove flipping a pancake. “A woman o' many talents, Ah see.”

“Ah can clear a tree of apples with a good buck too,” she replied with an evil grin that wiped the grin off Galen's face in a second.

“Tha's good ta know,” he said neutrally.

“Don't worry too much, Galen,” Applejack said with a laugh. “Ah only buck during the working hours. For the most part, anyway. Why don't ya pull up a seat, breakfast should be ready soon.”

“Thanks, Jack,” Galen replied with a smile. Once he had seated himself, Riley made his way over to the food bowls and began to eat his fill. “So where's Winona at this mornin'?”

“She's around here somewhere,” she replied. “She'll come 'round when she's ready.”

“Ah,” Galen replied lamely.

Just as their silence was about to reach the awkward silence stage, Big Mac made his way into the kitchen, accompanied by a mighty yawn. “Mornin', Mac.”

“Eeyup,” he replied as he made his way to the table and sat down.

“So, out of curiosity, how long 'ave yew an' yer fam'ly lived here?” Galen asked to keep the silence at bay.

“Well, the farm was established over a hundred years ago, Granny could tell ya all about that since it was our great grandfather that started it,” Applejack replied, “and we've been here ever since.”

Galen's eyebrows rose up quite a bit as he heard Granny's age, “She's pretty sprightly fer bein' tha' old.”

“Age is just a number,” said Granny with a smirk as she walked in the kitchen. “Yer only as old as ya are in yer heart an' that's as young as can be.”

“Right yew are, Granny,” Galen said with a laugh.

“Breakfast almost ready?” Granny asked as she took her seat. “Ah'll be nothin' but skin an' bones before much longer.”

Galen and the rest shared a good laugh at that. “Won't be too much longer. Apple Bloom won't be getting anything ta eat if she don't get her flank down here soon, though.”

“I'm here, I'm here,” called the grumpy filly as she walked in. Galen noticed she had fairly pronounced bags under her eyes as she sat herself.

“'Bout time too,” Applejack replied a little gruffly before she smirked and ruffled the filly's mane. With that, she took the last pancake off the skillet and, after putting a fork on the side of each plate, slid them across the table where they stopped in front of each individual. Once they had their plates, Applejack turned back to grab the tray of butter and jar of syrup that she passed to Granny first. They were passed to Galen next and once he had what he wanted, passed it on and so forth. Galen took his fork and looked at it curiously as it had a piece of twine looped through a hole in the end. He watch the others as they hooked their hooves through it and used it to hold the eating utensil in place as they began eating. He shook the thought from his mind and started in on his own breakfast. To say that they were perfect would be to say the sun was bright. The strong, but not overpowering bite of the cinnamon with the apple pieces and syrup provided a meal that was both filling and more flavorful than anything he ever remembered eating back on earth.

“If Ah can eat like this everyday, Ah wouldn't mind livin' 'ere forever,” he said after finishing his first bite.

“Well, Ah don't know about that just yet, Galen,” Applejack began with a smirk, “but let's just keep our options open for now.”

He just realized the way he had phrased his statement and blushed as he coughed on his next bite. “Ah... -cough-... didn't mean it like that,” he said as he felt his ears burning.

Applejack and the rest laughed at his reaction, “Ah know, just havin' a little fun.”

Galen shook his head with a wry smile and slurped a bit as he ate another syrup soaked wedge of pancake. The meal went by in good spirits until they had all finished and only sticky plates and forks remained. Big Mac nodded to his sister and left out the kitchen door to get started on the chores for the day. Apple Bloom groggily mumbled something before heading back to the living room briefly before the sound of the front door opening and closing as she likely went off to school. Granny soon left as well to do whatever she did around the house, leaving Applejack and Galen as the last ones in the kitchen.

“Think ya might need a hand 'round tha farm?” he asked as he began picking up the used plates.

“Not so much right now, since we're only harvesting the early apples,” Applejack replied, “and ya don't need ta do that. Ah'll take care of the dishes.”

“It's tha least Ah could do ta thank ya fer tha meal,” he replied, shaking off her protests.

“Thanks, then,” she said with a small smile. “Since ya got some time, ya should probably make your way back to Ponyville and get registered at the Mayor's office as a resident.”

“Ah guess,” he replied as he brought his load to the sink and turned on the tap. He would have to do it at any rate and at least if he had to settle anywhere, at least there was another human around that he could ask about things.

“Come on, buck up Galen,” Applejack said warmly. “It's not as bad as it could have been.”

“But it's a lot worse than you'd think,” he replied.

“What do ya mean?”

“Well, tha' princess o' yers ain't so great,” he replied.

“Lero had a thing about her, but they got it sorted out eventually,” Applejack replied confident that the same would happen for Galen.

“It'll take a bit more than nice words an' promises fer her ta make things right 'tween us,” he said bitterly. “Not after threatening Riley tha way she did. Even if she meant no harm, ya never threaten a mans dog, doubly so if 'e's innocent.”

“No way the Princess would do something like that,” Applejack said loyally. Galen turned to look at Applejack and the look on his face made her take a step back.

“She did an' Ah tol' 'er tha' if she ever harmed a hair on 'is living body tha' Ah'd kill 'er maself,” he replied grimly. Applejack almost feared for herself from the sheer weight of that single sentence. Almost, if she didn't know that he was only protecting his own. That didn't make her any less frightened though. Galen was on his own for the most part in her world and Riley was the only living remainder of his old life and depended on Galen or the charity of others. She had felt pity for Lero, but he made his way well enough on his own, even having left family behind. Galen, on the other hoof, had to look after Riley and he would protect him from any harm from another. Even if it came in the form of their Princess. If nothing else, Galen had earned Applejack's respect for being so strong, just as Lero had, even if he had threatened Celestia in return. Once he saw her fear, he dropped into a crouch so that he was eye level with her and his face softened. “Ah din't mean ta frighten ya so, Appahjack. Ah swear tha' yew an' yer fam'ly 'ave nothing ta worry 'bout from me. 'Specially since ya fed an' brought us inta yer home so freely.”

Applejack's sudden spike of fear melted like frost in warm sunlight. That open and honest declaration showed Applejack that he would keep his word, that he truly was grateful for her generosity and that if ever she wanted another friend as loyal as Rainbow, well... she was looking him in the face. “Ah know, Galen,” she replied. “Yer just protecting yer own.” He nodded with a firm smile, happy that she understood, even if she wasn't used to such direct methods. “In any case, Ah should get out there and get started on ma chores.”

“Don' let me hold ya back,” Galen said with a smirk.

“Never said ya were,” she answered with a snort of laughter. “Anyway, when yer done with the dishes and wanna head inta town, just take the road back and follow it to the market square. The Mayor's office should be on the east side. Ah won't expect ya back until supper, so take yer time and take a tour of Ponyville if ya feel up to it. If ya wanna go fer a walk in any woods, just steer clear of the Everfree to the south. That place is full of all kinds of nastiness you don't wanna stumble across by accident. The Whitetail Woods is nice enough if ya wanna get lost fer a few hours.”

“Thanks,” he replied as he stood back up. “May jus' do tha'. Ah shouldn't take too long with these plates, so should Ah dry tha dishes off an' put 'em away?”

“Nah, just put them on the rack there ta dry off,” she replied with a dismissal wave of her hoof.

“Alrigh',” he said as he turned back to the sink and plugged the sink while Applejack left with one last glance back over her shoulder and a rueful smile on her face. It didn't take Galen long before he had washed the last of the plates and silverware, finding himself facing the trek into town. He took a long, bracing breath and held it for a moment before letting it out in a rush. “Ya wanna go inta town, Riley?” Riley picked his head up and wagged his tail slowly from where he was beside the bowels, only one being empty though. Winona hadn't come by yet, but he guessed that the collie was just a late sleeper unless Applejack needed her help with something.

Galen walked out of the kitchen, waving for Riley to follow him as he went into the living room and left through the front door. He saw none of the Apples out and about, so he just crossed the yard and started down the road to Ponyville. A few minutes down the way, Galen suddenly found himself accosted by a disgruntled rainbow blur landing in front of him. Once the dust settled, he recognized Rainbow Dash from her eyes and mane from just outside the bedroom window yesterday. “Just where the heck have you been?!” she asked angrily. “I've been looking for you everywhere since this morning!”

“Why do ya care?” he replied as he started walking again, bypassing Rainbow Dash. “Ah can handle maself jus' fine.”

“Well, there are some pretty nasty woods near here and if you got lost in it, we'd be picking up pieces of you for days if you weren't careful,” she replied as she turned herself grumpily to walk beside him. “There's all kinds of nasty creatures that live in the Ever Free Forest.”

“An' there seems ta be one trailing me now,” he muttered under his breath before replying, “If they're flesh an' blood, Ah can handle maself jus' fine. Wouldn't be tha first time Ah've been hunted by somethin' else.”

“Well, timber wolves aren't flesh and blood,” she replied almost angrily. “They're made of wood and will attack almost anything to protect their territory. It's only thanks to the other nasties that their territory isn't any bigger than it already is.”

“Why are ya even here, huh?” Galen said as he turned abruptly on the spot. “Ta tell me jus' how different a world Ah'm in now? Tha' Ah don' know anything? Ta find me 'cause Ah ran off yesterday after yer high an' mighty Princess royally pissed me off?”

“Don't you talk about the Princess like that after you only met her for a few minutes!” Rainbow yelled back, “You don't know anything about her!”

“Ah know she threatened ta kill ma dog if Ah hurt any one o' you too much!!” he bellowed back, the sheer emotion and force of his yell making Rainbow immediately wilt under his fiery glare. “She threatened him jus' ta make me angry, without a second thought 'bout me an' mah situation! Ah don' care what yew or any of yew ponies have ta say 'bout how great she is! Ah'll have nothin' ta do with 'er!”

“She...” Rainbow choked out dumbly before Galen cut her off.

“Jus' shut tha fuck up,” Galen replied quietly as he restrained himself, Riley whining pitifully as he tried to provide comfort to him. “Ah don' care 'bout what yew have ta say. Jus' leave us in peace so Ah can make some kind o' life fer us here. There ain't nothin' yew can do that'll make this any easier fer us, so jus... jus' go 'way.”

Galen almost choked up as he turned from Rainbow's stricken face, but held himself in check. He kept his back straight and looked straight ahead as he walked off, his unshed tears burned away by the still smoldering embers of his anger at Celestia. He had vented so much at her that he felt much better despite his feelings of guilt for yelling at Rainbow and turning her away in such a manner. He took a purging breath and pushed those thoughts aside for the moment as he had something to do for the time being. At the very least, he needed to apologize to her at some point in time, but not anytime soon.

Galen finally spotted a few faint wisps of smoke over the top of the trees and could even see a splotch of color here and there in the distance. He was almost to Ponyville and picked up his pace so he could get his registration in order all the faster. As he finally walked the well packed dirt streets, Galen saw a few ponies walking around, their hugely diverse palette of colors almost a cacophony to his eyes. He just kept going through the streets despite the odd pony looking at him and Riley before either dismissing them, running off on whatever errands they had, perhaps the most surprising thing he would have expected, smiling warmly at him and giving him a nod in greeting. He may have been fuming a bit, but he still gave a tight smile and nodded to this last group of ponies. As Applejack had said, once he reached the packed market square, he saw an obvious administrative building that sprawled a bit and was a story above any of the other buildings around.

Most of the ponies seemed to ignore him and Riley for the most part as they were likely caught up in their business at the moment or were familiar enough with Lero around that they didn't think too much about a human walking through the market. It took them a while to make his way through the moderately thick crowd and walked up the short flight of steps and onto the wide front porch. Once he stood in front of the door, Galen pointed to the spot beside the door and told Riley to stay. He gave Galen a slightly betrayed look but did as told. Galen smiled and patted him on the head a couple times before opening the door and walking in.

The reception room was fairly large with a long wooden bench along the wall to his left and had a rather large rug that covered most of the floor except for a perfectly edged boarder between it and the wall. There were a pair of doors on either side of the room that led to hallways that had the offices for the various public employees. Just past the doors was a fairly large counter stretching across the room with a small gate for entrance behind it and a dark doorway in the middle of the back wall, though there was nopony sitting at it currently.

Galen walked up to the counter, placed his hands on it can called out, “'Ello? Anyone 'ere?”

“Yes! Be with you in a minute!” called a feminine voice from the dark door. Galen didn't have long to wait as a cream coated unicorn mare with a glossy black mane and tail emerged from the back. She froze for a second when she spotted him but smiled warmly and continued as though nothing had happened. “ Oh! You must be Galen. The Princess said you might be by within the next couple days, so she had us immediately draw up all the proper paperwork for you to become a resident here in Ponyville.”

“That would be me an' thanks,” Galen replied simply. “This gonna take long?”

“Not at all,” she replied, not put off by his attitude in the least as her horn glowed a charcoal gray and a manila envelope floated up to land neatly on the counter. “We only need your signature on two forms for identification and residency purposes, the last doesn't need your signature, but a list of your talents so we'll be able to help you find work here in Ponyville. There's also a paper with reasonably priced homes and apartments for sale or rent if you would be interested.”

“We'll see,” he said as he flipped the folder open and withdrew the first three sheets of paper while the mare brought an inkwell and quill over for him to use. Galen dipped the quill in quickly before bleeding of the excess ink on the lip of the well. He quickly scribbled his signatures down on the obvious line before moving onto the last sheet. He took a few moments to write down his various skills, though he decided to leave out his hunting related ones as they would likely make the town wary of him, even if they had nothing to worry about. Unless he had to defend himself or Riley, or if they thought they could bully him around.

“Thank you very much, Galen...” she looked to his paperwork for his full name, “McCaffrey. I hope you get used to life here soon. It really is a pleasant village to live in and everypony is quite friendly.”

“Thanks,” he replied with a slightly sad, but warm smile at her words. “Ah'd better be on ma way fer now.” He suited his words as he took the manila envelope in hand and turned to leave.

“Oh! One last thing before you go,” the mare said before he had taken more than a step. “We'll hold any mail and job offers here for you as you don't have a permanent residence. Just drop by every day until you find something that suits your tastes for a job or if you find lodging and we'll forward your address to the post office.”

“Will do,” he replied without turning around. He left the building a moment later and patted his hip to give Riley the sign to follow him. He made his way back through the market and into the near empty street that he had taken on him way to the Mayor's office. He made it half a block before he saw a small group waiting in the middle of the street. Rainbow and Lero were at the center while a lavender alicorn and a mint green mare flanked the pair. He could turn down a side street or make his way back to the market, but that probably wouldn't help him with making friendly with the only other human in this world.

He stood there with with Riley for a moment, a neutral expression on his face as Lero locked eyes with him and nodded a bit stiffly. Galen nodded back and waited for whatever was going to happen as Lero bent down and whispered something to Rainbow. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment before nodding slightly and walked slowly forward. Galen just looked at her as she approached him and saw that her eyes were slightly bloodshot and the fur beneath her eyes was matted slightly.

She stopped a few paces away from him and sat down, not even attempting to look him in the eye and croaked out a raspy, heartfelt, “Sorry.”

Galen waited a moment before nodding in acceptance and glanced at Lero who looked inordinately happy for that little bit of peace between the two of them. “Anything else ya needed?”

“I...” she began but coughed slightly at a catch in her throat. “I was wondering if you would like to have lunch with us at our house. We'd really appreciate It if you did, but you don't have to if you don't want. I'd understand if you didn't want to have anything to do with me.”

Galen felt the guilt from earlier come back in full force as he heard all that Rainbow had to say, especially the way she almost broke down at the end. Galen crouched down slowly, resting his forearm on his raised knee and motioned for her to raise her head. Once she did, he replied, “Ah'd like tha'.”

Galen almost teared up with her when she smiled tremulously and hiccuped a bit as she choked back a sob. He smiled back himself and stood back up as Rainbow turned back around, showing her friends the smile she wore. They all broke into warm smiles themselves and walked over to them, Lero crouching down and pulling Rainbow to his chest for comfort. “We never heard from Celestia after you had left. We received a letter as we were eating supper telling us that you had gone off on your own to settle down after the tests. To be honest, when Rainbow came rushing back to the house in tears, we had feared the worst. When we finally had the full story from her, we couldn't believe it ourselves. Twilight wrote a letter to Celestia to get the full story. The only thing she wrote in reply was that she had done something unforgivable, even if she never meant a single word of it and that if you named anything within her power, she would do her best to see it done as an apology.”

“Even Celestia, with her centuries of knowledge isn't infallible,” the lavender mare said with a look that was hard to decipher. “But she is willing to do whatever it takes to make amends.”

Galen just held a neutral expression for a while as he let their words sink in. He kept his face passive as he replied, “A gift from Celestia tha' Ah could use ta live in tha lap o' luxury fer tha the rest o' mah days? No thanks. Ah don' need anythin' like tha' from 'er.”

“Surely there's something you would want that she could give you...” The mint mare replied, trailing off as if she were dangling tempting bait in front of him.

“Ah don' want anythin' from 'er,” Galen reaffirmed strongly but smirked after a moment at seeing their disheartened expressions. “But Ah guess Ah could borrow a few things ta help me get set up,” he finished a bit gruffly.

They all smiled at that and the green one laughed a bit. “I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that,” Lero said after a moment. “Would you care to come over to our place and relax until lunch? It's not much, but you're more than willing to.”

“Ah don' have anythin' else planned fer tha day, an' Jack won't expect me back 'til supper time, so Ah got some time ta kill.”

“Jack?” Lero asked with a curious look before Rainbow gave him a look. “Oh! Okay. You're talking about Applejack. So that's where you went yesterday?”

“Apparently Ah wandered inta her orchard yesterday an' she found me like tha lost puppy Ah was. She fed us an' put us up fer tha night.”

“That sounds like her,” Lero replied. He smiled at Rainbow and let her go as he stood back up. “Why don't we head over to our place and you can tell us about your stay over at the Apples.”

“Ya sure?” he asked. Twilight nodded with a smile, so Galen gave a shrug. “Ah guess Ah could relax fer a bit if yer willin'.”

Lero smiled before turning and waving for Galen and Riley to follow, which he did once he gave Lero a couple steps of distance. As they made their way, he introduced Twilight as the recently transformed alicorn and Lyra as the unicorn. They walked until they were almost at the edge of town before Lero opened the door to his house two from the edge and they all walked in. Galen gave a pointed look from Lero to Riley as Lero held the door for the rest of them and gave Galen a nod. “I was always a dog person, anyway,” he said with a grin. Galen smiled and waved Riley in who wagged his tail happily to be inside. Once inside, Galen could take the time to look around and appreciate the house Lero had come to call his home.

The room was fairly large with a plush looking couch against the western wall where the three mares sat with Rainbow in the middle. Apart from that, there was a generous love seat that could almost be considered a small couch on the opposite wall with a set of stuffed book cases on either side, and a comfortable looking chair angled in the corner beside the couch. The far end of the room looked to have a low counter that spanned half the width of the room, separating the living room from the kitchen. “Seems ta me tha' yew've done well 'nough fer yerself,” he said to Lero as he took a couple steps in.

“Thanks,” he replied. “Why don't you take the love seat? I don't think you'd fit too well in my chair.”

Galen watched as Lero took the seat himself, looking quite snug in it as he settled down into the plush cushioning. “Ah think yer righ' 'bout tha',” Galen said with a smirk as he moved over and sat down across from them. Once he had settled down and Riley came over to rest his head on Galen's knee, he took a bracing breath and looked across the room at Rainbow. “Yew've already made yer apology, but Ah've gotta make mine yet.” Rainbow's eyes widened as she tried to shake her head in denial along with the others but Galen raised his hand and stopped their attempts to excuse his actions. “Ah get it, Rainbow, Ah really do. Ah ran off without any idea what was out there an' Ah coulda ended up dead if Ah went inta tha wrong neck o' woods without knowin' a thing. It was a stupid thing ta have done, but when Ah went off, Ah din't really care at tha time. Yew din't deserve what Ah did ta ya, Rainbow. Ah jus' couldn't take it anymore an' it all jus' came boilin' out. Ah'm sorry, Rainbow.”

“Apology accepted, Galen,” she replied. “Lero explained some of what he felt when he first arrived too. He came to our world through a different way and wasn't entirely himself when he went through it all, so he had something to help ease him into his new life. You don't have any of that, so it's not like you could have helped it, right?”

Galen just gave a slightly melancholic smile and nodded slightly. With that taken care of, they began asking Galen questions and he asked some in turn. Turned out that Lero was something like the town handyman, Rainbow Dash was the lead weather pony, Twilight was the town librarian and Lyra was an auxiliary guard member who liked to publicly perform music. That took them down a tangent as Galen had just found out that only certain areas have naturally occurring weather patterns, like the Everfree forest. That had Galen laughing for a while just out of the sheer ludicrousness of it, but just let it float on with all the other things he was quickly learning. Just another fact to be digested and accepted about this strange new world. They told Galen about how the sovereign race of ponies were the immortal alicorns and that Twilight had recently ascended to that status as of two days ago after a series of bizarre events changing the destinies of her closest friends. That began the whole cutie mark explanation which Galen found interesting as he saw the various marks that they displayed on their flanks. As they wound down, Galen took note of their companionship and thought to ask about it.

“So,” he began as he looked from each mare to finally settling his gaze on Lero, “how'd yew end up boarding up with three mares? They tenants or somethin'?”

The three mares all snorted and laughed at that while Lero just blushed a bit before replying, “Well... they're my wives.”

Galen's mind simply stopped. “Yer wives. Not friends, not anythin' more or less. Yer wives.”

“Yeah,” Lero replied. “I know it may seem weird to you, but I assure you that I love them all the same. They're smart, compassionate, loving and beautiful.” The mares all blushed at differing levels of embarrassment at his praise in front of a relative stranger and wore glowing smiles that revealed to Galen that they truly did love him and he them. Lero gave them all a brief, loving smile in return before turning back to Galen. “It took me a while to get used to the idea of a relationship with a pony, but they're really no different than any woman you'll find back on earth on the individual level, they just come in different packaging. If anything, they're even more attentive than our women because the male to female ratio is so skewed.”

“Ah don' mind tha' so much,” Galen replied slowly. “Ah mean, we had a few same sex couples livin' in our village 'cause they wanted ta live naturally an' work fer their keep. Ah know how love don' matter tha how's or whys, jus' as long as it's there, it'll work out. Ah'm more surprised 'bout yew havin' three wives. Ah don' know if Ah should be jealous or wonderin' if yer as crazy as Ah thought ya were yesterday mornin'.”

They all looked a little worried after Lero had given his brief introduction into human/Equestrian romance, but broke into wide smiles once he talked about his views on love and broke out into full on laughter at his closing statement. “You're accepting our relationship pretty well, Galen,” Lyra said once her laughter abated.

He just shrugged and replied, “Love will do what it will. Ain't like yew can control who ya fall in love with?”

“Not to mention he's phenomenal in the sack,” Rainbow added with a dirty grin that almost caused Lero and Twilight to ignite from the ferocity of their blushes. She, Lyra and Galen all had a good laugh at their expense. Once their latest bout of laughter tailed off, the blushes subsided and tears of mirth wiped away, Lero got up with a shake of his head and made his way to the kitchen, turning to look back at the small crowd.

“Would any of you care for a drink? I think my latest brew should turn out better since I got some pointers from Berry Punch.”

The mares just asked for tea or water, but Galen practically jolted in his seat. “Beer?” Galen asked with a slightly surprised expression.

“Well, it's a stout by my best guess...”

“Oh, Lero, yer already mah best friend,” Galen replied as he practically leaped from the love seat. “Ya gotta show me yer set up an' what yer usin' fer ingredients.” Riley just snuff a slight sigh as he hopped up on the love seat and settled down for a nap.

“A bit of a brewer, Galen?” Lero asked with a laugh as he led Galen into their moderately sized pantry, one lower side of the left wall holding a trio of small oak barrels that had a hearty thunk when Galen leaned down and knocked his knuckles against them. Beside them rested a small bag of barley and a few smaller ones that gave of the aromatic scent of hops and other spices that could be added.

“Yew could say tha',” he replied. “Where Ah lived, if ya wanted beer, ya either traded fer it from a neighbor who 'ad a draft ya liked or learned ta make it yerself. Ah'm partial ta stouts an' stiff ales, maself. Not many 'ave tha constitution fer 'em, but nothin' keeps tha body hale an' hearty like it.”

“Passionate about it too,” Lero said with a grin.

“Jus' a fan o' good food an' good drink, Leera,” he replied with a smile.

“Well, in that case, I'll introduce you to Berry Punch, our local wine and brandy maker after you've established yourself.”

Galen looked like he was practically glowing with excitement and stood back up to pull Lero into a one armed hug that made his ribs creak and expel the air in his lungs with a faint whooshing noise. “Ah think this is tha start ta a beautiful friendship, Leera.”

Rainbow, looking in from the kitchen caught their attention with her wide grin and snickering at Lero's plight and his silent, pleading look. She looked over her shoulder and motioned for her herdmates to come look, which they did without delay. “Looks like Lero's got a new friend,” Rainbow said with her voice pitched a couple octaves too high. Lyra and Twilight just snickered along with Rainbow at the situation.

Galen let Lero go who leaned wheezing against one of the shelves. Galen grinned evilly as he took a couple steps out of the pantry, “Le's all share tha love o' friendship an' share a hug, huh?”

Their faces changed so dramatically that Galen almost lost it as he lurched forward and snagged all three of them in his wide arms, Rainbow Dash almost managing to duck away but Twilight bumped her and stalled her timely escape. Galen proceeded to hug them all with just enough force to make them squirm, squeal and laugh in their shared plight. He let them down after a few moments and leaned back against the counter and watched them with a grin as Lero walked in to stand beside him.

“You're a lot faster than I thought you would be, especially with how you got the drop on Rainbow like that,” Lero said with a snort that made him wince in pain due to his slightly abused body.

“Well, ya can't chase a flagging buck after ya feather it, if yer a slouch,” Galen replied without thinking.

“I thought you might be a hunter with that bow you had, but I wasn't quite sure,” Lero replied quietly. “You'll have to talk to the Mayor and Fluttershy to get permission to hunt small game in the immediate area.”

Shit, he thought with a angry frown for himself but cleared it in a flash. “Ah wasn't sure if Ah would be all tha' welcome here if they knew Ah was a hunter.”

“Well, I don't have any skill in that department, so I never thought to ask until a few months ago when a griffon moved into Ponyville,” Lero replied. “When I asked Twilight about it, she said that to make it viable for carnivorous immigrants to live within our boarders, Celestia had it mandated that they could apply for licenses from the local government head or game warden of the area to hunt small game or to purchase rabbits and the like from breeders. We just happen to have both and Fluttershy is quite caring toward her charges, but she also knows that other beings need to eat. It shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as you follow the rules and regulations.”

Galen nodded at the explanation but looked up sharply once he realized that Lero had talked about another mythical creature come to life. “Griffon? As in 'alf eagle, 'alf lion griffon?”

“Yeah, there are also minotaurs and dragons,” he replied. “Twilight once told me about how she had to lead Cerberus back to guard the gates of Tartarus as well. The Everfree Forest is home to manticores and cockatrices too and we know of at least one hydra that lives in the Froggy Bottom Swamp.” Galen wasn't sure if he was excited or terrified at discovering that so many creature out of myth and legend were alive and well in this world, but he knew that he would be lucky if he escaped any encounters with those creatures unscathed.

“The minotaurs and dragons are sentient, as are the griffons, zebras, cows, buffalo, mules and deer,” Twilight explained to Galen once she had regained her breath. “Lero has told us a lot about your world and we wouldn't want you to accidentally commit a murder through ignorance.”

“Got ya,” Galen replied a bit breathlessly. He was wondering if they thought his comment would be construed as premeditated murder when she just smiled back in understanding. It wasn't his fault he had made the comment, he was as new here as a new born babe. The only difference was that if he made a mess, he could get sent to jail or worse just because of his ignorance.

“How about we get those drinks now?” Lero said to break any lingering doubts about the situation.

“About time,” Rainbow groused with a smirk to show that she really didn't mind. Lero just snorted and went about gathering their beverages, even filling a bowl of water for Riley to drink from. They sat around the kitchen table and enjoyed their drinks, the beer getting chilled by a quick application of magic from Twilight to the thanks and gratitude of both Lero and Galen. It was another scene that gave Galen a sense of situation based vertigo. If most his company hadn't been ponies from a realm of myth and magic, he could have imagined himself at a neighbors house sharing a beer with the family. A friend who just so happened to have three wives. That still threw him for a bit of a loop.

By the time they had finished their drinks, it was time for lunch. That ended up being an affair that included all of them except Galen, as he was the guest. He watched from his spot as they interacted with one another in a way that warmed his heart. He could tell from a glance that they all loved and cared for each other, even if it was Lero that had brought them together. He just smiled and watched as they made up a modest lunch consisting of a large salad with ranch or olive oil and vinegar for dressings while the main course happened to be a nice sized communal plate of simple grilled cheeses. Galen didn't remember the last time he had eaten a grilled cheese, but the smells of hot butter, freshly toasted bread and seared cheese made him absolutely ravenous. Too bad they didn't know about his appetite otherwise they might find themselves out of more than a few essentials. He would just have to hold himself back so he didn't eat them out of house and home.

“Those smell great,” he commented as the tasted treats started to pile up.

“Yeah, it's something Lero showed to us and we can't get enough of them,” Twilight said as she wiped a slight glazing of drool from the corner of her mouth. “I have no idea why nopony ever thought to do this before, but they're absolutely amazing.”

“It's really amazing what they have and don't have here sometimes,” Lero said with a laugh. “They don't really have a market for pasta at all, so when I made some simple noodles, Rainbow wasn't even sure about how they would even taste.”

“Yeah, but it turned out okay,” she replied. “I don't even want to remember that one time you tried to make vegetarian chili.”

“Ugh...” Lero shivered at the memory. “Hey, even I get phantom taste flashbacks from how bad that turned out.” Galen gave a few laughs at that as the conversation petered out in favor of finishing the meals preparations. With a little scraping of a few loose strings of cheese on the skillet, Lero snatched them up, only to find Rainbow having reared up to steal the other half of his plunder as it dangled out of his mouth with a quick kiss and turned to head back to the table with a flirty smirk. Galen just grinned as Lero shook his head ruefully. “She used to be really shy about public displays of affection too.”

“Quiet, you,” she said gruffly.

“Seriously, it was really cute when Lero would steal a kiss and she would blush like it was no ones business,” Twilight said with a giggle as Rainbow turned a grumpy stare on her. “Sorry, Rainbow, but it's true!”

Twilight laughed as Rainbow tackled her to the floor and blew air over her ear, making it twitch and let loose a slightly high pitched moan before her entire face lit up in a furious blush. Galen wasn't sure how much longer he could keep grinning as his face was actually beginning to get sore. He couldn't remember the last time he had smiled so much, but it felt good.

The two ponies got back up, Rainbow cackling as she trotted off and Twilight grousing under her breath as she half chased the quicksilver pegasus. After a few moments, Lero shook his head and moved the meal to the table along with some silverware, dodging the two ponies as they got it out of their systems. Lyra just seemed pleasantly happy as she had a small smile and just stood by as a spectator.

“Alright, girls,” Lero said as he took his seat from before, Lyra sitting beside him this time instead of Rainbow. “Let's eat before they get cold on us.” At Lero's words, they stopped their playful game of cat and mouse as they took the remaining places at the table. “You're the guest, so you get dibs,” he said to Galen with a motion towards the plate of sandwiches and bowl. Galen took the hint and helped himself to two sandwiches for starters, setting one on his plate and taking a hearty bite of the other in his large hand. At his lead, the plate quickly dwindled as the others took a pair each and started eating as well. The first bites of his sandwich were slightly bitter from the toasting, buttery, salty and almost explosively tart from the rich cheese. Galen couldn't stop the rush of saliva, so he did the next best thing to save himself the embarrassment of drooling in front of his friends and quickly scarfed another bite. He managed to hold the surge in check as he chewed and swallowed his bites.

“Holy hell, Leera,” Galen said as he half grinned at Lero. “Is it jus' me, or is it tha place? Everythin' tastes amazin' ta me in this world.”

“I think it might be Equestria,” Lero said with a little smile. “They don't really have a lot of industrialized areas, so, by my best guess there might be a few percents more oxygen in the atmosphere than in our world. Everything smells and tastes so much better here than from what I remember of earth.”

“Ah can agree ta tha',” Galen replied as he took another bite. “Ah swear Ah may jus' call this place ma home soonah ratha than latah if it turns out there ain't no way back ta earth.”

“Well, the way I came through drove me mad for a while and the... things that live there aren't the most gracious of beings,” Lero replied a little darkly.

“The Princess still isn't even sure how you managed to get here, Galen,” Twilight said after she finished her first sandwich. “Applejack said you fell from the sky, in an orb of magic that flared different colors that disintegrated a good portion of a hill near their house.”

“Ah was wonderin' 'bout tha' this mornin,” Galen said as he picked up his next sandwich. “Ah was choppin' some wood an' noticed a hill behind their barn was partially gone. Ah figured tha' they were diggin' ta set up a reservoir or somethin'. Guess tha' would explain why tha rest o' tha hill ain't torn up.”

Lero snorted at that with a slight smirk before they all quieted down to eat their meal, the salad getting divvied up by Twilight once their plates were finished. Galen opted for the oil and vinegar for his salad as did Lyra while the others slathered a healthy dose of ranch on their portions. The salad was crisp and fresh, a familiar side for Galen where such could be had every spring and summer with regularity. By the end of the meal, Galen felt that he could definitely eat more, but the comfortable weight in his stomach told him that he would be fine until suppertime rolled around.

“Tha' was pretty good,” Galen said as he leaned back in his chair. “Been a long, long time since Ah've 'ad a grilled cheese.”

“I know,” Lero said. “I don't know why I started making them a while ago, but if I don't cut back, I'm gonna start packing on the pounds.”

“Don't you worry about that, Lero,” Rainbow replied. “If you start to get pudgy, I'll help whip you back into shape.”

“That's a good reason to cut back right now,” Lero said with a mock shudder. “Your workouts are the things of nightmares.”

Rainbow shot him a glare that held no weight before replying, “Suck it up, buddy.”

That got a round of light laughter from everyone at the table before subsiding into a pleasant silence that they simply basked in for a while, content sighs and small smiles on their faces as they just stared off into the middle distance. Before too much time had passed, Lero shifted his weight and sat up a little straighter before asking, “So, do you think you may have anyplace to stay or do you think Applejack would expect you to stay at her place again?”

“Ah think she might take it amiss if Ah didn't at least drop by fer supper at tha least,” Galen replied. “'Sides, Ah wouldn't want ta put ya out.”

“Alright,” Lero replied. “If you want to wait, I'll bring your things out and you can take them with you. We've held onto them since yesterday in case you dropped by.”

“Thanks,” Galen answered as Lero got up and strode into the living room and opened the small closet by the door. Inside was, indeed Galen's limited belongings, but what Galen found curious was that the bulk of its contents seemed to consist of warm looking towels and what looked to be a moderately well made wooden umbrella. Once Lero had closed the door and returned to the kitchen, Galen had turned his chair to the side, leaning forward for when Lero placed his belongings in front of him. As Lero sat down, Galen pulled his large rucksack over and began rummaging through it, just to make sure everything was still there. After a quick survey, he was satisfied and would do a full inventory later.

With that done, he looked at the other bundle which happened to be his blanket roll with the top fifth of his hunting bow sticking out of the top. Once he unzipped it, he found his modest arsenal. The eighty pound pull recurve hunting bow that he had carved himself from a yew along with his quiver of arrows, all thirty still looking to be there. He checked the condition of the strings wrapped around the stave and found all four intact. Moving on to his blades he saw that they were all still sheathed, so he slipped the smaller ones into their wrappings on the outside of his boots and cinched the leather straps tightly to hold them in place. He grabbed the thickest belt, his personal smithing belt, and saw his modest four pound hammer hanging merrily in front of him. He smiled at seeing his old companion and wrapped the belt snugly around his waist before settling it just so. Grabbing the final belt, this one having two sheathed blades, he buckled on first before moving his hand to the longer of the two blades. He slid it out a couple inches to check its edge before sliding it back. The other looked to be much older, if the wrappings were anything to go by. Galen ran the palm of his hand smoothly over its pommel before gripping it and sliding it out halfway. This blade didn't seem to be a usable blade as it appeared to be made from silver, tarnished slightly and stained from time. It wasn't the prettiest of blades, but it meant something to Galen. A charm of sorts passed to him from his grandmother. The only stipulation that she had made when she gave it to him was that he never go on a long trip without it. Said it would always make a way for him to get home. If only it really had that power, Galen thought ruefully to himself as he slowly sheathed it again. As he removed his palm, he felt something akin to a static shock jolt from his hand all the way into his chest. Grunting a bit, he took a step back and shook his head to clear it from the shock.

“Something wrong?” Lero asked, a slightly worried expression on his face.

“Ah'm alrigh',” he replied with a reassuring smile. “Got a shock 'r somethin'.”

“Huh,” Lero said. “That's weird. Maybe it got charged with magic or something?”

“Beats me,” Galen said as he leaned back down to pack up his bedroll and leaned his bow stave and quiver against the counter.

“You want to stick around until it's time for you to leave?” Lero offered. “We could show you around Ponyville and where everything's at.” Rainbow and the others looked at Galen with expressions bordering on pleading, hoping they could play the tour guides for their new friend.

“Ah could do tha',” Galen agreed. “Ain't like Ah got much ta do righ' now.” As he finished replying, the trio of mares all grinned widely and readied to head out.

“Then why don't you leave what you want and we'll be on our way?”

Galen looked at his meager belongings and shrugged. “Ah'm good ta go. Ready when yew are.”

“Then let's head out,” Lero said cheerfully as Galen stood up and motioned for them to take the lead. With that, they left Lero's humble abode and into Ponyville on a bright, cheerful day to show him how life was in their quaint little village.

Author's Notes:

Unedited as of right now. I have to leave out of town but I will return later. Feel free to assist in pointing out errors if you want

Looked through and revisions made Hope to see you all here next week