Author's Notes:

Sorry for the short chapter, everyone. Had a rough week at work and had no less than three visits from our ISP to work out the problems with my internet. Next week will be better, I Pinkie promise.

Within the next couple hours, ponies started coming out of their alcohol induced hibernation. They came from the barn, the outhouses, from the outlying orchards and even the trees themselves. Galen watched from his spot on the porch with no small amount of wonder at how quickly the remnants of the party disappeared, the leftovers being divvied up between those who wanted some to take home for a late breakfast or lunch. He had tried to offer his help in cleaning up the mess, but none of them would have him do anything of the sort and turned him away, so he just found his current spot on the edge of the porch and watched. Riley had found him again, finally, as he had wandered off somewhere during the festivities. Likely getting hand outs from the huge congregation and gorging himself on who knew what.

Once every one of the villagers had woke up and chipped in their bit of help, it took under two hours for everything to look like it had the previous day, leaving Galen with a vague sense of emptiness. They had all come out for him, to welcome him and make him feel as though he belonged. He certainly felt welcomed, but he had yet to even begin belonging here. Lero had done it, but Galen knew he wasn't cut out for being a handyman. He was a blacksmith and he doubted that he would ever want to do much else, especially since he loved working with metal so much.

He did have Celestia's offer, and he would take it up on the condition that he repay her for anything he received. He wouldn't become a charity case so long as he had the ability to provide for himself. The only thing he needed was a leg up and he could see what he could make for himself here. Of course, if there was any way to get back to earth safely he would likely take it, but that was neither here nor there at the moment. He could only work with what he had at the moment, but he would make the most of it as long as he was here.

“What're you thinkin' about?” Applejack asked from behind him, disturbing his thoughts. “Mighty intense expression you had there.”

“Jus' 'bout where Ah'm goin' from 'ere,” he replied as he turned slightly to glance at her. “Thinkin' 'bout takin' up an offer that'll help me ta get set up proper with a forge.”

“That'll be mighty handy,” she replied with a raised eyebrow. “Who's hoofin' out the bits?”

“Tha Princess,” Galen muttered to her surprise. “She was willin' ta set me up without a thing in return.”

“Really,” she said levelly.

Galen nodded once and said, “Almost thought 'bout throwin' it back in 'er face, but Ah know Ah need help if Ah'm gonna make any kind o' life fer maself 'ere. Can't be so bull headed 'bout it an' beggar maself. Ain't too much fer me ta loose as it is, but Ah won't do tha' ta Riley.”

“You're a good man, Galen,” Applejack said earnestly. “Ah know pride can be a mighty stiff and stubborn thing from experience, but you seem ta know when it gets in the way. And when ta hold it in check an' take from others what ya need ta do what needs to be done.”

“Oh, Ah'm not takin' a damn thing from 'er,” he replied with a snort. “Ah'm just gonna take a loan of sorts. Ah plan on payin' 'er back, cause Ah'm not takin' a thing from 'er if she won't accept tha' much at tha least.”

It was Applejack's turn to snort in laughter this time, a smile lighting up her face. “Ah guess your pride's a bit stiffer than Ah thought. Least you can bend it a bit.”

“Ain't no point in havin' it if it ruins ya,” he replied, Applejack just nodding at that. “So, since tha town's recovering today, what's there ta do 'round here. Ah won't take yer generosity without pulling my own weight 'round here.”

“Not much ta do for a few days,” she replied. “We normally get a few days of chores taken care of for free for hosting these shindigs, so we got nothin' for ya. You're just gonna have ta grin and bear it,” she finished with a grin of her own.

“Ah guess Ah can find somethin' ta keep me occupied,” he replied with a smirk. “When do ya think Rarity will recover? Ah'm kinda short in tha clothes department as ya can see.”

“Ah'd say give it 'till tomorrow,” she replied with a faint nod.

“Least it's warm,” he said with a smirk. “Wouldn't be any fun if Ah were freezing my stones off.”

Her faint blush and snort of amusement said more than enough about that. “Ah think Pinkie's still around if you get bored. You seemed ta have a good time with her last night, but Ah'd suggest keepin' the kissin' to a minimum unless you're willing to be more than just friends. Ah don't want one of my best friends getting led on.”

Galen blushed at that, rubbing a finger over his mustache and giving a little cough. “Ah hear ya loud an' clear, Jack. Ah wouldn't do tha' ta any woman. Ah always make where we stand loud an' clear.”

“An' that's just as friends fer now?”

“'Course,” he replied. “Ah'm in no position ta start anythin' with anyone right now. Ah don' even own a full set o' clothes at tha moment.”

Applejack snorted in amusement at that before saying, “Least you got your priorities straight.”

“Yep,” he replied. “Most important thing on the list being ta get some decent clothes. Then comes tha other stuff.”

“So, 'bout your forge...” Galen raised an eyebrow as she continued, “Think you wanna set it up in town?”

“Would be a bit easier ta get shipments of materials and have a local market ta work with,” he replied with a moment of thought. “Though, Ah'm sure there would be restrictions on where Ah'll be able ta build since it can get mighty noisy.”

“Well, ever since you told us 'bout bein' a smith, Ah was thinkin' that you could build it out here on the farm,” she said with an inquisitive glance up at him. “Wouldn't have to do any ground breaking either since you demolished the top of that hill. Ah'll just charge you for the entirety of that hill and you can move in with us as well.”

Galen looked at Applejack with raised eyebrows as he thought it over. Sure, it would be a bit more difficult to get the materials out to the property, but it shouldn't be anything to worry over. He wouldn't have to worry about building restrictions due to noise or the proximity of other buildings and he could design the forge as big as he wanted since he would have an entire plot of land to work with. On the upside he would have a place to call home, with ponies that shared almost identical values about work and how they treated others, not to mention that he would likely have no shortage of work around the farm. Even if he built the forge out here on the property, he could invest a little more in a small building in town so that he could take commissions and sell the little odds and ends that make up the steadiest portion of a smith's income.

“Ah'll consider it after Ah look 'round a bit,” he replied neutrally. Couldn't seem too eager after that comment he let slip the other day. Besides, there actually might be a better option available and he could still help out the Apples. “Shouldn't make up mah mind without all the facts first.”

“Alright,” she replied. “Just thought Ah'd put that out there for ya.”

“Thanks fer tha offer, Jack,” he said with a smile. “Ah'll let ya know what's up after Ah find ev'rything Ah need ta know.”

She just nodded. “Ah don't know about you, but Ah'm gonna go take a nap. There's gonna be plenty of leftovers in case ya get hungry.”

“Right,” he replied. “Ah'll catch ya later, Jack.”

“Later,” she said as she turned from him and went back inside to crash on the couch again. With nothing to do, Galen decided to go for a walk around the orchard with Riley, especially since things might end up being more than a little awkward with Pinkie at the moment. He hopped off the porch and wandered across the yard between the various lingering ponies who waved or said hello as they went on their way, replying in turn until he found himself walking between the trunks of the trees as he headed north.

He walked for close to a mile before he finally found a nice group of trees by a small pond and lay down in the shade as a gentle breeze came through. Riley sat down beside him before falling on his side, sprawling across Galen's midsection as he wriggled around. Galen just shook his head at his dog and lay back to ponder his current situation a bit more but found himself quickly pulled under as the low grade fatigue from the past twenty four hours caught up to him again.

Pinkie was sitting in the kitchen, rubbing her hooves together with a pensive expression on her face as Applejack came back in for a glass of water before her nap. Applejack ignored her for the time being as her friend would speak what was on her mind if she wanted to. As she put a glass under the sink, Applejack watched her friends expressions in the reflection of the window. To see Pinkie looking so worried was something that didn't happen and Applejack finally turned to her friend and broke the silence.

“What's the matter, sugar cube?” Pinkie didn't respond, not really, opting just to look at Applejack and give a little whine as she frowned worriedly. “That ain't tellin' me anythin', darlin',” she deadpanned as she pulled up a chair beside her.

“Well...” Pinkie began in a tiny voice, “It's about Galen.”

“Ah,” Applejack said simply.

“Well, him and my Pinkie Sense,” Applejack raised her eyebrows at that. “You see, ever since he came here, I've been getting these new combo's and they're all tied to Galen. I don't know what a lot of them mean yet, but I do know one combo as clear as day.”

“Yeah?” Applejack asked with more than a bit of worry in her voice. “What's that?”

“If he can't find a life for himself here, in Equestria, a lot of really bad stuff is gonna happen,” she replied. “I'm pretty sure that Lero's involved as well, but I have no idea how or why.”

“And this has nothing to do with why you two were lockin' lips like ya were last night?”

Pinkie blushed at that and gave a weak smile, “I can't help it if I find him attractive for living in the here and now. I doubt we'd be able to do the same if the situation was reversed.”

“What do you mean by that?” Applejack said with a quizzical expression.

“Well, I'm sure that you'd want to find your way back home as soon as possible if you were in his position, right?” Applejack nodded. “Well, he's doing that but he's also not worrying about it either. He's not putting his life on hold until there's a definite answer. He's already thinking about what he needs and has to do to make a living if it does turn out that he won't be able to get back.”

“He seems like the hard workin' sort, that's for sure,” Applejack replied before leaning forward in a conspiratorial manner. “So, ya really have a thing for him after only knowing him a little?”

“Kinda,” Pinkie said with a brilliant blush. “He's nice, lets himself have fun for the sake of fun and he was willing to do whatever he needed to do to get Lero and the others back, even if he would have gotten hurt in the process. What's not to like?”

Applejack snorted at that, “Ain't a lot of stallions like that. Plus you're forgetting how honest he is, not to mention he's faithful to his friends, even if he only knew 'em for a little bit like Lero and the others.”

“Sounds like you've noticed a few things about him as well,” Pinkie said with a little grin.

“Just call it like I see it,” Applejack replied with a smirk of her own.

“And you offering him the chance to build his forge a hop skip and a jump from your place has nothing to do with it?” Pinkie said, turning Applejack's own phrase against her. She blushed and said nothing. “Come on, you can tell me. I told you what I liked about him so much.”

“You heard that?” she asked with a slightly embarrassed expression. Pinkie just giggled and nodded in response. “Fine...” Applejack said with a sigh. “Ah guess that Ah have a thing for strong stallions, and not just his muscles either. He's just... Ah don't know how to say it right, but he seems like the kinda guy Ah'd fall for.”

“So you're in the same boat as me, huh?” Pinkie said with a cheesy smile.

“Maybe,” Applejack replied with a slight frown. “But we gotta go about this the right way if it does turn out that Galen's a good match for us. That means you gotta back off for a bit and let him get things in order before you try to get him involved in anything serious. Same goes for me. Nothing wrong with bein' friends with him, but we should try to keep it at that for now. Not to mention, getting to know him better's a good idea as well.”

“True,” Pinkie said with a chuckle. “I guess I can manage that. So we'll talk more about... this? Us? Whatever it is we have going on right now after Galen settles down?”

“Sounds good ta me,” she replied just before a massive yawn almost toppled her from the chair.

“Ready for a nap?” Pinkie asked with a grin.

“Ah got a bit side tracked,” she replied with a smirk. “You're welcome ta stick 'round if ya want, Pinkie.”

“Nah, that's alright,” she said with a wave of her hoof. “I should get back to Sugar Cube Corner anyway. Don't want the Cakes to worry about me too much.”

“Alright,” Applejack said as she got off her chair as Pinkie did the same. “Ah'll see ya 'round?”

“You bet!” she said with a smile. “I'll be by every so often.”

“Catch ya later, then,” she said as she made her way to the living room and flopped down on the couch, too tired to do much else.

“Sleep well,” Pinkie called back as she walked out the front door despite Applejack already being asleep. Humming to herself, she made her way to the road back to Ponyville with a little extra spring in her step, already beginning her plans for her first date with Galen.