//------------------------------// // 2 - Say aaaaaaah! // Story: One hoof at a time // by SkarinOfAtmora //------------------------------// Celestia, Luna and Fancy Pants were all standing behind a large glass window. On the other side they could see Orion being examined by the castle's medical staff. Everypony found it hard to believe Orion was an actual alicorn but when Celestia's magical scan revealed there was no transformation magic at work, she decided to let the medical team have a look at him. So far only female alicorns existed: herself, her sister Luna and their mother, Twilight Sparkle, Cadance and Flurry Heart. Only Twilight and Cadance were ascended alicorns but alicorns nonetheless. A male alicorn was unheard of so the question was, where did he come from? "He's taking this rather well I'd say. " Fancy commented as a nurse was taking a sample of Orion's blood, both looking a little uncomfortable. "Too well. " Luna added with a grim look "Head injury aside, I don't trust him. He's hiding something. " the blue alicorn looked to her sister who was quietly observing the examination "What do you think, Tia? " "I don't know. " she looked down in thought "My magic is powerful and if he was a rogue changeling or had evil intentions I would know. " Celestia sighed before raising her head and looked at Orion, the gray alicorn not particularly keen on being prodded from all sides. The Solar alicorn looked at Fancy Pants "How long did he say he was in Canterlot? " "Two weeks, though it could be more. " Fancy replied, not taking his eyes off his new friend "He's in a really rough condition, dumpster diving aside. " the sisters observed Orion's wings being inspected, feathers broken, twisted and definitely not flight ready "Orion thought he was some abomination and thought the best thing was to hide and not be seen. " "Abomination? " both sister exclaimed. "Your Highnesses, with all due respect, Orion has suffered a severe head injury. His mind has not properly recovered and he does not know anything about Equestria. " Fancy then chuckled "He even told me ponies fainted when they saw him, most likely since nopony saw a male alicorn before. " then his expression took on a sad note "When I found him, Orion told me I should give him a head start before I drag him off to a lab or prison cell. " "But how did we not find him? " Luna stomped her hoof in agitation "I lead the search party myself when that Phantom nonsense was going around! We scoured all of Canterlot! " "Dumb luck, I suppose. " Fancy shrugged, making Luna groan in return "I mean, look at him. " he pointed towards Orion with his hoof "He has trouble standing on his hooves as if he was a little foal, his wings look like they were used for housekeeping and he doesn't know how to use magic. " "He was scared. " Celestia added just in time as a doctor levitated a nasty looking, but completely harmless, feather fixing tool. "Exactly. All the reactions he got from other ponies were screaming, fleeing or fainting. Not good signs when you are scared, disoriented and as far as you know the only of your kind. " "But he's not the only one. " Luna added, taking a step closer towards the glass "The only male perhaps, but still. " "Orion doesn't, or at least, didn't know that until mere moments ago. " Fancy walked up to Luna's side "Orion needs time to heal his body and mind. Perhaps then we will know more. " "You are right Fancy Pants. " Celestia walked up as well "I must say, had it been any other noble that walked up to us and presented a male alicorn I would be far more suspicious. " she then smiled at the shorter unicorn "But you and your wife are the kindest and most generous ponies this city has to offer. " "You are too kind your highness. " Fancy bowed in respect and smiled as well. "Why does he have that old rag around his neck? " Luna asked just as a nurse took it off of Orion, the stallion instantly covering himself with his hooves like he was embarrassed "Is it some sort of badge of office where he's from? " "Orion said it was gift from a friend. " Fancy clarified. "So there's somepony out there that knows him? " Celestia asked with a raised brow "Perhaps they could shed some light on the situation. " "I don't think that is the case, your majesty. " Fancy cleared his throat before continuing "This friend, I believe Nibbler was his name, found him after the accident and helped Orion get back on his hooves, as it were. I believe it was somepony from Ponyville. " Celestia hummed in thought before speaking. "Guards. " she called and two of them appeared in an instant. "Yes, your majesty? " both bowed and asked in unison. "Send word to Ponyville. Find a pony named Nibbler and escort him here. " Celestia declared and the guards saluted. "Do we have anything else besides the name? " one asked and Celestia looked to Fancy, the unicorn shaking his head no. "Unfortunately no. This mission if of the utmost importance. " Celestia said sternly "Find Nibbler and ask him to come here. Tell him Orion Pax is looking for him. " the two guards saluted and dashed out of the medical wing. " "What is he doing? " Luna's question caused both Celestia and Fancy to look at Orion again. His right ear was twitching around, a gesture signalizing something was itching. He used his right hindleg to scratch the annoying itch furiously. Orion miscalculated one last movement and managed to hit himself square across the muzzle and knock himself off the stretcher. The staff rushed to his aid but Orion got up quickly, and sloppily, before climbing back on the stretcher, whistling innocently and acting like nothing ever happened. All three stood there speechless, and somewhat amused at what just transpired. They were snapped back to reality when a dark red unicorn mare with a short black mane exited the examination room. "Doctor Syringe, what news do you bring? " Luna spoke first and the doctor sighed deeply. "I don't know what to tell you. " said doctor floated up a bunch of test results "We ran every test known to ponykind and compared the results to everything we have on alicorn physiology. " "And? " Celestia asked while looking over the test results herself. "He's the real deal. " the doctor sighed "Apart from being a stallion, Sir Orion Pax is one hundred percent alicorn. And I'm not talking ascended, I'm saying he was born one. " you could hear a pin drop in the silnce that followed "And there's something else. " the doctor pulled up a parchment, presented it to the three ponies in attendance and all three recoiled slightly. "Are those what I think they are? " Fancy Pants asked while examining the image on the parchment. "Canines. " the doctor stated snd began pointing at the image with her hoof " And incisors. " "He's a carnivore? " Luna looked at Orion who smiled back awkwardly and waved. It was now that she truly saw them. He really did have canines though they were not as long as bat pony fangs. "Omnivore. " the doctor corrected and pointed back to the picture"You can see the molars here, situated further back. " she then looked to Celestia "I was hoping you could shed some light on that, princess Celestia. " "I... I'm afraid I can't. " the Solar princess answered, her eyes fixed on Orion "We have never met a male of our species. For all we know they could very well be omnivores. " "I thought as much. Well, teeth aside, Orion is as alicorn as they come. " the doctor chuckled lightly "To think that after so many fakes trying to take your hoof in marriage a real one would actually appear. " the doctor then looked at Fancy Pants "Good thing it was you who found him. I dread to think what the other nobles would have done with him. " the white unicorn smiled at the doctor in appreciation "And now to his injuries. " the doctor coughed and started listing off "Generally speaking, Orion is in good health considering how he has been living lately. We will immobilize his wings so further damage can be prevented. " "Further damage? " Celestia asked in concern. "Sprains, pulled muscles, broken feathers. " Celestia winced at each one "I could go on, but that's the gist of it. " the doctor looked at Orion who was in the process of getting his wings wrapped up "That stallion has a high pain treshold. I've seen guards cry like little fillies when they sprained a wing joint. " "But how did he get hurt? Orion told me he didn't know how to fly. " Fancy said with a confused look. "That brings me to the next point: brain damage. " doctor Syringe sighed and looked at Orion "Our scans show nothing out of the ordinary, but the mind is a complicated thing. His memory is all fuzzy and jumbled. Orion remembers some things, others are mixed together and some just don't make any sense. Whatever injury he suffered must've been severe and there's nothing we can do but wait it out. " she glacned over to Luna from the corner of her eye "And I really hope you're not trying to force yourself inside his mind, princess Luna, lest you want to turn my patient into a vegetable. " the horn of the Lunar princess stopped glowing and she huffed in response "As I was saying, a flying accident could be the cause of his memory loss. Or perhaps scramble is the better word. In any case, Orion should get plenty of rest and occupate a stress free environment. " "Orion said he hit a tree made of crystal. " Fancy Pants hummed in thought "I imagine it was quite an impact. " "Yes, I suppose hitting the Tree of Harmony head-first would be quite painful. " Celestia chuckled and received a confused look from Fancy and Syringe "That is the only crystal tree I know of. And I highly doubt the accident happened in the Crystal Empire. He could not survive such a trip in his current state. " "Do you think the Tree has something to do with his condition, Tia? " Luna asked and watched Orion trying to pull his red bandana over his head only to have the cloth stuck on his horn and obscure his vision. "Perhaps, perhaps not. " Celestia winced when Orion, in his vision deprived state, hit an IV stand with his muzzle and knocked it over. Shaking his head furiously, he finally got the raggedy garment where he wanted it to be. "So, what now princesses? " Fancy asked and used his magic to open the door since he saw Orion was slowly nearing it "We can't just let him back into the streets. Alicorn or not, nopony should live like that." "I agree. " Celestia nodded "We shall talk further over some lunch. " Orion finally walked through the door, his head low as always "I am sure our guest is eager for a proper meal. " Orion looked up and was met with a gentle smile from the princess. "Well, I guess I could go for some-" "Meat? " Luna interjected with a frown, her head now as low as Orion's so they were eye-level. "Luna! " Celestia scolded her younger sister whose gaze didn't falter. "Actually, yeah. " Orion replied casually and received a few blinks from Luna "Haven't eaten meat since I got here. I'm so hungry I could eat a hoooo-whole piece! A whole piece of yummy meat! " Orion finished awkwardly and retreated a few steps back from the now scowling Lunar princess. "Why do you keep your head low? As an alicorn you should walk tall and proud! " Luna straightened up and puffed out her chest for emphasis. "Umm, so I can keep track of my feet? " Orion said sheepishly "I keep tripping over them. " "Feet? " Luna looked over to the doctor. "He means hooves. " the doctor shrugged "Brain damage. " "Yes, hooves, right. " Orion nodded and slowly walked towards the exit "Sooo, what was that about lunch? " as soon as Fancy used his magic to help Orion with the complicated task of opening the door, they were assaulted by numerous flashes and a bombardment of questions. "THERE HE IS!!" "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" "WHERE DID YOU COME FROM? " "IS HE OUR NEW KING?" "WHERE'S HIS CUTIE MARK?" "WHY ARE BAGS OF HAY'S CHIPS NINETY PERCENT AIR?" As soon as all that started happening, Orion fell on his rump and backpaddled inside but the journalists were persistent. "IS IT TRUE YOU'RE THE ONLY MALE OF YOUR SPECIES?" "WILL YOU BE EXPANDING YOUR RACE? "ARE THERE MORE OF YOU?" "DO YOU PREFFER ROUND OR SLIM RUMPS? I'M ASKING FOR A FRIEND!" "ENOUGH! " it was Luna who used the Royal Canterlot voice and got the crowd to stip their assault. And death glare she sent towards them also helped "Leave. Now. " nopony had to be told twice and they galloped out of the castle with amazing speed "I shall have a talk with the guards about this incident. " she said menacingly and slowly turned around "And with the daily papers... as... well..." her glare softened upon seeing Orion backed up into a wall and breathing rapidly, his eyes darting around in panic and his gray coat a shade paler. Fancy was by his side trying to calm him down while Syringe was making sure Orion wasn't having a heart attack. "Orion needs our help. " Celestia walked up to Luna "It is as Fancy Pants said. Nopony deserves to live out on the streets. " "You're not suggesting he stays here? In the castle? " Luna asked with an incredulous look "Though I don't care for the gossip this little stunt will spread, his stay will only lead to further complications. " "Doctor Syringe said he needs a stress free environment. " Celestia looked over towards Orion who managed to calm down "I believe we can offer that here." "What about Fancy Pants?" Luna pointed to the unicorn who was currently helping Orion back on his hooves "I think Orion would be much happier staying with a friend." "If he so wishes. " "Most excellent! " Luna then walked up to Fancy Pants "Sir Fancy, would it be much to ask of you to accomodate Orion in your home?" "Actually, yes." "Splendid! I shall-wait, what?" Luna reared back in surprise. "Your Highness." Fancy sighed "With all due respect, while I would love to help Orion recover, I simply cannot guarantee that my house won't be run down by papparazi in search of a story. " "And Orion needs proper rest. " doctor Syringe joined in "This blunder aside, the castle is now the best place for him. At least until he can walk properly and learn some basic magic." she summoned a lollipop from a desk and handed it to Orion who smiled in appreciation and stuffed it in his mouth. "W-well... We could-" Luna was interrupted by her sister. "Lulu, why are you so against this?" Celestia asked calmly "Is it because of-" "Exactly." Luna gritted her teeth before shoving her muzzle into Orion's, her glare drilling holes into his skull "Alicorn or not, I will not have thee defile my sister and I! Do you understand me? " she pressed her muzzle even further to Orion, the gray alicorn turning an interesting shade of blue. "Um, Lulu?" Celestia's tone sounded very concerned. "Yes, dear sister?" Luna answered with a low hiss. "He's choking on his lollipop." Luna retreated and sure enough, Orion began thumping on his chest furiously and finally spit out the lollipop, gasping for air as color returned to his face. "I... Apologize." Luna said shortly before looking at her sister "I shall be in my chambers and will see you for breakfast. " and with a flash, Luna teleported away. "I'd like the same please. " Orion raised his hoof like he was in school. Celestia smiled at this timid gesture and nodded. "You have earned it after today. Come tomorrow, we shall speak in further detail about your arrival. " Celestia's horn glowed brightly and Orion, Fancy, Syringe and herself were teleported to a guest room "This is where you will be staying for the time being. I hope it will-" "BUCKET!" Celestia flinched at the sound of Fancy's voice and shivered when she heard Orion empty his stomach into an ancient vase. Celestia couldn't care less about the vase but she did feel bad about not thinking that teleportation wasn't such a good idea, given Orion's condition. "What was that about defiling you and your sister? " Celestia turned around slowly to the sound of Orion's raspy voice, his eyes were a little red but the scowl gave away his current emotional state. Orion was royally pissed. Seeing as she at least owed him an explanation for her sisters actions, Celestia looked down in shame and twirled her right hoof around. "Well, Orion, when Luna and I were little fillies, our mother created this law..."