There were some things Orion didn't understand. Like how Celestia and Luna were controlling the Sun and Moon respectively. Or magic, cool as it was, it still eluded him. There was also the fact that Canterlot looked like some cutesy medieval town where everypony was happy and nice all the time. Well, mostly happy and nice but that's beside the point.
He even accepted that there were dragons, griffons, hydras, minotaurs and all manner of different creatures inhabiting this world. The amount of sugar these ponies consumed on a daily basis was also maddening.
"This can't be normal. " Orion said with a snort.
"It is completely normal. " replied Celestia as she observed the same scene unfolding through Canterlot.
"I mean, I saw it happen before, but the entire town? " the stallion raised a curious brow and got a shrug in response from Celestia and the two guards behind them.
"It is what it is. " Celestia replied, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"It's Highschool Musical it's what it is. " Orion groaned making Celestia look at him from the corner of her eye. "Never mind."
"What can I say? It's the Music of Harmony. " Celestia now smiled fully as she watched Twilight Sparkle and her friends practically drag the entire town towards the castle entrance with their song and dance. "One day you will experience it too. "
"I bet it'd be the Music of copyright infringment in my case. "
"You do say some strange things, Orion. " Celestia shook her head in amusement. "I assure you, the Music of Harmony comes from the heart. " by the looks of it, Twilight's performance was coming to a close as she was basically at the castle gates. "I'm sure your Music will be unique and not infringe on anypony. " and sure enough, the song and dance ended a couple of hooves in front of Orion and Celestia. "Welcome, Twilight Sp- "
"OH MY GOSH! IT'S TRUE! " the young alicorn yelled in surprise.
"Rude. " Celestia deadpanned making Orion snicker.
"Told ya'! " a raspy, tomboyish voice adeed smugly.
"Now that's a stallion if ah' a ever seen one. " an orange mare with a stetson added.
"Wowzers! This puts a whole new spin on things! Imagine if the writers did something like this for season- "
"What? " Orion gawked at the pink mare with matching curly mane as she explained how some cartoon could have been better. Then she suddenly gasped and disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Orion to blink rapidly in shock.
"Don't worry about her, darling. " a white unicorn mare with violet mane said, her accent somewhat refined. "It's just how Pinkie Pie is. "
"Oh! I remember you. You're Screamy! " Orion's statement made the mare flinch in shock.
"E-excuse me? My name is not Screamy, it's Rarity! " she made a dramatic show of being very offended.
"Oh, sorry. But you screamed so loud when you saw me so I remembered you as Screamy. " Rarity huffed at his apology.
"Screamy! Hilarious! " the cyan pegauses laughed her heart out and Orion turned to her next.
"You're prorbably not Dashie. Since, you know, you ran away so fast- " the mare was suddenly inches from his nose.
"I'll have you know I did NOT run away! " she poked him in the chest. "I just remembered I left the stove on. And my name is actually Rainbow Dash. " she pulled back and stretched her wings proudly. "The fastest flier in all of Equestria! So you better think twice- "
"When assuming anything about you based on your mane color. Got it. "
"Huh? "
"And you must be Fainty. " Orion tried to look at the yellow pegasus hiding behind a still angry Rarity. He could faintly hear the mare saying something but it was so quiet he couldn't make out anything. "You're gonna' have to speak up. " Orion encouraged her but to no avail. "Look, I'm not some scary monster that- NIBBLER! " he shouted with glee when a squirell cam out from the pink mane and switfly jumped on Orion's head.
"For your information- " Rarity moved aside before pushing the pegasus forward. "- her name is Fluttershy. "
"A-and his name is not Nibbler. " the timid mare finally spoke. "It's Cinnamon. " Orion raised a brow and looked at his little friend who shrugged in response.
"So this is not Nibbler then? " Celestia asked curiously, watching the squirell climb around Orion's body and inspecting if the stallion was in one piece.
"Oh no, he is Nibbler. " Fluttershy's voice was gaining volume. "He told me that, um, excuse me, what is your name? " she looked at Orion who was letting Nibbler use his red scarf as a hammock.
"It's Orion. Orion Pax. " Celestia noticed his voice suddenly got a bit deeper. Almost mature and heroic.
"Nice to meet you, mister Orion. " Fluttershy smiled before returnig to look at Celestia. "Um, Princess Celestia, Cinammon told me how mister Orion gave him that name. I assume it was because mister Orion didn't know his real name. "
"I understand. " Celestia nodded and then looked to Orion. "But why Nibbler? "
"Because he likes to- " the squirrel swiftly climbed to Orions head and- "OW! Bite my ear! Dude! We've been over this! " Nibbler simply didn't care and went back to the makeshift hammock.
"Oh. " Fluttershy then noticed the scarf around Orion's neck. "Is that our picnic mat? "
"Yeah, sorry about that. I also kinda' ate all your food. " Orion replied sheepishly.
"It's no problem at all, darling. " it would seem Rarity recovered from the name trauma. "We're happy it all worked out in the end. Twilight filled us in on your situation. " she gestured to the purple alicorn.
"Twilight? Where is she- HEY! " Orion jumped away when he saw Twilight was underneath him and... Inspecting. "What's the big idea? " Twilight jumped to her hooves with a paper and quill levitating beside her.
"I'm taking notes! I had to make sure- "
"That I had a second tail? " then he remembered his junk was basically out in the open, like everypony elses for that matter, and it made him incredibly self-conscious. "Boundaries! " Orion flopped on his rump and made sure his junk was very well covered. "I need pants... "
"Well you're in luck then. " Rarity swished her mane to the side. "You are in the presence of a renowned fashionista! I will be more than happy to make some exquisite garments for you. " she already had her measuring tape out and was ready to be the first to design an outfit for Equestria's first, and only, alicorn stallion. Rainbow Dash was bombarding him with questions and challenging him to a race. Applejack was trying to sell him some of her apples which she pulled out of nowhere. Fluttershy was asking him how he met Nibbler. Orion didn't know where to begin answereing.
"Princess Celestia! " Twilight suddenly appeared before said princess.
"Glad somepony noticed I'm here. " she rolled her eyes.
"This is huge! " the young mare didn't register her mentor's jab. "I mean! A stallion! And an alicorn at that! "
"Yes Twilight. Now if you all would be so kind and give Orion some breathing room. " everypony stopped what they were doing and backed away from the now iritated looking Orion. "Why don't we go inside and talk over a nice cup of tea and some cupcakes? "
Contrary to what was said, everypony actually sat in silence for at least thirty minutes before Applejack broke the silence.
"So... " she looked to Orion who was sipping coffee.
"So... " he replied and silnce took over once more. This time Twilight deiced to break it.
"Princess Celestia, this is huge. " her quill was still taking notes.
"You've said that already Twilight. " Celestia replied calmly. "How about you ask him some questions. A bit of small talk does wonders. "
"Where did you come from? How old are you? Do you know magic? Duh, of course you do, you're an alicorn. "
"Don't know. Old enough. No. " Orion replied equally fast and everypony except Celestia gasped in shock.
"Lessons are in progress. " Celestia replied before Twilight bombarder her with questions.
"And no, you may not inspect my chakras or whatever to see if my magic paths are blocked. " Orion glared at Twilight. "You inspected enough. "
"Well, maybe I can teach you! " Twilight jumped to her hooves and smiled at Orion. "I am the element of magic after all. "
"I don't think that would be a good idea Twilight. " Celestia replied to which Twilight used her best puppy eyes look.
"Pretty please! "
"Pretty please no! " Orion did the same, mocking the mare's attempts. Twilight frowned and turned to Orion.
"I'm just trying to help. "
"Hey, you slid under me like some kind of mechanic inspecting if I had an oil leak. " Orion said back in a huff.
"What's the big deal? " Rainbow rose up and wiggled her rump towards him, thankfully concealing her privates with her tail. "Everypony here is naked. " Orion quickly looked away and closed his eyes for good measure.
"I am painfully aware of that. " Orion replied.
"Ah also don't see tha' problem, sugarcube. " Applejack tilted her head. "It's just the way things are. "
"Quite so, darling. " Rarity took a sip of her tea before continuing. "If you're embarrassed about springing a stiffie in public, rest assured- "
"Oh hell no! I don't want to talk about sudden flagpoles in public! " he jumped to his hooves and began walking to the door. "Elements of Harmony my ass. Elements of Horny is more like it. "
"Orion, stop. " Celestia said with authority and all mares gasped in shock as Orion simply ignored it and walked out.
"Rude. " Rarity said with a huff.
"Yes, it's getting contagious lately. " Celestia said dryly and sighed. "Girls, you need to understand that Equestria is new to him. Things we take for granted or normal are foreign concepts to him. "
"But we're just trying to help. " Twilight's ears flopped down.
"I know, my dear Twilight. " Celestia nuzzled her favorite student. "You just need to take it slow with him. Orion is scared and confused by all of this and it's best to- "
"Where's Fluttershy? " Rainbow suddenly asked and sure enough, no yellow pegasus in sight.
Orion stomped the streets of Canterlot in a mix of embarrassement and iritation, his eyes fixed on the ground to avoid seeing any unnecessary appendages.
"It's all normal. It's all natural. " he grumbled to himself. "Oh why yes of course we're all butt naked. Look at my ass and have a cookie! " Nibbler just swayed along to Orion's hoofsteps in the scarf. "And who does Twilust Sparkplug think she is? You can't just suddenly look at someones junk. " he stopped suddenly. "Or can you? " a squeak from Nibbler and a head shake later told him it was a deffinite no. He continued on his way to nowhere, mumbling to himself until he noticed ponies were giving him strange looks. "What? Never seen someo-, somepony, talking to themselves? "
"I- " a random stallion began but was interrupted quickly.
"Hey! Don't judge me! All of you were The sound of music until thirty minutes ago! " Orion pointed accusingly at the ponies around him who didn't know what to make of the strange alicorn walking their streets and simply decided to back away. Except for one that tapped his shoulder. "What? " Orion spun around quickly and came face to face with his tapper.
"Eep! " Fluttershy jumped back at the sudden move and Orion sighed.
"What do you want, Flutters? " the yellow mare then moved closer and looked Orion directly in the eyes.
"Are you okay? " the question was simple yet powerful. Both were locked in a staring contest for at least a minute before Orion flopped on his haunches and sighed deeply.
"No. No I'm not. " he admitted and stared at the ground. Fluttershy joined him at his side and put her wing over his back in comfort.
"Do you want to talk about it? "
"Not really. " Orion replied and when Fluttershy didn't push the issue he looked at her. Fluttershy's eyes conveyed nothing but compassion and understanding and he somehow felt calmer already. "You're not going to pester me with questions? "
"Not unless you want me to. " she replied with a kind smile which Orion returned.
"You're not the shy one, you're the reasonable one. " Fluttershy rubbed his back with her wing and Orion hummed in content. "Sorry for storming out. "
"It's okay. All of this is new to you. "
"I don't think I'll get used to it anytime soon. " Orion replied and unconscoiusly pulled his hind legs closer together with the tail inbetween.
"Take your time. " Fluttershy reassured him once again and Orion felt another wave of relief.
"You're good at this. "
"Well, when you're like me, you tend to listen a lot. " Fluttershy addmited with a blush. "But I've made my voice heard over the past few years. And if I can do that, then I'm sure you can do anything you set your mind to. "
"That bad, huh? "
"That bad. " they shared a laugh before Fluttershy continued. "You know what would sometimes help? A walk. " she got up and offered Orion a helping hoof.
"Really? " he tilted his head but took her hoof nontheless.
"It really does wonders. " she reassured him and the two decided to take that walk. There was no particular destination they were heading to but it was nice. They chatted along the way, well, mostly Fluttershy about her adventures which left Orion in awe but it really did help Orion ease his mind. She was in the middle of telling him about Princess Cadance's wedding when something strange happened.
"Hang on, you're telling me that... That... That... " Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion when she noticed Orion trailing off, his gaze going through her. Fluttershy turned around and realized they in front of a music store located at the very edge of Canterlot. She looked back to Orion but his gaze was fixed on the instruments in the display window. He slowly walked past her and towards the display. Fluttershy quietly observed Orion as he neared the window, his eyes glued to a certain instrument.
"Fluttershy! " she heard her name called and snapped her neck towards her incoming friends, Princess Celestia and a couple of guards.
"SHHHH! "
"Rude. " everypony said in unison. Fluttershy pointed towards Orion whose face was glued to the window.
"What is he looking at? " Twilight asked nopony in particular and the entourage moved up to see what was going on. "What is that? "
"It's a guitar I think. " Celestia said in surprise.
"It looks awesome! " Rainbow Dash had stars in her eyes.
"It looks weird. " Twilight replied. The instrument in question had six string, nothing odd there, but it was the shape that threw them off. The body wasn't hollow and it had a V shape to it and the headstock looked like an arrow head. Where there usually was a resonance hole were strange black rectangles and some knobs around it with a small hole between them, like something was supposed to be plugged in. It was painted a nice white color though.
"Hello beautiful. " all eyes were suddenly on Orion who practically salivated over the guitar. That is until he noticed his hooves on the window and sighed. "Next time baby. " pushing off the window he finally noticed the ponies around him. "Oh, hey. "
"Hey? You've been gone for two hours! " Twilight exclaimed and the rest nodded.
"How did you get out undetected- " Celestia shot her guards a look. "-yet again? And where is Storm Breaker? "
"I just walked out. Your security sucks to be honest. " Celestia couldn't really argue with him after having two succesfull escapes under his belt, but the guards were salty about it. "And Storm Breaker is on mandatory holiday until tomorrow. "
"I see. " Celestia nodded in understanding. "You had a pleasant walk I see. You look a lot better. "
"Sure do. This one's wise beyond her years. " Orion hugged Fluttershy with his wing, making the mare blush. "Now come on! I still have to hear the story about the wedding. I hope it's not like Game of Thrones. " his strange comparison aside, all but Celestia and her guards, went after Orion and listend to Fluttershy's story. The alicorn however stood still and returned her gaze to the strange looking guitar and looked at the price tag.
"Oh my. " granted, it wasn't much for royalty like her but the average pony would need to really pay big bits for it. Twilight noticed a lack of alabaster alicorn following and turned around to see what was going on. She trotted back to her former mentor and looked at the strange guitar once again.
"Buckson Ponycaster. " she furrowed her brows in thought. "Never heard of it. " Twilight lifted her gaze to Celestia who appeared to be deep in thought. "Princess? What are you thinking? "
"I'm thinking we just might get a breakthrough. " Celestia smiled and made her way inside the shop. "Time to see what kind of Music of Harmony you can make, Orion Pax"