Orion finally got that tour of the castle he asked about. If Luna had forgotten about him last night the staff would probably have found him sleeping in some maid locker. Not that he slept after Luna and Celestia returned. The Sun Princess bid them good night and actually thanked Orion for what he said. She also addmited it would have been better if he slapped her. Would've hurt less...
So instead of sleeping, Orion attended Night Court and found out the decoy Luna left was 100 percent successful. Nopony noticed the real Luna was long gone and after taking her place back on her throne even then nopony noticed. Praises were sung to the Mistress of Dreams for being such a good listener. Hay, Lucky Star and Crimson Chin worked out their marital differences and were happier than ever!
Once Night Court was finished, Luna and Orion had walked around aimlessly and with no particular goal in mind. So long was the walk that Luna almost forgot to lower the moon. After a couple of eclipse jabs from Orion, Luna thought it would be funny to try and steal Celestia's bunny slippers. Orion just went along and didn't question it since Celestia had like 20 pairs of them. Luna justified their actions as revenge for Celestia borrowing, and never returning, her favorite brush.
Then along came breakfast and thoughts nopony expected. Orion also had a mini existential crisis. Was he really dead and was Equestria some sort of weird purgatory? He really could not remember what happened at the exact moment of his, let's call it transformation. It's like the memory was being repressed to hide a traumatic experience. Last thing Orion remembers is that he was watching TV and having a beer and then he suddenly woke up in some weird forest in a strange pony body.
When Celestia asked that fateful question, Orion was completely honest. He did not know.
Which now brings us back to that tour of the castle that Storm Breaker promised.
"And that concludes our tour of the castle, Sir Orion." Storm Breaker stopped in front of Orion's room and saluted. "And once again I would like to apologize for my behavior earlier this morning. I can assure you it won't happen again." Storm Breaker waited for a response but Orion was just staring off into the distance. "Sir?"
"What?" Orion returned back to Equestria and looked at his guard quizically. "Sorry. I was just thinking..." he then noticed the door to his room. "When did we get here?" Storm Breaker's eye began twitching.
"Sir, I just gave you a most thorough tour of the castle."
"Why thank you." Orion smiled cheekily.
"And you're telling me you were not paying attention?" the tour was two hours long. Storm Breaker made sure to show Orion every nook and cranny, every hallway, shortcut and room so there would be no chance of Orion getting lost ever again.
"I'm sorry." Orion sighed. "It's just..." he looked at his guard and nodded to the helmet. "Can you take the helmet off? I... I need to talk to a friend of mine." Storm Breaker jerked back in surprise. Did Orion consider him a friend already? He saw that Orion was deeply troubled by something and as his new friend Storm Breaker was ready to help.
"Sir." Storm breaker took the helmet off. "I mean Orion, it would be my pleasure." Orion smiled in appreciation and lead Storm Breaker into his room. Sitting on his bed, Orion tilted his head from side to side in thought. "So? What's wrong?"
"What do you think about all this? My situation?" Orion asked once his head stopped moving.
"I think you almost gave me an existential crisis. Why would you think we're not real?"
"Because where I come from you don't exist. Equestria doesn't exist, no talking ponies or dragons, no supernatural beings or magic. It's just... Us." Orion finished somberly.
"Alicorns?"
"No, I'm-" Orion stopped before he said something he wasn't ready to accept yet. "Look, point is I wasn't always an alicorn. Or a pony for that matter."
"What?" Storm Breaker tilted his head to the side.
"I was transformed into an alicorn when I landed in Equestria." Orion addmited and Storm Breaker just blinked in surprise. "I don't know how that happened so don't ask." Orion then fell to his back on the bed, his wings spread out to avoid damage. "It's all so weird that I actually think I might've died and this is some strange purgatory."
"You make it sound like a bad thing." Storm Breaker walked up to the bed and sat on the edge, his hind legs dangling lazily off it. "Even if this was the afterlife, is it really that bad?"
"I imagined it differently." Orion sighed. "And ponies? Don't get me wrong I think all of you are cute as heck but this is not how the afterlife is supposed to look like for my kind."
"And how would you know? Have you died before?" Storm Breaker could hear the vinyl scratch from Orion's brain.
"Fair point." Orion replied and rubbed his temples. "I'm having trouble accepting this and I've been here for like a month."
"Maybe that's your problem."
"What do you mean?" Orion raised his head a little.
"You're trying to accept things as they are instead of enjoying them for what they are." Orion riased a curious brow. "I mean, you live in Canterlot castle and the princessess are practically your best friends. Equestria is a peaceful nation that offers so much and you've seen so little of it." Orion sat up and was next to Storm Breaker. "Maybe instead of trying to figure this out you should just go with it." Orion's brows furrowed in thought. "If there is some grand scheme behind this it'll unfurl eventually. That's how all of those novels go-" Storm Breaker suddenly stopped himself when Orion grinned.
"You read isekai?" the alicorn asked and Storm Breaker quickly deduced it was Orion's name for novels where characters suddenly get transfered to another world.
"I quite enjoy them, yes."
"Dude!" Orion jumped off the bed and trotted in place happily. "I'm getting you Rise of the shield hero first chance I get!"
"Ummm, okay?" Storm Breaker then laughed. "When you think about it, it's kinda funny."
"What is?"
"Aren't you in your own isekai right now?" Orion's eyes suddenly went wide and his ears flopped on his head.
"Nanda kore wa?"
Celestia wasn't paying attention.
"Orion can't afford to pay attention." Celestia said quitely to herself with a smile once she realized that she, in fact, wasn't paying any attention to the pony that was adressing her. Something about Hay's chips being honest with their customers and not scamming them. Celestia's mind was currently preoccupied with Orion and all the mysteries behind him.
The greatest mystery was how could something transform somepony so completely that it would make them a true alicorn. Orion said he remebered hitting a tree made of crystal but that was about it. Could the Tree of Harmony truly be capable of something like that? But it still didn't make sense that the Tree of Harmony effectively created sompony capable of using chaos magic. Maybe the change was only physical and the chaos was already present within Orion? But what kind of creature has natural chaos magic besides Discord? Orion confessed he remembered his life before Equestria but still refused to reveal what he was before becoming an alicorn.
"The claims our chips are stale the moment they leave the factory is simply outrageous!"
"Your flank is outrageous." Celestia mumbled to herself, trying to imitate Orion's voice and it made her smile. Orion made her smile. It has been centuries since she felt that way around sompony. A true friend that treated her as an equal and didn't hold his tongue around her. Orion would speak his mind and even joke to an extent nopony would dare. Hay, he even tickled her to tears last night while calling her a fluffy princess.
His effect on Luna was also apparent. The dark alicorn has become more outgoing and talkative and it was thanks to Orion. The two spent much time together and even engaged in some mischief but the fact was that Luna made a friend. Her younger sister never had many friends, not even before her banishment. Luna would spend much of her time alone in Night Court and sleep during the day which was not a good way to make friends. She was also not as warm and welcoming as Celestia which made her hard to approach. But somehow Orion just trotted in and it was like the walls Luna build around herself were never there.
"Princess? Are you listening?" Serifa whispered to the solar alicorn.
"Nope." Celestia whispered back making Serifa sigh.
"Should I arrange an emergency escape?"
"I would be very thankful." Celestia smiled in appreciation.
"Ummm, excuse me, Sir Pringles?" Serifa addressed the pony who was defending his company, saying that Hay's chips is better than Doeritoes in every way. "Something urgent has come up and I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to attend Day Court tomorrow." the pony tchd and simply walked away without even bowing or saying goodbye. Not that Celestia cared, right now she just wanted to see Orion.
The Princess did a double take. Why did she want to see Orion? Why as a friend of course! Maybe share a joke or two, talk about that moral dillemma, attend his surprise party, perhaps grab dinner after that and maybe a goodbye kiss-
"Princess? Are you alright? You're looking a little red." Serifa asked when Celestia's cheeks tinted a little.
"What? Me? Haha! No! I'm fine! Not thinking about kissing anypony! Nope!" Celestia laughed awkwardly and stood up. "Let's get some cake! I could really use some cake!" she then briskly walked away from her throne and made her way to the kitchen. She did not have a crush on Orion, nuh-uh! The mind sometimes just wanders into strange territory. Orion was just a good friend and nothing more!
"What the hay?" Serifa asked and Sir Pringles suddenly appeared again.
"And another thing! Everytime somepony says hay we demand to be paid royalties as Hay's chips is a registered trademark and-" Serifa stopped listening the moment the stallion appeared before her eyes. Something was bothering her princess and she was going to find out what.
Princess Luna couldn't sleep yet again.
"Curses upon Orion and his coffee!" Luna growls and takes a big chug of the caffeine drink from her oversized cup. "I shall fill thine dreams with-" she suddenly stopped when a thought hit her. She never dreamwalked into Orion's dream. What did he even dream of? Did he dream of his past life? If so, maybe that's how she could find out what Orion was before becoming an alicorn. That information could greatly help them to unraveling the mystery of his arrival.
As soon as the thought appeared, Luna furiously shook it away. You don't invade your friends privacy.
"Friend..." Luna smiled at the thought. She hasn't had a friend in over a thousand years. Literally. There were some she could consider friends from before her banishment but they were long gone. Even after her return, Luna had trouble finding friends because she was having a hard time adapting to this new Equestria. The fact most ponies still feared her because of Nightmare Moon also didn't help. But Orion didn't care. She told him everything last night before the heist of the bunny slippers. He said that sometimes bad things happen to good ponies and it sucks but that he won't treat her differently because of that. His proof came when he asked if her butt got bigger as Nightmare Moon. Luna felt like she could talk to him about anything. If only Orion felt the same.
She understood that he wanted to keep some of his past to himself, whatever the reason may be, but Luna was ready to help. She felt a connection to him and felt they were in almost the same situation, finding themselves in a world that was not their own. Sure, Luna was from Equestria but this was not the same one she left all those centuries ago. Orion on the other hoof was a complete stranger to Equestria and needed somepony to guide him through it. They filled the gaps in each others knowledge. Luna taught him about ponies and Equestria, Orion taught Luna about modern speech and normal behavior. Apparently it was not okay to threaten somepony with the gallows as a joke.
In a world that she didn't understand and didn't understand her, Orion was a bridge that was slowly helping her find her place again as a princess of Equestria and as a pony. His presence made Luna's progress greater in the couple of days he's been spending time with her then all of her months since her return. Luna thought it would be appropriate to thank him for his kindness and friendship. Perhaps a nice dinner date would be-
"Date?" her train of thought came to a screeching stop before backtracking and taking a different turn. "Not a date. Perhaps more of a..." how do you call a dinner with a friend in whom you have no romantic interest but still hope for a kiss goodnight- "No! Absolutely not!" Luna shook her head furiously. "You are an adult and thou shall not act like a filly with a crush on a handsome, blue-eyed-" Luna facehoofed as her cheeks turned a shade darker. "Horsefeathers." she shook her head to clear it of all improper thoughts and git out of bed. "I must see Orion immediately." Luna stomped to her door. "And I will confirm I have no romantic interest in-" she opened the door. "Tia?" she blinked in surprise once she saw her sister at the door, her hoof up and just about to knock.
"Well, I am sorry I am not good enough for you." Celestia huffed and held her nose up. Luna rolled her eyes at her sisters antics.
"Thou hast been with Orion too much, dear sister."
"I could say the same about you." Celestia giggled and nuzzled her sister. "Speaking of, where is he?"
"I do not know." Luna replied and walked past Celestia. "Mayhaps you wish to join me on my search? I have some things to discuss with him." Celestia followed.
"Such as?" Luna's cheeks tinted a little which didn't go unnoticed by Celestia.
"Tis' none of thine business." Luna huffed. "And why are you looking for him?" now it was Celestia's turn to blush.
"I am not at liberty to discuss that information."
They continued their walk towards the place that was hosting Orion's surprise party. It was a quiet little cafe at the western part of Canterlot. The two sisters managed to escape the castle without the guards noticing, something that both of them remembered for later, and were a couple of hooves away from the entrance when they heard a loud rumbling.
"What is that?" Luna wondered before panicking. "TIA WATCH OUT!"" the door suddenly expanded like something big was trying to get out.
"I'M A GOOFY GOOBER!"
The two sisters stood no chance as the door burst open and a raging torrent of peanuts swept them away like a river accompanied by rock music. Celestia and Luna were tossed around in the peanut river while trying to get on top.
"Luna! Where are you?" Celestia cried out and her sister emerged from the heap.
"What madness is this?" Luna yelled out when suddenly Orion surfed past them on a table with his horn glowing red and black and Pinkie Pie laughing like crazy.
"You're a goofy goober!" Orion pointed to Celestia.
"ROCK!" Pinkie shouted with her hoof up.
"ORION!" both sisters called out but it was too late, Orion was already gone. Then Storm Breaker swept past them with a swollen and red face.
"I'M ALLERGIC BUT THIS IS AWESOME!"