Orion

by Wisher

Orion

~ ~ ~ Orion ~ ~ ~

“No. Forget it. I won’t do it.”

Antares shot him an incredulous look.

“Dude,” he said. “... Dude.”

“Forget it! I can’t, and I won’t!”

“Well, why not?”

“It’s… It’s not right.”

“Not right?!” said Antares. “Are you sure you got a good look at it?”

Taking a short breath, Orion slowly raised his head above the large boulder that he and his friend were hiding behind, one of few places of shelter in the barren desert they were in. He stopped when he could see the black shape of the enemy, standing out against the brick red earth. A rather large Changeling was silently scanning the area with a menacing glare.

Suddenly it turned around in their direction. Orion withdrew his head and swore.

“What? Did it see you?” asked Antares.

The earth pony looked back at him. Even fully clad in combat armor, there was a visibly serious look in his bright blue eyes. “If he had, we’d be running like hell right now.”

“We can do that later,” replied Antares. He pumped his shotgun. “I’m going in.”

“No!” replied Orion. “Let’s think about this!”

But he knew it was too late. Even in the shadow of the helmet’s brim, he could see that familiar glint of malice in Antares’s eyes. It was a spark that echoed the cheeky grin that the colt flashed him every time he was about to get into some sort of mischief, and nothing could hold him back now.

“I’d say we’ve thunked long enough,” he said. Before his friend could protest, Antares leapt over the boulder and made a dash towards the Changeling.

“Hey! Come get some, you scaly prick!” said Antares, his words followed by a loud and angry hiss.

“This is a bad idea,” muttered Orion before running towards the battlefield himself.

He galloped headlong towards his friend, who was busy taunting the Changeling as it buzzed around him like an angry wasp. Once he was close to them, Orion stopped in his tracks and pointed his own gun at the large creature. The beast was now easily in his line of view.

“C’mon!” yelled Antares. “Do it!”

Orion focused himself. The trigger suddenly felt heavy under his hoof. He trembled, and a bead of sweat ran shakily down one of his temples.

Alarmed by the sound of its prey, the Changeling spun round to find another pony aiming at it. With another hiss it dashed towards him.

“Shoot it!”

But Orion didn’t shoot, and his heart skipped a beat as the Changeling grew fast in his field of vision, the cold darkness of its maw revealing two sharp and glinting fangs.

Then everything went dark.

---

Game Over

His head swimming as he was brought back to reality, Orion took off the visor from his face. On the large screen of the booth in front of him, the two words shone blood red in the middle of a black background, above a series of high scores that his own paled in comparison to. He rubbed his eyes, feeling a migraine coming on from the various neon lights filling the arcade, its bright colors and electronic beeps and sounds, mingled with the agitated whispering of a crowd of foals that had gathered to watch them play Ponies v. Changelings.

“Celestia damn it!” yelled Antares to his left as he furiously snatched off his own visor and threw it against the screen of his own booth.

From behind the booths that were on the opposite side of their own, three little colts emerged, proudly cackling and mocking the older ponies they had just beaten.

“Yeah, yeah, keep on laughing you little shits!” spat an irritated Antares. “You just wait until we get a little more training on this one, we’ll see who’s laughing then!”

“C’mon, nevermind them,” Orion told him, feeling amused as the foals blew them raspberries. “They’re just kids.”

“Yeah, well at least we don’t have the nerve to play as the enemy... Somebody’s gotta teach these brats a lesson about respect!” grumbled Antares.

“D’you really wanna get thrown out for damaging property and assaulting other customers?”

Antares looked back at his friend. A smirk was slowly tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Oh no you don’t,” said Orion. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

The two colts left the arcade and stepped outside, exiting into one of Canterlot’s busiest streets. It was a gorgeous summer day; the sky was of a crisp blue, tinted with the everlasting hue of orange. The sun glowed warmly, and there was not a cloud to dull its shine, only the smooth crescent of the moon’s outline floating like a clear bubble of soap above the ground. All around them the hustle and bustle of Equestria’s heart roared, the great mass of ponies going hurriedly about their business, drifting in and out the various newly built office towers, restaurants, shops and other businesses that seemed to have been crammed in every available inch of space of the city’s streets and alleyways.

For a small moment, Orion felt as though he was suspended in time and space, his friend and him the only ones that weren’t running around or shouting with the mass before them. He raised his face towards the sky, closing his eyes for a few seconds. It felt nice to feel the hot sunshine warm his lavender coat after having been holed up in the arcade.

“Please tell me I was never like that,” said Antares next to him. Orion looked at his friend, a crimson earth pony whose constantly ruffled brown mane gave him an impression of always being on the run.

“I’m not even gonna pretend you and I weren't like that,” chuckled Orion. “Although in hindsight, you were probably worse.”

“Hahaha,” replied Antares dryly. “So what are you gonna do now, funny boy?”

“I’m going home,” said Orion. “Gonna spend the day with my mom. What about you?”

He turned to his friend, only to find a wide grin spread on his face, as was usual for the hot-headed earth pony. The glint in his eye had returned, and it was much stronger.

“I got... stuff to do,” said Antares. The cheeky tone and slight hesitation in his voice were not lost on Orion.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, amused.

“Eh, nothing much,” replied Antares, though Orion knew that couldn’t be true. “We can meet up later, if you want.”

“Sounds good,” said Orion. “See ya later.”

The two ponies went their separate ways, blending with the crowd.

“And oh, dude!” called out Antares. Orion turned around to find his friend waving at him. “Happy birthday!”

Orion grinned his thanks, and resumed his journey home.

---

As he turned around the corner of Crystal Avenue and Saint-Foal Street, Orion saw that he had arrived at his destination. It was on his way home, but he was going to take a little detour.

He was troubled.

He walked down the street until he arrived at a large stone church, out of which two or three ponies were quietly coming and going. Taking care not to make too much noise himself, he stepped inside through the great wooden door left ajar.

He found himself in the great hall of the church. It was a much cooler place, radiating a quiet and solemn aura that had a soothing effect on the young pony. There were a lot of these churches all around Canterlot, and had been ever since before he was born. They had all been built at around the same time, at the beginning of the Long Day. At that time, Canterlot itself was greatly in need of repair, and much of what it may have been in the past was now lost. Every now and again, Orion would spend some time in this church, when he felt his mind overflowing with too many troubling thoughts. He wouldn’t go about telling this to his friends, as he preferred to keep it a personal secret that the outside world would not be able to touch.

Dipping his hoof in a basin of holy water, which he dabbed on his forehead while bowing to the decorated window at the end of the hall, he quietly made his way to one of the benches that were lined up in the room.

He sat down and looked up at the large round window that shone like a beacon in the middle of dark walls of the church. The sun dazzled through the tinted glass, making colourful streaks of light in which specks of dust hung listlessly above the stone ground below. Orion looked for a few seconds at the great white mare that was painted there, giving him a soothing smile while her luscious mane flowed behind her. Next to her, on the bottom hand corners of the window, two other ponies were depicted. One was a mare of deep blue, shown half-shrouded in the night sky while the moon and stars danced above her, and the other a smiling purple mare, spreading her wings against the evening colours of twilight.

Every time Orion saw that familiar window, he thought to himself that he would very much have liked to meet these three regal ponies. But he knew one of them was no longer part of this world, and that the other two were rumored never to leave the great castle that was perched atop the city, the only ponies mysteriously hidden from view in a place where no one ever went in or about.

Life went on in Canterlot. But behind the happy faces and amidst the ups and downs of everyday life, there was a lingering fear that somewhere, the enemy might still be hiding behind pony traits… waiting for the princesses to show themselves once more.

Orion dispelled these unsettling thoughts and focused on kneeling and putting his forehooves together. Closing his eyes, he began to pray.

Dear Princess Celestia... Today I was at the arcade with my friend Antares. We were playing a virtual reality game where a team of combat ponies have to take out a group of Changelings. Not that you don’t know all of this of course…

I’m sorry. I couldn’t do it. I know I should have, but I couldn’t. I tried to tell myself that it was just a game… but I couldn’t shoot a Changeling in the back. I know they are bad; but they have feelings too. Somewhere far away, they have lives. Some are foals and young ponies, like me. Some lost parents and friends like we did, and I’m sure some of them didn’t want any of this to happen either. I couldn’t distance myself from that when I held one of them at gunpoint.

Does that make me a bad pony?

I was taught to be respectful of all living things. But I was also taught that the Changelings are the enemy, and that life here was much more peaceful before they ruined it. I don’t know what to do, or what I would do if it happened for real. I hope you are not upset with me.

I miss you, dad...

He was drawn out of his trance when he felt sunlight hitting his eyelid, and looked up. The sun had continued its course through the sky, and was now beaming onto him through the glass.

Orion got up quietly and headed towards the exit, feeling somewhat appeased. He took another bow towards the tinted glass before stepping back outside.

---

Much later that day, as the sky took on deeper hues, Orion was laying on his bed. His previous worries had vanished the moment he was greeted at home by his mother and showered with birthday gifts. He had spent a great afternoon with her, and was now reading a fascinating book on different habitable worlds as well as the theory of parallel dimensions and alternate realities, a subject he was particularly fond of.

Suddenly he heard the doorbell ring. After a few seconds of hesitation and being tempted by pretending he didn’t hear it, Orion got up and headed towards the stairs. He stopped when he heard his mother get to the door first, and returned to his room. Oh well, guess it wasn’t that important…

“Oh hello, Bella! What a nice surprise!”

Orion froze. If there was one pony he both wanted to see at all times and wished would be anywhere else than on his doorstep, it was her.

“Good evening, miss Andromeda,” chimed the delicate voice of the mare from downstairs. “I hope I’m not bothering you, but I was wondering if Orion was around?”

“Of course you’re not bothering me! And yes, Orion is--”

“Right here!” said Orion, dashing downstairs before his mother could finish her sentence.

She blinked. “Well, that was fast.”

Orion looked at her with a sheepish smile; secretly he had been eavesdropping on their conversation from the top of the staircase.

“Hello, Orion,” said Bella, which caused Orion to almost start.

“Oh! Hey! Hey, Bella! What’s up?” he asked awkwardly.

His mother giggled. “Well, I’ll let you two be. Have fun!” she said before retreating back into the living room.

“Thanks! Good evening!” said Bella.

Orion secretly wished his mother would have said she needed him at home right now, for any reason at all, as the shy colt found himself in a terribly awkward spot. He could hardly look at Bella; she was a mare with a pearly white coat and a mane of soft, natural blond with a single vivid yellow streak that echoed that of her eyes. It was uncomfortable for him to look at her for more than a second at a time, not only because she was the most beautiful pony Orion could think of -- She was also his best friend’s sister.

“Where’s Antares?” he asked. He regretted asking the question immediately as she gave him a confused look.

“He’s not here…” she said. “I came alone, I thought we could hang out together.”

“Oh! Uh, sure! Absolutely!” said Orion, feeling as though he’d just been struck by lightning. Seeing as her confusion only grew, he mentally slapped himself before taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. “I mean… Yeah. I’d like that,” he said.

“Great!” said Bella. “Let’s go to that big bakery downtown!”

“Cake & Cake’s? Why there?” asked Orion

“Uh… I dunno,” said Bella with a shrug. “Just thought… uh… y’know?”

It was Orion’s turn to be confused. Bella seemed surprisingly nervous all of a sudden. But he decided to brush it off; any place was a good place as long as she wanted to spend time there with him.

“Ok!” he said. “Sure, let’s go!”

Together they stepped out into the street and made their way to the bakery.

Comments

[Butterwings]

Orion looked for a few seconds at the great white mare that was painted there, giving him a soothing smile while her luscious mane flowed behind her. Next to her, on the bottom hand corners of the window, two other ponies were depicted. One was a mare of deep blue, shown half-shrouded in the night sky while the moon and stars danced above her, and the other a smiling purple mare, spreading her wings against the evening colours of twilight.

But what about Cadence?