The throne room was silent. Guards stared at the scene before them, some even dropping their spears from the initial shock. The gathered nobles who somehow got word of this urgent summon couldn't believe their greedy eyes. Princess Luna sat wide-eyed, her mind trying to make sense of what was happening but it simply could not do it. Celestia's mouth was partly opened, a slight frown on her features. It takes a lot, and I mean a lot to leave the solar princess speechless. Fancy Pants felt a little embarrassed at the scene he caused but it simply had to be done. He looked to his new friend who was clearly uncomfortable with the entire situation, his head hung very low to the red carpet, wings sagging on his sides in a useless fashion. Had his friend stood tall and proud as Fancy Pants knew he could, he would be as tall as Celestia herself, if not taller, and only a few inches taller than Luna. Taking a deep breath, Fancy Pants took one step forward and, once again, addressed the diarchs of Equestria.

"Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. " he said with a curt bow that the two alicorns barely registered "I believe it would be best if I explained how I found my friend here. You see, it was late at night when I heard noises coming from my backyard... "

For about two weeks now, the city of Canterlot has been terrorized by what has been dubbed The Phantom of Canterlot. The reason I say terrorized is because so far nopony has been hurt, injured or scared to death was because, well... Nopony has actually seen him. Strange noises became the norm on Canterlot nights and everytime somepony thought The Phantom was around, it turned out it was a stray cat or racoon. But the citizens knew better. Something was out there in the dark, lurking, waiting, going through the dumpsters and drinking out of their fountains. One stallion swore he saw it three nights ago drinking from the fountain on the main square. He said it was large and deffinitely had a horn too. But since it was an especially foggy night and the square was barely lit, the stallion was soon dissuaded by his neighbors and The Phantom became speculatiin once again.

Fancy Pants and his wife Fleur barely concerned themselves with the issue. Princess Luna personally lead a squad of her Night Guard to scour the streets and find this Phantom but when the search yielded no fruits, The Phantom was downgraded to a simple rumor being spread around by the chatty townsponies. But on this night, everything is about to change as a nice dinner was interrupted by strange noises coming from the backyard.

"Honey, could it be The Phantom? " Fleur asked with a worried look.

"Nonsense, my dear." Fancy chuckled and adjusted his monocle "Princess Luna made sure that nothing was lurking the streets at night and I believe-"

WHAM

"OW! Son of a-" both Fancy's and Fleur's eyes turned to pinpricks as their head slowly turned towards the door that lead to the backyard. One of Fleur's ears perked up hen she heard rummaging sounds.

"It's The Phantom! It's going through our trash just like everypony said it does!" Fleur pointed a hoof towards the door before dashing to her husbands side "We must inform the guards! "

"C-calm down, Fleur. I am sure it's just a racoon. " Fancy nuzzled his wife's cheek but the mare pulled back.

"Racoon's don't talk! " she waved her hooves frantically.

"Maybe he's a talking racoon? " Fancy said with a sheepish smile to which his wife responded with a deadpan look.

"Go. " she pointed her right forehoof towards the door and Fancy sighed in defeat.

"Alright. I shall go out and face this Phantom like a stallion. " he puffed out his chest and trotted towards the door "And by doing so I shall also put to rest this Phantom nonsense. " a bluish glow engulfed the doorknob and Fancy soon found himself in the dark backyard of his house. He peered into the darkness, listening for any sound that may come his way.

CRUNCH

There was something there with him. And it was eating. Fancy swallowed the lump in his throat and bravely took a step forward.

"T-t-to who-o-over is out there, I m-must inform you I have had guard training. " he said shakily and took another step "Hello? Can you hear me? "

CRUNCH

"Dem's some good apples. " Fancy rolled his eyes. Not only was the creature ignoring him, it was eating while doing it. Feeling a little queazy when Fancy realized it was eating out of his dumpster, the unicorn used his horn to create a light to see better.

"I'm talking to... You... Creature... " as the light began to reveal more and more, Fancy's jaw was slowly opening in shock. The Phantom was large and the first thing Fancy saw was a pair of gray hind-legs with black hooves and a straw blonde tail, though both were covered in dirt and trash. There was no sign of a Cutie Mark which was strange given that the stallion appeared to be an adult. Fancy thought it was an unusually big earth pony but then he saw wings, lazily hanging from the stallions body, his front legs holding on to the edge of the dumpster. And then came the detail that almost caused Fancy to faint. While the stallion was going through his dumpster, Fancy could see long mane that matched the tail in color, but the true shock came when he saw a horn on the Phantom's head. Fancy stood frozen on the spot, his eyes locked on the large stallion going through his trash. He stood there for about a minute when the stallion turned his head to look at him. The stallion's muzzle had a fading black front and his blue eyes looked tired and weary. There was a red bandanna wrapped around his neck that was also covered in dirt.

"Did I wake you? Sorry, didn't meant to do that. " the stallion pushed back and to Fancy's surprise almost fell over, as if his legs weren't listening to him. His wings were hanging limply from his body and his legs were wobbling beneath him. The stallion's head was hung low as well, even lower than Fancy's who stood straight "Alright, go ahead, gawk at the abomination. " the stallion said and blew away the mane that got into his eyes "Stupid hair... " Fancy shook his head before blinking at the stallion.

"A-abomination? " he asked flabergasted.

"Freak of nature? Mutant? Take your pick. " the stallion slowly turned and began walking away, his steps very uncertain.

"W-what are you talking about? " Fancy folllowed him, not that it was hard at the pace he was going.

"Or you could scream. That's what the first one did-WHOA! " the stallion tripped over himself but Fancy managed to stop his fall by using his magic "Thanks, but, I should really be going. " the stallion nodded before trying to make his escape.

"Are you alright? Do your legs hurt? " Fancy was once again by his side in case he tripped again.

"My legs are fine, just, I don't kno-forgot, yes, forgot how to use them? " he answered with an awkward smile.

"Forgot how-, did you hit your head? "

"Oh yeah. Smashed right into a tree made of crystal. " he nodded "But that was weeks ago. Look, sorry for waking you and everything, but I really gotta' go before someone finds me. "

"Someone? Don't you mean somepony? "Fancy asked with a confused look and the stallion shrugged shortly "And what is this abomination talk? "

"Look at me! I'm huge, have both wings and a horn! " the stallion turned harshly but lost his balance in the process. Luckily Fancy stopped his fall once again "Thanks. Stupid legs... " he muttered before continuing "I mean, from what I saw there are normal ponies, unicorn's and pegasi and I look like a mix of all three! And everytime someone saw me they either screamed, stared, ran like the wind or, my personal favorite, fainted. So before you drag me off to some cell or I dunno', a lab, at least be a sport and give me a head start cuz' this-" he looked at his unsteady legs "-is embarrassing. " Fancy stared at the stallion with wide eyes before a sympathetic looked took over.

"My dear colt... You don't even know what you are. "

"I'm sure you're about to tell me. " the stallion rolled his eyes.

"You are an alicorn. " Fancy couldn't believe he said that but everything about the stallion pointed to that one conclusion.

"Huh. I honestly thought it'd be a more... Disturbing name for my condition. "

"C-condition? What you are is not a condition! " Fancy reeled back in shock "You are an alicorn! You combine the best pony-kind has to offer! Strength of earth ponies, wings of pegasi and magic of unicorns! How could you not know that? "

"Hit my head, remember? "

"Oh, right. " Fancy chuckled awkwardly before speaking again "Listen, I can't possibly in good conscience let you continue living like this. "

"I've been doing just fine. "

"Absolutely not! " Fancy stomped his hoof and the stallion flinched "I insist you come inside, have a proper dinner and for Celestia's sake please have a bath! "

"Celestia? Who's that? Like your god or something? " the stallion asked tilting his head and Fancy face-hoofed.

"You really don't know who Celestia is? " the stallion shook his head "She's the ruler of Equestria, alongside her sister Luna? "

"Nada." Fancy sighed deeply before nudging the stallion towards his house.

"Just out of curiosity, why don't you use your magic? "

"I don't know how. " the stallion replied simply and Fancy's heart sank a little. This stallion really needed help.

"Then, what is your name? " he saw the stallion flinch a little "You don't remember that either? "

"Uhhh... No? " he replied sheepishly and Fancy simply nodded.

"I see. Well, don't you worry, I'm sure the princessess will be able to help you. " Fancy patted his shoulder with a hoof and the stallion lost his balance again "Sorry! "

"Fancy? Is everything alright? " he saw his wife slowly opening the door "You've been out here a long... Time... And... " her expression matched the one her husband had upon seeing the alicorn in his backyard.

"Honey, we will be having a guest. Would you be so kind and give him a proper dinner while I write an urgent letter to the princessess? " Fleur didn't move from her spot and contunued to stare at the alicorn her husband brought to the door " And please close your mouth, darling, lest a bird flies inside.

As Fancy said, Fleur made dinner for their new guest and as a safety prcaution the alicorn suggested they fill their large bathtub, not trusting himself to use a shower without flooding the house. Fancy was kind enough to dry him and his bandana with a simple spell before they showed him to the guest room. It didn't take long for the alicorn to fall asleep as it was the first real bed he's slept in after a long time.

Come morning, Fancy and his alicorn friend made their way towards the castle to see if the princessess could shed some light on the situation.

"Everyone's staring. " the alicorn said to Fancy, his entire posture hunched and head once again as low as it could go, like he wanted to appear as small as possible.

"Well, you are an alicorn. " Fancy stated as he observed ponies whispering, pointing and some even fainting " And a male one at that. "

"So? " the alicorn asked with a raised brow.

"So? My friend, there has never been a male alicorn. Ever. " Fancy stated with grave importance.

"So I am a freak of nature. "

"What? Dear Celestia no! You are... " he waved his hoof around, trying to find the right word "Unique. "

"Unique. Right. " the alicorn rolled his eyes before they widened in horror "Oh fuck... " Fancy didn't understand what he meant, though he assumed it was a curse word, but one look forward told him all he needed to know.

"Stairs. " Fancy sighed, contemplating wether or not he should just levitate the alicorn to the top.

"My mortal enemy. " the alicorn took a tenative step and put a hoof on the first step "This will hurt me a lot more than it will-WHOA!" a sudden case of vertigo caught him as he was lifted off the ground.

"And after that, we come to the here and now. " Fancy motioned to the male alicorn that made himself comfortable by sitting on his haunches "It would appear he suffered head trauma recently since he can't fly, can't use his magic and doesn't even remember his own name. "

"Umm, actually... " all eyes turned to the sitting alicorn who finally held his head high "I think I've got something... "

"Oh? Well, by all means then. " Fancy smiled widely and patted the alicorn on the shoulder "I would like to know the name of my new friend. " and for the first time since Fancy met him, the alicorn was genuinely smiling.

"My name is... Orion. Yes, Orion Pax! And... I come from the far land of Terra! He he! Heh... Orion Pax? Seriously? Why didn't I just say Optimus Prime? And Terra? Stupid! Stupid!" luckily, nopony heard his little rant and if Fancy's smile could wrap around his head it would have.

"It's nice to meet you, Orion. " the unicorn then turned towards the two flabbergasted princessess "Dear atendees of the Court! May I present to you the fabled Phantom of Canterlot, the first male alicorn to ever walk Equestria and my personal friend, Sir Orion Pax from the far away land of Terra! " his grand introduction received no response as everypony was still trying to wrap their heads around the fact a male alicorn was among them. A long and awkward silence followed before Celestia, finally, managed to speak again.

"Huh... "

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..."

"Let's see if I got this right." Orion said while hugging his puking vase like a teddy "Your mother made a law."

"About a thousand years ago, before we came to rule, yes." Celestia nodded.

"Which says only an alicorn can marry you or Luna and worst of all, you can't say no to a official proposal."

"Many believe it's stallion only but it's not exactly specified. And being unable to say no was forcefully added in by the nobility during one of our hardest times, lest we risk Equestria falling back into tribes."

"Right." Orion nodded before continuing."So, she feared someon-pony, somepony, would take advantage of their newly gained position if they married you."

"It was the founding of Equestria and ambitions, along with greed, were high." Celestia explained.

"And so she just casually slipped that little law into the founding documents of Equestria."

"Right between Pest control and Waste management." Celestia said with a deadpan look "A little insulting, but ultimately succesful."

"Clever girl." Orion muttered to himself.

"She was, yes." Celestia confirmed with a small smile and that's all Orion needed to know "Nopony bothered much with it since they thought it was for appearances only, having two alicorns as rulers."

"What they didn't know was that only fem-mares, dammit, could become alicorns, birth or ascend."

"My mother, sister and I were the only natural born alicorns." she said proudly "It was a known fact that you could ascend to alicorn status so everypony thought they would ascend at some point. But mother knew better."

"And now all of you think I came here to marry you and become king?" Orion got a nod in response "Hmm..." he stared hard into his vase, deep in thought.

"Orion?" Fancy asked, trying very hard not to vomit from the smell coming from the vase."What's the matter?"

"Well, I'm thinking how laughing in the face of an immortal ruler is not the best idea."his answer got Orion confused looks from Celestia and Fancy."I mean, you realize how ridiculous this sounds, right?"

"I assure you, the laws of Equestria are no laughing matter."Celestia said with a serious look.

"Well yeah, but this whole situation?"Orion spread his front legs wide."Just because I'm a guy, everyone thinks I'm here to marry you."

"Are you?" Celestia asked with a stern look.

"No!"Orion shot back loudly."Trust me, marriage is the last thing on my mind right now. I thought I was the only aleecorn-"

"Alicorn." Celestia corrected.

"Alicorn, until Fancy brought me to meet you two."he pointed a hoof to Fancy."And now there's all this talk about marriage, becoming king, defiling you and whatnot."

"I apologize for my sisters behavior on the last one." Celestia said but Orion rolled his eyes."Luna is the more suspicious one between us and she was merely trying to protect us from another impostor."

"Yeah well, you have no reason to fear clumsy ol' me."Orion said before a thought struck him."Speaking of, what happens if a pony manages to trick you? Makeup has come pretty far these days."

"Ancient magic woven into the law will bring a terrible fate upon the impostor."Celestia said flatly."But ponies still try nontheless."

"I seem to recall some very convincing alicorns come to court."Fancy said thoughtfully."Was it Silver Tongue who thought painting on wings was a good idea?"

"Seriously?" Orion asked with a raised brow.

"I believe my favorite was Clean Bill with that paper tube horn."Celestia chuckled lightly.

"Wow. That's just lazy."Orion looked inside of his vase and decided it was time to let go of it."Look, think what you will but I'm telling you right now I have absolutely no intention of marrying you or Luna."

"Why? Is there something wrong with us?"Celestia asked in a challengeing tone.

"That's a trick question, right?" Orion asked with a raised brow and Celestia smirked in response.

"It would seem your higher brain functions are working properly."Orion rolled his eyes at that stab."Which brings me to the next topic. I'm willing to give you the benefit of doubt until your mind is fully healed. So far your actions showed that you have no evil intentions, however, I have been deceived before." Celestia then gave him a stern look "Should you prove to be a danger to my little ponies I will send you to the moon."

"You can do that?"Orion received a short nod in response which made him gulp."I'll keep that in mind."

"Good."Celestia nodded aprovingly."Now, I believe you were promised some lunch?"

"Actually, I think I'll skip lunch for now."Orion looked at the vase."Vomit and all that."Celestia's and Fancy's nose scrunched up a little but said nothing."I'll just go to bed if that's okay."

"Very well. I will see that somepony comes to get you for dinner."Orion shook his hoof so-so."In the morning then."Celestia smiled and opened the door to Orion's room."Sir Fancy Pants, I thank you for bringing him here. I assure you we will do everything in our power to aid your friend's recovery."Fancy bowed to his princess before speaking.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."he then turned to Orion."Well my boy, I believe this is goodbye for now. Should you ever need anything, you know where to find me."

"Thanks Fancy. For everything."Orion raised his right hoof and after a curious look, Fancy smiled and bumped hooves with him.

"Don't mention it. You're in capable hooves here, Orion."Fancy looked to Celestia again."If anypony can help you, it would be princesses Celestia and Luna."

"Not so sure about the blue one."Orion muttered.

"Luna will come around eventually."Celestia said calmly."She's been gone a long time and it's difficult for her to... Accept new things, as it were."

"Until then, avoid in a wide radius. Got it."Orion saluted and Celestia rolled her eyes. The gray alicorn was not very comfortable around the Lunar princess and he wanted everypony to know it. Celestia stood before Orion and raised one hoof in the air, her face a hard mask of determination.

"Rest now, Orion Pax, for tomorrow, we will begin piecing together your memories."Celestia declared in a grandiose manner before giggling."Toodles!"and with that she was out the door, leaving Orion to stare after her in confusion.

"That was weird."Orion received a shrug from Fancy.

"I have heard that at times she can be a bit... Loopy, is the word."Fancy said thoughtfully."After ruling for thousands of years, I suppose one has to make their own entertainment from time to time."

"If I lived for a thousand years I'd become Sheogorath or something."Orion said with a snort but then a thought hit him."Wait. I'm an alicorn..."he slowly turned his gaze towards Fancy who offered a sympathetic smile in return. Orion's ears drooped and paired with a horrified expression."Puta madre..."

"Is that an expression from your home?"Fancy asked with a tilted look.

"Sort of."Orion looked down and let the realization of being almost immortal sink in. But it will not sink in for a long, long time. Sensing his friends troubles, Fancy placed a forehoof on Orion's shoulder.

"Listen, I may not know much about alicorns but I know about friendship. And for as long as I live I will be your friend."Orion slowly lifted his gaze towards Fancy."if you want to talk about anything, anything at all, you know ehere to find me."this caused Orion to smile a little.

"Thanks Fancy. I'll keep that in mind."he then chuckled."then again, by the time I wobble over to your place I'll already forget what I wanted to talk about."

"You could always ask Princess Celestia to teleport you."

"But your walls look better in light blue than vomit green."both stallions shared a laugh before Fancy said his goodbyes and left Orion in his new room alone. The gray alicorn took in his surroundings before slumping to the floor in exhaustion.

"Why did this happen?"Orion let out a long breath."I mean, I could have died but still. Magical pony world? And an alicorn?"he then looks nowhere in particular."That's just lazy writing." he somehow rolled over on his back, the feat being easier now that his wings were bandaged to his body.

"Should I just tell them I'm not an alicorn? Maybe they could find me a way home. Or string me up by the balls. Who knows? Life is like a box of chocolates."he rolled over to his side and faced the balcony."But it's all so cutesy here. Rainbows and sunshine as far as the eye can see. If I could choose, I'd go to Skyrim."he then cracked a smile."To my vampire waifu."and then he was back on his belly."I'd probably die at the chopping block though."this statement soured his mood again so he decided to get some fresh air on the balcony.

It took some effort but he finally managed to get on the balcony and took a peek at Canterlot through the stone railings. The city was bustling with activity and he even saw Fancy Pants leaving the castle. He wanted to call out to him but decided against it so he doesn't draw unnecessary attention to himself. Surveying the city further he even saw ponies singing and dancing in perfect sync, something he witnessed a couple times before. And as he stood there watching, he felt a feeling arise deep from his heart. An unexplainable desire that needed to be satisfied lest he burst to pieces.

"I need booze."

Luna sat in the Royal garden, enjoying the silence of her night and reflecting on todays events. A true alicorn stallion has appeared before her and Celestia, after all the fakes that came before. Should Orion make an official proposal they would have no choice but to accept and that did not sit well with the princess. She could hire somepony to, umm, khm, make him un-alive, but that was beneath her. Luna could very well do that herself.

"Castration."that was apparently the best course of action. Orion would be king but he wouldn't be able to hump the royal rump. Luna nodded in satisfaction as the notion pleased her greatly. Spreading her wings and getting ready for a quick, relaxing flight around Canterlot she heard noise coming from the castle entrance behind her. Turning her head towards the noise, Luna's expression quickly turned sour once she saw Orion coming down the last few of the stone stairs, stepping on them like each one could be his last. Orion's eyes caught her's and he froze in place.

"What art thou doing here so late? Tis' almost midnight."Orion's eyes went wide once he heard what time it was.

"Almost midnight?"he almost yelled and this took Luna by surprise."You mean to tell me I've been going down the stairs for the past three hours?"Luna didn't even try to hold back her laughter and almost fell over.

"That is the funniest and most pathetic thing We hve seen in our life!"Orion glared at the dark blue alicorn before speaking.

"Careful Luna, or I just might ask you to marry me."Luna's eyes shrank to pricks before she cast a deadly gaze towards Orion.

"Do not even joke about that, you fil-"

"Then shut the fuck up and show me the way out of here."Orion growled while succesfully besting the last stair. His words took Luna by surprise.

"Out? Out where?"

"Out of the castle! Canterlot! Anywhere!"

"But... Why?" Luna was now carefully approaching Orion.

"Because this is a daring escape, that's why!"Orion shot back and just chose a random direction and began walking."I wouldn't even be here if you ponies had some decent booze."

"You mean alcohol?"Luna was now right beside Orion and for some unknown reason, to her at least, kept Orion steady with her magic."Thine room has the finest selection of cider from all over Equestria."

"Yeah well, it didn't do jack for me. Hang on, that's a lie. I just had to pee a lot. Sorry about the mess."

"How vulgar."Luna said while her nose scrunched.

"How prissy."Orion deadpanned and before Luna could counter he continued."Not only that, who the hell makes such a large castle without an elevator? It's a wonder I didn't trip and tumbled down."

"T'woukd have saved thee a lot of time."Luna smirked and Orion snorted.

"Funny but also true."

"Why dost thou want to leave?"Luna asked as they walked through the gardens in no particular direction.

"Because I don't belong here."Orion sighed."And all this talk about marriage and becoming king is just crazy. I don't want to marry you or your sister."Luna raised a brow and looked down to Orion.

"And pray tell, why?"Orion caught the challenging tone in her voice and decided to bite. Taking a look back towards Luna's rump he smirked.

"My anaconda don't want none unless you've got buns hun."Luna's jaw fell open and Orion huffed victoriously before wobbling away. Luna shook her head and quickly followed Orion."You still didn't apologize for almost choking me."

"We are still considering it."Orion rolled his eyes and continued forward. After a few more wobbly steps, Luna couldn't watch the sorry excuse of an alicorn any longer and jumped in front of him.

"Move."

"Nay! We cannot watch this any longer!"she stomped her hoof hard on the ground."Whatever your motives may be, thou art an alicorn and should behave as such!"she trotted around him gracefully."Stand tall and pround with thine head held high!"

"Calm down, Vegeta."

"Here!"she took Orion with her magic and put him in the proper posture, elicting a surprise yelp from Orion."We shall teach you to walk properly so thine next daring escape may go better."

"Can't you just teleport me out of town?"Orion asked as Luna stood next to him, her stance mirroring his.

"As much as it would please us to have you out of our mane, Tia would not approve."Orion was somewhat grateful that at least one Celestia showed some interest in trying to help."Thus, we shall teach you the sacred art of walking so that thee may escape while we just so happen to look the other way."she gave Orion a knowing look and the gray alicorn smirked.

"Make yourself look good while also getting rid of an annoyance. How princessy."Orion managed to take a few steps before falling flat on his snout.

"How coltish."Luna raised him back up with magic, took a deep breath and slowly made the first step forward."One hoof at a time."

As Celestia's Sun rose above the horizon, it was time for the citizens of Equestria to begin their daily lives. Shops are being opened, colts and fillies are going to school and the birds are happily chirping in the trees. However, for the staff of Canterlot castle had to be awake before sunrise so that they could tend to their duties as soon as the day began.

One such staff member was Honey Comb, a cream colored earth pony mare with a brown mane. Last night when duties were being assigned, Princess Celestia hoofpicked her to be Orion's personal maid! A true alicorn stallion was staying in the castle and she was going to be his personal maid. How great was that? She heard from the other maids he was quite the looker too.

"Of course he is. He's an alicorn!" Honey said giggling to herself while trotting happily towards Orion's room. The days of tending to the obnoxious Blueblood were finally up! "Better not mess this up. " she said with determination as she reached her destination. Taking a deep breath she readied herself and knocked on the door. "Good morning, Prince Orion! My name is Honey Comb and I will be your personal maid for the remainder of your stay!" she got silence in response. Clearing her throat, Honey knocked once again. "Excuse me, Prince Orion! It is morning and I must ask you to join Princess Celestia and Princess Luna for breakfast!" again, nothing. "I'm coming in." She swung the door open and was met with a peculiar sight.

Sure enough, there was Orion, sleeping on the bed but in a pose nopony slept in. He was on his back, legs half bent and grasping on air. His tongue hung lazily from his muzzle as he snored lightly. It made him look like a dog that was having a nice dream by the way his legs were twitching. As Honey Comb observed the sleeping stallion and her gaze traveled along his sleeping form, she couldn't help but see-

"Oh..." Honey turned away with a hard blush. She expertly, without looking, pulled back the cover over his exposed stallionhood before clearing her throat. "Good morning!"

"GAAAH!" Orion screamed before graciously landing on the floor. "What? Where's the fire?" he looked around in panic before his eyes landed on Honey Comb. "Who the heck are you?" the maid flinched a little at his tone and choice of words but remained calm.

"My name is Honey Comb and I have been assigned by Princess Celestia to be your personal maid." she stated proudly as Orion eyed her suspiciously. "It is a great honor to be in your service, Prince Orion Pax."

"A babysitter. Great." Orion rolled his eyes and got up on his hooves.

"Wha- No! I am not your foalsitter!" She stomped her hoof in protest. "As a maid, my job is to make sure you have everything you need and make your stay as pleasant as possible, Prince Orion."

"I don't need a maid." Orion rolled his eyes and went about to put on his red scarf/table cloth thingy.

"Princess Celestia said you might say that, but unfortunately her orders go above yours, Prince Orion."

"Would you stop with the prince thing? I'm not a prince." Orion said with a little annoyance and it left Honey Comb dumbfounded.

"But you are an alicorn!"

"So?"

"That makes you a prince!"

"How and why?" Orion stood before Honey Comb, actually interested to hear why she thought that, but the height difference and his imposing stature made the maide a tad skittish.

"W-well... You see..." now that she thought about it, did it really?

"See? I'm not a prince so stop calling me one. Orion will do just fine." he smiled at the mare and she visibly relaxed. What caught him off-guard was when she smiled mischeviously.

"Well, Orion, since you're not a prince then, that means Princess Celestia's order is absolute." the look of surprise on the stallions face was priceless.

"Clever girl." Honey smiled widely in response and Orion chuckled. "Fine, you're my maid. Now what?" Honey stood straight and proud of her achievment.

"You are to join their royal highness's for breakfast."

"Hope I make it there before lunch." he patted Honey on the shoulder before walking past her. "Lead the way."

"Um, yes!" she trotted up beside him and motioned for him to folllow. "This way, down the stairs." she casually went down but the lack of hoof sounds behind her caused her to stop and turn around. "Is everything alright?"

"I hate stairs." Orion took a careful step forward "One hoof at a time..." watching him slowly but surely descend the stairs, Honey Comb remembered the briefing Princess Celestia gave them. Orion suffered a harsh head injury and he was basically re-learning everything, even walking. Honey quickly got back to his side and made sure that if Orion tripped, she would be there to catch him.

"So, a maid?" Orion asked trying to keep his tone casual but he was still betrayed by a certain edge it had. "What made you pick up the feather duster?"

"My family has been part of the castle staff for generations." Honey replied proudly and almost had a heart attack when one of Orion's hoof slipped on the edge of a stair. Luckily, he managed to prevent himself from tumbling down and acted like nothing happened.

"And you felt it natural to continue the tradition." Orion stated and Honey frowned.

"You make it sound like a bad thing." she then held her head high. "I'll have you know that serving the royal sisters is a great honor and privilege! Making sure our delightful rulers have their sheets changed and meals made by professionals, in a timely manner, gives them more time to properly lead our country!"

"Last I heard you can't lead a country if you make your own breakfast." Orion replied sarcastically.

"Yes, well, the pay's not bad either." Honey replied sheepishly and Orion smirked briefly. "You sound like you don't like royalty."

"I have different views on resource management." Orion replied and heroically braved the last step. "But that's just personal opinion."

"Then how do you rule your country?" Honey asked, making Orion roll his eyes.

"I'm not a ruler."

"As far as you can remember." Hone smiled brightly and made her way to the dining room.

"Oh I remember pretty well..." Orion mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" Honey asked while turning around.

"I said what's that smell?" Honey was sure she heard something completely different but decided to go along with it.

"Why, breakfast of course!" she said in a cheery tone and trotted towards a great wooden door. Not as big as the throne room's one but if he had to guess, it was about two heights of him. Honey opened the door and went inside, closely followed by Orion. He noticed a common theme in the castle. Very high ceilings.

"Must be a pain to clean all this." Orion mused while taking in the grand scale of a simple dining room as Honey excused herself and left to her other duties.

"That is why we have magic, mister Orion." came the voice of Celestia from the head of the table and Orion noticed the distinct lack of blue needs-anger-management pony. "Good morning. I hope you have slept well."

"Mornin'." the present guards and maids were a little taken aback by his casual tone but since Celestia said nothing, neither did they. "It was fine I guess. Had a little meeting with your sister."

"Oh, did she come into your dreams? I specifically told her not to!" Celestia scrunched her brows in disapproval.

"Luna can do that?" Orion asked while sitting down on a pillow to Celestia's left.

"She is the guardian of dreams after all." Celestia responded kindly and Orion blinked in disbelief.

"Oooookay... Ignoring that terrifying bit of info, what's for breakfast?" Orion looked over the table and found an assortment of toast, jams, fruits, cereals and basically anything that would make for a nutritious breakfast. Except bacon...

"Coffee." both heads turned to the door and there stood Luna, her mane disheveled and bags under her eyes.

"Good morning, dear sister." Celestia greeted her but Luna just mumbled something before sitting on Celestia's right and plopped down muzzle-first onto the table. "How was the night?" Celestia was met with another round of mumbling.

"Who pooped in your cereal this morning?" Orion asked with a raised brow getting a chuckle out of Celestia and an annoyed grumble from Luna.

"She's like that before she has her morning coffee." Celestia clarified and took a sip of her tea. Orion looked between the tea cup and Luna for a while before speaking.

"Can I have some coffee?" Celestia stopped mid-sip and Luna's ears perked up.

"You want coffee?" Celestia asked and Orion nodded.

"Mmmmhm. Hadn't had any for a while." he replied casually and, using skills he learned last night, expertly grabbed a piece of toast with his right forehoof. A simple look from Celestia to a nearby maid told the unicorn mare everything she needed to know and she rushed off to the kitchen. "Sooo what do we do after?"

"Well, I thought I would give you a tour of the castle to minimize the risk of you getting lost."

"That's actually a good idea. This thing's like a maze." Celestia chuckled and remembered her early days here. It was indeed easy to get lost here.

"Also, you will be glad to know that I sent word to Ponyville to find the pony who helped you."

"Pony?" Orion asked in confusion.

"Why Nibbler of course."

"Oh..." Orion said before shaking his head. "You won't find him."

"I have much confidence in my guards." Celestia replied.

"I'm sure you do but you sent them looking for a pony." Celestia tilted her head in confusion. "He's a squirrel."

"Oh! I just assumed he was a pony. How silly of me." she looked to a guard who nodded in response and dashed off to inform the search party. "And just out of curiosity, a squirell?"

"Well, you see-"

"AUNTIE CELESTIA!" the annoying screech that came from the hallway made Orion's ears slap down on his head and in walked a unicorn stallion with a white coat and blonde mane and what appeared to be just the top of a tuxedo. As soon as the stallions eyes landed on Orion, the alicorn felt violated. "Oh my word!" the stallion rushed towards him. "It is a great honor to meet you, Prince Orion!"

"I'm not-"

"My name is Prince Blueblood!" Orion's hoof was taken from him in a vigorous shake.

"Nice to-"

"When I heard stories about a new alicorn, and a stallion no less, I merely chalked it up to pleb gossip!"

"Pleb-"

"But here you are! Oh and might I say how magnificent you look this morning under my dear auntie's bright Sun!"

"Auntie Ce-"

"Your choice of attire is a bit concerning but I suppose that's how royalty dresses in the far away land of Terra!"

"It's not-"

"Oh but where are my manners?"

"Nowhere."

"I shall let you enjoy breakfast to the fullest and then I shall give you a grand tour of the castle and explain who's who in Canterlot!"

"Actually-"

"No need to be modest! You are royalty and therefore should act like it!"

"But I-"

"Would like to finish breakfast? Yes, I understand and I shall bother you no longer. I'm taking my leave, Prince Orion." Blueblood nodded curtly to a dumbfounded Orion. "Auntie Celestia." he smiled sickeningly sweet to the white alicorn who smiled in return. "Aunite Luna." his tone changed completely and was cold as ice.

"Freeloader." came to reply from the midnight alicorn and Orion snorted in amusement. Blueblood's eyes narrowed towards Luna but he said nothing more before trotting out. Orion noticed the staff breathing a sigh of relief.

"Well, that was our nephew, Prince Blueblood." Celestia clarified as Orion remained staring at the door.

"I have the strangest urge to neuter him." Orion mused and just then the coffee arrived. One cup was placed before Orion and one in front of Luna.

"Ha! A sentiment we share!" Luna's head shot up from the table and she downed her coffee in an instant. The maid was prepared for it and immediately refilled the cup.

"For the life of me, I simply cannot understand how you can drink that vile concoction." Celestia said with a scrunched muzzle.

"As I do not understand your infinite need for cake." Luna replied nonchalantly. "Dare I say, did you get a bigger pillow, oh sister of mine?" Celestia's cheeks turned red.

"It's the same one! It's just worn with use!"

"Widened, you mean." Celestia puffed her cheeks and huffed.

"It's the drink of the gods, princess Celestia." Orion said with a smug smirk and emptied the contents of his small cup. But then he stopped as his eyes widened in complete horror and he promptly spat out the drink.

"Drink of the gods you say?" Celestia asked smugly while Orion was gagging.

"What the hell is this?" Orion looked at the maid who was waiting to refill another cup for Luna should the need arise.

"Umm, coffee, your highness?" she replied rather uncertainly.

"It's dog piss it's what it is!" Orion jumped to his hooves and the entire room was taken aback by his behavior. "To the kitchen! Now!" the unicorn mare shrunk a little under Orion's size and nodded timidly.

"R-r-right this way, your highness!" Celestia was about to protest when Luna shoved her hoof into her muzzle.

"Let us see where this goes." Celestia's brows scrunched up in confusion but she went along with her sister's request. Following after Orion and the maid, Luna was impressed by the stallions improving walking skills. Not long after the reached the kitchen and Orion looked at the maid.

"Who made that abomination you call coffee?"

"H-h-he did, your highness!" the mare quickly pointed to the chef responsible and Orion marched over.

"Who dares to come into my kitchen and-!" the head chef immediately paled when he saw Orion towering over him.

"Coffee. Now." Orion all but snarled at the head chef who immediately jumped to work with Orion following his every move.

"Was there something wrong with the coffee today?" Celestia didn't like the stuff so she had to ask Luna if it was more vile today than ever before.

"Good as always I suppose." Luna shrugged and observed Orion watching over the chef like a hawk.

First, the chef put some water on the stove, in a kettle of course, so far so good. Then he took some beans and let Orion take a whiff and give his approval. Those were the best smelling coffee beans Orion's ever had the pleasure of smelling. The alicorn nodded firmly and the chef breathed a sigh of relief. Getting back to the stove, Orion noticed the water was already boiling and simply wrote it off to magic. That's when it happened. The chef just dumped a hoof-full of beans into the boiling water and that was that. He looked at Orion for approval but paled in horror when he saw the alicorn's eye twitching.

"What did you do?" Orion asked menacingly.

"C-coffee, sire! I-"

"That's not how coffee is made!" Orion roared and the staff flinched.

"W-well, it's a new drink and we're still figuring out-" Orion took the kettle and promptly threw it across the kitchen into the sink.

"Are you trying to poison us?"

"No! Of course not! I-"

"POT! WATER!" the chef wasted no time and poured water into a new, clean pot and waited for new instructions. " TWO TEASPOON OF SUGAR!" Orion roared in his best drill seargent voice and and the chef did as told. "ON THE STOVE WITH IT!" the chef placed the pot on the flames and stood to attention. "GRIND THE BEANS INTO POWDER! HURRY UP!" a small grinder was presented and the chef hastily ground the surprisingly already roasted beans into powder. Just as the first bubble rose up Orion continued. "TAKE IT OFF!" not daring to question the instructions, he did as told. "POUR HALF INTO A CUP!" a cup floated towards the chef and half the water was out. "THREE TEASPOONS COFFEE INTO THE POT!" two teaspoons it was. "STIR IT!"

"How long?"

"UNTIL YOUR HOOF FALLS OF IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES!" the chef quickly went to work and after Orion was satisfied he continued. "Put it back on the stove." his tone surprisingly softened, probably because he relaized he was going Ramsay on the poor chef. As the coffe began boiling and reached the edge of the pot, Orion instructed to remove it once again and pour the water from the cup back into the pot. After that it was back on the stove and once it boiled once again it was done. The chef poured three cups as instructed and one was given to Luna and Celestia while the third was for Orion. "You can add a little milk if you want." Orion then finally tasted coffee as it was meant to be.

While all of that was going on the rest of the staff was secretly following his instructions and made this new coffee for everypony working in the kitchen. And as all were drinking this new breed of coffee with blisfull expressions, Luna and Celestia decided to give it a go. On first sip Celestia could tell this was the right way to prepare coffee and it tasted infinitely better than what her chefs were doing until now. She dared even say it tasted phenomenal.

"While this does taste delightful, I still preffer tea." Celestia said kindly and Orion shrugged in a fair-enough manner. "What do you think sister?" she got no response and looked to her sister whose eyes were wide open and had her cup empty of even a trace of coffee. "Sister?" Luna slowly looked to Celestia with a thousand yard stare.

"He can stay."

Well, the coffee was a success. After everypony got a taste of the real deal, Orion quietly snuck out of the kitchen and decided to wander about seeing as he's got nothing better to do.

"And so our hero enters the maze." he spoke with a fake british accent. "His only goal to find an exit to this accursed place." Orion took a random right turn, not really knowing where it will take him. "After bribing the occupants of the castle, Be-I mean, Orion, has made sure none would follow him on his brave endeavour."

"Unfortunately, all but one managed to resist his vile concoction." Orion's head almost snapped from how fast it turned back and saw Celestia with an amused smile. "Oh please, don't stop narrating on my account."

"Fuc-errrrr, I mean, curses!" yeah, some habbits needed to be controlled.

"Curses?" Celestia chuckled at the word. "I believe that word hasn't been used in cussing in over a thousand years."

"I'm pretty sure I heard your sister use it last night." Orion said with a raised brow and turned his head forward again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Celestia wanted to say something but the mare stopped herself at the last moment. "So, where are we going?" Orion continued on his merry way with Celestia catching up to him so the two were side by side.

"You tell me, oh great hero." Celestia replied dramatically and Orion rolled his eyes. The gesture was followed by a giggle from Celestia before she graced him with an answer. "If we continue down this path we will reach the Royal gardens."

"Royal gardens?" Orion said with a raised brow.

"Well, that's what everypony calls it. I preffer to simply call it a garden." Celestia replied matter-o-factly and sniffed the air. "Ah! I can smell the canterberies already!" Celestia said with glee and picked up her pace. She was only a few feet; hooves?; away before noticing Orion falling behind.

"You go on ahead. Running lessons are tonight." Orion tried to shoo her away with his right forehoof but almost toppled over. "Balance will be extracurricular." Celestia smiled apologetically and trotted back to the gray alicorn.

"Nonsense." she reassured him with a gentle shoulder to shoulder bump. "I shall guide the hero to his destination." Orion chuckled and continued forward.

"It would appear the hero managed to charm the vicious ruler of the castle." he continued with the fake accent.

"Vicious?" she said in mock hurt. "You flatter me." Orion looked at the mare and smiled. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

"Riiight..." he looked forward again and saw the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. "That it?" Celestia merely nodded and the two walked out into the open. It was truly a sight to behold with neatly trimmed hedges, bushes made into various shapes of ponies and variosu flowers as far as the eye can see.

"Well, what do you think?" Celestia asked with pride in her voice. The garden was a very special place to her and she took care of it meticulously. Orion observed his surroundings as they slowly walked through it. "I had these brought over from Saddle Arabia." Celestia stopped at a very strange looking yellow flower. Orion stiffled a laugh.

"Saddle Arabia?" he asked, trying not to choke.

"Why yes." Celestia either didn't notice his tone or simply decided to ignored it. She gently plucked one flower with her magic and brought it to her nose. "They smell divine." and then she ate it. Orion was less surprised by the act than he thought he'd be.

"Taste good too I bet?" he said while observing Celestia's delighted expression. The mare quickly realized wahat she was doing and quickly swallowed before looking a little embarrased.

"My apologies, that was rather rude. But yes, they are simply delectable." she levitated another flower and offered it to Orion. "Would you like to try?"

"I'll take your word for it." Orion then waited to see what Celestia would do and when she hadn't moved for a couple of seconds he smiled. "Go ahead." aaaaand it's gone. After she ate the second flower like it was the tastiest thing in the world, Celestia cleared her throat and once gain stood with pride and a huge smile.

"You still haven't told me what you think of my garden." Orion looked around and nodded a few times.

"It's... Nice." his response caused Celestia's ears do drop and her expression shifted to an unamused one.

"Nice? You're saying that a garden that stood the test of times for centuries, is nice?"

"Guess I'm not the flower type." Orion said while taking a few steps back, totally not scared he insulted an overpowered Sun princess. However, one of Celestia's ears rose while tilting her head to the side with a curious expression.

"Then what type are you Orion?" she asked gently and Orion chewed on his lower lip uncertainly.

"I'll let you know when I find out." he then turned around and continued walking through the garden and Celestia quickly followed suit. "I have a question."

"Ask away."

"Why does everypony think I'm some kind of prince or, or, royalty?" Celestia could sense a hint of annoyance in his tone.

"I would say it's because you're an alicorn."

"I keep hearing that but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, you see, only alicorns are royalty in Equestria and so ponies naturally assume you are one too." Celestia responded and Orion rolled his eyes. "Orion, being an alicorn comes with certain achievments and responisibilities. All alicorns were great rulers, and in the case of Twilight Sparkle, a hero."

"Twilight Sparkle?" Orion thought he heard wrong.

"Yes. She's my faithful student and has saved Equestria on multiple occasions." now Orion sensed a great deal of pride within Celestia. "What I'm trying to say is, whether you truly are a prince or not, or even a great hero, we won't know until your memory fully returns."

"That'll be a disappointing revelation." Celestia frowned.

"It's rude to mumble." Celestia chastised.

"Sorry." Orion smiled sheepishly. "Old habbit I guess." then he felt something soft on his back and saw that Celestia draped one of her wings over it.

"It's alright. I can only imagine what you're going through. Believe me when I say I will do everything in my power to help you." Celestia smiled reassuringly and Orion smiled back. After a short and quiet moment Celestia suddenly beamed. "I know! Why don't I help you remember how to use magic?" Orion's eyes almost popped out.

"Magic?"

"Yes! Magic is like second nature to alicorns! It's almost like walking." when Orion looked at her with a deadpan expression, Celestia chuckled nervously. "Umm, poor choice of words given your predicament."

"It's fine." Orion then got to thinking. "You know, knowing how to do magic would be pretty cool."

"And highly practical. There are just some things these hooves can't do." she lifted her left forehoof to emphasize her point.

"Like peel a banana?" he offered and Celestia tilted her head side to side in thought.

"Not the example I would use but yes." she then took a few steps back, inhaled deeply and continued. "It's been a while since I've taught somepony how to channel their magic. I hope you can forgive me if I'm a little rusty."

"I'm sure it'll-"

"First!" Celestia said loudly making Orion flinch.

"Okay, not so rusty."

"In order to use magic you first need to learn to channel it." she then began walking left to right, you know, like teachers do. "And to do that you need to find your source. Sit!" the fwomp sound his rump made when Orion abruptly sat down almost made him laugh. "Now close your eyes and clear your mind." Orion did as instructed and tried it. "Let your mind be empty of all thoughts. Make it serene as a calm lake at night." Orion tried harder and his closed eyes squinted more. "Then look deep within yourself-" deeper meant more squinting."-and find your center. " squint harder boy. "When you find it, you will feel a strong energy pulsating within you." Orion's face was getting redder and some veins were starting to pop out. "I want you to grab that energy and pull on it! Bring it out to the surface!" Orion felt like he was about to explode from all the concentrating he was doing. "Feel the magic and push it towards your horn! Do you feel it? Can you feel the magic?"

"I can feel a fart!" and with that Orion opened his eyes and exhaled deeply with color returning to his face. Celestia had to hold herself from laughing as nopony in all her years said something like that while she was teaching. "You make it sound so easy."

"It's because it is." Celestia used her wing to cool Orion down since he began sweating from all that squinting. And probably from holding in certain things... "Little colts and fillies usually do it on their first try."

"Defeated by children. Great..." Orion plopped down to the grass with a pout.

"Don't be discaouraged, Orion. All you need is a little spark and the rest will come easy." Celestia patted his head with her wing. "Now up you go!" she enveloped him in her magic and hoisted him up, elicting a startled yelp from the stallion. "Let's try this again." Orion wasn't sure about it but nodded notheless. "From the top then. First-"

"Your majesty! Excuse me! Princess Celestia!" both alicorns looked towards the incoming voice and saw a brown earth pony mare, wearing the top half of a business suit with two black saddle bags.Her mane pulled back into a bun and with big round glasses resting on her snout.

"Ah, Serifa-"Orion, once again, tried not to laugh. "-what can I do for you?" it would seem the princess got a tad nervous when the smaller mare shot her an unamused look.

"For me, yourself and, most importantly, Equestria, you can attend the meeting with the griffin ambassador that was supposed to start ten minutes ago." Serifa said sternly.

"Oh." sudden realization struck the Sun princess but her assisstant wasn't finished.

"Then, you have an interview for Equestria Daily, a joint photoshoot for Cosmare and Vanity Mare-" Serifa continued to list things off, completely ignoring Orion's amused snort.

"Really?" Orion felt like he should get an award. All these names were too punny.

"Serifa insits my time is too precious for photoshoots so she usually arranges them to be at the same time." Celestia explained to Orion, even though that was not what he inquired about.

"-and we end the day by lowering the Sun." Orion looked at Serifa with a strange sense of awe.

"Did she even breathe through that?" Celestia giggled.

"Serifa is the best assistant I had in... Wait." something clicked in the alicorn's mind. "Serifa, what about lunch?"

"It's all taken care of." Serifa then reached into one of her bags and pulled out lunch contained in a clear plastic bag.

"And?" Celestia asked, waiting for Serifa to show her something else than raw celery. Serifa then put the celery back into her bag.

"That's it." Celestia reeled back in shock.

"T-that's it?" she stammered and looked to Orion in panic and then back to her assisstant. "That can't possibly be it."

"Your majesty, with all due respect, the tabloids say you're getting a little... Fluffy." Celestia's jaw dropped in shock. "And you have an image to maintain and I have wasted more time on this than needed. Equestria needs you Princess." Serifa then went around the still shocked Celestia.

"Fluffy?" Celestia barely registered that Serifa was pushing her.

"It's only for a couple of weeks, your majesty." the smaller mare was doing a pretty good job of moving the larger alicorn with brute force. Celestia then looked at Orion with the most powerful puppy eyes he'd ever seen.

"Fluffy?" she asked him and Orion had to use all of his willpower to not hug her and tell her everything will be okay. For like a second...

"Okay, bye!" oh what a fleeting feeling it was. Orion waved them goodbye with a smug smile as they disappeared behind the corner. And now alone in the garden he did the only sensible thing. He found a nice place under a certain fruit tree and simply plopped down on his belly with all four legs spread out. "Why does everyone make this clear mind thing seem so easy?" he blew a bit of stray mane from his face. "Yeah, Luke! Use the force, Luke! And the motherfucker lifts an X-wing from a lake!" Orion then shifted position to his side. "What am I even doing here? Well, it's not like I have a place to go." Orion sighed deeply. "I have food and shelter here so it's not all bad. Guess I'll stay a while." he closed his eyes. "See where it takes me..." and after a few minutes, Orion drifted off to blissful sleep.

But as luck would have it, his nap was cut short by a hoof poking him in the side.

"Orion." the voice sounded familiar but he couldn't care about it. Napping was nice. "Wake up."

"Mmmm... No..."

"WAKE UP!" Orion jumped to his hooves breathing rapidly and glared at whoever dared to wake him.

"Luna? What? What is it?" he asked harshly but the younger princess wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"I cannot sleep." Orion felt like bonking her on the head. Instead, he simply laid back down and turned away from the princess.

"You drank coffee. What'd you think would happen?" Luna trotted to the other side and poked him again.

"This never happened before!" Orion turned his head away again.

"Beacuse you were drinking boiled water." another poke. "Would you stop that?"

"Nay! I am filled with energy! And tis' your doing!" Orion sighed and got up on his hooves. Looking at the princess he had to admit it was kind of cute how she was pacing on the spot in her coffee induced high.

"Can't you just magic it away?"

"One must deal with the consequences of one's actions." Luna said sternly before her wings flapped involuntarily. "But of course! A quick flight around the castle will surely help!" and she dashed off, leaving Orion in a cloud of smoke. Coughing from the dust that rose up, Orion groaned and shook his head.

"Yeap, this place is crazy." he looked up and saw a blue blur circling the castle. "Deffinitely crazy." he began walking towards said castle in hopes of finding something to do. Good thing his stomach called. "If I remember correctly, the kitchen should be-

"IT DIDN'T HELP!"

"GAAH!" the jump scare caused Orion's wings to spring open, tearing off the bandages. "What is wrong with you?"

"I can't sleep! I sleep during the day and rule during the night! And I cannot rule the night if I do not sleep during the day! Why is it so hard to understand?" Orion groaned once again and his wings shuffled back to his side in the same natural position as Luna's.

"Because it's weird!" Orion continued towards the kitchen-

"Tis' not weird! We have functioned like that for millenia!" -followed by an hyperactive Luna.

"We? Who refers to them in third person?" Orion's wings flapped once again, but the two paid it no mind.

"Royalty does!" Luna shot back and smirked smugly. "And who, pray tell, narrates themselves?"

"And who, pray tell, says pray tell?"

"We'll have you know-"

"I mean seriously-"

And so their banter continued all the way to the kitchen, their tails swishing merrily behind them. Even as they raided the fridge for various treats and continued onwards through the castle, their voices echoing it's halls, one thing was clear to the castle staff.

Princess Luna made a friend.

A new day was dawning as Celestia's Sun slowly appeared on the horizon. Many ponies were already getting on with their routines, namely waking up, getting ready and going to work. Everypony except Canterlot's nobility, that is. They liked to sleep in while their servants prepared their breakfast, fetched the morning papers and so on. However, Fancy Pants was not one of those nobles, quite the opposite actually.

Every morning he would wake up early, making sure his lovely wife Fleur wasn't disturbed, and went to the kitchen of their large, yet not nearly mansion-sized home. Fancy would set the table for breakfast before getting started on the pancakes and putting on water for tea in the kettle. As it was every morning, about halfway through the pancake dough, he heard a thud against his front door which meant the morning edition of Equestria Daily has arrived.

"I'll get it!" which also meant his wife was also awake and she would get the paper. Moments later, Fleur entered the kitchen and smiled contently. "Good morning, my dear." she nuzzled her husband who returned the gesture while flipping the pancake in the air and catching it in the pan.

"Good morning, my love." Fancy replied with a smile. "Ah, the water for tea is done. Would you mind?"

"Not at all." Fleur smiled and encased the kettle in her magic, bringing it over to the table. "Hmmmm... Jasmine?" Fleur looked to her husband who expertly flipped one more pancake mid-air.

"Please." he was done with the pancakes and floated the plate to the table and joined his wife who was in the middle of pouring water in their cups, followed by tea bags. He reached for the morning papers and saw the rolled up bundle was a bit thicker than usual. Removing the band holding it together, a copy of Equestria Daily and Vanity Mare unveiled themselves.

"I'll be taking that." Fleur quickly snatched Vanity Mare from Fancy's grip and the stallion chuckled. "What? Vanity Mare is much more reliable than Equestria Daily."

"It's full of gossip, Fleur. I simply cannot understand how you can read that nonsense." Fancy chuckled and raised his newspapers. "Equestria Daily, however... Is... A serious..." as he slowly read the headline his voice trailed off and Fleur tilted her head.

"Is something wrong, Fancy darling?" her husband blinked a few times before speaking.

"Uhm, yes, yes, quite alright my dear." Fancy then quickly folded the newspaper and threw it towards the thrash can but Fleur caught it before it hit it's target. She looked at her husband with a raised brow and he chuckled nervously. Unfurling the papers and after reading the headline, Fleur looked at her husband with a sly smirk.

"You were saying?" she laid the papers on the table, the front page visible to both.

Then there were a smaller section.

"This whole thing has been blown way out of proportion." Fancy said and took a sip of his tea. Fleur nodded, already deeply engrossed in her copy of Vanity Mare.

"Poor Orion." Fleur replied and turned a page. "It says he is doing well, all things considering." Fancy nodded and took his first pancake, biting into it. "I'm sure the princesses are doing everything they can to help him get back on his hooves."

"If anypony can help him, it would be them."

"I just don't understand this talk about marriage. Does he really want to marry one of the princesses?" Fleur asked and Fancy just shook his head.

"Both Orion, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna made it perfectly clear that nopony would be getting married." he then sighed, thinking how Orion must feel. "The media just got to excited and made their own assumptions." Fleur nodded and the two resumed their breakfast in a comfortable silence. After finishing breakfast, the married couple got to cleaning the table and washing the dishes. Other nobles would simply scoff at the thought and reprimand Fancy and Fleur for not having a maid but the two believed it kept them closer to each other. The results spoke for themselves as Cosmare voted them the happiest couple five years in a row, mopping the floor with their competition.

Once the chores were done, Fancy and Fleur got ready for their daily walk through Canterlot and inspections of their fashion shops.

"Darling, please do remind me to speak to Rarity." Fancy said to his wife as they made their way to the front door. "We simply must get her to work for us."

"Certainly! Her designs are simply-" Fancy opened the door for his wife "-Orion?"

"I would have used the word marvelous, but-" he then looked ahead and saw a familiar gray alicorn at his porch, right hoof ready to knock. "Orion?"

"Morning!" the alicorn greeted happily and used his already raised hoof to wave.

"Good morning to you as well, my dear boy!" Fancy then grabbed Orion's raised hoof and shook hooves.

"Hello again, Orion." Fleur bowed curtly.

"Aw, don't do that." Orion said a bit annoyed and as Fleur rose to meet his eyes, Orion had his hoof in front of her. "Friends don't bow to each other, right?" Fleur looked at his raised hoof and understood the intention. But could she really hoofbump an alicorn?

"Go on dear." Fancy nudged her and Fleur looked between Orion and her husband.

"Friends?" she asked her husband uncertainly. "With royalty? But I'd never-"

"Good thing I'm not royalty then." Orion interjected and Fleur looked back at him. "C'mon, don't leave me hanging here." he wiggled his hoof and Fleur, slowly and uncertainly, hoofbumped. This proved to be a good choice as Orion smiled widely and trotted in place. "Oh! Look at this!" Orion then rushed down from the porch and produly trotted from side to side. "I can walk!" he said with his head held high.

"Excellent my boy." Fancy said with a smile.

"Oh! And I can run too!" he then went into a full gallop. "WHOA!" Orion slipped on a patch of grass and skidded on it until he hit the wooden fence.

"Orion!" Fleur exclaimed and both she and Fancy rushed towards him in concern.

"I'm fine!" Orion said and quickly got back to his hooves. "Still need to work on stopping, he he."

"My word, Orion." Fancy shook his head chuckling. "Never a dull day with you."

"You've made quite some progress your High-I mean, Orion." Fleur quickly corrected herself and saw Orion's smile grow bigger. It also made her smile.

"I know, right? Guess I'm a prodigy."

"Whatever happened after I left?" Fancy asked and did a circle around Orion. He did indeed seem more confident and stable on his hooves.

"Well, I tried to escape-"

"What?" both Fleur and Fancy exclaimed in shock.

"-but I met Luna in the royal garden and she taught me how to walk properly."

"Oh." both responded.

"Then the next morning I got Luna high on coffee."

"You did what?" again, both of them asked in shock.

"And after that Celestia tried to teach me magic."

"And how did that go?" Fancy asked curiously.

"I almost farted." he addmited sheepishly and both unicorns recoiled slightly.

"You almost... Passed something in front of Princess Celestia?" Fancy asked horrified.

"Relax, she was cool about it." Orion waved his hoof in dismissal. "She even laughed."

"Thank goodness." Fleur sighed in relief.

"Then Luna woke me up from my nap, still high on coffee, and after some bantering I had to chase her around the castle." Orion continued.

"And that is how you learned to gallop?"

"What?" Orion asked before it clicked. "Yeah! Gallop! RIght!"

"So what happened next?" Fleur asked and Orion shrugged.

"Not much really. We fired spitballs at Blueblood-"

"YOU DID WHAT?" Fancy and Fleaur screamed and Orion held up his hooves defensively.

"Whoa! In my defense it was Luna's idea." that caused bot unicorn to go slack-jawed. "Quite the prankster that one. Blueballs never saw us coming, heck, he still doesn't know who did it." Orion began chuckling while Fancy and Fleur stared at him in horror. "The funniest part was when he demanded that Luna find the one responsible." he wiped and oncoming tear from his eyes. "Good times." Orion the looked to the two shocked unicorns in front of him. "What?"

"N-nothing..." Fancy looked at him in disbelief. Did Orion not understand just in what kind of trouble this could have landed him in? "Continue."

"Right..." Orion said with a raised brow. "Well, after coming down from her coffee high, I put Luna to bed and not much happened after that. I just lazed around the rest of the day, went to sleep after dinner and here I am." it took the two a moment to process what Orion just said.

"Excuse me, sorry." Fleur shook her head vigorously. "Did you just say you put Princess Luna to bed?" she must have heard him wrong.

"Yeah." the couple thought there was something seriously wrong with him."It was her first experience with real coffee and she crashed hard. She could barely keep her eyes open so I lead her to her room and put her to bed." Orion observed the shocked couple in front of him. "Okay, I'll bite. What's wrong?"

"You lead Princess Luna to her chambers." Fancy asked and Orion nodded.

"And then you put her in her bed." Fleur continued and Orion nodded once again. "And you see nothing wrong with that?"

"I couldn't just leave her in some random hallway." Orion tilted his head in confusion. "What's wrong with you two?" the couple looked at each other with flabergasted expressions. Fancy then turned to Orion and spoke with a serious tone.

"Orion, my boy, ponies tend to talk about these things." he began and Orion raised a brow. "And with all this ridiculous talk about marriage it would only fan the flames if somepony saw you enter her chambers."

"Nopony saw us." Orion mentally patted himself for using the correct phrase on the first try. "Besides, nothing's gonna' happen between us so let them talk." Fleur looked at Fancy uncertainly but the stallion merely sighed. "You worry too much."

"We care about your safety, Orion." Fleur said gently and put a hoof on his shoulder. "You are hurt and vulnerable right now until your condition gets better." Orion rolled his eyes but appreciated the thought.

"I must warn you, many will try to take advantage of you, seeing you are an alicorn and close to the princesses." Fancy warned and Orion scoffed.

"I'd like to see them try." he smirked. "Brain damaged or not, I'm a pretty smart cookie."

"We just want you to be safe, Orion." Fleur said softly and suddenly nuzzled his cheek which made Orion recoil a bit. "Oh, my apologies. I just-"

"It's fine." Orion waved a hoof dismissively and stood up. "Hey, what do you say you give a tour of the city? I didn't get to see much in the dark and from the backalleys." this only made Fleur want to hug the stallion in comfort, remembering what his life was before Fancy found him.

"Well, as luck would have it, we were just about to take a relaxing stroll through town." Fancy declared and Orion perked up. "We would be delighted if you joined us, my friend."

"Great!" Orion almost jumped in place. "Lead the way!" his giddiness made Fleur and Fancy chuckle and so they embarked on their walk. As they moved through Canterlot, and more and more ponies filled the streets, the married couple noticed more and more eyes on them. They knew the cause of it, of course, and did their best to ignore it. They almost bumped into Orion as he suddenly stopped and looked towards an alley to the right."I remember sleeping in that alley." both Fleur's and Fancy's ears drooped at that revelation. After a moment of reminiscence, Orion continued walking with Fleur and Fancy in tow."This is a nice town."

"Well, Canterlot is the capital of Equestria after all." Fancy clarified and Orion nodded in response."It's architecture dates back for a thousand years."

"Yeah, I can see that." Orion said looking around and then his eye spot somepony familiar. "Hey look. It's Celestia." Fancy's and Fleur's eyes almost pop out of their sockets. "Hey! Over here!" Orion waves over Celestia and her two guards. As the princess approaches them, Fancy and Fleur immediatelly bow in respect while Orion remains standing.

"Greetings, my little ponies. You may rise." she said with her gentle, motherly voice and then looked to Orion. "Good morning, Orion."

"Morning!" Orion replied happily and did a few laps around Celestia and her guards. "Look! I can gallop!" now, Celestia had to supress a giggle at his antics but she was glad he was recovering. Meanwhile, the ponies around them watched the scene in astonishment and some found Orion's behaviour deeply insulting.

"I can see that." Celestia said and Orion trotted in place. "Is that how you left the castle?" that made Fleur and Fancy realize they didn't ask him how he got to their house.

"Actually, I just walked out through the front door." Celestia raised a curious brow. "Are you here to bring me back?" he asked sheepishly and Celestia shook her head.

"No, Orion. I didn't even know you were gone." her gaze shifted to one of her guards who gupled nervously."Why is that, Sharp Spear?"

"I shall investigate it, your Highness!" and with that, the Solar guard bolted off towards the castle. Celestia then stood between Orion, Fancy and Fleur before smiling.

"So, where are we going?" she asked innocently and looked at the nervous Fancy and Fleur.

"W-we're in the middle of our morning stroll, your majesty." Fleur replied and Celestia's ears twitched.

"Oh. I apologize if I'm-"

"Not at all!" Fancy suddenly said and smiled widely. "Your are most welcome to join us if you so wish." Fleur nodded in agreement and Orion simply shrugged, he didn't really mind.

"Splendid!" Celestia said and looked to Orion."Orion, any idea where you want to go?" Orion then mulled it over before speaking.

"Well, actually, can we get something to eat?" he asked sheepishly. "I kinda' skipped breakfast." the three plus the guard blinked at him a few times before Celestia spoke.

"I don't see why not. Any particular place in mind?" she asked and Orion nodded.

"There's a place down the street if I remember correctly."

"You mean Cinnamon Chai's Tea and Cake Shop?" Fancy asked and Celestia's smile spread. That was her favorite!

"I don't know, never got to see the name. But their leftovers were great so the fresh ones must be good, right?" and that put a damper on their spirits as they were once again reminded of Orion's street life."Oh come on, it wasn't all bad."

"Orion-"Celestia began."-I am truly sorry you had to go through that."

"It's fine." Orion said dismissively and smiled once more. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he then stepped aside and raised his right hoof. "Ladies first." both Celestia and Fleur giggled while Fancy smiled proudly.

"Oh my, what a gentlestallion." Celestia giggled and took the front with Fleur.

"A gentlestallion indeed." Fancy smiled but just as he was about to follow he got held up by Orion. Looking at him in confusion, the alicorn lowered his head and spoke in a whisper.

"Hey, umm... Can you pay for breakfast? I'm kinda' broke over here." Fancy looked at him in amusement. "I'll pay you back I promise!" Fancy then erupted in laughter and Orion raised his head before tilting it in confusion."What? I mean it!" Fancy just patted him on the back before following after princess Celestia and his wife.

"Oh Orion, never a dull day with you."

Cinnamon Chai's Tea and Cake Shop sure was a fancy place. It was in Canterlot after all so that much was expected. Even though it was a pastry shop, it had the interrior of a five star restaurant. Celestia, Fancy Pants and Fleur were used to this kind of decor, but Orion...

"Are you alright?" Fancy raised his eyes above the menu he was holding and looked at Orion who was fidgeting in place and looking around nervously.

"Who, me? Peachy!" Orion replied very convincingly and looked back at his menu. "I could buy a house with these prices..." how did Orion deduce that? Well, you hear ponies talk when you prowl hidden in the night and certain everyday items come to conversation. Then take a look at the prices and simple math will do.

"You are mumbling again, Orion." Celestia scolded from Orion's left. "Besides, I don't think the prices here are that high." Orion gave her a deadpan look.

"You live in a castle." his response fell on deaf ears apparently as Celestia hummed in thought.

"What do I order, I wonder." she said completely ignoring Orion's frown.

"It's alright Orion, we will pay for breakfast." Fleur joined in on the conversation and her husband backed her up with a firm nod.

"Oh I can't possibly allow you to do that." Celestia lowered her menu and looked at the couple. "I insist I pay since-"

"Since you'll probably eat the most?" Orion finished that sentence but with no malice in his tone. However, Fancy and Fleur's jaws hit the table and the shop suddenly went quiet. Did he just call their Princess fat? Celestia, on the other hoof, looked at Orion with a raised brow.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she asked, trying her best to sound not too insulted. Orion, completely oblivious to what was happening around him, delivered his surprisingly logical answer.

"You, and me-"

"I." Celestia corrected, her expression unchanged.

"-are alicorns and we're like, two times the size of other ponies." Celestia blinked in surprise. "And we have to eat more, which will make for a higher bill and you don't want to make everypony to pay more than they have to. Truly, a benevolent ruler." Fancy and Fleur looked at Celestia as if looking for confirmation to Orion's words. Celestia was skeptical about his explanation, even though she knew it made sense and was actually true. Celestia sighed and looked at the married couple sitting across from her and Orion.

"It is true, my little ponies." the two unicorns sighed in relief. "Very observant of you, Orion."

"Thanks." he replied, still looking over the menu and finally deciding on orange juice and some donuts. Fancy bowed curtly to Celestia and was ready to dispel any discomfort the princess had about them paying.

"Well, your majesty, I assure you that-"

"And also." Orion suddenly turned to Celestia whose ears perked in interest. "That whole diet thing is stupid. You don't have to lose weight."

"Oh! Why, thank you Orion." Celestia replied a bit flustered.

"Besides, you're not ready for my fat jokes." ah, there it was.

"Try me." Celestia challenged with a smirk. Just as Orion opened his mouth, a waiter came to the table.

"Good morning your majesty. My name is Savoir Flare and I'll be your waiter roday." Savoir Flare greeted with a bow which Celestia returned with a polite nod.

"Oh thank goodness." both Fancy and Fleur sighed in relief.

"Sir Fancy, Miss Fleur." Savoir nodded curtly to the two and turned to Orion. "And Sir Orion, it is an honor having you here."

"You know who I am?" Orion asked, his head tilted to the right.

"Why of course! You are the biggest news in Canterlot right now." Savoir responded and took out his notepad. "Now, may I take your orders?" he was still looking at Orion.

"Oh, uhh, I'll have an orange juice with a straw and four chocolate donuts." Savoir wrote it down and looked to Fancy and Fleur.

"Well, we already ate so we'll just have some refreshing mint tea." Fancy said and Savoir got a nod from Fleur. That finally left Celestia.

"I will have a chocolate cake." she said with a smile. Savoir wrote it all down, picked up their menu's with magic and made his way to the kitchen.

"What about him?" Orion looked towards the remaining blue pegasus guard who was stationed outside.

"Storm Breaker has declined my invitation to join us. He feels it is unproper for a guard to eat with the princess." Celestia explained briefly and Orion nodded in understanding. That didn't mean he was just going to accept it.

"Storm Breaker, huh?" Orion looked at the guard who probably hadn't moved a muscle since taking his post. "He looks hungry."

"I imagine he is. Storm Breaker has been working overtime for the past month and I heard reports he has been skipping his meals." Celestia's voice held a tone of sadness. "I admire their commitment to their job but I fear for their health."

"Can't you just order him to take a break, your majesty?" Fancy chimed in but before Celestia could respond, Orion jumped in.

"Sometimes, there has to be somepony other than your boss to tell you to slow down. Maybe he needs the money." Orion then stood up.

"Where are you going?" Celestia asked as Orion made his way to the exit but got no reply. The trio watched as Orion went outside and talked to Storm Breaker. The guards's head suddenly snapped towards them before returning to Orion. Orion said something and the guard nodded before following Orion back inside. The two got to the table and Storm Breaker spoke.

"You wanted to speak to me, your Majesty?" Celestia was caught off guard by that question but Orion spoke for her.

"Yes, Princess Celestia just realized that I am lacking security." Orion said and gave Celestia a look. The princess quickly caught on.

"That is correct." she said with a nod.

"Therefore, she suggested that you be assigned as my personal guard." Orion continued and Celestia realized where he was going with this. She smiled lightly and nodded in confirmation.

"That is also correct. Storm Breaker, you are hereby assigned as Sir Orion Pax's personal guard. Wherever he goes, you go." Celestia said sternly and Storm Breaker stood to attention.

"Yes, your Majesty!"

"You shall also be under his direct command during this time." Celestia continued.

"Yes, your Majesty!"

"Awesome!" Orion trotted in place before turning to Storm Breaker. "First order, you will eat with us."

"Yes, your High- wait, what?" Storm Breaker's exterior faltered as he looked at Orion "I couldn't possibly-"

"Yes, you could. And, since I'm techically a diplomat from a foreign country, it would be very offfensive if you declined my offer." Orion then looked at Celestia with a pointed look. "We wouldn't want an international incident, now would be, Princess Celestia?"

"Oh, most certainly not!" Celestia replied as if she was horrified by the idea.

"I..." Storm Breaker looked between Celestia and Orion, trying to find a way out but there was only so much he could do. He couldn't risk an international incident! His mom would kill him!

"Excellent!" Orion exclaimed and sat back down next to Celestia. "Now pull up a coushin and sit. You can order when the waiter comes around." Storm Breaker stood frozen in place until Orion raised his voice. "Move it, soldier!" as if Orion slapped him, Storm Breaker quickly found a coushin and dragged it to Orion's right. He sat down and looked at the other ponies sitting at the table.

"Uh, hello. I will be joining you today, if that is alright." he said sheepishly and rubbed his front hooves together.

"Of course it is." Fancy said with a smile and his wife joined in.

"We are happy to know that our friend Orion is in good hooves." she added.

"Storm Breaker is one of my best. You really have an eye for talent, Orion." Celestia's words caused Storm to fidget in his seat.

"Thank you, your Majesty." he said and tried to regain his composure. It's not everyday you get praised by your boss like that.

"You can take off your helmet if you want." Orion said and Storm Breaker looked at Celestia.

"Don't look at me. Orion is your boss now." Celestia replied with a giggle and Strom Breaker looked between the two alicorns. Well, this has been unorthodox so far so why not roll with it. He raised his hooves to his helmet and pulled it off, revealing red mane underneath.

"And as your new boss I have an assingment for you." Orion's words got Storm's attention. "After this, we'll make an in-depth tour of Canterlot so I don't get lost if I go out on my own again. I mean seriously, I thought the castle was bad but the city's even more of a maze." he huffed an looked at Celestia. "More roadsigns wouldn't hurt ya' know."

"I shall take your proposition into consideration. We don't want an internation incident, Sir Orion." Celestia answered sarcastically.

"You were this close with that mud water you call coffee." Orion's gaze sharpened towards Celestia.

"Your new coffee made it possible for me to work overtime, your Highness." Storm Breaker happily chimed in towards Orion. "I haven't slept in 36 hours!"

"I'm cutting you off." Orion's head snapped to Storm Breaker whose eyes widened in shock. "Boss' orders. You need proper rest and no coffee for the next two days."

"B-but! It's so good!" Storm Breaker pleaded but to no avail.

"Your little pony body isn't ready for real coffee." Orion patted Storm on the shoulder. "We'll start our coffee takeover soon, young grasshopper." Storm Breaker nodded, a small tear in his eye. Fancy and Fleur chuckled at the display while Celestia smiled lightly. Orion was making a new friend.

"Your orders, dear customers." Savoir flare announced his presence and started laying down the dishes. "Tea for the lovely couple." two cups of mint tea were set infront of Fleur and Fancy. "Orange juice with a straw and four chocolate donuts for Sir Orion." those donuts looked really good and Orion could't help but drool a little. "And the chocolate cake special for Princess Celestia."

THUMP

"Holy mother..." Orion's eyes were wide as saucers. The cake was huge! He thought she'd get two, three slices but this was a whole cake. Four layers filled with chocolate cream, covered in whipped cream and strawberries on top. "I guess it's past noon somewhere."

"This is the Princess' regular order." Savoir Flare chimed in. Orion only blinked a couple of times.

"Okay, you have an eating disorder." Celestia raised a brow at Orion. "You will it dis order and that order and all other orders."

"Har-har-har." Celestia stuck her tongue out, though she had to admit it was a good joke. Fleur and Fancy were just glad that Celestia took it as a joke and hadn't thrown Orion in the dungeon. Wait, does she actually throw ponies in the dungeon? Does the castle even have a dungeon.

"If you skip a meal, does the stock market drop?" guess they're about to find out.

"Will you be paying Orion? I swear I saw ducks throwing bread at you." Celestia shot back with a smirk and Orion recoiled in mock shock. "Now, pay attention as I- oh wait, you can't afford to pay attention,can you?"

"You've got game, princess." Orion found a worthy opponent.

"Uhm, what will I eat?" Storm Breaker asked with a raised hoof.

"Ask Sally Struthers over there to share some snacks." Orion rolled his eyes.

"What?" all present ponies asked.

"What?" Orion asked as well, completely forgetting they don't know about a certain cartoon set in a small town in Colorado. "Anyway, here, have a donut." Orion pushed his plate to Storm Breaker who waved his hooves.

"Your Highness, I couldn't-"

"First off, it's not highness, it's Sir Orion, and when your helmet's off, it's just Orion." the gray alicorn said quickly and pushed the plate even more towards Storm Breaker.

"As you wish, your High-, I mean Sir O- I mean-"

"We'll work on it." Orion patted Storm Breaker once again and the pegasus took one of the donusts. "You're not getting my juice though." Orion pulled the glass closer and took a big sip through his straw and observed as Celestia brought her fork towards the cake. She took a big piece out of it and brought it closer to her mouth.

"Princess Celestia!" Serifa appeared out of nowhere, startling the Sun princess into dropping a fork-full of perfectly good cake.

"Horsefeathers!" Celestia exclaimed as she watched the cake splatter on the floor.

"Did I not tell you yesterday that you need to keep your diet?" Serifa scolded as Celestia's ears sprawled back.

"Hurry back, Raven Inkwell..." she said so quietly that nopony heard her. Well, a gray alicorn did anyway.

"And must I remind you, once again, that appearancess are important to-"

"Wait!" Orion suddenly put his left forehoof on Celestia's shoulder firmly. "Do that again!"

"Do what again?" Celestia asked, one ear perked up in interest as others watched with anticipation.

"The cake! Eat the cake!" Orion said urgently as his eyes looked off into the distance. "I feel... Memories." he blinked a few times and moved his gaze to Celestia. "You must eat the cake! Hurry!"

"You have got to be kidding me." Serifa scoffed but Orion glared at the mare.

"Are you saying my mental recovery is not as important as making sure Celestia's scale doesn't say To be continued?" Celestia frowned at that and Fleur had to surpress a giggle.

"W-well, no. But-"

"Celestia." Orion spoke with the utmost urgency. "It is of utmost importance you eat that whole cake. Do you understand?" her fork was already in the air engulfed in magic.

"All to get your memories back." and she dug in with gusto.

"I can't believe this." Serifa face-hoofed.

"Yes! I can feel something!" Orion exclaimed dramatically while Celestica decimated the cake. "Distant memories are resurfacing!" the strawberries went first, drowned in whipped cream. "It's all so clear now!" the first layer was gone, three more to go. "My life is flashing before my eyes!" half-way there. "Wow, that was depressing." one more to go. "What? Oh no! This can't be real! I refuse to believe it!" Fancy and Fleur were doing their best not to erupt in laughter at Orion's over dramatic display. Storm Breaker was just horrified at the speed at which Celestia was destroying the cake. "I... I realize now..." Celestia was finished with only crumbs remaining.

"What do you realize?" Serifa asked with a roll of her eyes.

"I left the stove on." Orion blinked a few times and shrugged. "Oh well..." then he returned to his juice, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. Serifa facehoofed so hard she almost broke her nose.

"Glad I could help." Celestia said calmly as she cleaned her lips with a napkin in a ladylike manner.

"It's... All gone..." Strom Breaker heard the rumors but refused to believe them.

"I can't believe you two." Serifa sighed deeply and pulled out a parchment from her bag. "This is your schedule for the day. Do as you please." Celestia took a quick glance at the piece of paper and her ears perked up.

"Oh! Twilight and her friends are on their way to Canterlot! It says they've found Nibbler!"

"Really?" Orion then leaned over and read it for himself. "Awesome!"

"Well, since you don't seem to listen to me, your personal assistant, at all, I will be taking a day off then." Serifa then bowed.

"I apologize, Serifa. But it was only to help Sir Orion." Celestia was truly sorry, but sometimes you just gotta' have some fun. Serifa took a quick glance at the empty plate in front of Celestia and then back at the princess unamused.

"Uh-huh."

"Oh come on, it's all in good fun." Orion joined in but Serifa wasn't having any of it.

"Sir Orion, I am Princess Celestia's personal assistant, do you know what that means?" Serifa asked and puffed out her chest with pride. Orion opened his mouth to speak but was elbowed by noneother than Storm Breaker. Orion was impressed how the guard was able to read his mind. "It means I have to organize Celestia's schedule down to the tiniest detail so that everything that has to be done will be done when it needs to be done and not a second later since it could greatly disrupt all other things that need to be done on a particular day and then things can quickly-"

"That's a lot of things to do." Orion said quickly.

"-and your shennanigans are getting in the way of things not getting done properly." and then Serifa inhaled so deeply, Orion thought she sucked out all the air from the cake shop. "So next time you want to have fun, please do it after 6pm when the Princess enters her personal time."

"Fun is to be had at a specific time at a specific place. Got it." Orion saluted but Serifa's expression remained stern.

"Princess, we must prepare for your student's arrival. It has sprung up so suddenly that I had to shuffle some things around but we can still accomplish everything for today." Serifa then turned towards the exit. "Whenever you're ready."

"She means well." Celestia told Orion who just nodded in understanding.

"I know. Go run your kingdom. I'll see you later."

"Then, I shall take my leave. Have a good day, my little ponies." Celestia bid farewell and Fancy, Fleur and Storm Breaker bowed to their Princess. Serifa was the first one out followed by Celestia who stopped midway through. "Oh, before I forget. Orion?" the stallion looked towards Celestia. "Canterlot Daily offered you a free yearly subscription and wanted to know your address so I gave them one." Orion looked at her in confusion. He lived at the castle, right?

"What address did you give them?" Celestia smirked smugly.

"This side up."