Chapter 25

The sun was about to rise over the horizon of Ponyville and the residents were still trying to wake up. Off to the edge of the town, the source of everyone’s favorite apples, Sweet Apple Acres, was also preparing to start the day. In one of the rooms of the farmhouse, a young white-haired man slept in bed with his wonderful new farm girlfriend. The girl was cuddling up on his chest as she opened her beautiful green eyes and glanced up at Orion. Applejack smiled as she poked his cheek a little, the usual routine she picked up since they started dating.

“Rise and shine, sugarcube,” Applejack said sweetly.

Orion smiled in his sleep and on instinct moved his arms to wrap around his girlfriend as he nuzzled his head into her hair. “Mmm no, more cuddles, less waking up.”

“Come now, sugarcube,” Applejack said playfully. “We got apples to harvest. We can be all sweet on each other afterwards.”

Orion smirked as he moved his hands to gently grab onto her ass and gently kneaded them. “I think I got a nice pair right here; I might need to feel them up some more to make sure they’re ripe.”

Applejack moaned as she caressed his chiseled chest. Working on the farm did wonders to Orion’s physical appearance.

“You got some frisky hands there, mister.” Applejack sat up and straddled Orion. The loose shirt she wore hung off one of her shoulders and he could see her nipples poke through the fabric. “I might just have to teach ya a lesson~.”

“Well, good thing I’m really into learning new things.” He moved his hands to caress her toned thighs, a confident smile on his face.

“WHY MUST I ALWAYS WAKE UP SO INSUFFERABLY EARLY!” A shrill voice screeched in another room of the house. “GET OUT, YOU BIG MUSCLED OAF!”

“Aaaannndd the moment is gone.” Orion deadpanned as he gently lifted his girlfriend up and set her aside. “Hon, did you remember to set the pile of hay in the usual spot?”

“Sure did,” Applejack said, stretching her arms up and giving Orion a full view of her bust through her shirt. “Keep starin’, and Ah’ll have to tax ya.”

“I think my wallet can afford to be lightened a bit.” Orion smirked before moving in to kiss his girl, before exiting the room. Upon entering the hallway, he saw Big Mac arms crossed as he stared into the room where Blueblood was staying. “Brat giving you trouble again Mac?”

“Eeyup,” Mac said with a mock glare towards Orion. “Ah will remind you how much of a bad idea this was, bringin’ him, of all people, back with ya.”

Orion smiled as he patted his friend’s shoulder. “That’s not what you said when you went on a drinking binge when you saw the check Celestia wrote for us.” Orion now sporting a smirk. “And remember how you climbed onto top of city hall dressed in only a tutu calling yourself a pretty princess while drunk?”

“Shut yer yap, and just get him to work…” Mac grumped as he stormed off in an embarrassed huff.

“As you wish…princess Macintosh,” Orion teased before entering the room.

Orion was met with the former spoiled rotten prince as he lay there with a face mask over his eyes. A frustrated grunt escaped his nostrils as he turned his head away from Orion.

“I thought I told you to leave at once!” Blueblood barked. “It’s bad enough I barely get any sleep at all in this pathetic excuse you call a bed!”

“Alright, Blueblood, I’ll give you a choice. We can get you out of this room and to work, the easy way or the hard way. I’ll let you choose.” Orion began to roll his arms as he knew the outcome beforehand.

Blueblood glanced over his shoulder while pulling his mask up a bit to peek at Orion, resulting in a glare. “I have nothing to say to you, and especially you!” Blueblood huffed as he put his mask back on.

Orion smiled as he opened the window to the room and removed the covers off Blueblood and lifted him into the air. “Up we go.”

“What in the-! Put me down this instant!” Blueblood flailed in Orion’s grasp.

Orion lined his shot as he aimed for the field. “You better be set and ready by the time we get out there, or no breakfast for you.” Without warning, like throwing a spear, Orion chucked Blueblood out the window.

“DAMN YOOOOOUUUuuuuuu!!!” Blueblood screamed as he flew out the window.

Orion laughed to himself and exited the room and headed downstairs. The Apple siblings were all already at the table as Mac was serving apple pancakes.

“Apple Bloom, sweetie, when you get a chance, can you place some food aside for Blueblood, please?” Orion asked as he served himself while also sneaking his hand over to gently pinch Applejack’s ass.

“Okay, but you gotta promise to let me on your shoulders when it’s time to bring me to school,” Apple Bloom said. Applejack subtly rubbed her foot along Orion’s leg.

“Deal.” Orion smiled as he moved his legs up against Applejack’s and ate his food. “I’ll need to work double time today, if I want to make up for Blueblood,” Orion sighed.

Applejack decided to get frisky as she purposely placed a fork on the edge of the table and let it fall.

“Ah’ll get it.” She got up and crawled under the table.

“How many baskets of apples do ya think you’ll harvest today, Orion?” Applebloom asked.

Orion was about to answer when he felt something touch his crotch. Keeping a straight face, he decided to ignore it and keep his smile.

“I’m thinking maybe sixty-nine, if I’m lucky.” Orion smiled as Big Mac did a spit take and coughed hard.

“Sixty-nine? That’s a weird number,” Apple Bloom said while tilting her head.

Orion took a bite but swallowed hard when he felt a new, and a little wet, sensation, but continued to keep his cool.

“Yeah, pretty strange if ya ask me,” Mac said, sipping his juice.

“Well, I’m setting a new goal. Every day, I plan to push myself to the limit. And when I get back, I might make some applesauce.” He moved his hand to stroke his girlfriend’s head. “I’m gonna pound those apples ‘till they’re nice and ready.”

“Ooh, you should help us with Zap Apple Jam season then!” Apple Bloom suggested.

“Now, now, Bloom, Orion’s still new around here,” Mac said as he went to refresh his coffee. “He ain’t ready fer somethin’ as important as that.”

Orion had to bite his tongue when Applejack upped her game and almost sent him over the edge, but Orion kept strong.

“You okay, Orion? Ya seem a little tense?” Apple Bloom said.

“Oh, I’m just ready to blow your minds with how much work I’m gonna do today.” Orion began to sweat bullets as he tried to remain calm. “Anyone see Granny? I figured she would be around by now?”

“She went to examine the apples and mark the ones that need kicking,” Mac said.

Just then, Orion clenched his teeth after feeling a sense of release. It lasted for about a minute or so and Applejack eventually came back up with her fork.

“Found it,” Applejack said, glancing at Orion while licking a white substance from the side of her cheek and winking at him.

“I’m glad you found it, that took longer than I would have expected there, hon.” Orion whipped his brow and adjusted his lower body making sure nothing was out of place.

“I’ll go get mah pack!” Apple Bloom chirped as she ran up the stairs to get ready.

“Might as well set up the wagon,” Mac said as he downed the last of his coffee and headed out the back door.

Soon it was just the couple in the room and Applejack kept giggling to herself.

“Oh, you are gonna get it tonight when we are done.” Orion smirked back at his girlfriend before moving in to kiss her neck.

“Ah look forward to it,” Applejack said as she in turn licked his ear. “Ah’m gonna go get ready fer the day. Go meet up with Mac before he gets suspicious.” Applejack stood up and left Orion. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder and proceeded to smack the underside of both her ass cheeks before heading upstairs.

“Oh, this girl is gonna be the death of me,” Orion sighed before getting up and cleaning his own plate to start the day. “Let’s bring home the bits.”

Orion headed out the door and walked in the direction where he chucked Blueblood. He followed the trajectory of his throw and eventually found the poor bastard trembling like a leaf and hugging one of the trees for dear life. Hay clung to his pajamas and saw that he had landed in the large bale of hay Applejack had set up for him.

“So, Blueballs, am I going to have to make this your new means of getting to work? Because the next time you give me attitude in the morning, I may end up missing the hay bail and toss you into a wood chipper,” Orion cracked an evil smile.

“Y-You’re pure evil!” Blueblood said shakily. “What if I had hit my head on something?! I could’ve died!”

“Oh, now wouldn’t that have been a shame?” Orion said sarcastically as he got up in Blueblood’s face. “If you wanna lower the chance of that happening, I suggest you don’t test me in the mornings, Blueballs. I’m less of a forgiving person when I wake up to a bitching little runt like you.”

Blueblood growled as he eventually let go of the tree and brushed off the hay.

“You…and that insufferable freak of nature, Rickert! Since the day I met him, and you, it’s been nothing but heartache after heartache! It’s as if you two showed up out of nowhere and turned everything upside down!”

“You know, I’m hearing a lot of belly aching and not seeing you getting ready to work.” Orion was about to go into a rant, before Apple Bloom came over with food on a plate. “Oh right, I guess you should eat first.”

“You expect me to eat this slop?!” Blueblood scoffed.

“Slop? Then how come ya always eat every last bite every time ya eat?” Apple Bloom asked, exposing Blueblood red handed.

Orion smirked as he glanced over at Blueblood, who was now blushing hard. “Is that so? Hmm, well if that’s the case, maybe if you give me less lip today, I’ll make sure you’ll get double helping of this slop. Maybe even triple, if you work just as hard.”

“I-I…!” Blueblood tried to say but slumped his shoulders in defeat as he snatched the plate away from Apple Bloom. “Leave me in peace, at the very least…”

Orion knew when to stop teasing. He smiled and picked up Apple Bloom and placed her on his shoulders. “I’ll be back after I drop off Apple Bloom. If I see three baskets done when I get back, I’ll throw in a double desert for you too.”

Orion turned his back and began to walk the little girl to school. All Orion heard was Blueblood grumbling to himself as he carried the little farm girl on his shoulders.

“Ya know, Orion, he ain’t all that bad once ya look past all that snob he’s got,” Apple Bloom said as she kicked her little legs a little.

“I know Apple Bloom. I’m only making fun of him to get him out of his shell.” Orion moved a hand to tickle one of her legs as he walked, making her giggle. “He has potential, but he needs to learn the world isn’t always gonna treat him like royalty forever. He needs to learn to stand on his own two feet for once.”

“Hey Orion, Ah got a question Ah’ve been meanin’ to ask,” Appleb Bloom said, playing with Orion’s hair.

“Hmm? What's up Apple Bloom?” Orion asked as they soon made their way off the orchard onto the main road.

“Where’re you from?” She asked innocently.

“That’s a rather random question, why do you ask?” Orion looked up at the little girl as he kept walking.

“Well, it’s just Applejack told me that Axel’s from another world. Considering’ he’s got powers unlike anyone’s ever seen,” Apple Bloom said. “He’s probably the newest face you could possibly think of, but then there’s you.”

Orion smiled and nodded. “Well, I can see why you were curious. Honestly, I’m still having a hard time believing Axel is from another world myself. But to answer your question, I come from a small village far from the East. In fact, I did so by boat.”

“By boat? Wait, are ya from Neighpan ‘er Prance ‘er somethin’?” Apple Bloom tilted her head. “Ya don’t got no accent though.”

“Yes, I’m from Neighpan. And as for the lack of an accent, that part in due to my teacher. You see, when I was very small, almost smaller than you, a man from this country came to my little village. While he was there, he taught us how to speak your language, and after years of practicing, I was able to speak like how I am now,” Orion explained as they walked through town.

“Wow! Y’know, Ah heard people from Neighpan are martial artists! Can ya fight too?” Apple Bloom asked with anticipation.

Orion laughed a little before adjusting Apple Bloom on his shoulders. “Yes, I know some martial arts. Where I grew up, we learned both Kung Fu and Karate.”

“Cool!” Apple Bloom threw some mock punches in the air. “Ah bet Ah can get mah cutie mark in martial arts, don’t ya think?”

“Hahaha! Who knows? Maybe you will, maybe you won’t, it can’t hurt to try.” Orions smiled as he watched the little girl throw fists.

“HEY, ORION!” Both Orion and the girl he carried were startled by an unknown voice screaming and something touched downed right in front of them.

The all too familiar rainbow haired girl, Rainbow Dash, glared at Orion with what looked like a newspaper in her hand.

“Where is he?!” Rainbow demanded.

“He? Who’s he, Rainbow Dash?” Orion asked as he and Apple Bloom both titled their heads to the side at the same time.

“Rickert! Who the Tartarus else?!” Rainbow barked. “Does Applejack have you living under a rock?! Have you not read the paper?!”

Orion took the paper that Rainbow Dash held out for him and began to read what was on it.

“Highlights of the annual Wonderbolt Derby in Manehatten are the buzz nowadays as an unknown flyer is taking the whole town, and possibly all of Equestria by storm,” Orion read. “The derby was threatened to be cancelled due to a member of the Wonderbolts being absent, had it not been for a young man by the name of Axel Rickert. Currently employed by CEO of Barnyard Bargains, Mr. Berry F. Rich. The young man volunteered to substitute the absent Wonderbolt member to race in his steed. Many did not believe this man was capable of racing since he had no wings. What can only be described as an unknown phenomenon, Axel Rickert was able to use unfamiliar abilities to sprout wings of his own and race alongside Captain Spitfire and her two top fliers, Fleetfoot and Soarin. The derby proved to be more eventful and suspenseful than anyone could predict. As if the shock didn’t stop, in a stunning turn of events, Axel Rickert managed to outfly all three top members of the Wonderbolts by taking the victory in stride.”

The front page had a picture of Axel beating Spitfire as they crossed the finish line. His digital wings looked like they were glowing more than usual as he raced against the Wonderbolt Captain.

Orion and Apple Bloom both smiled, after finishing reading the headline. “Wow, would you look at that? Seems Axel made a pretty impressive performance. Good for him.”

“Ah wish Ah could’ve been there to see it,” Apple Bloom said.

“What’s the big idea?!” Rainbow sneered. “Why does he get to fly against the fastest flyers of Equestria?! Let alone be able to beat the great Spitfire?! He probably cheated or something!”

Orion shook his head and signed. “Rainbow Dash, that’s really rude to say, you know? Obviously he didn’t cheat, and I understand you’re jealous of him, but you don't need to be so rude about it.”

“What do you care?! You don’t have wings! You can’t fly, so you don’t know how unfair it is!” Rainbow snapped. “I’ve been training all my life since I could fly upside down! It’s been my dream to fly with the Wonderbolts and join the academy! Yet he shows up outta nowhere and does something almost everyone would kill to do!”

With warning Orion delivered a quick chop to the top of Rainbow Dash’s head. “Orion Chop!”

“Ow! What was that for?!” Rainbow said, rubbing her head.

“Good one,” Apple Bloom giggled.

“Listen up, Rainbow Dash.” Orion spoke in a series tone, causing both girls to flinch from the change of tone. “I understand you are envious of Axel, and I wouldn’t say you don’t have a right too. However, the way you are going about it, is unacceptable for a girl like you.” Orion lowered his hand and set Applebloom down on the ground. “I’m not sure how to explain Axel’s stroke of good luck, nor can I explain why he was able to out fly the Wonderbolts. All I know is that our friend was having fun. That’s all that matters. You can either be happy for him, or you can continue to be a bitter person and sulk like a child.”

Rainbow processed Orion’s words and wanted to retaliate but knew deep down that he was right. It wouldn’t be appropriate to hold a grudge against someone for something he had no control over.

“Fine…” Rainbow huffed as she crossed her arms and looked away. “I won’t be mad, but it’s still unfair he got to meet Spitfire before I did.”

“Ah don’t think she gets it,” Apple Bloom whispered to Orion.

“I know she doesn’t.” Orion pinched the bridge between his nose and took deep breaths. “If that had been you, and someone said the exact same thing you did, how would you feel hearing that?”

“I guess it wouldn’t feel good to hear,” Rainbow admitted.

“There could be men and women who were born way before you, who wanted that to happen to them, even more than you. Do you think you are owed something just because you trained hard for it?” Orion pressed further.

“Ye-but I-…” Rainbow tried to say but sighed and shook her head.

“So what? Were you gonna yell at Axel like you just did now and ruin your friendship, rather than be a good supportive friend and congratulate him?” Orion asked.

“Okay, okay! I get it!” Rainbow threw up her arms. “I still consider Axel a friend. I was just so bent on wanting my shot at the Wonderbolts that I didn’t expect someone like Axel to beat me to it. It just upset me a little, is all. I don’t hate Axel. I doubt I could, after what he did for Ponyville.”

Orion smiled as he moved to pick up Apple Bloom and put her back on his shoulders. “Well, I hope you’ll think the next time you act out. Otherwise I’ll have to give you another Orion Chop.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Rainbow panicked, covering her head and flapping her wings. “You won’t have the chance!” Rainbow flew off at top speeds away from Orion.

“I think she gets it now,” Apple Bloom giggled.

Orion chuckled as well as he continued the walk. “Yeah, I think she did. Let this be a lesson, Apple Bloom, those who act in haste, will make a big waste of time.”

“Ah’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Apple Bloom said. “Can Ah see that paper?” Orion nodded and handed the paper to Apple Bloom.

Orion waved to the people of Ponyville and they returned the wave in kind. As they neared the schoolhouse, Orion looked up and noticed Apple Bloom was reading something that made her look uneasy.

“What’s the matter, AB? You look like you saw a ghost or something.” He picked the girl off his shoulders again and moved a hand to gently stroke her back to help ease her.

“It’s just…there was a big fight in Manehatten’s lower district,” Apple Bloom said. “Says here a fight between crime gangs broke out and someone named the Red Hawk stopped it. A lot of people were hurt badly and some…killed.”

Orion gently took the paper and read it over, immediately making the connection. “Apple Bloom, that is life sometimes. Bad things can happen at any point in time.” He continued to stroke her back as he read on. “This is why you should never do things that may seem too dangerous or go out on your own.”

“Okay…” Apple Bloom said.

She then hugged Orion before running off to join her friends at class. Orion turned around and glanced at the paper in his hand with a furrowed brow.

“Mistakes like these can’t continue being made,” Orion sighed before tossing the paper away and walking back to the farm. “She’d be heartbroken if she knew who Red Hawk was.”

Orion tucked his hands in his pockets as he made his way back. Upon arrival, he spotted Blueblood struggling to carry a basket full of apples to the wagon as Mac and Applejack stood there staring at him.

“Ya only managed to fill five baskets? Ah could’ve done ten times that amount already,” Mac mocked.

“Eeyup,” Applejack nodded.

“Be…silent…you…cretins!” Blueblood wheezed as he managed to put the basket in the wagon.

Orion looked into the wagon and saw that Blueblood did indeed fill up five baskets of apples. “Hmm, well I see you went beyond my expectations Orion smiled at Blueblood and gave him a gentle pat on the back. “As promised, you will get triple servings.”

“Aiiiyyyy!” Blueblood yelped in pain as he fell down. “Don’t touch me!”

“Ah tried to tell him to lift with his legs, but he wouldn’t hear it,” Applejack shrugged.

“Don’t worry, pain is the greatest teacher.” Orion laughed as he moved to lift Blueblood gently and set him in the wagon. “You can rest for now, just help out by picking out any leaves that may have fallen in the baskets.”

“One day…you shall pay…” Blueblood weakly said with a shaky finger pointing at Orion.

“Oh? Do you want to go to bed? I could always send you back the same way I brought you here?” Orion said with an evil smirk. “But then again that window opening is smaller than the hay bail. I might accidentally splatter you all over the barn. Oh well, your blood will blend in with the red pain, ahahahah!”

Blueblood said nothing else as he slowly began removing leaves. Mac shook his head and went to collect more apples. Meanwhile, Orion leaned on the other end of the wagon and Applejack joined him. She stood in front of Orion and leaned back against his chest.

“Oy oy, since when did I become a cushion all of a sudden?” Orion teased as he moved his arms around his girlfriend and held her gently.

“You complainin’?” Applejack asked, leaning more into him.

“Haha, no, I would never.” Orion nuzzled himself into her neck and kissed it. “So, how many baskets to make up for Blueballs?”

“Thrice what he was supposed to haul in,” Applejack scoffed. “But Ah don’t wanna think about that right now. All Ah wanna do is tell ya how much joy ya brought to me. I owe Ax big time fer convincin’ me to hire you.”

Orion blushed as he kissed the back of her head and snuggled into her. “Yeah, I’m lucky to have met a girl like you, AJ. Honestly, I thought I’d die single, haha!"

“Now that, Ah find hard to believe. A stud like you? Able to kick trees outta their roots if he could? Ah’m surprised you were still single beforehand,” Applejack said.

“Nah, back then I didn’t look nearly this good. Girls back where I came from didn’t give me a sideways glance.” Orion sighed as he held his girlfriend close, almost as if she would disappear if he let go.

“Hey, why do ya think Moon and Ax ain’t sweet on each other as we are?” Applejack asked. “They like each other, don’t they?”

“Ah, because they are both socially awkward. So much so until one makes the first move, neither of them will confess their feelings properly,” Orion stated matter-of-factly.

“Is it maybe also ‘cause they jumped the gun a bit? Even Ah can see that an apple orchard away,” Applejack teased.

“Well, I’m not too sure. Sometimes mistakes are made, and you can always blame the guys for it.” He scratched the back of his head as he chuckled nervously.

“But Ah’ve wanted you to ask me out, and look at us,” Applejack turned her head to smile up at Orion.

“That’s because we allowed ourselves to get used to each other. Can you imagine what would have happened if we just confused love for one another after one day of being together?” Orion asked.

“Oof, Ah suppose not only are they socially awkward, but they’re a tad immature, in a way,” Applejack said pityingly.

“Yeah, but give them time. I’m sure they will be able to show how they really feel much easier,” Orion added.

“Ah sure hope so,” Applejack said before bumping his waist with her butt and walking away. “Come on, time to get to work.”

Orion smiled as he began to roll his shoulders. “So how about I fill up sixty-nine baskets in under one hour, and then later tonight we do the sixty-nine hehe.”

“Keep talkin’ like that, and ya just might get what ya want~,” Applejack purred, leaving with a sway in her step.

Later That Evening

“Alright, everybody, soup’s on!” Granny Smith called out from the house.

Orion and the two Apple siblings just finished hauling in the last of the harvest. All three worked up quite a sweat, excluding Blueblood who had lost consciousness about two hours ago.

“Should we wake him?” Mac asked, wiping his brow.

“Yeah, I wouldn't want him to miss the food he had earned.” Orion smiled as he grabbed two baby carrots and plunged both up each of Blueblood’s nostrils before closing his mouth. Orion held up five fingers before taking one down for every second. Soon he was left with one finger.

On cue, Blueblood’s eyes shot open as he gagged from lack of air. He flailed his body around like a fish out of water until he finally got the idea that there was something in his nose before blowing the carrots out. Everyone was laughing the whole time and it only made Blueblood angrier.

“Are you people trying to kill me?!” Blueblood wheezed.

“Well, sorry, your highness, but we didn’t want you missing out on the meal you worked so hard for,” Orion chuckled as he ate his food while the others were giggling.

Blueblood really wanted to give Orion an earful but harrumphed instead as he picked himself up.

“Oh! Ah almost forgot!” Applejack said. “Orion, would ya kindly go pick up Bloom from school?”

Orion smiled and nodded. “Sure thing, I’ll be back as soon as possible.” Pushing away from the table, he quickly made his way to the door. “Don’t let Blueblood eat my food.” He called out.

Hearing more laughter as he left, Orion power walked out the door and made his way to the schoolhouse. As usual, the townsfolk waved to him, and he waved back as any good-natured guy would. As he walked, his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw it was Axel calling him. Seeing Axel’s name made Orion a little unnerved, after reading about what happened in Manehatten in the morning paper. The phone kept buzzing and he ended up answering the call.

Taking a deep breath Orion clicked the green button and spoke into the phone. “Hey Axel, how are you man?”

“Yo, Orion. Things are pretty well,” he heard Axel say in a somewhat cheery tone. “You wouldn’t believe this city, man, it’s almost the spitting image of a place back where I’m from!”

“Is that so? Well, I’m glad to hear you're having fun.” Orion wasn’t sure about how to not trigger his friend in regard to the Red Hawk incident. “So, hey, I read the paper and saw an article about you and the Wonderbolts.”

“You read about that, huh? In all honesty, I didn’t think I’d be able to win,” Axel chuckled. “But man, those guys can fly! Something tells me they weren’t even going full force! I won out of pure luck, let me tell you. And get this! I got asked to join them by this chick named Spitfire!”

Orion felt a sudden lump fall into his stomach as he could practically hear Rainbow Dash raving. “Umm…what did you tell them exactly when they asked you that?”

“Well, I said I’d think about it. She even gave me her card with her number, so that’s pretty sweet, huh?” Axel said, sounding a little smug. “Real talk though? The opportunity does sound appealing. Hell, it sounds like an opportunity of a lifetime!”

“Well, I know RD will be jealous about this.” Orion sighed, as he felt some pity for her. “She’s someone who would die for an opportunity like that.”

“No shit? Huh, I’ll have to remember that,” Axel said. “We’re about to head back on the train today, what’s been new with you?”

“Nothing too crazy, I helped Apple Bloom after she got this weird sickness known as the Cutie Pox, and we helped find a good pet for Rainbow Dash,” Orion said as he neared the schoolhouse.

“What kind of pet does Dash have? A falcon?” Axel guessed. “Knowing her, that sounds like her kind of pet.”

“Nope, she actually got a pet tortoise. She named it Tank,” Orion added a smirk on his face.

“Pfft, ha! You shitting me? A slow-ass tortoise?” Axel chortled.

“Hey, he may be slow, but the little guy has heart.” Orion defended as he walked on to the school. “Anyway, I also saw something else in the papers. Some guy named Red Hawk, causing problems.”

Axel was silent for about a minute until he heard him sigh on the other line.

“…What did you read?” Axel asked hesitantly.

“The paper was vague, but there were definitely death reports in that letter. I’m a bit concerned about this person,” Orion said, doing his best to sound like he didn’t know more than he did.

“Yeah…I heard about it too from Mr. Rich,” Axel said. “We made sure to steer clear of that district. I personally wanted to check it out, but figured it wasn’t really any of my business.”

Easily detecting the lie that Axel was going with, Orion tried to guilt the man. “Poor Apple Bloom read the paper. The look on her face was heartbreaking, I’ve never seen her look so sad before.”

Another minute of silence over the phone and Orion could swear he heard Axel curse to himself.

“Well…you tell that kid to keep her head up. And I’ll let her ride on my shoulders so I can fly up in the sky with her, okay?” Axel said, his voice sounding a little shaky.

Orion sensing the fear in the man’s voice decided that he had done enough. “In my opinion, the news didn’t say much about the mysterious man. The paper mentioned him stopping the fights, however my guess is that luck wasn’t on his side when some people died. I don’t know if we should be afraid of this person, but they at least deserve a chance to bring light on the truth. Wouldn’t you agree my friend?”

“Sure, yeah…uh, look, I gotta get going. So I’ll see you soon,” Axel said in a low tone.

“Mind your temper, my friend, and none of it was your fault,” Orion spoke before hanging up.

“Orion!” Orion looked up to see Apple Bloom running up to him, followed by her two little friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

“Did ya come to get me from school?” She asked gleefully.

Orion smiled as he knelt down. “That’s right, your sister wanted me to come and get you so you can eat.”

“That’s good, Ah’m starvin’!” Bloom chirped.

“Hiya, Orion!” Scootaloo said.

“Hello,” Sweetie said.

“Hello girls, how goes the search for your special talents?” Orion smiled as he moved his hands to ruffle the two girls’ hair. “Hopefully keeping out of trouble, right?”

“Of course!” Scootaloo said.

“Hey Orion? Did you tell Axel yet?” Sweetie said.

“Oh brother…” Bloom rolled her eyes.

Orion sucked air through his teeth as he scratched the back of his head. On the one hand he could say yes, on the other this probably wouldn’t be something healthy in the long run. “Sweetie Belle, listen. This is gonna be hard to understand, but something like that between you and Axel wouldn’t work out. I know you may not understand why, but the issue is age, hon.”

“But I…I really like him!” Sweetie complained. “He’s so strong, handsome, and he won against the Wonderbolts!” Sweetie clasped her hands together and sighed. “He’s an absolute dream…”

“He’s also older than you,” Orion cut in. “I understand that your feelings might be genuine. However, there is no way for him to accept your feelings. Unfortunately, this is the harsh truth, Sweetie.”

“You’re wrong!” Sweetie Belle ran off with a dumb grin of denial. “We’ll be together forever!”

“I give it a month,” Scootaloo deadpanned.

“I give it two months,” Bloom said, facepalming.

“This is bad,” Orion stated, feeling a sense of unease. “I’m afraid this isn’t gonna be some kind of phase.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it. She’ll get over it,” Scootaloo waved it off and walked away. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Bloom.“

“See ya Scoots!” Bloom waved goodbye and looked up at Orion. “You know the drill!”

Orion smiled and knelt down, giving Apple Bloom access to his shoulders. “Yeah.”

The Next Morning

Orion was laying on a hay bale with Applejack and enjoying the tranquil sound of the birds chirping. The Apples had decided to give him the day off while Blueblood was left with picking up after Orion. The two lovebirds watched in amusement as Mac ordered Blueblood to haul more apple baskets to the wagon.

“Enjoying yer day off, sugar?” Applejack asked.

Orion sighed as he moved his arm around his girlfriend and held her close. “Yeah. I’m thinking of going into town. Not sure why, but I feel like being proactive today.”

“That so?” Applejack leaned up to look down at him. “As if your beefy butt ain’t proactive enough?”

Blushing, the man moved in to kiss his girlfriend’s cheeks. “Don’t go talking about butt, unless you’re asking me to spank yours,” he teased.

“You do that on a daily basis whenever Mac or Granny Smith ain’t lookin’,” Applejack remarked. She looked down at her butt and smirked. “Although, Ah guess Ah can’t blame ya.”

“Heh, anyway, I feel like walking around the town, maybe helping some people in need.” Orion slowly got up and stretched his arms and legs.

“Don’t be gone too long,” Applejack said, smacking Orion’s butt.

He let out a yelp before heading off into town. Walking off the farm he saw Mac having Blueblood picking up more baskets full of apples. Orion smirked out of satisfaction knowing Blueblood was understanding just how hard life can really be.

Orion enjoyed his trek through Ponyville and was once again greeted by the locals with waves friendly smiles. One thing Orion noticed was that almost everyone he passed by had a newspaper and were still reading about Axel and his victory.

“You look almost as bored as I am,” a voice said out of nowhere. Orion groaned at the familiar voice of a certain chaotic being.

“Hello Eris, to what do I owe this sudden appearance?” Orion couldn’t see the chaos lord, but he did know that she could hide herself if he wanted to.

Eris poofed right by Orion as she lounged on a pink cloud with her legs hanging off the sides.

“If you must know, Twilight has been a nag who constantly is on my ass in my hair and Moon has become a shut-in because of some comment some asshole made while he was checking out a book,” Eris said in a lax tone.

Orion groaned and pinched the bridge between his nose. “The same guy, or someone new?” He asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

“Someone new,” Eris responded. “I must say, this has been happening a lot lately. And you know what the most amusing part of it is? Axel has no idea!”

“I find that the exact opposite of amusing, Eris.” Orion glanced at the chaos spirit. “You should really learn to be more sensitive around others’ feelings. Or have you forgotten what you felt like at your lowest?”

“Don’t remind me, and what exactly do you expect me to do about it?” Eris leaned up and looked at Orion and held up her hand to use as a puppet. “Hi Moon! I heard you’ve been getting bullied, that must suck! Wanna talk about your feelings and maybe get your sort-of-boyfriend to kick all their asses? Who knows?! You might feel better!” She said, opening and closing her hand to mimic her.

Orion shook his head and even chuckled a bit. “No, unfortunately that wouldn’t work. However, you would be on the right track in wanting to talk to Moon, as someone who currently isn’t well-liked as well. Just talking to someone and having them listen can help more than you think,” he said.

“If you haven’t noticed.” Eris removed her mouth from her face and held it in her hand. “I’m not exactly the talkative type,” her mouth said in her hand.

“Funny, you have no trouble talking to me.” Orion smirked as he gently grabbed her mouth from her hand and placed it back on her face. “Honestly, despite my earlier reaction to you, I find you to be a fun individual.”

“Why thank you!” Eris chirped. “If only Axel felt the same way…”

It was only for a brief moment, but Orion caught sight of something in her eye and tone of voice.

“Oh?” Orion smirked a bit, leaning in closer. “Does a certain chaos goddess, have a crush on Axel, hmmm?” He sounded rather pleased with his assumption.

Eris blinked and her pink cloud suddenly dissipated, causing her to fall on her butt.

“Wh-Why I never!” Eris stood back up all flustered. “I am a lord of chaos! I don’t get crushes!”

Orion knelt down, his smiling bigger than before. “So you say, but you’re stuttering, you’re all flustered, and the tips of your hair are forming hearts,” he teased.

Eris pulled out a large mirror from her pocket and noticed her hair strands were indeed forming little hearts.

“Lies!” Eris said, poofing the mirror out of existence and flew it in the air. “Lies and slander! I reject this! I hate that no good killjoy!”

Orion rolled his eyes before something caught his attention. “Hey, it’s Axel and he’s…naked? What the fuck?”

“WHERE?!” Eris flew back down and looked around; her eyes had little hearts in them.

“Whoops, my mistake, it was only a tree.” Orion had an evil smirk as he watched the chaos lord’s face now blush red as an apple. “You sure seemed eager to see a naked Axel, now, didn’t you?”

Instead of answering, Eris poofed away in a pink cloud as the cloud spelled out, Fuck you.

“Nice talking to you too. Feel free to come back when you need dating tips.” Orion called out, feeling satisfied. “Well, now I have something to tease her about. Heh, this will be fun.”

“Hey buddy.” Orion felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see a few men. They all had slitted reptilian-like eyes, webbed bat-like wings, and had small fangs protruding from their lips.

“Ya know a guy named Rickert?” The guy said in a Manehatten accent.

The looks of their uniforms, and the bad vibes these individuals were giving off told Orion that they weren’t a friendly bunch. “Rickert? Hmm, can’t say I’ve heard of anyone with that name here. Are you guys here looking for a friend?”

“Don’t get smart with us, kid,” one of them warned. “We know that Rickert mook lives here. We came to deliver a message.”

“I assure you gentlemen, I know no one by that name. Seeing how small this town is, it would be impossible for me not to know anyone.” Orion figured that these guys weren’t going to fool so easily. “But there are rumors of a shady fellow who goes into the Everfree Forest.”

“Everfree?” The men looked at each other and glared at Orion as they went to reach for something under their coats. “One last chance, ya little shit, where’s Rickert?”

“Hey, maybe we can use this guy to send our message?” One of them said and pointed a magic gun at Orion’s head. “Tell Rickert he should never’ve messed with the Night Reapers.” The gun made several bystanders panic.

Orion didn’t flinch nor showed any fear. Instead, he moved his hand to grasp the barrel of the gun, between his index and middle finger. “Night Reapers? What are you, an amature band?” With a light twist of his wrist, Orion bent the barrel with ease.

“What the?!” The thug panicked.

“You freak!” The other thug said as he pulled his gun and was about to shoot.

“Listen fellas.” Orion yanked the gun out of the first thug’s hand and swung it to knock the second thug’s gun out of his hand. “This town is a peaceful place…most of the time. So, how about you take whatever grudge you got and kindly leave?”

The lead thug pulled his extra gun out and pulled the trigger. Orion felt something hit his arm and staggered back, but quickly lunged forward and grabbed his hand and forced it to point upwards before he shot again.

“That stung, you!” Orion now glared at the lead thug as his grip tightened, and a loud crack could be heard, causing those who were still watching to wince.

“What the Tartarus are you?!” The lead thug yelped.

Orion tossed the thug whose arm he cracked aside. He grabbed the lead thug by the front of his shirt and lifted him up with ease. Orion glared up at the man. “One pissed off dude.”

Orion lifted the man over this head, holding him up with both arms as he began to spin him round and round.

“Aaahh! Get me down! Don’t just stand there, you fucks!” The lead thug said.

“He broke my fuckn’ arm!” One of the thugs said.

“I ain’t goin’ near that freak!” The other thug said.

“Don’t wanna come play? That's fine, I’ll come to you.” Still swinging the lead thug, Orion walked to the third and grabbed him before tossing him up high into the air. “Let’s see if you guys are good at juggling?” As the third thug came back down, Orion tossed the lead up before catching the other and he slowly started to jungle the men around.

The lead thug still had his gun in his hand and began firing his gun. The people began to panic and run for cover when one of the shots flew at the bell tower. The shot struck the rope, and it began to break.

“Oh no! The bell tower!” A bystander panicked.

Orion glanced over to the bell tower, letting the two thugs he was juggling fall to the ground with a loud thud. He looked down to see that two women were just beneath it, on the ground, covering their heads. No doubt to avoid the bullets. Orion could see the rope slowly snapping apart as the layers broke apart.

“Look out!” He called out before running forward.

The bell came crashing down as the two women screamed in terror. The whole town watched in horror as the tower collapsed and the bell rang violently on the way down.

“Mr. Orion, don’t!” A bystander tried to stop him.

Orion charged forward ignoring any and all warnings. He shortened the distance between him and the two women, as he was about to move them out of harm’s way.

The bell crashed down onto the three of them, letting out one final loud ring.

“That worked out in our favor! Let’s bail!” The lead thug said as he and his men fled the scene.

Meanwhile, the crowd has gathered around the destroyed tower, wondering if anyone had survived such a catastrophe.

The dust began to settle, and the crowd gasped in horror at the sheer amount of ruble that had fallen where the two women and Orion once stood.

To everyone’s utter shock, they saw Orion actually holding the bell on his back. His shirt was torn to shreds as he grunted and strained from the weight of the bell. When he opened his eyes to see if the women were okay, he saw that it was Fluttershy and Rarity. Both were still cowering together.

“H-hey, girls I need you to crawl out.” Not wanting to waste time with formalities, Orion tried to get the girls out of the way. “This thing is heavy and I’m not sure how long I can hold it up.” He grunted as he adjusted his stance to ease the weight.

“O-Orion?!” Fluttershy yelped.

“Oh goodness gracious!” Rarity panicked. “Fluttershy, quick! Move! Move!”

The two girls ran as fast as they could out of the way until they were out of range.

Orion grunted before a surge of strength flowed through his body. With a mighty heave, he launched the bell off his back and away from the people. The bell clanged again as it struck the ground and rolled away. Orion collapsed on his butt and sat there, trying to catch his breath.

Orion coughed and groaned, as he could feel his muscles ache from the sudden strain. He rubbed his arms and legs trying to ease the pain. “Damn, that hurt like a motherfucker.”

“Orion!” Orion looked up to see Fluttershy and Rarity run up to him.

“Sweet Celestia, are you okay?!” Fluttershy squealed.

“That bell fell straight on you!” Rarity said with equal worry.

Orion grunted as he tried to stand up. “Me? Naw, I’m okay. How about you girls? None of that rubble scraped or hurt you, right?” He asked checking to make sure that Fluttershy and Rarity weren’t injured.

“Oh, we’re fine. A tad shaken up, but we’re okay,” Fluttershy said as she helped Orion stand.

“How on Eques did you do that?! I recall it took five of the strongest earth pony men to lift that bell in the tower!” Rarity said.

This bit of news surprised Orion as he had no idea the sheer weight he had lifted. “I mean it was really heavy, don’t get me wrong, but I’m just as surprised as you girls.”

The crowd had gathered, and some were coming to terms with the display of strength Orion showed. They murmured amongst themselves until some began to clap and cheer for Orion for saving Fluttershy and Rarity.

“You saved us.” Orion turned to Fluttershy with a thankful smile. “Thank you, thank you so much, Orion.”

“I agree.” Rarity said. “Our lives would be forfeit, had you not come to our aid. You have our eternal thanks, dear.”

Soon the entire crowd surrounding Orion began to clap in applause for his heroics. Orion’s cheeks flushed red as he was showered with praise. “G-gee it wasn’t that great. I just did what I could to help is all.”

“It’s more than that,” Fluttershy argued. “You were here when you needed to be. Like Axel, you’re a real hero, this day.”

“And I have just the way of repaying you, darling,” Rarity said as she pulled Orion along. “Today is spa day, and you’re coming with us!”

“W-what?!” Orion shouted with surprise as he was suddenly tugged along. After the strain of the bell’s weight, Orion’s body was too weak to resist the gentle tugging.

“Come now, Orion! We simply must thank you!” Rarity said. “The town will take care of the mess, and the bell doesn’t seem to be too beaten up.”

“Please, Orion? Join us?” Fluttershy pleaded with her big eyes.

Orion groaned as he felt his will to resist weakening. “Are you kidding me with those eyes?” He let out a frustrated sigh and nodded his head. “Lead the way,” he said in defeat.

“Yay!” The girls cheered.

They led Orion to the spa as the crowd kept praising him. They arrived at the building and Lotus, one of the spa sisters, waited for them behind the counter.

“Bonjour, Lotus!” Rarity said in a singsong voice.

“Bonjour, madame Rarity, madame Fluttershy,” Lotus said. “I ‘eard ze most dreadful noize, vat ‘as ‘appened?”

“The bell from the bell tower fell on us but Orion saved us,” Fluttershy said.

“Mon dieu! Are you both okay?!” Lotus gasped.

“We are now, thanks to Orion,” Rarity said, winking at Orion.

Orion’s body went stiff, but he shook it off and tried his best not to blush. “I-It was nothing, just helping out wherever I am.”

“‘e’s a modest one,” Lotus giggled. “An admirable quality for a ‘andsome man like yourself.”

Orion cleared his throat doing his best to keep calm. “And currently in a relationship, thank you.”

“Oh, I am aware, you and madame Applejack are, ‘ow you say, glued to each other,” Lotus teased. “Now then, as a special treat for our hero of ze day, you shall all receive a full treatment on ze ‘ouse.”

“Really?! Oh, that’s so nice of you! We’d hate to take advantage of that,” Fluttershy said.

“Tut tut! I shall ‘ear nothing more! Ze decision is made!” Lotus said with a clap of her hands. “Come along, we shall get you all situated.”

Orion and the girls followed behind Lotus, as she led them into the spa. “I’ll be honest, this is my first time in a spa.” Orion admitted while his eyes glanced around the building. He saw the spa from the outside, but never thought he’d end up inside.

“Zen you’re in for a wonderful experience.” Lotus said and pointed to some changing rooms. “Please change into ze bathrobes provided. My sister shall await you once you are ready.”

Orion was confused as to why he needed to change into something else. “Um, I just need to take off my shirt and pants, right?” He asked, still confused as he held up the bathrobe, which was as long as he was.

“Oui,” Lotus nodded as Fluttershy and Rarity entered their changing rooms.

Orion let out a sigh of relief as she moved into his own changing room, before taking off his shirt and pants and putting the bathrobe on and exiting the changing room.

Waiting for him was a sight he’d unintentionally burn into his mind. Fluttershy and Rarity both wore bathrobes that hugged their unexpectedly curvaceous bodies. Their hips were just the right width, smooth and slender legs without a single hair, and generous busts that showed off just enough cleavage for his sake.

Orion quickly averted his eyes, reminding himself that he was with Applejack, and that he was loyal to her. “Um, well now what do we do?” He asked, making sure his eyes stayed glued to the ceiling, as though it were the most interesting thing in the world.

Orion was met with silence which forced him to look back at the girls. They all seemed to be staring at Orion, all with pink cheeks and eyes that seemed to be scanning him.

Before Orion worked at the apple farm, Orion would’ve been considered averagely physically fit. However, thanks to the countless days hauling apples, kicking trees, and other hands-on chores, Orion’s body had morphed into one of peak physical fitness. The bathrobe was pressing up against his broad chest and large shoulders, not to mention it showed off his muscular bare legs.

“Well now~,” Lotus purred.

Orion’s cheeks flushed and he cleared his throat again, trying to shake back their attention. “So, how about that spa treatment?” He said, a slight creak in his voice.

Aloe, Lotus’s sister, gestured for him to lay down on one of the tables as Fluttershy and Rarity were coaxed out of their trance and led to their own tables. Orion laid down on his stomach and Aloe rubbed oil on her hands and Lotus pulled his robe a little off his shoulders.

“Just relax, dear,” Aloe said softly.

Orion nodded slightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed by his current position. However, he tried to calm himself and loosened up. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Orion felt Aloe’s hands touch his shoulders and began massaging him. Orion sighed as he instantly felt his muscles being smoothed out as she worked her magic.

“How is it, Orion?” Aloe asked as she worked at the kinks in his shoulders.

“Very good.” He almost purred. “I never knew a massage could feel this relaxing.” To Orion, it felt like pounds of tension and stress were being melted away.

“I hear you and madame Applejack work together on ze apple farm,” Aloe said as she worked on his back. “And you managed to win her heart. Quite the impressive feat, since she was known to reject nearly every boy who attempted to woo her.”

This was new to Orion; he had no idea that Applejack was that sought after. “Really? I never knew that. I figured she was just too busy for anyone to approach her.”

“True, but you can agree zat she is one of the most alluring women in town, yes?” Aloe said, smoothed out his arms. “Between you and I, in her own special way, her charm rivals that of madame Rarity and Fluttershy.”

Orion smiled as he could clearly see his girlfriend’s beauty. “Yeah, she’s very alluring, and she has a wonderful personality too.” Orion sighed happily, but not from the massage, no. He was simply overflowing with love for his girlfriend.

“It is a shame zat monsieur Axel and miss Moon do not show ze same affection for each other as you two,” Aloe said, moving down to work in his lower back. She traced her hands along his spine until she suddenly pressed down hard.

Crack!

Orion let out a sharp gasp, before suddenly melting like butter. His mouth curled into a smile almost on its own, as he sighed.

“Oh…that felt good,” he sighed.

“One more, deep breath!” Aloe said and pressed down again.

Crick! CRACK!

Like before Orion’s body began to lose more and more tension. His body feeling twenty times lighter, and the aches and pain from the bell tower were now just a distant memory.

“Ooh…sweet Celestia,” Orion groaned.

“As for those two…well, maybe they just need proper guidance. The love is there, they just missed the proper connection is all,” Orion theorized.

“But Orion.” Rarity chimed in from listening in on their conversation about Moon as she got her nails done. “Moon was here after I invited her for a spa day after Axel left. She looked…so dreadfully depressed.”

“I saw her too,” Fluttershy said, sitting in a chair as her feet were massaged. “I tried offering her to hold Angel Bunny once, but she refused. Did she have an argument with Axel at some point?”

Orion took this into consideration, and along with the knowledge that Eris dropped earlier. “I think the problem is that she’s unable to handle being picked on. And she doesn’t want to tell Axel, because she knows his temper is shorter than Eris’s attention span.”

“What?” Rarity has the person doing her nails stop. “Moon is being bullied? The nerve of some people!”

“Yeah, well, people can be like that. The problem she fails to understand is that words only have as much power as you give them. Maybe I should talk to her. She needs to be around people who can know how to pull their punches when it counts,” Orion said as Aloe moved down to his legs.

“I hope Axel comes home soon,” Fluttershy said. “Even though they may have rushed their relationship a bit, they still deserve to be happy. At least, that’s what I think.”

Orion smiled and nodded his head. “Oh yeah, anyone with a good set of eyes could tell you that. And Axel might have himself some other girl pining for his attention.” He smirked knowing about Eris’s little crush.

CRACK! CRICK!

Aloe had both Orion’s legs in her hands and masterfully popped them both at the same time.

“Ooh, geez! Man, I never knew messages could feel this good. I feel like I could go and bench press that bell now.” He joked as he felt continuous waves of relief.

“Orion, how flexible are you?” Aloe asked.

“Not sure. Why do you ask?” Orion looked back curious as to why she would ask.

Aloe stood over Orion on the table and grabbed Orion’s arms. She delicately placed her foot on his lower back and smiled innocently.

“HUP!” Aloe pulled Orion’s arms back while keeping her foot pressed down.

CRACK! CRICK! POP! SNAP!!

“Whoaokay! I’m not sure if that was a good snap and pop, or a bad snap and pop.” Orion admitted as he started to get a little nervous.

As soon as Aloe let him go, his whole body went limp. The blood soon began flowing throughout his body and he felt the calmest he’s ever felt in all his life. It was as if his body was made of warm jell-o.

“And how was that, Orion?” Aloe said as she hopped off the table.

Orion slowly sat up and got to his feet. He bent and twisted his body, as he tried to see how much he had been lessened.

“I feel amazing! Like my whole body is brand new!” As he stretched his arms out, the knot holding his robe came undone, and it promptly fell off.

All the females' eyes went wide as they got a good look at what Orion was packing under his robe. Suffice to say, barely anyone was disappointed. Rarity covered her eyes, Fluttershy feinted, and the sisters tried desperately to keep anyone else from looking. All while still blushing profusely.

“Eep!” Orion quickly pent down to grab his robe and just a quick tie it back on. There was a moment of awkward silence as he could feel his own face burning with embarrassment. “Ummm…so, what’s next?”

The spa treatment lasted about another hour with Orion trying out more treatments for his body and complexion. He and the girls soon left the spa building, but Orion still felt flustered from the bathrobe incident.

“Darling, do not worry about it,” Rarity tried to say. “We didn’t see anything.”

“I…I did…” Fluttershy whispered, still blushing.

Orion buried his face in his hands as he tried his best to calm down. “Ugh, that was so embarrassing!” He groaned.

“Darling, you should not stress over such trivial matters,” Rarity consoled Orion. “I confess, I once had the same thing happen to me once. But I did not let it bother me, because that would only mean I am insecure. In fact, I recall getting many compliments of how pristine my skin looked and how healthy my body was.”

“Um, Rarity? I don’t think that’s relevant,” Fluttershy said.

“Well, you aren’t in a relationship, Rarity. I wouldn’t want to do anything that could make me seem dishonest to Applejack.” Brushing his hair back with his fingers, Orion let out another groan, before shoving his hands in his pockets. “What would Applejack think if she saw me like that in front of other girls?”

“Orion, do you think Applejack is shallow?” Fluttershy boldly asked.

“What? No no, it’s just where I come from, such acts could be seen as unfaithful. Like, if I were to stare at a girl in a way that seems almost lewd,” Orion corrected himself.

Fluttershy and Rarity looked at each other before looking at Orion.

“Orion, do you know what a Joint Relationship is?” Rarity asked.

“…Joint Relationship?” Orion asked curiously. “Umm…I can’t say that I have.”

“A Joint Relationship is something many people practice around Equestria,” Rarity explained. “It has something to do with the birth rates, you see. For every four to five baby girls are born, only one or two baby boys are born. So Celestia made a law that states if men or women wish to be in a relationship with more than just the two of them, they may include others and share each other.”

This threw the man for a loop, his eyes wide as he couldn't quite process this. “So, you’re telling me, that so long as both parties are in agreement, a relationship can involve more than two people?”

“Indeed. Why, the man that owns the donut shop, Donut Joe, in Canterlot if you recall, is in a lovely marriage with two other women,” Rarity pointed out.

“I honestly had no idea,” Orion said, baffled as they soon reached the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. “Though I highly doubt I’ll need to worry about something like that. I mean; besides Applejack, I don’t think any other girl is gonna be interested.”

“Are you sure?” Rarity batted her eyelashes at Orion in a teasing manner.

Orion’s body jolted as Rarity was looking at him. A faint blush on his cheeks, before he turned his head to avert his gaze. Orion noticed Fluttershy staring at him with a small smile and pinker cheeks than before.

“Not you too?” Orion’s face was now going from pink to scarlet.

“A lady doesn’t kiss and tell, dear, but you never know,” Rarity said as she and Fluttershy walked away. “FYI, I enjoy a nice dinner with a bottle of wine.”

“And I like to spend time with my nocturnal animal friends under the moonlight,” Fluttershy added.

“Toodles, darling~!” Rarity waged goodbye.

“Bye, Orion,” Fluttershy said as she scurried off.

Standing now completely dumbfounded, Orion simply turned around, and began to walk up to the farm. Within a few strides, he was at the door to the farm, and walked inside. “I’m back,” He called out in a neutral tone.

“Hey there!” Mac said, giving Orion a wave. “How was yer day off?”

“These girls are gonna be the death of me.” And with those words, Orion fell forward, collapsing on the floor, snoring.

Mac arched a brow at how Orion passed out unexpectedly, but simply shrugged and walked over and slung him over his shoulder. He walked up the stairs into his room and laid him down and smirked.

“Sure has been more lively since ya came around, boy,” Mac said as he left to let Orion nap.

Author's Note

Never a dull moment in Ponyville, even while the star is away.

Hope you enjoyed!

~WurkyWilk has left the building…