June 24, 1463 of the Common Age

Opheda sat next to Maerise as the two waited just outside of a cave for Verbana to come out. It had taken them less time than they thought possible to reach the peak of Mt. Everhoof. They'd had to sneak past a single older pony stallion who was guarding the pathway up, but Verbana was a powerful deer. She had cloaked them in a spell that kept them invisible, something Opheda never knew was possible for a deer. Maerise had even looked surprised, and when Opheda asked, she explained that magic of that sort was something she never knew deer could do, either.

Verbana had led them up an ancient road that only she knew about, which cut time off of their journey. Regardless of that, they still had taken more than a day to reach the summit. Now, the former matron and student were waiting for Verbana. The barrier surrounding the cave had been no match for the ancient mythical doe. Opheda had not said anything, and Maerise didn't press her, something the former was grateful for.

Opheda shivered a bit, and before she could pull the blanket around her, another wrapped around her body. She looked over to see Maerise's horn glowing slightly. She'd given the younger doe her own blanket. Silence reigned between the two of them as Opheda nodded gratefully to her former Matron as she wrapped the blanket around her. She couldn't believe it. Maerise had imbued the blanket with a minor heat enchantment, something that Opheda had not managed to figure out how to do yet.

Looking over, she saw Maerise looking over the view of the northern portion of the continent before them. Opheda did as well, taking in the vast snow-covered regions along with the dense forests that were also covered in snow and ice. This was a wild land, it seemed. Nocreature seemed to live here willingly as the weather here wasn't controlled by the pegasi. Despite it being the beginning of summer, the snow at the top of this mountain was fresh and very deep. The sky was currently clear, but the wind blew around them with a fierce and icy chill. Fortunately, the entrance to the cave was mostly protected so the winds were not an issue, but the cold still was.

"I'm so sorry," Maerise said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Opheda looked over at the older doe. She wasn't expecting this from the Priestess. "Sorry? Sorry for what?"

Maerise, who was looking at the ground now, closed her eyes. A tear fell, falling to the snow and melting some of it on impact. "For…for not being more supportive. For not being there when you needed me…for not stopping the bullying and abuse…" More tears began to fall and fell down onto the snow. "I-I failed you as a Priestess and Matron…"

Opheda steadied herself and tried not to let her anger get the better of her. She agreed that Maerise was at least partly at fault, but upon some self-reflection the night before and during the journey up the side of the mountain, she realized, or had started to realize, that she'd had a slight lack of trust in Maerise. Perhaps if there'd been that trust, she could have approached the Priestess and informed her of her issues. Still, she also knew trust went both ways, and she came right back around to shifting more blame onto Maerise.

Opheda knew Maerise was a good doe deep down. She may have been flawed, but the tenets of Accord said that nodeer was perfect. There were always flaws to uncover and to work through. Opheda was no exception. She was reckless, unwilling to listen, and too eager to please, among other things. Her realization of these issues was met initially with denial, which quickly turned to self loathing and anger. She knew it would be easier to direct the anger outward, but it wouldn't be the truth, and the truth was one of the tenets of Accord. Truth outwards and inwards, and the latter was more important in this situation.

She turned back to Maerise. "We both failed each other and ourselves," she said slowly, "so, I'm sorry too." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "I should have been more patient with my studies."

"You were a driven and devoted student," Maerise replied, "and I was pleased to be your Matron. I still failed you as a teacher."

Opheda was glad to hear that, and she wanted more than anything to be able to have some kind of relationship with Maerise, but she also knew that there'd be no going back to how things were. She was done with the Order. "I still won't be going back, but if you want, maybe we could…I dunno…explore the world here together? Maybe starting with Equestria?"

Maerise was silent for a bit, and Opheda could tell that she was thinking long and hard. Then, her expression hardened with anger. "If Lady Verbana is right about that spell being a Noctis, then I don't think I'll be returning to the Temple anytime soon. Somedeer put that on me. I'm not sure if it's anydeer at the Temple, but the only deerfolk I know of in Equestria are of a splinter group who supposedly live in a large forest down south near Canterlot."

"Who would cast that kind of spell on you?" Opheda asked. She didn't know anything about Noctis, but Verbana had compared it to an Umbrum, and she did know a thing or two about them. One of the most famous Umbrum she knew about was an ancient unicorn king named Sombra who had once dominated this northern territory of Equestria, but he had disappeared centuries ago. Umbrum were extremely dangerous creatures and were always strongly connected to dark magic.

"That…is something I don't know," Maerise replied. "I don't know anydeer who would do anything like that, or who would have the capacity to control that sort of creature."

"Can you tell me more about it?" Opheda asked. "What is a Noctis?"

Maerise told her. According to what the older former matron knew, a Noctis was a shadowy creature who could be tamed through special magic to obey the orders of its master. It was made of dark magic as far as she knew, but was subservient to whoever was its master. It was capable of great speed, flight, invisibility, and was unable to be detected. In certain situations, if the magic binding it was strong enough, a Noctis could take on the form of anycreature like a changeling. It was intelligent despite not being able to talk. The more Opheda learned, the more horrified she felt. Who in their right minds would send something like that after Maerise? When she was finished, Opheda felt sick. Maerise must have noticed because she brought out a small water pouch and offered it to the younger doe. She took it and swallowed a few gulps of water. "Better?" her former Matron asked.

Opheda nodded before asking, "Who in their right mind would send a Noctis after you?"

"I know of nodeer who has a Noctis," Maerise admitted, "but at least your friend Miss Verbana was able to deal with it."

"Hmm…" Opheda was about to say something, but there was a sound from the cavern entrance. Both turned to see Verbana walking effortlessly through the magical spell that kept the cave from being accessed. Verbana's troubled expression was answer enough, but Opheda had to ask anyway. "The bell isn't there?" she asked.

"Your vision seems to have been correct," Verbana said somberly. "I spotted recent hoofprints around the bell's former location." She took a deep breath, then raised her head and her horns began to glow.

"What are you doing?" Opheda asked.

"While I was in there, I felt a massive surge of magic from down south," she said, "so I am trying to-ah, I think I found it." Verbana opened her eyes. "We're heading south."

"Where?" Maerise asked as they began following Verbana.

"I'm not entirely sure," Verbana said, "but wherever it is, it's possible it in or near Canterlot."

June 25, 1463 of the Common Age

When Pinkie Pie woke the very next morning at six AM sharp, she already had a warm smile on her face. She pronked out of bed, quickly making it before practically sailing over to a large chalkboard. In big, bold letters at the top were written the words DAMI'S PARTY! where she had written ideas for the newest pony-or Djinn-in Equestria. She stroked her chin with her hoof, a thoughtful expression on her face as she wondered just what a Djinn would like at a party. She prided herself on knowing just what a pony would like at a party, but while her Welcome to Ponyville parties were all similar as a way to test the waters with newcomers, she wanted Dami's party to be extra special, especially to make up for all the sadness he'd endured.

She wanted his smile to reach his eyes, not just stay stuck on his lips only. He hadn't laughed in nearly a thousand years, at least according to what Twilight said and from what her Pinkie Sense was telling her. Being locked away for no reason simply was too cruel!

She thought back to the pony Notebook Study who had claimed to have met the Djinn of the Everfree over a year ago. She was happy for the pony, but when she'd heard about Notebook's death and how unexpectedly gruesome it had been, she'd been unable to get up for a couple days. Her mane and tail had gone flat and her normally vibrant pink color scheme had been muted. It had taken a few more days, and some encouragement from her friends and the Cakes, to come to peace with Notebook's death. She knew ponies died, but to have one's head go kablooey was possibly the worst way to go.

She shook away such horrible thoughts and focused more on the present. She looked at the party board once more. They'd had a welcome party for Zecora the day before after things had been straightened out between the once mysterious zebra and the other ponies. It had also led to Pinkie witnessing Twilight's very first Friendship Lesson to Princess Celestia.

While Pinkie had fun baking some Farasian sweets specifically for the party, she knew next to nothing about Dami. She did remember the donuts he'd shared with them, so that was the first thing she wrote down on the board: Try to recreate donuts from that Krispy Kreme place! Mmmm!

She then stared at the board, wondering what else to do for the saddy waddy Djinny. While staring, a stray thought passed through her head. Normally, she'd dismiss it because she had a certain pride about her on the subject, but in this case, she let the thought build in her mind. She looked at the massive but still empty board in front of her. Sure, she could go for some of the standards for her parties, but she wanted this one to be super-duper extra special!

She looked at the clock. It was only 6:05. She made a whining sound. She'd learned the hard way not to wake her closest friends up in the morning super early, but she at least knew Applejack would be up by now. Still, she wanted to have them all gathered as soon as possible. Since she'd taken the day off to focus on planning for the party, she went back to bed, set an alarm for nine and promptly went back to sleep.

At exactly 9:30 AM, her bedroom was full of six adult mares and one young baby dragon. Five of the mares and the dragon were seated on bean bags in front of the still practically empty chalkboard. Pinkie was pacing in front of it while the others were just watching her. After a few paces, a certain prismatic pegasus lost patience. "Okay, Pinkie, what's this all about? Why'd you wake us up so early in the morning?"

"Sugarcube, what's got you more worked up than a group of chickens at feedin' time?" Applejack asked.

Pinkie paused, then reached up her hoof, slamming it onto the chalkboard. "It's Dami's party!" she exclaimed. "I need your help on it!"

"Um, who's Dami?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"Dami! You know, Damian?" Pinkie clarified.

"You mean that Djinn guy you guys brought back after defeating Nightmare Moon?" Spike asked while chewing thoughtfully on an amethyst.

Pinkie pointed at Spike and nodded. "That's the one!"

"Why do you need our help, darling?" Rarity asked.

"Because I want his Welcome to Equestria party to be splendiforous!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I want it to be the biggest party bash that ever bashed!"

"And…how can we help here?" Twilight asked. "Nopony here knows Damian all that much other than that he's a Djinn."

"Well, you're the egghead here, Twilight," Rainbow said with a yawn, "so you'll know more about those creatures than anypony here."

Twilight shot a glance over to Rainbow. "What did you call me? Egghead? That's a new one…"

Before Rainbow could reply, Pinkie was right in Twilight's face. "What can you tell us about Djinn?"

Twilight gently but firmly pushed Pinkie away. "Well, lucky for you I'm as much an expert on the subject as anypony is, but there isn't much to tell. They're from Saddle Arabian legends. They have magic that can grant the wishes of anypony, but they're also described as cruel and capricious, always twisting the wishes around to have negative consequences."

"Like Notebook…" Applejack said with her ears pinned down.

Twilight looked at Applejack, a look of solidarity on her face. "I did hear about that incident last year," she said softly.

"But if a Djinn is so dangerous, why did the Princess take him in?" Fluttershy pointed out.

"All I know is that some time last year, Princess Celestia asked me to look into Djinn and how to free them from their prisons," Twilight said.

"Prisons? Whatcha talkin' 'bout, Twilight?" Applejack asked.

Twilight inhaled. "From the available information I've learned, I surmise that Djinn are brought here from somewhere else by a summoner, but they're placed in a Djinn's Prison where they are unable to escape or even sleep. If anycreature who has a deep desire wanders near a Djinn's Prison, they can enter said prison and make a wish. Princess Celestia told me about a conversation she had with Damian a year ago." She relayed it to the others, who listened in horrified silence.

Fluttershy was the first to speak after the basics of the conversation between the Princess and Damian were explained to them. She had tears brimming her eyes as she muttered, "That poor Djinn…"

"What kind of sick and twisted freak would summon somepony like that?!" Rainbow, now fully awake and completely angry, asked with gritted teeth.

"Rainbow! Language!" Twilight, who was now covering a confused Spike's ear, hissed.

Rainbow slowly hovered back down to her bean bag. "What monster would do that…?"

"Now I understand," Pinkie said softly, catching the attention of everypony else there. "Now I understand why Dami looked so blank. So blah."

"Life hasn't been too kind to him," Twilight said.

"Ah'd call that the biggest understatement of the century, Twi," Applejack said.

"Did anypony see that newspaper clipping from a couple days ago?" Rarity asked. "The one where he was leaning against Princess Celestia."

This seemed to catch Twilight's interest as her ears perked up. "I must have missed that," she admitted.

Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out a newspaper, tossing it over to Twilight who caught it in her magic. She looked at the image of Damian leaning against the Princess. To everypony there, he looked a bit more at peace than the blank expression he normally wore. His mouth was slightly open and the enchanted image, which repeated every ten seconds like most newspaper images, showed that he was breathing in and out with the regularity of sleep. Celestia looked at the cameras, said something briefly, then looked down at Damian with the kindly smile she was known for before putting more of her wing around him before the image repeated back.

"Wow, I didn't think the Princess would do something like that," Spike said as the image repeated again.

"I imagine after not having slept for nearly a thousand years, he'd be very tired," Twilight said.

"So, what can we do here, Pinkie?" Applejack asked. "This party of yers is comin' up and yeh haven't gotten any ideas up there except that donut one. Yer the party pony."

"Just throw out ideas!" Pinkie said, sounding a little bit desperate now. Part of her mane came undone.

Spike saw this and inhaled sharply through his teeth. "Never thought I'd see somepony else Twilighting," he muttered.

"Ignoring that," Twilight grumbled before she looked at Pinkie. "Now I admit, I'm new here, so I don't know much about how your parties work, but wouldn't a normal party work?"

"But once everypony knows he's the Djinn they might not like him!" Pinkie said.

"Now I see the issue," Twilight said. "Pinkie, I don't know you that well, but you told me that you're friends with everypony in town, right?"

"Almost everypony, but close enough," Pinkie said, eyes glued to Twilight in hope.

"I just had a thought," Twilight said. "I once knew a pony who was obsessed with the mythical human race. Damian is a human who was turned into a Djinn. Why don't we-?"

"Why didn't I think of that?!" Pinkie gasped. "Lyra would know how to help! Be right back!" With that, she took a step towards the window, opened it, and leaped out, galloping down the side of the wall, landing, and rushing off towards Bon Bon's and Lyra's home, a sweets shop run by the former. In an instant, she was inside and leaning against the counter to a clearly startled Bon Bon. "Bonnie! Where's Ly-Ly!? I need her help!"

"U-Um, she's upstairs in her room," Bon Bon said, "but I don't think-"

"It's about the Djinn!" Pinkie said. "The human!"

In a flash, Lyra was standing beside Pinkie, golden eyes wide and her smile wide. "That Djinn really is a human?!" she gasped.

Unfazed by Lyra's sudden arrival, Pinkie nodded. "Come with me!"

Several moments later, Pinkie was back in her room with a dazed Lyra standing next to her. Twilight's eyes were wide in astonishment, but Pinkie had no time. "Twilight! Tell her what you just told us about Dami!"

"Twilight? You're here, too?" Lyra asked.

Twilight looked at Lyra, ears drooping. "Oh dear…I missed Moondancer's birthday…"

"We can deal with that later," Pinkie exclaimed, filing away the inevitable scolding she would give her new friend about missing a birthday party. "Twilight, tell us what the princess told you!"

Another explanation later, Lyra was staring blankly at Twilight. "A thousand years of torment…" she said with a hitch in her voice. "I…" she turned to Pinkie, a determined look in her eyes. "I'll do what I can to help."

Pinkie's heart soared. Dami may be a Djinn, but he was originally a human! A party to celebrate his human self and not the Djinn part was perfect! "Okay, talk to me, Ly-Ly!" she said, walking over to the board. "Lay it on me!"

"Well," Lyra began, "I know that humans are omnivores…"

When Celestia and Luna both went to visit the library to visit Damian later that day, they found him hovering in the air sitting on a floating carpet that looked familiar to the solar monarch. Slowly floating around him were several books, just flying around him like they were in orbit. Curious as to what he was reading, Celestia slowly flew up only to see that he was looking at a book titled The Canter Berry Tales. It was a set of tales written by the famous author Ginger Saucer, and the alicorn noted that Damian seemed to have a special interest in that book.

When she slowly lowered herself onto the flying carpet, she was surprised to find that it could easily support her weight. Damian looked up from his book then over at her. He inclined his head. "Your Highness," he greeted her politely enough.

"I see you found one of the most famous books by Saucer," Celestia noted as she looked to see which tale he was reading. "Ah, you're already at The Mage's Tale. My personal favorite of those is The Tale of Minnow Reed, but that comes later."

Damian turned the book back to the table of contents and looked through it before nodding and turning back to the page he was on. "There's actually a book from my world with a similar premise and a nearly identical name," he said as he snapped. A large book appeared between them with the title The Canterbury Tales written on it. Celestia noted that the author's name was Geoffrey Chaucer. "Feel free to take it," Damian added as he closed the book he was reading and then waved his hand.

As he did so, a couple things happened at once. The books that had been orbiting him began to fly gently back to their spots while at the same time the flying carpet lowered itself to the ground where Luna was waiting. Celestia picked the book up with her magic and looked at it before looking back at Damian. "Did you summon this book from your old world?"

He shook his head. "I touched that book once back in my world, so I can summon a perfect copy of it," he replied. "Like I said, you can keep it. In fact, do you have an empty room where I can create some more human literature for you to keep?"

Celestia thought about this. Most rooms in the castle were all used for something, but then she noticed that there was a large section of shelves nearby that had no books on it. That's odd, she thought as she turned to the librarian on duty today. "Why is that section empty?" she asked.

The librarian, a younger unicorn stallion with a dark black mane, green eyes, and a brown coat, bowed apologetically. "Apologies, your Highness," he said, "but the books that were there are being repaired. They were coming apart and needed some repair work done on them."

"'Tis quite a sight indeed," Luna said, thankfully in a quiet voice. Even a thousand years ago, being quiet in a library was an unspoken rule.

Damian raised his hand and snapped. Instantly, a number of books appeared on the shelves, not filling the shelf up entirely, but there was enough there to fill up at least half. They were all arranged by series if they were in a series, title if they were a singular book, and genre, with a majority being science fiction and fantasy, while others were historical, religious, children's stories, school workbooks and more. Celestia walked forward and examined them with some curiosity. She almost laughed when she saw that the label for this section had been covered with a piece of paper that read HUMAN LITERATURE (TEMPORARY LOCATION). She knew her faithful student would be all over these books if she knew they now existed.

She spotted the same book that she now held in her wing, The Canterbury Tales, sitting in the fantasy section. Other books caught her eye, such as The Phantom Tollbooth in the children's section, the Lord of the Rings series by an author named J. R. R. Tolkien in the fantasy section, the Hyperion series by an author named Dan Simmons in the science fiction section, and many more. She turned back to Damian, who stood by the side with his normal emotionless expression on his face. "You'd give these all to us?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Sure, why not? It's not like I'll be here for too long."

Celestia inwardly frowned. If there was one thing she didn't like about this Damian, it was his attitude towards his imprisonment. She felt like he'd given up on ever being truly rescued from the tartarus he'd been through. Not that she could entirely blame him, of course. If he was right and got his hopes up, it would only hurt him more, so she suspected that he was not getting his hopes up so he wouldn't be crushed if nothing could be done.

Clearing her throat softly, she said, "Damian, my sister and I are going to be going out to Canterlot to see the festivities. Would you care to join us?"

"Festivities? Isn't the Summer Sun Celebration over?" he asked.

Celestia shook her head. "It's a festival that lasts for a few days in many cities," she explained as she walked over and put a wing on his back, gently leading him out. "There's eating, drinking, dances, songs, and plays."

He looked a bit intrigued by this, so as they left the library, he said, "Sure, I guess it could be fun. I wonder if they have elephant ears."

"Sir Damian, our ponies doth not consume the flesh of others," Luna said with a frown.

Damian shook his head then snapped his fingers. A massive platter of light brown pastries appeared in front of all three of them. Each one looked like they were covered in cinnamon sugar. Celestia took one of them in her magical grasp and sniffed it. She was surprised by how delicious it smelled, so she took a bite. The outside of this strange flat pastry was crisp while the inside was fluffy and hot. The cinnamon sugar gave the dough a sweet flavor. She ate it quickly despite already having eaten breakfast with Luna earlier. There was always room for dessert, after all. Looking over to Luna, she saw that her sister was just as eagerly devouring hers.

She turned back to Damian, who was holding his own pastry and eating it while watching them. He held his up. "This is an elephant ear," he said. "On my old world, at least in my country, it's something you'd find at a county fair. It's basically deep-fried dough coated in cinnamon sugar." He snapped and a few pieces of paper appeared in his hand which he held out. "Here's a few different recipes for you to try."

Celestia looked the recipes over and was surprised by how simple each one was. Each recipe even had images for reference. She smiled and looked up at him. "Thank you, Damian." She teleported the recipes to her room, making a mental note to give them to her royal bakers later to see if they could replicate it.

"This concoction is indeed quite delectable, Sir Damian," Luna said as she licked her lips. To Celestia's amusement there were still some flecks of cinnamon sugar on her muzzle.

"It's definitely one of my favorite carnival foods," he said as he snapped and a very elaborate dark blue hoofkerchief with Luna's cutie mark sewn onto it appeared in front of her. At the same time, a cream colored hoofkerchief appeared in front of Celestia, this one with her own cutie mark sewn onto it. "Here you are."

As the princesses wiped their muzzles clean, Celestia asked, "Damian, if there are consequences for any magic you use on others, why hasn't there been one so far when you've used your magic since we freed you? Or do you know?"

"If I use my powers because I want to and not because someone asked, there aren't any consequences," Damian explained as he floated up, the carpet appearing beneath him again. He sat cross-legged on it as they continued towards the castle entrance. "I used my magic because I wanted to. If someone were to ask me for something, then there'd be consequences. For example, if you were to ask for another plate of elephant ears, there'd be some kind of consequence."

Celestia looked at the platter before her, but in her mind, she was thinking. "And I assume that if you tried to free yourself from whatever curse is laid on you now, it wouldn't work?"

He shook his head. "I may have powers similar to Discord, but there are even things I can't do, and that's definitely one of them," he explained as he lay down on his stomach on the flying carpet.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Celestia saw Luna narrow her eyes at Damian. "How hath the knowledge of Discord come to thee, Sir Damian?"

"I read about him in some of the books at the old castle," he explained. "He definitely has powers like me, although he's a menace with them."

"Thou hast no idea," Luna snorted.

"I have a pretty good idea from what I learned from those books," Damian said as he put on a pair of dark sunglasses as they were approaching the front doors to the castle. He grabbed another elephant ear and chewed thoughtfully on the still steaming fried dough. "He's not evil, per se, just pure chaos, and that negatively affects the people around it. A little chaos is fine, but too much is detrimental."

"I agree," Celestia said. She was finding that a conversation with this human turned Djinn was quite enjoyable. He didn't really treat her like nobility, instead treating her like just any other pony. It was quite refreshing for her. "There are times when even I find too much order to be stifling."

"Perchance, is that why thy old room in our old abode would be filled with refuse at times?" Luna asked.

Celestia giggled. "As the foals today would say, I could be a bit of a slob."

"That's not something you see every day," Damian commented as the guards at the door opened the gates to the outside.

As the three walked out of the castle, now being escorted by a contingent of guards, a new face flew over from above. Celestia turned and smiled widely as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, otherwise known as Princess Cadance, the Princess of Love, landed right in front of the group. She was out of breath and panting, but gave the solar monarch a pout. "You didn't wait for me," she said with a huff.

Celestia's smile grew. "I told you I was picking up a special guest before we would be leaving. It's not my fault you're late."

Before Cadance could reply, a set of hooves galloping out from the castle doors. Celestia turned again only to see a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane rushing out. He wasn't as winded thanks to his training, but he was certainly breathing heavily. "Princess, you shouldn't have run off like that," he said as he looked at Cadance, clearly oblivious to Celestia and Luna's presence.

Cadance giggled, covering her mouth with her hoof. "Hey, it's not my fault that you're so slow," she said in a teasing manner.

Celestia looked at the member of the guard. She knew who he was, as she made a point to know the names of everypony who worked in the palace. He was Lieutenant Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle's older brother. He had been assigned to be the head of Cadance's security detail some six months ago. Celestia had done it as a means to see how he acted in a leadership role as the current captain of her Royal Guard was reaching retirement age and she saw potential in him and a hoofull of other ponies in the guard. Not only that, but she could see how the lieutenant looked at Cadance and as the ultimate means to troll the two she'd placed them in close proximity to each other. Clearly, the stick up his rump hadn't yet come out.

Shining simply gave Cadance a disapproving look. "I'm in charge of your security. Princess," he said matter-of-factly, "so it's my duty to make sure you're kept safe."

"Shiny, I'm fine," Cadance said.

"Wow, who knew Twilight's brother had such a big stick up his rump?" Celestia heard Damian whisper to her.

She giggled, but nodded. "Shining Armor is a good pony, but he can be uptight," she whispered back as she took another elephant ear from the still floating platter and chewed on it while watching the scene unfold before her. She didn't forget that he somehow knew about this stallion's relationship to Twilight, but decided to ask later.

Cadance then turned to look at Celestia before she then turned to Damian. Her eyes widened a bit, then she took a few steps closer. "Is that…a magic carpet from Saddle Arabia?" she asked, looking up at Damian.

He looked at her with a slightly raised eyebrow before shaking his head. "No, this is just a recreation of a carpet from the old castle in the Everfree that I placed a flying enchantment on."

Now Celestia knew where she'd seen that carpet. It was definitely one from her old castle. Cadance looked around it, examining it and nodding in approval. "Looks like a comfy way to travel."

He shrugged. "With all the power I have, I've had to find ways to entertain myself. Flying on a magic carpet like Aladdin was one of the first things I did with my powers. Ironic, considering that I'm a Djinn."

Cadance's eyes went wide. "So…you're the fabled Djinn of the Everfree mom and dad told me about," she said in awe.

He inclined his head. "That would be me, ma'am," he said.

"Hmm…you don't have a snakelike appearance," Cadance said. "Mom always told me you looked like a snake."

"A snake, huh? I can do that." Damian snapped and his head was replaced by that of a dark green cobra. His skin was replaced with snake scales and a rattlesnake tail came out from behind him. "How'ssss thissss?" Damian asked with a hiss, the rattlesnake tail from behind him rattling. "Doesssss thisssss better ssssuit your exsssspectationssss?"

Cadance looked a bit nervous now, shuddering at the figure. Luna, on the other hand, simply snorted and turned away, trying desperately to hold back her laughter. Celestia watched the interaction with curiosity. That was, until Shining Armor stepped in front of Cadance, erecting a dark pink shield between the two. "Don't you come any closer, monster!" he snarled.

The now snakelike Damian snapped again, and his form returned to the one that Celestia was used to. "That was weird," he said, rubbing his head a bit. "I've tried becoming a snake before, and their eyesight is so strange. Then again, being a pony is even stranger." With another snap, he vanished, only to be replaced by an alicorn pony stallion lounging on the carpet. He had a bright blue coat, black mane and tail, and a golden Saddle Arabian lamp for a cutie mark. "How's this?"

Celestia now joined Luna in her giggling. She couldn't help it. This Damian individual was incredibly powerful, but unlike Discord, he seemed to be benign. And not only that, but he was entertaining, even if he most likely didn't mean to be. "You look quite nice as a pony-human hybrid," Celestia said between giggled.

"Still, having the eyesight of a pony is just strange," he said as he looked around. "I can see much more than I can as a human."

Cadance spoke up next. "Well, I've never seen a cutie mark like that before," she said. "What is it?"

"It's a Saddle Arabian lamp," Damian explained as he lifted his horn. The same dark green mist surrounded it and created a golden lamp which he floated down to the shield in front of her. "You lift the lid, fill it with olive oil, then bring a flame to a wick that's been stuck into the end and light it. When the oil is gone, the lamp is extinguished. You can have this one if you want. I enchanted it to emit a lavender scent while it's burning."

Cadance stepped forward, putting a hoof on Shining Armor's back. "Relax, Shiny," she said, "he's not a bad pony." She then took the lamp and smiled up at him. "Thank you."

"I'm not a pony at all, but thank you," he said as in a flash he returned to his natural state before turning to Celestia. "Now then, I believe you were going to show me the festivities?"

Celestia smiled and nodded, turning towards the front gates of the walls surrounding the castle. "Follow me, everypony-I mean, everycreature."

As the gates opened, Damian looked out at the city streets. His head began bobbing as he began to hum then sing something softly. Celestia listened and heard the following stanza.

"The streets are paved with gold, better show them what you've got.
"Mares here never get old, in a town called Canterlot.
"But best do what you're told, you've got a rep to keep.
"Gotta bluff or else you'll fold 'cause the uptown never sleeps."

"So, say please and thank you, it's so nice to see you.
"Back in line scream at you now."

"Spare me your pleasantries,
"they don't mean shit to me, don't mean shit to me.
"You've got something to say, well spit it out,
"but watch your tongue, I'm not just anyone. No no no."

Celestia couldn't help herself. She began to laugh again. Damian stopped singing and turned to her as did Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor. She knew precisely what he was singing about. Canterlot was a place of opulence and she did know that there were older mares who seemed to remain youthful. She looked up at him and smiled. "That's quite a song you sang, there. Do you enjoy music?"

"A lot," he nodded. "I spent time actually writing and creating music of my own to help pass the time in my prison. I also learned how to play a large number of instruments."

Celestia nodded. "Is that so? You have a lovely singing voice."

He inclined his head. "Thank you. It took a thousand years to master."

"And it certainly paid off," Cadance said, interjecting herself into the conversation. "I heard what you sang just now, and I think you're incredibly talented."

"Truly, thy voice rivals those of our ancient minstrels from before our banishment," Luna added.

"Thank you." He looked at the floating plate of elephant ears, then back at Cadance and Shining Armor. "You guys can have some of these snacks too, if you like."

Cadance's eyes brightened and she took one, taking a bite. Her eyes widened as she chewed on the simple dish, smiling. "My, these are delicious!" she exclaimed as the group walked into the streets of Canterlot.

"Princess, you shouldn't have taken a bite of Djinn food," Shining Armor said with worry, giving Damian a suspicious look.

"Lieutenant, if he had wanted to poison anypony, my sister and I, along with your sister and her new friends, would have been dead already," Celestia said with an admonishing look. "He created some food from his homeland yesterday."

Shining Armor frowned at this, but simply nodded and continued walking next to Cadance. As the newest Equestrian Princess encouraged Shining to try some of the food, Celestia moved next to the floating Djinn. She ran her feathers along the carpet he was sitting on as it floated next to her. "Comfortable?" she asked.

He looked back down at her and nodded. "Very. It's one of the nicest carpets. In fact, here." He snapped his fingers and four more carpets appeared, three in front of the princesses and one in front of Shining Armor, each looking like carpets Celestia knew from her old castle. Each were floating in the air, and Celestia recognized the one in front of her as the one from her old room. "They'll listen to your thoughts," he said to the three princesses.

Cadance giggled and flew up to the one in front of her, a simple carpet with a pink and red striped heart sewn into the fabric. "Oh wow, this is comfortable," she said as she looked up. The moment she did so, the carpet moved up quickly. "Whoa!"

"Princess!" Lieutenant Armor gasped in worry as he jumped onto his, a gray and black shield decorated carpet. His carpet shot after her. "Please slow down!"

"Wheee!" Cadance laughed as she clung to the front, doing flips with her carpet. "Whoa! Why am I not falling off?" she asked as she paused, hanging upside down. Her mane and tail weren't falling down like Celestia would have expected.

"All Saddle Arabian magic carpets are like that," Damian explained as he moved his own carpet up to hover upside down next to Cadance's. "It'd be kinda stupid to have this kind of carpet and not have some sort of localized gravity spell added on. As long as you're touching it, you can pretty much have all the fun you want."

Shining Armor quickly joined the two, horn aimed at the Djinn. "I have my eye on you," he said warningly.

Celestia sighed, and without thinking about it, leaped onto her own carpet, flying up next to the lieutenant. "Lieutenant, you need to calm down," she said.

He scowled, but nodded. "Yes, your Highness," he said. He then seemed to finally realized what he was standing on because he immediately moved to lie down, eyes wide for a moment before his training kicked in. "So…how do I maneuver this again?" he asked.

"It responds to your thoughts," Damian explained again as he reoriented himself to be facing the normal way. Cadance did the same.

"Okay," the unicorn nodded as he got a concentrated look on his face. He began lowering until he was close enough to the ground that he could leap off. "This could be very useful," Celestia's enhanced alicorn hearing heard him mutter.

Celestia chuckled, then looked up to watch as Luna and Cadance flew around in their new carpets. Sure, they didn't need them because of their wings, but this was certainly a lot more fun and less work on their wings. She moved closer to Damian. "Thank you for these," she said gratefully. "It certainly seems to be helping my sister already."

"Of course," he replied with a nod, "but shouldn't we be going to explore the festivities?"

"Quite right," Celestia said, then she looked up at the still flying Luna and Cadance. "Lulu! Cadance! Let's get moving!"

A few minutes later, the group were moving, or rather flying on their magic carpets, through the crowded Canterlot marketplace. Even Shining Armor had gotten back on his magic carpet and was flying alongside his charge.

The crowd marveled at the magic carpets, only to gawk at the strange creature among the three royals. Celestia was a bit bothered by how the ponies feared Damian, but the Djinn didn't seem too bothered by it. However, during their trip through the crowd he seemed to spot something and sped ahead. Celestia urged her new carpet forward to follow the human, and when she saw him dismount in front of a piano, she smiled a bit. The ponies backed away as he approached, looking nervous. Luna, Cadance and Shining Armor soon joined them. Celestia watched as Damian's clothes began to morph until he wore what looked like a suit that a noble might wear at an opera, including a coattail on the jacket. He was also wearing a powdered white wig on his head as well. The crowd shushed as he sat on the bench, brushing his coattails aside. Celestia lowered her carpet to the ground and sat comfortably on it, as did Luna and Cadance, while Shining jumped off of the carpet and watched, ever on guard.

"Sister, pray tell, what is that instrument that Sir Damian is looking at?" Luna asked. "Is it a new type of harpsichord, perchance?"

"It's called a piano," Celestia explained, "and it was invented about eight hundred years ago."

"Truly? We wonder how it sounds."

"Looks like you're about to find out," Celestia said.

Damian looked at the piano, running his gloved fingers around it, then testing it before nodding in approval. He waved his hand, and in an instant the piano morphed into an exquisite looking grand piano instead of the simple one that it had once been. He closed his eyes and put his hands on the keys. Looking around at the more curious ponies, he said, "While I know you're celebrating the Summer Sun Celebration, I think considering the unusual nature of this year's festival, this might be an appropriate piece to play. This is a work by one of my world's greatest composers Ludwig van Beethoven. It's called…" and here he looked directly at Luna, "Moonlight Sonata, and it's dedicated to the long lost Princess Luna."

That caught the fully restored alicorn's attention and her ears perked up. Celestia was just as intrigued. She was about to hear human music for the first time.

The music began, and instantly Celestia was enraptured by it. She instantly felt like she was sitting underneath a fully moonlit sky, but without the loneliness she had felt for the past thousand years. She felt her sister leaning against her and could also feel the joy radiating off of her younger sister. Celestia leaned in against Luna as well as Damian played. She suspected he had played the harpsichord or the organ that was in the old castle as a means to entertain himself. It had certainly paid off. Either that, or he had played the piano in his life before imprisonment. Nevertheless, she was lost in the moment, letting the piano piece take her to far off places, all lit in bright moonlight. When they reached the third and faster portion of the sonata, she saw herself simply galloping with her sister through a windswept grassy plain with the moon high above, laughing and prancing like fillies.

When he finished with a flourish, the number of ponies who had gathered around had increased. They were all in awe before they began to stomp the ground in thunderous applause. Cadance stomped hard, smiling widely at the performance. Celestia and Luna were a bit more demure, despite the fact that Celestia really wanted to cheer for him louder than the others. Damian stood, looking a little out of breath, but stood and bowed. However, he stood back up when the ponies began clamoring for another song. He held up a finger and nodded. "If you like, I can play one more." This earned him some more cheers as he sat back down. When the crowd was done, he cleared his throat. "This is a song composed by another famous composer from my world named Franz Liszt. It's simply titled Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. I hope you enjoy."

Just like the Moonlight Sonata, this rhapsody began slow but not as much as the previous song. At one point during the song, however, a brown mouse, a dark gray queen cat, and light gray rabbit came up to apparently listen to the music. They actually jumped onto the piano bench and sat there, the cat stretching out onto Damian's lap despite the motion the human made while playing. The rabbit sat on the bench next to Damian, snuffling the air while the mouse sat on the edge of the piano watching with a curious expression. Even when the music began getting intense, none of the three animals left. The cat even began lazily grooming himself.

As the music became more intense, Celestia focused on Damian's face. The normally neutral expression on his face was replaced with an intense expression as he focused on the piano playing itself. She hadn't seen a look like that on his face before, and she wondered if bringing a piano to his room would make him happy. She made a note to gift him with the best grand piano she could find for him at a later date.

When he finished, there was silence before the applause came back. Even the three random animals seemed to appreciate it. The rabbit thumped his back legs, the tomcat reached up and began licking Damian's face, and the mouse jumped onto his head, looking down at the human. He slowly turned around, picking up the rabbit and cat before bowing again, this time apparently trying to make sure not to drop the mouse on his head. "Thank you, everyone," he said with what sounded like satisfaction in his normally neutral tone. "That is all I can do for now. I don't want to distract from the rest of your festivities. Please enjoy the rest of your day."

Celestia watched as the human was swarmed by ponies who were thanking him for a marvelous experience. He thanked them graciously while still holding onto the three animals who had suddenly become very attached to him. When he returned and as the clothes he wore melted away to reveal his normal attire, the cat meowed at him. He turned to the cat, raising an eyebrow. "You sure you weren't bothered by the way I moved?" Another meow then a lick. "If you say so." The rabbit then made a few chittering sounds. He turned to said rabbit. "Thank you." The mouse then squeaked a few things and Damian looked up. "Thanks for not falling into that temptation."

Celestia stood along with her sister and Cadance as Damian approached. "I see you've made a few new companions," Celestia said with a smile. "Also, thank you for sharing your music with us. Those two songs were…amazing."

"Wouldst thou have the sheet music for either of them?" Luna asked hopefully. "We have some experience with the harpsichord and if it is anything like this piano, we would be pleased to learn them. Particularly that first piece."

Damian snapped and a few books appeared in front of her. All three alicorns picked up one book and opened them, looking at the sheet music in them. "All of these books are in the library I just created," Damian said.

Luna seemed to find what she was looking for because she was intently reading over the notes of Moonlight Sonata. Celestia smiled. She knew what to get Luna for her first gift now, a grand piano all her own. She'd also need some earplugs for herself because she doubted Luna would not play. Her sister loved playing on the harpsichord and the organ in their old castle. It was a good outlet for her. Belatedly she realized she should have noticed something was wrong when Luna began playing music more and more often in the last days.

She came out of her brief reverie when she heard Damian saying, "You do? I mean, I'm currently living with them right now, so you'd have to get permission." Celestia turned back to see that Damian's ocean blue eyes were focused on her. "The mouse and the rabbit say they have families, but apparently this stray cat says she's…chosen me to take care of her? I guess the cat distribution system exists in this world, too."

Celestia chuckled and nodded. "I can provide you with a larger room to accommodate your new companion."

The queen cat mewed softly. Damian listened, then nodded. "They appreciate that," he said.

"How is it that you can understand those creatures?" Luna asked as Damian got back onto his carpet, his new pet cat joining him.

"Djinn can understand animals," he said as he waved goodbye to the mouse and rabbit, both of whom headed away, the mouse riding on the rabbit's back.

"Did they tell you their names?" Celestia asked.

"No," Damian said, "but now I have to name this one here." He reached down to the cat who was by now just lounging and giving herself a bath. "Already acting like she owns this carpet, huh?" He stroked her back, which didn't even seem to bother her. "A spoiled princess, aren't you?" The cat turned back, meowed with what sounded like a regal tone, then went back to grooming herself. "Okay then, Princess it is."

"I take offense to that," Celestia said, but she couldn't quite hide the smile from her face.

The newly named Princess turned and faced Celestia. From where she was sitting, the cat was slightly higher in the air than Celestia's head was. The look on Princess' face was almost haughty amusement. She then made a sound that sounded like "Prrrmew," before going back to grooming herself.

"She says you can all bow now, peasants," Damian translated.

Cadance snorted, Luna laughed and Celestia's face turned red, but not from anger, but from barely restrained laughter. "I see," Celestia said. She climbed onto her own carpet, having gotten quite fond of how it felt underneath her. "Then, why don't we all show Princess here the festival? I'm sure we can find her something."

Several hours later, the sun was about an hour away from setting. The group was returning to the castle. Cadance and Shining Armor were both talking about the various stalls and entertainments they had experienced during the day. While Damian's expression hadn't really wavered aside from when he was playing that rhapsody, Celestia thought that he'd had a good time. He'd sampled every food item he could, even transforming into his human-like pony form when needed to try a hayburger.

As they were walking up to the castle, Luna turned to Damian. "Sir Damian, we realize that thy time in our world hath been torturous, but we wish to know if there is anything about the world that is enjoyable to thee."

Damian took on a thoughtful look. "I think, for me, one thing I like here would have to be the flowers."

Celestia was a bit surprised by this, and took the opportunity to ask, "The flowers? Why them specifically?"

He shrugged. "When I first arrived, I found a greenhouse and garden full of different types of flowers, berries, fruit trees etc. near the south wing." Celestia saw a hint of a smile passing over his face before he continued. "It was a bit of color in the drab gray around me, and they were plants that I hadn't seen before."

Celestia nodded in remembrance. She'd thought that the greenhouse and garden had been destroyed, but she'd never really looked after moving the capital from the castle to Canterlot. The plants in the greenhouse and garden were all of types that were sadly now extinct. She came back to the present. "Would you like to see the caste garden?"

Damian looked back at her, then nodded. "I would."

Several minutes later, they were all walking among the castle's private garden. The air was cooler and smelled fresh thanks to the many scents of the flowers. Damian had gotten off of his flying carpet and was now walking around, looking at each and every flower he came across. Princess was asleep on the carpet which followed close behind Damian. Celestia watched this with a smile on her face. His normal expression was emotionless, but seeing him being so enthralled by the flowers seemed to lift his spirits. Even if he had only briefly smiled, it was warming to see him like this.

"Tis a beautiful garden, sister," Luna said from beside her, "and we believe that thy protegee's brother and his paramour are also enjoying themselves." She turned back to watch Cadance standing close to Shining Armor as they admired some rose bushes.

Celestia snickered at that. "They aren't dating, Lu," she said.

"Perhaps not at the present," Luna said, "but we foresee a future for those two."

"So do I," Celestia said warmly, watching Cadance as she and Shining walked along a path full of rose bushes.

"This is a very peaceful place," Damian said, suddenly beside Celestia which startled her slightly.

She nodded down at him. "The Canterlot Castle Garden is one of the most beautiful sights in the city," she said.

Damian nodded. "I look forward to exploring the city further," he said.

"I could assign somepony to lead you through the city-" Celestia said.

"I could do it, auntie," Cadance said as she and Shining rejoined them.

"Princess, you shouldn't," Shining said with a worried tone. "What if that creature-?"

"Lieutenant Armor," Celestia began sternly, "I will not have you speaking in such a way about my personal guest. I understand your caution, but he has not in any way made himself a threat to me, my sister, or the kingdom."

Shining's ears splayed back onto his head, and he nodded. "Yes, your Highness…"

Celestia turned back to Damian, who hadn't moved from his spot next to her. "I'm sorry for Lieutenant Armor here."

"No need to apologize," Damian said with a wave of his hand. "He's doing what he needs to do to protect those he serves. I'd be suspicious of me too. Especially when the amount of magic and power I possess rivals or perhaps surpasses Discord's own."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "I see," she said. "Still, I'd prefer to give you the benefit of the doubt."

Damian gave her a respectful bow. "Thank you," he said.

Her smile returned. "So, what else do you think about the garden?"

"It's definitely a place I can really enjoy," Damian said. "A perfect place to read, take a walk, or listen to the flowers sing."

Celestia looked confused. "The flowers sing?"

Damian nodded, and put his hands together. When he brought them apart, a straight stick with a rose on the end formed. "Indeed. Watch this." He snapped, and a part of the garden that was part of a recent expansion and that had not yet had anything planted there began to shimmer. To Celestia's astonishment, a perfect replica of the garden from her and Luna's old home suddenly appeared. He walked up to a large part of the new addition to the garden and brought the stick up. From nowhere, a harp strummed. "Alright, sound your A, Lily."

Out of nowhere, a random bigger lily flower moved. A face appeared inside and it began to actually sing. "Laaaaaa!"

Another group of flowers, some pansies, also began to sing. "Mi, mi, mi, mi, mi, mi!"

A daisy then began singing as well by going, "La, la, la, la, la, la, la!"

An iris began to warble an arpeggio. Then a chrysanthemum sang a set of base notes. When Damian brought the stick, which he was apparently using as a conductor's baton, down, the flowers in the new part of the garden all began humming in an extremely beautiful harmony. Celestia took note that aside from the chrysanthemums, all the flowers had female voices. Then, the singing began.

"Little bread-and-butterflies kiss the tulips,
"and the sun is like a toy balloon. (Ooooh!)
"There are get-up-in-the-morning glories
"in the golden afternoon! (Ooooh Ooooh!)"

"There are dizzy daffodils on the hillside;
"strings of violets are all in tune.
"Tiger lilies love the dandy lions
"in the golden afternoon
"(the golden afternoon)."

"There are dog and caterpillars and the copper centipede
"where the lazy daisies love the very peaceful life
"they lead…"

"You can learn a lot of things from the flowers,
"for especially in the month of June
"there's a wealth of happiness and romance
"all in the golden afternoon."

There was a brief musical interlude, and Celestia watched as many of the flowers actually seemed to become part of the orchestra.

"All in the golden afternoon
"the golden afternoon!"

"You can learn a lot of things from the flowers,
"for especially in the month of June
"there's a wealth of happiness and romance
"all in the golden afternoon!
"Aaah aaaaah! Aaaaah!"

With the sound of a cymbal crashing, the song was over, and the flowers all seemed to go back to how they were before, any faces they had now gone. The new part of the garden was exactly like Celestia remembered their old one. The extinct flowers that she remembered were now all back. Celestia wandered through the garden, dumbstruck by the gift Damian had unknowingly given back to her. She looked around and saw Luna was already looking at the old part of the garden that she had tended to. Moonflowers, night phloxes, gardenias, and more were all right where Luna had planted them.

Celestia turned back to Damian, who was simply walking among the flowers, gently caressing them and sniffing their fragrances. Acting on impulse, Celestia picked up the human and brought him close to her, wrapping him in a tight embrace. "Thank you…" she said, tears forming in her eyes as she held him.

Luna was instantly by their side as well, joining in the hug. "We thank thee, Sir Damian," she said. "We feared that many of the flowers were gone…"

Damian didn't move for a bit. Then, to Celestia's delight, he wrapped his arms around her and Luna. "You're welcome," he replied in a soft tone.

Celestia looked up at him, and froze in astonishment. Because for the first time since they had met, Damian was smiling.