Miracle for the Cursed

Laughter filled the dining room for what seemed like hours. Princess Celestia was still in heavy conversation with her guest, and had a nice little stack of tea-cups off to the side that would impress most professional tea drinkers. Janos still had the one he started with, which was stone cold by now.

"So, poor Vorador, he's trying to pass on the power of our race to this human, and accidentally afflicts him with a terrible rash!" Janos said, trying to stifle his laughter, "It would be a decade before the poor child tried again with one who was willing to risk some other ailment."

Celestia slowed a bit, and tried to contain her laughter for the moment. "Your 'son' must have had a hard life if he started out like that."

Janos's smile slightly wavered, "Yes... we have all had a hard life for one reason or another."

Celestia's laughing ceased from the slight dip in the mood. "It must be difficult being cursed like that and being alone for so long." Janos nodded as the Princess continued, "I've never known that feeling. I've always been surrounded by my faithful subjects... But, my sister-"

Janos interjected, "Yes, Princess Luna. It was a shame she lost her will like that for so long. I don't even think I can comprehend what she went though."

"But, you've been alone far longer, and were forced to watch as those humans fear and despise you!"

"At least I had their company, and had my faith in waiting for Raziel to claim the Reaver from me. Your sister had nothing to look forward to, and was separated from all contact in the cold outer-reaches of the cosmos. I am only glad that her return had been swift and her cure from her madness was absolute."

Celestia nodded, solemnly, "I just wish it didn't have to come to that." Silence filled the room for a moment or two, before Celestia moved to a new topic. "Janos, may I ask you who this 'Kain' is you kept referring to?"

"Ah yes," Janos started, "From the time I spent with him, I have found him to be a rather brazen and ambitious individual to say the least. It is forgivable, as it seems that the odds are always stacked against him. There is no doubt in my mind that if he does reclaim Nosgoth from our enemies, he will attempt to rule it. I sincerely hope that he will also make an attempt to do what we could not for so long."

"You mean, purify the land?" Celestia interjected, "That seems like an weighty task to take, even when your kind seems to have eternity to do so. Not to mention the fact that he seems a tad selfish in his motives."

Janos nodded slightly. It was very true that Kain was a self-centered individual, but he was sure that even Kain KNEW that if something wasn't done, the balance of Nosgoth would soon shatter. An event like that would be something a ruler would need to avoid, especially if they intend to govern the land for the rest of eternity. Right?

"So, Janos," Celestia said, cutting the silence, "Where are you going to stay while you are in Equestria?"

Janos thought for a moment, "I... don't know. I have not been able to visit anywhere aside from this castle, and that alley I landed in. I would not know where I could find a settlement that would be willing to accept a foreign individual like myself. I will not even know where I could discreetly find... well..."

Celestia nodded, "I suppose that's true," She sipped her new cup of tea, thinking for a moment, "AH! I know where you could go, but you must be very careful in what you say around my little ponies. I know you aren't a threat, despite what you are, but I doubt that they would be so understanding if they knew."

"Mortals are like that, I have learned. I will keep the knowledge of my curse to an absolute minimum, and my... activities away from prying eyes."

"Mm-hmm," she agreed, "Though, there is more thing I wish for you to do, my special guest."

"What would you have me do?"

"Try to avoid 'sipping' from my subjects. It would break my heart to know that one of my subjects was hurt. Nearby the location I'm thinking of, there is a place called 'Everfree Forest'. There, you could find proper nourishment, though your prey might be more dangerous."

"I will consider that greatly. If, however, I do have to sip from your subjects," he said in a hesitant rebuttal, "I have learned long ago to make the process as painless as possible. As long as I do not get caught during the act, they will usually just believe it to be a strange insect bite of some kind."

Celestia's face twisted to concern for a moment, before she realized something. If Janos is at least willing to take extra steps to avoid harming those around him, or to at least make any feeding off her subjects to be significantly less harmful, she thought, then the least I can do is have faith in him and hope that that nothing will go wrong. "Very well, I will grant you that, but please, do not let me down. You are wonderful company to be around, and I would hate to have to revoke our friendship because somepony had seen you and claimed you attacked one of my subjects."

Janos nodded, and stared at his nearly full cup of room temperature tea. "I will be as careful as I can, Princess."

"Thank you." Celestia looked down at the cup Janos was currently fixated on, "Oh! Oh, I'm sorry you had to sip that. If I would have known-"

"It is quite alright," Janos interrupted.

The doors to the dining room slowly opened, and in stepped a blue clad mare of equal imposing power to Celestia, though her size was slightly smaller than Janos' gracious host. She donned sparkling silver shoes, a black chest piece with a white gem in the shape of a crescent moon, and a black crown that sat behind her horn. Her mane had the same ethereal effect as Celestia's, but instead of the multitude of colors, this one had multiple-hues of dark blue and was speckled with what looked like stars. It was as if looking into the night sky itself.

"Sister, it is time for you to raise the sun," said the new mare calmly, as she approached the two.

"Already?" Celestia asked before turning to Janos, "We must have been talking for far longer than I thought." She turned back to her sister. "Luna, I would like you to meet out guest of honor this... morning. Janos Audron. Janos, this is my sister, Princess Luna."

"A pleasure to meet you," Janos said with a small smile.

Luna seemed slightly nervous. Timid even. But, that assumption was immediately shattered when she responded, "THINE PLEASURE IS ALL OURS, HUMBLE GUEST," loudly.

Janos was taken aback from the sudden volume increase. Celestia interjected with a chuckle, "Dear sister, there is no need to use the royal Canterlot voice, especially in here where the acoustics are prime."

"Right," said the princess of the moon with a blush, "We-... I apologize." She turns back to Janos, who just finished recovering from the sonic assault, "I'm sorry about that, honored guest. It WAS usually customary for the princess to address those using the 'Royal Canterlot Voice'. I'm a bit behind on the times, still."

Janos smiled once again. "It's quite alright, my child," he replied, which earned a slightly confused look. "All is forgiven."

Princess Luna was about to ask him why he called her 'my child', when Celestia interrupted what would surely be another lengthy conversation, which would lead to him possibly overstaying his welcome.. As much as she liked Janos' company, she needed to get back to her royal duties and he needed a proper place to stay, and this castle with way too many prying eyes is NOT a good location for a vampire. "Sorry, Dear sister, we must be off. I need to help our guest in finding a decent settlement to stay at, after I raise the sun, of course." She got up, and silently motioned for Janos to follow her. The blue clad ancient followed suit, leaving the slightly stunned deep blue royal to stand in awe in the dining room.

"'Tia always has the most unusual guests..."

-v-v-v-v-v-

The two ponies trekked towards, then up, a great tower that stood high and mighty over the city and even the castle itself. The stairs seemed to go on for a while, nearly a good hour, but both of them were accustomed to such things. Winding staircases up to an important locale was almost a ritual in of itself in the ancient ways. At the climax of their climb, there was a balcony wide enough to hold at least six extra individuals along with the princess.

The view for Janos was breathtaking. The land he witnessed now reminded him of Nosgoth before her decent into chaos and corruption. Green as far as the eyes can see, skies filled with a twilight hue with the sun currently absent, and crystal clear lakes and streams that were around and amongst lush vibrant foliage. Humble settlements peppered across the land, and a glittering and colorful city resided just below the castle keep. For the first time in a very long time, Janos believed that it felt like everything breathed with a certain, unifying harmony, and that life would continue on this bright path for eons to come. A simply beautiful experience that he'd never thought to see again.

"Enjoying the view, Janos?" Celestia chimed, as the vampire nodded slightly, "Good. Cause the view is gonna get a little brighter."

Before Celestia started her daily rise, Janos spoke up, "There is one thing I wish to know. You said you were going to 'raise the sun'. How is that possible? I have never met a..." he paused, looking for the right word, "being, that was THAT powerful. The only way it would be true is if you were-"

"A god?" Celestia finished. Janos looked at her bewildered, "Yes, it is a little odd, isn't it? What with the fact that I and my sister were born into this world, just like every other pony. Most alicorns, as rare as they come, are generally more in tune with the magic of this world, and a few of us have learned to harness it to it's full benefit and limit. My sister and I were just naturally able to tap into the most powerful elements of magic in the world, which was why we could ascend to the status of deity. It's as if circumstance and nature conspired to create beings trustworthy of such potential."

Janos looked back to the horizon. "I am still finding it difficult to believe that you are, indeed, a god," he said with a stoic face.

Celestia chuckled, "Then, allow me to demonstrate." She closed her eyes, and her horn became aglow with a brilliant gold aura. As her eyes opened, the sky began to brighten as the sun slowly peeked out over the horizon, casting a warm light over the countryside, painting everything with a gentle golden hue. Janos remained neutral.

"A sunrise is a sunrise," He said, unconvinced.

Celestia huffed, "I thought you would be more susceptible to belief over proof," she said, "but, if you insist on further evidence..." She stared at the sun as her horn grew brighter. Janos turned to the mare briefly, before noticing that the sky was getting darker. He looked back to the horizon and saw that sun going backwards, almost disappearing over the edge it was coming from. Then, it rose again, then set again. Janos couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The sound of panic erupted from the city below, which made Celestia suddenly return the sun back to it's normal trajectory. "So, did I make a believer out of you this morning?"

Janos only managed to nod, as he tried to process in his mind what he just saw. An act of god, on the sun itself, and the god was standing right beside him. Never in his life did he EVER believe that he'd meet a deity face to face. He made a mental note to avoid angering her at any time, lest she decides to walk right up to him and smite him personally.

A guard pegasus from the gates below flew right up to the railing of the balcony, and addressed the princess, "Your Highness, there is panic in the city. They believe something-"

"Everything is fine, Lieutenant. I was just showing my guest here a little trick," she smiled warmly with a slight twinkle of mischief in her eye, "I will address the public myself within the hour and ease their worries. Thank you for briefing me on the matter. Please, return to your post."

Shocked and somewhat flustered, he looked over to Janos and noted his rather odd appearance mentally, before turning back to the Princess in salute, "Yes, your Majesty." He flew back to his duties far below the tower.

Celestia sighed, "I should have known I wouldn't have gotten away so easily with that little stunt." She looked over to Janos, "It's so hard to have a little cosmic fun when everyone is so afraid."

Janos, having already composed himself, interjected almost automatically, "They fear what they don't understand..."

"Yes. I'm just glad that they don't despise what they fear. I guess being a tangible being that they could talk to face to face helps, does it not?"

Janos could only give a half smile as he silently recounts his memories of being a tangible unknown amongst frightened mortals. He looked at the Goddess, telling the story through his eyes, before she answered herself, "Right, dumb question. Anyway, I said I was going to help you find a place to stay. I can't do much aside from pointing you in the right direction." She motioned for Janos to approach her, which he complied.

When he was close enough to her, she leaned in and pointed towards the south and slightly west of the castle. In the distance sat a quaint little town that resided beside and orchard of a sort, a deep and darkened forest that seemed to span for many miles, and a harbor off to the eastern side. "Right there," she said, "Is one of my favorite little towns in Equestria. Ponyville."

Janos looked at the princess with slight puzzlement, but before he could ask, she answered the obvious, "Yes, I know, an oddly unimaginative name. I've actually really tried to get the founders to come up with something better, but they insisted on that name, saying something about it reflecting the humble nature of location and residents. Oh well..."

She sat in silent thought for a moment, before she continued, "What I want you to do is seek out my dearest student, Twilight Sparkle. She'll try to help you find a place to stay, I'm sure." She noticed that he was about to ask another obvious question, "Most ponies don't exactly have uniquely crafted and exotic names, Janos Audron, so I suggest you just don't ask and just go with the flow. Oh, and one more thing, you are free to mention that you came from a land called Nosgoth, but don't mention it's from another world. Trust me, for the most part, it's not a good idea so say such things."

After hearing everything that the princess had to day, he finally spoke once again, "I guess this is goodbye, then?"

Celestia nodded slightly, and looked back to the little town. "I wish you luck on your new life. And, remember what I said about your required nourishment. The forest adjacent to Ponyville is Everfree. Use it well."

Janos hopped up on the railing of the balcony. "I will not disappoint you, Goddess." Janos was about to take flight, but decided on a better idea. "Before I leave, my child, would you like to see a little of my power?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow. Yes, Janos wasn't an ordinary pegasus, but he was was STILL a pegasus. They don't have the power, or the means, to manipulate the properties of magic. None the less, she was intrigued, if a bit skeptical. "Alright, Janos," she said, with a wry smile, "show me this 'power' you have."

"Very good," He said with finality. On the railing, he stood up on his hind legs, and opened his wings to their fullest extension to keep his balance. Celestia noted the sheer size, which made her own wings rather dwarfed. He then moved both his front hooves in front of his chest, and had held them perpendicular from each other. Looking to her, he bid, "Farewell," before sparks and wisps of blue energy crackled between his hooves, before the energy quickly grew, and covered him completely. In the instant it happened, he suddenly vanished in thin air.

Celestia's eyes widened in shock as she used her magic to scan the area he was just in, and picked up something familiar. "A teleportation spell. You cheeky devil." She said with a hearty laugh. With a thought, she summoned a scroll and a quill, and began conducting a letter.

-v-v-v-v-v-

To My Dearest Student, Twilight

On your continued journey to discover the magic of friendship, you will no doubt meet ponies that may seem strange or bizarre to you. Some may be inviting, and others may frighten you. One must not shy away from those that make you afraid, for you may just be shying away from a good soul. No matter his ailments, circumstances, or quirks, you must always get to know the pony before you make any judgements. Some may even surprise you with how delightful they could be if given the opportunity.

May your new guest entertain you for eons.

Sincerely Yours,

Princess Celestia