A day had passed in a relative serenity and calm. During that time, Mike stayed at the Lunar Quarters of the Canterlot Castle. He was given a small room that had nothing but a bed, a chest of drawers placed nearby, and a window on the wall. The door was locked, the outside was patrolled by a squad of pegasi who often passed by the window, glancing inside to survey the strange guest.

Mike didn't mind it as long as they didn't enter the room. He lay on the bed, deep in thought, his posture relaxed. He didn't feel a need to sleep, eat, or even drink. Realization of it dawned on him only later in the day when he finally noticed that he hadn't done anything but lay in one place. It made him curious since there was no way he wouldn't need to eat if he wanted to keep his impressive physique. But even after the food was brought to him, he found no appetite to eat it. The smell of the food was nice but he didn't feel any desire to actually eat it.

However, something interesting happened while he was laying there on the bed. He found out that he could control the fire more than just turning it on and off. Surprisingly, the fire didn't use anything to burn, and if Mike didn't want it to, it wouldn't as much as scorch anything. The fire followed each and every of his command and could even change color from red to orange and to blue.

Aside from this new ability of his he promptly named "Hellfire", there was something else he hadn't seen before. When he wanted to adjust his pillow, it was engulfed in an aura of fiery orange, which surprised him. Apparently, he could subconsciously use telekinesis instead of how he usually had his hands do the task.

A mirror was inside the room, and in it, he could see the same aura dance on his curved horn when he used telekinesis. It was like another kind of fire but it was something else entirely, a new sort of energy he had yet to understand.

A day after the fateful night that changed his future, Mike was invited to Luna's private office to discuss his job assignment. He understood that it was a start and he wouldn't have any other chance anyway, considering his looks. He chuckled to himself, finding it somewhat amusing. Either way, he was ready to accept anything as long as it gave him a solid base for the future.

Once he reached Luna's office, the princess invited him to take a seat opposite of her at a small office table. She was wearing reading glasses and had a quill in her magical grasp as she looked at a piece of paper on the table.

"So... um, well, I am required to fill the paperwork to properly introduce the Night Guard to Equestria once again," Luna cleared her throat, her body slightly tense as her eyes glanced at the infernal equine. "I need thy personal data, that is."

"My name is..." Mike started. Then, he realized that he couldn't recall his name as if something was blocking it. It was at the edge of his mind and yet he couldn't remember it for a reason he didn't know.

An evil giggle echoed in his head.

"Whoever you are, you won't make me take Nightmare as my name!" he cursed internally, his body slightly stiffening. Struggling to come up with any common human name, his mind only received strange names, most of which he didn't remember seeing or hearing at all. Despite how much he wanted to remain himself at least in a name, he had to pick another.

"My name is Andromalius." the Nightmare said, finally. Silently sighing in defeat, he forgot his human name forever. However, the new name he had chosen, for some reason, felt right. "I am eighteen years old, male."

"Eighteen?" Luna asked, surprised. "Thou soundest and lookest... older."

"Is it relevant now?" Andromalius replied with irritation. He internally cringed, knowing that he overreacted to a simple note. However, he had more important things on his mind than a remark. His new name was giving him a headache already. He was adjusting to it, repeating it over and over again in his head, wondering why it felt so right.

"...Alright." Luna cleared her throat again, this time a bit more shakily and forcefully. She took a few second pause as she collected her thoughts. "Birthplace?"

"There is no such place here, so just write down whatever you see fit."

"...Alright." the alicorn nodded, paused, and then wrote something down. "That would be all for now." she glanced at Andromalius again. "My sister and I shall find volunteers from the Solar Guard soon as well. After it is done, the Night Guard will be reformed and brought to light once more."

"There are only three ponies on the list that were brave enough to join." Luna sighed, returning fifteen minutes later with a single piece of paper, exactly three lines on it. Somewhat tiredly, she sat down and placed the paper on her table. "Thou art a part of the Night Guard as well, Andromalius." she looked at him. "I have no doubt that thou art skilled in using thy fire. That is the main reason I appoint thee as my personal guard. Thou shalt accompany me anywhere and protect me from any danger.

"There is nopony else who would agree to do that anyway..." she added quietly, then let out a long sigh. "Legacy of Nightmare Moon isn't easily dispelled even by the Elements of Harmony."

Practically, Andromalius had no other choice but to listen to Luna and do as she says. He nodded to her, proceeding to think about his new assignment. While it might be bumpy at the beginning, he felt it would be very beneficial for him in the long run.

His mind returned to the task at hand. He knew that some just would not accept that a seemingly evil being was just instantaneously turned good, even if it was Celestia's own sister. Some ponies would, most certainly, assume that Celestia was taken under Nightmare Moon's mind control. At least that was Andromalius' understanding of things.

"Alright..." Luna said, breaking the silence. "Thou shalt be given with a mark of mine, a necklace. It will allow thee to go anywhere thou wantest, the guards know this mark and shall allow anyone who wears it to pass without question."

A small necklace was telekinetically moved to Andromalius. It was a chained necklace with a blue crescent moon. It locked itself around the infernal stallion's neck and rested against his chest once Luna let go of it.

"It cannot break," the alicorn continued. "I don't know whether thy hellfire can do anything to it, and so I advise thee to be careful. However, it is certain that none other can take it off, only I and thou can. The necklace is my mark of trust, dost not thou use it for evil deeds."

"Yes, Princess." Andromalius nodded, accepting her sign of trust. He had no idea if he could return the trust yet, but he had no other choice but to rely on Luna. Besides, he needed someone, especially in such a foreign and unknown world he had been thrown into. "But... I don't really know anything. This place, ponies, um, anything." he admitted and then asked: "Can you enlighten me?"

"Well, it seemeth we both need to take a trip to the library."

The Great Canterlot Library was located outside the castle walls, right in the city center. While the castle had the Royal Archives, they contained information that would not be needed on a daily basis or for most ponies. Powerful spellbooks, mysterious artifacts, magical maps of forgotten places, ancient scrolls, all of it was far from common, and some of it could even be dangerous to most ponies.

Before venturing outside the Canterlot Castle, Andromalius had to put on a cloak to hide his fearsome features. Unfortunately, his crooked and sharp horn couldn't be hidden and his fiery eyes were glowing hellishly from under the hood as well, making it apparent that he was no regular pony, not to mention his height which made him stand out of the crowd all too well, for good or bad.

After all the necessary preparation were done, Andromalius and Princess Luna exited the castle and headed straight to the library. Once they were outside the castle walls, ponies immediately turned their attention to the two.

They were followed around by stares and whispers. Most of them were of fear, some of them were of suspicion. All ponies tried to avoid stepping in the two's way, rushing away and making sure they didn't step too close to the duo. Some ponies would quickly bow, mutter a few words, and swiftly hide.

"Princess, ignore them," Andromalius whispered to Luna, seeing how tense she was, especially her ears - they were pressed flat against her head. "If anything happens, I will be here for you."

"They don't accept me as a rightful princess!" she whispered back louder than she intended.

"A thousand years have passed since you were a princess. I suppose they see you as an ancient legend, not a real person..." Andromalius paused, gathering his words. "Besides, your look as Nightmare Moon is rather threatening to them. And... I think you can prove them wrong by being a good princess while still being yourself. You shouldn't be angry at them for fearing you. Instead, you should prove you are not to be feared." the infernal stallion explained. Andromalius was surprised by his own words of wisdom and he hoped he did not cause the opposite of what he intended.

"Maybe thou art right," Luna sighed, realizing that he was at the very least partially right. "It is hard for me to be here again... Everything is familiar and at the same time foreign. This is why I am so..." she paused to find the right word. "Nervous."

Once they reached the library, a big and majestic building in the center of Canterlot, they ascended the stairs and came to the entrance, where two guards were standing.

"Your library cards?" one of them requested, stepping in front of the doors.

"Celestia told me I don't need one." Luna frowned in confusion.

"Sorry, no entrance without a card."

"Now, listen to me!" the princess stomped angrily. "I can send both of you to polish your armor until I can see myself in it like in a mirror! Now, you shall allow me to pass!"

"Better do as Princess Luna says," Andromalius added, turning the attention of the guards towards himself. After a short moment, the guard in front of Luna nodded and allowed the two to pass.

"I swear to the All-Maker, thou hast more authority than I do." Luna sighed sadly.

Andromalius didn't know what to reply and decided to be silent so that he wouldn't upset the princess more than she already was. Instead, he followed her through a short hall to the main building of the Canterlot Library.

"They were acting like they were told to, I guess. A request for the library card is acceptable, I suppose, but shouldn't they've been instructed how to act around a princess?" he said after a while. "Anyway, you need to work on your temper." he paused, understanding that he might have just insulted a princess. "Now, I know you are much, much older than me, and you must feel irritated when someone like me, well... gives you advice, but all I do is trying to help. Since I am your protector, I think I should offer you some from time to time." he paused, waiting for her reaction. One of her ears was turned to him but otherwise, she displayed nothing. So, he decided to continue: "Well, you need to dispell the evil image, um, associated with you." he saw her tense up, and so he quickly added: "I don't say you should forgive and tolerate any rude behavior towards you, but those guards were just doing their job." he paused once again, thinking of a way to explain his thoughts better. "I don't think they wanted to show disrespect to you."

A few awkward moments of silence followed before any of them spoke up.

"To be honest, I do indeed have some problems with my temper..." Luna admitted, sighing in slight irritation. "And I suppose I can't be angry at thee for trying to help."

Finally, the two entered the big hall of the library. It was cylindrical and had two floors, each about five meters high. The large windows showed the panorama of Canterlot and were slightly open, allowing fresh air to come in.

There weren't many ponies in the library at this time of day, and those who were, looked at Luna and Andromalius with wariness and caution, trying to stay out of their sight. The only pony that didn't display any fear and was instead welcoming was an old librarian mare. Her blue eyes looked at the two with interest from behind her glasses, and so she stood up to greet them. Her coat was white, her mane was grayish-blue with a streak of darker blue and tied in a bun. Andromalius noticed a mark on her flank, just like on pretty much every other pony he had previously seen since his arrival to Equestria. Her mark was an open book with a smiling flower in its center.

"Hello, and welcome to the Great Canterlot Library, Princess Luna!" she greeted Luna, wearing an honest smile. "And you..?" she looked at Andromalius, her expression going down slightly but not disappearing completely as she studied him with her eyes.

"He is Andromalius, my personal guard." Luna introduced the hell stallion to the librarian.

"Well, welcome to you too, sir Andromalius." the librarian greeted him, and he politely nodded in return. "My name is Blue Flower. Should any of you need help, just ask me, I will be happy to give you my assistance!"

"Well, I'm looking for something about modern history and customs." Luna stated, deciding to use the opportunity.

"Of course, your majesty! Follow me." Blue Flower bowed and proceeded to lead the princess and the hell stallion to the second floor. After passing a few rows of shelves, the librarian stopped. "Both books are under 'M', your majesty."

"Thank thee, thou canst go now." Luna nodded with a smile, and soon the mare returned to her place on the first floor.

"Princess, I think you should search for a book on the modern language as well." Andromalius suggested.

"I know that mine is a little out of date, yes." the alicorn nodded in understanding. "The Commonlang hath changed over time. However, I need to know modern customs first, as to avoid awkward moments, especially with my subjects."

"Of course, princess." the hell stallion nodded in understanding. "I suppose I need that as well, so let's begin."

After about three hours of studying, Luna learned the basics of modern customs. She was bemused by the fact that she could no longer use her Royal Canterlot Voice to address her subjects, especially those who made her angry, but it was apparent that cultural norms had changed through years after she was banished to the moon. She still had much to learn, no matter how frustrating it would be for the princess.

Andromalius, on the other hand, learned a little about the race of ponies, as well as about their culture. Some things surprised him, other confused, but he hoped that he would be able to adjust to everything someday. He also took a note to read more about the so-called cutie marks, also known as specialty marks.

"It's the longest reading session I've had since my time in school." Andromalius commented in his thoughts, sighing quietly as he closed a book, blinking his eyes, feeling mentally sore.

"Indeed it is." a feminine, sweet, seducing voice sounded inside his head.

"Another voice in my head? I'm going completely fucking nuts..." he complained, silently groaning in annoyance. His ears perked up as he looked around, searching for the one who had this new voice.

"Oh, trust me, dear, you aren't." the voice assured him, changing its tone to a more serious one.

"Who are you, then?" the infernal stallion asked warily and yet with interest as he continued to survey the surroundings.

"Well, I am usually referred to as 'Succubus', but my real name is Inanna." the female voice introduced herself.

"A succubus?" Andromalius asked for confirmation, recognizing the word, although the meaning of it slipped from his mind.

"You aren't the only demon here, Andromalius." she said, evading his question for now. "But you're the first one to be from another world, and the first one to walk freely on the Surface in almost five thousand years." a small pause ensued before Inanna spoke again. "I'm impressed."

"What do you need, Inanna? How do you know so much about me?" Andromalius tensed up.

"To answer your second question: you projected your memories into the demon world. It all looked like one of those things, I think you call them movies. I know everything you do, and maybe even more." Inanna replied with a slight chuckle. "And to answer your first question: well, until the time comes, I will be teasing you with an unending stream of sexual jokes." she giggled. "If you didn't know, succubi are demons that feed on lust. In this case, on male lust. And another thing... I will guide you on your way to become a demon lord, of course."

"A demon... lord?" Andromalius paused for a moment, digesting the information. "This... doesn't make sense." he paused again, gathering his thoughts. "I... I can't rule, it's... it's just absurd!"

"Well, Andromalius..." Inanna's tone changed to a more serious and sad one. "We have been infighting for a very long time... Now, when you appeared out of the blue, we sensed your great power, and even more that is lying underneath and undiscovered. We need a strong leader, someone to unite us, someone to lead us to the better future." her tone became submissive. "We bow to you, and you will become a new Demon Lord, the ruler of all demons."

Andromalius listened, his mouth slightly agape as he tried to take in this sudden revelation. His mind was empty, he had nothing to say yet, and so he decided to let Inanna finish her tale.

"By the ancient prophecy, you are going to be the one that will free us from our prison, and guide us into peace and prosperity. And that doesn't include sacrificing a virgin." Inanna chuckled at her own joke as she tried to make the situation less slightly less serious. "Your human knowledge of demons is lacking any real information, that is." she explained. "We're very different from what you know or think you know. Believe it or not, but we were... mistreated, to say the least. Banished to the underworld because the world didn't want us there." Andromalius could hear the bitterness in her voice. After a few moments, Inanna spoke again, this time more calmly. "We don't want revenge, however. It is pointless, the last being that has done anything to us died a very long time ago. He died for a really stupid reason. It makes me laugh every time. I think he partook an orgy, in which he died of... a heart attack!" she let out a short laugh.

Andromalius couldn't help but chuckle himself, even though he still had a hard time accepting all this information being dumped on him. A prophecy predicting his arrival? It was something from a fantasy tale, something that couldn't possibly be true... Could it? He would need a lot more time to understand what was behind all of it.

"Anyway, building a new relationship will be much more beneficial for us. For example, many succubi would like to know endurance of earth ponies better, and in a sexual way as well." Inanna continued. "However, only I could make contact with you, so I am your only guide and... a mentor of sorts until the time comes. You will only be able to see me and other demons in your sleep, and the only real one will be me. You don't really need to sleep, but your old traits cannot be easily destroyed, can they?"

Inanna finished talking and waited for Andromalius to react. However, his mind was blank as he still processed the information. The fact that Inanna stopped talking only registered after around a minute of silence.

"So... I was just a guy, and now I am to become a demon lord? This is getting way too complicated..." Andromalius shook his head slightly.

"I feel your confusion. Don't run from it, it's justified. You will get used to it, though. Some great things are about to come, and some of them include you." Inanna cryptically said.

"I don't suppose you can tell me, can you?" Andromalius deadpanned.

"I don't know what will exactly come, so nope, I can't. If I knew, I would've told you, trust me." Inanna replied honestly.

"Andromalius?" Luna called the infernal stallion. "Thou hast been quiet for some time. Is something the matter?"

"Look at those magnificent flanks, Andro."" Inanna didn't miss the moment to tease the hell stallion. "Imagine yourself, having her in your grasp... Dominating her, and she likes it so much..."

"Fuck you." Andromalius silently groaned. However, no matter how much he would like to make Inanna silence herself, he couldn't, or at least he didn't know a way to make her stop.

"Oh, I'd like to."

"I fell right into the trap, didn't I?" Andromalius deadpanned again.

"Of course you did!" Inanna giggled. "I'm a succubus, what you call "trolling" is my second nature. I'll leave you be, for now."

"Andromalius?" Luna called again, waving her hoof in front of his muzzle.

"Sorry, princess, I suppose I've zoned out." the hell stallion apologized, returning to the reality around him. "I've been... thinking about things."

"Well, it is time for us to return to the castle," Luna said, standing up and placing the book back to where they belong.

"Yes, princess, I will be close behind."

"Staring at her behind, hmm?" Inanna was right there to tease him.

"God fucking damnit!"

Author's Notes:

I won't reveal how Inanna looks yet. Wait for the next chapter!