Author's Notes:

I finally managed to finish this chapter. I hope you will enjoy it!

The hooves of the hell stallion clicked against the polished marble of the Canterlot Castle as he accompanied Princess Luna to the dining hall. The dim candlelight flickered, casting peculiar shadows on the floor, walls, and ceiling. The last rays of the sun faded away, and the sky turned black, more and more stars covering it. Andromalius couldn't help but gaze at the night sky through the windows, looking over all the stars and their constellations. He had never studied them, but he was so accustomed to the night sky of his own world, he was able to spot the obvious differences. If there were any doubts left deep inside his mind, they were now disappearing and replaced by a different thought – he was indeed in an unfamiliar world far, far away from home. But hope isn't a reasonable thing, so some of it remained inside him, for he longed to return to the familiar surroundings. See the town he lived in, visit his friends, go to college and study, do all those things he knew and got used to.

However, things have changed. Everything he knew was whisked away by fate, including his own body. And yet, it felt frighteningly natural. The way his legs moved, how his tail kept itself from touching the ground, how he breathed, it was all distinctively different and yet natural and familiar in a way he couldn't explain or describe. He could feel the pressure in his hooves as he stepped, he felt the shifting in the muscles as he moved, even the horse-like bounce of the head was natural. All these little things made him realize that he was stuck in the new world and the new body for a long time, maybe even until his very death of old age... if he could age.

He stood in the land ruled by the ageless. Princess Luna, imprisoned for a thousand years in the moon, and Princess Celestia, the sister that ruled for a thousand years. On Earth, a thousand years ago there was Kievan Rus, Byzantine Empire, and America was yet to be discovered. A thousand years was a span of time most people could barely comprehend. On average, a human lived around seventy years; very few could see a century pass. And yet, the Equestrian Princesses lived more than ten human lifetimes. Despite their age, they didn't sound much older than thirty; Andromalius was yet to understand how to recognize what age a pony was just by looking at them.

He thought about how surreal it all was. He was an alien to this world, a demonic stallion which no one had seen before. Magic was all around him, and it was as real as he. And there he walked, accompanying a millennium-old alicorn princess to the dining hall in the castle situated in the capital of the country she ruled.

"I have been thinking about... my return," Luna spoke, breaking the silence, "The night no longer feelth the same. I can still raise the moon, arrange the stars however I want, but... I have no control over the night anymore. It hath become what I greatly affear — the time when the evil crawlth," she looked at Andromalius, "Tell me... how is the night treated in thy world?"

"I think it's the same, but... we can't control the night or day," Andromalius replied, "We can't control our world for the most part. We built giant cities, dug our own rivers and lakes, but that's like... a speck of sand on the beach. I don't think we even understand half of what we see. As for the night... it was always the time of mystery. We humans live during the day, we can't really do anything at night without... a torch, for example. But the night is known for the crimes people commit and for, um, the unknown. I don't really know how to explain it because, well, I've not really done much during the night, I mostly just slept."

"Thou sayest thy kind hath no control over thy world? Then who doth?" she asked with interest.

"Well... some people think there is a God who does everything," he replied with slight hesitation, "But... there are tales of many gods. Some people believe in one God, some believe in many. One religion I know has... millions of gods, if I remember right. And no one knows who is right."

"We have our own Gods, and we call them Spirits," Luna explained, "My sister and I fought the Spirit of Chaos when we were much younger... before we became alicorns," after noticing a confused look from the hell stallion, she elaborated, "An alicorn is a pony with the strength of all three tribes: earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn. We have the magic, the flight, and the strength. Thus, we are bigger than most and have wings and horn," after receiving a nod, she continued, "There are other Spirits mentioned in ancient writings and scriptures, but we have yet to encounter their embodyments, if there are any."

"This world really is magical..." Andromalius commented, "I, well... read a lot about magic and myths, but they were just... legends. I don't think magic exists in my world. Or dragons, or spirits, or... I don't know, it seems my world is boring in comparison to yours, heh."

"I believe that there are fascinating things about thy world as well," Luna disagreed, "For once, thy kind is all alone on Earth. I cannot imagine how 'tis like to be the only intelligent species in the whole world. It must feel very lonely sometimes."

"Maybe that's why we have so many books when we meet or live together with other peoples," Andromalius chuckled, "In some other world... maybe this moment would be in a book. Can you imagine that?"

"I would've never thought about something like this, to be honest," the alicorn admitted, "Thy perspective is certainly fascinating, that I must say, it giveth me the insight I didn't have before..." a small pause ensued, "Hm, perhaps we can learn from each-other? Thou hast things to learn about my world, and I am very interested in thine own. What dost thou say?"

"I'm fine with that, so sure, why not?" he nodded with enthusiasm, "But, as I said before, I don't really know that much... I've never been into history. I know some general things, bits from here and there, so yeah..."

"Well, thou art the only person in this whole world to know anything, so I would say thy knowledge is better than anyone else's anywhere in Equestria," Luna noted, "As it is said, knowing something is better than knowing nothing. Of course, thy information might be wrong in some places, but such is history. We never know what is and isn't true, we can only assume based on our sources."

"My history teacher once told me that," Andromalius nodded in agreement, "But he also said that at least five sources must be taken into consideration. I'm just one, and, well, not that reliable, to be honest."

"I agree with thy point, but 'twould still be interesting to hear what thou sayest, regardless of the truth behind it," the alicorn pointed out, "In any case, we have arrived."

The doors to the dining hall stood before them. They were unremarkable, but Andromalius could smell the scent of food coming from behind them. He couldn't exactly recognize the smell, but it made him excited for supper. He still didn't feel hungry at all, but he felt it would be nice to take a bite of Equestrian food. After all, it was a good situation to get accustomed to what the new world had to offer, and what better place to start with than food?

The guards opened the doors for the two, and they entered the dining hall. From the ceiling, a banner of Equestria hung: a swallowtail light-blue fabtic with a white trim, sun and moon in its center with two stylized alicorns circling them, and thirty-nine stars. A long and well-decorated table of oak stood in the center of the hall, a simple white tablecloth with golden trim laid on it; two chairs were at its farther end, one of which was occupied by Princess Celestia. There were many other chairs at the sides of the table, most of them taken by guards or maids. To the left side of the solar alicorn, Royal Guard Captain was sitting; that side was mostly occupied by the guards. The other side was when the maids were situated. Behind the princess, a fireplace was glowing dimly, casting warmth across the hall. There food on the table was simple and consisted of various fruit and vegetables, as well as nuts and desserts.

When Princess Luna and Andromalius entered, all eyes were immediately on them. The ponies tensed up but tried not to show it, although it was obvious to both the hell stallion and the lunar alicorn.

"There is a chair to my side, thou art free to take it," Luna told him and then trotted to her place near her sister.

Andromalius followed her and found his chair. It was bigger than the rest, probably even bigger than Celestia's. It was thick and made of oak as well, so the hell stallion managed to take a seat without much problem. It slightly shifted under his weight but not to the extent most other sitting places he had used so far.

Once everyone was sitting, Celestia took the first bite of her food, and everyone followed her. The hell stallion remembered hearing about such a tradition – the ruler eats first, and only then others can start eating. Not knowing what to expect, he took a look at his plate first. Among diced vegetables, small cubes of meat lay, all under some sort of oil he couldn't recognize.

"I hope the meal is to thy liking, for I thought that thou wouldst be interested in meat," Luna told him. Some ponies turned to the hell stallion and glanced at him warily, "'Tis tuna and salmon, it should be soft and juicy. Our chefs know very well how to cook all sorts of food, meat included."

Replying with a nod, Andromalius looked around for a fork. A look of confusion appeared on his face, but then he realized he didn't need one – he had magic. He carefully lifted a piece of fish from his plate, wrapped it in vegetables, and opened his maw. He noticed a few maids outright staring at him wide-eyed. He quickly put the food on his tongue and closed his maw to chew it. After he was done and swallowed it all, he used his tongue to feel around his teeth. To his surprise, they were all rather sharp and pointy, but not to the extreme. He could still feel molars in the back, and they were certainly bigger and wider than before.

If he had to guess, his teeth would be a scary sight for a simple pony. His demonic features didn't end on his outer body, but continued well inside. His teeth were designed to tear flesh, and the strength of his jaws would be able to break bones. He shuddered from the thought – he was akin to a lion, almost a carnivore. Without a doubt, it unnerved the rest of people at the table. The few who seemed calm were the princesses, the majority of the guards, and their captain.

The dining hall was unusually silent for a while, but then small talk appeared among the ponies. Andromalius knew no one but Princess Luna, so he focused on eating the food. It was unusual to say the least; it had certain flowers as ingredients, and the hell stallion found out that they had a rich taste he didn't expect from them. The bread offered along with the food had a different texture and a more earthly taste, and one of the deserts was chocolate-covered rose blossoms. The latter had a unique taste Andromalius couldn't recognize at all. But in the end, all of it was food, and it was prepared rather well.

After a short while, the hell stallion allowed himself to relax and enjoy the meal while also trying to listen in on the conversations the ponies were having. The guards talked about how boring it was to stand on duty for hours on end without anything happening at all; maids complained about tapestries collecting a lot of dust; and all discussed how they would spend the next holidays with their family, friends, or lovers. Andromalius could also hear some whispers relating to him, and wary glances went his way from time to time. Unfortunately for him, he could barely hear what ponies were saying about him. However, a certain conversation reached his ears.

"What do you think about him?" one of the maids asked the other, throwing a glance at the hell stallion.

"He is a demon," the other maid replied in a hushed tone, "Demons... they come to us while we sleep and drain our life energy. I have no idea what he is doing here, eating with us. Did the princesses make a deal with him?"

"No idea. And if I were you... I wouldn't ask," the first maid glanced at the princesses and then lowered her voice even more, "Who knows what they want to do with him... Maybe they summoned him."

"Thou canst hear them talking, canst thou not?" Luna addressed him quietly, almost making him shudder, "Gossip is grass and bread of Canterlot, I'm afraid. Ignore them, for they are harmless. Eventually, they shall find something or someone else to gossip about."

"But what about you and... your sister?" Andromalius asked slowly.

"Oh, both of us have heard many things being said about us," the alicorn let out a chuckle, "Thou shalt not believe some of the things they said... For once, we were believed to having been sent from heavens. Two beautiful sisters created by Gods to be the image of beauty and justice... But in truth, we were born like regular ponies. We are imperfect just like any other living creature."

"And... what do ponies say about demons?" he asked another question.

"Just as many if not more things than what they say about me and my sister," Luna replied, "Some say demons are absolute evil which trieth to destroy the whole world as we know it. Others say that demons are merely our imagination. And some say... they say that demons come in dreams to seduce ponies for sexual activities," she took a sip of grape juice from her glass, "Even I am uncertain about who demons are, if they exist at all. But thou definitely fitst the description of a demon... so, I can't say I know what is true."

"So, what if... what if there are other demons?" Andromalius carefully asked.

"If there are, they certainly do not like showing themselves openly," the alicorn replied after eating a chocolate chip cookie, "But I believe there is nothing to worry about just yet. So, I'd rather see both of us enjoy this meal. How dost thou find it?"

"Unusual but pretty tasty. I've not had some things, but yeah, it's good, thank you," he made a small smile of appreciation.

"Very well, I'm glad thou findst enjoyment in our cuisine, Andromalius," she replied with a smile of her own, "Tell me... dost thou know how to cook? I would love to try something from thy world."

"There are some things you would probably like, but I don't really know how to make them," he admitted, "And... a lot of them have meat. Chicken, pork, beef, all kinds of meat, I guess."

"The griffons would certainly love to know everything about it," she let out a short laugh, "But I would still like to know even if I myself won't find them desirable."

Andromalius spent the rest of the supper explaining various foods to Luna, including fast food. She was fascinated by the idea of a chain of diners selling affordable and tasty food, but the hell stallion explained to her how unhealthy it was. She put the worries aside, however – alicorns couldn't get fat, unhealthy food had barely any effect on them. After she asked him about something that doesn't contain meat, he told her of a growing vegan trend among humans. He even knew about attempts at creating lab meat and meat from soy, which Luna found fascinating. All in all, the conversation lasted until the very end when everyone began to leave the hall either for work or to sleep.

"'Twas a pleasant supper," Luna said, rising from her chair, "But my nightly duties await, so please, excuse me."

As Andromalius prepared to return to his room, the voice of Luna's sister stopped him.

"Andromalius, may I have a moment with you?" she asked him. However, behind her friendly tone, he sensed that it was more than a request he could deny.

"Yes, your majesty?" he turned to her, his body tensening.

For a long moment, Celestia was silent as she looked at the hell stallion. She had already heard all about him from ponies who had seen him or heard him, and a clear picture was painted in her mind. While he was a mystery yet to be understood, he was a demon with a set of abilities he probably wasn't even aware of. The alicorn could sense great power inside him, which was more than his well-trained body or his size. There was more to him, she was sure of it.

"I don't know who you are, and I don't know what your plans might be, but I have to tell you one thing," she finally spoke, "I see that my sister trusts you, finds pleasure in your company..." she turned away for a moment and made a few steps towards the window, "I shall be honest with you, Andromalius. I do not trust you," she looked back at him, "You are a demon, and your kind is known very well among ponies. Perhaps there have never been any concrete evidence, but the tales appear for a reason. And the tales I have heard... they don't paint a pleasant picture. So, I hope you understand me clearly when I say that you shall not harm my sister."

"I never even thought about it," Andromalius shook his head, slightly raising his voice in defense.

"My sister and I lived for a long time, and many tried to take advantage of us," Celestia continued in the same calm voice, "They tried to fool us, use our naivety for their own gain," she looked him in the eyes, "Perhaps my sister is more trusting, but I am not. Consider this your warning. You may go."

With a nervous nod, Andromalius turned around and walked to the exit.

"Goodnight, Andromalius," Celestia's voice reached him as he opened the doors, making him shudder. He muttered a reply under his breath and quickly disappared into the hallways.