Andromalius mentally prepared himself to go out into the city of Canterlot. He was well aware of his looks and the reactions they elicite from ponies. Unfortunately, he could do nothing but prepare for them; thankfully, however, he could wear a cloak to conceal most of his body. He didn't know how ponies would react if they saw the entirety for him, and he didn't want to gamble on it anytime soon. After all, there was a possibility that the same ponies who attacked him and Princess Luna were still in the city; and while he could fight, he would rather avoid it. He was rather successful in his training, but the real application of his new powers would test him in a much different way.

He sighed deeply as he donned his cloak – no matter what he did, the walk wasn't going to be as easy as it ideally should. In his human life, he rarely if ever felt wary about going around the cities, even those unfamiliar to him. After all, he was just another man in the crowd, and the crowd was faceless. However, back then, he was as average as average could get. Not tall, not short, and his clothes blended in well with what other people wore; nothing would make him stand out at a passing glance. Now, however, he stuck out like a sore thumb: huge, muscular, and demonic. He doubted there would be a crowd to conceal him anymore.

"They'll get used to you eventually," Inanna told him, still lying on his bed, "Might take a couple years, though. But don't worry, most of them would do nothing more than whisper between themselves about you. And as long as you don't do something stupid, you'll be fine."

"...Maybe," Andromalius half-agreed. What the succubus said made sense, but then ponies were ponies. Humans loved to spread untrue rumors contrary to the evidence presented, so why would ponies be any different? They're no less smart than humans, and they seemed to think in roughly the same way.

In any case, he couldn't stay hidden forever. Maybe Inanna was right and ponies would warm up to him if he simply spent enough time around them. He wouldn't find out if he didn't try – results came only to those who worked for them.

Andromalius finally exited his room and headed towards the castle entrance. The sun was already peeking over the horizon, its pink-tinted light warming up the land. The night-time guards were being replaced on their stations and patrols, but none paid too much mind to the hell stallion. Despite his fears, no one tried to stop him no matter how close he got to the exit. He tried to look casual, although some anxiety was present in his head. He knew he wasn't breaking out of prison, but he felt like he was. And yet, no one came to him, no one asked him any questions, no one stood in his way. His hooves clicked against the marble floor loudly, but the guards stood still as they usually did, only giving him a glance as he passed.

Soon, the double doors leading outside were within his sight, and he headed straight for them. Only two guards were left in his way, standing to the sides of the doors. Andromalius neared them, his heart beating; the guards stood still. Once he was close enough, they opened the doors for him.

In silence, he took the last few steps to exit the castle. One, two, three, four, five, six. The doors closed behind him. Seven, eight, nine, ten. He sighed deeply in relief and stopped for a moment. His anxiety disappeared almost entirely, and now the morning wind was brushing against his body, making his cloak swirl slightly. He inhaled the air, enjoying its smell. The city in front of him was quiet, only beginning to wake up to see the new day. The sun rose higher and higher above the horizon, and the shadows shortened. To the hell stallion, it was a marvellous and unusual sight: the sun was way larger than its Solar System counterpart, but it didn't seem nearly as bright. He could look at it freely without having his eyes hurt; or maybe it was just him.

His eyes were certainly different now, with a larger field of view and possibly even a wider spectrum of waves to perceive. After all, he could see very well in the dark environments, and he had yet to see a total darkness. When he looked in the mirror, he saw his eyes: crimson iris with vertical pupils, surrounded by orange sclera; and his eyes were glowing faintly. Maybe it was some sort of night vision? He wasn't sure, but it did feel like it. All he knew about nightvision goggles was the fact that they needed light to function, so they sometimes had to generate their own light. What if his eyes did just that?

Then there was his face and body. It was covered in a smooth, sturdy black skin. No mane, no brows, no kind of hair was present aside from small eyelashes. Most of his body was covered by a weird, bone-like natural armor. It wasn't too thick and, despite its hardness, segmented in just the right way to allow the full range of motion. His legs were long and muscular, and the skin seemed the hardest on them, along with his stomach. He still didn't get used to seeing his body, let alone feeling it; each day, he would spend around an hour in the bathroom just studying his body and feeling it. His tail was especially weird – long, covered in armor and hard skin, it was like a fifth limb to him. He could even use it to grasp things like a tentacle. At first, he was weirded out, but also fascinated. Like a kid picking on a scab, he touched his body in many ways, seeing how it would react and how strong it was. To this day, he couldn't stop looking at himself in the mirror and studying what he could see.

"Did you just think about touching yourself?" Inanna's voice appeared, shattering his thoughts.

"Not in that way!" he defended himself, "My new body is weird, that's all."

"Don't worry, I'm just teasing you," the succubus grinned, "It's fun!"

After a moment of grumbling and suppressing his flushed cheeks, Andromalius regained his thoughts and finally went into the city. The ponies had just begun to wake up, and the streets were mostly devoid of life. A lone carriage of goods passed from time to time, stopping at various shops in the area; a few ponies went to their businesses to prepare them for the day; some foals were led to schools; all was calm. Of course, the appearance of the hell stallion didn't go unnoticed – some ponies outright stared at him as he passed.

"Good morning," he said, surprising even himself. But it was for the best if he showed the ponies he was friendly.

The ponies replied in kind, albeit slowly, with hesitation; some even stuttered. However, these two words coming from him seemed to ease the ponies, and they went back to their own things soon after. Andromalius continued to greet others as he passed by, and it looked like some sort of magic, for some ponies even smiled at him. He replied with a smile of his own, trying not to show his sharp teeth.

"You know, you have a very nice voice, Andro," Inanna said inside his head, "Deep, rumbling... sexy. You should narrate books to foals, I bet they'll love it."

Andromalius left her without a response, but he knew his voice sounded pretty good, and Inanna's idea looked enticing. He had never narrated books before, but he could give it a try, especially if it meant gaining the acceptance of ponies. However, he wasn't sure how he would get to the point where foals would be allowed near him. It was a long road ahead indeed.

He continued his walk through the city, admiring its architecture. It was very unlike the uniformity of the cities he visited: devoid of skyscrapers, the city seemed much more friendly, and the sense of community was apparent. Ponies talked, traded, did activities together instead of staring at their phones and walking past each other. Despite being the capital of Equestria, the very center of the country, the city wasn't nearly as big as Andromalius would expect. If he had to guess, less than half a million ponies lived there.

The architecture, the abundance of small private enterprises hinted at the city being a rural center at best. Of course, there were mansions dotted around the city, belonging to nobility, but otherwise, it didn't speak of a big center. Theatres aplenty, circuses, and even a cinema could still be found in the city, however. Various gyms and sport centers were around every other corner, too. And yet, there was something missing. Namely, alcohol and cigarettes. Not a single shop offered them, which was very unusual for the hell stallion. But then, he heard that a small dose of nicotine could kill a horse. Maybe cigarettes simply didn't exist, and nicotine is banned for being a lethal poison. Doesn't explain the absence of alcohol, however – he didn't remember reading anything about horses dying from it. He wasn't a drinker, but it still made him wonder how one of the most popular drugs in the world wasn't used in Equestria despite the fact that it obvously exists – he remembered a scent of alcohol from when he visited the hospital.

However, instead of bars and pubs, there were many tea and coffee shops that offered a huge variety of both from all over the world. Coffee from Zebrica, tea from Tauria, mountain grass tea from various Griffon Kingdoms, and many other things that made Andromalius' brain spin. One of these shops caught his eye, the scent of tea finding its way into his nostrils, and he soon found himself in front of that shop. 'Homely Tea House', it said on the signboard on the door. However, the hell stallion wasn't sure he should enter – he had no money on him at all. For the past twenty days, he was fed in the castle entirely free of charge, and so far, he had earned no money of his own.

His eyes drifted around the signboard and stopped at a mention: 'First cup is free of charge.' After searching for some hidden text or fine print, but finding nothing, the hell stallion nudged the door open. A bell rang as the door moved.

"A second, please!" a female voice came from the back of the shop.

Andromalius entered fully and closed the door behind him. Aside from him, no one was in the tea house at the time. As he waited, he explored the interior: it wasn't too big, but it had enough room for a dozen of differently-sized tables, and many chairs seemingly picked from random houses. A half of candles and a chandelier were lit at the time, feeling the tea house with a warm light and a pleasant scent. At the far end of the room, the wooden counter could be seen, various teacups standing on it. A door was ajar behind the counter, and the hell stallion could see a mare working in the kitchen.

He thought it would be rude to cover his head, so he slowly lowered his hood, exposing his bald, furless black scalp and the upper part of his neck armor growth. He looked around for a place to sit, but the chairs didn't look too sturdy, so he made his way to the counter. His steps were heavy, resonating across the room, and some of the floorboards groaned under his weight.

"Sorry, I'll fix that creaky floor later!" the same voice came from the kitchen again.

Not knowing what to say just yet, Andromalius positioned himself in front of the counter. However, he found himself squeezing in between a table and the counter itself, but he couldn't just sit down on the floorboards. They did look clean, but he didn't want to gamble on it.

"Is there a pillow I can sit on?" he asked slowly, "I'm sorry, I'm too tall for regular chairs."

"I think I have some, yeah, give me a moment," the mare replied, rustling in the back area of the shop. In a few seconds, she finally emerged: a middle-aged unicorn of sandy-yellow fur and light-blue mane tied behind her head. A slightly stained apron covered her lower neck and chest. When she saw her first customer of the day, she fought hard not to drop everything she was holding and run away.

Andromalius looked away and sighed, knowing full well that it was exactly what he expected to happen. Some hope was inside him, however – after all, the mare didn't scream but merely stared at him. But perhaps it was just the initial shock. He hoped that wasn't the case, but he couldn't know for sure.

"I... I didn't expect to see someone like you," the mare finally spoke after regaining her voice.

"I can leave if you'd like," the hell stallion replied in a quiet voice.

"No, no, it's fine, I just..." she put a hoof to her face, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't judge you like that. Please, accept my apologies. And... here's the pillow you requested."

Andromalius nodded in gratitude, placed the pillow underneath him, and finally sat down. He moved his tail out of the way so that others wouldn't trip over it when they come into the tea house. And besides, he already took too much space.

"Oh, and I'm Still Waters," she finally introduced herself, "I... Well, I heard a bit about you. You are... Andromalius, right?"

"Yes, that's me," he nodded slowly, "Is it true that the first cup is free? I'm sorry, I just haven't earned anything yet."

"The first cup is always free," Still Waters emphasized, "Otherwise, how would customers know what they're buying from me?"

"Makes sense," Andromalius agreed. Then, a somewhat awkward silence followed as the mare poured her tea in a cup that seemed tiny in comparison to a hoof of the hell stallion. Once the cup was full, he lifted it up and brought to his lips. He expected it to feel hot, but surprisingly, it was only pleasantly hot. He took a sip, and he felt nothing but the good taste of the tea. In fact, he didn't even need to sip – he could easily drink it as he drank water. However, he decided to savor it instead.

"So..." Still said with a hint of uncertainty, "I heard that you've saved a Royal Guard."

"I did what everyone would in my place," he replied, "He needed help, and I could help him."

"...I think that deserves another cup on the house," the mare smiled, "And, to be honest... no one knows who you are, but you already did a good deed. You might look... unusual, but to me, only what ponies do matter. Or, well, what anyone does. I'm... not sure if it's correct to call you a pony."

"It's fine," Andromalius sunk slightly, "I don't know what to call myself either."

As his cup emptied, Still Waters poured another one, as well as offering a few chocolate-covered cookies of her own making. Andromalius tried to decline, saying that he had no money to pay for it, but the mare insisted. And so, he sipped the tea and munched on the cookies, and they were delicious. A pleasant silence came on the tea house; the hell stallion deep in thought, and the mare preparing her business for more visitors. A few more ponies came and, although vary about the demon, decided to stay and order their tea once they saw that Still Waters was reasonably comfortable around him.

An hour passed, and Andromalius finally stood up from his place, preparing to head back outside. As pleasant as it was, he didn't want Homely Tea House to suffer because of his presence. Some customers were clearly uncomfortable and wanted to leave but didn't do so out of respect for the host.

"Thank you very much for the tea and the cookies," he bowed slightly to the hospitable mare.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine," she replied with a smile, "And if you're looking for a job, come here tomorrow at six in the morning, I might be able to offer some. Good day to you!"

After making a nod, the hell stallion turned around and carefully made his way between the customers to the exit. He almost knocked down a chair but managed to catch it with his magic before it could hit the floor. Apologizing for it, he placed the chair on its legs and exited the tea house after putting the hood back on. A smile played on his face, and now he was sure he would find a way to be accepted. He needed but to try and be patient.