Andromalius spent a few more hours walking around the city aimlessly, just exploring whatever he could while mapping the city in his head. Everywhere he met, no matter how rich the ponies were, he was received the same way: stares and whispers. However, he noticed that richer ponies more often than not looked at him with hostility, and it worried him. The violent sun cult that attacked him and Princess Luna two weeks ago could very well have the support of some rich people, although not openly. Back on Earth, financial ties of different companies were often obscured, but when unveiled, they revealed many bad things. Andromalius wanted to hope that Equestria was better than this, but it was obvious it wasn't. Shady things happen even in the best countries.

The guards patrolling the streets followed him with neutral gazes; they didn't deviate from their patrol paths, but it was apparent some of them wanted to keep an eye on the demonic equine. However, none stopped him or even asked him a question. He began to realize that he was indeed not a prisoner inside the castle of Canterlot, for he would've been caught and brought back to it long ago if that was the case. Although he was free, he doubted he would be able to leave the city; not that he wanted to do it just yet, he had no money to support himself and knew no one outside the princesses. Despite acquainting with the owner of Homely Tea House, he didn't think she would offer to house him and feed him. Even then, her tea house was in Canterlot, so that left him with no one and nothing if he ventured outside.

And he didn't know just yet how to get to other cities. Canterlot was high above the ground, perched on the side of the mountain, overlooking Equestria. If there was a way out that didn't include flying, he had yet to find it. However, he did hear some whistles that reminded him of trains.

There he stood at the edge of Canterlot, winds whipping around him; his cloak swirled in the wind, and the fresh mountain air entered his nostrils. Surprisingly, he didn't have to narrow his eyes to avoid the harsh winds, although it was obvious ponies were bothered by it: walls were built around the edge of the city, protecting it from the wind. Some holes were present, placed carefully in order to introduce more ground-level winds to the city. A fence separated the edge of the city from the long fall, and some nets were placed there, extending a good ten meters from the edge to catch any and all that could end up there.

Andromalius was never afraid of heights, but then he was never this high above the ground. He could see the curvature of the planet, and the ponies below seemed like insignificant dots. At the very least, no one that couldn't fly would ever be able to lay a siege to the city. It was in the perfect position to oversee vast areas of land, and it could not be attacked in any way other than from above. Even then, strong winds were also a strong deterrent. One would only be able to take over the city through a massive attack or a diversion from the inside.

And what a wonderful view opened to the eyes of those at the edge of the city! Andromalius noticed how many rich houses stood there, huge windows made in the walls so that they could see the marvel that was open to them. Forests, rivers, even distant desert sands could be seen. It seemed like the planet was way bigger than Earth, and so many more things could be seen from a high position; Andromalius suspected that Canterlot could oversee all of Equestria.

Amazed by what he could see, he just stood there, allowing his cloak to flap around him like wings. It was a view to die for, and he doubted he would ever see anything like that in his life ever again. Maybe ponies already got used to it, but he was new to this world, and seeing it, feeling it, hearing it was a new experience. And there was more, way more than he could ever imagine.

Through the whistling and whispering of the wind, Andromalius heard a clop of hooves heading his way from behind. He swiftly turned around and saw five ponies, all dressed in tight cloaks; only their wings or the tips of their horns, could be seen from under the clothes. Two of them were on the wall, crossbows armed and aimed at the hell stallion.

"You will come with us now, freely," one of the ponies said, "Or you will die here and now."

Alarms were blaring inside his head; there was no way he would come with them. But then, if he didn't, he would be shot.

"Don't you fucking dare agree to that!" the voice of Inanna penetrated his skull, "Fight back! Show them that you're not to be messed with! Trust me, it's better if you don't even consider going with them!"

"A spark of magic and we'll shoot," the pony issued another warning, "You have ten seconds to consider."

The gears in the brain of the hell stallion spun almost out of control as he tried to come up with a solution. He had no idea how fast crossbow bolts traveled, but the ponies seemed sure they would be able to hit him; so, jumping away wasn't an option. But then, there was magic he could cast... lighting, for once. Electricity is faster than any bolt could hope to be.

As if in slow motion, Andromalius' horn ignited. The trigger of the first crossbow was pulled, and the bowstring propelled the bolt forward. A lightning erupted from his horn, faster than the bolt, and it went straight through it, charring it, burning it to nothing; without stabilization, the tip of the bolt soon surrendered to the wind and was carried away. The second crossbow let its bolt loose, but Andromalius was already firing a lightning at it as well. Charred, the crossbows fell on the ground.

Still in the same slow motion, the ponies pulled out their swords and clubs and began their attack. Somewhat unorganized and rushed, it was doomed to failure. Despite being outnumbered five to one, Andromalius stood his ground, his horn alight with magic. A bolt of lightning struck the closest pony, their limbs convulsing as they fell; the second pony dropped to the ground soon after. The third one seemed unaffected by the lightning, so the hell stallion grabbed them by their hooves and pulled. With a yell of pain, he hit the ground with his side, and remained lying down even when Andromalius let him go. The fourth one was just as unaffected by lightning and was almost in range to strike with their sword when their hooves were yanked, making them fall. The fifth one stopped and swiftly pulled something out of the depths of his cloak. A sky-blue sphere with something smoky and red on the inside.

"Thou shalt be gone from the surface as I cast thee to hell!" he roared, holding the sphere high above his head. The smoky substance inside moved faster, but otherwise nothing happened. The pony blinked in confusion, and then said, "I banish thee!"

Andromalius stood in place, but in the midst of confusion fired off a spell at the last pony standing. It hit him square in the chest, and they dropped to the ground like a ragdoll. The sphere, freed from his grasp, fell to the ground, but Andromalius managed to catch it before it could hit it.

"Yargh!" the first pony exclaimed, jumping from their place, aiming their sword straight at the chest of the hell stallion. Without time left to react, Andromalius tried to jump back, but the tip of the sword hit him before he could.

He felt it as it simply bounced off the plate, leaving not a scratch. He felt the pressure, and in some way, felt the blade even after it bounced off; but he wasn't wounded.

"Cease hostility!" guards shouted from behind the attackers, rushing into the scene, only to find the five ponies lying on the ground, and Andromalius standing above them with a puzzled expression on his face and the sphere still in his grasp.

"Call Princess Luna," he said in a raspy voice, breathing heavily as his heart thumped like drums.

"No need, we will deal with this," the leader said, stepping closer.

"Call Princess Luna," Andromalius repeated in a more hostile tone, stepping closer to the guards.

"You don't order us around, demon," the leader spat but didn't advance further, "I said we will take it from here."

"And I say bring Princess Luna," the hell stallion growled out, "I don't trust you. Bring her or I will fight you."

The leader of the guards and Andromalius glared at each other for a few long moments, measuring each-other, and neither were willing to give the other ground. The hell stallion didn't believe the guards were actual guards; they appeared too quickly and only after he defeated the attackers. He had no idea what was going on, but something inside him told him to wait for at least one of the princesses before letting things get out of his control. It was apparent the attackers were related to those from two weeks ago, and Andromalius wasn't just going to let it pass now.

Finally, the stand-off ended when the leader nodded to one of the guards. The younger guard nodded and took off in a hurry. Andromalius sighed internally in relief, but he knew he couldn't leave just yet, not until the princess arrived. Something was in the works in the very capital of Equestria, and now it was obvious he was heavily involved in it.

Princess Luna appeared on the scene shortly after, teleporting straight to it in a flash of magic. Her mane was somewhat flat, and her expression was none too pleasant either. The attackers were rounded up and individually bound with rope and magic nullifiers.

"Nightmare Moon..." one of them spat as she appeared, earning him a glare of disgust from the alicorn.

Andromalius explained what happened to him and the attackers; Luna listened silently, only turning from the attackers to the hell stallion from time to time. The story was short, and it left her thinking about what the group wanted to achieve. It was obvious they expected it to be easy, but then they would be stupid to assume he, a demon, had nothing against them in terms of power and abilities. What was their goal, exactly?

"I shall interrogate them tomorrow," Luna finally said in a quiet but stern voice, "Sergeant, thou'rt to bring them to the dungeons, all of them. Do not let them speak with anyone on their way to the dungeons or in the dungeons themselves. Put them in separate cells. If anything goeth wrong..." she stepped closer to him. His expression remained calm but sweat appeared on his forehead, "Thou shalt be held accountable."

"Understood, your majesty," the guard bowed, "I shall do as you command."

"Indeed thou shalt," she kept her eyes on him, "Otherwise, thou shalt lose everything thou hast... maybe even thy life. Carry on, Sergeant, and report straight to me once they're placed in their cells."

Bowing once again, Sergeant and the rest of the guards put the attackers into five separate carriages for transport. Soon, they disappeared from sight, and only the princess and Andromalius remained standing at the edge of Canterlot.

The alicorn stood silently, gazing into the distance within her mind, a deep frown on her tired face. Her mane waved in the gusts, her ears folded to muffle the sound of winds. And so she stood there for a long while, and Andromalius stood with her, waiting for her to speak.

"Something is brewing in the city," Luna finally spoke up, turning to the hell stallion, "Thou cannot deny something is in works."

"I think the same, yes," he replied with a nod, "But I have no idea where to begin."

"Someone doth not want me on the throne," the alicorn continued, "Fanaticism for the light is just an excuse, 'tis obvious. But... let me take a look at that sphere they had with them."

Andromalius carefully handed her the sky-blue orb. The red smoke inside it was unmoving.

"An artifact of great power, or... a part of one" Luna commented, "It was supposed to work on thee in some way, but it didn't... Just like the Elements," she looked at the hell stallion again, "Whoever attacked thee knoweth it now, most likely. I don't know many who would possess such artifacts, but a few names spring to my mind," she looked away, "There was certain opposition to me when I was a filly. My sister was a better candidate in their eyes, and removing a possible 'threat' was what they deemed necessary. If those families still live, then perhaps their goals have not changed."

A pause ensued. Andromalius knew little about politics, but he wasn't unfamiliar with intrigue. It happened in every country, and the reason was almost always the same – power. Someone was interested in Celestia having it, but not Luna. If so, why? What was the point of it? The spider web ran deep, that was certain. There were reasons for everything, and Andromalius was introduced to it in the worst way possible. He managed to fight them off this time, but would he be able to do it again and again if they kept coming? It fell upon him now to help Luna discover the roots of the attacks, for he was now a part of the mysterious scheme to remove Luna from power.

"I will help you, Luna," he promised, "I can't stay out of it, couldn't if I tried."

"I see thou hast come to the same conclusion I have," Luna nodded, "Very well, then. Thou shalt certainly be helpful, as long as thou art willing. I can't imagine thou hadst to deal with it before, but I suppose it is inevitable now."

"That's what I think," he nodded to her words, "And... thanks to your training, I managed to fight them off."

"Indeed. That is why thy training will continue," she agreed, "But remember, do not misuse the power I give thee. Otherwise, thou art no better than those we stand to uncover."

"I understand."

"I certainly hope that thou dost," she sighed deeply, "It seemeth thou art one of the only few allies I have. Very well, let us learn this web and discover its weaver..."