Deep underneath Canterlot, in one of the many abandoned mines and caverns, the conspirators gathered for a meeting. For centuries, they were unchallenged, ruling from the shadows, manipulating the country to their advantage. Bribery, promises of fortune, and clever planning yielded positive results that benefited them all, but now a challenger long-gone was approaching yet again, threatening the established status quo.

Gathered around a carved stone table, ponies sat, clad in gray robes that hid their bodies. Smooth identical masks were on their faces, concealing their identities and facial features, and yet each of them knew whom the others were. They were a hidden union of Canterlot families, each of them controlling one thing or another, interwoven with the lives of ponies in Equestria. And now, with the gears of fate turning, they had to act to preserve their power and remain hidden.

"The demon is stronger than we initially thought," one of them spoke, their voice emotionless and featureless, as well as genderless, hidden behind their mask, "The artifact had no effect on him, and now he possesses it. I'm not certain, but supposedly, his body can't be penetrated by blades."

"Then we shall take it as truth," the other nodded, their voice nearly identical to the first, "If there is a chance something won't work, we shall take it as the absolute certainty. Now, please, continue."

"I have yet to initiate the retrieval of the artifact, but I believe it would be very difficult to accomplish," the first pony continued, "I suspect Princess Luna is keeping an eye on it at all times."

"Then we shall proceed without the artifact," the second pony nodded again, "It proved to be useless anyway. An expensive and rare trinket, yes, but not a necessary asset. Not anymore. Please, proceed."

"Princess Luna suspects the conspiracy," the first pony resumed their report again, "However, as of now, I'm uncertain whom she considers suspect. That is all."

"Very well," the second pony nodded and then turned to another pony, "Third, any suggestions to our plans?"

"The demon has a larger impact on it than we anticipated," the third pony said, their voice almost the same as the first two, but some differences could be heard if one were to focus, "He appeared out of nothing, and he is extremely resilient, and it seems like he knows some battle magic as well. Nothing above the beginner Royal Guard level, as far as we're aware, but then it's the only magic he has demonstrated to us outside of usual telekinesis. Perhaps, he knows more than he lets on. Our priority must shift to getting rid of him before we can approach Princess Luna."

"It would be extremely difficult," the first replied, "My sources indicate he's at friendly terms with Princess Luna, and they also train together. He is close to her, living in her wing of the castle, which is the most secure from our influence. I believe it is obvious Princess Luna made it even more impenetrable now."

"Then we can use Princess Celestia to get rid of him," the third nodded, "She distrusts the demon. If we can somehow make him her enemy, then he will be eliminated from the picture, allowing us a clearer strike on Princess Luna. However, the demon has no hostility towards either princess, as far as I'm aware, so it would be difficult to convince Princess Celestia to banish or imprison him. Fourth, any suggestions?"

"There is a possible route," the fourth pony spoke, slightly leaning forward, "However, it has certain risks. Might be unconvincing, thus easily seen through. It would require at least a week of preparations, and this time might allow Princess Luna to find a lead on us, possibly. There is an even riskier plan, no more than two days of preparations, and it will be very convincing. At the very least, we can use Princess Celestia's bias against the demon to our advantage, for this plan would ensure she would have the right thoughts about him. However, it is very likely to result in damage to the princesses, especially Princess Celestia. If she is out of the picture, then we will have failed."

"Can we start both preparations?"

"Of course, but it might be suspicious," the fourth nodded, "However, that might be the only way for us to proceed and ensure the best chances for success. We need to vote."

"I agree with enacting both plans," the fifth pony spoke.

"I agree with enacting both plans," the sixth echoed.

"Then it is decided," the third nodded and rose from his seat, "Let us proceed with caution. Never underestimate, take everything even remotely possible into account."

Andromalius was walking through the streets early in the morning, heading to the Homely Tea House. He decided that earning some money wouldn't hurt, especially considering that not many would hire him. To them, he was nothing but a strange demon living in Canterlot Castle for no apparent reason. No one knew him, and barely anyone wanted to know him. Thankfully, the streets were nearly empty at the time, making it easy for the hell stallion to make his way to the tea house without being disturbed. However, that didn't mean he didn't look around from time to time – this would be the perfect time to strike at him again.

The streets remained quiet in the coming sunrise. A few lone ponies swiped the streets, some went around the trash bins to collect what was left from the previous day, and none paid too much mind to Andromalius, consumed by their tedious work.

Just like in the streets, quietness reigned in his mind. Inanna still hadn't returned, and it slightly bothered the hell stallion. What was she doing back in Hell or wherever she was? He had grown somewhat accustomed to hearing her small comments and remarks here and there, and this complete and utter silence worried him in a certain way. He was all alone to his thoughts, and now it felt strange, as if something was missing. Maybe he began to like Inanna and her antics; they didn't hurt, and some did elicit a chuckle or two out of him from time to time. Now, he felt even lonely.

"Hello, Andromalius!" a voice called him from the entrance of the tea house, making him realize he reached his destination, "Come in, let's talk."

With a silent nod, the hell stallion slipped inside the Homely Tea House. The door remained slightly ajar, and he didn't bother to lock it. Still Waters was rustling somewhere in the kitchen and soon emerged, holding a few differently-colored bags.

"Well, if you want some work, there are a few things you can help me with," she said, placing the bags on the floor, "It's all manual, simple work, but I'm afraid I don't have much more to offer."

"I'm fine with that," Andromalius nodded casually, "So, what do I have to do?"

"These bags go in the trash containers behind the building," she explained, "They're already sorted, you just pick the right container. Simply match the colors, and you're all set, nothing difficult. Once you're done with that, you will water the flowers in the front and inside, the watering pot is somewhere in the kitchen. Just make the soil slightly damp, no need to make it a swamp."

"Alright," he nodded and grabbed the trash bags. It seemed simple-enough, so why not just do it? Maybe it's not the best work he could've gotten, not by a long shot; however, one knew him or his skills, so he was fine with doing some manual labor for the time-being. It was funny in a way – a powerful and strong demon from the other world was throwing out the trash. It elicited a chuckle out of him as he hauled the bags outside and to the back yard.

As Still Waters said, there were a few containers standing in the corner, hidden from everyone by a tall wall with greenery growing around. To Andromalius' surprise, it didn't smell bad, and so it didn't take him long to place the bags in the appropriate containers. Apparently, ponies knew how to take care of their garbage – last time Andromalius checked, most of humans still dumped theirs, probably hoping that it would disappear by itself. Ponies seemed all too eco-friendly to do something like this.

With these thoughts, he returned to the tea house and went to search for the watering pot. Maneuvering between chairs and tables, he made his way behind the counter and squeezed through the door to the kitchen. He tried his best not to as much as nudge anything standing or lying around the room. He barely squeezed between the sink and one of the cutting tables, and then he saw it – the watering pot was right in the corner of the room, placed underneath a small table. He grabbed it with his magic and gently lifted it up, testing it. Thankfully, it was full of water, and so he didn't need to do much but to-

*CRASH*

He stopped in his tracks and slowly turned his head. Thankfully, it was just a pair of steel cups that made the noise when he pushed them off the table with his tail. Tucking it in the best he could, he slowly backed his way out of the kitchen and into the bigger main area. With a sigh of relief, he finally turned to water the flowers. The water murmured quietly as it rained on the plants and the soil underneath them, bringing a sense of calm. The hell stallion moved from one plant to the other until all of them were well-watered. Then he headed to the outside and did the same with the flowers there, and soon he was done.

"Did something happen in the kitchen?" Still Water's voice appeared to his right, almost startling him.

"Just dropped a few cups. They should be fine," Andromalius replied, "Sorry, I'm just... a bit big."

"Oh, I should've thought of that," the mare realized, a look of embarrassment on her face, "Anyway, there's one last thing... my bread supplier is running late, says his cart broke. I think you can haul everything I need just on your back. There are a few bags, shouldn't be difficult. The baker's down the street and to the left, you won't miss it. He's still working on the cart, I bet."

With a nod, Andromalius headed where she pointed, a small smile playing on his face. For a moment, he felt like he used to again – just doing regular things for regular reasons. Taking out the trash, watering flowers, and going to pick up some products to bring them somewhere else. A hint of normalcy in his new life, maybe even a promise of eventual peace. No conspiracies, no prophecies, but a simple life. Perhaps, it would never come, but one could dream.

This dream, however, seemed to be out of his reach; ponies were waking up and going out in the streets, and they gave him the same looks they gave him before. Suspicion, distrust, interest, curiosity. It would take quite a while for them to get used to him, he knew it. Each day he spent around them was a reminder of that fact, unfortunately.

In the distance, he could already see a broken down cart, one of its wheels broken in two, and a stallion was trying his best to replace it. However, the remains of the wheel were jammed tightly, and the axle was cracked in a few places, meaning that only completely replacing the axle and the broken wheel would solve the problem.

"Still Waters sent me for bread," Andromalius spoke once he was close-enough.

"Yeah, gimme a mom- oh crap!" the stallion turned around and finally saw the hell stallion. For a moment, he was silent, and then stuttered out, "W-well, she said she'd send a strong stallion, but... oh my..." he got up and went to the back of the cart, trying not to look back, "A-alright, ahem, the bread's all here, plus a bag of flour she asked for."

With a nod, Andromalius grabbed it all and put a few bags on his back. Those that couldn't be put on remained hanging in the air by his magic. He could feel the weight of the bags, but it wasn't straining him at all. After nodding to the stallion again, Andromalius turned around and went back to the Homely Tea House. He had no idea why Still Waters needed so much bread, but it wasn't his place to ask – he was just a delivery guy, technically. She ran her business and she obviously knew how to do it. All he needed to do was to make the delivery and then see if she had anything more for him to do. If not, he would return to the castle and possibly get some sleep unless Inanna reappeared. As of now, she was still gone, leaving a part of his mind unusually quiet and empty.

The Canterlot streets began to fill with life as more and more ponies woke up and went out. Some looked at Andromalius with suspicion, but none dared even ask why he was carrying the bags. It made him chuckle – he could probably rob someone and no one would do anything about it. Of course, as long as it didn't reach the guards and princesses' attention. He shook his head – he wouldn't use his new appearance like that. And besides, what was the point of becoming a criminal if he was very capable of earning money legally? He was doing it right now, even if the job wasn't prestigeous, and it definitely wouldn't pay for a house. But in time, he would get something better, hopefully.

"Ah, thank you for your help!" Still Waters said once Andromalius brought the bags. Then she directed him to where he needed to place them, "It's all done now. Here's your pay," she handed him a bag of coins.

"I... don't really know much about currency around here," he said slowly, levitating the ten big golden coins and a few bronze ones."

"Well, this amount would guarantee you can buy food for around half a week," she tried to explain, "The golden coins are bits, the bronze ones are bytes. One bit is eight bytes."

For a moment, he wanted to open his maw and say just how inaccurate it is. But then he mentally slapped himself – their definitions are simply different and, as far as he knew, there were no computers; even if they were, there was no guarantee they ran on binary. It would take him a while to get used to this terminology, however.

"Although, I'm not sure it would be enough to feed you for just a few days," Still Waters continued, her eyes going up his body, taking in the parts that were exposed from under the cloak, "In any case, I'll be waiting for you in the evening to close the shop, if you want to earn more."

"I'm not sure I'll be able to, I have training," he replied honestly, but almost slapped himself mentally again. He wasn't sure anyone needed to know about what he was doing with Princess Luna unless she gave him permission to talk about it.

"Ah, I understand," the mare nodded, "To keep those muscles, you have to exercise plenty. Very well, then I'll be waiting for you next morning."

Andromalius sighed in relief internally – it was a good cover-up, and he didn't even have to come up with it. This reminded him that perhaps he should do some weightlifting in order to keep his muscles strong; he would have to talk to Luna about it in the evening.

Exchanging goodbyes, the two went their separate ways, and the hell stallion headed straight back to the castle. Maybe he would get a normal life someday, although something told him Inanna's reappearance would bring something that would deny him this simple wish. And yet, she was silent, and it worried him. Did something happen to her? Or was she discussing things with someone, and could those things concern him?

He could only wait and see.