Both Andromalius and Princess Luna were visibly relieved when they finally reached the Great Canterlot Library. A sprawling building of multiple floors, it was a monument to knowledge right in the center of the city. Its quiet halls were filled with ponies at almost any time of day, and the atmosphere of learning could be felt the moment one were to enter the library. The air was fresh and clean, the soft light gently illuminated the rooms and halls through the huge translucent windows. In such quietness, the scribbles of quills and pens could be heard along with the pages being turned. Fortunately, the floor was covered by a soft, sound-dampening carpet, so the steps ponies made were nearly silent.

At this time of day, the library was full of many ponies studying during their free time: old and young, teachers and students, stallions and mares, all were welcome to use the vast collection of books and manuscripts for learning and understanding. However, their attention was diverted to the unusual guests: the alicorn and the hell stallion. Whispers arose, buzzing in the usually quiet air, curious and fearful glances were thrown their way.

"Please, put your cloak in the cloakroom," the receptionist said not raising her eyes from the papers she was filling, "Thank you."

Reluctantly, Andromalius made his way to the left and came to a huge room with rows of coat hooks. He hesitated for a moment but took off the cloak and hung it on one of the hooks, taking a mental note on its number. Slowly, he returned to the main hall and was greeted with quiet gasps of shock and interest. The receptionist looked at him and froze in place; a dark spot began to form on her papers as the ink dropped from her quill. After a long moment, she noticed it, put the quill in the ink well, and wiped the spot as carefully as she could. After clearing her throat, she spoke again.

"Welcome to the Great Canterlot Library, Princess Luna and..." she trailed off, raising her brow and waiting.

"Andromalius," he replied quietly with a small nod.

"Welcome, mister Andromalius," she said, "So, how can I be of service?"

"I am looking for books about history and etiquette, as well as traditions and culture," the alicorn said, "Of modern and old times, but no older than a millennium."

"I'm, uh, a foreigner, I don't know much about Equestria, and... I suppose I need the same books but as simple as possible."

"Very well" the receptionist nodded, standing up from her place and making her way to the two. The guards, meanwhile, took their positions near the entrance, "Please, follow me."

Andromalius felt uncomfortable being watched by other visitors of the library, and he could feel the tension the receptionist had as well; her ears were aimed backward, directly at him, and her whole body screamed for her to turn around and face him. His doubts about fitting in grew with each second, and he was ready to abandon all hope for the possibility of living in this world without standing out in a bad way. He hadn't done anything yet, but he was sure rumors about him began to spread as soon as he set his hoof outside the Canterlot Castle. He didn't want to think what those rumors could entail.

Fortunately, the walk through the library wasn't long, and soon the receptionist directed Princess Luna and Andromalius towards the correct section of the library and helped them pick the necessary books. After it was settled, she quickly disappeared, the urge to quicken her pace evident in her gait.

Fortunately, the two unusual guests found a quiet corner of the library where they could rest and read in silence. It was a simple table surrounded by armchairs and sofas. Princess Luna chose an armchair and was soon consumed by two books, both floating before her eyes as she went from one sentence to the next rather quickly, flipping the pages almost every minute in both books. Meanwhile, Andromalius tried to take an armchair as well, but it proved to be too small for him, so he had to pick the whole sofa for himself. After getting reasonably comfortable, he carefully opened the first book, which title was 'History of Equestria: Short Edition.'

The first page detailed the basics, including Equestrian calendar, the starting point of which was the foundation of the country. The eyes of the hell stallion widened as he saw a part of the text glowing in a blue hue:

The current date: 3000 A.F.E., 51st Day of Sunlight.

For a few long moments, he stared at the glowing text, wondering how it was done and what kind of magic was possible outside of such a seemingly simple thing. What secrets were there to discover? What knowledge could lie in the books and outside of them? What could he do? Magicians from Earth were nothing more than tricksters, but here, he felt he could become so much more and learn things beyond the reach of humanity. The immense power and understanding were within his grasp, hinted at by this simple book.

His eyes sparkled with curiosity, his mind delving into the spells he had seen in videogames, movies, books; were they all possible? What could he learn? He couldn't wait to begin, but first things first – he had to begin by learning about the place he was going to live in. However, a thought appeared in his head... what if he could learn a spell that would open a portal between this world and the Earth? He would surely be able to go back, wouldn't he? But... would he still want it, knowing how much there is to discover and learn in this new world? He was torn between the two. On one side, he had the familiarity of his world, his hometown, his friends; on the other, he had the ocean of knowledge too deep to see the bottom of.

Deciding to put these thoughts away for later, he continued with the book he was holding. He briefly went over the foundation of Equestria, the hostilities between the three pony tribes, and their eventual union. It was certainly interesting, but his mind was buzzing with anticipation for magic. No matter how hard he tried to control those thoughts, they continued to spill, causing him a sense of opportunity and haste. He could learn so much, and yet he had no idea how long these possibilities would remain open. For all he knew, he could find a way back home next day, and a choice would tear him apart.

"Is something wrong?" Luna asked with concern. Andromalius came back to reality and noticed his tail tapping rather loudly against the sofa, and it took a conscious effort to stop it and relax his tail.

"I'm exited about learning it all," he admitted, "I'm sorry, didn't mean to distract, your majesty."

"Ah, healthy enthusiasm and curiosity is rather welcome," the alicorn made a small smile, "Although, I do suppose that thou shouldst try not to... disturb the air, so to speak."

"I will," he nodded and soon returned back to reading. A realization dawned on him all of suddon – he was in a foreign world, far away from Earth, but everyone spoke perfect English and wrote in it as well. It gave him an uncanny feeling, and he mentally slapped himself for not realizing it before. He had a thought about something being wrong, but until now, he couldn't understand what it was. So, he decided to speak up, "Your majesty... isn't it strange that we can talk?"

"...Pardon me?" she blinked in confusion.

"Well... I'm from another world, but I can understand you, and you can understand me. I can understand the book, too," he shook the book slightly, "I just... think it's really strange."

"It... certainly is," Luna nodded, her own realization coming rapidly, "I... haven't realized it until now. So, thou art saying that in thy word, Common is spoken as well?"

"We call it English, and it's not spoken universally," he replied. Seeing the interest on her face, he decided to elaborate, "English is native to England, which is a part of Great Britain, which is, well, a part of the United Kingdom. In the past, it had conquered and settled plenty of land and was called the British Empire. I live- lived in the United States of America. It was once a part of the British Empire before the revolution, but we still speak English, although it's a slightly different version... I'm sorry, seems I'm rambling."

"I don't mind," Luna shook her head slightly, "In fact, I would like to know more about thy world. It certainly seemeth a place rich in history and culture. So, if I understood everything clearly, English... did I pronounce it correctly?"

"I think so."

"Very well, so English was a language of a once mighty British Empire. How big was it?" she asked with great interest.

"Well... it wasn't one continent or anything, but it spanned across the globe. The British Empire was known as the land where the sun never sets," he continued his explanation, "But, ironically, its, uh, basis is just two islands – the British Isles. They're not too big by themselves, but the empire was considered one of the largest as far as I know. I'm not really a historian, I remember little," he said the last sentence in an apologetic tone, "I'm probably not recalling it all correctly either."

"Well, even such information can be useful," Luna replied, "Or, at the very least, entertaining. In any case, I have just realized that I should give thee the time to learn about our world. I would very much like to hear more about thine own, but..." she slightly turned away from him, not looking directly at the hell stallion, "'Tis just a selfish desire of mine."

"I mean, I don't mind talking about it..."

"No, it was incorrect and improper of myself to demand answers from thee while thou art in search for thine own," Luna shook her head, "My curiosity can be satisfied later if thou art still willing to talk by then. However, for now, I should leave thee to learn about Equestria and Viridis as a whole."

"Viridis?"

"From one of the Old Languages, it translateth to 'green'. We call our world this way because of its vast plant life that is the basis for all life," she explained, "Unless something changed in the thousand years past, the name we gave it should still be the same."

"Huh, that's interesting. We call our own world the Earth because, well..." he trailed off, trying to find the answer in his memory, "I... don't actually remember the right answer, but I suppose we call it that way because we live on earth and not in the water. Anyway, I think I saw a mention of griffons in the book... are they also intelligent?"

"Very much so," Luna nodded, "They are no less intelligent as us ponies. They have their own country – the Griffon Empire. It stands close to ours in terms of power and influence, although I don't particularly appreciate their... methods."

"I... don't think any Empire was mentioned here," Andromalius went through the page again, "Only the Griffon Kingdoms."

"Very interesting..." the alicorn tapped her chin, "I shall look it into it later with my sister. In any case, there are more sapient beings if thou art wondering, and it'd be problematic to list them all. Ponies, griffons, and minotaurs are – or at least were – the Triumvirate of Civilizations. Many achievements in medicine, science, education, magic, and other fields of life are largely attributed to the three of us."

"I suppose we have something similar on Earth," the hell stallion said, "Though, there is only one species... intelligent species, that is. We have the United States of America and Europe, then we have Russia, and China. Though... I think that's mostly just a political thing. And I don't really understand too much about it..."

Andromalius suddenly caught something in the corner of his eye. He turned his head slightly and his eyes widened. On the opposite sofa, a creature lay – an equine of dark-gray fur but with cloven hooves; her tail was not one of a horse or a pony but closer to the one Andromalius had – long and furless it was; at its end, there was a Y-shaped, smooth fork. On her back, a pair of inverted bat-like wings grew but without membranes – thin stripes connected the 'fingers' instead.The eyes of the creature had not white but black sclera, and the iris were blue like sky. Those eyes left mixed feelings inside Andromalius' head: on one side, they were eerie and even creepy, but they were rather beautiful and unique in their own way. His eyes traveled up her head and saw two somewhat pointy ears on the top along with two distinctive horns growing just above her brows, both of them curved along her head, their sharp ends aimed backward. Her mane was long and dark-purple, tied behind her head. The corners of her lips were playfully up, her gaze was that of subtle curiosity, and it was aimed at Andromalius.

"I would definitely love to hear about it all, but later," Luna nodded, seemingly completely unaware of the strange creature just within a grasp's distance.

"Calm down, it's me," Inanna finally spoke inside his head, and a wink followed, "Just an astral projection – I'm not really there. In any case, it's pretty interesting to listen to you two talking."

"Is..." Luna turned her head to the sofa occupied by the succubus, "Is something there?"

"No... sorry, I zoned out," Andromalius slightly shook his head, but Inanna didn't disappear, "Um, where did we stop?"

"Sapient beings in Viridis," the alicorn reminded, "As I was saying, there are plenty around. I remember changelings, yaks, horses, diamond dogs – especially troublesome, those dogs are, – dragons... It would be too long to list all of them, as I was saying."

"What about... demons?" the hell stallion asked, keeping Inanna in his vision.

"Demons? Well... I suppose they were legends for a very long time," Luna replied and then gestured at him, "Thou art proof that demons do exist... although, I am not certain if any are present in Viridis."

"Funny how I'm right here, isn't it?" Inanna giggled, "But Princess Luna is still somewhat correct. We are considered legends, mostly because we're not too keen on revealing ourselves. I'll explain it to you once you're done here."

Getting the hint, Andromalius understood that it wasn't the place nor time to reveal the existence of Inanna to anyone, even if it was just Luna. In fact, revealing the demons to her could be a fatal mistake – she was one of Equestrian Princesses, after all. Her words were law, and the hell stallion didn't know what she would do about the demons. It would be wise for him to wait until he understood more about them in the first place.

"I don't know either," he shook his head, "But anyway... it's really interesting that there are so many. On Earth, as I've said, there's just one – humans. The best I can describe us is... bipedal, mostly hairless apes," he hoped it was not a disservice to humanity, but at the moment, he hadn't a better way to describe humans.

"Just one? Must feel awfully lonely..."

"Well... we've been searching for anyone else with intelligence for centuries," Andromalius replied, "There's a lot of speculation, but I suppose there, in fact, are non-humans that are just as smart if not more. Though, I'm the only one so far who knows about it, I suppose."

"Maybe we will be able to contact thy kind someday," Luna suggested, "It'd be interesting to have a long talk, maybe establish a trade or an alliance..."

"I... don't know how difficult that'd be," the stallion shrugged with uncertainty, "I mean, we can be really bad, even evil... But we can also be good. No idea how good our politicians are, though..."

"Thou needst not worry – we shan't judge thy kind by thy rulers," she assured him, "In any case, I certainly hope that violent conflicts would be relatively easy to avoid."

"Yeah, that'd be a bad first impression if that happened..." he chuckled, "But... maybe we can just, you know... exist peacefully together."

"And maybe have sex," Inanna suggested, and if Andromalius had any drink in his mouth, he would spray it out in surprise.

"W-what?" he asked in bewilderment.

"Why not? I think that's one of the best ways to get to know someone," she replied playfully, "You know, as long as both participants – or all participants if there's more than two – are willing to go for it, why not do it? Won't hurt anyone."

"B-but what the hell does it have to do with arranging peace and, and other stuff?"

"What, do you think no one would want it? Trust me, one of the first thoughts everyone's gonna have would be 'Can I get laid with them?'"

"Not that... I just... I wasn't talking about it, Princess Luna wasn't talking about it, and you just..." Andromalius tried to form his words, growing annoyed with the succubus.

"Came out of nowhere to suggest sex?" she giggled.

Trying to ignore her, flustered hell stallion returned to the main conversation. Thankfully, Luna hadn't noticed him zoning out again, for she was deep in her own thoughts as well. He didn't want what to say next, however – it seemed like invading her thinking process had no purpose other than to continue their somewhat random talk. He decided to continue reading the book instead, as well as try to hide his burning cheeks and distract himself.

"So... what about that sex session in celebration of the signing of the peace treaty?" Inanna continued to press her point, eliciting a mental groan from Andromalius. It, of course, didn't stop her from teasing him more, "You can't just ignore me, you know. So, tell me... will there be sex?"

"Why are you all about s-sex?" he asked with irritation, his voice faltering at the last word.

"Because I'm a succubus, silly!" she replied while slightly adjusting her position on the sofa, "It's my nature. In case you don't know, we succubi feed and grow on carnal lust. And such lust, as you should know, is sexual."

"You... need to have sex to survive?"

"No, not like that..." Inanna shook her head, "But I suppose that's close to it. You see, we need food and water just like everyone else. But that will only sustain us – we need growth. Until a certain age, we can survive and grow just on food and water, but then we get our third need – carnal lust. We must either have sex or watch someone have it. Though, on one very important condition that must never be broken – sex must be consensual."

"Glad to hear that," Andromalius let out a silent sigh.

"Let's not delve too deep into that one." the succubus said and then cleared her throat, "Anyway, as I was saying, we need to feed on lust to grow. We can still survive on the usual stuff, but sex... is so much more delicious. Definitely very nutritious, too! It helps us keep our bodies fit and young," she slightly flexed her toned muscles, giving a wink to the hell stallion, "Keep ourselves energetic, and most importantly... just to feel good. For us, there's no greater pleasure than sex."

"Alright, I think you can stop here" Andromalius said, all while trying to make himself more comfortable in his sofa and keep the blush away from his face.

"You asked, I answered," Inanna replied playfully, "If you want a practical show, you just ask~"

"Um, I think I'll just learn instead. L-like you told me to do." he replied while looking at a book, the letters all jumping around, making him hard to concentrate as his thoughts kept returning to Inanna's words.

"Keep that up and you'll remain a virgin for a long, long time~"

Andromalius closed his eyes and groaned, this time audibly. Thankfully for him, Luna paid no mind as she busied herself with the books as well. The hell stallion didn't know his trip to the library would end up being this weird, but all he could do was follow the events. And no matter how increasingly annoying and frustrating Inanna was becoming, she was one of the two people who could help him understand the new world around him and live in it.

Even if it meant dealing with one lustful succubus.

Author's Notes:

An annoying, yet sexy succubus trying to seduce the main character... What can go wrong? Nothing, really, as long as he doesn't try the wrong hole.