The sun made its way across the sky, and now it was descending to let the moon take its rightful place and for the day to change to night. The lighting dimmed, the lamps came to life, and the bustling city of Canterlot prepared for its sleep. As the evening came, the whispers about Princess Luna and Andromalius spread; from street to street, the rumors spread like a wave, only growing in size and distorting at the same time. The truth was mixed with imagination, the reality twisted into lies and fears, and soon only a small number of ponies accepted the accident as it truly happened. Others, however, were content with reaffirming the notion of Luna's evil.

The talk about a strange demon accompanying her received an even worse welcome. Such a being had not been seen nor heard, and so it was easier to attribute an even bigger evil to it. Andromalius hadn't hurt anyone, but the rumors cared not about spreading the truth; instead, they talked of assumptions and guesses, one worse than the other. None knew his name nor his thoughts; his intentions and deeds remained hidden. The intelligent mind does not like emptiness, and so it feels it with things that it knows not to be either true or false. Minds alike come up with ideas similar, it's known very well among the knowledgeable few; it would not be long until those ideas are assumed to be true just because of how many people think them as such.

However, those concerns weren't on Andromalius' mind just yet. Perhaps, they were there in the corner of his mind waiting for their turn. And yet, his slit eyes were wide open, glued to the books as he hungrily consumed them, filling his mind with knowledge of this foreign, and also very interesting, world. The wonderful tales of magic intertwined with dry historical facts, the stories of many different people came together to form the world as it was; many creatures thought mythological by humans were very real in this world, and things that seemed impossible were possible.

Neither Luna nor Andromalius noticed the coming of evening, but soon most ponies left the library and only but a handful remained. The crickets were chirping from the outside, the noise of the streets disappeared, and soon it faded into the night's quietness. The hell stallion was so absorbed by the books, he subconsciously refused to acknowledge the coming of the night; he felt neither thirst nor hunger, and no other bodily need bothered him. However, the alicorn was growing weary and tired, her eyelids growing heavy and her mind wandering away from the books.

"I believe..." she begun, but then yawned, "I believe we should head back to the castle."

Andromalius raised his head and looked around, only now noticing the absence of ponies and the background noise they made.

"But... can I take some books with me?" he asked, hoping to have something to read before going to bed. After all, he didn't feel tired at all.

"Hm, I believe so, yes," Luna nodded, "I may take some as well. In any case, we should ask the receptionist about it. Back in my day, books were less plentiful. They were guarded very seriously, and not many would be allowed to as much as touching them without explicit, written permission. Now, however..." she looked around, "This library triumpheth my own at least sevenfold, and mine used to be the largest in Equestria. Very interesting..."

"In my world, books used to be rare, too," Andromalius replied, "They became more available once printers were invented. They made it way easier to make a book, from what I know."

"And what is that invention, exactly?" the princess asked with curiosity.

"Um... uh..." he tapped his chin, "I... I know what it is, but I don't know how to explain it," he chuckled sheepishly.

"Ah, a common problem," she made a small smile, "Well, I suppose I can ask my sister. She ought to know all about the recent inventions while I was gone."

"I bet she would like to know about the sex machines. Wonderful inventions for the lonely lot..." Inanna giggled, almost making Andromalius jump.

"W-what? I'm not about to tell a princess about... about that!" he stuttered out.

"In any case, it's time for us to go," Luna stood up from her comfortable armchair. A few of the books she collected flew across the air to their bookshelves while some remained floating near the princess. Trying not to think about what Inanna had just said, Andromalius stood up as well and followed Luna to the reception desk while carrying a few books of his own interest.

"Very well, I see both of you are eager to learn," the receptionist greeted them with a smile, although a look of wariness was aimed at Andromalius, "You want to take those books to study outside the library, correct?"

"Indeed," Luna nodded, "What doth it require? Do we need to sign certain papers?"

"It's rather simple, don't worry," the mare put a blank list of paper on her desk and started scribbling the titles of the books, "Hm, alright... now, all I need you to do is to place your signature under this list."

Luna put her signature without hesitation - a crescent moon with a capital L inside it, all made in one line. Andromalius, however, wasn't certain what to put there. He doubted that his old signature would matter, so he decided to put a unicursal hexagram on the paper with a capital A next to it. The alicorn glanced at the symbol with interest but didn't comment on it. Once it was done, a pair of bags were offered to the two to make it easier to carry the books.

Andromalius and Luna soon finally exited the library building along with their guards, who were already nodding sleepily. The fresh outside air was quiet and calm, the streets were peacefully empty, and only a handful of ponies looked out their windows at the two. Luna ignored the looks of interest and fear, choosing to head straight back to the Canterlot Castle and setting her mind on that only goal. Andromalius, surprisingly, was less nervous. After retrieving his cloak from the library cloakroom, he felt safer, and his dark attire blended well with the darkened city streets.

"Ah, the nightly streets haven't changed a single bit since I was here last..." Luna let out a sigh, "Calm and serene... peaceful, it is. And while it still saddeneth me greatly that ponies do not see the night's beauty, I came to realize that the night is beautiful in its tranquility," she turned to Andromalius, "What dost thou think about the night?"

For a long moment, the hell stallion was silent, his mind devoid of an answer he would consider right. In all of his life, he hadn't thought much about the night. Most of the time, he was sleeping during it or doing homework and similar things. In his moderately busy life, he hadn't had much of a chance to stop and think about such a simple thing as the night. And now, faced with this question, he hadn't an answer that would satisfy even himself.

"I... I don't really know," he admitted, "Haven't thought about it."

"'Tis a shame..." Luna sighed, and Andromalius couldn't help but feel guilty, "I suppose that's how the night will remain in the minds of others – a time not to remember but to cast aside, take for granted, and never acknowledge that 'tis there..."

"I'm sorry..."

"Thou needst not be," she shook her head, "I understand it now. This burden is mine and mine alone to bear."

Not knowing what to say to that, Andromalius was silent. He wanted to console the princess, to assure her that the night is more than a forgotten thing, and yet it would only highlight his hypocricy. He who knew not the night had no right to assure that he did, after all. Even if this feeling weighed heavily on his heart, he couldn't say what he hadn't already said.

Their walk continued in an almost perfect silence. Their hooves tapped against the road; the armor of the guards creaked from time to time, their steps subconsciously synchronized as they escorted the princess and the demon to the castle; the calm breaths; the invisible thoughts buzzing inside their heads.

A few dark figures appeared out of the alleyway and walked to the middle of the road in front of Luna. The group stopped, the guards stiffened as they slowly took their place in front of their princess.

"You! The accursed Queen of Nightmares!" one of them yelled as the pony gestured at Luna, "What evil will you bring to us now? Didn't you have enough ruining our celebration?"

"Put under an evil spell Celestia was!" the other spoke, "We know what you will do, and we shall stop you before you plunge our beautiful world in eternal darkness!"

"You steal the light from the sky and our very souls!" the third one continued, "Under the cover of the night, you steal our foals to turn them into beasts!"

Luna gasped, tears welling up in her eyes. And yet, she didn't say a word as the hateful tirade continued.

"We shall defend this world! In the name of the Sacred Light!" the fourth one yelled out, and blades rustled out of their scabbards. The guards readied themselves for battle, pointing their spears at the attackers.

The princess lowered her head, her body shaking. Tears rolled down her cheeks and dropped on the ground, making a tiny sound each time a drop hit the pavement. She inhaled deeply, swiftly rose, and let out a cry of desperation and suffering; her horn lit up bright as a star, blinding the four, and then she disappeared in a loud flash that shook the windows of the nearby buildings and raised dust from the ground. The four cloaked figures fell to the ground, dropping their swords; the guards stood firmly against the gust of wind and then rushed to arrest the four. Andromalius, unsure of what to do, was frozen in place, his mind blank and his heartbeat quickening.

"You shan't get me!" one of the four ponies shouted, a blade sparkled in the moonlight, and a gasp was heard – one of the guards was stabbed in the side. The pony rose from the ground and attempted to escape, but the wounded guard knocked him down with a spear by cutting the leg.

The second guard was more careful, knocking out the remaining weapons with his magic and spear. Chaos ensued as the attackers attempted to flee and struggled against the arrest. Andromalius could stand in place no longer – summoning his magic, he lifted the attackers up in the air and threw away their weapons. He swiftly looked around and noticed clothes hanging on a rope to dry. He yanked the rope and crudely tied the four attackers together. They attempted to break free but the rope tied them along with their cloaks so well they could barely move their limbs. Then, the four were dropped on the ground; they landed with an audible thud, a few pained cries escaping their maws.

Andromalius rushed to the wounded guard. The blood was gushing out of the opening on his side as he lay on the road, breathing heavily. Panic overtook the hell stallion as he was frozen in place once again, having no idea how to keep the guard alive. Meanwhile, the other guard pulled out a syringe from his saddlebag and injected a bluish liquid next to the wound.

"We need to get him to the hospital, it's not too far away!" the guard turned to the hell stallion and shook him back into sense, "Look at me. Don't panic. Carefully grab him, go down the street. There is a fork at its end, take the right turn. The hospital has a glowing red cross on the front, you won't miss it. Now go!"

Andromalius swiftly picked up the wounded guard as he weakly moaned in pain. Each second counted, so the hell stallion galloped down the street as instructed, his heart thumping like drums. The remaining guard blew a horn, alerting the rest of the city guard. The hell stallion didn't notice it, however – only one thought was in his head; he must deliver the wounded to the hospital as quickly as possible. He willed himself to go faster and faster, almost flying through the street at a speed he had never run before. He saw the fork and turned to the right once he came to it, almost tumbling during the sharp turn. He could feel the blood of the guard dripping on his back and he tried not to think of it. Most importantly, he needed to reach the hospital. It wasn't his life, but he didn't care – fast as the wind, he galloped, not caring about anything else.

There it was, the cross. Red and glowing, it stood there at the end of the street. It seemed impossible, but Andromalius quickened his pace even more, his cloak flapping like wings as the air brushed past him. The burn in his muscles rose as they propelled him like a dart, but he didn't care. The time was running out, the guard was almost silent. The hell stallion must deliver him to the hospital at once, he should've done that as soon as the guard was wounded. A thought passed his mind – he must learn teleportation. No matter how quick he was, no matter what speed he could achieve with his powerful legs, it was nothing compared to the instant of teleportation. A blink of an eye would be the only thing he would ever need.

The doors of the hospital flew off their hinges as Andromalius yanked at them. The hospital staff screamed in terror as he almost crashed into the front desk. They began to run away but he caught them in his magic and forced to look at him.

"He is dying!" he yelled, gesturing at the guard, "Shut the fuck up and help him!"

He had to shake them a fair bit before they stopped panicking. Their training kicked in as soon as they saw the wound – a stretcher was brought in an instant, and a blue gel was applied to the wound, sealing it and stopping further blood loss.

"What- what happened?" one of the nurses stuttered out.

"Stabbedintheside," Andromalius replied so quickly his words were almost unintelligible, "Don't... don'tknowifthere... therewas... poison..."

"Alright," the nurse turned around and then shouted: "Protocol E-SSD-PP, everyone!" she returned to Andromalius, "What exactly happened, can you tell me?"

"Princess Luna and I along with two guards were walking to the castle from the... the city library," he reported, "Four ponies attacked us. The princess teleported away, the guards tried to subdue the ponies, but one was stabbed by them. The four are captured, and the last guard is alive."

"Very well," the nurse nodded, writing it down into a notepad, "Thank you for bringing him in time. We have the blood for him, so the chances he'll live are high."

Andromalius let out a huge sigh of relief as he plopped down on one of the benches, which creaked under him but managed to hold his weight. He hung his head, calming down and coming to his senses. It all happened so quickly, and yet he remembered all the details. The hurtful words hurled at the princess, the threats, and then the arrest that almost ended in death of one of the guards. Even now, it was uncertain whether he would live or not. Despite the high chances, it was still not a hundred percent.

The hell stallion tried not to think of the possibility. His mind grew numb, and one question remained in his head – what must he do next? Should he go back to the castle to find Luna or should he stay here and wait for the news about the wounded guard?

"Excuse me..." one of the nurses addressed him, "I mean no offense, but there's talk... Are you, um, the demon who escorted Her Nightly Majesty today?"

He nodded while staring at nothing in particular.

"I just have to say... your appearance fooled us all," she continued, "I want to apologize for that. You've proven you're not what many think you are. I, I will spread the word about it so that others would know."

"No idea if that'll change anything," Andromalius replied, "And... my name's Andromalius."

"A-alright," she nodded, "But, sincerely... thank you."

Having not a word to say, he was silent. Understanding his need for privacy, the nurse returned to her business. In his mind, he knew he didn't save the guard because he wanted to get a true recognition. He didn't do it for ponies to treat him better. He only did it because he felt it was the right thing to do. Even then, he wasn't thinking about it when it all happened. The best he could explain it was that he did it because he did it. He had no reason, he had no goal. During the moments before the attack, all he wanted was to read.

His eyes widened as he realized something. He dropped his books at the scene of the attack. He stood up from the bench and headed outside, deciding to place the trust to the doctors and surgeons to heal the wounded guard while he was away. And besides, there was nothing else he could do that he was aware of.

This time, he made the way back slowly, taking in the night's air. And yet, it reminded him of the attack – a barely noticeable scent of iron was in the air he breathed, the drops of blood glistened on the ground he walked, and the uneasy feeling reigned supreme. Subconsciously, it made him quicken his pace, and soon he was back at the scene. The four ponies were tied and gagged, placed in the middle of the street under the watch of no less than ten guards. A few civilians were around, cautiously observing the situation.

"Halt!" one of the guards noticed Andromalius and pointed his spear at him. Without a single question, the hell stallion obeyed.

"Relax, he's not one of them," another guard walked in and looked at the hell stallion, "So, will he live?"

"The doctors said he most likely will," he replied, "I... didn't stay to find out."

"Alright," the guard nodded. It was obvious he wanted to ask more questions, but he had another task to fulfill, "Also, the books for you and the princess," he gestured at the two bags placed nearby, "It won't be troublesome to deliver them by yourself, will it?"

"I don't think it will," Andromalius shook his head as he picked the bags up, "I..."

"You should go and rest," the guard said before the hell stallion could continue, "I see it's your first time seeing something like this. It's mine, too, but I was prepared, trained for it," he said sympathetically, "And once again... thank you."

Andromalius nodded and set on his way to Canterlot Castle. As he departed from the scene, the air grew quiet again. The pale moon sent its light to the ground below, and the stars twinkled in the dark sky. The smell of blood was gone, the uneasy feeling dissipated. Nothing spoke of what happened on that night. The four attackers were rounded up and escorted to the dungeons; the blood was cleaned from the streets; the guards patrolled the city with twice the attentiveness; and the wounded one awoke to continue living after the blood transfusion. The mental and bodily scars will stay as will the memories of this incident, and yet the night will remain quiet.

On the inside, Andromalius shook from anxiety and fear, suspecting that this attack could be not the last one. What if it happened again? Would he be prepared for it? He used to live in a relatively peaceful neighborhood – assaults and worse crime evaded him, appearing in news reports only. They seemed so distant, as if they were from some other world that he could never touch but only look at. This illusion was gone in an instant as a peaceful day almost turned into bloodshed.

And maybe if he didn't stand stupidly when the four appeared and drew their weapons, no one would be stabbed. No blood would've been spilt. No one would be on the verge of dying. Maybe if he was quicker, if he knew how to react...

"Andromalius, it's not your fault," Inanna said softly, "Things... happen."

"I feel I could've done more..."

"Maybe, maybe not," she replied, "But you can learn from it. You did what you could, and if you train, you might do better next time. You know, that's how you gain experience – you, well, experience things and learn from them. You can, of course, read about things in books, but nothing is better for learning than seeing it all by yourself. Sorry, I can't really find good words to explain it, but I hope you get the meaning."

"...Thank you," he said after a few moments of hesitation and thought, "Thank you for saying that."

"Don't mention it," Inanna said, her voice light, "Anyone can use a word of advice from time to time. And besides... I doubt anyone would expect you to do more than you managed already. Now, go back to the castle and rest. You need it."