Daemeon threw open the door to his apartment and fairly slammed it shut behind him saying, “You can get out now.”

He set the soaked bundle on the hardwood floor and unwrapped it. Colgate burst from the suit jacket and set to shaking herself wildly, wetting everything within a five foot radius. Her teeth chattered as she asked quietly and pitifully, “Can I talk now?”

Daemeon clutched the filthy Armani jacket, soiled beyond the purpose of a good cleaning, and said bitterly, “Yes. You can talk now.”

Colgate stooped low to the ground and cried, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just got scared is all.” She looked at the coat which dripped with far more than just water. Her cheeks were burning red with embarrassment as she moped. The drive had been far from pleasant for the two of them as Colgate had gotten a crash course in vehicle inertia.

Daemeon eyed her evilly and demanded, “I can understand you maybe getting a little sick and throwing up a little, but did you have to piss yourself too?” Daemeon muttered a few more words under his breath that Colgate did not understand though she could gather their implications. Colgate hid her face under her hooves and wished the big ugly monkey would just go away. He continued, “This suit jacket was $300! I’m not made of money. You have no idea how many guys I usually gotta rustle to get that kind of dough.”

As Daemeon pressed at her, Colgate started to get angry. She hated being embarrassed. It wasn’t her fault that she couldn’t contain herself after all. She stopped cowering and stood determinedly shouting, “Why don’t you be quiet? I kept quiet just like you told me! I was a good pony, so you don’t have to be such a meanie you know.” Colgate’s interjection was met with a blank stare and she continued, “Now if you would be so kind, I would like to wash myself. I didn’t exactly enjoy my position either.”

Daemeon stood up and forcibly calmed himself. He made himself remember that she would probably tell him more if she was in a good mood. It would be a shame if he had to torture the truth out of her. He looked back down at the little mare and wondered at how she could be so loud for such a little squirt. He shook his head and said, “Follow me.”

Daemeon strolled past Colgate and she followed close behind. She had to trot briskly just to match the big monkey’s massive gait. She meanwhile took in the view of the apartment. She was pleasantly surprised to note several very familiar features including a carpeted living room with a pair of couches facing an empty wall and a kitchen with cupboards and a stove and other such necessities. The only thing that unnerved her a little bit was that everything was absolutely massive in size. She would have to jump just to get on the couches, and there was no clear way she could reach any of the countertops.

Colgate followed Daemeon down a short hallway to a massive door. That is to say, it was massive to her. Daemeon opened the door and Colgate was greeted with another tantalizingly familiar sight. She stood up on her hind hooves and cried, “Oh thank Celestia! You do have a little fillies room.” Colgate burst into the bathroom eagerly but was stopped short when she realized the oversized nature of everything. She turned a pouting face towards Daemeon and begged, “Can you draw me a bath please?”

Daemeon marveled at how large her pouting eyes got. It did not seem physically possible that they should be that big. That seemed a small matter in respect to the fact that the eyes belonged to a tiny, blue talking unicorn that knew how to give lip. He faked a smile and said, “Of course I can.” He was not at all happy, especially since her going first meant he had to wait, but he sucked it up and asked cheerfully, “Would you like the bath hot and with bubbles?”

Colgate nodded furiously and squeed. Daemeon sat down next to the tub and turned the water faucet, hoping that the water ran through a communal system. When it came out hot, he tried to think back to how lucky he had been that day. He had made good on a lot of chaos, even more so than usual.

Colgate clambered next to the tub and put her forehooves on the side. She winced when her bad hoof hit the side, and she pulled it back. The bandage desperately needed to be changed. She gave it a quick whiff and almost gagged. She turned to Daemeon and asked, “Do you happen to have any gauze?”

Daemeon was quick to answer, “No, but I’m going out to get some right after this.” He looked down at his own hand with the ugly looking cut. He would have to get some salve on it to keep from getting an infection. He looked drearily at the window and noted the rampant storm. It was not just rain but lightning and thunder also that congested what would have been a bright and sunny noontime. Since he had no car of his own, he did not favor the idea of taking a cab just to travel one city block to the pharmacy.

Daemeon looked back at Colgate and his mind stopped functioning. If someone had asked him his own name he would not have been able to answer. He was completely at a loss as he watched the gauze surrounding Colgate’s hoof unwrap itself while glowing a soft blue color. Colgate paid him no mind but seemed intent on the unwrapping gauze while showing no inkling of surprise as it unravelled. When the last of it came off, the gauze crumpled into a pile and fell to the floor. It was not until then that she noticed the furiously intent gaze Daemeon was giving her and asked, “What?”

Daemeon lifted a finger and pointed at the pile and asked, “What was that?”

Colgate blinked confusedly, “What was what?”

“That floaty glowing thingy,” he said, gesturing again at the pile of bandages. He gave her a serious look and demanded, “Did you do that?”

Colgate rolled her eyes and said, “Well, duh! Of course I did. It had to come off. I wasn’t just going to rip it off you know.” When Daemeon’s amazed gaze continued she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Daemeon ran his good hand through his short brown hair and asked breathlessly, “How did you do that?”

Colgate frowned and said, “With magic of course. How else would I do it?”

Daemeon considered himself to be fairly rational. Every situation had an explanation. Even if it wasn’t clear at first, everything could be explained. What he had just witnessed could not be explained however, and for Daemeon, that was the last straw. He stood up from the tub and turned towards the door. Colgate watched as he lifted a paw to leave but instead fell face first to the ground in what seemed to her to be a rather impressive distance for anypony to fall.

She ran over to his head and asked, “Are you okay?” After receiving no answer, she nudged his head saying, “Daemeon. What’s wrong? I’m sorry. Whatever I did I promise not to do it again. Just wake up, okay.”

Daemeon still did not move. She noticed his chest was still moving so she figured he couldn’t be dead. She was scared though. Daemeon was the only creature she had spoken to, and as of right then, she was completely reliant on him for her own safety. She nudged him several more times trying to wake him up before she gave up.

She turned back to the tub which was filling up quite nicely. There was a gentle steam rising from it to beckon her presence. She gave Daemeon one last absent nudge before trotting over to the tub and jumping in. She found it to be just the right temperature and quickly used magic to turn the knobs and stop the water. She gathered a huge breath and sank completely beneath the water, reveling in the heat. A stream of bubbles shot from her nose to rise to the surface as she moaned in pleasure.

After a while, when she had rubbed herself clean of all the filth from the rather traumatic day, she climbed out of the chilling tub and shook herself off. She looked about briefly for a towel but found the bathroom to be exceptionally bare. In fact, there was nothing in there that could be moved except herself and Daemeon. She felt her stomach grumble, and she became instantly aware of the fact that she had not eaten since the day before.

She walked up to Daemeon and gave his head a rough nudge. This time Daemeon responded by opening his eyes. She figured that he must have forgotten all about her because he jumped back shouting, “What the!” He backed against the wall and winced, bringing his hand up to his face and rubbing his forehead vigorously. He groaned aloud and muttered painfully, “Don’t do that again.”

Colgate lowered her head to the floor in a pout and apologized, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just that you were asleep for a while, and I’m getting pretty hungry.” Her eyes grew large as she initiated her best pleading face begging, “Please? I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday, and even then, I only had a little hay.”

Daemeon completely disregarded the googly eyes and continued rubbing his head muttering to himself, “A little hay? So she eats hay? I guess that would make sense, her being a pony and all.” His eyes went wide as the memory of what he had seen suddenly came back to him. He gave Colgate a fiercely intense look and asked, “Did you unwrap the gauze around your hoof earlier.”

“Yes,” she said, lifting the injured hoof to his face, “and I would appreciate it if you could get some more gauze and maybe some antibiotics. You do have that stuff here right? If you want, I can wrap up your paw too. It looks pretty badly cut up.”

Daemeon looked at his hand. He closely considered the cut running vertically up and down his palm while absently stating, “It’s called a hand, not a paw.” He cringed slightly to note some discoloration. It was probably infected or at least would be if he didn’t do anything about it. His gaze fell from his injured hand to the hoof Colgate had lifted towards his face. He noted with a bit of curiosity that her cut ran vertically down the fleshy frog of her hoof, right above and behind the tougher sole. He could clearly see the dark red gash underneath the downy blue fur that ran over the hoof. It was no wonder she wanted gauze.

His mind still dwelled on what he had seen earlier though and he pressed, “How did you get the bandage off?”

Colgate shrugged her shoulders and explained simply, “You know. With magic of course. I guess I could have used my mouth, but that would have tasted yucky. Besides, I’m really good with that sort of magic.” She lifted her head proudly as she stated with a decent iota of pride, “That’s why I make such a good dentist in Ponyville.” Her pride faltered, and her head fell back to the ground as she corrected herself, “Made.”

Daemeon nodded his head, pretending he understood. He knew what magic was said to be, but as he had never witnessed nor believed such a thing as magic to be possible, that being the realm of ignorant churchgoers, he had no conception of what she might be talking about. He asked, “Can you do some more magic right now?”

Colgate smiled gleefully and stood up on her hind legs saying, “Of course! I’m sorry to say that I can’t do all that many tricks. Twilight Sparkle was the best magician in Ponyville. What I can do, I can do really well though.”

Daemeon gave a kind smile prompting, “Well, what can you do then?”

Colgate grinned cheerfully. It wasn’t often that anypony cared about what magic she could do. They mostly just avoided her magic at all costs because it usually resulted in some pain or discomfort. She ticked off the three best tricks she knew, “I have a special spell that only I know. I can fluoridate tooth enamel. I can also bend light to wherever I want as long as I have some initial source.” She started hopping a little in excitement as she concluded, “But the thing I’m the very best at in the whole world is levitation.”

Daemeon reclined and took in the information, not at all sure how to handle it. To him it sounded like he was reading a graphic novel and some lame superhero was listing off useless superpowers. Aquaman to the rescue and all that business. She didn’t seem to be lying though. She looked so eager and pleased that he had asked that he wondered whether or not this was a talent unique to her or whether there were more like her who could use magic. He was a man of science though and was not completely sold on the prospect so he asked, “Can you levitate something so I can see?”

“Sure,” she said giddily, “what do you want me to levitate?”

Daemeon’s eyes went to the discarded wrappings on the floor. She followed his gaze, getting his idea, and her blue horn lit up with a gentle blaze, shimmering and resplendent. Daemeon watched, entranced, as similar emanations wrapped the gauze, and it rose effervescently. Aside from the light, Daemeon saw nothing which could make the cloth move as it did. Colgate looked intently on it, obviously putting some amount of focus on her work, even if it was only a little. Daemeon asked, “Can you do heavier things?”

Colgate nodded her head and said enthusiastically, “Mmhmm! Oh, yeah, I can do really heavy stuff.” She flicked her hair back dramatically and boasted, “I can levitate almost anything that isn’t too big.”

Daemeon arched an eyebrow as he leaned his head against the wall and asked, “What do you mean ‘too big?’”

Colgate fumbled with her white and blue tail, which was still quite wet from her bath, and blushed saying, “Well, I can’t levitate really heavy stuff like wagons or ursa minors like Twilight can.”

“Who’s Twilight?”

“Oh!” Colgate lowered her eyes from Daemeon’s. “She’s nopony. She’s just somepony from where I live, and she’s kinda good with magic is all.”

“Better than you?”

Colgate scowled at the floor, trying to keep Daemeon from seeing her face, and said with a bit more ire than she’d intended, “Can you get me a towel? I’m getting cold all wet like this.”

Daemeon stopped himself from pressing the point, reminding himself that, if he wanted to learn as much as he could from her, it would be better to keep her in a generally congenial mood. He sighed and grunted to his feet, swooning slightly as he felt the murderous headache strike back at him. He had always wondered a little at how bad it would hurt to simply fall forward and slam one’s head against the ground. There were very few things that he did not actively pursue to understand and physical pain was one of them.

He walked, Colgate trotting by his feet in tow, to the single bedroom the apartment was furnished with. Colgate poked her head in as he opened the door and was again stunned by the sparseness of the set up. She might have just passed it off as some oddity to this new world and creature but the idea of allocating so much space for a bed that didn’t even seem to have any proper covers on it and nothing else just didn’t sit right for her. She watched as Daemeon moved to the high bed and opened a decent sized tote suitcase. After a moment of shuffling through things she could not see from her spot on the ground, the big monkey pulled out a large, plush towel.

Daemeon kneeled to the carpeted floor and unfolded his personal towel and draped it over her back. Without giving it much thought, as she seemed nothing more than a wet dog to him right then, he immediately fell to rubbing her vigorously with his towel. He worked his cloth covered hands quickly over her sides, through her mane, under her belly, down her legs, and finished with a roughing up of her tail.

Colgate, in the meantime, stood as sturdily as she could, entirely confused about what was happening. She had expected him to give her the towel, not assault her with it. At first, she thought she would scream at him to stop, that she was plenty able to dry herself off, but something stopped her. It took a moment, but she gradually grew used to the strong hands moving over her. Even as his ugly ape paws ran over her flank and brushed dangerously close to her more private areas, she did not cringe or shy away. She had always been a little tactile with her friends, favoring some fun roughhousing herself, but nopony had ever touched her so completely and with such strength. It felt a little scary. She could tell that, should he decide to, he could pick her up and throw her across the room, and she would be fairly powerless to do anything about it. She shivered slightly at the thought.

Daemeon felt the small, blue pony shiver under his hands and asked, “Are you cold?”

“N-no,” Colgate stuttered.

Daemeon lifted the towel from her head and pressed, “Are you sure? I don’t want you to get a cold and not be able to talk to me.” Daemeon noted the odd bit of honesty that had crept into his speech. It was, of course, skewed honesty as he meant for her to take it as a voiced concern for her well being while what he really wanted was exactly what he had said, for her to not stop talking. Sometimes, the best lies are told using the truth. It’s all a matter of perception, of getting the person you’re lying to to believe what you’re saying, even if it seems unlikely.

“Yes!” she responded much too sharply. She bit her lip trying to decide whether to be mad at him for so blatantly violating her personal space or just letting it slide politely. A third and rather unexpected option slipped into her head though that took her by surprise. “Maybe I shouldn’t say anything at all,” she thought to herself. “After all, it was kind of nice.” The thought caused her to blush immensely, and she asked in a quivering voice, “Do you happen to have a manebrush? You messed up my mane with your towel.”

Daemeon gave a gentle smile, much to his trademark, and said, “I assume you mean a hairbrush. I’m sorry. I’ll get one quick.” He stood and reached into his tote. Of course he had a hairbrush. Good looks and good acting often went hand in hand. Daemeon was always ready to play any part, but he found that his neutral look of the pinstripe suit with his backswept brown hair, meticulously brushed, to be the most versatile. He could be anything from a rich person to a beggar posing as a rich person. Any story seemed possible when you were clean and well kempt.

Daemeon sat cross legged on the floor and beckoned her over saying, “Sit down, and I’ll brush your mane for you.”

Colgate opened her mouth to explain that she could brush her mane just fine all by herself but found something catching her tongue. He obviously meant well, but he seemed to be taking a few too many liberties. She shook her head and stated indignantly, “I can brush my own mane thank you very much. I’m a pony, not a pet.”

Daemeon feigned a hurt look and requited, “I never assumed that.” He had to pick his words carefully. It would be best if she trusted him completely. He held his arms wide in open embrace and said, “I think you’re lying to me when you say you aren’t cold. I think you’re just worried about what I might do, and I can tell you that there is no need to worry.” Daemeon smiled gently, warmly, and went on, “I’m really quite a nice guy. I’ve never hurt anybody, and I won’t start with you.”

Colgate felt her shackling pride deflate as she shivered again. The cause was twofold as she was rather cold from the autumn day, and the thought of being in ugly Daemeon’s grubby paws again seemed just a bit less revolting than it had earlier. Inwardly, she lost the battle, but she still presented a steely countenance as she said, “Okay, but you better be careful and not snag my mane or leave any twisted ends.”

With a flick of her mane, she trotted over and seated herself in front of Daemeon. Instead of his brush meeting her hair, she felt him reach two massive hands around her hips and pick her up to place her softly in his lap. She might have struggled if she wasn’t suddenly caught up in the suspenseful thrill she had felt when he had been drying her off. She sat stock still as he began brushing. She actually found it to be far more pleasant than she would have thought.

Daemeon did not let any sort of awkward silence fall between them as he cheerfully said, “Hey Colgate, brushie brushie brushie! Am I right?”

Being unable to turn her head to express her confusion, Colgate begged, “What?”

Daemeon chuckled a convincing chuckle and said, “You know. I’m brushing your mane like teeth.” He gently lifted a lump of unbrushed hair and noted, “Your mane looks like toothpaste. Do you have a toothpaste called Colgate in this Equestria of yours?”

Colgate scrunched up her face and asked, “Why would there be a toothpaste named after me?”

“I was more figuring you would be named after the toothpaste. You see, Colgate is a very popular brand of toothpaste in America.”

Colgate winced ever so slightly as he caught a snag in her mane. Daemeon did not tug at it though but rather lifted the brush out and started again, lower and worked his way up. As he did, Colgate asked, “That’s weird. We have a popular brand of toothpaste called Equinate. It’s what I suggest to my clients at least.”

“What? Don’t they use it?”

Daemeon had to stop brushing as the blue coated mare started slapping her good hoof against the carpet while laughing hysterically. Colgate had to take several moments to calm down before saying breathlessly, “I’m sorry. It’s just that I just now realized that nopony probably ever has used it because I suggested it. I’ve mentioned it to everypony every time they come to my office, and I don’t know that a single one of them has.”

“So you work in an office and have clients and such?”

“Mmhmm,” she responded enthusiastically, “I am the designated dentist of Ponyville.” She sighed morosely and continued, “Or at least I used to be.”

Daemeon could almost smell the sadness and discontent in her voice as she exhaled. Daemeon knew how to feed off this sadness, this negativity. He could pick it out from a dozen conversations going on at once, just as he had done in the pizzeria. It was how he knew he could snag her emotionally. Playing on that discontent, he asked in his most genuine concern, “What do you mean ‘used to be’?”

Colgate sighed and said, “That has to do with the whole reason I’m here. It’s a long story though.”

Daemeon petted her back firmly, again noting how she arched her back against his hand. She clearly enjoyed being touched. He went back to brushing her mane and said gently, “I’m not in a hurry to be anywhere. Besides, I like long stories. They usually have the most to tell. How does it start?”

“Well,” she said, gazing intently at the wall in front of her, relishing the feel of the brush as it slid through her hair, “I guess it started with a dream.”

“A dream?”

“A nightmare.”

“What was it about?”

Colgate closed her eyes and her mind immediately formed the images. The fire, the other ponies, the hell black teeth, the horror of a moonless night lit up brighter than the sun. It was all there, and all seemed so disturbingly real. Slowly, and with more effort than she would have suspected, it being the second time around that she had told her story, she related the dream to Daemeon.

Daemeon sat and listened to it carefully. While her story was about something she had completely imagined, it could provide a wealth of insight into this magical world of hers. The descriptions she gave of her small township gave rise to several peculiarities. She talked about her dentist’s office which had fairly sophisticated technology and techniques, but the roads, she said, were not paved, and the houses were all built out of wood. She even noted that the burning library was actually a hollowed out tree. Her world, her Equestria, was really shaping out to be the stuff of fairy tales.

When she finished regaling her dream in even greater depth than she had with Carrot Top, due to his having to question geographical aspects of what she was saying, Daemeon asked, “What did you do when you woke up?”

Colgate hummed thoughtfully as she listened to Daemeon’s heartbeat. During her story, Daemeon had gradually pulled her closer and closer to his chest until he had her cradled in his arms. Colgate found it undeniably comfortable. His arms were very warm, and he was careful not to squeeze her diminutive frame too much. He had even done a good job with her mane. She would have fallen asleep without answering his question if her stomach had not growled again.

Colgate looked up at Daemeon expectantly and asked, “Do you have something to eat? I’m really, really hungry now.”

Daemeon smiled and said, “Unfortunately no. I’ll have to go out to the store to get us something to eat.”

Colgate’s ears twitched and she gave him a critical look asking, “You really don’t have anything here I can eat?”

Daemeon chuckled and said, “Nope, I just ran out.” He set Colgate on the floor and said, “I can go out to get food, but I need you to stay here. Remember, if anyone sees you, they may try to steal you away and give you to the government. You don’t want to be caged or dissected do you?”

Colgate frowned severely, not being the least bit amused with his cavalier attitude, and responded morosely, “No.”

“Good,” he said, standing up and reaching into his tote to grab out his umbrella. He was usually more careful about checking the news and making sure he had it with him. New York weather was a terrible place to get wet in the chill autumn. He sighed as he glanced out the window and noted the rain falling just as heavily as it had before. This time though, he was without a suit jacket. Daemeon cringed at the thought. He only cringed inwardly though as it was best not to show his contempt to his guest.

Daemeon looked down at the small blue mare and asked, “What would you like to eat? Hay, oats, carrots and things?”

Colgate literally jumped at the question. It was just what she was hoping to hear. “No, no, no, no. I want something sweet, something bad for me.” Her chin fell to the floor and her rump wiggled high in the air in what was her most thoughtful pose. After a moment’s thought, she jumped onto her hind legs and clopped her forehooves together excitedly asking, “Can you get some ice cream? I love ice cream, and I haven’t had any for a while.”

“Ponies love ice cream?”

Colgate scoffed, “Of course ponies love ice cream! I haven’t had it in a long time because I’ve had to set a good example for my clients with my perfect teeth.” She flashed her pearly whites proudly and continued, “I’m not really a dentist anymore though, so I can eat whatever I want.”

Daemeon nodded, deciding to debate their peculiar eating habits later, and asked, “Do you have a favorite flavor?”

“Chocolate!”

“Chocolate?”

“A lot of chocolate.” She shook her mane gleefully at the thought and added fiercely, “No nuts!”

Daemeon rolled his eyes, hoping she wouldn’t notice. He preferred nuts. Rocky Road was the ice cream he usually got. He was dissatisfied with splurging on sweet tooth purchases such as these, but as he walked to the door, he could not help but feel slightly remiss to the fact that it had been so long since he’d had ice cream too that he could not quite remember how it tasted. Actually, it had been years. A decade? It made him wonder where the time went. It also briefly made him wonder how old he was.

Daemeon stopped at the entrance of the apartment, Colgate following in his wake, and told the small blue mare, “Stay here, and be quiet. If anyone else should for any reason come in here, then I want you to hide under the bed until I get back. Also, try not to make too much noise.”

Colgate smiled and settled to the carpeted floor, nuzzling her head into her forehooves and said, “I won’t. I promise.”

Daemeon nodded and shut the door. The hallway was empty as he started towards the stairs. There was his good luck edging back to him. He thought to himself, “I suppose I’ll have to get more than just ice cream. This new place should do for a while if I can keep her quiet. Maybe I should just rent this one.” He shook his head at the thought. “They’ll shove a contract in my face. That’s no good. Too much identification. This situation will just have to . . .”

Daemeon’s thoughts came to an abrupt stop as he crumpled to the floor. His hands clutched at his chest as waves of burning fire seemed to scorch his insides. The pain was so sudden and so terrible that he did not even have time to cry out. He wheezed painfully as his body tightened into the fetal position. He could feel sweat beading on his brow as he squeezed his eyes shut to calm the attack.

Despite the unfathomable pain, Daemeon tried to keep a cool head. His thoughts were not exactly concise or directed, but one impression stood out in his mind over everything else that he felt; he had felt this pain before. It took him a few moments to realize where, with his mind so clouded, but he was finally able to remember back to that morning when he’d first met Colgate. He remembered her running away from him when they first met. He remembered how not only he but the both of them collapsed to the ground in raking pain. He hadn’t questioned it at the time with all the other curiosities of the situation rolling around him, but now, he sorely regretted it.

On a hunch, Daemeon did as he had earlier and shoved out his legs, lessening the gap between him and his apartment door. He immediately noted a drastic difference as some of the fire in his chest and abdomen subsided. He curled his legs up and pushed out again and was relieved to find the pain almost disappear.

Daemeon struggled to his feet and wobbled back to his apartment door. He threw it open to find Colgate laying on the floor, gasping for air on her side. Daemeon dropped to his knees and lifted the small blue mare’s head asking, “Are you okay?”

Colgate looked at him blankly and answered breathlessly, “Yes. No. I don’t know. What happened? My chest started burning again.” Her eyes narrowed in on Daemeon’s as she went on concerned, “I didn’t touch anything. Honest! Did you do this?”

This sudden fear unsettled her, and Daemeon couldn’t explain it. Rather than try, he lifted her into his arms and hugged her to his chest. Daemeon petted her brushed mane and assured her, “No, I didn’t do this. I was hoping you would know. My chest started burning just now too.”

“It did?”

“Yes.” He set her on the floor and looked her dead in the eyes and asked, “You said ‘again’. Did you feel this same thing earlier when we first met in the alleyway?”

Colgate, teary eyed, muffled, “Mmhmm! It was just the same feeling I got when I tried to run away from you. I thought you had hurt me with something, but then you seemed so nice that I didn’t give it any more thought.” She cringed to the floor in memory of the pain and asked again, “Are you sure you didn’t do anything?”

“Honest truth.”

Colgate sighed morosely and said, “I think I might know what’s wrong.”

Daemeon grabbed her shoulders and demanded with just a hint of desperation in his voice, “What is it?”
“I think the princess bound us together.”

Daemeon squeezed tighter, causing Colgate to whelp and cry. He lifted her from the floor and gave her a slight shake as he shouted, “What do you mean?”

Colgate brought her shaking hooves to her face to cover her eyes and wipe her tears. She muttered bitterly, quietly so he could barely hear her, “I think our souls are tethered. We can’t leave each other, or we’ll both die.”

Colgate tremored in Daemeon’s hands from fear that was not solely her own.