Colgate didn’t say another word as they left the store. Her confined space swayed back and forth with each step, and she couldn’t help but shiver a bit against the chill autumn air permeating the thin walls of the backpack. She wasn’t dreadfully cold. Her thick coat could keep her fairly warm even in the snow of winter. It was the chill of the air coupled with the unsettling reaction of Daemeon towards her questions that caused her to quiver. She knew she had been annoying him, but she hadn’t expected Daemeon to go off as he had. The entire trip back to the apartment left her wondering, “What happened that got him so upset?” She hadn’t meant to turn him to anger, but she wanted answers and felt it was about time she got some.

With the zipper of the backpack pulled all the way down, she couldn’t see that they entered a building, but she knew it as the cutting chill disappeared to be replaced by toasty warmth. She smiled a small smile. It might have been somewhat cheerier had the blue mare not been starving. Her mind went to the chocolate ice cream, and she instantly felt her mouth salivating. She licked her chilled lips and prodded Daemeon’s back with her horn to finally break the ice, “Are we back yet?”

The handsome man, with his backswept brown hair somewhat muddled, flinched at the question. In the torrent of thoughts that had attacked his mind during their walk back, he had almost forgotten about the little blue unicorn sitting in his backpack. Her soft and feminine voice both tickled and agitated his ears. It was painfully sweet, yet he despised it. Not a full day had they been together, and she was already proving to be an intolerable pain. He would have given anything to make her go away, but that did not seem to be an option. So, with a despairing sigh, he answered her, “Yes. We’re home.”

They ascended the stairs and entered the single bedroom apartment. Daemeon strolled to the kitchen counter and placed the numerous and hefty bags on the island. He gave a groaning stretch as his muscles felt relieved to be free of the burden. He was not especially strong and the walk home would have been far more painful had his mind not been so absorbed. He softly unshouldered the backpack and laid it on the linoleum. He unzipped the pack and was immediately greeted with those infamously large, blue eyes.

Her eyes greeted his, and she felt herself frozen in place. The look that exuded from his own dark brown orbs was unlike any she had seen before. There was no smile plastered on his face that she had found to be his favorite lie. It also was turned down in the vicious sneer he had given her when she had called him an evil, ugly ape. It also wasn’t the cold and calculating stare he would give her when he had no emotion to show either. It was oddly different.

Daemeon’s stare did not last more than a few second, but it felt like an eternity to him as her expressive blue eyes seemed to penetrate him. It was unsettling, but he could not bring himself to turn away. The moment might not have ended were it not for Colgate interrupting him, “Can we eat now?”

Daemeon blinked his eyes a few times but did not answer her. He instead stood and reached into one of the plastic bags and withdrew the two tubs of ice cream. From a different bag, he grabbed a pair of spoons and the gauze and ointment. With his arms full, he slid back down into a sitting position and started tearing into the box of gauze. When he removed the beige wrappings, he was surprised to see them light up in a soft blue.

Colgate’s magic yanked the gauze out of his hands, and she began unraveling it. Still sitting inside the pack, she said, “Show me your hand.” The big ape was slow to respond as he put forth his open palm for her to see. Her eyes went to the small tube of antibiotics, and without losing her grip on the gauze, she lifted it and unscrewed the cap. She brought the cap to a hover above his paw and squeezed the white paste directly onto the ugly cut.

Daemeon winced as the glue looking medicine made contact. The pain felt like nothing to him though as he sat mesmerised by the show. Colgate's brow was pinched tightly in concentration as she worked, but she still made her work seem effortless, like it was entirely natural. Daemeon figured that it must seem natural for her, just as indoor plumbing was for him, but he still could not suppress his awe. Whatever it was that caused her powers, it was certainly beyond anything he could fathom.

Colgate did not regard his awe but stayed focused on her task. In a substantial testament to her own abilities, she focused her magic on the paste itself and defused it across the entire course of the ugly gash. Her magic was so precise and soft that she noted Daemeon did not even wince. She smiled in spite of herself and brought the gauze over his hand. She licked her lips and said, “This will hurt a little bit.”

Daemeon nodded his head and stated, “I’m ready.”

As quickly as she could, for she had found expedience to be the best remedy for overcoming inflicted pain, she very rapidly began wrapping the gauze around his palm. The result was what she had expected as Daemeon flinched his hand back. She was experienced in such things however and immediately adjusted for his movement. In ten seconds flat, she had his hand tucked, and he was left to cradling it against his chest. Colgate chuckled when she noticed the grimace forming across and said, “You’re not as tough as you think you are.”

Colgate had expected him to scowl at her banter but was surprised to instead receive a fleeting look of resignation. He looked down and inspected her work. The bandage was tightly woven and tied off. It was like he had gotten it taken care of at a hospital except he didn’t have some ugly bill to deal with. “You’re really good at this aren’t you?”

The blue unicorn felt a pinch of heat in her cheeks and looked away from him. She lifted her hoof and levitated the antibiotics over the cut. Before she could apply any, her hoof was grasped by Daemeon’s own massive paw. Her ears fell back against her head, and she tried to tug her away but found herself to be firmly in his grasp. She opened her mouth to demand he let her go but was interrupted as he said, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

She bit her lip and whimpered, “Then what do you want?”

“I just,” he whispered, bringing his second hand up to her hoof, “I just want to see it.” He bent his head forward until his eyes were only a few inches from her hurt hoof. He touched a finger to the wall of her hoof and slid it in a full circle around her frog before asking, “You said that our tether links our souls right?”

Colgate nodded her head with discomfort and answered, “Yes. I think so at least.”

“Hmmm,” Daemeon hummed. “And we can’t hurt each other without hurting ourselves right?”

The little unicorn’s ears perked up in curiosity as she again answered, “Yes.”

Daemeon’s face scrunched up as he asked, “Then why didn’t you get hurt just now? You hurt me while you were wrapping my hand, but I didn’t see you flinch. Did you get hurt at all.”

Colgate’s gaze fell to the hoof in his paw. The ugly red cut through her gossamer blue. It hurt mildly, just as it had ever since she’d gotten it, but nothing had agitated it since she’d climbed into the backpack. She responded thoughtfully, “No. You’re right. I didn’t get hurt at all.” She brought her good hoof to her chin and tapped it while musing aloud, “I wonder why that is.”

Daemeon took a firmer grip on her hoof and lifted a finger over the ugly cut. He said, “I’m sorry but this might hurt a bit.” Colgate’s mouth fell open in fear, but she didn’t have time to tug away before Daemeon quickly snapped his finger against the cut. Colgate immediately yelped and her eyes began to tear up as she pulled her hoof away from Daemeon’s grasp. There was no struggle in her actions as Daemeon was equally overcome with the same sudden pain she felt. When he saw her weaseling away from him, he put up his hand and said, “Don’t worry. I just wanted to see if it would hurt me too.”

Colgate curled her hurt hoof against her chest and frowned. “So, did it?”

Daemeon nodded sternly and sat back against the kitchen island. He wondered aloud, “Why is it that I only get hurt when I hurt you, and you don’t get hurt when you hurt me?”

Colgate quickly answered, “I don’t think that’s the case.”

“Why not?” Daemeon asked, turning his head to regard the mare as she sat on her rump in the open backpack.

“Well,” she said, “it’s hard to explain to ponies that don’t use magic. I suppose it would be even harder to explain to a monkey that doesn’t know what magic is.”

Daemeon’s head thudded back against the counter, and he stated in a belabored tone, “I am not a monkey.”

The unicorn rolled her eyes and said, “Fine. Whatever. What is it again? Human?”

She received a frown in answer as Daemeon said, “Yes. Now, could you get on explaining your point please? I may not understand magic, but I’m a quick study.”

Colgate sighed and went on, “Fine. For the magic to only work one way would be an unbalanced state. You see, magical energy doesn’t come out of nothing. Most ponies who aren’t unicorns have a hard time understanding that. We make it seem that way because you can’t visibly see anything acting on the object we project our magic to, but that simply is not the case. Most of the energy needed to make a spell function comes from within ourselves, and the more powerful the spell, the most stressful it is on our bodies to cast.”

“Aha!” Daemeon cried. “So there is some actual sense behind it. I knew there had to be.” He brought a hand up and smoothed it across his chin, noting the five o’clock shadow that had crept onto his face. “So, what does that have to do with our dilemma?”

“I’m getting to that. For any spell to work, it has to have a point of provocation, focused energy, and a target subject. These rules hold up for all different spells both instantaneous and charms. For example, if I were to levitate this box,” she said as she levitated the empty box that had contained the gauze, “I would be the point of provocation, the box would be the target subject, and the power of my will and my horn is the source of the focused energy. Do you understand so far.”

Daemeon’s eyes went to the floating box, and he answered, “So far I do. I can’t say that it makes brilliant sense, but nothing is confusing me so far.”

“Good. It’s easier to see with instantaneous spells like this. The spell only lasts as long as I keep propelling my magic on it. When I stop pushing the energy, the spell ceases to continue.”

“Like putting wood on a fire!” Daemeon interjected. “A fire only burns as long as you keep feeding it.”

Colgate nodded enthusiastically, “Exactly. But the magic that’s binding us is a little different. It falls under the category of a charm.”

Daemeon shrugged and asked, “What’s the difference?”

“Well,” Colgate mumbled thoughtfully, “hmm. This is tough. Umm. Think about the analogy with the fire again. An instantaneous spell only works as long as I, myself, keep putting wood on the fire. Imagine though if I devised a negative feedback system whereby the fire fed itself every time it was about to run out. The fire would keep burning whether I was there or not.”

As he listened to her explanation, Daemeon’s face puckered up and he reasoned, “This magic business is starting to sound more and more like physics and simple mechanics. But I’m still confused as to how this relates to our situation. So we are under the effect of a charm I assume since I don’t see some other unicorn that is forcing it on us.”

Colgate nodded, “Mmhmm. Princess Celestia must have devised the charm and incorporated the negative feedback system herself. You see, we are both party to the three components of the spell. When you do something that hurts me, you hurt yourself. The pain that you are causing me creates the same pain in yourself. That would make me the point of provocation and you the target subject.”

Daemeon squeezed his eyes shut as he fought to grasp the explanation. “So you’re saying that you are the one hurting me, not myself? That doesn’t make any sense. You weren’t trying to do anything to me. It was my action that hurt me. So shouldn’t I be the point of provocation?”

Colgate shook her head and quickly explained, “No, no, no. That’s a common misconception. It seems that way when a pony witnesses an instantaneous spell, but it simply is not the case. You see, the point of provocation is not the what controls the spell; it’s what causes it. I caused the spell by getting hurt. You controlled the spell by some other means. And, by that control, you became the target subject and hurt yourself. Since the same spell is affecting both of us, then the same conditions must apply to both of us.”

“So, you’re saying that if you were to hurt me then I would be the point of provocation and you would be the target subject that receives the pain?”

“Precisely.”

Daemeon slapped his hand against his forehead and grumbled, “Then why aren’t you getting hurt when you hurt me?”

Colgate raised her injured hoof to calm him and said, “Don’t get fussy. The part of the equation you don’t understand yet is the focused energy. You are assuming that the pain you cause me is the driving force behind the pain that is being inflicted on you, and that is not the case. The pain you cause me is, again, only the point of provocation. The focused energy, that which drives the spell, is something entirely different. When I cast a spell like levitation, the focused energy is my will and my horn through which I channel it. The energy propelled by my will comes from within my own body and tires me as I cast it. For this charm to work, it has to function under similar rules. Since I am not willing anything to happen when you hurt me, something you are willing must be the driving force behind the energy.”

“If that’s the case then what am I doing that’s different than you? What am I willing that you are not?”

“Well,” Colgate answered simply, “I never meant to hurt you. All the times you hurt me though, you meant to do it.”

Daemeon’s mouth fell open in awe at the thought. “That just might make sense then. You would hurt yourself if you tried to hurt me maliciously.” He lurched forward suddenly and presented his breast to Colgate. “Try it then! I want to see it work.”

Colgate’s eyes shot wide open as she lost her balance and tumbled backward, tipping over the backpack as she did. “Sweet Celestia! What’s wrong with you? Don’t scare me like that! You’re going to kill me pulling stuff like that.”

Daemeon ignored her pleas as he bent over the little blue mare and demanded, “Hurt me. Do something on purpose! I want to see if it actually works.”

Colgate cringed under Daemeon’s hugely imposing figure and said, “No! I don’t want to hurt myself too.”

In fury, Daemeon brought his face close to Colgate’s and slammed his fist on the ground next to Colgate saying, “Damn it, Colgate! So help me, I don’t care if I hurt myself in the process I will hit you again if you don’t do as I say!”

Colgate snapped. She was a strong willed pony, and she could handle a lot of trouble. Daemeon however, was just too much for her to handle. She broke down crying. It was not just a light tearing of the eyes. It was a torrential fit of sobbing that echoed through the small kitchen like a small child certain of its demise. She begged through her sobs, “Please don’t hurt me! I don’t want to be hurt anymore! I’ll do anything, just please don’t hurt me again!”

Daemeon’s face, which had just been seething with rage, underwent a complete change. The angry scowl melted and every tensed muscle in his body slackened. He felt his body move without provocation. The arm that had slammed the ground with his fist suddenly gave way, and he found himself on his side. His arms stretched out and wrapped around the sobbing blue mare. He pulled her to his chest and cradled her as close as he could. With his feet, he kicked away the backpack and curled into a ball around Colgate’s extremely diminutive form.

A heavy silence fell on the pair, interrupted only by the heavy breaths and wails of the little pony who, for a brief moment, had thought herself to be dead. Daemeon said nothing but hugged her to his chest and brushed the length of her back with firm and consistent pettings. He could not fathom his own actions, so he chose not to think about them at all. He instead gave himself completely over to the will of his body. Her tears seeped through his shirt and wetted his chest, but he did not give them a thought. Nothing seemed to exist to him then except the moment. And even the moment was suspect.

At length, Colgate’s sobbing slowed, and her shoulders ceased their bobbing. She could see nothing as her eyes were squeezed shut against Daemeon’s chest, but she was very aware of where she was. Daemeon’s body was wrapped completely around her own, and she again felt like a little filly, like she was back in her bed upstairs and curled in with her many blankets and pillows once more. Before, she would have pulled away from him, struggled in some fashion or other. Her thoughts of escape were hushed however by the most pleasant lullaby she’d ever heard. The lullaby was a symphony of soft thuds and the rush of flowing life. The lullaby was rhythmic and calmed all of her fears. The lullaby was the beat of Daemeon’s strong heart echoing in her ears.

As she finally began to feel her own heart settle and her eyes were beginning to crust over with dried tears, she heard a very soft voice whisper to her in the harsh huskiness of hushed masculinity, “I’m not going to hurt you, Colgate.”

Colgate’s eyes slid open at the sound of Daemeon’s voice. She sniffled furiously and grunted through her breathlessness, “You’re lying.”

Daemeon responded not with words but with a heavy hand stroke that smoothed the length of her back from her mane between her ears to the base of her tail. The descent was not a distant one, and Daemeon was again left wondering at her tiny and fragile state. “It would be so easy,” he thought to himself. “I wouldn’t even have to try all that hard. She’s right in my arms. All I’d have to do is squeeze a little, muffle her face against my chest so she couldn’t breathe, and viola! She’d be dead.”

His hand trembled at the touch of her soft fur and the warmth of her living, breathing body. “And yet, I can do nothing to her. My life is as much in her hands as her’s is in mine.” A contradiction popped in his mind as the notion crossed him, and he mumbled aloud, “They’re hooves, not hands.”

“What?” Colgate asked in her demure little voice muffled against Daemeon’s dress shirt.

Daemeon smoothed his hands over her chest and gently pushed her away from him. Colgate’s hooves, flank, and horn dragged across the carpet as he pushed her. Her eyes were closed, and he’d have thought she was asleep if she hadn’t just spoken. Every muscle of her small body was lax in his hands as though she were completely spent. “Maybe she is,” he thought to himself. He brought a hand up and absently thumbed some of the dried tears beneath her eye while saying, “You don’t look so good.”

Colgate’s sagging lids fluttered open to reveal a large pair of exceptionally blue and bloodshot eyes. Her chest rose in a huge, heavy heave and she whispered with apparent exhaustion, “I feel worse than I look I bet.”

Daemeon’s face puckered into a tight frown as he asked, “You want me to bandage up your hoof for you? You look a little out of it.”

The small mare’s huge eyes slid closed again, and she muttered with a hint of resigned enmity, “Need me nice and healthy so you can do what you want to me don’t you?” When she didn’t hear Daemeon acknowledge her with a response, she acquiesced, “I guess I could use the help.”

On hearing her answer, Daemeon pulled the unicorn to his chest again and sat up. His back fell against the counter again, and he grabbed up the discarded bottle of antibiotics. He shifted Colgate to the crook of his left arm until her head rested snugly against his shoulder. With his right, he squeezed the tube and coated his thumb in the white paste. He dropped the bottle and tilted Colgate’s cut hoof to his face. Just as he was about to apply the ointment, a thought struck him, and he looked into her eyes and whispered, “This’ll hurt a little, but I’ll try to be gentle. Okay?”

Colgate, too exhausted to argue if she had even wanted to, merely nodded in assent. She bit her lip as Daemeon took her tiny hoof in his huge, hairless hand and touched his thumb to the sore cut. The biting pain that shot up her hoof came as no surprise to her. What did strike her however, was the fact that Daemeon’s expression did not change in the least. There was no flutter, no flinch. His eyes didn’t even twitch as his thumb nimbly work over the fleshy frog of her hoof. Her lips pursed in hopefulness as she asked, “Are you getting hurt?”

His concentration not wavering in the least from his task, Daemeon shook his head softly and whispered in answer, “No.”

“Really?’ she wondered to herself. “Then he wasn’t lying. He really wasn’t trying to hurt me.” She felt his hand slip from her flank and come up to wrap the gauze around her hoof. He made no rough or sudden movements, and pain was kept at a minimum. In almost no time at all, her hoof was wrapped like a present, and his arms slipped back around her to cradle her little pony self to his chest. Again her ears were greeted by the lullaby of her big ape’s beating heart. The sound was comforting and caused her, even in her discomfort, to smile weakly and whisper, “Thank you.”

Daemeon did not answer her gratitude. He instead reached down and grabbed up the chocolate ice cream from the floor. With one hand, he pried off the cover, slopping some of the unfrozen dessert on his expensive shirt. He paid the mess no mind as he picked up a spoon from the ground and dug it into the chocolate treat. He brought the spoonful up to Colgate’s button nose and said, “You can eat now.”

Colgate’s lips trembled in awe at the treat, but she didn’t immediately devour it. Her face instead rose to greet Daemeon’s, and their eyes locked in an unblinking stare. With moist eyes, Colgate said, “I haven’t experienced anything this sweet since I was a foal.” Then, giving no further hesitation, Colgate opened her mouth and engulfed the dripping chocolate. Her moan was startlingly loud.

“Neither have I.”

Daemeon set his face sternly and lifted another spoonful to the small blue mare who seemed to have no more qualms about being treated like a baby. “She’s probably just too tired to care,” he decided. His eyes widened as he fed her. “Or too hungry.” His spoonfuls kept getting progressively larger and their delivery faster as Colgate ate the ice cream while hardly chewing or breathing. He thought absently about relieving her of the ice cream or warning her of the consequences but decided not to impede her happiness.

The result came soon enough as Colgate’s inhalation of the treat suddenly ceased. Her moans of delight were replaced with groans of despair as she gripped her hooves to her head. She cried out, “Ow, ow, ow!”

Daemeon held the pitiful mare out at arm’s length and said in a mildly condescending tone, “You ate it too fast.”

Colgate’s eyes flashed in a venomous glare at the comment, and she promptly responded through her gritted teeth, “Nah! You think?” When she found her angry sarcasm greeted by nothing more than a placid expression, a thought struck her mind and she voiced aloud, “How come you never laugh?”

Daemeon raised an eyebrow at the question and countered, “What do you mean?”

The blue mare frowned and stuck out her tongue. When his expression again remained the same at her taunting, she bellowed, “You never laugh at anything! You have to be the most boring monkey ever! I’ve done several stupid things to make fun of and you don’t even react. I know you humans must have a sense of humor because those two girls at the market seemed to find some fun in the situation. Are a lot of humans like you?”

Daemeon sighed with a hint of angst and replied, “Unfortunately, no. I don’t know anybody else who’s purged that ridiculous notion of laughter from their psyche. I’ve only managed it because I understand the nature of the world. Since everything is caused by chaos, chance, and circumstance, no one event would ever be intrinsically ‘funnier’ than another. So, to laugh at your antics would make about as much sense as laughing at the ocean because it’s blue.”

Colgate rolled her eyes and muttered, “Not this again. I’m not listening to you, you big meanie. You’re an agent of Discord, and we ponies know not to trust the likes of you.”

Daemeon crossed his legs and set Colgate down in his lap. He again started petting her. Her gossamer coat was incredibly soft and warm under his hands and every repetitive motion sent a shiver through him at the sheer sensation. He assumed she must feel a similar sensation at being petted. Her back arched against his hand as it had earlier, and her eyes slid closed again as she reveled in the interaction. Gradually, Daemeon came to ask her, “You like that phrase don’t you; agent of discord?” His eyes closed, and he rested his head back against the counter and muttered to no one in particular, “That’s not a bad assessment. In fact, that’s exactly what I am. That’s what I’ve devoted my life to. That’s what I’ve studied so hard for. Every day is just another opportunity to teach people that chaos really is the order of the universe. All the crying and moaning and pontificating isn’t going to change that. My only recourse then is to teach people what I know and bring them out of their ignorance. Only when they know that the world is chaos can they come out of their delusions.”

The monologue was suddenly disturbed as Daemeon felt something cold and wet touching his lips. His eyes shot open to be greeted by a spoon, glowing a gentle blue, that held a scoop of Rocky Road to his mouth. His lips immediately puckered shut as his eyes shot to a frowning Colgate. From her seat in his lap, she jabbed a hoof into his stomach and said irritably, “I don’t think the world revolves around you. You say you’re all gloom and doom because the world is just like that, but you’ve got it all wrong. Just because you think something doesn’t make it true, especially if the entire world is against you.” Daemeon’s lips moved to respond, but the blue mare spoke over anything he could voice, “Now shut up and eat your ice cream since you made such a big deal over it!”

Daemeon opened his mouth to argue with her but was stopped as the sweet treat unexpectedly slipped in. As his lips closed around the spoon, his first reaction was to glare at the impudent little pony. Colgate’s own scowl turned up in a smug smile at his reaction, but this was not to last long.

The ex dentist sat in awe as, on tasting the sugary treat, her ugly ape’s expression changed so dramatically that its shift in composition cast a pall on his earlier outburst of anger, the one that had resulted in some of the most traumatic pain Colgate had ever experienced. This shift however, was the polar opposite of the one before. There was no sudden provocation to go from calmness to anger as before. A shift like that was easy. Nor was it a move from boredom to joy as could be perpetrated by any number of happy instances. That might have been especially peculiar for Daemeon, but the shift Colgate was seeing was even more bizarre than that.

Colgate watched as the tight agitation flew from Daemeon’s face. Every frown line and squinting wrinkle disappeared all at once to be replaced with what she could only label as beautiful. The only muscles that flexed in his suddenly languid face were those of his lips pursed together as his tongue danced the ice cream in his mouth. His eyes were shut as he let out the most unusual sound she’d ever heard from the beast. It was a soft, squeaking sound that was oddly reminiscent of a baby foal’s whinny when it’s hungry. What really got her though was the bead of moisture that fell from the corner of his eye. Concerned, Colgate asked, “Are you okay.”

Daemeon mouth suddenly went to quick work as he began chewing the ice cream. The sound of peanuts cracking echoed in stark contrast to the silence of the room. The serenity in his face did not give, but the pitched whinny ushering through his nose grew in strength as he swallowed and sat with an empty mouth. Then his lips started quivering and Colgate could no longer retain her question, “Are you crying?”

Daemeon’s serene face lost some of its serenity as he sniffed loudly and exhaled a fluttering and labored breath. His cheeks were glazed blood red and glistened with the moisture from his eyes as he took several more deep breaths. Through all of this, he kept his eyes tightly shut and made no move to respond to her questions. So, having no other idea what to do, Colgate stood on her hind legs and brought her face up to Daemeon’s. She swished her mane over her ear with her bandaged hoof and leaned forward to press the silky tresses against Daemeon’s cheek. With her forehooves balanced on each of his shoulders, she mopped up the tears as best she could and whispered into his ear, “Whatever it is, you can tell me about it you know.”

Daemeon’s eyes fell open as he felt Colgate’s soft mane against his cheek. He made no movements as her blue horn wiggled to and fro before his eyes. What she was doing would have confounded his mind if he weren’t so upset already. He thought to rebuke her offer and tell her to go away. He even thought to get up and walk away. He knew it was no good though. She couldn’t go away. He couldn’t leave her. “Hell,” he thought to himself, “I can’t even really make her shut up.” Colgate lifted her huge eyes to Daemeon, and he couldn’t help but look into them and think, “Even if I could, I’m not so sure I’d want to.” He reached a hand up and brushed the hair out of her face and whispered, “You must be little miss Magdeleine.”

Colgate frowned with seriousness and answered in confusion, ”My last name’s Minuette, not Magdeleine.”

Daemeon’s hand slid from her mane to follow the length of her back. As she shivered under the touch, he stated simply, “I suppose not. You’re probably not a whore, and I’m certainly no prophet.”

The little mare’s face wrinkled in confusion and she asked, “What’s a whore?”

Daemeon’s eyes lifted from Colgate to stare into nothingness. Another tear slid down his cheek, and he answered matter of factly, “Someone who gives people what they want instead of what they need.”

Her face was a cross between confusion and concern at the answer. It seemed so ambiguous that he could be referring to anything. A thought struck her though as she considered her own job,"I give people what they need instead of what they want.” Her eyes went to the chocolate treat sitting on the floor, and she asked Daemeon, “Like ice cream?”

Daemeon choked and wrapped his arms around the little unicorn. Colgate gave him no fuss as he squeezed her firmly against his chest. She couldn’t lie to herself. She enjoyed being held. Even though Daemeon cried, she smiled at feeling so warm and safe, even if she was literally at the belly of the beast. Her ear twitched as Daemeon’s warm breath marked his answer, “Yes. Just like ice cream.”

Their warm moment was interrupted by a loud banging on the door. Daemeon launched to his feet, still clinging Colgate tightly to his chest and looked towards the white door in horror. Colgate did not see the fear in his face, but the sudden, rapid palpitations of his heart queued her into his terror. She cried, “What was that?”

“Oh no!” he pleaded inwardly. “Not them! Not here! Not today! Please be anybody else!”

Daemeon felt his hopes and pleas dashed to shreds as a loud and authoritative voice boomed through the door, “This is the Manhattan Police Department. We know you’re in there. Come out with your hands up, or we will have to take you by force.”

Colgate shifted around in Daemeon’s arms and asked, “What do they want?”

Daemeon shook his head violently and looked at the little, blue unicorn in his arms with deadly seriousness and said, “If they take me away, they will kill me, and you will die too.”

Colgate brought her hooves to her mouth and whimpered, “What did you do?”

He answered her, “What i’ve done is unimportant. What is important is whether or not I can trust you. Can I trust you Colgate?”

She nodded nervously, “Yes.”

“With my life?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” he whispered as the door banged in the background. “Let’s hope luck is with us.” Without waiting for Colgate to answer, Daemeon bolted from the kitchen into the single bedroom. With one quick movement, he threw open the lone window in the room and punched the screen out. Pulling Colgate tighter to his chest, he said, “Let’s see how good your magic is.”

Then he launched into the fleetingly black and dismally cold night.