The Daemon of Trotschester

Chapter 2.

The two ponies walked back into the lighthouse, peeking around corners, waiting for an ambush that never came. They found the Daemon in the same room they had left him in, checking on various tomes and tools.

He had taken off a mask that he was wearing, and apparently a helmet as well, for instead of the twisted metal horned face, beneath it was the true face of the Daemon. Foul, grub-like in complexion, with the hair on his face piled around his mouth and lumped into a bushy beard, but leaving his cheeks and forehead oily and bare. Liquid dripped off of his slimy, toad like face and into his ... mouth hair.

The Daemon, closed the book he was flipping through, “Oh, hello, I noticed you ran off, I’m sorry for scaring you, I just didn’t want to be in that circle any more, and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. You can still understand me, right?”

Lumina turned her head slightly and perked her ears forward, “I understand you, Daemon, but... what is your game here?”

The Daemon held his... hands in front of him, “No game, I’m just really confused. I didn’t really think magic was real, and now apparently I’ve been kidnapped by some sort of really inept unicorn wizard.”

Lumina raised her hoof, then quickly put it on the ground.

Lumina still looked skeptical, “Yes, magic is real, I had heard that your kind were the masters of their own form of magic.”

The Daemon wiped his face hair, “I was never into magic, though I knew a few people who liked to do... uh... Wicca? I don’t know if they ever actually did anything, but now I’m not so sure. I myself am a chemist.”

“A chemist?”, Lumina asked, “What manner of sorcery is that?”

The Daemon moved his hands around in front of him, “Ahh well, you mix things together and get different results? I mostly made things to help with medicine.”

Lumina raised an eyebrow and a hoof, “Like a witch doctor?”

“Yeah sorta, if that’s what you have around... here.” The Daemon looked out a window, “I guess sometimes when visiting family I’d cook up some bubbling foam or smoke makers.”

Zebra magic! Now we were getting somewhere, Lumina had worried that the Daemon would be some foul creature wanting to pulp her bones and eat her flesh, but now this toad faced monstrosity seemed more like the ugly wooden masks that the Zebras made, probably just a monkey-toad spirit of some kind, and not a terrible fiend at all.

Lumina actually smiled, and perked up her ears, “Oh how wonderful! Like the zebras make, so people came to you for entertainment and treating diseases?”

The Daemon flatly stated, “Well no, I mostly just worked at a company making painkillers.”

Her heart sank. Pain-killers? Something that kills with pain? She had only heard of such spells in the darkest of rumors, but this creature brought it up so matter-of-factly, like it was just a common, every day career. For him, maybe it was.

Lumina lowered her hears right back down and turned slightly away, “Ahh.. yes painkillers, well, who would not need more of that? A good job for a Daemon I’m sure.”

The Daemon chuckled and put one hand behind his back, “Ha, well, it paid pretty well, but it took a lot of my time. I’ve been thinking, that year and a day might not be such a bad time after all. I’ll just think of it as a vacation, and to hell with the consequences.”

Whew, he’d planned to leave in a year, thank Celestia, she had wondered if he’d be here forever.

The Daemon wiped some blood from his scales, “Umm... is there any place I could take a bath?”

A bath? What did Daemons even bathe IN? Tears? Blood? Feces? This was a strange request, but she thought it best to just try and dodge the question of what KIND of bath.

Lumina blew out a puff, “Well, we ahh, have a bath in the main house you could use.”

The Daemon smiled, “Sounds great, umm... so what do you call yourself?”

“Ahh, I am Lumina, and this is Kiwi Glitter.”

The Daemon held out one hand in the air in front of him, “Charmed, I’m Samuel Nielson.”

Samiel? She didn’t think it was pronounced that way, but she’d read that name before... oh this could be bad... maybe it was a common Daemon name, he was just named AFTER a really scary Daemon, like all the Marehomads in Saddle Arabia? Nills son though... That was a much more questionable surname. Son of nothing? Best not to think about it...

Lumina left his hand alone, and walked off, “Oh well thank you Mr... Nillson, ahh... follow me.”

The ponies and their Daemon walked out to the main house, the Daemon carrying his mask and helmet under one arm, then hefting that enormous club of his with one hand... it must have been 5 feet tall and as thick as a pony’s neck. He lifted it as though it were made of paper...

Kiwi Glitter shoulder bumped her friend, “So what was he saying?”

Lumina looked back at the Daemon, “Ahh he was just, ahh describing his charming Daemon career, and has decided to stay for a year and a day... the uh... standard Daemon summoning duration.”

Kiwi Glitter smiled, “Oh! That’s good, he’s not actually here forever. Have you asked about learning any magic from him? He doesn’t seem really angry.”

Lumina blinked, “Oh! It had slipped my mind. I’ll ask in a bit.”

They reached the house, and introduced the Daemon to the area, it was lucky they had such high ceilings, he nearly hit his head on a number of fixtures, and had to bend down a bit. He took off his sandals when he came in and left them by the door. How curious, only royalty tended to wear sandals, or those that were very dressed up. Lumina noticed that the creature was not actually scaled, but wearing a sort of armor, perhaps dragon hide? Maybe this creature was extremely wealthy, Lumina guessed pain-killing just as legendary of a magic on his world as it was here.

Lumina showed him to a large metal bathtub, sitting up on little legs. She mentioned getting some water from the reserve, as this close to the sea, all the water came from rain, and was always just a little bit salty. He had no problem with it, apparently Daemons bathed in plain old water, and soon he had gotten out of his clothing and into the tub of cold water. When Kiwi came back with a pot of boiling water she nearly dropped it.

She saw his cutie mark.

Lumina followed in soon after, and her jaw dropped.

She saw his cutie mark.

The Daemon itself was grotesque without its armor on, nearly completely hairless, covered in slimy, white flesh like a grub, his hands were not the clawed things of griffons, dragons, or diamond dogs, but long, wiry things like a spider wearing an octopus was attached to each wrist. His body was a twisted mockery of nature, if what they were seeing was even a “he”, it had fat, pancake nipples and hairy udders up on its chest, with a fat, distended belly like a pregnant mare, or possibly just a big toad. What really got their attention was the mark upon his shoulder, a cutie mark... well, in the wrong place for one thing, but the creature’s nipples were in the wrong place so maybe this made a bit of sense... ugh.

His cutie mark was not just colored fur, but painted into his skin, it had two components to it, a chain of wire beset with barbs that was wrapped around the shoulder, and above that... a skull.

They looked at each other. They couldn’t help but make the connection between that barbed wire and pain, and between that skull and death. Painkiller indeed. The Daemon noticed the two mares standing around and looking at him, and addressed them.

“Oh, sorry I guess I might be shocking to look at, I didn’t think I’d be that big a deal, you were walking around naked anyway, at least I didn’t think that would be a big deal.”

Lumina closed her previously dropped jaw, “Oh... no don’t mind us, I... for one, was just admiring your cutie mark. Very... grim.” She recoiled and pawed at the air.

The Daemon looked at his shoulder, “Oh man, I guess that might be scary, my ah... cutie mark?... I got that more than 20 years ago.”

Lumina was perplexed and worried, “Ahh.. in your younger years... you uhh.. had a natural inclination for... death and pain?”

The Daemon looked away, “Well... yes I used to be quite the rebel, but I never did anything really wrong I guess, not by... my people’s standards, just, hung out with a rough crowd. I cleaned up, became a chemist. Umm... so I notice that you have a mark on your... butt... when did you get that?”

Lumina looked at her own cutie mark, a series of yellow lines pointing outward in a ring, “Oh... I was just a filly, maybe 8 or 9 when I got my cutie mark.”

The Daemon laughed, “Wow, strange, my parents would never let me get something like that, I had to wait until I was 18 to get mine.”

18 years old and no cutie mark? Lumina imagined that Daemons, perhaps, lived much longer than ponies, or at least matured much slower. Still, he mentioned his parents “letting him” get something like that. Perhaps for Daemons getting their cutie marks was more of a vision quest than simple fate? She’d heard of some ponies having rather bizarre experiences when getting their cutie marks.

Kiwi Glitter elbowed Lumin, “Lumina, what’s he saying?”

Lumina frowned, “We are discussing his cutie mark, he was a late bloomer so I hear, getting his at a ripe old age of eighteen.”

Kiwi Glitter dropped her jaw, and raised both eyebrows, “Eighteen!? How the Tartarus old is this thing anyway?”

Lumina pursed the edges of her lips, “Hmm... Ahh probably best not to ask. Daemons are reputed to be rather ancient.”

Kiwi Glitter elbowed Lumina and pointed at the Daemon, “Well, ask him about... I don’t know, what can he teach us?”

Lumina’s ears perked up and she snapped her...hoof... err... against the other, “Oh yes... Mister Daemon... err.. Nillson, my friend here is wondering about the great reputation your esteemed Daemon kind have for knowledge.”

The Daemon put down a wash cloth, raised one eyebrow and smirked, “Well... I... guess... honestly I can probably see that, this place seems to be stuck in maybe Victorian era technology, maybe earlier, so I’m not sure your kind are quite as... advanced as people are on my world.”

Lumina looked a bit worried, “Oh, well, I suppose the magic of the Daemon world is much stronger than ours.”

The Daemon scratched his head, “Magic... I guess some of what we do might be viewed that way... honestly on my world unicorns had a reputation for being extremely magical creatures.”

Lumina smiled, “Really? I suppose it makes sense, unicorns are the greatest at magic.”

The Daemon sighed, then looked truly worried, “I’m just worried about this “summoning” you pulled off. There are a lot of scary stories on my world about people being abducted by aliens, but I never imagined that aliens would be... tiny unicorn wizards. It isn’t even that off from the stories, you have the huge eyes and little bodies that aliens are supposed to have”

Lumina actually felt bad for a little bit, thinking about the Daemon’s perspective, she HAD just ripped him from his home... but was this all just another Daemon trick? She had to remember what she was dealing with here.

Lumina sighed, and dropped her ears and began to slink away, “Well... enjoy your bath, we will be... downstairs preparing a meal.” She noticed her own uncleanliness, “I uh... had better get cleaned up a bit myself too.”

The Daemon smiled, “Oh thanks, I could sure go for a meal.”

Lumina and Kiwi cleaned themselves off with a bucket, rather than spend more time in the bath room with the Daemon. The two mares then went downstairs and gathered some food from the pantry for the night’s meal.

Kiwi Glitter became more vocal when alone with Lumina, “Oh my Celestia, Lumina you’ve made a serious mistake. That Daemon may be polite... but... look at his cutie mark!”

Lumina put her hoof to her eyebrows, and closed her eyes, “Now now, he IS a Daemon, so yes, pain and death are likely things that he... revels in from time to time.” She shrugged and grimaced,  “For all we know that is just hum drum life for him, no different than kiwi farming or raking is here.”

Kiwi Glitter frowned, “Yeah, well, what are we going to do when he shoots a pain-beam out of his ... face... and then we fall over dead?”

Lumina looked deep in thought, “I... do not think that is going to happen. Whether he pretends to it or not, I do think this Daemon is bound... to an extent. I think the only thing we have to fear is getting flustered and asking him to do something for us that could be... misinterpreted.”

Kiwi Glitter looked unamused, “So you’re telling me, this is like the stories of Arabians binding genies inside of lamps? Don’t wish for an assload of gold?”

Lumina stuck out her tongue, “ Bleh, oh lord... no... perish the thought, that old joke... well... it actually may have been based on a true story if binding genies is similar to binding Daemons.”

Kiwi Glitter hardened her face, “Just watch what you say, I’m still uneasy about this whole thing.”

Lumina put a hoof up and smiled, “Oh do not worry, Kiwi, I am a brilliant word smith, I will not slip at the tongue...again.”

Kiwi Glitter rolled her eyes and then began setting the table.

The Daemon was already at the table, wearing large poofy pantaloons and a simple button up shirt, both apparently cleaned with him in the bath. Lumina and Kiwi brought out a plate of sliced Kiwi fruits, some bananas, and a large covered plate of steamed and spiced hay.

The Daemon sniffed deeply, and smiled with his eyes closed, “Mmmm, that smells good. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”

The room went utterly silent, as both Lumina and the Daemon contemplated the meaning behind what had just been said. Lumina stared with her mouth agape, Kiwi, for her part, served herself some kiwi fruit slices.

The Daemon waved both his in front of him “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it, it’s just a turn of phrase.”

Lumina grimaced and chuckled nervously, “No no! Ahh, I’m sure it is just, culture... differences... ahh.. let us know if anything here is not to your... liking.”

Kiwi Glitter lifted the cover on the spiced hay and began serving the Daemon a plate of it.

Kiwi Glitter noticed her friends dismay, “What did he say?”

Lumina dropped her ears and neck, winced and said, “Oh.. well... he... mentioned that he was very hungry... ahh... hungry enough to eat a horse.”

Kiwi dropped her silverware and turned to the Daemon. He put his hands up in front of him and began to stammer.

“No no... I... I wouldn’t want to eat you! I... I’ve never even eaten horse before... It’s just something people say... because... you know... that’s a lot of meat to be eating.”

Lumina sighed, “Mr Nillson, she well, she can not understand you, I am sure it will be all right.”

The Daemon was clearly embarassed, “Yes... ah...” he said. He stared at his plate and his face filled with apologetic determination.

The Daemon began to push hay into his mouth and chew on it. He winced for a bit, tried chewing harder, then finally spit it out and began eating all of the kiwi fruit in front of him.

Lumina looked a bit worried by this emotional display, she’s seen griffons do the same thing, “I... see you have some trouble with our food, is there... something else you would like to eat?”

Kiwi Glitter turned sharply to Lumina and gave her a worried glare.

“Ahh... maybe some more fruit?”, Lumina asked, offering a plate of kiwi fruits.

The Daemon sighed, “Yeah... umm... I could use some more fruit...ugh veganism... boy this is gonna be a healthy year.”

“Healthy?”, Lumina asked, cocking her head.

“Well, where I come from a uhh... vegetarian diet is considered really healthy” the Daemon said.

Lumina looked a bit more hopeful, “Oh... so you will not be needing any... meat... while you are here?” She really did not want to be frequenting the butcher’s.

The Daemon though for a minute, “Somehow I think there would be trouble for it. Just... I can’t eat hay. What do you guys normally eat besides... grass?”

Lumina rolled her eyes upwards a bit and put her hoof on her chin, “Well there are... kiwis, bananas, cakes, ahh... bread, tomatoes, clovers, potatoes, squash, umm... milk sometimes? Lettuce? Eggs maybe?”

The Daemon put his hands on his chin also, “Hmm... I think if you have milk and tomatoes I can work something out. Do you guys have any oil for cooking?”

“Yes... certainly.”

The Daemon smiled, “Well, then I think I have an idea. Maybe I can do some good while I’m here. Maybe teach you two some... magic. Oh this might actually be fun...” Lumina was less than reassured by that statement.

The rest of the night passed without incident, though there was much gossip between Kiwi and Lumina, and the next day the Daemon spent his whole day cleaning up the house and asking about the local environment. He had asked some very strange questions about rocks, plants and other things, but ultimately, the ponies seemed more than willing to avoid him, and he they. Before their trip to town, however, the Daemon named a list of items that he would need.

Oil, Potatoes, Flour, Eggs, Milk, An absurd number of random spices, salt... the list went on. This seemed like cooking supplies, Lumina had expected a list of foul Daemonic reagents for spells...  Well, there was the brimstone but... well, with Daemons that was a given.

As their carriage rolled into town, the carriage ponies pulling it struck up a conversation.

Clodhopper asked, “So, Kiwi, did you two get your latrines all sorted out?”, he grinned smugly.

Kiwi Glitter smiled back, “Oh, yeah, we only had one more incident, the lighthouse is still unworkable though.” She made a silly face and shrugged.

Clodhopper laughed, “What a shame. I didn’t think that lighthouse was really needed anymore, the port has moved quite a bit since that old relic was made.”

Lumina stopped staring out the window, and began to lecture, “Well, we are not just restoring the lighthouse to provide light for ships, but to study HOW the light was automated. My grandmother apparently built the enchantments for that tower, and I wanted to learn how it had been done.”

The other carriage pony, Granit, looked back and asked, “So you are an enchantress?”

Lumina giggled, “Ahh, no... not yet, I am studying enchantment but have not quite mastered it.”

Granite smiled, “Oh nice, off from school for the summer? What school are you going to?”

Lumina thought for a bit, on how to answer. “Oh... um... Celestia’s Academy.” She frowned.

Granite’s ears stood up, and he looked at Clodhopper, “Wow really! Clodhopper we’ve got quite the wizard here, and doing some self study on summer break no less.” He elbowed his friend and winked.

Clodhopper nodded, “Yeah, real classy school that is, all the big wigs send their kids there. What about you miss Kiwi? Where are you studying.”

Kiwi Glitter pawed a hoof in the air, “Oh I already graduated, Manehattan Ag and Tech, got my associate’s in weather management for agriculture.”

Clodhopper jumped a bit while pulling the carriage, causing it to bump around, “Woo wee, I heard that place was quite the party school! Did you pick up all your learning there?”

Kiwi Glitter laughed, “I learned enough, truth be told I think college is a scam, but trade school had enough hoofs-on training that I learned plenty, now I’m just taking a break before finding a job on a weather team somewhere. I’m not bad at farming either.”

Granite scoffed, “That’s not bad, done with college in 2 years? I bet you’d rake in more bits than carriage pulling.”

“Nah, it’s a government job, so it pays peanuts, but I could some day maybe get into private weather control for farming, which is where I think the money is.” Kiwi was now leaning out the front window of the carriage.

Clodhopper looked back at her, leaving steering the carriage to Granite, “Well now ain’t that something. You know, my family has a shell farm not far from here, maybe they might need some weather guidance.”

Kiwi Glitter raised both eyebrows and smiled, “Ha, wow, I might be glad to look into that while I’m here.”

Granite clearly looked a bit jealous, “So... Lumina... what about you, what plans are you up to around here besides fixing up that lighthouse and studying?”

Lumina looked back from the side window, “Oh I... wanted to get my mind off of school for a bit, maybe look into industries that could use my... enchantments.”

Granite looked back, smiled and winked, “I already think you are enchanting.”

The carriage went silent for an uncomfortable amount of time.

Clodhopper broke the silence, “HA HA ha that’s a good one Granite, come on, lady you got to admit you set that one up.”

Lumina grimaced, “I guess I did... well... we have quite a busy day finding materials here in town, and we have quite a late start today. Could you pick us up in maybe 3 hours?”

“Oh.. yeah of course. I guess we’re here then." Clodhopper said.

Perhaps a bit dejected, the carriage ponies delivered their passengers and watched the two mares trot off to go shopping.

Clodhopper elbowed his friend a bit roughly, “Wow, real smooth, ya jackass.”

Granite pushed back, “What! I thought it was a good line. Flattery and all.”

Clodhopper shook his head, “Uhh, damn dude, I think we may have just struck out, well at least Kiwi seems to like me.”

Granite chuckled, “I don’t know dude, the whole, ‘my dad owns a clam ranch’ pickup isn’t really any better.”

Clodhopper pushed his friend, considering they were tied to each other, not a particularly violent action, “Shut up, it was working. Maybe I’ll still score the pegasus on my own, besides, we actually do need a cloud puncher on the clam ranch.”

“Sure you do.”

Kiwi and Lumina had by now begun collecting their supplies. With dread, Lumina realized she would need to return to the butcher’s. She avoided most of the butcher’s scrutiny as she purchased several pounds of Salt Peter, then decided to buy some meat just to appear to have something to preserve. The butcher raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips in an accusatory manner. Most ponies didn’t frequent a butcher’s shop.

Lumina nearly shouted out, “Oh! I have a ... Griffon friend that is coming to visit and I just HAD to keep some meat in stock, you know... Griffons and their... meat.” She looked around outside.

The butcher packed up and salted some meat, but never quite looked at Lumina like she wasn’t up to something.

Kiwi Glitter stared him down, “Oh come on man, you kill animals for a living, stop giving us such a hard time.”

The butcher straightened up a bit and got to his work.

The pair had many other things to pick up, mostly groceries, and for their own needs they erred on the side of fruits. Why the Daemon needed so much brimstone... they wouldn’t hazard to guess, but at least that rumor had proven true. Daemons and their brimstone.

By the time the carriage had brought Lumina and Kiwi back to their house, it was already well into the afternoon. The carriage ponies didn’t even ask if they could come in. Lumina had run inside with a few valuables, leaving Kiwi Glitter to unload a bit more.

Kiwi Glitter stopped her loading for a bit, “Hey, Clodhopper?”

Clodhopper looked up, his expression deliberately aloof, “Yeah?”

“Hey, we still have a lot of cleaning up to do, and Lumina doesn’t really like people to see her work... so I don’t think I can invite you guys in tonight.”

Clodhopper sulked, “No, I understand, I mean, we were just having our fun.”

Kiwi Glitter walked over to him, “Oh, I understand, it’s just, Lumina is going to have a...tutor here, a foreigner, and I don’t know if she’ll ever be comfortable showing him off.”

Clodhopper returned to his feigned aloofness, “Huh, that would explain the meat you guys bought. Is she being tutored by a griffon? I didn’t think they knew anything about magic.”

Kiwi Glitter didn’t skip a beat, “Well, they do know a few things... it’s complicated. Either way, I don’t know if having you guys over for dinner will ever happen.”

Clodhopper smirked, “Yeah. I understand.” His cool act wasn’t working.

Kiwi Glitter waited a bit, then turned her head sideways, and smiled, “Though, I WOULD be interested in checking out your family shell farm, if that job is still open.”

Clodhopper’s dour expression immediately changed to one of livelier spirits.

“Oh you bet! I’m sure my dad could use another hand, do you know anything about shellfish?”

“I’m sure I can learn” Kiwi said.

Kiwi began unloading a box of salt peter and meat from the butcher’s, but fumbled it a bit and dropped a box of sausage covers on the ground, which popped open, the sausage covers popping up a bit like a jack-in-the-box. Clodhopper raised an eyebrow and grinned. Kiwi Glitter lowered her ears flat, then grimaced and gathered up the freight.

Kiwi Glitter winced, “Ahh... meet you here tomorrow then?”

Clodhopper returned to feigning coolness, “Yeah sure. It’ll have to be a bit before lunch, we’ve got a few more pick ups around town.”

Kiwi Glitter hurriedly ran off. “Okay! See you then.”

Clodhopper made a smug grin to his friend.

Granite rolled his eyes, “Oh stuff it. No! No puns on that you know what I mean. Aww Tartarus, this is gonna be a long trip back to town isn’t it? At least I don’t need daddy’s money to get the mares.”

It was a long trip back to town, full of much ribald ribbing and innuendo.

When Kiwi got back inside, the smell of flour was already strong in the kitchen. She sauntered in to find the Daemon busy making some kind of oily snake bread with a wine bottle to roll it flat.

Daemon: Now don’t worry about dinner tonight, I’ve got that all taken care of, and thanks for the supplies, tomorrow I’ll show you some real magic.

Lumina smiled, “Oh wonderful, what type of magic will this be?”

“Fireworks.”

Oh... now this was the good stuff, Lumina thought to herself. Perhaps that’s what all the brimstone is for, Lumina thought. Daemons were known for their love of fire, and nothing said “sorceress” like shooting burning green flames of hell fire from your outstretched hoof.

Lumina grinned wickedly, “Oh how wonderful, I’d always wanted to perform great works of fire, these sparkles on my cutie mark mean I MUST be destined to be a great fire worker.”

“Ahh.. wait is that what those things are?” The Daemon asked.

Lumina continued, “I imagine they must be. Is there anything I need to get ready for tomorrow?”

The Daemon thought for a bit, “Ahh... yeah, get the mortar and pestle ready, and set up a scale, maybe get some buckets of water in case things go wrong...”

Lumina had never dropped her wicked grin, “Of course, teacher, I’ll get right on it.”

Kiwi Glitter didn’t like the enthusiasm for... fire working that her friend had, but she had other concerns. She was busy thinking of that burly carriage pony’s well muscled body, and also maybe getting her hoofs on some tasty dune flowers at his family’s beach. Food was definitely on Kiwi Glitter’s mind by this late at night.

Some time later the Daemon set out a meal, and while it certainly smelled good... both the ponies here looked at each other a bit nervously, wondering exactly what was going to be under the lid.

The Daemon swaggered, “Here we are my little... ponies...” Something about that didn’t sound right to him.

The Daemon looked briefly confused, but then revealed a steaming plate of... something. It was like hay, tangled up and stringy, but smelled of baked goods and cheese, and had been smothered in tomatoes and other spices. He began serving some of it onto their plates, and their mouths couldn’t help but water.

Lumina looked at it closely, “Well, this certainly smells good, but... what is it? There’s quite a lot of ...cheese... here.”

The Daemon smiled, and nodded, “Oh, yeah, the cheese is the best part” He put his hand to his lips and then popped it out, putting on an accent “try a-some, it’s called fettuccine.”

The two mares poked at it for a bit, then ate. Their shocked faces briefly stunned the Daemon, his face pursed in worry.

Lumina dropped her fork, “Oh my..”

The Daemon looked worried, “Is there something wrong? Is this something you can eat?”

Lumina ate some more, and talked with her mouth still full, something she never did, “Oh yes... this is... wonderful... I’ve never eaten something so good. I.. now see why you could not bear to stomach mere hay if this is what people eat on your world.”

“Oh well... that’s not why I don’t eat hay but sure.”

Lumina went on eating, “No really, this is... fantastic. I’m actually worried about a story I heard of people in other worlds avoiding eating anything, for fear of ruining the taste of their home food forevermore. I worry that if I get used to this type of food I’ll never be able to eat hay again.”

The Daemon thought for a bit, “Ahh... well I could see that happening.”

Kiwi glitter picked up on the conversation from Lumina’s side of things, and dropped her fork...

“Oh, no... it’s not cursed or anything, it’s just... well hay is kind of bland, don’t you think? I mean, I could teach you how to make this type of food” the Daemon said.

Lumina actually wondered if she didn’t already have a gold mine on her hoof, I mean, sitting up in dark towers lording over the peasantry with her diabolic powers was one thing, but... a series of chain restaurants that sold magically addictive food might end up being a lot more profitable, not to mention socially acceptable.

The Daemon smacked his large round belly, which jiggled. “I would warn you though, this food can be pretty fattening if you eat too much of it.”

Lumina dropped her fork immediately. Kiwi didn’t quite understand, but had already finished her meal and was leaning back in her seat lazily. Ironically, rubbing her stomach.

Kiwi Glitter interruped, “YAAaawn. Oh boy, I really feel sleepy all of a sudden.”

Lumina was in a bit of a panic, “Ahh, well, maybe we had better lay off the ...fetish eeny for now. Kiwi, ahh, apparently eating too much of this food can make you fat, like our friend here.”

Kiwi Glitter’s eyes went wide, as she began patting down her bloated belly.

The Daemon waved his hands around, “Well, not just one meal, you’d have to eat this stuff, well, every day for years. It took a lot of meals to get the way I am now. Ha ha.”

Lumina thought back to some stories of Zebra culture, where in those primitive tribes only the best merchants or kings could afford to get fat, so fatness was considered attractive. This Daemon appeared almost proud of his weight, maybe... it meant he didn’t have to work? She could see that making a bit of sense, what with his skill at cooking, and apparently his knowledge of fire and pain, this might be a sort of lord among Daemons she had here. She actually was glad to think of that, rather than frightened.

The Daemon took up the remaining plates, and whisked them off into the kitchen.

Kiwi Glitter looked at the Daemon leave, then turned back to her friend and blew her bangs back, “Oh man. I think I just gave into temptation. If that’s what food is like in the Daemon realm I might just get captured by this guy.”

Lumina snapped, “Kiwi! Harden your will! Remember, this is just one of the many magics I talked about, this food obviously has a sort of charm magic on it. One I intend to learn for myself.”

Kiwi Glitter put her hooves and wings behind her back, “That reminds me, speaking of charming, I was planning on heading out to Clodhopper’s family farm tomorrow.”

Lumina lowered her ears, “Oh Kiwi, why? Those two carriage ponies seem like such rough brutes.”

Kiwi Glitter scoffed, “What, and I’m a proper gentlemare? He seems like a pretty straightforward guy, and all that carriage pulling has made him pretty strong.”

“leh sigh”, Lumina said. “Oh Kiwi I suppose we are from two very different worlds. Very well then, I will stay here alone with the Daemon tomorrow and learn ‘fireworks’.”

Lumina returned to the kitchen, but the Daemon had practically cleaned everything by the time she got there, apparently his grubby little hands made scrubbing things down very easy, that and all the soap they had gotten from the butcher’s.

The Daemon looked at some extra fettucine, “Its a shame we are gonna have to throw all this food away, I guess you ponies don’t have an ice box or anything like that here?”

“An ice box?” Lumina asked, raising an eyebrow, “Is that some sort of magic tool?”

“Sure... hmm maybe if I build a forge I could try casting some metal tubes... at that rate I might as well just build a still... hmmm.... Do ponies have alcohol?”

Lumina answered, “Well, yes we make barley wine and apple cider.”

“Heh heh, maybe if I can get the things I need I can show you some REAL liquor...”

Lumina didn’t much like the sound of that. Apple cider was plenty strong enough for her taste. She couldn’t imagine the disaster that would happen if she tried Daemon liquor.

The Daemon stretched his arms above his head, “You know, I could see having a really good time here. Back on my world, I used to go to camping events where we would try to re-create old medieval style villages and the like. We would make our own forges and armor, it was great fun, but here, I just really feel the difference in a real renaissance setting.”

Lumina looked confused, “Ahh, you used to... play make believe?”

The Daemon began moving around swinging his hands in the air, “Well... used to play the big fights up too, that’s what this armor is for, live action battles, but I’ve gotten a bit too old to actually get out there and fight. I still love the costuming and crafting though.”

Lumina scratched her head, “I can not say I entirely understand the sentiment.”

The Daemon sat down, “Well, we just created these other worlds because we got bored some times, so lots of us just went out together to, as you say it, play make believe.”

Lumina finally got a notion, but she didn’t like it, the impossibly tasty foods, the bizarre appearance, the playing make believe with false worlds, the weird games with exact wording, this creature sounded less and less like a Daemon and... more like the Fae... the bad kind... She was not sure if that was any better, but it might go one step towards explaining things.

The Daemon looked right at her, “I’m just frankly still overwhelmed and a bit overjoyed to be here, I mean, how many people get to go to magical worlds and spend time with unicorns?”

Lumina hardly considered unicorns a rarity, but then again, how many people got to spend time with Daemons?

The trio eventually came to need their rest, and the Daemon had to sleep in the master bedroom, since only such a massive bed would fit him at all. Lumina and Kiwi decided to sleep by the fireplace as they had done the previous night.

Kiwi Glitter asked “Lumina?”

“Yes Kiwi?”

“Things are sure changing quite a bit around here, aren’t they?”

“They most certainly are.”

“Do you think we are just going to end up living here in Trotschester?”

“I do not know, Kiwi. Probably for as much as a year, while the Daemon is here, I am not certain I could take him anywhere else and keep him hidden. I am not sure if I can keep him hidden as it is.”

Kiwi Glitter rolled over on the ground  and spread out her lime green wings. She stared up at the ceiling.

“I was really thinking about Clodhoppers farm. This would be the first real job I’d ever had, it just feels like I’m growing up, and then right in the middle of it all is this Daemon business.”

“Oh I know, but Kiwi, the Daemon is MY business, you do not need to concern yourself with it if you would rather not.”

“It DOES concern me though, what if someone finds him around here, and they know I’m staying here with it?”

Lumina looked a bit worried, but stern, “Well. I do not really know what people would do. The Daemon has not been running around eating people or drinking their blood.”

Kiwi Glitter laughed, “No.. he hasn’t. Part of me wonders if I shouldn’t be learning some magic myself. You talked about a charm spell, but I think if I just learned how to make fettuccine I could charm myself any stallion I wanted.”

Lumina laughed, “I can see that. Well Kiwi, let me take a crack at this, and I will let you know if I find something I think fits you, for now, I guess just enjoy your time with Clodhopper.” She smiled at her friend, “I have to admit he really is quite fit.”

Kiwi Glitter laughed, “Yeah...”

Lumina rolled over, “You know Kiwi, I really think things are starting to go our way.”

Kiwi Glitter laughed again, “Yeah...”

The two mares drifted off to sleep, and the next day, when they lazed over to the dining room, the Daemon had already prepared a fine meal of sliced fruit and... flat bread. Rolled up flat bread filled with fruit preserves and... puffy milk? The table was all set up with some fresh squeezed fruit juice. Kiwi groggily set up at the table and began serving herself some food. The Daemon was already seated there with a terrified Clodhopper.

Kiwi Glitter shouted, “Wait! Clodhopper?!”