James was sitting idly in the kitchen, watching the blizzard through the window. His nose stopped bleeding, but that didn't make anything better for him. Nightmare Moon was still in his house, and he wasn't ready to face her just yet.

"Ugh... if that 'falling star' fulfilled one of my wishes, I would have wished for a frickin' Death Star to destroy the whole Earth. At least that wish would've liven to my expectations." he muttered to himself, tapping his chin. During years of loneliness, it became a habit James wasn't very proud of. "Okay, I've met an alien... Now what? What do I do with her and myself?"

Then, his eyes fell on the rifle that was placed near the exit. The rifle was the famous SVD, albeit without a stereotypical PSO scope that is associated with the rifle.

"No, I don't want to kill her..." he turned his gaze away from the rifle. "Not because she's a woman, not because she's an alien... She is sapient, and I can try to reason with her before doing that. Fight is the last resort, not the first... Also, I need to stop talking to myself." he stood up from the chair and stretched. "Loneliness does that to a man... Now, I'm not lonely, but I wish I was. This Nightmare Moon lady is creeping the hell out of me— Wait! What am I, a doormat? I must face her, I must tell her who is the boss in the house! She's not nice, so why must I wear this mask? She has yet to find out who I really am!"

Nightmare Moon was in James's bedroom. Its colors were rather nice to her: dark-blue for the walls and lighter blue for the ceiling. She found it is to her liking, and the only thing she didn't like about it was minimalistic design. There was a large bed, a table with a chair, a large wardrobe that took one of the walls completely, a soft, white carpet on the floor, and a computer on the table, but Nightmare Moon didn't know yet what the last thing was. There were also four paintings on the wall. All of them depicted the same place from the same point of view, only the seasons were different. She assumed that the paintings were drawn when the artist was looking out of the bedroom's only window, which wasn't really big. Nightmare Moon was stunned by the four pictures, they were very detailed and looked perfect. She wondered who have made them.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Her ears perked up and she turned to the door that led to the stairs. The door opened and James entered.

"Thou again." Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. "Canst not thou leave me alone?"

"This room is my bedroom." James scowled at the mare.

"And?" she mocked him in return.

"I am okay with sharing it with you, but I am not okay with giving it to you completely." James crossed his arms on his chest. "Look, I don't want us to be enemies."

"Then thou art failing." Nightmare Moon chuckled. "Thou art who imprisoned me here with no way to go back to Equestria."

"I did not do that!" James groaned, facepalming. "I don't even know who you are!"

The mare glared at him. "Why am I here, then?"

"I have no fucking idea!" he yelled, snapping. "If I had, I would've told you already! Get it into your stubborn mind, I never asked for this!"

Nightmare Moon was taken aback by what he did — he dared to yell at her. She blinked, processing what he had said. She was certain he hadn't lied.

"Alright..." she spoke, then cleared her throat. "But I still don't trust thee."

"I didn't expect you to." James rolled his eyes. "Just... We are all grown-ups, we can reason."

"I have lived for thousands of years, fool!" Nightmare Moon snorted. "Thou'rt not even comparable to me, 'grown-up'."

"Oh." James blinked. "Alright... So, you are an ancient anthropomorphic horse."

"I am a pony!" Nightmare Moon shook her head. "And who dost thou call "ancient"? I am considered the ideal of beauty!"

"Okay, you're a... pony." James knew better than try to argue about things he knew nothing about. "Do all... ponies live this long?"

"Art thou interrogating me now?" the mare scowled.

"You may stay silent if you want." James shrugged. "Just, I've never seen anyone like you. In fact, I am certain you are the only one of your kind on the Earth."

"I think sating thy curiosity won't hurt." Nightmare Moon sat on his bed. "Thou mayest ask me."

"Okay..." James said nervously, sitting on a chair that he's left in his bedroom some time ago. "So, will you answer my first question?"

"That one is about age, correct?" the human nodded to her question. "Well, the answer is no, most ponies live about a hundred years, give or take a few decades, depending on their race."

"Race? You mean that not all ponies have wings and a horn?" James was intrigued by what the mare has said.

"Those who do are called alicorns. There are only two that I know: myself and my... sister." she spat out the last word. "There are another three races: earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns."

"I think I have an idea of how they look..." James spoke. "But, can all of them use that magic as you?"

"Of course not." Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. "Only unicorns can control magic directly, creating spells, bending almost anything to their will. Pegasi control the weather, and earth ponies grow food for all four of us. Alicorns can do anything, basically, because they are all the races combined.

"I answered some of thy questions, now it is time for me to ask. My first question will be pretty simple: what exactly art thou?"

"A human." James answered. "Humans evolved from primates, if it tells you anything."

"What is this place?"

"My house, obviously." James replied, deadpanning. "Well, more specifically: the planet Earth, continent Eurasia, country Russia, northern region. I think I'd told you that al—"

"What should I do here?" she cut him short.

"I don't honestly know." James shrugged. "Don't try to kill me or destroy the house, and we'll be on at least neutral terms. In turn, I promise that I won't hurt you. Well, you are free to do almost anything."

"Then, I would very like to take a bath." Nightmare Moon stood up. "If thou hast one, of course."

"A white door on the first floor." James told her the path to the bathroom. "If you need help, just call me."

"A mare can take a bath by herself, thanks." the mare snorted irritably. She headed downstairs and to the bathroom. As the door to his bedroom closed, James sighed in relief. He didn't expect everything to go so smooth with Nightmare Moon, especially considering his still pained nose.

"Wait," he muttered. "I need to take a bath as well... If Nightmare Moon takes it as long as other women do, I'm doomed to smell like shit for a few more hours."

Suddenly, Nightmare Moon called him from downstairs, "James! I require thy assistance!"

"Of course, 'a mare can take a bath by herself'." James rolled his eyes, stood up from the chair, and headed to the bathroom. "I hope she doesn't want me to rub her back... That would be very embarrassing."

The door was not locked but slightly opened, and Nightmare Moon was standing near the bath.

"Yeah?" James entered. Then, he realized that the mare was completely nude. His cheeks flushed a little, yet he kept his calm. It wasn't the first time he sees a nude female, after all.

"This vile bath get'th warmer by itself!" Nightmare Moon turned to the human, her arms crossed on her chest, a scowl on her face. "I cannot adjust the temperature with my magic!"

"You should just turn the handle—" he gestured at it. "—until the temperature is right." James replied, staring at the nude mare in front of him. "For an alien, she looks rather good." he thought. "All curves are in right places, her breasts are perfectly sized... Well, if she was a woman, she would certainly be the most beautiful one."

"Art thou staring at me right now?" the mare glared at him.

"Honestly, yes." his reply was shameless.

"Stare all thou like'st, thou wilt get none of me." Nightmare Moon huffed, turning away from him. He was puzzled by her statement, he expected her to slap him rather hard. Nightmare Moon turned the handle, adjusting the temperature, and then sighed in relaxation, getting into the bath and lying on her back, her wings unfolded and resting by her sides, taking the most room of the rather large bath.

"Just like that? I can stay here?" James asked, unsure of what she meant by what she'd said earlier.

"I don't care." was her simple and a little annoyed reply. However, James decided to leave her alone. He didn't really want to watch her bathing. He knew a concept of a personal space and alone time, after all.

Making one last glance at her, he left.

James didn't have to wait long, and no later than in fifteen minutes Nightmare Moon exited the bathroom, wrapped in a big white towel.

"My clothes are rather smelly right now, so I left them there." she told the human as he prepared to bathe.

"I can wash them if you want." James replied. He also noticed her upper garment and undergarment lying on the floor near the bath. He took it and placed into the washer, as well as his old ones from the laundry. Nightmare Moon watched his actions, considering them strange. When all dirty clothes were loaded, James started the washer. Its sound was too sudden for the mare, she almost jumped in startled surprise.

"What is it?" she asked, pointing at the washer, which started buzzing quietly.

"A machine that washes clothes without anyone to do it by themselves. It is much more efficient, too." James explained.

"Fascinating..." Nightmare Moon couldn't resist but walk closer and stare into the window of the washer, watching the process.

James unclothed himself right in front of the alicorn.

"And what dost thou think thou'rt doing?" Nightmare Moon asked, her cheeks a little red. "No one must get nude in front of the queen unless both are ready for love-making."

James grinned mischievously, knowing how to answer that. He said: "Well, that can easily be fixed."

"How dare thee!" the mare exclaimed, her cheeks burning. "Thou must not behave like this!"

"You're not my queen and I'm not your subject. Your rules do not apply in my house, nor in the country overall." James lied on his back in the bath as he finished unclothing. His bare chest and back were covered in many straight and narrow scars, both nipples were completely absent, only smooth skin was in their places. Nightmare Moon nearly gasped when she saw the scars.

"What hath happened to thee?" she asked, shock in her voice. She has never seen so many scars at once.

"This?" he gestured at his chest. "Bad things can happen to anyone, I am no exception." he replied grimly.

She shook her head, trying to clear the image of his scarred chest from her mind.

James adjusted the temperature of the water and let it flow freely into the bath, filling it with nice and warm water. He undid his ponytail, letting his long hair hang freely below his shoulders.

Nightmare Moon huffed and left, her cheeks were a little red.

"Well," the man sighed. "Not a very bad beginning... She isn't threatening me now. And she doesn't want to cut my dick off for staring at her. I bet royalty from the Medieval would do that... Things improved a little, huh."

Author's Note

Just so you understand: James doesn't give a shit about being nude in his house. It is his own house, after all, and he does everything he wants in it, not caring even if someone's there.