Dark Angel of Night That Fell From the Sky

It was late evening. The sun has already set below the snowy horizon, and the forest has darkened significantly. All the wildlife that roamed the forest during the day disappeared, going into hiding from the night-time predators, such as wolves. Their howls could be heard even from the inside of James's house. However, none of its habitants thought of what was happening outside.

James was having supper along with Lucine. He had a salad made of cucumbers, ball pepper, and onion. The mare had the same, albeit without any salt or onion. Both had some orange juice to sate their thirst.

"So," James spoke after a while of silent eating. "I've noticed that you've been sleeping on the armchair. Is it comfortable for you?"

"Not exactly," Lucine replied. "Well, it is soft and rather comfortable when I sit on it, but when I wake up my whole body feel'th like I've slept on a hard stone."

"Well, that can be fixed." James nodded. "You can share a bed with me."

Lucine nearly spat everything she had in her mouth, her eyes widened, and she blushed.

"Sleep with thee?!" she asked loudly.

"Oh, come on," James rolled his eyes, putting down his fork. "It's not like we're going to do anything intimate there."

"In Equestria, inviting somepony of opposite gender to thy bed is a straight invitation to make love." Lucine replied, then cleared her throat, her blush intensified.

"Well, it's almost the same here, but I simply don't care." James shrugged. "But if it makes you uncomfortable, I will sleep on the armchair. Makes no difference to me."

"I'll think about it." the mare replied nervously. It was the first time she's ever received such a careless invitation.

"Yeah..." James said, and an awkward silence fell. "So..." he started again. "You'd asked me about the things in my bedroom a week ago. I can show what they are, finally. And I promise it will be very fun."

"I'd like to!" the mare happily exclaimed.

***

James and Lucine went upstairs, where the man turned on his computer, the most interesting thing he had to show to her.

"I turned it on once, what is it?" she asked, watching as the Windows logo appeared.

"A complicated machine that was designed to quickly make different and complicated calculations. A computer, in one word." James replied. "But it is used mainly for entertainment by me. There are many different games I can play."

"And what are those games?" Lucine asked. "How can one play games using this metal box?"

"Well, how to explain that..." James scratched his chin. "Hm... Do you know what a board game is?"

"I do, and I like them very much!" the mare replied. "Dost thou say this box is full of board games?"

"In a sense, yes." James nodded. "But it will take a lot to explain how they work. Well, what game would you like to play? Just say a theme, and I'll find one."

"Hmm..." Lucine mused. "I don't know what to choose... Well, is there anything simple? I don't think I'm ready for anything with a complex plot."

"Hmm..." James tapped his chin. "There are some old games that are pretty simple... There is one, actuall. A shooter." James asked. "It is fairly simple game."

"A what now?" Lucine asked. "A... shooter? Do I have to use a crossbow or just a bow? Spear-throwing? What is it?"

"No, it's a game when you shoot with weapons like my rifle." James explained, then moved the mouse cursor to the icon of Doom. "So, the game's really old, as it was released almost twenty years ago. There's new one coming in the spring, and I'll show that one when it comes out."

He clicked the icon twice, and main menu of DooM appeared, music started playing.

"Is that music?" Lucine asked, turning her head to the small loudspeakers. "And is that playing... Out of that thing?" she touched one. "It vibrate'th slightly.

"Yeah, that's music. It sounds through those things, which are loudspeakers." James explained. "The music's is in midi format, by the way."

"It sound'th like... I don't even know what to compare it with. And it hath strange name.... Midi."

"Well, let me show you the game itself." James pressed the START GAME, and chose Ultraviolence difficulty. "Well, that is a second part of the game, and it's better in my opinion than the first one. And you don't have to play the first part to enjoy the second 'cause the plot is very simple, almost non-existent. Do you want a short summary?"

Lucine nodded.

"Well, there is a guy that served in military on another planet." James started to explain. "Something went wrong, and many monsters teleported there, killing everyone but him. So, he was forced to fight his way to home."

"Doth he have a name?" Lucine asked.

"Well, he is called Doom Marine, or Doom Guy."

"That's a rather odd name." the mare replied.

"That's more a nickname than an actual name." James shrugged. "Anyway, he fought his way through that planet, then through its satellite, and then through Hell. When he finally got home, he discovered that monsters invaded it, and he had to fight them again to save everyone still alive."

"That sounds pretty interesting." Lucine said, leaning closer. "And what are those?" she narrowed her eyes at the screen. "Are those humans made of... squares?"

"Well, these squares are pixels. Monsters are made of them. Well, the graphics here is very old, so it doesn't look very realistic." James replied. "So, do you want to play it?"

"I'd love to!"

***

After James taught Lucine how to use the mouse and keyboard, the mare began ripping and tearing monsters apart. She wasn't even disturbed by the blood and gore of the game. In fact, she found killing monsters really enjoyable and stress-relieving. She had passed five levels by the midnight. After that, James told her that playing too much isn't very good for the health. Lucine agreed with him and both went to sleep, cleaning their dishes first.

But before they went to bed, James took a shower, and Lucine took it after him. By the time she ended washing herself, the human was already asleep on his bed. Lucine wasn't too comfortable about sleeping with him, especially considering that all ponies sleep nude, but she barely had any choice. She didn't want to wake him up. She just felt it would be wrong.

Lucine silently entered the bedroom, and closed the door behind her. Thankfully for her, the human was sleeping in his underwear. She carefully took a place at the edge of the bed, trying not to touch James in any way. Unfortunately, her wings brushed against his nose, making him sneeze loudly.

"...what?" he muttered, opening his eyes. He saw Lucine lying by his side, looking at him with an embarrassed blush on her face. Her wings were wrapped around her, hiding her nude body from his gaze. "What?"

"Um, it seems my feathers made thee sneeze." Lucine replied. "Sorry for waking thee up."

"Nah, don't worry, it's fine." he waved his hand, then yawned. "Uh, so you're fine with us sleeping together?"

"Kind of..." she rubbed her shoulder.

"If you're not, I can go sleep downstairs." he replied.

"No, 'tis alright." Lucine said. "Sleep."

"Well, g'night." with that being said, James put his head back on the pillow. A few moments later he was already snorting softly in his sleep.

Lucine, however, couldn't fall asleep as easy as he did. Still occupying little place, she didn't find it comfortable to lie there. She just couldn't figure out how to place her wings so that both she and James will be comfortable. So, the only option she had is to cover James with one of her wings, unfolding it completely.

"Damn my giant wings." Lucine thought, finally getting comfortable enough to go to sleep.

James groggily opened his eyes. But instead of sunlight shining into his eyes, all he saw were black feather. He blinked in confusion, then moved the feathers away.

"Oh, it's Lucine in the bed with the." he realized as he saw her lying at his side, still sleeping soundly. He also noticed that she was completely nude. "And she told me that I'm strange."

He blinked in confusion, then rubbed his eyes. But he was sure he saw her mane and tail moving ethereally, like a wave. Enchanted by the view, James ran his fingers through Lucine's mane.

"Wow..." he said in awe, feeling the silky texture of the mane that swirled around his fingers like a starlit sky of night. James couldn't resist but run his hand through the mane again and again.

However, the hold that the enchanting mane had on him weakened when Lucine stirred in her sleep. James quickly put his hands away from her mane, afraid of what its owner would say if she catches him doing that.

He stood from the bed and went to do his morning routine, keeping in mind the feeling of that silky mane he's just touched.

***

Lucine woke up. She yawned groggily, but decided to stay in the comfortable bed for some time. She noticed that James wasn't in the bed but his place was still warm. And sunlight shined through the window, making Lucine not very comfortable. Using her magic, she covered the window, making the room significantly darker. Satisfied with the result, she allowed herself to relax again.

However, sleep didn't return to her. She thought of James. While he was one of the strangest persons Lucine has ever seen in her life, she took a liking to him. He wasn't afraid of her, and he has shown hospitality even when Lucine was nothing but a demanding and arrogant, ahem, bitch. She still was trying to figure out why did James wait so long before telling her how he felt about the whole situation. And that opened her eyes, finally, made her see what she's done to someone as kind as James. Lucine knew just a few persons who would welcome a stranger into their homes. And that made her heart heavy. She still didn't know how to make everything up to the human. He, of course, became somewhat happier when Lucine realized her mistakes, but it still seemed to her like something was still off.

In her sleep, Lucine didn't find a way to see what James has been dreaming of. She would like to know what kind of nightmares did he have, and what could be done to destroy them, to bring his mind at peace. She was still shocked that he spent many years all alone, even if she herself spent a millennium without any kind of entertainment or even a chance to speak to anyone but herself.

She also still didn't completely understand why James forgave her this quick.

"Good morning." he broke her line of thoughts, entering the bedroom.

"Good morning." Lucine replied with a smile, finally getting up from the comfortable and warm bed. She stretched herself, making the blood flow through her body, waking it up. Unconsciously, she showed her nude body to James in its full glory.

Blinking at her display but then shaking his head, he said: "So, how do you feel? I suppose my... freakout was a really bad display..." he scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry I shouted at you."

"I think I deserved that." Lucine admitted. "In my blindness, I didn't realize that thou art a person, just like me... until now. Something inside my mind just... clicked together, showing me the full picture. So, it is I who must say sorry for behavior."

"Alright..." James muttered, then added louder: "So... no hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings." Lucine nodded with a smile. "Past is the past, it cannot be changed. However, it is the future we must look forward to.

"So, about that... Since I now live here with thee and there is no way back to Equestria... What should I do so I won't just be a burden?"

"Well, I won't make you do anything more than cleaning stuff after yourself. Once in a while I'll ask you for help, and you can do the same. Sounds fair?"

"Fair enough." Lucine nodded. "So... I wanted to ask thee one thing."

"What is it?"

"Why didst thou accept my apology so quickly?" Lucine asked. "Thou wast very sad and broken when I saw thee in the forest... And only an hour later, thou looked'st... happy."

"Well," James sighed. "The truth is, I don't hold a grudge against anyone for long. I just can't do that. What's the point of that when I received an honest apology? Lucine, I don't hate you and never did. I just..." he sighed again, then took a seat on his bed. "It just filled me up to a boiling point. It's been so long since I had anyone being this close to me. That is, I don't want you to just go. You're my company I haven't had in years. Someone I may even call a friend... I don't know just what to say, it's been so long since I had any kind of relationship with anyone."

"Thou... dost not want me to go?" Lucine blinked. "Doth it mean I'm welcome here?"

"I know you may think otherwise, but it is so." James nodded. "You're indeed welcome. It feels good to have someone nearby..."

"I know." Lucine nodded. "A thousand years on the moon..."

"It was certainly very hard for you." James placed his hand on her shoulder, looking into the aqua eyes of hers. "Even with the five years spent here, I cannot even begin to imagine how it was to you when you had to spend centuries after centuries completely alone and even without any chance of seeing anyone or talking to anyone..."

"Yes, that was hard." she nodded. "But bygones are bygones, right? We cannot change the past, but who said we can't change the future? We aren't alone now, we have each other."

"I guess we do." James nodded. "Indeed we do."