The next week passed in a blur for Angel. Although she didn't feel fatigue from her morning "spars" with Spot, she did suffer from an almost constant melancholy as it became more and more obvious to her just how useless she would be in an actual fight. She'd yet to land a single blow on Spot, even on days when he didn't try to hide and came at her directly. Angel was seriously doubting her ability to fight off even a single changeling once the invasion started, much less a swarm.

"And it's not like he's training me to incapacitate," Angel muttered as she walked to Ponyville after the morning's training. "I'm trying to kill him, and it's doing nothing. I'll probably do the same once the swarm arrives, and even if I manage it, the shock of my first kill will probably get me killed myself if TV Tropes is anything to go by. Never should have read the 'Bleed 'Em and Weep' examples."

"Hey! Angel!"

Angel quickly forced a smile as she looked up. "Hey, Rainbow. What's up?"

"You, in a minute." Rainbow swooped down to hover in front of Angel. "What do you say? You up for some more flight practice?"

Angel's strained smile grew into an eager grin. "You bet! So long as you don't have any work you should be doing instead."

"Eh," Rainbow waved her off, "just got to wrangle some clouds from above the Acres later this afternoon. Got to collect all the dark clouds we can for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" asked Angel. "I didn't know we had a storm scheduled. Angel Wings."

Rainbow rolled her eyes as Angel's alabaster wing grew behind her. "You really need to get out of your house more often. Nightmare Night is tomorrow! We need them for, you know, atmosphere and stuff."

Angel's jaw dropped at Rainbow's announcement. "What? That's impossible! My calendar says it's still the 25th!"

Rainbow folded her forelegs, giving Angel an unamused glare. "And how often have you remembered to change the day on it?"

Angel opened her mouth to retort, quickly closing it as she realized that she hadn't ripped off a page that morning. Or the previous morning. Or the morning before that. I'm becoming one of those weird programming recluses, aren't I? "Dang it! No way I have time to throw a costume together. I wouldn't even know where to start."

"With Rarity," Rainbow replied, rolling her eyes again. "Duh. She's the one making all of our costumes. I'm sure she'd be fine with making one for you too."

"I don't know," Angel hedged, her wings furling and unfurling. "I wouldn't want to spring something like that on her at the last minute. Do you think she'd have time?"

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Three words: twenty, percent, cooler."

"...Fair point."

The flight over to Rarity's took only fifteen minutes. Rainbow could have made it in one and Angel in five if they had rushed, but flight lessons seemed to be the one thing that Rainbow insisted on taking slow. "There are a lot of bad habits you can develop early on," she'd lectured more than once, "so we're going to practice the basics until you can fly with perfect form in your sleep." Angel might have been tempted to chafe against Rainbow's rigidity if Spot hadn't backed up the advice, reminding her that a habit of being able to use her "reset button" on a whim had left her with a less-than-healthy disregard for her own well-being. Not to mention that, since he'd forbidden her from "resetting" herself outside of their training sessions, she'd have to keep any injuries she sustained due to recklessness. She got enough bruises and strained muscles when she did things right.

The two flyers descended to Rarity's boutique, Rainbow insisting that Angel hover for half a minute while she inspected her form. Apparently satisfied, she pushed open the door and the two of them flew in. "Hey! Rarity!" Rainbow shouted, looking around. "Got another costume order for you!"

"~One moment, Darling,~" came Rarity's musical reply. She trotted out from her back room, bags under her eyes and her mane and tail a frazzled mess. Nevertheless, her eyes were clear and her wide smile was genuine. "Rainbow. Angel. So good to see you two." She raised an amused eyebrow. "Though you could give your wings a rest and stay a while."

"Don't want to interrupt you for too long," Rainbow said, waving her off. "Just came in to order a costume for Angel."

Rarity's eyes sparkled. She squealed like a filly and danced on the tips of her hooves. "Finally!" She rushed over to Angel, summoning a measuring tape from somewhere and sending it zipping around her body, jotting down a volume of notes that would make Twilight proud. "Oh, I've been meaning to get my hooves on you for days, Darling, but I've just been so busy with commissions and orders. 'Tis the season, after all. But the moment I saw you alive and well, my mind went spinning with ideas and designs for your unique form." She paused her measurements for a moment, looking Angel up and down with a critical eye. "Though I do have a few questions."

"Er, shoot," Angel said, taken aback by Rarity's fervor.

"What physical characteristics are the most sexually appealing to humans?"

Angel dropped out of the sky, Rainbow almost following suit. Angel's face was beet red, both from the fall and from Rarity's question. "Wh-wh-why the HELL would you ask something like that?!"

Rarity rolled her eyes as she circled Angel, looking her over like a piece of art she didn't quite understand. "Well, I can hardly emphasize your best features if I don't even know what they are. I can make you look interesting to ponies easily enough, but fashion is as much about what you think of yourself as what others think of you." She stopped her circling in front of Angel, looking down and into her eyes. "And so, I need to know what attributes humans, specifically you, find cute, find beautiful, and find sexy. I promise to keep this strictly professional if you do." She turned an eye to Rainbow, raising an eyebrow. "On that note..."

"Don't need to tell me twice. GottogoAngelgoodluckbye!" In a blur of color and a tinkling of the bell above the door, Rainbow was gone.

Rarity rolled her eyes. "She's tactless, but at least she realizes it. Now," she turned her attention back to Angel, her pen poised and ready to go, "tell me everything."

Angel left the Boutique an hour later, her face bearing a resemblance to a ripe tomato. Rarity had been thorough in her inquisition, wanting to know exactly why breasts were attractive and how wide human hips could get before they stopped being sexy and started being fat. It had only gotten more embarrassing when she'd begun inquiring into "human mating rituals" and how they differed from those of ponies. "Clothing, or the removal of clothing, is often a very exciting part of it all, darling. I need to know exactly how humans feel about it if I am to create the proper undergarments for you. Though I'm rather surprised that you humans are so prepared as to always be wearing them."

Angel had been very quick to clear up that humans did NOT only wear undergarments for sex purposes.

"And we didn't even get a chance to discuss costumes," Angel groaned. "With how that conversation went, I'm probably going to be way too embarrassed by whatever she creates to enjoy Nightmare Night. Speaking of which..." Angel spread her wings once again, leaping into the air and darting over to Sugarcube Corner. She hovered inside and looked around, happy to find the mare she was looking for behind the main counter. "Hey, Pinkie," she said, landing and walking over, "I've got to talk with you about something."

"Eight chocolate donuts, coming right up!" Pinkie replied, bending down and rummaging behind the counter, her pink pony posterior waving about. "So what's up?"

Angel hesitated a moment before shaking her head. Knowing my order before I even order it. Not even remotely the strangest thing she's done. "It's about Nightmare Night tomorrow. Specifically, it's about a certain guest we'll be playing host to."

Pinkie gasped. "A guest?" Her head shot up, a bag of donuts balanced art it. "Oh oh oh! Who is it?"

Angel took the bag before leaning on the counter, lowering her voice. "Don't tell anypony this," she whispered, "but Princess Luna's going to be making an appearance."

"Really?!" Pinkie whispered back, her eyes sparkling in delight. "Oh my gosh! That's so superly-duperly-awesomely amazing! How do you know?"

Angel blinked, distracted for a moment by the tiny stars that rotated in Pinkie's eyes. "Um, the TV show. She's also going to have a bit of a hard time adjusting to modern Equestria. So, if you could avoid doing anything to make things harder for her, I'm sure she'd appreciate it."

"Harder for her?" The stars disappeared and Pinkie's ears folded back against her head. "Oh no. What did I do?"

"Nothing too bad," Angel said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "At least, nothing with any ill-intent. You kept going on about Nightmare Moon eating you and the foals and running away. It was all in good fun, but Luna took it... harder than you meant it."

"Oh." Pinkie looked down, scuffing the floor with her hoof. "Yeah, I... I guess I can see how I might have gone too far with that." Her eyes narrowed, her sorrow turning instantly to determination. "But not in this world." She looked up, a grin splitting her face. "I'm going to make sure our super special guest has the best Nightmare Night in the history of Nightmare Nights! You know what this calls for?"

Angel straightened up and grinned back. "Extreme measures?"

"PINKIE PIE STYLE!!!" A pink blur vanished up the stairs, and Angel heard the distinct sound of a trapdoor being opened. "TO THE CAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaave."

"Well, she's certainly excited." Mrs Cake shook her head and chuckled as she stepped out of the kitchen to man the counter. "What's she getting her tail in a twist about this time?"

Angel shook her head, drawing her fingers across her lips. "Sorry, it's a secret." She nodded to Mrs. Cake before turning for the door. Now, let's see if I can do anything to help with the preparations. I should probably ask Twi-

"There you are, darling!" Angel paled as she spotted Rarity trotting towards her, several sheaves of notes held aloft in her magic. "I needed your opinion on some costume ideas I sketched out." She separated one sheet out and levitated it over to Angel. "What do you think?"

Angel examined the sketch for less than a second before blood rushed back to her face, accompanied by about a pint more than normal. She ripped the sheet from Rarity's magic, quickly folding it in half and stuffing it in her pocket. "Let's take this conversation back to your boutique!" Angel said, a strained smile painted on her face. Where I can explain to you a silly little human concept called MODESTY!!!

...all those questions about sexual appeal, and this is what she settles on?

Angel stood on the stage of Carousel Boutique, admiring her costume from all different angles. Rarity had decided to dress her, rather appropriately, as an angel. A flowing white dress with intricate designs woven in gold throughout fell from her shoulders, the arms stopping shortly above her wrists and the hem just above her ankles. Her feet were bare, Rarity having borrowed Twilight to cast a spell that would make the soles of her feet tougher than normal. Angel's hair was intricately braided, the golden halo above her head suspended by magic. With the addition of her own wings, Angel looked ready to sing the coming of the Lord.

"Well, I have to admit it Rarity," Angel said, jumping into a hover and watching as the dress stayed relatively unruffled, "you really know how to make a costume. But why in the world did you have to know all of that sex stuff if you were going to make the most modest costume possible?"

Rarity chuckled and rolled her slightly glazed-over eyes, swaying slightly on her hooves as she did so. "So I could know what to avoid, naturally, while still drawing appropriate attention to inspiring beauty."

"Huh." Angel landed and cocked her head to the side. "That... actually makes a lot of sense." She shrugged and turned towards the door. "You sure you want to sit this out? The festival looks amazing, and I heard that there was going to be a member of royalty there."

Rarity instantly stiffened, her eye twitching dangerously. "Darling, while I appreciate the offer, I am currently running on three hours of sleep and ten gallons of coffee covering the last five days. I have no outfit prepared for myself, and I'm honestly not sure when the last time I showered was. When I awaken sometime tomorrow evening, I am certain that I will be utterly disgusted with myself. Tell me darling, do you really think that tonight is the best night for me to be meeting with royalty?"

Angel winced. "Good point. Well, sleep well, I guess."

"Thank you, dear. Now go and enjoy yourself." With a few shooing motions, Rarity had Angel out the door.

"Aw, Rarity isn't coming either?"

Angel turned to see Pinkie frowning at Carousel Boutique and dressed in a turkey costume.

"Guess not," Angel replied, raising an eyebrow at Pinkie's costume. "I thought you were going as a chicken this year?"

Pinkie rolled her eyes and started pronking down the street towards town square, Angel following by her side. "Well I was, but then I realized that you probably already knew that and would be expecting it. So I asked Rarity to change it slightly."

Angel nodded along. "Makes sense, I guess. I mean, as much as you ever make sense. So, Fluttershy's holed up in her house too?"

Pinkie pouted as she pronked along. "Mm-hm. She's scared of Nightmare Night."

"Shocker," Angel deadpanned. "I'll go and talk with her, give her a friendly face at least before I head to the main party."

"Oki doki loki!" Pinkie chirped, once more her chipper self. "Just remember to be back in time for our special guest to arrive. It'll be the first time one of the princesses has met you, and you don't want to leave a horrible impression of your entire species and doom every other Displaced who visits to ostracization and witch-hunts!"

Angel raised a disturbed eyebrow at Pinkie. "...yeeeah. That'd be bad. No pressure though, right?"

Angel could have sworn she'd slipped into the Equestrian Wasteland as she approached Fluttershy's cottage. The windows were boarded up inexpertly, the yard was deserted, and the entire place had a frightened, dangerous air.

"If I didn't know any better," Angel muttered as she approached, "I'd say she was specifically trying for a haunted house motif." She approached the door and knocked softly. "Fluttershy?" she called. "It's Angel. I just wanted to check up on you."

Silence was her only answer for a few minutes until, slowly, the door opened just a crack. A single blue eye, alight with fear peaked out. "A-Angel?" Fluttershy opened the door a little more, starting out at Angel with wonder. "Oh, wow. Your costume is beautiful!"

Angel shrugged and knelt down to be at Fluttershy's eye-level. "Yeah, Rarity really went all-out on it. I usually go for scary costumes myself, but I guess this choice was fitting considering my name."

Fluttershy giggled and nodded. "I think it suits you. Although, I'm kind of surprised; I didn't know you were a Faustian."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "A what?"

"A Faustian," the pony next to her explained, "is a follower of Faust, the first Goddess of Ponykind and Queen of Elysium, which is guarded by white-robed, winged figures known as 'angels' or 'cherubim.'"

Fluttershy nodded along. "I was surprised you would choose a pony religious figure for your costume."

"Huh." Angel folded her arms and started up into the starry night. "I actually didn't know anything about pony religion, or even that you had one. Angels feature in some human religions, too. I... didn't really think about it when I saw the costume." Realisation struck and Angel's attention snapped back to Fluttershy. "Oh damn! It's not offensive, right? Me wearing something like this just as a costume?"

Fluttershy giggled and shook her head. "No no, you're fine as long as you don't try to imitate Queen Faust; some ponies get a little... touchy about that. But it's very sweet of you to be so worried about our feelings."

Angel let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. A lot of people back home get offended really-"

"Hey! Someone's over at Fluttershy's house!"

"Maybe she's giving out candy this year!"

"Eep!" With a startled squeek, Fluttershy slammed the door. Angel sighted and shot a glare back at the two foals who were now smiling sheepishly.

"Well, happy Nightmare Night, Fluttershy," Angel called as she stood and began walking away.

The pony bowed once towards the door before following. "'Twould seem that she is easily frightened."

Angel shrugged. "Well, her name isn't for nothing, you know. I'm surprised she even opened the door as much as she did."

"From what we have heard, you have been making a marked effort to befriend Dame Fluttershy ere your arrival in our world." The pony shrugged. "'Tis natural that she would reciprocate your efforts with openness."

"Yeah, I guess so," Angel replied. "You know, you have an interesting way of speaking. Reminds me of Luna from Season 2."

"Is that so?"

And suddenly, Angel's eyes were open. She turned with a start, staring at the dark alicorn who trotted beside her. "Wha- but- how-"

Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria and Guardian of the Night chuckled at Angel's surprise. "'Tis a useful spell," she said, continuing to walk casually by Angel's side. "We could cast it upon an ursa minor and, so long as it did naught to intentionally draw attention, it would evade all notice. Oh, if pressed, ponies would say that they remembered something large moving through town, but they would not care to recall more."

"I-I see," Angel stammered, fidgeting nervously. "Um, so, am I supposed to bow, or..."

Luna hummed contemplatively, looking Angel up and down, her eyes lingering on her wings. "Of a truth, I am uncertain. A certain amount of supplication and subservience is expected of our little ponies and other Equestrian citizens, whilst foreigners are usually expected to simply show due respect by whatever standard is held in their lands. But you are a unique case. You are both from a foreign land and yet 'native' to Equestria, this being thy nation of origin in this world. Truly, 'tis an interesting puzzle." She stopped and smiled kindly at Angel. "Address us in whatever way is comfortable to you."

Angel let out a relieved breath. "Okay then. Let's start over." She smiled and held out her hand. "Angel Johnson. Nice to meet you, Princess."

"Ah, a minotaur custom. We should have guessed." Luna placed her hoof in Angel's hand and shook it. "The pleasure is ours, Miss Johnson." Luna's smile twitched into a smirk. "Or would 'Spirit of Sweet Apple Acres' be preferable?"

Angel released Luna's hoof and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "You, um, heard about that, huh?"

Luna chuckled and resumed walking, Angel following at her side. "Our sister shares Twilight Sparkle's letters with us, and there is little of her life here in Ponyville that she does not speak of. You in particular have been the sole subject of several of her letters."

Angel blushed and looked down, smiling bashfully. "I, um, wasn't aware that there was that much to say about me. Although I am kind of surprised that this is the first time I've met with either you or your sister; I half expected to be summoned to Canterlot in my first week."

Something flashed across Luna's face, but it was gone before Angel could identify it. "We decided that Twilight Sparkle would provide sufficient welcome. Still, we could not restrain our curiosity when we heard of your encounter with Discord." She scowled and spat to the side. "A pox be upon him. In any case, we were impressed; not many are they who can match wits with the Lord of Chaos. We are curious as to how you managed it."

Angel hesitated. The fewer people knew about the future the better. Then again, this was one of the princesses, and the less mischievous one at that. And Celestia was apparently known to receive periodic visions if the season four finale was anything to go by.

"Has Twilight told you and Cel- Princess Celestia anything about my laptop?" she asked.

Luna frowned. "Your pornography device?"

"IT'S NOT A-" Angel groaned, cutting herself off. "You know what? Forget it." The internet is half used for porn anyway. "My laptop is able to access a vast information library containing the sum of all human knowledge and entertainment at the time of my displacement. One piece of entertainment I used to enjoy was titled 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.' I know it sounds-"

"Ah yes," Luna muttered, rubbing her chin in thought. "We should have guessed. Starswirl's Theory on the Origin of Stories." Seeing the confusion on Angel's face, she elaborated. "Starswirl the Bearded dabbled in inter-dimensional travel and theory. He theorized that every story ever imagined is naught but the echos of events which have occurred or will occur on other planes of existence. It does not o'erly surprise us that the events of our world have echoed to yours."

"Um, right," Angel said. "Anyway, that sh- story covers the events surrounding Twilight discovering the Elements of Harmony and goes from there. It's mostly slice-of-life stuff, but there are occasionally villains and monsters that they have to face."

"I see." Luna frowned. "If that is the case, then why did you not warn Twilight Sparkle of Discord's impending escape?"

Angel rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah, that's my bad. I'm... hesitant to tell others about the future too much; I've read way too many stories about how that can screw everything up to not be worried about it. Besides, I wasn't sure about the timing. My Little Pony's timeline isn't lining up exactly with this Equestria's. If I'd known he was so close to getting loose, I definitely would have asked Twilight to warn you."

Luna nodded. "Well, we thank you for that. And the future can be tricky to deal with. However, I do not believe there will be o'erly much harm in revealing upcoming major events." She smirked. "Especially if you plan to intervene with them anyway."

Angel blushed and looked down. "I mean, how can I not? If I know something dangerous is going to go down, I have to do something about it, right?"

Luna smiled. "You have a good heart, Angel Johnson. Many would simply tell us of the danger and hide away until it was over. I believe Equestria will find a good friend in you in the years to come."

Angel was doing a good impression of a tomato at this point. "W-well, I guess I should tell you about the next threat then." She took a breath and met Luna's eye. "There's a changeling invasion coming. They'll attack Canterlot during Shining Armor and Cadence's wedding."

Luna's eyes went wide before narrowing in anger. "We see," she hissed. "We suppose Queen Chrysalis herself will be leading the charge?"

Angel nodded. "She's going to replace Cadence and hide her in the caves beneath Canterlot. Shining will put up a shield when they hear rumors about an upcoming threat, but with Chrysalis draining him, it'll fall to the swarm quickly." She glared at the ground. "And I've recently learned that all of that might be different in this Equestria. Spot insists that-" Angel slapped a hand over her mouth, but too late.

"Spot?" Luna frowned. "Who is Spot?" Her eyebrows furrowed in suspicion. "And why do you act as if you would rather we did not know?"

Angel mentally cursed herself out as she slowly lowered her hand. "O-okay," she stammered, sweating nervously. "Don't freak out, but... I might know a changeling who's living in Ponyville."

Luna tilted her head curiously to the side. "Why would that cause us to, ah, 'freak out?' There are many changeling living in disguise throughout Equestria."

Angel's eyes went wide. "There are?"

"But of course," Luna answered. "How else are they to survive? They exist in every city, siphoning of as much ambient love from their surroundings as they can without risking discovery or the illness of their prey. There is even a registry in our- er, in the old castle. We assume it has since been moved to Canterlot."

Angel frowned. That... doesn't sound like what Spot described. "Well, in any case, Spot has been living with me as my dog almost since I arrived in Equestria. He doesn't really want anyone else to know about him, so..."

Luna smiled and held up her hoof. "Worry not. We shan't speak a word of it. Though we would like the opportunity to interview this Spot if he would be amicable toward meeting with me."

"I'll ask him," Angel hedged, "but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. Considering he refers to your sister as 'the Tyrant,' I think it'll take me a while to warm him up to the idea."

"Indeed?" Luna's expression turned thoughtful as she turned her gaze towards Canterlot. "That is... troubling. It is true that our sister can be a touch..." She shook her head. "Never mind. I'm sure that even the Goddess of Protection wouldn't go that far."

"Who?"

Luna raised an eyebrow at Angel. "Our sister. The Goddess of Protection and the Sun. Minor Goddess of Ponies and Motherhood. Do your stories not cover this?"

Angel slowly shook her head, her jaw hanging open. "N-no. Not at all. I mean, the fans speculated, but everyone always said you and the others were just really powerful. Very few people thought you were actual, capital-G Goddesses."

"Truly?" Luna chuckled. "We shall have to read this story sometime to see what else they missed. Incidentally, who is the Goddess of Humans?"

"..."

"Angel?"

Angel stared out into the distance. Her panicked mind ran feverishly, trying vainly to figure out how to explain the vast, complex, and often contradictory mess that was humanity's various religions. Eventually, she settled on the only sure answer she could give.

"I don't know."

Luna's eyes widened. "Pardon?"

"I don't know," Angel repeated. "The God of Humanity doesn't live among us like you do here in Equestria. Or, if He does, He doesn't let Himself be discovered by many people. In my world, we're told that we 'walk by faith' instead of by sight. Heck, lots of people don't even believe in God."

Luna was silent for several minutes, starting at the stars as she tried to comprehend such a system. "...and," she finally ventured cautiously, "where does your faith lie?"

My mom was a devout Mormon, my dad was nondenominational, and I was a somewhere in between. Angel sighed. "That's difficult to explain, even to another human who knows about our religions. Suffice to say, I believe that God created the world and everything on it, that He is the Father of our spirits, and that good people go to Heaven when they die. Beyond that..." She shrugged.

Luna bit her lip, seemingly troubled. "Created your world, you say? Does your doctrine include anything speaking of other worlds?'

"Not really," Angel answered. "Maybe the Scientologists believe something about that, but people almost universally believe that they're all crazy." Angel frowned. Luna was looking really troubled now. "Why the sudden interest?"

Luna was silent for a long, uncomfortable minute. "You have a form of supplication, do you not?"

The question surprised Angel and did nothing to remove the suspicious scowl from her face. "You mean like worship? Or prayer?"

"The latter," Luna said. "When is the last time you prayed?"

Angel considered that for a moment, looking away as the answer came to her. "Not since before I came here," she begrudgingly admitted. "Been busy. What're you getting at, anyway?"

Luna again took far too long to answer. "We would suggest that you try. Tonight, if possible. We..." She sighed and turned towards town. "We have tarried here too long. We must hie to Ponyville ere our guard begins to wonder at our absence. We shall see you... see thee at the party."

With a flash of her horn, the Goddess of the Night vanished, leaving Angel standing alone on the road to Ponyville.

"Seriously, what was that about?" Angel kicked a rock down the street as she made her way towards town. "One minute we're getting along fine, and the next she's grilling me about my religion? Ugh. It's Mom's missionaries all over again." She sighed, her eyes going to a nearby field, a familiar hut sitting in the middle with a massive cloud mansion floating above it. Angel rolled her eyes before turning and walking home. "Spot's out enjoying the party in disguise anyway," she muttered. "Never been comfortable praying in front of people. Might as well take the chance now. Then I can go to the party and tell Luna that everything's hunky dory."

She pondered what she would say as she approached the cabin. Nothing rote; she didn't think there was a prayer for "stuck in another universe." Nothing too grand or complex either. She'd always felt that she enjoyed a close, almost familiar relationship with God.

"Screw it," she said, walking in and locking the door behind her. "I'll just pray like I usually do. No need for anything special. It's just a normal prayer, after all." She walked over to her bed and knelt down. Placing her hands on the blanket before her, she closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Dear Heavenly Father..."

...

...

...something was off.

Angel furrowed her brow and started again. "Dear God in Heaven..."

...that wasn't right either. Angel shook her head vigorously before screwing her eyes shut tight. Fine! Something more formal, then. "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy... thy..."

Angel's eyes flew open, wide and panicked. She clenched her hands together. Her face paled as sweat began to bead on her forehead.

"D-d-dear Father in...

"G-g-great Allah...

"L-l-lord Yahweh..."

She tried again. And again. And again. Every form. Every name. Every way she'd ever heard of to call upon divinity. Everything that had worked before. Everything that had let her feel a connection to the being beyond. To feel that her prayers, her cries into the night, were being heard.

She felt nothing.

"E-e-eloi," Angel whimpered, tears running down her face. "E-eloi."

She screwed up her eyes and tilted her head back, shouting into the empty heavens. "LAMA SABACHTHANI!!!"

She fell forward, sobbing into her arms, her whole body trembling. The stolen child wept long into the night, and, for the first time in history, one of Eve's daughters was completely and utterly alone.

Author's Notes:

Mark 15:34 (KJV) "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Just a reminder that this story carries the "DARK" tag.

P.S. Please reserve all angry religious/atheistic rants for PM's and leave the comment section clear for people who have something constructive to say. Bear in mind that, as the author, I get to make the rules for how God works in my story. Thank you.