The Stallion Who Can Never Die

The bustling noises of the city outside were barely heard as Harness stared at the long grey overcoat spread out over his bed. It was easily twice his size and still there was no way for him to effectively wear it. Yet he knew, deep down, he wore it all the time in the past. How? How did he do it? The more he stared at the coat, the more confused he got, and the more confused, the more frustrated he became. He sighed, before looking down at his hoof and the brown object strapped around his leg. Yet another mystery on top of everything.

"Why did I even put you on?" He muttered. It didn't even look that good on his coat. But, deep down, something told him it was needed. Flopping onto his bed on top of the coat, the silver Pegasus looked up at the ceiling. He was so close, he could feel it. It was like only a thin veil stood between him and his memories, and he could almost see the shapes moving behind it, as well as hear what lay behind. It almost seemed like... screams... pain... passion... fear... sorrow... and loss, so much loss, and it was all his fault...

A series of knocks caused Harness' eyes to pop open. When had he drifted off? How long was he asleep? Wait, he had slept!? His gaze drew to where the knocking originated, his hotel door. With a small grumble, Harness pushed himself off the bed and made his way over to the door. Opening it up, he found a young Unicorn stallion wearing the hotel's uniform, levitating a small dark envelope.

"This is from Princess Luna." The Unicorn said, eyeing the envelope like he couldn't believe it was there. "She said it was to be given to you at this time."

Floating the note over, Harness took it with his teeth, mumbling his thanks through it. The Unicorn nodded before walking down the hall, Harness closing the door and placing the envelope in his hoof. A dark blue seal with a crescent moon symbol emblazoned on it, sealing the letter inside. With a flick of his hoof, the stallion ripped the envelope open and pulled the letter out. Harness' grey eyes scanned the contents of the letter, fancy hoofwriting was carefully drawn into the paper, creating a short message.

Harness,

Meet me on the highest cloud above the city at sunset, there is something I want to show you.

-Luna

The silver Pegasus stared at the note for a moment, wondering what Luna had in store for him. Ah well, so much for her meeting me here. Placing the note down on a nearby table, Harness turned towards the bathroom and examined himself in the mirror. Despite how little sleep he had gotten, he looked quite good, his mane needed a brush, but that was it. He raised his left foreleg and sniffed the underside of it, and was surprised to find that it smelled... pretty good. And he showered only once since waking up in that hospital. Deciding not to dwell on yet another strange fact about him and just simply count his blessings, Harness grabbed hold of a nearby brush and set to work on his mane. Later, he would take a shower anyways, can't be too careful.

When the sun began setting, Harness jumped out of the hotel window and flew straight into the air, glancing around for any sign of the dark Alicorn. It wasn't long before he spotted a small cloud significantly higher then the rest, and he could make out the Princess' dark blue outline on top of it. As he got closer, he could see the small smile on her lips at his approach. Grinning in return, Harness spread his wings out as he neared the cloud, before raising his upper body to slow himself down (and show himself off to the Princess). Landing roughly on the cloud, he was surprised at how firm the cloud was, as evidenced by his sore hooves. He long since knew that Pegasi could stand on and manipulate clouds, but had imagined them to be more fragile, more easy to give, but the cloud held strong as if it was solid stone.

"Good evening, Harness." Luna greeted, her smile and eyes remained trained on him. "You're just in time."

Twisting his hooves to help shrug off the pain, Harness grinned at Luna. "Good day to you too, Luna, what have you got in store for me?"

Luna's answer was a gesture with her head toward the sunset. Following her gaze, Harness stared in silent admiration at the sight. The horizon ahead of him practically glowed a bright orange, the clouds taking a similar shade. Far ahead, Harness could swear he could make out a single distant mountain, perhaps it was the mountain that held the capital, where Celestia was slowly setting her sun. It was a pretty sight, but nothing compared to the reason he was here, slowly, his gaze shifted over to Luna, who continued looking at the sunset.

Despite the light of the sun shining on her, Luna seemed to be almost glowing in her own light, a softer, more subtle light then the overpowering and blinding light of the sun. Her blue, starry-filled mane continued to slowly wave in an intangible breeze.

"You look absolutely Beautiful, your highness." He said, almost in a sigh.

Luna chuckled quietly and smiled as her horn began glowing. "You haven't seen anything yet, Harness."

Slowly, with precision, Luna's wings unfurled themselves as she slowly lifted herself from the cloud, her horn's aura brightening in intensity. Harness glanced back at the sunset, and sucked in a breath as admiration turned into awe. The sun was halfway past the horizon, but next to it rose a near-full moon. The silver, friendly light did not clash with the bright, intense orange light of the sun, but almost seemed to greet each other as the sky behind them turned from orange to a dark purple. Before he realized it, the sun vanished beneath the horizon and the moon rose higher and higher to take its place. As it did, the stars followed in its wake, covering the dark blue sky with tiny white lights. But there were more subtle, yet equally amazing, changes to the sky that Harness witnessed.

High above, beyond any distance a Pegasus could hope to reach, Harness could make out distant, luminescent clouds among the stars, which seemed to make them dance in the sky, but it was the moon that shined brightest of all, bathing all of Equestia in its silver light. Harness had seen the night sky before and the stars, but never so many, with such clarity, and never with such a sudden change. He wasn't the only one to notice this change. All across Equestria, ponies stared up at the night sky in awe at the intense beauty. Many stopped in their tracks, briefly forgetting where they were going or what they doing, parents let their children stay up to watch the sky with them and many other left their homes to get a better look.

In Canterlot, the Royal guards murmured to each other at the mesmerizing changes done. Even Princess Celestia, who had sensed the change in atmosphere and went out to the balcony to see what had caused it, was taken aback by the stunning sights, before a proud smile adorned her face and decided that, perhaps, she'd sleep out on the balcony tonight.

I don't know what caused this, sister, she thought as she gathered a pillow and blanket. But I'm sure I'll hear all about it when you eventually return.

Harness continued staring, slowly turning in an effort to take it all in, before he suddenly faced Luna, who slowly descended back onto the cloud and, instantly, all the beauty in the night sky paled in his eyes as he saw the Night Alicorn who shined under the moon's light. Her mane practically glowed as it waved much more quickly then he had ever seen it move before. Harness was speechless as he stared, starstruck at the beautiful mare, wings folding back into place as she opened her ey- Good god her eyes! Pools of infinitely deep blue, with such care and love in them, leaving Harness profoundly stunned. She was right, he hadn't seen anything.

"W-wow..." He miraculously managed to say. His head quickly darted to himself as he looked his body over, feeling so damn pathetic next to her. He knew he was attractive, but next to Luna... Words could not describe the disparity between them.

"I-I-uh..." he stammered out desperately, feeling the urge to explain himself, before he took a deep breath and straightened his thoughts. "Did you..." He glanced up at the sky. "...do all this for me?"

"Partly that," Luna answered. "But mostly as my own way of celebrating."

"Celebrating what?" Harness looked up at Luna as she stepped closer to him, her eyes and loving smile directed at him. "Because, since my return, I've found somepony who I feel I can completely, and utterly, trust. Not just with my physical being, but with literally everything about me. Somepony who, when I'm in the presence of, I feel..." She paused as she struggled to find the right words to convey her meaning. "...At peace, like 'all is well'. I'm celebrating because maybe..."

She walked to his side and, extending one of her wings slightly, brushed her wing against his, sending chills down each other's wings and backs as individual silver and blue feathers brushed and mingled with each other. Though Harness didn't know much about Pegasi body language, he felt that this was a sign of deep affection shared only to a few. "...just maybe..." Luna continued, her voice a whisper as the two stared into each other's eyes. "...I may have found somepony to love."

There was silence as the two stared at each other, mesmerized by one another, before Harness blinked and looked away, shocked at what was happening. She's serious... my god, she's serious! "W-why me?" He muttered. "I mean, don't get me wrong, this is great, but, why me? I'm just an amnesiac Pegasus."

"You are far more then just that, Harness." Luna replied. "You have an acceptance for all things that I find endearing, you have kindness in you that wants to see good happen to all, and you bear within you a certain strength that seems to call to those around you. A strength that pulls you and others around you through the worst, as well as inspire those to perform great feats. It is the strength of a leader, a father, and a protector. Traits I admire and respect."

Harness blinked, trying to comprehend it all. "I-wow... You know, for someone who usually has you on the ropes with just words, you kinda have me in a corner here."

Luna chuckled, before draping her wing over him and guiding the stallion to sit down with her. Following without question, Harness folded his legs inward and sat down next to the Princess, feeling her fur on his. The two ponies sat there admiring the starry sky, how long, Harness didn't know, minutes? Hours? Who knew and who cared? Eventually a question came to Harness' mind.

"So," he began. "Is this what we're gonna be seeing every night from here on out?"

"Well..." Luna said as she looked up at the moon. "Although I try to make the nights as beautiful as I could before, honestly I must say even I am surprised by how well I pulled this off. I guess all I needed was an emotional boost." She smiled before continuing. "Perhaps I'll save this for very special occasions, after all, a sight like this shouldn't be ignored."

They were silent again before Luna's smile faded slightly. "Harness? This night, what I said, is it... too much? For you, I mean?"

The silver Pegasus blinked in surprise. "Wha? No no! Well, maybe a little- I mean - No! It's just-" He stopped, took a deep breath, then continued. "I just wasn't expecting this..."

"What were you expecting?" She asked with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, I never thought I'd actually be on a date with the Princess of the Moon only days after meeting her."

Luna chuckled. "For all your bold words and your silver tongue, you're quite insecure about yourself, huh?"

Harness chuckled in return and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh heh, I guess I am. Still, it's hard to believe that I'm here, with a mare so vastly beautiful and powerful, and wise." He paused as an odd, yet amusing, thought came to him. "And... so much older then I am, even if you don't count the years in the moon."

"Look at me." Obeying without question, he turned and saw her deep blue eyes looking at him again. Beneath them, he saw centuries of experience, centuries of living, and the lessons that came with living.

"When I see your eyes Harness, I see a Stallion who is just as old as I am." She leaned in close to his face, so close they were only inches apart, and slowly getting closer. "If not older." Slowly shutting her eyes, Luna pressed her lips against Harness', the stallion's eyes instantly closing shut as his body moved of its own accord. The kiss wasn't like the one in the bar (Harness couldn't even remember the stallion's name), which was just simply lust, Harness could tell the kiss was deeper, far deeper then that. There was genuine feeling behind it. Maybe... He thought as they pulled away, once again looking in each other's eyes. Maybe this could work.

The two were silent as they admired the sky once again, though now affectionately nuzzling each other and ruffling their wings, causing their feathers to brush against one another. They sat there, neither wanting the moment to end. But Luna's mental clock was ticking the time away before the sun would rise again. Though it was still a few hours before it was time to set the moon, Luna, almost painfully so, stood up, separating herself from the Pegasus, who frowned and stood up too.

"I guess we're parting ways, now?" He said, not bothering to hide the sadness in his tone.

Luna opened her mouth to agree, when it came to her, she felt herself blushing as she closed her mouth and looked away from Harness. "Well... Perhaps, Harness, but... if you wanted to, you could come with me..."

Harness blinked, fully understanding what she was implying. "Y-you want me to..." He stopped when Luna nodded, then turned, walking to the edge of the cloud and unfurling her wings, before turning her head to Harness, looking at him expectantly.

Harness unfurled his wings in response and the two jumped off the cloud together, flying side by side towards the Golden Wing hotel. As they approached the top floor, Luna used her magic to unlatch the windows, as well as guide the silver Pegasus in without hurting himself. Harness didn't get much of a look of the large fancy room before Luna closed the window and blinds, causing the room to be pitch black. The stallion couldn't see a thing as he took a tentative step forward, his ears swiveled about as he heard hoofsteps around him, he could hear her pass in front of him, before feeling what he guessed was her ethereal tail moving against his chin. It felt almost like cool water, only rather then splashing against him, it simply moved with him, leaving no wet spot behind.

His eyes immediately fixated on her horn as it glowed suddenly, lighting only her head and the immediate space around it. Her eyes were closed as she took hold of her shoes, slipping out of them one by one before telekinectically grabbing her chest regalia and unclipping it from her, gently placing it on the floor. Mesmerized, Harness only vaguely realized she was making her way to a large bed as she levitated her dark, simple crown off of her head and placed on the small bedside table. As she slowly stepped onto the bed, Harness slowly followed, unclipping the brown strap around his leg while doing so and tossing it carelessly on the same table. He then stepped onto the bed and approached the Alicorn, lying on her side and eyeing him anxiously. Gently, he unfurled his wings and gingerly moved them along hers. Immediately, her wings opened up and, feeling more confident, Harness moved to kiss her.

Not holding back, both quickly had their chests against each other, hooves gently caressing their coats as their wings embraced each other.