Luna took my hand as we left the dining room and began to lead me through the castle. We headed towards one of the towers and climbed a long circular staircase, windows letting the evening light in to the tower in long beams of deep orange light. We arrived at the top of the tower and she lead me through a door onto a balcony. It had a perfect view of the city, the whole cityscape glazed in orange by the setting sun. Luna showed me a bench that had been set up for the long nights on the tower. We sat down and leant back, watching the sun go down.
"Back on my world, we had pollution in the atmosphere. The only positive thing was it added beautiful colours to the sunsets. Pinks, reds, yellows, even greens. The plain orange of this one just helps me to love Equestria more." I said, breaking the silence.
"What caused the pollution? You never said." replied Luna, her eyes following the sun as it reached the taller rooftops.
"Industrialization. On a planet like this with unicorns and magic, I can only hope that it won't be needed. On my planet, when we wanted to travel a great distance quickly, we used cars, helicopters and aeroplanes. A human could travel over 100 kilometers in an hour. It is a massive distance in a very short time. It puts out many harmful chemicals into the air though. The burning of oils and fuels in huge amounts to produce power did the same thing. Our substitute for magic was electricity. We used it to achieve amazing feats, but those are beyond my abilities now. I am cut off from everything at home."
I stopped and felt her hand grip mine. I turned to her to see her looking at me. She had tears in her eyes. The final rays of the sun glittered on them before it dropped below the horizon. We both knew that it wasn't the time to speak. A tear slowly slid down her cheek, drawing a damp line in her fur. We both ignored it as it fell onto the bench between us. She leaned forwards into a hug. We embraced fully. I felt her wings stiffen as I caressed the bases. I felt her arms around me. Her wings loosened and I felt the shift in the air as her wings unfurled and then closed in around us, sheltering us from the eyes of the world. Slowly, she pulled away, her wings opening again, revealing her night sky.
I was about to speak when I noticed that her dress was different. It had been stunning before, but now, under the night sky, it was truly incredible. Its patterns shifted and changed. Constellations formed and broke apart for a new constellation to form in a dramatic waltz of the heaves. Suddenly, a familiar ribbon of colour wrapped itself around the dress and disappeared. Then another. Then a third. I looked to Luna's face and she laughed. My own face was shocked, my mouth hanging open. She pointed up without speaking a word. We both looked up and saw Equestria's first Aurora Borealis. There were the same familiar greens, blues, pinks from Earth, but there was also a new colour. It was one that I had never seen before. I looked towards Luna.
"Where did that colour come from?" I asked her.
"It's me." said Luna.
A bright orange ribbon floated across the sky, following the dance of the other colours. As we were watching, she reached out and took my hand again. Instantly, another colour formed up. A bright purple, dancing with the others, but with a noticeable pattern. It swirled with the unheard music of the celestial waltz, but with a partner. As we watched, it twisted itself into knots with the orange of Luna's aura. We turned to one another. I was amazed, but she looked just as shocked as I did. We drew ourselves closer, the colours above growing brighter and brighter. Our lips touched and a sixth colour joined the light show, binding our colours together.
It was a wondrous cyan, but it changed colour frequently. The next second it was yellow, then red, then green. It never halted in it's show. Ponies gathered at windows and in the streets, watching the dance. Luna and I never noticed them though. We were far too busy with one another.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was an hour later. Luna and I still sat together on the bench. The aurora had slowly faded away until it had disappeared. Luna's head was on my shoulder as we sat and looked at the stars. She was dosing off beside me, but I was still alert. Suddenly, I started to feel cold. I felt Luna start to shiver and she sat up. I removed my jacket and put it around her before standing up.
"Josh, what is it?" she asked me, standing behind me. The magic on her dress was still active, but the constellations were fainter now as if someone was draining power from the area. We stood together and she stepped forwards. I found her hand and took it in mine.
"I have a feeling that it is someone who has been looking for me for 2 days." I said.
"Who?"
ME said DEATH appearing in front of us.
"I am alive here. You may not touch me here." I said.
WHO SAYS THAT I MAY NOT? DEATH asked, a chortle in his voice.
"Am I not entitled to a game for my life?"
OH FOR FUCKS SAKE! WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO DO THAT? he said, surprising both Luna and myself.
"I only asked if I was entitled. I never said that you had to play. You could forfeit." I said, trying to console the anthropomorphic personification of death.
AND WHY WOULD I DO THAT? DEATH asked me, a huff in his voice.
"Because I would win." I said.
LOOK, I HATE CHESS, BUT I AM A VERY GOOD PLAYER AFTER ALL OF THOSE WANKERS CAME THROUGH AND CHALLENGED ME.
"Who said anything about chess?"
DEATH's cowl perked up.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO PLAY THEN?
"How about the game of love?" I asked.
WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS? A CHEAP BEE MOVIE?
"I am serious. If Luna loves me after these two days in this dimension, then I will stay. If not, you can take me wherever you want."
ARE YOU SERIOUS?
"Yes."
AND WHY THE FUCK SO YOU THINK THAT I WOULD AGREE TO THIS?
"Because you have no choice."
I DO HAVE A CHOICE.
"There is always a choice for humans. You have to follow the rules. I give you the choice to play or to concede."
I REJECT THE GAME. YOU HAVE TO PICK A NEW ONE.
"You can't do that."
WANNA BET?
"No. Okay, I have a different game."
THIS ONE BETTER NOT BE BULLSHIT.
"It's fine. I will ask you two questions. If you can answer both questions truthfully with only yes or no, you may take me wherever."
YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU CAN WIN WITH THIS?
"You can only answer with yes or no and you must answer truthfully."
I KNOW THE RULES. GO AHEAD, WHAT IS THE FIRST QUESTION?
"Is the answer to this question the same as the answer to the question "Do you concede this game?"?"
DEATH thought about it for a second.
FUCK YOU.
"Yes or no." I reminded him.
YES.
"Second question. Do you concede this game?"
I REALLY, REALLY HATE YOU RIGHT NOW.
"Why?"
BECAUSE I FOLLOWED YOU ALL THE WAY HERE ONLY FOR IT NOT TO BE NECESSARY.
"Please, finish the game and answer the second question."
YES. THIS GAME IS OVER. YOU WIN.