//------------------------------// // The Stranger // Story: The Many Lives of a Dead Moth // by BCS //------------------------------// Starlight Glimmer stopped dead in the middle of the cobbled pathway, staring in front of her blankly. It looked like a dead pony had collapsed in front of her. His pale mint coat was matted and he was covered in blood. His chest rose and fell shallowly. She galloped over and bent down to inspect him. His eyes were wide and unseeing, gazing up into a stormy purple sky. As if on cue, thunder rolled and lightning flashed. The sky was heavy and for a moment, she was unsure if her sight was going dim or if she was seeing things. It was like she had been here before, or something. Shaking her head, she shook off her de ja vu and took a step forward. Rain began pouring down. Starlight’s horn lit up and she levitated the injured pony into the air, cradling him gently with magic. He still seemed to be in shock. Nothing happened as she moved him. He was limp, like a ragdoll. There was no reaction and no life to him. “Mister pony? Are you okay?” She poked him with her hoof. Nothing. After a couple of seconds, the strange pony coughed and blinked and shook his head violently. The pink stripe in his hair seemed to brighten for a few seconds. He touched all over his face while held in her cocoon of energy. “Who… who are you?” “You’re okay!” Starlight yelped in glee. “You’re alive!” “I’m alive?” he repeated. “My name is Alive? Who ARE you?” “I’m Glimmer and no, your name isn’t alive, silly!” She put the pony down. He stared in confusion at his body, at the bruises and the injuries. The pony began touching himself all over, as if to confirm he still existed. His eyes clouded up with pain and confusion and his dark purple blows knitted together tightly. “Where am I?” “You’re near Canterlot!” she answered. “Who am I?” he asked. “Oh, boy,” Glimmer said, swallowing and taken a deep breath. “Well, I don’t know. And we’re about to go see my gi- good friend Trixie.” * * * Trixie squinted her eyes, walking around their new friend. He stood rooted to the spot like his hooves weighed a thousand pounds and he was afraid to lift them. “He’s quite injured,” she said. “Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Starlight retorted dryly. She brushed her violet mane with Trixie’s hairbrush. The three of them barely fit inside Trixie’s tight quarters of her stagecoach wagon, but they were making it work. Starlight Glimmer’s body was jammed up tightly against Trixie’s. She was trying to ignore the feelings this was giving her. She had someone to take care of, after all! A real head case, so to speak. Pun intended. Tentatively, she tried using a mind-reading spell. Startled, she found that it reflected itself back at her and she was reading her own thoughts of how to use magic. She canceled the spell and shook her head back and forth, wondering what the hell just happened. “Well, that’s weird,” she said outloud. “What is?” Trixie snapped. “Oh, nothing. I’ll tell you later… when our guest isn’t here.” “Your guest?” he asked, tilting his head. “I’m a guest here? I thought I was just a stranger, you said.” “You are a stranger, but you are also a guest.” “Hmm. And you called me a friend. But are we friends?” “We could be...” Starlight Glimmer demurred, not wanting to open that can of worms just yet. “We need to give him a name,” Trixie said. “We can’t just keep calling him vague things.” Everyone stood around, stumped. The rain drumming on the cloth roof sounded deafening with no one speaking. In the silence, the mint pony with purple hair began to cry. He was suddenly crushed in a hug between the two other ponies, squeezing him tightly. “Poor thing.” “Oh no! Are you alright? What’s wrong?” He stammered through tears as they streamed down his face and he cried helplessly. “I have no name! I have no past! I don’t know anything about myself, who you are, and no one can even give me a name.” “We can name you!” Starlight Glimmer said, the words spilling out and talking over Trixie, who yelled out, “Mystery!” He stopped, sniffling. His eyes looked into her lavender ones. She looked back into his glittering red eyes. His eyes were shiny and swam with tears still, glistening like ruby orbs. “I’m … a mystery?” “That’s right! Just like a ghost!” Trixie said. “Yeah, cryptic! A cipher! A riddle!” “Cryptic. I like that better. Can you call me Cryptic?” “Sure thing, Cryptic.” A smile snuck up on his face unexpectedly. Starlight Glimmer and Trixie hugged him tightly again. Starlight used her hoof to brush away the hurt pony’s tears. “No more crying, okay? We’re all friends here.” “Friends,” he said distantly. For a moment, his eyes seemed to flash. She thought maybe it was just her imagination though… Trixie got the hairbrush and began brushing his tangled mane again. His hair was short and styled in a sidecut but it looked like it would be really pretty once it was properly washed. Glimmer just admired her girlfriend’s work silently. Trixie, the pre-eminent show mare (Great and Powerful!) had excellent hair-care abilities and the power to make a flawed gem shine brightly. Speaking of which… “What does your cutie mark mean, Cryptic?” “Huh? What’s a cutie mark?” “Ho, boy.” A short explanation followed. “So it’s a mark that symbolizes your inner personality or specialty or skill?” “Yes,” Starlight agreed. “Maybe he’s a heartbreaker,” Trixie offered. “Can you be skilled at having your heart broken?” Starlight wondered. “I mean… I would know. Sunburst and all that.” Trixie looked pained. “Please. I don’t want to talk about Sunburst and Twilight right now. What he did to you was so awful.” Trixie levitated a can of mousse over to Cryptic and depressed the pump to dispense some into his mane and tail. He had his eyes closed, obviously listening intently. “I really can’t get over it just like that, Trixie.” “Can you go for, like, an hour without saying Sunburst’s name? That’s all I’m asking. Don’t even give him the time of day. That’s why you have me.” “I’m sorry, Trixie.” “You should be. I’m twice the stallion he’ll ever be.” Starlight laughed as Trixie brushed the mousse over Cryptic’s hair and brushed it through. “That’s true!” Cryptic took a deep breath. “Who are Twilight and Sunburst?” “An asshole and a bitch,” Trixie replied, without missing a beat. “The Princess of Friendship and the… stallion I loved once.” Starlight Glimmer’s voice was soft and wasted, as if it was a sunray about to disappear behind a cloud. “Don’t kid yourself,” Trixie sneered. “You’re still deeply in love with him.” “I know that,” Starlight Glimmer said. She picked up some conditioner in her hooves and squeezed some out onto the frog of her hoof. She approached Cryptic slowly, hoof held in front of her. “Don’t you think I know that? But even if I didn’t say it, I’d still have felt it, so where’s the sense in that?” “There’s no sense in cheaters, not when he didn’t follow your instructions. Extracurricular romances are obviously against the rules.” Starlight Glimmer sighed heavily. “It’s complicated, okay?” “Whatever you say. I just think you’re fooling yourself. It’s never going to go anywhere. He used you because it was convenient for him then upgraded himself to a better model. That’s what he did. I won’t sugarcoat it for you, love.” Starlight Glimmer’s eyes started to get wet as she petted the conditioner into Cryptic’s now-silky hair. “Sorry,” Trixie Lulamoon said lamely. “Um,” Cryptic offered. “I don’t know any of these people but that Sunburst sounds like a real creep.” “Oh, he is,” Trixie said happily. “Toxic as fuck. Can’t trust him further than you can throw him.” “Hey!” Starlight complained. “Sorry, babe, but it’s true. You have bad taste in men! Why, you could date Cryptic here and it would be a better match!” Cryptic and Starlight Glimmer both looked at each other in surprise and blushed bright red. (To be continued...)