//------------------------------//
// Under the Stars 
// Story: The Many Lives of a Dead Moth 
// by BCS 
//------------------------------//

So, after another day and then an adventurous night in the stage coach, Cryptic learned the joys of pitching a tent in your own backyard, so to speak. They had placed him on the floor, but it was too cramped and his back hurt. Then they experimented with a few different positions before arriving on a solution.

Starlight Glimmer said that the stagecoach was too cramped for more than one occupant and Trixie got out a tacky purple tent covered with stars. Cryptic was unimpressed by the look of it but once he got inside and in his sleeping bag and his new friends cast a warming spell on his tent, he decided it wasn't so bad. In the middle of the night, he found himself getting out to stare up at the stares. It occurred to him that no matter where he had been, these stars and the moon wouldn't change, no really. Oh, sure their positions in the sky changed with the time of night and season but... these were the same objects he had seen his whole life. While he didn't remember anything other than the north star, his heart was moved and hopeful. He held onto the thought that someday, he would remember who he was.

There was a twinge then in his chest, like a feeling of pain. Cryptic put his hoof there, feeling his heart beating hard. Yeah, my heart, he thought. It's just my heart. Maybe that broken heart on my flank is why? Could it be that the state of my heart has something to do with my memories and who I am?

He broke down at that point and something inside him cracked like an egg. Under the stars and warm night air, he cried for a length of time that had no personal reach or limit. It could have been ten minutes, it could have been an hour. He just sat there, letting big tears run down his face and sniffling. He had no idea what time it was.

The door of the stage coach clacked open.

"Aww," Trixie said. "I couldn't sleep and I thought I heard something. Looks like my intuition was right."

Cryptic sniffled and wiped at his face helplesssly. "I didn't want anyone to see me like this."

"It's okay to cry," Trixie said. "When you left, I cried. I was worried I had done something wrong. What's bothering you?"

"Well, I..." and he went blank, unable to point into words the void and emptiness that seemed poised to swallow him up inside. "I'm ... nervous about tomorrow and what that Princess might find, if she's as smart as you say she is? Plus, what if Starlight forgets about you or me in order to spend time with Sunburst?"

Trixie called him on it. 

"So what if she does? Sunburst is like her favorite person in the world. If she leaves us, that gives time for you and me to hang out with Twilight. Now, I'll admit, Twilight is not my favorite mare in the world to spend extended amounts of time with, but if it's to help you, I'll manage. It's been so long that it seems silly to hold onto old grudges. We'll get along just fine, with or without her."

Cryptic smiled palely. "You're right, I'm worrying too much about nothing."

"Now I just know you weren't staring at the sky crying over Starlight. What is it, really?"

Cryptic swallowed. "That obvious, huh? I was thinking about who my parents must have been and if I loved someone and what became of them now. It's like there is this big hole inside me that I can't fill, no matter what I try to do. It's like a huge emptiness."

Trixie exhaled slowly. "Oh, that's a big one. That's some meaning of life stuff. Well, I promise you, we will keep trying until we make a breakthrough. And then you'll see your special somepony or your family again. We won't leave you out in here in the cold."

Cryptic laughed and pointed at the tent.

"Warming spell! So you should really relax and maybe get some more sleep. Sleep is what you need most."

She put her hooves on his back and pushed him in the direction of the tent. He resisted some.

"And you're promising me to hang out with me tomorrow if Glimmer ditches us?"

"Yes, yes, now go count sheep to five hundred. Sweet dreams."

Right as Cryptic lifted up the tent-flap and turned back around to reply to Trixie, he stopped, his eyes as wide as saucers. He pointed aggressively behind her. "Look!"

As they were looking up at the sky, a shooting star passed by.  They both gasped and grabbed at each other in a hug. Trixie was practically babbling with excitement. "What did you wish for?"

"I wished I had someone to love," he confessed.

"Oh, silly," Trixie said. "I'm right here."

They kissed then, under the sky. Another shooting star passed by and Cryptic didn't even know, because he had his eyes closed. A blush crept to his cheeks.

"Would you like to join me?" he asked, indicating his tent. 

Trixie scuffed her hoof and shook her head. "I need to talk to Starlight about it more and it kind of feels like we're in a place where I need to take care of her first. Sorry. Maybe some other time."

Cryptic laughed and entered the tent to lay his head down and sleep. He snuggled into the dense and fluffy blanket part. It was incredibly warm inside the tent, like sleeping inside a toaster. He closed his eyes and did his best to relax. Somewhere, a rock was poking him. So he got out of his sleeping bag, picked it up, pushed the rock through the fabric of the tent bottom to the side, put the sleeping bag back down and got inside again.

After a while, he was sweating and unzipped it partially. The pillow part was built into the sleeping bag and he fluffed it. Cryptic wasn't sure why he couldn't get comfortable, but he just couldn't make things work. So far, just like his life...

Eventually, he centered himself, found a position that wasn't awkward, closed his eyes again. What was that Trixie said? Oh, yeah, counting sheep. So he counted to himself: One, two, three, four...

Eventually, oblivion claimed him in her arms.