The Many Lives of a Dead Moth

by BCS

Train!

Starlight pressed her face to the glass, her nose mooshed up against it boredly. The trees passing by and rolling hills were reflected in her eyes. Trixie was napping in the seat, with part of her head touching Cryptic's leg. He didn't dare move in case he woke her up. The train rumbled down the tracks, click-clack, click-clack. The noise of the engine even soothed his nerves to the point he wanted to drift off.

He didn't blame Trixie for sleeping. Last night was the kind of night that would make anyone sleepless. Anyway, he didn't want to think about that right now. Cryptic was wrapped up in his own thoughts, thinking about what he would say to the royal couple when he got there. He ran the phrases over and over in his mind, and kept coming back to the empty void of his memories. Where did he come from? Why did he come here or get here and what was his goal, now that he was in Ponyville? It was all so bothersome...

Trixie's cute little snores were distracting him. She seemed so at ease and he was frankly jealous of her ability to relax that deeply. Cryptic moved the blanket further up her body. Trixie mumbled in her sleep, what sounded like Starlight's name and rolled over. Cryptic turned around to watch Starlight watching them with an unreadable expression, her eyes distant and a little misty.

"What's wrong, Star?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking of when me and Trixie first met, that's all. She was the only one that really understood my pain and what I was going through. So when I see you with that look on your face, that troubled expression, I think of the long nights I helped Trixie plan her magic act and such." Her voice was a breathy whisper, so as not to wake Trixie up. Seemed to have worked-she didn't budge or stir.

He hummed softly, "Mmm."

Cryptic carefully got up without moving Trixie's head too much and joined Starlight in another car to discuss things. She held his hoof and his heart beat a little faster at that. Did that mean she was trusting him more? Or even... getting over Sunburst? Besides, he really wondered what these ponies were like since his new friends talked about them so much. His curiosity was piqued, to say the least.

He cleared his throat: "Starlight?"

"Yes, Cryptic?"

"Can you tell me more about Sunburst?"

Her face flushed and her eyes grew wide. She shook her head quickly back and forth, looking scared. "I'm sorry. There's just too much to cover right now. Maybe another time. Basically, I had a crush on him as a filly and I had a huge insecurity complex. Then more things happened and he rejected me again after I fucked up. That's all..."

"That's about you, Starlight. What's he like?"

"I'm sorry. He's brilliant, if I haven't said so. He's the guardian to Flurry Heart and he's the bravest and greatest sorcerer I've ever known besides Starswirl the Bearded and, of course, our Queen."

"Can I ask you something? Some people call her Queen and some people call her Princess. What's up with that?"

"Oh, she wasn't a Queen until she married Sunburst. That's why the title changed. Some people still haven't caught up with the new name, that's all."

"Okay, I think I get it now," he said sagely. He pushed her into an empty cabin and held her neck tightly. She gasped and her body pressed against Cryptic's in surprise as she arched a bit. He nibbled her ear and whispered in it: "You still owe me a kiss."

"You got plenty of kisses last..."

He kissed her again, shutting her up. She melted against him. He quickly pulled the curtains on the windows so no one could see them. He needed this, he told himself. He needed her love.

* * *

Starlight Glimmer stumbled out of the cabin, her hair askew. She brushed her mane back with one hoof and used magic to get it back into place immaculately. Cryptic came out licking his lips and smoothed his hair back. "How was I?"

"Good, as always. I have no complaints."

"Heh heh. Uh, do you think Trixie is worried about us?"

"Cryptic, she can just use a spell to see where were are. Trust me, she's not worried. She knows me pretty well."

And Starlight was right because when they returned to the cabin, Trixie was awake and utterly unsurprised they vanished for an hour somewhere with no explanation. The two girls shared knowing looks and Cryptic sat down on the bench, his face beet-red. Surely someone was going to say something embarrassing now but no one did. Curious. Trixie went back to what she was doing, which was some kind of card shuffling practice and working with some sort of hidden pocket in her hoodie.

Starlight sat down like everything was fine, wiped at her mouth and tapped on the table between them. Cryptic sat next to Trixie and watched her practice silently. Her magic and hooves were unbelievably adept at what she was doing. He could scarcely believe she could pull off tricks like that. If she had been doing this her whole life, it clearly showed. He wondered if she went to magic school. Starlight had let slip earlier something about Sunburst flunking magic school and it made him think about it.

"Trixie, did you ever go to magic school?"

Trixie hmmphed. "Trixie didn't get into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Trixie can cast teleport and use telekinesis and simple cantrips and use magic wands but Trixie's talents lie elsewhere. Why?"

"Starlight said Sunburst flunked out."

"That's surprising, I didn't know that," Trixie said.

"It's true!" Starlight agreed. "He got overwhelmed due to the crowds and noise and it was too much for him, plus the pressure and the tests. It really got to him."

"Well, you know him better than me, Starlight."

"Yeah."

Cryptic broke in. "Girls? It kind of looks like we're almost there."

Everyone stopped what they were talking about to look out the windows with big eyes. The magical city of Canterlot swelled into view enormously, white and twinkling. Cryptic gasped in surprise.

"Wow! Look at that castle!"

And there was an gigantic waterfall pouring down mountains behind it. The view took Cryptic's breath away. He had never seen anything like this before in his life, he was sure of it. Nothing felt familiar. It was awe-inspiring and it lifted his spirits in a way nothing else had lately.

"So we're here?" he asked. Starlight and Trixie nodded and an employee came up and down the row to knock on passenger's cabin doors to let them know it was time to exit the train.

"Will we need a ticket back?" Starlight asked Trixie.

"Well, I don't have the bits," Trixie complained.

"I'll bill it to Twilight," she said. "She'll definitely cover it out of the royal coffers."

(to be continued...)

Author's Note:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcNry803EUA

How do I add images?

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

The pony in the picture is meant to be a changeling, right?

[BCS]

10268371

yes even though it's incredibly obvious they are that is still spoilers!