Crescent Moon stepped into the cool night air as he began his nightly walk from the Wonderbolts’ administrative building to the barracks. He paused a moment as he noticed the full moon, already high in the sky, bathing the world in a silvery glow.
He felt thankful that with the conclusion of the Best Young Flyers’ Competition, the worst of the season was over. As rewarding as he felt it was, being the Wonderbolts’ manager was a hard job. The brown stallion longed more and more each day for the off-season, when he could head back home and spend time with his marefriend.
Crescent sighed, the remembrance of her only making his need to be near her more unbearable. He remembered the last letter she had sent him, saying how much she missed him and couldn’t wait to see him again. They had met intermittently throughout the season, when performances had brought him close enough to Ponyville to spend an afternoon with her. But, it just wasn’t the same.
She would be asleep by now. He could almost see her chest slowly rising and falling in his mind’s eye, almost hear her mumble about her clients in her sleep. He remembered waking up to the warmth of her body snuggling up against him on nights when she was having problems with insomnia. He often wondered what she did on those nights while he was away. Who would be there to hold her close and help her nod off?
~~~
Lovestruck turned over in her bed for the umpteenth time, sighing in defeat as sleep refused to take her. Longingly, she reached out a hoof, gently rubbing the cool spot where Crescent slept when he was home. The bed just felt too big when he was in Cloudsdale and sleepless nights like this seemed even harder to overcome without his warm body there with her.
Staring at the wall, she thought a cup of tea might be helpful. She sat up, stopping as she glanced at the open letter from Crescent on her nightstand. She lifted it in her magic, reading over it though she already knew what it said. Looking at the calendar on her wall, she counted less than two weeks until Crescent could come back to Ponyville.
She smiled to herself. Soon her days could be spent doing anything or nothing, she didn’t care as long as she could do whatever it was with him. She closed her eyes, remembering the lazy winter afternoons spent sipping hot chocolate and cuddling on the couch. The warmth of his embrace as she listened to his thumping heart was the best way she knew to drive away the cold.
The unicorn made her way to the kitchen to prepare her tea. As she waited for the water to boil, she looked outside the window. It was such a beautiful evening, she thought. She opened the door, stepping into the night. Looking up towards Cloudsdale, she idly wondered if Crescent was working late.
His letters often spoke of the increased hours he had to work as the Wonderbolts’ season closed. He’d also been complaining of back pain from the long hours at his desk and having to sleep on a cot. She wondered what he did when she wasn’t around to give him a back rub to work the pain away.
~~~
The wind currents at the higher altitude made Crescent shiver, wishing he hadn’t left his jacket in his bunk. He wondered for a moment if he would need his extra blanket before he remembered that he had lent it to one of his coworkers. It probably didn’t matter much anyway, he would be back home before the weather got cold enough for it to be a problem, and then he would have Lovestruck and the warm comforter she had made him last Hearth’s Warming to drive the cold away.
The pegasus idly hummed to himself, remembering an old lullaby Lovestruck used to sing. He could still hear how her voice sounded as they sat under a shady tree in the few early spring days they had before he left for Cloudsdale. He’d never been much of a singer himself, but for some reason the mood struck him. Besides, it wasn’t like anyone was around to hear him. Softly, his own voice floated over the clouds.
Somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight,
Someone’s thinking of me and loving me tonight…
~~~
Lovestruck leaned against the doorframe, listening as the crickets played their songs, her own voice deciding to join them on a whim.
Somewhere out there, someone’s saying a prayer
That we’ll find one another in that big somewhere out there.
And even though I know how very far apart we are,
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star…
~~~
The wind picked up, howling and whistling through the buildings of the cloudesium. Crescent’s voice rose to meet it, the notes of his song carried away, he wishfully imagined, to be heard by his marefriend.
And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby,
It helps to think we’re sleeping underneath the same big sky…
~~~
The two voices, separated though they were, yet still in harmony, floated to parts unknown on the early autumn breeze.
Somewhere out there, where love will see us through.
Then we’ll be together, somewhere out there,
Out where dreams come true.
Silence fell in the night as the song ended.
~~~
Crescent sighed, sad for the time they were apart, yet happy that time was coming to an end. The pegasus made his way to his bunk, plopping unceremoniously on his cot.
“Ow.”
He reached underneath his side, finding the personal mail he’d left there that morning. The package was small, bearing the return address of a custom jewelry store he’d stopped by the last time he was in Canterlot. Turning over onto his back, Crescent grinned and held the box above him, imagining the look Lovestruck would have when she saw it.
One day closer, he thought, setting the box on his nightstand.
~~~
Lovestruck drank the last sip of her tea. She rinsed her cup and left it in the sink, turning off the light as she returned to her room. Lying in bed, she idly rubbed her stomach, a rush of excitement running through her as she remembered a particular afternoon tryst between shows in Canterlot. The unicorn sighed happily, picturing Crescent’s excitement when she told him.
Not long now, she thought, closing her eyes.
