Chapter 4 Wednesday Workload
Wednesdays were miserable for both Star and Moon. It would seem that the middle of the week was the time for the work loads to increase dramatically for the two of them. Whether it was more studying and reading for Star, or polishing gems and setting gas on fire for Moon, both would usually come home tired and with little to say. Not that they were upset. If that were the case the other would notice it immediately. Having so few others to distract them in their lives, they were keen to changes in the others. Like when Moon tried to change his mane style to impress a mare at the mines a few years ago. Star was convinced that he was ponynapped and replaced with some goofy looking clone. Sadly, he had to change back to his current hair style to convince him otherwise.
It was just the two of them, for the most part. Star never really thought about it that much. He figured having friends at school was enough for a social life. He never hung out with friends afterwards before, why would he now. For Moon, it was simple. He worked, he raised his colt, and he slept. He didn't have time for anything else. It didn't help that he was an intellectual as well. The ponies he did interact with were... simpler. They didn't think the way he did. It wasn't a problem, and he could speak with them if needed, but they mostly kept it work related. He told himself it was fine, but there were some lonely days. Those were the times that he would try talking with his coworkers. But, it never went far. Young stallions don't have much to say in regards to the future of the colts of one stallion.
It was a recurring problem with Moon. He chose to work only to raise his son. But, because of that, all he could ever talk about was his son. And ponies more often than not don't want to hear about your foal. He understood, but that didn't help his dilemma. Ponies he thought were his friends back from the Canterlot Observatory all but scorned him now. And he couldn't relate to the ponies he mingled with nowadays. All he had was his son, but that was enough.
It was a tragedy set in motion. Several of his coworkers noticed his cough, but didn't pay much mind to it. Miners coughed, it wasn't that big of a deal. No one knew him well enough to recognize the change. And those that did only noticed him from polishing gems on occasion. Most didn't even know his name. Though, truth be told, ponies in the mining industry weren't the ones to learn names of temps and scabs. Not that he was either, but due to his lack of socialization, several assumed that he was. He was an outsider that worked full time.
*Cough cough*
"You okay Dad?" Star asked from the kitchen table. It was close to bed time, but he still had some homework to finish. Moon would often stay up with him so he could help out if needed. It also gave him time to do chores around the house. Tonight, it was dish duty.
"Hm? I'm fine, why do you ask?" Moon asked, oblivious to his changing condition.
"You coughed. Only sick ponies cough." Moon thought about that statement for a moment. He didn't realize that he was coughing at all. It was too sporadic for him to really notice. Before he could form an answer Star left the table and approached Moon, pressing a hoof to his forehead. He checked a few different spots before sitting back down. "You don't feel warm. But you coughed."
"Ponies cough son, it's a perfectly natural thing to do," Moon tried to tell him, but he wasn't convinced.
"But you don't normally cough. You only cough when you get sick. And you diarrhea too. Did you diarrhea?"
"Star, that is not something you can just ask somepony," Moon chastised, blushing slightly from his innocence. He was only concerned for his well being. But there were some things that he refused to speak to him about. Stool was one of those topics.
"What? You ask me if I do that when I get sick. Why shouldn't I ask you that when you get sick?" His logic was sound, to him at least. He was too young to fully understand the social norms of personal boundaries. Especially with Moon. Truth be told, he could talk to him about anything. But that didn't stop Moon from being weirded out by the forwardness of his son from time to time.
This conversation felt small to Moon. To him, it was just another night of school work and Star getting distracted by anything. He might have coughed once, but it was nothing. He felt fine. He couldn't think of anything that would have caused him to get sick. Until, he realized that there was a major change in his daily life that could. It was simple enough, and it would get him back to his studies. Which, he believed, were far more important for him in the long run than him getting the sniffles.
"You know, maybe it's because of my new job." And with the mutter of those simple words, Star had his total attention fixed on Moon.
This was his chance to learn more about Super Dads new villain! He wondered what his or her powers would be. He knew magic was practically useless against them, but what else could they do? Moon saw the eagerness in his son and knew he would have to elaborate. He had a certain look of curiosity that wouldn't allow for any distractions. Even if it were his very important studies.
"Yes... well... there was a lot of labor involved. And the dust from it must have irritated me. Who knows, I could have been coughing all day and not have even noticed!" Star thought about that for a moment. It must have been a brutal fight! Hoof to hoof combat! Maybe he had to take it out of the city. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about injuring anypony.
Scenes of intense physical combat played in his mind. Though, if he had thought more thoroughly, he would have noticed he was stealing scenes from his comics and inserting his father in the part of the hero. But to him he was the hero. And this was his story to tell. But his secrets were the endless obstacles that he would have to constantly try to out think.
"So... why was there so much dust?" Simple questions, lead him to what you wanted. That's the game he always played. It got him pretty far usually. But there would always be a point where his father would catch on and end the conversation. This was Stars game. And he loved to play.
For Moon... it was bittersweet. He just wanted him to do his work. But he didn't want to squash his imagination. There wasn't much he could give his son, but his mind could fill that void! It's partially why he allowed him to read so many of those comics from the library. If he was reading, it was good enough. Even if the stories were silly. And he didn't much care for the way some of those mares were dressed.
"Well... in construction there's a lot of dust. You can't make a building last without giving it a strong foundation. And that requires a lot of digging. So, naturally, there would be a lot of dust in the air. That must be why I coughed."
It was too honest of an answer for Star. There was something he was hiding obviously. It almost sounded like a real construction workers line! But his father was far too important to be some lowly worker. He was Super Dad! The greatest super pony in the world! There was more to the story, and he was determined to find it! But he knew his father too well. He wasn't going to just give him the answer, as he just proved.
"What are you building?" Any lie doesn't have a strong story behind it. Poke and prod in the right spots, and you'll start to see it for the facade it really is. His own lie would have to be twice as good as his though. Slow pencil marks. Only glance at him when he isn't looking. Play the part of the innocent foal.
"It appears to be an apartment complex. Though, I'm not entirely sure." Moon actually didn't know what they were building, he realized. It looked to be an apartment, but it was hard to tell. Star didn't know what to think. It was too real of an answer and left little to no room for his imagination to run with. But that was impossible! Why would he be building something when he has hero work to do? "It actually might be an office building, now that I think of it."
And with that little seed of doubt, Star had it. If he couldn't identify what he was building, then he obviously was trying to lie about it. And the truth was in his lie.
It started out as an apartment building. A place were a lot of ponies live. But then it turned into an office, a place of work. So the two must be related somehow. But what sort of building houses ponies that work there that are also super ponies?
"Champions of Equity..."
"What?" Moon looked back to ask what he had just said, but the colt was gone already. The clacking of his hooves leading towards his room. He was about to call him back, but he noticed the school work on the table. Upon closer inspection, it appeared completed, so he let it go. *cough cough*
Star ran to his room as quickly as he could and went straight for his stash of comics. The old and worn out box was on the brink of total annihilation due to the over crowded stacks of comics. But by some supernatural force it held on though. The comics inside were a completely different story. Each comic had its own plastic cover to protect it. And aside from a few lesser books being forced in the sides, each one was in pristine condition. But, nopony really cared that much for Aquamare.
He took each book out with practiced care and set them aside in a neat pile. He was looking for a specific series, but was still mindful to not damage the books he so cared for. That, Sans would be furious with him if he damaged any of them. He ran the local comic shop and had a very set of specific rules for the books. He said it was to maintain their resale value, but Star had no interest in selling his books. But he also didn't want to anger the pony who ran his favorite store, so covers and care were the game.
And then he found it. Champions of Equity. It was a mega series from the big brand Wonder Comics. Champions, as it was shortened to, was comprised of several heroes that were part of their own series. They would come together and fight the biggest villains together. They had a fortress together called the League of Champions, and that's what he was looking for.
This was his research. He remember a bit about the League of Champions, but now he had reason to go back and scrutinize it all over again. To his father, who was peering through the doorway, it would appear that he was just really excited about reading his books. Which was fine, albeit, odd. The most random of things would set his son off. But he didn't want to crush his curiosity. So he never questioned it.
Star spent the rest of his time awake reading through the Champions series. In his mind, it helped everything makes sense. It's what his father was calling his second job. He was Super Dad and a Champion of some sort. He joined a group of like minded heroes to fight even bigger villains that the likes of Overtime! But what sort of villains would be worse than that?
As he read through book after book he began to form even more questions. Who were these other heroes? Were they more powerful than Super Dad? Who started this group? What was the group even called?
He stayed up as late as he could searching for all the questions he would need to answer. A long list was formed in his head. To keep it safe of course. With a goal in mind, he would start the next day drill his father for answers. He was going to get to the bottom of this, one way or another. But, it was a long night of research. And try as he might, he was bound to fall asleep sooner or later.
Ten PM sharp, it never failed. Moon came into Star's bedroom and tidied up a bit. His son wasn't the cleanest of ponies, but he was learning. At least he knew to take care of his literature. He laughed at his son a little when he found him dead asleep with his face buried in one of his comics. Maybe he was going to be an artist, like these comic creators. He certainly had the imagination for it. He just hoped his creations wouldn't be so... silly, as some of these books appeared. But, his son was a bit silly, so maybe that would be what he loved to do?
He tucked him in and turned out the lights, as he did countless nights before. It was normal. Mundane. He tucked his son in to sleep and went to bed himself. Sometimes he would stay up a bit longer, but he was tired today. Two jobs. Both physically demanding. He was sure there were to be plenty of nights just like this. But it would be worth it in the end. That, and he only had one job over the weekends, so that would be his rest period.
His son was happy. He was starting to make decent money. They were both fed. They slept indoors. What more could he want? What else could he distract himself with? As long as he stayed the course he would reap the benefits. Nothing else mattered to Moon. This was it. And he knew how good they had it. There were plenty of others that had it worse than they did, and he was grateful that they were in a decent position. Given time, they would only go up from here.
He took his place on the couch and proceeded to pass out. It wasn't the most comfortable of couches, but it beat the floor. And it was free, so he wasn't complaining. His alarm would be going off in about seven hours and he would have to do this all again once more. It was just another Wednesday. Nothing was special about it. All that changed was that the workload was now doubled. But he could handle that. It was worth it. His son was worth it. He even played with the thought of having a third job. But that was only a thought. He was barley going to make it now. Though, he would play with the thought some more. For now, Wednesday was over. It was time for Thursday, and all the trouble that it would bring.
*Cough cough*