The city looked so beautiful when it was covered by a blanket of clouds. Seaddle just wasn’t a place that seemed to need the light of the sun to survive. Ponies had gallons and gallons of coffee for that. Young Hex Breaker was only pleased with the clouds parting themselves if the sun was setting and the gorgeous moon was rising high in the night sky. Oh how he adored to climb onto the roof and stare up to the stars and have the glimmering moonlight shining down upon him. This night was no different. The moon made the colt feel more comfort than he could even think to put into words.
“There you are,” a soft voice called from the window beside him.
The pale yellow stallion reached out for his lavender son, hesitating before he managed to clumsily join him on the roof. Puer Leaf was no athlete by any means. Seeing his son climbing up onto the roof at times made him feel much like his heart feel like it was going to burst out of his chest with worry. However, a little one had to have the room to explore and grow and Hex was no different. As he settled in beside the tiny pony, Puer reached to brush some of the minty colored mane from his son’s face. It made his insides swell with happiness as the colt snuggled up to his side. He was happy both of his children seemed to have inherited their mother’s hair. Puer himself had already been balding for years, and it wasn’t something he would wish on either one of them. Especially not with locks as beautiful as Hex’s. It looked especially pretty in the moonlight.
“There’s a mare in the moon, you know,” the stallion started.
“A mare?”
Teal eyes widened and looked up at the older pony with intrigue. He hadn’t started school all that long ago, and they were only just beginning with the history of Equestria. It seemed as though Princess Celestia ruled all and not many ponies seemed to think much else mattered. It was quite ironic considering just how little sunlight anypony in Seaddle seemed to see on a daily basis.
“Oh yes. She was once known as Nightmare Moon, to most. Before that, though? Nightmare Moon was Princess Luna.”
Hex pulled himself closer as his father told the tale of the two sisters and their feud. The story of Nightmare Moon being banished away from Equestria didn’t gain the kind of reaction from Hex as it did from most other ponies. Confusion filled him to the brim and his brows knit together in concern. How was Celestia’s reaction fair? Wouldn’t it have been better to talk and work things out before they had escalated to that point? It felt like too much for his little brain to handle.
“What’s the matter?” Puer asked, raising a brow.
“I don’t like that story,” Hex admitted. “It’s too sad.”
“Sad?”
“Doesn’t she get lonely up there?”
Pulling himself away from his father enough to look back into the sky, Hex felt a new coldness washing over him as he stared up at the night sky. Now that his father had mentioned it, he could see her clear as day. That beautiful mare was there, alright, and she looked so very sad to him. What was it like on the moon? Was it cold? Was it dark? Did she have anything to eat there? The more he thought about it, the more he worried about her.
“Well I suppose she might,” his father said, interrupting his thoughts. “To be honest, I’ve never really thought about it.”
Seeing the way his son seemed to care so much for a pony so removed from all of them probably should have concerned him. It wasn’t exactly a good thing to sympathize with Nightmare Moon, of all ponies. Even still, it made him feel a sense of pride to know that Hex Breaker could show that kind of compassion. He could see it in the gleam in the colt’s eyes; that little bit of him that truly was his mother. Oh how he missed her.
Raising two little ones on his own was hard enough, but for an Earth pony to raise a Unicorn with no proper knowledge of how magic developed was quite the challenge. Mystic Marsh would have known what to do when Hex had his magic spurts. She always did when he was tiny. Thankfully the only issue Puer had ever had was when the lovely mare had gone off on a short trip to gather plants from the far away swamps. The poor little one had gotten the hiccups and each time he gave one of those awkward little gasps, he re-appeared somewhere else in the house. The magic wasn’t strong enough to send him somewhere far away or dangerous, of course. That didn’t mean that Puer had an easy time running from room to room trying to figure out where Hex Breaker had popped up next.
It was the last hiccup that scared him the most. Suddenly his precious little colt was just… gone. Pure terror surged through him as he ran around the house calling out for him. There was no noise whatsoever. There were no hiccups, no babbles, no crying, no cooing, and most certainly no sounds of magical commotion. The poor stallion was so sure that something terrible had happened to his son until he checked the very last room: Mystic’s work room. Soft breathing reached his ears as he passed by his wife’s cedar chest and relief flooded through him when he opened it to find his son curled up inside among the silks and herbs there. His wife’s spider-web cloak was draped around the baby like a blanket and he was snoozing away peacefully as though nothing strange had happened.
The mere memory alone made Puer chuckle to himself as he turned his attention back to Hex. At the very least, his son was patient and calm. Well, as calm as a tiny growing colt could be. Bittersweet on the other hand, was quite the handful. She had been a fussy little baby from day 1. Then again, her fussiness was a blessing in disguise. She required so much attention that the stallion really didn’t have any time to feel sorry for himself while mourning the loss of his wife. The last word she uttered before she left them was Bitter’s name. The situation truly was bittersweet. Here was this beautiful baby girl who almost didn’t make it, and a mare that gave her all to make sure that her little one survived. Mystic wanted nothing more for her children to be happy and healthy, and with her final breath of life she could only wish that she could have held her little filly for just a moment longer.
Even being as young as he was, Hex Breaker still tried to jump in and help his father with his sister. He was always happy to feed her, learned how to change her, told her stories he’d made up every night until he could read to help put her to bed. It was more than Puer ever could have asked for out of the young one. He could only hope the spirit of his wife would live on in her children. Even now, Hex was proving to be just as caring and patient. Yes, he could see that spark right there in those teal eyes that stared so intently at the moon. Puer had to clear his throat to try and fight away the tight feeling growing there and the tears threatening to spill.
“I want to be her friend,” Hex spoke up, pulling the stallion back to the real world.
“Her friend?” He asked in intrigue.
“Princess Luna,” the colt said with a determined nod. “I want to be her friend.”
The lavender colt gave a little wiggle in place as he looked back to his dad. He’d never had such a strong urge to do anything in his short life. If poor Luna was going to be stuck up there all by herself, then he was going to do everything he could to make sure she didn’t feel lonely.
“I’m going to talk to her every single night. I want to her her Hearth’s Warming presents so she can celebrate too! Maybe I can write her letters so that she has something to read when I have to sleep. I’ll read her books and--and--!”
Puer reached quickly to grasp his son. Hex had been trotting in place with so much excitement that he’d nearly slid right off of the roof. Despite the momentary worry, the stallion felt himself full of pride for his son’s sweet intentions.
“You do that, Hex,” he replied, giving a nod of approval. “I’m sure you’ll be the best friend she’s ever had.”
“You really mean it?”
“I do. But now it’s time for you to go to bed.”
Puer leaned down to press a kiss to his son’s forehead before he stood and tried to make his way back into the window. Had the roof always been this steep, or was he just getting older? Probably both.
“Say goodnight to Luna and then come inside and brush your teeth.”
“Yes, papa.”
Once his father was safely inside of their home, Hex once more turned his gaze to the moon. Now it made so much more sense to him as to why he’d always found it so hauntingly beautiful. For nearly 1,000 years there was a poor soul trapped there with no one to spend time with.
“I’ll talk to you, Princess Luna,” the pony said with a nod. “I’ll make sure you never feel forgotten. I promise.”