//------------------------------//
// Ride'em Cowboy 
// Story: Moon Eyed: Waxing Gibbous 
// by ZombieDice 
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The train jolted ever so slightly as it came to a stop at the end of its journey. Hex gasped, stirring awake from his sleep rather suddenly. Sleeping on the train had been no easy task. At the very least, when he’d stayed with Lily, he’d been worn out before bed and had also had a horrid headache that took almost all of his energy away. Ever since he’d left Canterlot, his headache had faded away completely and the excitement of traveling somewhere new made it hard to focus on actually getting any rest. Not to mention the fact that he wasn’t sleeping in his beloved coffin bed at any time during the trip. The goth pony had come to love the feeling of being sealed away from the rest of the world in an incredibly quiet and comfortable box. 

Gathering up his things, he made his way off of the train to take in… quite a bit less than he was used to. Even seeing Ponyville through the window of the train felt relatively normal. It was basically a torn made up almost entirely of homes with shops as the first floors of things. But this? Hex had never seen the desert before. The brightness of the sun was already overwhelming and the dry feeling in the air made him feel like his mouth was made of cotton. It was far different than the cold, cloudy, rainy days of Seaddle. Oh dear, this heat was really going to get to him if the rest of his journey was going to be just as hot. The fact that he wore all black probably wasn’t going to help.

One thing did excite him, however. With a town this small, with such low light pollution, he was sure that the view of the night sky would be absolutely breath-taking! Unlike now where it was just the sun and not even a cloud against the bright blue yonder, at night stars would cover the sky in a light show to end all others and the moon would be an absolute masterpiece. He was so caught up in thinking about it that he didn’t notice the large stallion before him until it was almost too late. Hex halted in his tracks, barely managing not to run right into the other. The lavender pony had to be more careful for sure. Being in new places meant he had to make sure he didn’t get caught in his normal day-to-day habits. Getting lost in thought in Seaddle was fine because he had all of the areas he usually went to memorized. Here, on the other hand, everything was new and unfamiliar.

“Forgive my rudeness,” he said sheepishly, taking a step backward from the larger stallion. “I wasn’t watching where I was going and I almost--”

Hex lost his words as the other stood at his full height. The huge red  Earth pony was far more muscular than he was, and his white hair was half hidden under the hat that he was suddenly tipping towards the shorter one. 

“It’s alright, Ma’am,” he said, a long southern drawl tugging at his words. “No harm done. Besides, how could a fella complain about a cute lil’lady like yourself wandering into him? I’m kinda sad that ya didn’t.”

Rather than letting himself laugh out loud, Hex reached to cover his own mouth; reducing the sound to no more than a giggle. Damn, this guy was sly.

“Well I’d hate to disappoint you twice, but I’m no lady,” he corrected.

“Oh?” 

Now this could have gone three ways, two of which Hex was used to. For some reason, the older he got, the more ponies seemed to misgender him. While it was a mystery to his father, the lavender pony’s sister was the first one to figure it out. It was most likely due to the long, luscious lashes he had and the eyeliner he wore. Not to mention the fact that the unicorn tended to get hooficures and got his hair professionally done. That, all combined with his slim body type just seemed to be a shoe-in for ponies seeing him and automatically assuming he was female. Usually when others found out they were wrong, they would either feel awkward and try to change the subject quickly before finding some other way to apologize. OR they were stallions that tried to hit on him when they didn’t actually swing that way and they were quite quick to leave. This pony in front of him, on the other hoof, provided the much more rare and unexpected third option.

“Coulda fooled me,” The Earth pony crooned “Yer just so darn pretty.”

There was that stifled giggle again, and Hex found himself batting the eyelashes of his exposed eye at the other. The hoof covering his mouth also helped cover up just how red his cheeks had gone under his fur. 

“Well that ain’t fair,” the red stallion said, giving the softest of pouts.

“What isn’t?” 

“You covering up that pretty smile ah’yours.”

Oh sweet Celestia! This stallion was going to kill him with sweetness before the day was over. For the third time in all of two minutes, Hex was trying to keep his laugh quiet. Finally his hoof moved away from his mouth as he reached to run it in circles against the other stallion’s chest. 

“Don’t you think you should tell me what your name is before you go asking to see my smile? Hm~?” He couldn’t help but tease.

“Now I’m the one bein’ rude, huh? The name’s Redlove. Redlove Apple. An’ you are?”

“That’s a very fitting name,” Hex cooed out. “I’m Hex Breaker. But please, call me Hex.”

“You can call me anything you want, darlin’,” Redlove replied.

There went the giggles and the blushing once more. Usually Hex was the one doing all of the flirting. It felt good to be on the other end of it and having the other realize exactly what they were getting into. He tried to wave off the other’s words before he leaned against the larger one. Hey, if Redlove was giving him the green light to flirt, then surely just the tiniest bit of physical affection would be alright. If the red stallion decided it was too much, Hex was more than willing to back off. Until then, however, all bets were off and he was just going to go for it. Plus, Redlove was an Earth Pony. That meant that if the headache from two nights ago came from Lily, then surely he wouldn’t have the same problem with this hunk of a stallion.

“Well, Love, would you happen to have time to give a tourist a little tour of your charming town?” Hex asked, once more batting his long lashes at the other. 

“Why, I can think of nothin’ I’d rather do more.”

The apple pony offered a hoof to Hex, which the shorter more than happily took. And to think, he’d assumed this town was going to be boring. Maybe his day was going to be more exciting than he’d intended.


*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*


The hot water smelled so much sweeter with the lavender sprinkled into it. The scents his Hex’s senses and calmed him immediately as the warmth spread through his body. Oh, he needed this after the “tour” of Redlove’s barn. Sure they’d seen the town as well, but on their way around the farm, one thing lead to another, and even now the unicorn was pulling straw out of his hair. Thankfully the apple farmer was also kind enough to offer him a place to stay for the night. That now made two cities that he hadn’t had to pay for an inn while visiting. As horrible as it probably sounded, he wondered if he could keep it up. Being out on his own for the first time meant no rules as to who he could and couldn’t sleep with. Not that his father had given him many rules in the past, but there had been curfews that tended to dampen a fun evening. A knock on the door called his attention away from his thoughts. 

“Yes?”

“Just bringin’ ya some towels,” Redlove replied. “You feelin’ okay?”

“Better than ever, darling~ Thank you.”

The larger stallion entered, setting the freshly cleaned towels off to the side. Rather than leaving, he sat beside the tub, leaning against the edge of it. The Unicorn felt like he was melting as the other stallion took a washcloth and began to help washing him. It was simple things, like his shoulders or his hooves, but it still meant so much that someone was being so kind to him. 

“You really do have a lot of love to give, don’t you?” Hex asked, his voice more of a sigh.

“I suppose you could say that,” Redlove replied with a chuckle. “But I could say the same thing about you.”

The cloth moved up to Hex’s cheek, a touch he more than willingly leaned into. When it moved to the other side, it was another story entirely. Whatever Redlove had said when he’d moved the cloth over, the unicorn had completely missed. He stiffened up, reaching quickly to stop the other’s hoof before it could push his hair out of his face. 

“Don’t!”

The word left his mouth far quicker than he’d meant it to. Nervousness and guilt mixed together in his belly, swirling uncomfortably. It wasn’t often other ponies tried to move his hair out of his face. In fact, it hadn’t happened in so long that he couldn’t even remember whom had last tried. Chewing on his bottom lip, he cast his glance away from Redlove. Or at least, he tried to. The larger stallion moved his hoof under Hex’s chin, angling it upward.

“Hey, if you don’t want me to look, I wont. But it’s gonna be awful hard for me to wash your hair if I can’t move it out of your face. Don’t wanna get soap in your eyes, after all,” he said kindly. 

For some reason, the other’s tenderness made it even harder for Hex. He found himself unable to speak at all for the longest moment while the gears in his mind turned. Surely a pony as caring as Redlove wouldn’t be affected by the strange sight of his eye, right? But what if he was? What if it was enough to get him kicked out of the stallion’s home? What if--Again his thoughts were interrupted as the farmer nudged his nose against Hex’s own. 

“Stop chewin’ on your lip like that. You’re gonna hurt yourself,” he chided.

The realization dawned on him all too quickly. Hex had been biting his lip to the point that he’d nearly started drawing blood. Releasing his hold on the flesh, the lavender pony gave a sigh. Maybe he could show the other. It wasn’t like Redlove had done anything to wrong him yet. It wasn’t fair to judge him before he gave him a chance. He reached up, hesitating for only an instant before he pushed his hair away from his milky white eye. The sight was enough to earn a second glance from Redlove, but the pony smiled nonetheless. 

“There now. Did ya really think I wasn’t gonna like what I saw? Do other ponies react badly to it?” 

As the stallion spoke, he got right to work washing the other’s hair for him. It was already so soft and nice to touch. He couldn’t help but want to run his hooves over it and make sure it was cleaned just the way Hex liked. 

“Well, no... I don’t personally like it. So, I suppose I assume others won't either,” Hex admitted sheepishly. “It doesn’t carry the best of memories with it.”

“Well that’s a downright shame. ‘Cause I think it’s pretty, just like the rest ah ya.”

Admittedly, in that moment Hex wished he could bring the other along on the rest of his trip. Redlove was just so sweet, supporting, and loving. It was nice to have someone who was as understanding as this around. Perhaps he’d see the Stallion again on his way home. Hex could only hope.