//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 Tuesday Bore // Story: Super Dad // by tallestbrony //------------------------------// Chapter 3 Tuesday Bore Fire is beautiful, albeit terrifying. As the hot flames danced around Moon, he could only watch in awe as the bright colors blinded him. And he could only wait for the inevitable. In the few seconds it took him to cast the simplest of spells, his fate was sealed. A tear in his uniform could sear his body. A crack in his breathing apparatus could suck all the air out of his mask. Or, even worse, the cave could collapse on top of him. To any non-unicorn, they would shrug the last one off. 'Couldn't you just teleport out if it started to fall apart?' Yes, because in the span of mere seconds he could think of a new location, charge his horn, and teleport away safely. It was ignorant thinking to believe that a single pony could act faster than nature. That, somehow, he could just know when something was going to go wrong and take the correct actions. It was ludicrous to him. It wasn't some massive tremor that would give him plenty of time to react. A majority of cave-ins happened in mere seconds. It was only a few seconds between the two spells, but they made all the difference. He would have to make a run for it the second he could get his vision back. Never before though. Running straight into the wall was... ill advised. FWUUUUM His vision came back the same way it always came back. A bright light, sudden darkness, and finally the hazy remains of what was once a gas filed chamber. As soon as he could make out the difference between the walls and the floor he started to trundle back towards the surface. He had little time to make it back as it was. If they would simply stock the extra air canisters in the Digger Dens, he could stay down longer and double check his work. But, that would cost more in terms for labor and hardware, so it would never be done. CRA-THUD Without warning, a large section of the ceiling came crashing down behind him. Without a single thought Moon started to run down the narrow passageway as more and more of the tunnel began to come crumbling down. He kept his eyes forward though, never looking back. If you looked back, you'd get scared. When you're scared, you hesitate. He had one mission; to run. Run as fast as he could. Even as the dust raced ahead of him, obscuring his vision, and as chunks of debris hit the backs of his legs he had one goal. He had to make it out of the cave. A dark figure raced above him. At first he thought it was a shadow of some sort, but its movements were too erratic. Too quick. When a large chunk of earth came crashing down beside him, he knew what was happening. Like he feared, the cave was crumbling in on itself. It had only been a few seconds, but he knew where he was going and he had his magic. In the blink of an eye he would be back on the surface, safe. There would be yelling for sure, but he'd be alive. With that thought alone, he charged up his magic and sent himself to the entrance... THUD ... or, so he thought. Moon didn't know how long he was out. It couldn't have been too long, since he was still in the cave. His head was throbbing and his vision was hazy. Something had hit him on the head, that much was clear. But, he was alive, at least. He attempted to stand up, but faltered and fell back down. Nothing felt broken, his head was spinning too much to remain balanced. He allowed himself a moment to catch his breath and try to calm the pulsing in his mind. He looked back at what was once the mine shaft and gasped from the view. It's completely sealed off. What appears to be a large, mossy, root covered boulders fell through the roof of the cave, sealing off the flames. A dark cloud settled around the boulders, giving the cave an eerie feeling to Moon. He tried again and succeeded in standing up. He walked over to the boulder and rested a hoof on it, feeling the dry mold under his boot. Had this thing fell a few moments earlier, he would have died. The days down here weren't usually this dangerous, but there were plenty of stories out there. Moon was simply glad that he wasn't one of them this time. Giving one last glance to his air tank, he ran off for the entrance of the cave. "... and I told you to double check your work! If you were at least half as competent at your job as the other idiots in your position, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Mr. Copper screamed into Moons ear. As if his voice wasn't bad enough, his headache only made matters worse. But, he had to take it. He knew he wouldn't get fired for this. The cave-in was much worse than he thought it would be. Because of that, the mine is going to get bad press. For Moon, it was great news. Nopony would be crazy enough to sign up to replace him, not now at least. He just bought himself some extra time here. "I'm sorry sir, but there wasn't any way I could have known that all of those veins were connected." There were actually. There were several ways for him to know via magic. But, there simply wasn't room in the budget for that. There probably was, but Moon doubted Mr. Copper was willing to allow for such things. "I don't want to hear your excuses! You're on thin ice Moon! Thin ice! Leave your gear here and report to gem cleaning duty!" Moon bowed his head and did as he was told. He was lucky it wasn't early. Mr. Copper was never a morning pony. But, in his hurry to leave his office, he failed to notice something, something that Mr. Copper did not fail to notice. "That pick head! Broke his damn breathing mask. I'll have to take it out of his pay check!" With work at the mines finished, Moon had to hurry to his new job on the edge of town. A construction company is building new apartments and they need unicorns that can lift large amounts of bricks and tools. It's a more strenuous job than the mines, but the money would work wonders for him. So, he hurried along, stopping for nothing along the way. Detrot was a lot like Manehatten, in certain aspects. You walked down the path with little to no care of those around you. Not necessarily to be rude, but there were simply too many ponies to take note of. That, and most ponies had their own things to do. If Moon stopped to talk to even one pony along the way, he'd most likely be late. He had a strict schedule to adhere to, so he made sure to cut any unneeded luxuries. For himself at least. Star was another story altogether. He wanted to nurture his curiosity, expand his mind. He's still young, but Moon is counting the days till Star picks something to engage in. He tried to engage him in astronomy, but it didn't stick with the colt. He was interested, but there was a certain luster he recalled from his youth that he just didn't see in Star. It didn't matter though. Whatever he chose to follow in, he would support him as much as he could. Though, he did secretly hope that it wouldn't be anything sports related. The construction site was a sight to behold. A marvel of magic and engineering at work, though Moon was certain that nopony here would think that as well. Machines rhythmically pounding away in synchronized harmony, powered by magic. Moon was always that sort of stallion. There was always a moment to pause and take stock of everything around. Most of the ponies working here didn't think about what was going on here, but Moon could see it. He could see the revolution taking place before his very eyes. It wasn't something that he would spend much time thinking about, but his educated mind would always see things for more than they were. "Moon Gazer?" a stocky earth stallion with a rusted coat and neon work vest asked. The white hard hat on his head forced his sweaty brown mane down, but Moon could tell that it was probably more of a mess without it. "I'm Galvanized, you ready to get started?" "Yes sir!" he responded happily. "Good, go ahead and join squad seven over in the ditched on the east side. Hard hats and vests are by the offices on the way." Moon had to pause before responding. This wasn't what he signed up for. "Um... sir. I think you're mistaken. I was signed on to help levitate material, not dig ditches." "Yeah? And I was here to survey! If you don't want the work, then let me know and I'll find the stallion that does! If ya ain't lifting, then yer diggin'! Understand!?" Moon had no choice but to nod to the large stallion. He needed this job. The pay wasn't great, but it was extra money. He couldn't afford to let this chance slip by. "Good, now get to work. When the bell rings it'll be lunch time. Afterwards make sure you talk to Ingot in the offices to make sure you get on payroll." "Yes sir!" Moon responded, running to get started. It didn't occur to him at the time. In the loud and dusty environment of the construction zone, it didn't concern anyone really. But little did Moon know that, as he started to wrap his vest on, the beginning of the end announced itself. "*cough cough*" Tuesdays were almost as bad as Wednesdays, at least to Star. If Monday was the farewell to the weekend, Tuesday was the reminder that you still had an entire week to endure before Saturday. Tuesday was the day most of his classes started their new lessons as well. Monday was review day; Tuesday was new day. That's how he remembered it as least. He had to commit it to memory in order to will himself to stay awake. Wednesday usually brought new stuff as well, but half of it was usually learned the day prior. Thursday was typically filled with review and payed extra attention to bring everyone up to speed with what was learned. And Friday was the biggest twist of them all. Why was the day before freedom test day? Star never really understood why it was that way. Friday should have been the fun day! The schools should have used that day to say goodbye, or at least teach them something fun. Maybe they could have used that day to teach the foals how to play fun new games or go on field trips. This was the way Star saw it at least. He didn't even mind if they had to take a test as well, just show them something more than numbers or words on the page. Imagine how excited everypony would be if at the end of every week of school there was an adventure they did together! Or they got to see something new and exciting! Being confined to a small desk in a dusty, old room was practically choking him. Thank the sisters that they at least got recess. "... and then you carry the five and add it to the seven, carrying the one over to the-" Well... assuming he made it to recess, that was. R-R-R-R-R-R-R-RING The explosion of foals out of the school’s front door was always a danger to the city of Detrot. Their excited little hearts didn't realize the horrors they brought on the city. Road would become backed up due to the parents waiting for their children to come out. Cross walks would triple in occupancy as foals walked home. And the ensuing business at the local markets would congest business to a near standstill as the young ponies took their time counting out each bit they had. The ending of school was a true burden to the city, one that it took in stride each and every day. Star rather enjoyed the chaos that ensued every day after school. It was a sight to see! Whistles blowing from every corner, cart drivers yelling here and there, and the teachers trying to control it all; there was nothing like it in the world. Even as Star followed the same routine as he always did, and saw the same sights as he always did, there was always something special about it. He tried to ask his friends about it before, but they didn't see it as he did. It was like one of those lame orchestras his father would always listen to, only exciting. The bell would ring, the children would scream, and a wave of noise would follow in beat. Whistle next, followed by pattering hooves. A yell or a scream would punctuate here and there. He didn't understand how others couldn't see it like he did. To them it was just noise and chaos. But it wasn't chaos, it was harmony. It all had a rhythm to it, and Star saw it for what it really was. He told his father about this once, and he was ecstatic. He thought Star was going to be some great composer or a musician of some sort. He would bring him down to the music store and let him try out different instruments and even bought some classical records for him to listen to. But... something wasn't there. He lost interest in playing any single instrument and simply didn't want to learn to read music, often complaining that reading in it of itself was hard enough. The music Moon played bored him to death, and more modern music never really held his attention. It amazed Moon that Star could make an observation like this and have no interest in music. But, after talking with the store owners and music teachers at his school, it was painfully obvious that he wasn't going to be a musician. Which was fine! It was just another check off the list... the very long list. "Hey dad!" Star cheered as he embraced his father. "Why are you so dusty?" "Hey there champ," he greeted, ruffling his mane before leading him home. "I started that new job, remember." "Oh, riiight. Your new job. How was it?" Star was smarter than that. He knew what was really going on. A new villain had come to town, and they had their first real fight! He could tell at first glance. Moon was sweatier, dirtier, and was slightly short on breath. Clearly this was the work of some new villain in Detrot. Star had to know more. "It was... not what I was expecting," Moon had to choose his words carefully. He didn't want to worry his son that he was doing even more physical labor. He thought he was going to just cast spells and move equipment. Instead he spent a good portion of the day digging ditches. He wasn't even done. He had to walk Star home and run straight back to work. He'd eat lunch on the way, an agreement he and the manager came to when he explained the situation. He was grateful for it, but it wasn't ideal. Star was old enough to be home alone for a while, and he'd be home in time to make dinner. "What were you expecting?" Star pressed on, giving Moon his complete attention. "Well... I thought I'd be casting more spells than I actually am, for starters." THE NEW VILLAIN IS RESISTANT TO MAGIC!? How will he manage this? "But, it's nothing a little elbow grease and a can-do spirit won't fix!" "Um... what's elbow grease?" Star asked, examining his own elbow for grease. That got Moon to chuckle. "It's a phrase son. It means that you have to put a little more physical effort into something than it would usually take." "Oh..." That still didn't make sense to Star. He had to work harder on a villain that could resist magic. But work harder at what? "What is it you do?" "Well... a lot. I'm helping build new homes for ponies to live in. Sometimes I'll have to move equipment. Other times I'll have to... dig trenches. I do a bit of everything really." That answer didn't give him the information he wanted. There had to be a way to learn something from him about the new villain. But what? "Does this new job have a new uniform?" Star asked. "Yup. I get this really strong helmet and a neon vest. The helmet keeps my head safe from anything that falls and the vest is so others can see me more easily." So, he had a flashy new uniform that gave him extra protection. Where had he heard that one before? "Like the Green Prism!?" Star asked excitedly. Moon stared at him in confusion, getting the colt to dig through his backpack in a hurry. "She's an earth mare on the Harmony League that has a prism that can create anything she can think of! Her costume is all green and her prism helps her in her fights, see!" Moon stared at the comic that Star shoved in his face. True to his word, there was the mare flying in the air with some sort of green... prism, on her forehead. He didn't understand the correlation between himself and this scandalously dressed mare, but he didn't have the time to question it. There were times he questioned his son's fascination with these comics. If he spent half as much time reading real literature instead of these fantasy stories, he knew he'd become quite the academic. But, sadly that wasn't the case. At the very least they fueled his imagination. "Sure... something like that. Come along, we need to- *cough cough* -oh! Excuse me. We need to hurry along." And hurry along they did. Star was content with everything his father said. He assumed thiswhite helmet was something similar to the Green Prism, giving his father the power to take on this new threat. In a way, he was right. Sadly, it was the threat of what he knew, not of what was yet to be. The day came and went for the two of them. It was just as any other. Star went to school, came home, and did his homework. With the idea of a new villain for his father to fight, he didn't question him leaving so early; or coming back so tired. It made sense to him. For Moon, it was tiring to say the least. But it worked. If he could keep it up for a time he could save enough money to get back on track. No longer would he work from pay check to pay check. He could get ahead and start to make real plans. Plans he could afford. He came home late that day. Tired, but optimistic.