A Mare to Look Up to

Chapter 1: A Hard Week's Work

Coal Dust closed the front door of his house softly before hoisting his bag back onto his shoulders and trotting in, taking care that his hooves didn't make a sound as he made his way across the tile floor. He had almost made it across the kitchen before a high pitched voice piped up in the dark.

"Hi Daddy," his daughter, Silver Moon, said turning the knob on the lantern so that the flame grew bright enough to light the room.

"Hey sweetheart," Coal Dust replied letting his bag drop from his shoulders to the ground with a thud. "How was school?"

"You're silly dad, school let out last week, you even went to the party on the last day." She said giggling.

"You're right I remember now, that one colt got cake frosting all over his muzzle." Coal Dust said doing the best to hide the exhaustion from his speech. "So, what are you doing up this late?"

"Just a bit of reading," she said marking her page in the book on the counter and closed it.

"Remember what the doctor said about reading in the dark?" Dusk said. "That's why I got you that." He said motioning to the lantern.

"Yeah but the moon gives much better light, and I prefer the dark." She said.

"Well I can argue with you there sweetheart." He said yawning. "Well I'm gonna go hit the sack." Coal said yawning again.

"Wait daddy, you have a little something on your muzzle." She said hopping out of the chair she was sitting at and picking up a damp dish towel in her magic and wiping the streak of soot off his snout.

"Thanks Sweetheart," he said kissing the tip of her horn. "Now I suggest you go off to bed too." He said she nodded and trotted back over to the table, picked up her book and killed the flame in the small lantern.

"Goodnight daddy," she said trotting to her room. Coal sighed a happy sigh and picked up his bag. He loved his daughter, more than anything in this world and he dared any pony to test him on that fact, but he hoped he never needed to prove it.

He dropped his bag at the foot of his small bed and trotted into the bathroom connected to the master bedroom and flipped on the light. He looked like he had spent the night buried in a pile of coal. His white coat was streaked from coal, but his muzzle was clean showing the pale grey hue around his muzzle and all of the fur around his hooves, the reason his father had named him Coal Dust, and he had carried the name proudly as he followed in his father's hoof steps, the two of them sailors, though Coal was much more successful at 29 than his father was when he died.

He shook his head dispelling the memories of his father and a dense layer of coal dust into the bathtub before turning on the water. He plugged up the hole and let the water pool as he washed his forehooves under the faucet turning the water a pale grey. He waited for it to fill up before he rolled in and let the water wash over him and it wasn't more than a few minutes until his eyelids became too heavy for him to support and he drifted off to sleep.

Of course his mind and his body didn't let him sleep long. Just as the early rays of sun were peaking over the top of the trees his eyes shot open and he was suddenly very aware of the icy water he was in he stood up and stepped out, his pale grey mane and tail sticking to his body and dripping wet.he tow led off quickly and stepped out of the bathroom to find his daughter sitting on the foot of his bed. She had taken the liberty of taking everything out of his sea bag and arranging it neatly on his bed.

"Sweetheart, how long have you been up?" Dusk asked walking over and sitting down next to his daughter.

"I had another nightmare so I came in here but I saw you'd fallen asleep in the tub so I organized everything for you." She said proudly.

"Well, do you want to talk about the dream?" He asked but she just shook her head. "You know they say that once you talk about them they go away." He said.

"But what do you say daddy?" She asked.

"That's not really my field of expertise, unless it's about a big scary sea monster." He said joking.

"And that's another hung, I did a lot of researching on the kraken and most of the books say that it doesn't exist." She said.

"Well I say that it does exist. One day I was asleep in my rack below deck when suddenly the ship pitched hard port side and I fell ou-"

"Yes dad, you've told me the story several times, but the books say they're not real."

"Well what do you say?" Coal asked her.

"I say that you say they're real so they must be. Just very very very rare." She said smiling and looking up at her father.

"And only the most handsome most intelligent most awesome stallions ever lay eyes on one." He said joking. She pushed him with her shoulder and hopped off the bed. "C'mon, it's pancake day." She said happily coal dust chuckled to himself and hopped off the bed himself and followed her into the kitchen.

After a few minutes of mixing and pouring the smell of pancakes hung in the air of the kitchen and pretty much everywhere else in the house. Coal dust took the panhandle in his mouth as the first pancake finished cooking. "You ready with that plate back there?" He asked through his teeth.

"Mmhmmm." She replied holding the large plate in her magic. He flipped the pan up in the air and the pancake went flying way across the kitchen but Silver Moon caught it in her magic and out it on the plate while he wasn't looking. They repeated this several times until the plate was piled high with pancakes, more than enough for the two of them, but just as he sat the plate down and Silver Moon began to devour one of the cakes there was a knock at the door.

"Don't wait up," Coal said standing back up and trotting over to the door. He opened it up and was met with a pony in a blue suit and white gloves covering his hooves.

"Good evening sir, Mr. Dust I presume." The gentlecolt said offering his hoof.

"Please, Dusty." Coal said shaking the stallion's hoof.

"I come with a message from the New Moon Line, we are constructing one of the most advanced ships the world has ever seen, but a ship is nothing without its crew, and a crew can't run itself." The gentlecolt said taking an envelope from his vest and handing it to coal dust. "Just write to the address on the envelope if you're in for the journey, the details excluding the pay is enclosed. Good day to you." He said turning around and walking away with nothing more to be said.