It seemed like any other day for Tyrannus. He woke up, got dressed, and helped Fluttershy out with her animals a little before heading to Sweet Apple Acres for work. However, the day took a turn for the eventful after he arrived back at Fluttershy's cottage. Tyrannus was lying on the couch under a blanket taking a nap. And then, he was rudely interrupted. Fluttershy had just opened the front door and three little girls started jumping around the place! Tyrannus covered his ears with a pillow, but was fully awoken when they bounced on the couch. Tyrannus got up with a restart and the CMC fell to the floor! He groaned as he stretched. "Nnnngghhh..." Tyrannus rubbed his eyes before looking at Fluttershy and the CMC. "Fluttershy? Did you start a babysitting service?"
"Oh! No, Ty. I'm just watching these three adorable little angels for their sleepover tonight." Fluttershy said with a smile and three halos appeared over the CMC . Tyrannus got off the couch and crouched down to inspect the CMC. Needless to say, the three were pretty intimidated by his size. Fluttershy was about to tell Tyrannus to back off before he pulled back and took a deep breath.
"Not to sound critical, but are you sure you can handle these three?" Tyrannus asked. "I know you're good with animals Fluttershy. But kids can be a whole different matter. Namely because they can be incredibly restless. Especially these three." Tyrannus looked at Apple Bloom. "I've heard from Applejack that the three of them can get into all kinds of trouble if left to their own devices. So..." Tyrannus sat down. "I'll be watching them for their entire sleepover. That way they don't get into trouble."
Fluttershy trembled a little at hearing this. "Are...are you sure?"
"Yup." Tyrannus nodded. "I'll be watching them like a hawk." He then noticed the CMC had been frozen in place ever since he sat down. "Um, are you three alright? You three seem pretty quiet compared to when you came bursting through the door. Nearly woke me up."
"S-Sorry Mr. Thunder..." Sweetie Belle said nervously.
"You know you can just call me Ty." Tyrannus said with a frown. "And what's got you three so spooked? You look like you're being stared down at by a monster." Tyrannus came to a realization and sighed. "It's because I'm so huge isn't it?" The CMC nodded. "Oh." Tyrannus got up. "Well...sorry if I ruined your fun." Tyrannus went up and took a seat in the kitchen where he'd be out of sight. Fluttershy then approached the CMC.
"Excuse me for a moment." Fluttershy walked over to the kitchen and found Tyrannus looking out the window. "Ty?"
"Oh. Hey Fluttershy." Tyrannus said with a sigh. "Don't mind me. Just contemplating whether or not to drown my sorrows in ice cream."
"I'm sorry if the girls were scared of you. But...I thought you were scary too remember?"
Tyrannus sighed. "Fluttershy? Let me tell you a little bit about me. I've never had many friends until you, the girls, and the guys came along. Even when I was a little kid I was pretty big for my age. And my first name means 'tyrant'. Not exactly the most friendly name in existence. Most kids were scared to come near me even when I was friendly. I'm used to people feeling threatened by me, but that doesn't make it hurt any less." Tyrannus was then caught off-guard when Fluttershy hugged him tightly. "Hey...where's this coming from?"
"I'm so sorry..." Fluttershy whimpered. "I didn't know that about you."
Tyrannus took a deep breath and managed a small smile as he stroked Fluttershy's hair. "Don't feel too bad for me. If anything, it taught me to be more accepting and tolerant of others. Besides, things are better now. And..." Tyrannus pulled Fluttershy into a hug of his own. "It's nice to know I have someone like you caring about me." Fluttershy smiled and nuzzled Tyrannus. "Let's make sure those three haven't trashed the place..." Tyrannus and Fluttershy went back to the living room and found that a table had been broken. The CMC were nervous when they saw Tyrannus looking at them, but he smiled. "Hey, don't worry. Everyone has accidents. Come on. Help me fix this thing up." Tyrannus gathered the table pieces and started with the base. "Hammer?"
"Hammer." Apple Bloom answered as she handed Tyrannus the tool.
"Nails?"
Sweetie Belle handed over a bag of nails. "Nails." Tyrannus then set to work repairing the table.
"There we go. That should hold." Tyrannus smiled at the CMC. "Thanks for handing me the tools. But to avoid any future trouble, you three better head to bed now." The CMC nodded as Fluttershy led them upstairs. She was singing them a lullaby, but Sweetie Belle took over and it didn't look like the CMC would go to bed anytime soon. "Such a powerful voice for someone so young." Tyrannus noted as he observed the spectacle. Soon enough, Fluttershy managed to get teh CMC to settle down and headed back downstairs to sleep. Tyrannus put a blanket over her and went back upstairs to check on the CMC. He saw they had just went out the window. "Oh no..." Tyrannus followed the trail of footprints to the Everfree Forest. "Better get over there fast!" Tyrannus bolted into the forest while still trailing the footprints! Fortunately, he found the CMC very soon. "There you three are!" The CMC turned to find Tyrannus. "What were you three thinking?!"
"We...we just wanted to find Fluttershy's missing chicken..." Apple Bloom began. "Then we might a gotten our cutie marks."
Tyrannus sighed. "You three shouldn't be out here at night." He then noticed the teary eyes of the CMC. "At least...not alone. I'm coming with you three to make sure you don't get into any worse trouble. The second we find that chicken, we head back to Fluttershy's cottage. Deal?" The CMC nodded.
The CMC beamed at hearing this! "Deal!" And the group of four continued their search. It was then that Sweetie Belle had a question.
"Hey Ty?"
"What's up?"
"Do you...you know...LIKE Fluttershy?" Sweetie Belle asked. Tyrannus blushed lightly at the question.
"What do you mean by 'like'?"
"Boyfriend-girlfriend like." Sweetie Belle answered with a smile. "Inferno's living with Rarity, so he MUST be dating her!"
Tyrannus let out a chuckle. "Sweetie Belle? Just because two people live together, it doesn't mean they're dating. As for Fluttershy, let's just say I'm not sure on the matter." The group then heard Fluttershy calling out to them, and flagged her down. "Fluttershy, there's no need to get worked up. I've been with these three since I noticed they left."
"That's very good Ty. But we need to leave the forest at once." Fluttershy said in a frantic manner.
"But we haven't found the chicken yet." Sweetie Belle protested.
"There's no time for that! There's a cockatrice on the loose!"
Apple Bloom was confused. "A what now?"
"A cockatrice. It's a frightening creature with the head of a chicken and the body of a snake. Now come on!" Fluttershy then noticed the CMC had paid no mind to her warning and were continuing their search.
"That thing doesn't sound scary! It sounds silly!" Scootaloo said with a smile.
"If Ah ever saw one of those things, Ah'd laugh in its face!" Appel Bloom boasted until she bumped into Fluttershy.
"No! Never look a cockatrice in the eye!" Fluttershy was about to continue cautioning the CMC, but they caugh sight of the chicken and chased after it! Tyrannus and Fluttershy ran to catch up to them, and saw that there were two chicken heads peaking out from the bushes. However, the other chicken rose out fo the bush to reveal it was the cockatrice! The CMC were frozen until Tyrannus leaped into the air and punched the creature in its face!
"You three! Back to Fluttershy! NOW!" Tyrannus commanded as he made a break for it! Only to get cut-off by the cockatrice! "Alright feather head." Tyrannus cracked his knuckles. "Let's dance." Tyrannus swung at the cockatrice, but missed! The cockatrice flew over to the missing chicken and turned it to stone with its gaze! "Talk about a killer look..." Tyrannus backpedalled, but the cockatrice flew in front of him and looked him in the eye! Tyrannus froze when he saw parts of hims tart to petrify! But Fluttershy flew in front of him, and stared down the creature!
"You!" Fluttershy scolded the monster bird! "Just who do you think you are going around turning others into stone?! You should be ashamed of yourself! I have half a mind to find your mother and tell her what you've been up to young man!" Tyrannus panicked when he saw Fluttershy's legs starting to petrify! But Fluttershy didn't back down for a minute! It was then that Tyrannus bore witness to the stare. "Now you go over there and turn Elizabeak and my friend Twilight back to normal, and don't ever let me catch you doing this again!" The cockatrice's gaze was broken and Fluttershy's legs returned to normal! "Do you understand?" The cockatrice nodded in fear and undid the spell of his gaze. Fluttershy then looked to the others. "Are you all alright?"
"...My hero..." Tyrannus said with a smile as he hoisted Fluttershy onto his shoulders. Fluttershy blushed a little as they helped Twilight get back home and returned to their own dwelling. As Tyrannus was about to go to bed, he noticed the CMC waiting on the couch. "Oh. Hello girls. What's up?"
"That was AWESOME how you punched the cockatrice in the face!" Scootaloo cheered!
"Plus, we're sorry for being scared of you earlier." Sweetie Belle said with a sheepish smile.
Tyrannus smiled. "Thank you. Now off to bed you three." Tyrannus lie down on the couch, but noticed the CMC were sleeping on his chest.
"Actually...we think it might be safer with you." Apple Bloom said as she snuggled agaisnt Tyrannus's chest.
Tyrannus sighed. "Goodnight girls." Tyrannus watched over the three until they fell asleep. Fluttershy came into the room and smiled at the sight. "They really do look like angels when they're sleeping." Fluttershy walked over to Tyrannus and knelt down to his level. "That was pretty brave of you staring down that cockatrice."
"I'm always brave when the people I care about need me." Fluttershy said with a smile. "And it was pretty brave of you to go after the girls when you did." Fluttershy then cupped Tyrannus's face and kissed him on the lips. "Sweet dreams Ty." Fluttershy went off to her own room, and fell asleep. Tyrannus smiled as his own eyes started to close.
"You too Fluttershy."