Under the Blue Moon (Revised)

by Gear Works

Ch. 4 - Blue Moon Shooting

The girls decided to visit Lyra and Bonbon once after-school activities were done so that they could get a better idea into Tidal’s past. And while it painted a clearer picture, there were still some questions that needed to be answered.

“I don’t get it,” Rainbow Dash responded. “Ocean Wave is known as one of the greatest athletes out there. He should be grateful to have a mother like her.”

“Well, I would agree with you there, since his father is one of the most experienced weather experts out there,” Applejack added. “But with the condition he has, I can understand why they would think of him that way.”

“I’m with Applejack on this,” Rarity added. “Having famous people for parents would be one thing. But there are some parents that are fabulously famous then his parents. If they had that kind of status, then you would think he would be taking advantage of that.”

“But why hasn’t anyone told him about my past,” Sunset asked.

“Well, Vice Principal Luna told us… not to tell him about your past,” Bonbon hesitantly replied.

“Plus, now that you think about it, I doubt he would believe that you turned into a magical fiery demon and tried to take control of us,” Lyra added.

“But I did worst things even before that,” Sunset explained.

“I think its because Principal Celestia wanted to get an update on how you were doing since she was gone to deal with the issue,” Applejack explained. “And with what you’ve been going through since the Fall Formal, he would believe that you are just a victim as he was.”

“Then why don’t we just tell him what all happened and see if he believes what we say,” Lyra recommended.

“Not on your life,” Applejack replied. “Sunset’s been through enough trouble since then. And Princess Twilight wanted her to stay here so that she could redeem herself for what she did.”

“Well, he’s going to have to find out at some point,” Lyra said.

Soon then, Cynder came blazing into the shop and went straight to the girls’ table, slamming her hands on the table.

“OK! Who here decided to get on my cousin’s bad side? I want to know.”

“Now hold on there, partner,” Applejack said. “Care to explain why you came to us like a firecracker?”

“I was just talking to Tidal about his first day at school, and someone here got him upset. I want to know who did it.”

“Well, Lyra did bring up Tidal’s mother,” Bonbon explained.

“And Rainbow here decided to go all fan girl in front of him,” Applejack added.

“I did not go all fan girl on him,” Rainbow Dash responded.

“Actually, you went up to him in excitement after hearing his mother’s name,” Pinkie Pie corrected which play on her 3Ds system.

“Whatever.”

“Look, we just now learned about what went on at Tidal’s old school, and we’re sorry that it happened,” Applejack explained. “We just hope that we came make him understand that this school is nothing like his old school.”

“Yea. I mean, his mother is awesome. But everyone at our school is just as awesome as her,” Rainbow Dash added.

“Not everyone,” Lyra mumbled, staring at Sunset.

“Cynder dear. Is there any way we can help him understand that we just want to be his friend, no matter what happens?” Rarity asked.

Cynder started to think for a moment until Pinkie blurted out, “I GOT IT!”

“Got what?” Applejack asked.

“I understand where that move came from. It was from that last game that Tidal played, Crash n the Boys Street Challenge. It’s like Track and Field, but with weapons and fancy moves. There’s a fighting move that this one character, Crash, uses where he pins his opponent, then throws him up, jumps up, and punches his opponent into the ground like a fireball. That’s why it’s call Fireball Spike.”

Rainbow Dash shivered when she heard the name. “Pinkie, please don’t bring that name up again… ever.”

“Pinkie, I don’t think you’re helping here,” Applejack said.

“Wait a minute. Pinkie, what do you know about Streetpass Tags?” Bonbon asked.

“Well, whenever two players carrying a 3DS system with them while it’s on cross paths, then they share a Streetpass Tag that holds their basic info, greeting, and last game that they played. But they can only tag up to ten players.”

“Unless you have the premium package, which comes with some awesome mini games that require players based on what games mini games they have player or what color shirt that they selected,” Rainbow Dash added. “This way, they can transfer up to the next ten players to a waiting line so that they can tag up to a hundred players, allowing them to play the mini games more often when they get the time to do so. Me, Pinkie, and Fluttershy have that package.”

“You have one too,” Cynder asked, to which Fluttershy nodded.

“I only have a few favorites that I like to play, so I don’t take it around much.”

“Cynder, does Tidal have this premium package that they were talking about?” Bonbon asked.

“Yes. But he only gets a chance to grab any tags during conventions in the summer with his father. So he rarely gets tags elsewhere.”

“Well, what if we could get more Streetpass Tags from other students with a message of support for him,” Bonbon explained.

“That’s a great idea,” Lyra responded. “I sure there are others who have a 3Ds system at school, right?”

“Well, we don’t,” Rarity replied, referring to Applejack and Sunset.

“But, we could help organize it,” Applejack said. “We just need to talk to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna about the plan and see if it will be alright with them in the process.”

Pinkie started jumping up and down. “Oh, oh. I can talk to some of the others students and see if they could help out. Even make sure that there are ten tags made between classes.”

“I can do the same with the teams I’m a part of,” Rainbow Dash added.

“We’ll need to have it all planned out to make it work,” Lyra said. “So it might take a few days to get it done.”

“If we can get it all ready by Friday, then it will give him some time over the weekend to check out all the tags he got,” Bonbon added.

“But what do you plan to do with him until then?” Sunset asked. “He’s going to have mixed reviews about our school in the process. No doubt it will happen in my class with him.”

“Well, we don’t have any of those systems,” Lyra said.

“But we do have out Stream accounts,” Bonbon added. “Maybe he can tell us some games he likes on there that we can play.”

“He does have a Stream account of his own, and I know most of the games are Final Fantasy games that were released on there, plus a few other simple RPGs,” Cynder explained. “Maybe you can start there.”

“Let’s not forget that he might need help with classes,” Applejack added. “That’s another way we can help him out until then.”

“We already have that covered,” Lyra said. “But, it wouldn’t hurt to have some extra help along the way, just in case.”

With everyone in agreement, they all started to make their way out of the shoppe. Sunset decided to grab Lyra and talk to her for a moment.

“Look, I know that you and Bonbon don’t like me for what I did in the past. And you are right, he does need to know about what I did back then. But only when he’s ready to understand and I’m willing to talk to him about it.”

“I can understand,” Lyra said. “He’s been through a lot worse than anyone else in school, including you. And right now, we all need to gain his trust if he wants to get better. And I think he could understand the use of magic during the Fall Formal soon enough.”

“What makes you say that?” Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Remember what Cynder said about the Final Fantasy games?” Sunset nodded. “I recall it using stuff like magic, dragons, crystals… stuff like that. Although, I think he would be surprised that magic was real, if he’s able to see it himself.”

“I think it would be best that we don’t have any more magic going on. I’ve done enough damage thanks to that. But, if it can help him understand better, I’ll do whatever I can to make him understand for you girls.”

---

Celestia brought Tidal back home after a long, and tiresome, week. And it was a week that he wasn’t sure what to make of.

Rainbow Dash was able to apologize to Tidal about her actions from Monday after gym class, but she still was excited that Ocean Wave’s son was attending CHS, which still got on Tidal’s nerves. And for some reason, word about his connection to Ocean Wave spread to some other athletes in the school. But they never did come up to him about it.

Sunset Shimmer was able to lend her notes to Tidal during lunch so that he could make sure he was up to date before studying when he got home. But it also led to some students thinking that she was trying to get on his good side, thinking that she still had a grudge with most of the school. Not to mention that he had a way of coming to her aid with some of the pranks that were made on her.

But it was Lyra and Bonbon who was doing all the work helping Tidal adjust to his new school, as well as helping with his classes when he needed it the most. They also requested that Tidal bring his 3Ds system so that they could try some of his classic games whenever there was a chance, mostly during lunchtime. But during that time, he noticed that he was getting Streetpass Tags at school. They were few at the start, but it slowly grew over time. And just this Friday, he noticed that he was getting the max number of tags that he had to transfer them to the waiting line until he had the time to play.

But his system’s battery was nearly drained and he needed to give it time to have it recharged before he could go through all the tags that he received. Letting it charge up for the night, he wanted to catch some fresh air and take a moment to process all that went on during the week. So he bundled up and made his way to the living room where his aunt was looking over some of the reports from school.

“I’m going to take a walk. Need to… clear my head.”

“OK. But don’t stay out too late. It’s going to be another cold night,” Celestia explained. “And be careful out there. We had a bit of rain during the day, and there could be some icy patches out there.”

Tidal gave his aunt the annoyed stare. “I know that. Where do you think I’ve been living all this time?”

“Just checking.” Celestia waved to Tidal as he was leaving the house.

Tidal made his way to the same area that he went to before New Years. He felt that maybe a cup of hot chocolate would do the trick. As long as Pinkie doesn’t get on his case about everything like she did during lunchtime. But during his walk, he came across one of his classmates that he knew from gym class.

“Hey Tidal.”

“Hey there, Rivet.”

“So, what brings you out here by yourself?”

Tidal shrugged his shoulders. “Just… trying to sort things out, that’s all.”

“Rough first week, right?” Rivet said. Tidal nodded. “I was like that as well. Especially since your other aunt kept issuing detention to some students in class.”

“Aunt Tia said that she was always the strict one when it came to school. If she was at my old school, well… never mind. It’s nothing for you to worry about. What brings you out here?”

“Going to meet Rainbow Dash at a local bookstore. I’m trying to find the next Daring Do book to read.”

Tidal let out a small chuckle. “I would have never expected her to be a bookworm.”

Rivet agreed with a small chuckle of his own. “Try learning how to play guitar. I think she’s full of surprises. But I’m not one to judge at this time, since our boy’s basketball team has been doing well.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing for myself, but I’m too busy with homework to do so.”

“Well, I don’t want to keep her waiting. See you next week.”

They both parted way, waving at each other in the process. Tidal finally made his way to the Sweet Shoppe, where he was greeted by… Pinkie Pie.

“Hiya, Tidal. Hot chocolate with marshmallows like last time?”

Tidal let out a sigh before answering in a dull tone. “Yes Pinkie.”

“Coming right up.” Pinkie dashed on over to fix the hot chocolate and placed a few marshmallows in the cup. She stopped to talk to a blue skin lady who looked like she was the owner of the store before returning to the counter with his order. Tidal went to pay, and got his change back… along with a glazed dount. She whispered, “Dount’s on the house.”

Not to refuse the free offer, Tidal just smiled and took the dount, along with his drink, and went over to a nearby table. He took a bite of his dount, and while it wasn’t as fresh, it was still good. He could only guess that they were trying to get rid on any leftover sweets before closing up. He took a sip of his hot chocolate, then looked outside through the window. He was still busy processing what went on this week, only to be interrupted by a puffy, pink haired girl who was now sitting across her.

“Like the dount?” Pinkie asked, displaying a huge smile.

“Yea,” Tidal replied. “Taking a break?”

“Yep. So, how was your first week of school so far?”

“I don’t know. Just… too soon to say right now.”

“That’s OK. Just take your time. I know you’ll love it.”

“Wish it was that easy.” He took another bite out of his dount. “Do you sell dunkers here?”

Pinkie’s eyes lit up. “Yep. But we have a hard time baking enough of those in the morning because the Cakes have to take care of the twins at the same time. The only other place that sells them is Dount Joe’s down towards the city limits.”

“So the owners have two kids?”

“Yep. But their still babies, so they can be quite a handful. I know because I had to watch over them one night, and I wasn’t prepared for what they were able to do.”

“I think I understand,” Tidal said. He took a sip from his cup before he could explain. “One of my father’s co-workers gave birth to twins over a couple of years ago and was on leave from work when a big snowstorm hit in our area. Usually, she would be with him and a cameraman to their assigned location so that she can monitor the weather reports what my father was reporting. They were a bit short staffed at the time, and school was canceled in advance for the safety of the students, so I went along with my dad to help out, since my mother was already busy with other things. I never knew how hard it was to monitor the weather and ground conditions and stay connected with the main weather headquarters. But I guess we were lucky that I came along when it happened.”

“Oh, oh. That was when the thunder snow event happen, right? The one you told Applejack a couple of days ago?”

Tidal nodded. “When the second one appeared, dad showed me what to look for if more popped up nearby. Four more appeared nearby, totaling six thunder snow strikes. My dad said that it was very rare for that many to show up in one area. It would have been hard to pick up on it and still record it happening if I wasn’t there to help out.”

“Everyone at school must have been impressed with what you did to help out.” Then Pinkie’s mood changed. “Oh yea. That’s right. You didn’t have any friends to tell what happened.”

“I never bother telling anyone about it. Like anyone would even care.”

“I do,” Pinkie said. “I didn’t believe that thunder snow exist. But Applejack told me that it did, but only in certain areas. I know she likes to farm, but understanding the weather and environment have become keys to producing the best apple trees on the farm. She said that herself.”

“Farmers do like to keep up on the weather so that they can grow proper crops and avoid dealing with heat, wildfires, or floods,” Tidal explained. He finished up his dount and cup of hot chocolate when something came to mind. “Pinkie, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Do you know why some of the students at school give Sunset a hard time?”

“I do.” Pinkie moved closer to Tidal and whispered, “But it’s a secret.”

“A… secret?”

Pinkie nodded. “Sunset doesn’t feel like talking about it. But she said that she’ll tell you when she feels like it. You just have to wait until then. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be her friend. We’re friends with her no matter what.”

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to wait until she feels like talking about it.” Tidal started to get out of the booth that he was sitting at. “Thanks for the dount.”

“Oh it was no problem. You’re welcome to come here whenever you feel like it… as long as the shop is open anyway.”

Tidal nodded at Pinkie and made his way outside so that he could walk home.

---

Sunset made her way across the park at night, hoping to come across Tidal at some point. She already received a text from Pinkie that Tidal was at the Sweet Shoppe and wanted to talk to him, one on one, before he got back home. Somehow, she felt like that he needed to know about what she did before the Fall Formal before anyone else thought differently about him. She didn’t have a problem having him come to her aid from some of the students that try to pick on her. But she wanted to make sure that he understood the reasoning for these actions.

As she made it to one of the entrances to the park, she was able to see Tidal at the corner of the park, already crossing the street and disappearing from view. She was able to run over to get his attention when a bright light shined on her from the other direction. She covered her eyes from the bright light until it went off. That’s when noticed that it was a police officer who was on duty at the time.

“Miss. Have you seen anything unusual as of late?” The officer asked Sunset.

“Not really. Why?”

“I just received a report of a robbery that took place not far from here. Man in his late 30s still armed from what the report said. If you’re by yourself, that it might be best that I escort you home safely. Or at least have another officer come by to take you home.”

Sunset looked over back to where she last saw Tidal before talking to officer again. “I just saw a friend of mine from school just ran by. I think he was also by himself. It might be best to make sure he makes it home as well. He’s only been living here for a couple of weeks.”

The officer nodded in agreement, wanted to make sure that the robber who was still out there didn’t harm anyone else. But all that changed when they heard two gunshots out of nowhere. Sunset was able to hear where the shots were fired and looked at the direction where she last saw Tidal. And that was when she started to panic and run towards that direction.

“Miss! Wait!” The officer tried to stop her, but went on and followed her with his hand on his gun, in case he was to come across the robber in the process.

When they came around the corner of the park, they saw Tidal out of breath. In front of him was another man, much older that him. There was a gun close to him and an open bag that was filled with money.

Sunset went up to him and asked, “Tidal! Are you OK?”

Tidal, trying to catch his breath, said, “Yea. Just… trying to… stop… this… bull… y… from…”

Tidal started to faint and collapse, causing Sunset to grab him in the process. “Tidal? Tidal!” Sunset felt something strange on her hand after grabbing him and noticed that it was blood. “TIDAL!”

The office saw this and was quickly to react. He pulled out a handkerchief and placed it on Tidal’s wound. “Here. Apply pressure on the wound to reduce the bleeding. I’ll call for an ambulance.”

Sunset did what the officer told her to do while he made the call for an ambulance and extra police to come over. While that was going on, Sunset could see that Tidal was unresponsive and did her best to talk to him.

“Come on Tidal. Stay with me here. Don’t you dare go out on me now.”

She kept applying pressure to the wound as sirens were coming from the background. A few more police cars and two ambulances showed up as two emergency carts came out. One took the older man who was shot onto one ambulance, to which the officer went on, while the other one took Tidal, which Sunset went along to make sure he would be alright.

Comments

[The Bricklayer]

Okay, In my honest opinion? The idea of Sunset or someone getting put in danger, and shot with someone else taking the bullet? Bit of a cliche and makes Tidal look like a Gary Stu. Honestly, not a fan of this chapter.

THAT SAID, I am a fan of you not pairing up Lyra and Bon-Bon up with Tidal. This isn't just my Lyrabon shipper speaking, it's not. One, pretty sure polygamy in the real world at least in America is illegal and besides, it'd get ugly fast, with both girls vying for Tidal's attentions.