Under the Blue Moon

Chapter 10 – Blue Moon Birthday

It was Tidal’s birthday, and he was expecting it to be just a normal birthday for him, even if it was his sixteenth birthday.  But his new friends had other plans for him, because they wanted it to be special.  As all of the students were arriving at school, Rarity decided to visit Principal Celestia’s office to explain Pinkie’s plans for Tidal’s birthday.

“So, what does Pinkie have planned for my nephew’s birthday?” asked Celestia.

“Well, she wished she could have done it tonight, but it’s the first time she would be doing a belated birthday since we need some time to get everything made an arranged for him,” replied Rarity.  “Since you plan to take him out for dinner tonight, we will be working on getting the decorations made and ready for tomorrow.  Then Lyra and Bonbon will take him out for lunch while we make our way to your place to get everything in place.”

Celestia asked, “What about the cake?”

“Pinkie’s already talking to Vice Principal Luna about that and plans to fix it up tomorrow morning.”

“That’s good.  What about guest?  Who all do have coming over?” asked Celestia.

“Well, me, my friends, and a few of the guys.  Pinkie wants to bring Vinyl over as well for some music.”

“It better not be loud,” Celestia requested.

“Oh don’t worry, principal.  She plans to keep it easy, since this is your home and not some other building.  She’s even asked for Octavia to come as well.  I think it has to deal with a love for a certain kind of music that Tidal’s into.”

“Might be with some of the games he plays, I think,” Celestia explained.  “I think we should be fine for now.  Keep me informed if any changes are going to be made.”

“Certainly,” replied Rarity.  She started to leave the office, but stopped.  “Oh, there’s one more thing.”

“And what is that, Rarity?”

“Sunset Shimmer has decided to not attend Tidal’s party.  I wish she would change her mind, but she decided to let me deliver her present to him.”

“I think I can understand her reasoning, Rarity.  With the fact that there are others against her, it wouldn’t feel right for her to be there in front of Tidal,” Celestia explained.  “I do not have a problem with her decision, and I’m sure Tidal will understand the same as well.”

It was Saturday, and the gang had everything ready for Tidal’s birthday.  All that was left was for Pinkie to bake the cake and the others to step up the decorations.  But they had to wait for Tidal to leave the house first before they could move in.

Back in the house, Tidal was busy getting ready for his “play date” with Lyra and Bonbon, as they liked to call it.  He still couldn’t believe they wanted to go through with it, but he didn’t mind.  After getting dressed and grabbing his jacket, he started to make his way to the living room.  As Celestia and Luna were about to respond, the door bell rang.  Celestia got up and opened the door, revealing Lyra and Bonbon standing in the doorway.  Tidal saw them and put his jacket on.  He went on ahead and walked out the door to join Lyra and Bonbon.  After waving goodbye, Celestia closed the door and grabbed her cell phone, calling Rarity that Tidal has left the house and that they can come by to set up for the birthday party.

Tidal was walking with Lyra and Bonbon to a small cafe that they have picked out for him, since he has yet to try any of the places to eat.  As they were walking, the girls decided to ask how his day was yesterday.

“So, did you have a great birthday?” asked Lyra.

“We went out to a nice restaurant for spaghetti,” replied Tidal.  “So I guess it was OK.”

“Well, I hope you like burgers, because this place has the best burgers in Canterlot,” said Bonbon.

When they arrived, it was a small, local burger joint.  The tables had red and white checkered tablecloths on them and classic metal wire chairs with red cushions attached to them.  The booths next to the windows and walls were white with red cushioned seats attached to the walls.  The three of them decided to take one of the booths next to the wall, allowing Lyra and Bonbon to sit on one side looking at the window, while Tidal sat on the other side.  A waitress was able to come by and bring them their menus and dinnerware and went to attend other customers.  They looked over the menu and decided on what to order.  When the waitress returned, she was able to write down their orders and take the menus from them and went to place the order.  They decided to take the time to talk in hopes that Tidal can improve his commutation skills.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Lyra asked Tidal.

Tidal started to think about what would be good to talk about, but he was drawing a blank.  He thought about video games, but he’s done that a few time before and after school.  He wasn’t sure what else to talk about, and Lyra and Bonbon could see it in his face.

“I’m sure there’s something that you wanted to talk about,” recommended Bonbon.

“Yea,” said Lyra.  “Anything that went on in school?  Any activities you did lately?  Did you make any friends?”

And that’s when it hit him.  With all the drama that has gone on the past few weeks, he hasn’t had time making new friends expect for the ones that Rarity was able to introduce him to.  But during his time in the hallways, he recalled seeing some interesting students along the way.

“Actually, I have been curious about some of the students in our school,” said Tidal.  “Are there anyone else that stands out, besides Rarity and her friends?”

When they heard him ask that question, they figure that it was a good time to know some of the friends that he was about to make later on at his surprise party.

“Well, there’s Vinyl Scratch.  She the girl with the blue hair, who wears the blue shades and headphones,” explained Lyra.

“I think I’ve seen her in the hallways at times between my third and fourth classes,” explained Tidal.  “Does she walk in some kind of rhythm?”

“Yea, that’s her,” responded Lyra.  “She runs the music at some of our school events, including the Fall Formal and Spring Fling that we have every year.”

“Oh, and there’s her friend that lives with her.  Her name is Octavia Melody,” explained Bonbon.  “Most of the students know her because she carries her cello every now and then throughout the school.”

“There’s Thunderlane.  He’s on the basketball team as Clyde and Swift,” explained Lyra.

“He even has a little brother named Rumble who also attends the school,” added Bonbon.

“Doesn’t Swift have a younger sister as well?” asked Tidal.

“That would be Scootaloo,” replied Bonbon.  “And Applejack has a younger sister named Apple Bloom and an older brother named Macintosh, but he likes to be called Big Mac.”

“And Rarity has a younger sister named Sweetie Belle,” added Lyra.  “Those three girls can be trouble sometimes.”

“Why is that?” Tidal asked them.

Bonbon said, “One day, we were on Applejack’s farm helping out, and I fell into a puddle of mud in the process.”

“I went to help her out and she pulled me in the same puddle as well,” said Lyra.  “We were both dirty in the process.”

“But we heard something click and saw those three girls nearby, taking a picture of us and running off,” explained Bonbon.  “We gave chase to them, but they were able to make it back to show it to Applejack.”

“When she saw the picture, we had to explain what happened, and her only response was ‘Have y’all been working out, Bonbon?’  I just laughed while Bonbon was embarrassed at the remark.”

“I didn’t think I was that strong, since Applejack is the strongest girl in our school,” replied Bonbon.

“Strongest?  As in how strong?” asked Tidal.

“Strong enough to lift a folded table by herself,” said Bonbon.

Tidal just blinked in surprise.

“Oh it’s true.  All that hard work on the farm is what has made her who she is now,” explained Bonbon.

“Wow!” was the only response that could come out of Tidal’s mouth.

“You can be surprised at how different we can be,” said Lyra.  “And we’ve learned that we can work together, even if we are different.”

“So you can see that we’re nothing like that old school of yours,” added Bonbon.  “If they can’t accept how different others are, then it’s their loss.”

Tidal wasn’t sure how to properly respond.  “Um, well, thanks, I guess.”

Bonbon decided to help reassure Tidal.  “We might have our own groups, but we learn how to work together whenever we need to.”

“Do both of you have your own groups to hang out with at times?” asked Tidal.

“Say, what about those girls that you’re friends with?”  Bonbon asked Lyra.  “What was that one girl’s name…Ah, Minuette.  You still talk to her, don’t you?”

Lyra started scratching the back of her head.  “Well…you see…”

Bonbon could see that Lyra was trying to avoid the topic and decided to press the issue.

“Lyra, when was the last time you talked to her?”

“Um, right before…we started…you know.”

Bonbon face-palmed at Lyra’s answer.  “You mean you haven’t talk to her since then?  What about the other girls?”

Lyra started to displayed a fake grin, wishing that they weren’t brought up.

“Seriously?  I can understand us, but I’m fine if you wanted to spend time with your friends if you wanted to,” responded Bonbon.

“But I wanted to make this work,” replied Lyra.

“You’re not thinking of hooking me up with her, or her friends?” asked Tidal.

“Oh, it’s nothing like that,” replied Lyra, shaking her hands in front of her.  “I think she’s interested in a friend of hers that she knows for a long time.  Night Chase, I believe.”

“You believe?” replied Bonbon.  “You haven’t even thought about helping her out in this, because I can guess that she hasn’t thought about confessing her feelings for him.”

Tidal let out a small giggle.  “Looks like someone hasn’t been helping their friends out when they need it the most.”

“You’re right, Tidal.  Maybe we should have Lyra meet her friends once again.  At least they don’t have any magical powers like the girls you’ve met,” explained Bonbon.

Before they could continue, their food arrived.

“Ah good.  Let’s eat,” said Lyra.

“Don’t think you can get out what we were talking about, Lyra.  We’re going to talk about this again later on,” Bonbon reminded her.

They each took a bite out of their burgers, which Tidal enjoyed.  Once they were finished with their meal, Lyra decided to excuse herself to the restroom so that she can send a text to Rarity that they were about to head back to the house.  A quick reply came back to her saying that they were ready for Tidal’s surprise.  When Lyra returned from the restroom, they paid for their food and left.

As they were walking back, Tidal decided to ask about another student he has seen.

“You know, there’s this one student that I have, well, crashed into between classes.  I never had time to help her or ask her name because I’m in a hurry to get to my next class.  She has these eyes that are, I think, crossed, and-”

“Oh, that’s Ditzy Doo, or as some like to call her, Derpy,” Bonbon responded quickly.  “She can be clumsy at times, but she’s really nice.  Just don’t let it become a problem for you.  It commonly happens to her a lot.  I’m sure she’ll understand the rush you have to go through.”

“OK.  I just didn’t want to feel rude for crashing into her without saying sorry,” replied Tidal.

All three of them finally arrived in front of Tidal’s home.  Tidal got the keys out of his pocket and inserted it into the door, unlocking it and opening it.  When he did, he saw that it was dark.  He walked in and was able to turn on the lamp nearby, bringing some light to the room.

“SURPRISE!!!!!”

Everyone jumped out of hiding when the lights came on, shocking Tidal backwards that Lyra and Bonbon had to catch him from falling.

“Happy belated birthday, Tidal!” yelled Pinkie Pie.

Tidal looked around to see the same faces that he has met around the lunch table: Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Clyde, Swift, and Rivet.  But he also saw some new faces as well.

Rarity walked up and said, “I hope you don’t mind us surprising you a day after your birthday.”

“Yea, we wanted to make it special for you, since we know you’re new here,” explained a younger girl next to her.  She had white skin and pinkish hair, styled almost like Rarity’s, not to mention Rarity’s fashion sense.

“Oh, this is my little sister, Sweetie Belle,” explained Rarity.

“Nice to meet you, Tidal,” replied Sweetie Belle as she extended her hand for Tidal to shake.  “These are my friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo,” as she pointed to two other girls next to her.  The first one was more of a farm girl with yellow skin and red heir with a red bow tied on it.  The other one was more of a tough girl with orange skin and purplish short hair.

“Hiya.  I’m Applejack’s sister, Apple Bloom,” replied the yellow girl.

“And I’m Swift’s sister, Scootaloo,” replied the orange girl.

“Who tries to give me a hard time,” explained Swift as he was able to put her in a headlock and rub his knuckles into her hair.  “Since she’s a chicken.”

“Hey, stop calling me chicken,” replied Scootaloo.  Swift let go of Scootaloo, which prompted her to start chasing him.

Tidal, Lyra, and Bonbon took off their jackets and Celestia was able to take them and hang them away.

Pinkie ran up to Tidal and took him over to meet two other girls.  One of them had gray skin and long black hair and dressed in classical attire.  The other girl had white skin and blue hair, and was wearing white clothes and had shades and headphones on.

“Tidal, I want you to meet a couple of friends of mine.  This is Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” replied the gray girl as she extended her hand to Tidal.  “You can call me Tavi if you like.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Tavi,” replied Tidal as he shook her hand.

“Hey, I think I saw you in the hallways at school,” said Vinyl.

“I believe so,” replied Tidal.  “I was just talking to Lyra and Bonbon about you earlier.”

“Cool.  I hope you like the music that I selected for your birthday.  I had to search some indie sites to find what you like,” explained Vinyl.

“I’ll be glad when I hear it,” replied Tidal.

But before he could listen to the music, he felt a tap on his shoulder.  He looked to see Fluttershy looking at him.

“Um, Tidal.  I was, um, able to bring a couple of friends along that, um, I would like for you to meet.”

Tidal walked with Fluttershy to meet a boy and girl that he hasn’t met.  The boy had purple skin and dark red hair.  The girl had blue skin with blue and white hair.  Both of them were wearing normal clothes.

“This is Night Chase,” she pointed to the purple boy, “and his friend, Minuette,” she pointed to the blue girl.

“Minuette.  The girls were just telling me about you,” Tidal said as he extended his hand to shake hers.

“Is that so,” replied Minuette.

“It so is,” replied Bonbon, who was able to drag Lyra with her to join up with Tidal.  “It’s nice to finally meet you.”  Bonbon extended her hand to shake Minuette’s.

“So, what did Lyra tell you about me?” Minuette asked as she raised her eyebrow in question.

Lyra displayed a nervous grin as she looked at Tidal and Bonbon, who were displaying sly grins.  “Um…can we talk someplace private?”  Lyra grabbed Minuette and went to the end of the hallway so that they could talk.

“Um, what just happened?” asked Fluttershy.

“Looks like Minuette and Lyra are trying to patch up their friendship,” explained Applejack, who was able to catch the whole thing.  “Could explain why she’s attached to you by the hip.”  Bonbon nodded.

Just then, someone was able to hug Tidal from behind, without him knowing it was coming.

“Oh thank you for helping my brother out after what happened.”

Tidal tried to look at who was hugging him, but could only make out the rainbow hair she had.  But it didn’t sound like Rainbow Dash.  Applejack was quick to catch on.

“You must be First Light, Rivet’s sister.”

“That I am,” she replied and let go of Tidal.

Tidal was able to turn around to get a better look of First Light.  While she almost looked like Rainbow Dash, the only difference he could make out what that she had pink skin.

Applejack went up to First Light’s ear and whispered, “It might be best not to bring up what he did for your brother.  We’ve been trying to keep it under raps.”  First Light nodded and went on her way.

“I’m guessing Rivet is doing better after all that happened?” asked Tidal.

“Both him and Rainbow,” replied Applejack.

“That’s good.”

Music started to play in the background, and Tidal was able to recognize it.

Youtube Video

“Are you trying to start a battle on the bridge?” Tidal asked Vinyl.

“You betcha,” Vinyl replied.

“Wait!  Where’s the bridge?” said Pinkie Pie.

“It’s the name of the song,” Tidal explained.  “Battle on the Bridge.  It’s Gilgamesh’s theme song from Final Fantasy V.”

“Oooooooohhhh.  OK.”

Tidal’s birthday party was underway.  There was music, dancing, gaming, and so much more.  After an hour of fun, Luna and Pinkie Pie brought out the birthday cake.  Tidal blew out the candles and started to cut the cake for all of his guest.  Then the time came for Tidal to open his presents that were brought to him.  After going through each present, he came across the last present, which was from Rivet and Rainbow Dash.

“Here you go, Tidal.  We hope you like it,” explained Rainbow Dash.

Tidal opened their present and saw two music CDs.

“The Black Mages?  How did you find these?” asked Tidal.

“Principal Celestia told us that you liked the music from Final Fantasy and were able to find them online and ordered them.  They just came in yesterday,” explained Rivet.

“We weren’t certain that they would get here in time for your party,” Rainbow Dash added.

“Now this…is…AWESOME!!!”

Rainbow Dash looked at Rivet, and both of them exchanged fist bumps.

The party went on for a couple of hours before everyone decided it was time to go home.  Once everyone left the house, Rarity stayed for a moment while Clyde went to get the car.  Rarity had one last gift to deliver.

“Here you go,” Rarity said as she handed Tidal a small box.  “It’s from Sunset Shimmer.”

Tidal took the box and opened it, revealing a small gold coin with what looked like a unicorn on the front of the coin.

“She said that it’s called a BIT,” Rarity explained.  “It’s what they used as currency back in her world.”

“Where all the magic comes from, right?” asked Tidal.

“Yes.  I know she couldn’t come by today, but she was hoping if you were free tomorrow, then maybe you could come over and she can explain more about her world, if your aunts don’t have any problems with that.”

Tidal looked at Celestia and Luna before he could answer.  But Celestia decided to answer for him.

“I don’t see any problems with that.  You’re welcome to do whatever you want tomorrow.”

“Good,” replied Rarity.  “I’ll let her know and have Clyde pick Tidal up tomorrow and bring him to my place.  He knows where it is.”  Rarity was able to hear the car horn outside.  “Well, I don’t want to keep Clyde waiting.  We’re see you tomorrow.”  Rarity opened the door a walked outside, where her ride was waiting.

Celestia went to close the door and went back to the dinning room to help Luna clean up.

“So, how was your date with Lyra and Bonbon anyway,” Luna asked Tidal.

“It wasn’t a date,” Tidal clarify.  “But, it turned out fine.  I just need to work on my communication skills.”

“Well, I’m sure that spending time with Sunset Shimmer could help with that,” said Luna.

Tidal agreed with her aunts’ decision, but felt like something was bothering him.  “Was Sunset Shimmer really that bad before?”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other.

“It’s hard to say,” Celestia answered.  “We really didn’t know about it until the Fall Formal last semester.”

“I’m sure that spending some time with her can help both of you with the problems that each of you have faced in the past,” Luna added.  “Maybe it would help her if she had a friend that didn’t even judge her for her past actions, but for what she has learned from them to help her move on.”

Tidal thought about before agreeing to what Luna was saying and decided that tomorrow would be a new start, not just for Tidal, but for Sunset as well.