Under the Blue Moon

Chapter 11 – Blue Moon Magic

Just a day after Tidal’s birthday party, Tidal got up and did his usual morning routine.  But this time, he was going to see Sunset.  Ever since Rarity handed him Sunset’s gift, he was curious about the world that she was from.  To learn that her world is full of ponies was hard to believe, but he wanted to know who the pony on the coin was.

Clyde was able to pull up and honked his horn, letting Tidal know that he was there ready to go to Rarity’s.  Tidal grabbed the coin, told Celestia and Luna that he was leaving, and made his way out the door and into Clyde’s car.

As they started making their way to Rarity’s, Tidal asked, “Clyde, how did you and Rarity meet?”

“Would you believe that it was love at first sight?” replied Clyde.

“Doubt it.”

“Well, it was close to that.  Tried to save her from an attack in gym class on the first day…from dodge ball.”

Tidal tried to contain his laugh.  “Really?”

“Well, at least it wasn’t a bullet to the side.”

“OK, you win that one,” replied Tidal.  “So how did it all play out?”

“You remember about what happen at the Fall Formal?”  Tidal nodded.  “Well, it was afterwards that Pinkie Pie decided to have a balloon pop event to raise money for the damage that Sunset did, which was a lot.  I went and bought a balloon and popped it, and got a date with Pinkie Pie.”

“So, how did that relate to Rarity?” Tidal asked Clyde.

“Well, we were given slips of paper on where to meet our dates, and somehow mine got mixed up with a friend of mine who won a date with Rarity.  So our dates were switched and that’s how it all began.”

“So when did the two of you became an item?”

“I think Christmas was the turning point.  Then it fully began on New Year’s.”

“I guess she gave you her heart,” replied Tidal.

“Actually, she gave me something better.  Happiness and a family.”  Tidal just looked at him.  “It’s not just that I care for her, but she cares for me as well.  I lost my parents when I was young.  And my older brother is in the guard.”

“And he couldn’t make it home for Christmas, right?” asked Tidal.

“That’s right.  Rarity invited me over to her house, and that was when the wheels started turning.”

“And now both of you are an item,” said Tidal.

“Yep.  Maybe one day, you’ll find someone who can understand you and make you happy as well,” said Clyde.

They finally arrived at Rarity’s home.  Both of them got out of the car and started walking up to the door, only to be greeted by Rarity herself.

“You’re just in time, dear.”

As both of them went inside, the took off their coats while Rarity closed the door and took their coats and hanged them on the wall.  Tidal looked around to see that it was more like a store than a home.

“Is this place a home or business?” asked Tidal.

“Both,” Rarity replied.  “Our home is in the back and upstairs.  This part here is the boutique, where I do all my work.  Now come along.  Sunset’s in the back waiting for us.”

So all three of them went to the back and found Sunset Shimmer sitting at a table that Rarity had laid out for the group.

Sunset got up from her chair, extended her hand, and said, “Thanks for coming.”

Tidal replied while shaking her hand.  “Thanks for inviting me.”

Sunset and Tidal sat down next to the table.  Clyde just took a seat that was next to the wall.

Rarity asked, “Does anyone want something to drink?  Tea?  Coffee?”

“Coffee, with a bit of milk,” said Sunset.

“Coffee.  Extra milk and sugar,” said Tidal.

“Tea please,” replied Clyde.

“I’ll be right back.”  And Rarity went off to the kitchen to fix up some drinks.

Sunset looked at Tidal and said, “So where do you want to begin?”

“How about we start with this.”  Tidal took out the coin and showed it to her with the head facing up.  “Do you know who this is?”

“You might be surprised by this, but the pony you see there is an alicorn names Princess Celestia.”

Tidal’s eyes went wide open.  “You mean my aunt is a princess in your world?”

“Actually, both of your aunts are,” replied Sunset.

Now Tidal’s eyes really went wide open.

Rarity came back out with drinks on a tray.  She placed both coffee cups on the table, then headed over to give Clyde his tea and took her tea, then placed the platter on the table.

“So, would that make Tidal a prince in your world?” asked Rarity.

“I don’t think he exists in my world.  I’m sure that some of the people here don’t have a pony counterpart,” explained Sunset.  “Besides, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have lived for thousands of years, so Tidal could be part of another time line in my world.”

All of them said, “They’re that old?”

“Yep.  I’m not sure how old, but alicorns are almost immortal, if not eternal,” explained Sunset.

“What are alicorns?” asked Tidal.

Sunset thought for a moment, trying to think of the best way to explain this.  “Well, they’re like the symbol of the three pony breeds.  Earth pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn.  All three breeds were in conflict long ago, but a member of each breed were able to bring them together to work as one.  I’m not sure all the details because most of the ancient records were lost long ago, so I really can’t give you a detail story about it.  All I know is that the lead to Hearth’s Warming Eve.  It’s similar to Christmas in this world.”

“So what much can you tell me about the princess’ in your world,” asked Tidal.

“Well, before I came to this world, I was a mentor to Princess Celestia, who was the only alicorn princess in Equestria.  Over a thousand years ago, both Princess Celestia controlled the sun, and Princess Luna controlled the moon.  But there was a conflict between the sister princess.  This led Princess Luna to transform into Nightmare Moon, because she wanted the world to stay in darkness so that all ponies can notice her.  Princess Celestia had no choice but to banish her sister to the moon.

“Now, when I learned that the portal was open once again, I was able to return to find out if anything had changed, since I knew Nightmare Moon would have returned during my absence.  I knew the only way to stop her was with the Elements of Harmony, which I learned were turned to stone.  What surprised me was that not only did Nightmare Moon returned, but six ponies were able to revive the Elements of Harmony and change Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna.”

“I’m guessing that the six ponies would be Twilight and our friends that defeated you back at the Fall Formal,” Rarity explained.

“Yes.  And Twilight wasn’t a princess back then.  She was just a unicorn, like myself.  I’m not sure how she became an alicorn, but she must have done something that I couldn’t do myself.  I mean, the portal in my world was located in the Crystal Empire, which never existed when I was there.”

“Forgive me for asking, but what did you mean by becoming a princess?” asked Rarity.

“There’s a school that was for gifted unicorns that Princess Celestia holds in her castle.  At times, she would ask one unicorn to be her pupil.  I was that unicorn at that time.  I studied hard, trying to be the best.  And one day, she took me to a mirror that would show me my destiny.  It showed me as an alicorn princess.  But I started to feel jealous, thinking that she was holding me back.

“So I ran away and went to the castle of the two sisters that was abandoned since Luna’s banishment.  I was hoping to find the Elements of Harmony, only to find them turned to stone.  So I went to the castle’s library to find a way to break the spell.  But instead, I found info that told me more about the mirror that revealed my destiny.  Turns out that it was also a portal to other worlds.  I decided to break back into the castle and make my way through the mirror, hoping that it could lead me to something more.  Instead, I ended up here.”

“And you found out that there was no magic in this world,” said Tidal.

“After doing some research,” replied Sunset.  “But the problem I had was that the portal was closed when I tried to go back.  So I had to adapt to living in this world, hoping I can find the portal open once again.”

“And it wasn’t a week before the Fall Formal that you found it open,” Rarity said.  “Could explain why you were missing from school a couple of days.”

“I was busy catching up on my world.  What else would you expect.”  Sunset laid her head on the table, feeling sad.  “Now, I’m stuck in this world, having to make up for my past mistakes.”

Rarity went over and set her glass of tea on the table and placed her hands on Sunset’s shoulders.  “So what.  You made a mistake.  That’s in the past.  Now’s the time to focus on the here and now.”

Sunset started to look up for a moment.  “I guess.”

“Good,” replied Rarity, as she went back to grab her glass.  “Now, if I recall, Twilight’s dog was actually a dragon in your world. Care to explain that?”

“Oh yea.  You’re into dragons, right?” Sunset asked, which Tidal nodded.  “Well there are dragons in my world as well.  Not to mention griffons, buffalo, yaks, diamond dogs…most creatures that exist in my world.  But I never got to encounter most of those creatures.  My world is just different from this world.”

“I would like to see this world myself,” said Tidal.

“Well, there’s no telling when the portal will open again,” Sunset explained.  “All I know is that it will take thirty moons before it could open again, which I have no idea how long that would be here.  Besides, I heard that you had a good time on your date with Lyra and Bonbon.  Maybe you’re better off living here instead.”

“It wasn’t a date,” replied Tidal.

Rarity leaned to Sunset’s ear and whispered, “Actually, Lyra and Bonbon are dating each other.  They just wanted to help Tidal with some dating experience.”

Sunset simply replied, “Oh.  OK.”

Rarity looked at her and said, “OK?  That’s it?  You don’t want to tell the school about it anyway?”

“Why should I?” Sunset replied.  “It’s not like a big deal to me.”

“Well, it is here,” Rarity replied.  “And we would like to keep it a secret for now.”

“Are same sex relationships common in your world?” asked Tidal.

“Just about,” replied Sunset.  “There are more mares than stallions in my world.  There have been a few…what’s the word…harmens from time to time just to help the population growth.  Maybe you should do the same.”

“Oh no, no, no, no.  We don’t need to put Tidal in that kind of situation,” replied Rarity.  He looked over to see Clyde thinking.  “CLYDE!!!  DON’T YOU DARE EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!!

“I’m not, I’M NOT!!!” replied Clyde.

“I don’t think you have to worry, Rarity.  He might not have enough money to cover two girls,” explained Sunset.  “But still, have you ever thought about asking someone else out that you want to know?”

“I really don’t know,” replied Tidal.  “I’ve made some new friends yesterday, but I don’t know them enough to go that far.”

“Well, Valentine’s Day is a few weeks away,” Rarity said.  “Maybe you should look into it as a learning experience, right Clyde?”

Rarity stared at Clyde, making sure he got the hint.

“Oh yea.  YEA!!!  Maybe you should look into it.  I know I have to.”

“You know we have a holiday like that, but we call it Hearts and Hooves Day,” said Sunset.  “But I never focus on days like those.”

“Even if you were dating Flash?” asked Rarity.

“I was just with him just to become popular.”  Sunset face-palmed after saying that.  “Man do I feel terrible.”

“The main thing is that you’re starting a new life, that’s all,” replied Rarity.  “I’m sure when the school sees that you’ve change, then maybe that right boy will come and sweep you off your feet.”

“Oh maybe he’ll rescue you from getting hit in the face with a sports ball,” added Tidal.

“Maybe.”  Sunset looked at Tidal and asked, “Is there anything else you want to talk about from my world?”

“I think that’s all I can think of,” replied Tidal.  “I’m glad we had this chat.”

“If that’s all, the I hope you don’t mind, but there are some things I need to take care of,” said Rarity.

“Would you like some help?” asked Clyde.

“You can collect the glasses for me if you like,” Rarity replied, giving a few quick winks.

“You know, I think were going to step outside for a moment, right Tidal?”

Tidal looked at Sunset and started to get the hint.  “Oh yea.  Sure.  Just as long as Clyde remembers to take me back home when he’s ready.”

“Just give me a few minutes and I’ll be ready,” replied Clyde.

Sunset and Tidal left the room and grabbed their coats and walked outside to talk.

“I think our lovebirds wanted a moment alone,” said Sunset.

“Maybe so.  Just as long as Clyde doesn’t get carried away,” said Tidal

“You know, you really have made some improvement since we first saw you.”

Tidal started to scratch the back of his head.  “I guess so.”

“I’m sure you’ll find that right girl one day.  If not this semester, then maybe the next school year.”

“Well, I was wondering…that maybe…well…you know…”

Sunset could see that he was trying to say something and decided to stop him by placing a finger on his lips.

“Look, if you’re thinking of asking me out, don’t.  It’s not worth it.  I can understand that you don’t want to be alone on days like those, but right now, I’m just a broken pony in a human world.  You need someone who would accept you for who you are and is willing to heal your own wounds.  For now, I would like it if we can be friends, OK?”

Tidal replied, “Sure.  I can understand.”

“Good.  Because you might want to work on asking a girl out better than that.”

Both of them let out a small laugh.

The front door open, and Clyde walked out to join Tidal.  After saying their goodbyes for the day, Clyde was able to take Tidal back home.