Under the Blue Moon

Chapter 12 – Blue Moon Favors

It’s been a week since Tidal turned sixteen, and with Aunt Tia’s help, he was able to pass the test during the week on his first time.  Now this would call for celebration, but almost everyone that he knew were busy expect for Lyra and Bonbon.  So the three of them decided to hang out for the day at the sweet shoppe where Pinkie Pie works at after school hours, now that the weather was starting to improve from it’s winter style.  All three of them were able to find a booth next to the window so that they could talk about some topics of interest.

“So having same-sex relationships is almost as common in Sunset’s world than it is here?” asked Lyra.

One of them was related to Tidal’s discussion with Sunset about her world.

“That’s what she told me,” replied Tidal.

“Now I feel a bit sorry for how I’ve been treating her,” Lyra said.  “I never knew that her world would have more females than males.  It’s almost balanced in our world.”

“That may be true,” Bonbon added.  “Maybe our pony counterparts are in a relationship with each other.”

“And maybe Bonbon is really Secret Agent Sweetie Drops who’s trying to hide from some bug-bear that’s looking for her,” Pinkie Pie said as she appeared out of nowhere next to Tidal, who wasn’t surprised.

“And you might have a party cannon that you like to carry with you wherever you go, and a secret base where you keep tabs of everyone’s birthdays,” Tidal said.

“What makes you say that?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Oh, just a hunch,” replied Tidal.

Pinkie Pie just shrugged her shoulders and left the booth in a flash.  Tidal has started to understand from Rarity that Pinkie Pie can be unpredictable at times and knew to be ready for that to happen when she was close by.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Bonbon.  “But what if we all don’t have pony counterparts anyway?”

“That maybe true, since Sunset has no knowledge of a pony with my name,” said Tidal.  “But my aunts’ pony counterparts are thousands of years old, so maybe I exist in a different time.”

“Maybe so, but we may never know,” said Lyra.  “What I want to know is what car you plan to get, now that you have a driver’s license.”

“I don’t know.  My dad plans to surprise me on my car as my belated birthday present.”

“Maybe it’s a convertible,” Lyra said.

“Nah.  It has to be all-wheel drive like Vice Principal Luna’s caravan,” Bonbon said.  “His family does live up in snow-covered land most of the time.”

“Well, as long as it gets here before the Spring Fling.  Otherwise, he won’t be able to take his date there,” Lyra said.

“If I ever get a date,” said Tidal.  “And I just learned about this yesterday from Rarity.  She plans to have Clyde as her date there.”

“Just as long as Clyde keeps focus on the game.  Playoffs start on Valentine’s Day, and everyone’s talking about our school’s boys team as being the favorite to win the championship,” explained Lyra.

“That’s because we have Rainbow Dash on the boys team in the first place,” explained Bonbon.

“Speaking of which…”  Tidal nodded his head towards the person walking outside.  The others looked behind them and saw who he was directing them to.

“Isn’t that Rivet?” asked Lyra.

“Yea.  But he looked a bit down,” said Bonbon.  “I wonder what’s bothering him?”

When Rivet was close to them, Tidal tapped on the window to get his attention.  Rivet was startled at first, but noticed who it was on the other side of the window.  Tidal, Lyra, and Bonbon waved their hands, inviting Rivet to come join them inside, which he did.  Rivet sat next to Tidal, still looking a bit down.

Tidal asked, “You OK, Rivet?”

“Kind of.”

“Kind of?” questioned Lyra.  “Doesn’t sound like it.”

“Is something wrong?” asked Bonbon.

“Well…you heard about the Spring Fling, right?” Rivet said.  All three of them nodded.  “I was think about…asking Rainbow out, but…well…”

“You’re not haunted about what happened that night, right?” Lyra said.  Rivet slowly nodded.

“Rivet, that incident is in the past.  It’s over.  Dead even,” Bonbon said, then looked at Tidal and said, “no pun intended.”

“None taken,” said Tidal.  “But she’s right.  That guy’s no longer a threat to you and more.  So why are you still worrying about it?”

“It’s just…all of it happened in front of Rainbow, and now I just feel weak that I couldn’t do anything about it in the first place,” explained Rivet.

“So, you rather take a bullet for her in the first place?” Tidal asked Rivet.

“No…I mean…”

Tidal said, “Look, I had to take the bullet in the first place.  I thought I have nothing to lose after all I went through at my old school.  I now know that I have friends that care for me, even if I didn’t know them at all.  And right now, I was given another chance to live after what happen.  Be grateful that you and Rainbow are still alive and unharmed after what happened.”

Rivet took a moment to think about it.  “It’s just that…I don’t even know if I have the courage to ask her out after what happened.”

“It doesn’t matter what happened in the past.  If you want to ask her out, then do so.  She’s been doing fine at the games,” said Lyra.  “We already locked in the playoffs with the first round being held at our school.  That should be proof that she’s doing fine.”

“I don’t know,” replied Rivet.

Bonbon started to think for a moment, then had an idea.  “Hey Lyra, can you take Rivet outside for a moment?”

Lyra nodded to Bonbon and made sure Rivet followed her outside.  Once outside, Bonbon explained her idea to Tidal.

“How about we take him to the bookstore where it happened.  I’ve heard that the owner has been doing fine since the robbery, and maybe Rainbow Dash has been there since then.”

“You sure?” Tidal replied.  “I hate for him to be reminded about what happened that day.”

“Remind him, or remind you?”  Bonbon said, starring at Tidal. “That’s where it all begin for you.  And so far, you’ve overcome your past.  Maybe that will help him as well.”

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try.  I’m still stuck with the physical scars from that event, which will never go away.”

“Still dealing with the nerve damage?”  Bonbon asked Tidal, which he nodded.  “Well, maybe the physical scars won’t go away, but the mental scars should be gone for you.  Let’s just give it a shot.  Besides, I think you own him after what you did for him, so to speak.”

So Bonbon and Tidal joined Lyra and Rivet outside and made their way to the old man’s bookstore.  When Rivet saw where they arrived, he stopped and started to remember what happened that day when he was with Rainbow Dash.  But for Tidal, is was this place that everything changed for him, and left him with a bullet wound from a cold heart crook who is now dead.

Lyra saw where they were at and whispered to Bonbon, “You sure about this?”

“Yes.  We need to get them moving forward in all of this,” she whispered back.

“Both of them?”

“Yes.”

All four of them were just standing there looking over the place before Bonbon spoke up.

“Well, are we just going to stand out here, or are we going inside?”

So all of them went inside to see the store looking busy.

“I don’t think I’ve seen the store this busy before,” said Rivet.

“A lot of people have been coming by and buying some of the used books that we have and donated some of their old books as well.”  Rivet looked to see the old man behind the counter.  “I’d never thought I see you again since the robbery.”

“I’ve been…dealing with things,” Rivet replied while rubbing his arm.

“Well, that rainbow haired friend of yours has come by looking for the next Daring Do book that both of you were looking for.  I think a few Daring Do books came in just yesterday, so maybe you can find the one your looking for.”  The old man pointed to the shelf where the Daring Do books were at.  “Might want to hurry before someone else gets it.”

“Come on, let’s hurry and get that book for you.”  Lyra grabbed Rivet’s arm and took him to the shelves that had the Daring Do books.

Bonbon started to follow, but looked back to Tidal.  “You coming?”

“You go on ahead.  I’ll just wait for you to get back.”

Bonbon went on ahead to join the others, while Tidal stood next to the counter, waiting for them to return.

Tidal looked around the store and said, “I’m surprised to see a local bookstore this busy.”

“After news went out about what happened here, everyone want to chip in and help make up for what the guy stole from here.  I was surprised that some people would donate their used books to help cover the losses.  I’ve even allowed them to trade one book for another if they wanted to,” the old man explained.

“But the police was able to catch the guy, right?” asked Tidal.

“Well, that’s the strange part.  They were able to find him at the hospital after he and some kid were both shot.  I don’t know what he was doing to the kid, but when they found him, I was able to ID him while he was in surgery.  Found out later that he died from complications during surgery.  At least I head that the kid made it out alive.  I hope everything works out for the kid.”

Tidal started to wonder about the actions that he did that day, but decided to change the subject.  “What about the money that was stolen?”

“Police were able to return it to me a few days later.  Used some of it to add a security system to the place.  Might help keep robbers away should it happen again, which I hope never happens.”

“That’s…good,” replied Tidal.

Lyra, Bonbon, and Rivet returned with books in hand.

“Found it,” Rivet said while holding up the Daring Do book he was looking for.

“Good,” replied the old man.  “And I see you girls were able to find a few books as well.”

“Found a couple of mystery novels for me,” said Lyra.

“And I found a few romance novels as well,” said Bonbon.  “You should look for one yourself, Tidal.”

“Not sure if I can find one I might like.”

“We’re sure there’s some fantasy novels worth reading,” said Lyra.

“May I recommend something?”  The old man went to the shelf behind him and pulled out a book to show.  “The Soul Samurai and the Changeling Queen.  It’s a story about a samurai detective who possesses soul-like powers which he keeps secret from others.  He’s been assigned by the emperor to look into rumors about an assassination attempt on his life, only to find out that there are changelings hiding in the city who were sent by the changeling queen.  It’s been listed on the Top 10 in new authors last year, and the author is working on his second book.  Even A. K. Yearling commented on it, saying that it’s one of the best books for those who are looking for fantasy adventures to read, and is a change of pace from the Daring Do books that she’s written, since they are more pure adventure with puzzle like challenges.”

Tidal took the book from the old man and looked it over.  “I’ll give it a shot.”

The old man began ringing up each one’s purchases and gave them their totals, which each one paid for.  After bagging up their books and handing them back, Lyra, Bonbon, Rivet, and Tidal left the bookstore, waving back to the old man.

“Well, I’m going to head back home and start reading the next book.”  Rivet left the others and made his way home, waving back to them.

Bonbon looked at Tidal and said, “So…”

“So?  So what.  It looks like everyone is doing fine here.”

“That’s besides the point,” Bonbon replied.  “What do you think happened here since the robbery?  Everyone came together and helped out.  I was able to hear it from the old man.  And now we got Rivet feeling a bit better.  Maybe he and Rainbow Dash will come back here together one day.”

“And as for what the robber did, I’m sure the police would have found him soon without your help, and you wouldn’t have been shot in the first place,” Lyra added.

“And we wouldn’t have this conversation in the first place,” replied Tidal.

“Maybe, but we still would have become friends in a different way,” explained Bonbon.  “The main thing is that you don’t need to take risks to get things done.  If a robber gets away, then he gets away.  He’ll get caught one day.  And if a store gets hit, we come together and help out.  That’s what we do here, help others out.”

“So you don’t have to be alone to get by,” explained Lyra.  “You’ll always have friends around when you need them.”

“Like you two?” asked Tidal, to which Lyra and Bonbon nodded.  “I guess you’re right.  I just never had any real friends in the first place until I came here.”

Bonbon wrapped her arm around Tidal’s shoulder.  “Well now you do.”

Lyra wrapped her arm around the other shoulder.  “Now all you need is a girlfriend, and you’re set.”

Tidal let out a sigh.  “Well, if you think you can find me one, where do we begin?”