As much as I wanted to keep my constant posting to a weekly basis, I was waaaaaaaay to excited to post this chapter. It is (so far) my favorite chapter to have written. Oh boy. I'm not one for intros, but I just had to!

Chapter 5: Night Light

Tyr found himself in the library more and more lately, and not just because the building had the oldest machines in town. With so little to do, he found himself doing more and more reading. With that came spending more time around Twilight. But even that didn't prepare him for what he saw today as he brought Sherry to get more books. Twilight was running back and forth, stacks of books in her arms and papers flying around haphazardly. "Um… did we miss something?" Tyr asked.

"She's in a panic," Spike said flatly, coming over. He seemed unperturbed by everything that was happening. I guess this sort of thing isn't too odd for Twilight, Tyr figured.

"Why?" Sherry asked.

"Her old teacher is coming into town in a couple of days."

Tyr raised an eyebrow. "Is that such a big deal?"

"To her it is."

"Obviously…" Tyr watched Twilight stumble and almost drop her stack of books. "Should we help her?"

"I tried," Spike said with a shrug. "Apparently only she can do this right."

"Did the others try?"

"Well, whenever she gets like this, they know to not bother. At least Pinkie brought by some food."

"Well… if there's anything we can do to help?"

"Just steer clear I guess. This is normal for Twilight, it'll pass."

"Alright then. Guess we should go, Sherry."

"Okay." Sherry frowned. "See you, Spike.

Thoroughly confused, Tyr and Sherry left the library. "So what should we do now?" Tyr asked.

"I am kinda hungry…"

"Let's head over to Pinkie's, shall we?"

"Yes!"

It was probably not the smartest of decisions, Tyr realized. "Oh well," He murmured, as Pinkie dragged Sherry away. At least her attention wasn't on him. He was able to sit and enjoy a slice of pie while Pinkie and Sherry made cinnamon buns. The bubblegum haired girl seemed elated to be baking, a smile on her face as big as Pinkie's. Before long, Tyr found himself smiling as well.

"Someone seems happy today." Tyr turned to find Rarity standing behind him.

"Rarity? Never thought I'd see you here."

She sat down across from him. "And why is that, Darling? Even I enjoy the taste of Pinkie's sweets every now and then."

"I suppose that's fair."

"And where is Sherry? It's a Saturday, so I assumed she'd be spending as much time as possible with you."

"She's baking," Tyr said. As usual, he didn't feel completely comfortable talking one-on-one with Rarity. She seemed to notice and let out a long sigh.

"Tyr. Darling. I can tell you don't feel comfortable around me."

Tyr smirked. "Am I that easy to read?"

"No it's… I know I am a… difficult person. You've put up with me with business like professionalism, and I appreciate that. However… you've become friends with all of my friends. I would like… for us to be friends as well."

Tyr was surprised. He never thought he'd be sitting here, having a conversation like this with Rarity of all people. After a long moment of thought, he smiled. "To be honest, Rarity, you're intimidating."

"I am?"

"Yes. You're beautiful, an independent business owner, and you have a… strong personality."

"Well, I…"

"I mean all of that as a compliment." Tyr smiled. "We can be friends, Rarity. I honestly wanted you to at least tolerate me."

"I can always tolerate a handsome man," Rarity said, regaining her usual teasing attitude. Tyr had to admit, a teasing Rarity was one he didn't mind being around. The soft smile that stayed on her face whenever she was enjoying herself was contagious.

"I see. You sure you don't have a thing for me?" He teased back. Rarity let out a delicate chuckle.

"Now darling, we've been over this…"

"Oh come on, just say it."

"Tyr, you scoundrel, must you torment a lady so?" She put on a hurt look, but her tone was joking.

"Only because you won't admit it."

"Admit what?"

"That you like me."

Rarity was trying hard not to laugh and leaned forward. "Darling, please—"

"Rarity has a crush on Tyr!?" Pinkie suddenly exploded. The two at the table looked up in shock at the pink plume perched on top of the counter. "You were confessing?"

"Wait, Pinkie, we're not—"

"Pinkie Pie, there isn't anything—"

"Oh. Dear. CELESTIA!" Pinkie squealed. "I. Have got. To tell EVERYBODY!" With that cry, Pinkie dashed out of the building.

"Oh dear, I've got to stop her before this gets blown out of proportion!" Rarity jumped up and chased after Pinkie. Tyr sat there for a few moments, dumbfounded, before Sherry came over with a tray full of cinnamon buns.

"What happened?" She asked.

"A huge misunderstanding that I believe is going to get way out of hand really fast," Tyr said. The smell of the cinnamon buns distracted him for a moment. "…You make those?"

"Mmhm!" Came the happy reply. "Want one?"

"Sure, why not?" He took one and bit into it. It was soft, fluffy, and tasted amazing. "Wow Sherry, you really have a talent for this."

"I do?" She smiled. "I was just hoping you'd like it."

"It's delicious Sherry. Well, we should go."

"Huh? But Rarity and Pinkie…"

"That's why we should leave," Tyr murmured. "Gotta find out a way to head Pinkie off."

They were barely out of the door when they ran into Applejack. The farm girl looked up as he approached. A slow grin formed on her face. "Well, howdy there, lover boy."

"Oh god, Pinkie already told you?"

AJ tipped her hat at him, smile growing. "Lucky man to actually snare Rarity. She came running out trying to deny it, but she was all blush and sputtering when she spoke."

"That's the thing," Tyr said, exasperated. "Rarity and I aren't a couple."

"Pinkie said y'all were confessing or some such in the bakery…"

"We weren't!"

AJ's smile faded. "So… you're not interested in Rarity?"

"Well, I'd be lying if I said not completely… But I didn't ask her to go out with me or anything."

"You didn't?" AJ seemed deep in thought for a bit. "I… I see. Well, I saw Pinkie headed off to the library, and Rarity was right behind her."

"Thanks AJ. And thanks for understanding. Come on Sherry."

As Tyr and Sherry drove away, AJ let out a deep sigh. "Well, I guess that's okay," She muttered to herself. "I hate making fake smiles…"

They came across Rarity panting on the side of the road, not far from the bakery. "I couldn't… keep up…" she said, out of breath. "And now I'm all sweaty…"

"Hop on," Tyr said. "Ride with us."

"Are you sure?" Rarity eyed the bike with a bit of suspicion.

"It's really fun," Sherry said. "Plus, we'll make it faster."

Rarity sighed in defeat. "Fine, but I have no idea if we'd ever catch up to Pinkie when she's excited…" She climbed onto the bike and slipped her arms around Tyr's waist. "Let's go then."

As quickly as possible, Tyr drove away. It wasn't far from the library, but no Pinkie Pie showed up. Before long, they pulled up in front of the library. Tyr spotted Luna coming out of the building. Upon seeing him, she made her way directly to him. "Hey, Luna," He said, hopping off the bike and walking to meet her. She had a frown on her face. "Did Pinkie Pie—"

She slapped him, hard, across the face. The strike cracked loudly and seemed to freeze the area. Sherry gasped. Rarity's eyes shot open and her hands went to cover her mouth. Tyr rolled with the blow, catching himself as he stumbled from the shock. When Luna didn't speak immediately, he turned back to her. She was angry. "Luna, what—"

"I suppose since you are not the Element of Honesty, I should not expect perfection from you," she said quietly, eyes full of rage. "But I thought that we were close enough that you would not lie to me."

Tyr was confused. "What? Lie? Luna, I didn't—"

"Do. Not. Speak." Luna seemed to barely be able to contain herself. "You promised me that you would tell me anything that might be important. After your injury, and the talk we had… I thought you would stay true to that. It seems I was wrong. I am sorry I trusted you."

With that, she walked away, not sparing a glance back at him. She paused just short of Rarity. The fashionista flinched, thinking she was going to be hit. "P-Princess Luna…"

"I hold no anger towards you, Rarity," Luna said softly. "I hope you find happiness where I could not."

She walked away, leaving them all in silence. Tyr reached up and touched his cheek, which still stung. Luna's nails had scratched him, leaving a few small lines of blood on his face. "Did… did I do that?" A soft voice asked. Everyone looked to see Pinkie and Twilight standing in the doorway of the library. The party girl's normally puffy and curly hair had fallen completely straight.

"You got here before us," Sherry said, partly amazed.

"Pinkie came in while Luna was checking out a book," Twilight said. Her hair and tail were in a state of disarray, but her face was serious. "She told us everything."

"Not everything," Rarity began weakly.

"She said you confessed to Tyr." Twilight sighed. "I want to tell you guys I'm happy for you, but I've never seen Luna like that…"

"It's not like that!" Rarity finally found her voice. "Tyr and I are not a couple! We were playing around, and Pinkie misheard us!"

Twilight looked to Pinkie, who visibly deflated even more. "I… I didn't know…" She stammered weakly. "I thought… I was excited, and…"

"You moved too fast," Tyr said with a sigh.

"I messed everything up, didn't I? I did, didn't I?" She began to cry, falling to her knees.

The sight of Pinkie crying was depressing enough to make everyone look away. "It's okay, Pinkie," Twilight knelt beside her friend. "We all make mistakes."

"B-but, I ruined Luna and Tyr's friendship…"

"Friendships can be mended. If he goes and tells her the truth." She glanced over at Tyr. Luna's anger had gotten to him, she saw. He still looked out of it. "Tyr."

"Huh?" He looked over at her.

"Come inside. I have a first aid kit; we should clean those scratches."

"Ah… yeah. You're right. I can… I'll call Luna later." He turned slightly. "Sherry, come on."

Sherry hopped out of the bike's sidecar and ran over to him. She grabbed onto his arm comfortingly as they all went inside.

-x-

It was late when Tyr and Sherry got home. In her efforts to apologize, Pinkie had brought all manner of sweets and baked goods. By the time they left, the party girl had regained her pep and her hair was back to its curly state. Tyr carried the sleeping Sherry inside. "Sugar crashes," He chuckled to himself, tucking her into her bed. "Lucky, you get to sleep, while I'm completely awake…"

After putting Sherry in bed, Tyr went into the game room. He didn't feel like playing anything, but it was comfortable being in there. For the first time in a while, he turned the TV on just to watch TV. A comedy show was on, and it was probably just what he needed. He needed to laugh. All the texts he had sent to Luna had gone unanswered, and he felt that he may never speak to her again. That fact weighed heavily on his mind. "I can't sit here getting depressed," He muttered. He had to think about more positive things. He still had Sherry, right? Sure, no more Luna, but they had each other. Fluttershy was still an option. "Somehow, I can't see myself trying to get her to go out with me," He said with a sigh. Maybe he should just sleep. It's been a long day after all. Losing Luna's friendship had hurt. As the TV continued to drone on, he felt himself drifting off.

When he woke up, it was a little past one in the morning. "Can't believe I slept that long," He chuckled. He got up and headed downstairs, his throat dry. He rooted around in the fridge, eventually settling on a can of soda. As he turned around, his phone, situated on the kitchen counter, lit up. "A text? Who the hell would text me this time of night?" He mumbled, picking it up. As he switched it on to read the message, he almost dropped his soda.

-Help

It was from Luna. Tyr's mouth opened slightly, but he quickly closed it. He didn't want to deal with her right now, after what she had said to him. She hadn't even bothered to let him speak, and now she wants help? He almost tossed the phone down in anger. But he thought for a moment, and looked at the text again. It wasn't like the normal texts Luna sent, where he could really hear her voice through them. Then the realization hit him.

She was in danger.

Tyr flew out of the kitchen and onto his bike. He kicked the sidecar free, slammed his helmet on, and sped away into the night. He had locked the door behind himself, right? He shook the thought away, focused on his objective. He was at Eclipse in record time. But as he rolled up, he saw someone locking up. "Hey, is Luna here?"

The man frowned. "Luna? The Equestrian girl? No, she left a while ago. I let her off early tonight."

"Which way did she go?"

"Um… that way."

Tyr sped away before the man could say another word. He had to find Luna. Quickly. He hadn't driven this fast in a while, and was thankful no cops were out on his route. And then he heard her. "Please! Unhand me this instant!"

He skidded to a stop. Down a nearby alleyway, trio of men were crowded around something, and were struggling. With a final rev of his engine, he hopped off the bike. "What the hell is this?" He roared.

The three men whirled around, momentarily revealing Luna pinned under a fourth. Her clothes were partially torn off or undone, and there were tears in her normally strong eyes. Those eyes widened upon seeing Tyr. She made to speak, but the man pinning her struck her across the face. "Shut your trap!" He hissed. Tyr felt one eye twitch.

"You may want to back off, brother," The biggest man said, stepping forward. Even Tyr, who was taller than average, was dwarfed by the giant. "We have some business with her, and you don't want to be part of it."

Tyr wordlessly walked over and picked up a discarded length of pipe. After a second of testing its heft, he smacked it into his open palm. "My business at the moment is cracking your skulls in. And the moment you picked her, it became my business."

The men slowly moved forward, moving to surround him. "You've got one last chance to walk away from this man. Don't make us hurt you."

Time slowed down for Tyr. He was up against four men, although one of them was busy holding Luna. It was terrible odds, and he didn't have any help coming. But he had walked into this alley on his own volition, and he had realized something on the way here. He wasn't doing this for a friend anymore.

He was doing this for the girl he loved.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," He snarled.

The first thug lunged at him, reaching out to grab for the pipe. Tyr swung hard, slamming the metal object into the man's hands, shattering the bones in one on contact. The man screamed out in pain, reeling back and clutching his shattered hand. Tyr faced down the next, the big man who had spoken. He was watching him closely, not making a rash move like his friend. As they stared each other down, Tyr felt the other man sneaking up on him from behind. He moved first, thrusting the pipe forward like a spear. The big man batted it away, and his friend leapt at Tyr from behind. Using the momentum of the pipe, Tyr spun and backhanded the third man across the face, knocking him to the ground. But he wasn't fast enough to stop the big man from grabbing him in a bear hug. The man's thick, muscular arms started to crush the life from him. As the death grip got tighter, he felt the air in his lungs coming back weaker and weaker with each pained breath. Then suddenly, he was slammed into the wall and dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Even before he could catch a full breath, kicks suddenly rained down on him from above, and he moved his arms to at least protect his head. The two men from before had recovered, and now that he was disarmed and weak, were taking advantage of the situation. Well, this is it, he thought sadly to himself. He had tried—and failed—to save Luna. And now, once the thugs had their fill of beating him, they would take their fill of her. He caught a glimpse of Luna as the last man was pulling off her blouse. "Sorry," He managed to get out, smiling weakly a moment before a foot crashed into his side. He coughed up blood.

Luna smiled. It wasn't a large smile, but it carried weight behind it. It was small, reserved, and gentle. She wasn't upset. He had come riding to her rescue when she called, and despite the danger, had tried to save her. And she was happy for that.

So what the hell was he doing giving up?

With a sudden surge of strength, he grabbed the foot of the big man and heaved. Years of body training and constant exercise had left Tyr strong. Strong enough to toss a man almost twice his size. Caught unawares, the man lost his balance, fell back, and smashed his head against the alley wall. He was out cold before he slumped to the ground. The shock of their biggest member going down in such a pathetic way stunned the other men long enough for Tyr to regain his feet. "Put him down already!" The man holding Luna screeched. The man with the broken hand pulled out a knife with his good hand. He swiped at Tyr, forcing him into the wall. His opponent thus pinned, he lunged to stab. Tyr saw it coming and slid to the side, letting the knife scrape the wall while at the same time punching the man full force in the throat. He choked and dropped his weapon, leaving him open to a brutal right hook from Tyr that dropped him instantly. He turned to face the third thug, who had taken the pipe. He swung, but Tyr caught the weapon easily. He punched the man in the face and dropped him without a word. With his appropriated weapon back in his hands, he turned to the last man. The thug was visibly trembling. The man that stood before him had a look on his face like a vengeful angel staring down a sinner destined for hell. "D-don't hurt me—"

Tyr struck him full force across the jaw with the pipe. The satisfying sound of breaking bone was followed by a pathetic whimper as the last man crumpled into a sorry heap. "Bit late for that," He said, spitting blood out of his mouth. Finally dropping the pipe, he let out a deep breath. "Luna. Are you okay—"

He barely got the sentence out of his mouth before Luna was suddenly pressed up against him, arms tight around him. "Y-you saved me," She murmured, hiccupping slightly as she spoke.

Tyr could only nod. "Yeah… I guess I did."

"I guess your n-name has some merit."

"…What do you mean?"

"I was interested in your name. You were named for the N-Norse god of law and heroic victory," Luna said. "And you certainly are a h-hero tonight."

"I was just…" Helping a friend, he almost said. He simply let the phrase trail off. They stood there in silence for a long minute that seemed like an hour. Suddenly, Luna shivered. "Cold?"

"…My clothes are r-ruined…"

Tyr nodded wordlessly and pulled off his coat and pulled it around her. It was torn in a few places, and he made a mental note to apologize to Rarity for its treatment later. He laughed quietly to himself. Thinking about Rarity at a time like this.

"W-what seems to be funny?" Luna asked.

"I was thinking about how I'm going to explain to Rarity that I ruined the coat she gave me."

"O-oh. I see. You and Rarity—"

"Are not a couple." Tyr finished.

Luna looked up at him. It took a lot to not simply lean down and kiss her. "But… P-pinkie Pie said—"

"Pinkie… made a mistake. Let's get out of here, I'll explain."

The ride back to Tyr's home was silent. He thought for a moment to take her back to her place, but Luna headed him off. "I d-don't want to be alone right now," She had told him. Before long, they were sitting in the living room, Tyr bandaging a cut on his forehead, and Luna shivering on the couch. It was a long time before one of them spoke.

"I was teasing Rarity," Tyr said quietly, deciding he had to be the one to speak first. "She and I didn't get along very well, and she wanted to fix that. I agreed, and we were joking around when Pinkie heard us. Well, seeing how excited she gets, it was no surprise she ran off to tell her closest friends first." He looked over at Luna, but she didn't say a word. Not sure if she was really listening, he continued on. "I cleared things with AJ—um, Applejack—first, but I couldn't catch up to Pinkie to explain before things got too far. Then everything at the library happened…"

Luna suddenly pulled her legs up to her chest and lowered her head. "I'm such an i-idiot." She mumbled.

"What?"

"When I saw you and Rarity together after Pinkie told us… I jumped to conclusions. I should have listened to you…"

"It wasn't the best of pictures, I realize now," Tyr muttered. "But I didn't want any of that to happen."

Luna was quiet for a long moment. "Thank you," she said finally.

"For?"

"You saved me. Those thugs would have had their way with me if you had not arrived."

"I almost didn't come." Tyr was being completely honest at this point. It was all she wanted, wasn't it? "I thought I didn't want to deal with you anymore."

"I do not blame you. I am… difficult. I know that. But you came to my rescue anyway."

"Of course. After I realized I lov—" He stopped short. Luna caught it anyway.

"You… what?" She looked up at him. When he didn't respond she got up and came over to him, sitting on the couch beside him. "What were you going to say—?"

He kissed her. It wasn't a passionate kiss, but it was soft, a touching of lips, an almost missed gesture. Luna was frozen in mid-sentence, her eyes slowly growing. Her midnight blue eyes were as wide as saucers when he finally broke away. He hadn't wanted to leave those soft lips so soon, but he had to speak. "I realized I love you, Luna," Tyr said, giving up. He might as well put himself out there. "Your strength of character, your voice, and the way you play games with me and Sherry, the way you carry yourself, those stupidly large, beautiful eyes… I love everything about you." He sighed. "Even when I thought about giving up on you and maybe going after Fluttershy, even my own mind wouldn't let me. You're… perfect."

Luna was trembling again. "Why?" She asked, choking on the word. "I'm… I'm nothing special. Back in Equestria, I was important, I was a Princess. But here… in the human world, I'm just a helpless girl with emotions that go wild at the worst times, no social skills…"

"You may not be a real princess in the human world," Tyr said softly, reaching out to caress her face. "But you're my princess."

Luna felt her heart melt at his words. Yet she steeled herself one last time. "Am I… that important to you?"

"Yes. I promise you, I will protect you. If you need a hero, I will be one. Even if you need a demon, I'll be that too, if it means you'll be safe."

Luna stood up. "…I see." She dropped Tyr's jacket onto the couch and went over to the foot of the stairs.

"Where are you…?" Tyr followed her every step with his eyes as she slowly went up the steps. Despite her small stature, probably only barely over five feet, she was an elegant woman, with slender legs only even more accented by her torn skirt. Damn, she was sexy, Tyr thought to himself.

She stopped halfway. He looked over her shoulder at him, hair draped over one side of her face. "I thought I told you I did not want to be alone," She reminded him softly, her eyes half-lidded seductively. A little smile reminiscent of the one she had when he came to rescue her graced her pale face. "And I have chosen your room to sleep in tonight."

She walked up the last few steps slowly and went straight into Tyr's room. After letting all that information process for a second, Tyr jumped up quickly and went up after her. There wasn't any time to wait: he had a princess to satisfy, after all.