Chapter 8: Rainclouds Kicked Away

Tyr felt his eyes open slowly. As usual, Luna was curled up beside him. But Tyr immediately noticed something was different. "Luna. Luna, wake up."

"Mm." Luna's eyes slowly fluttered open. "…Morning, Tyr."

"Morning to you to, Princess. I… Well then."

"Hm? What is the matter?"

"Your hair…"

Luna sat up and glanced over at the wall mirror. Her hair now had the appearance of the midnight sky, little white stars dotting its translucent appearance. "My hair! And my tail…!"

"I like it," Tyr said with a smile. "It's got a magical feel to it."

She smiled softly. "So, shall we get up?"

"Yeah."

There were up and dressed before too long. As Tyr headed downstairs, he spotted Sherry already up. She was looking at a box. "Oh, Hey Sherry. What's up?" He spoke as he got a cup of coffee.

"I saw this on the countertop when I came down," Sherry mumbled, biting into an apple. "What exactly is a condom?"

Tyr choked a bit as he realized just what it was that Sherry was looking at. "Uh…"

Sherry looked over at him. "…This is an adult thing, isn't it?"

"…Yeah."

"Then I don't want to know." She tossed the box to him. He slipped it under the counter in the cabinet. "I'm off to school."

"Early today?"

"I'm meeting Bloom and the others." She jogged over to the door. "See ya! Don't use too many of those condoms!"

"Sherry!" Tyr snapped, but the girl was gone. "…That girl sometimes…"

"What's going on?" Luna came downstairs.

"We left the condoms on the countertop," Tyr said, resting his head in his hand.

"…She saw them?"

"And apparently she knows what they're for. How, I don't know."

"Oh dear…"

Tyr sighed. "I guess this is what parents feel when they don't want their kids to grow up too quickly."

Luna smiled. "You are a good father, love."

"Thanks Luna. Now, let me make us some breakfast. We've got to go talk to AJ today."

"You haven't heard from Fluttershy, have you?"

"No, but—" Tyr was cut off by his phone ringing. It was Fluttershy. He picked up quickly. "Hello, Fluttershy?"

"Tyr! You n-need to come quick!" Fluttershy's panicked voice cried.

"What? What's going on?"

"Dash is awake!"

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Applejack is here!"

-x-

Tyr and Luna came running down the hallway of the hospital. Fluttershy was outside of the hospital room, looking scared. "Fluttershy, what's going on?"

"AJ came in and told me to wait outside…"

"Is she still in there?" Luna asked.

"Yes, but…" She trailed off as the door opened. AJ walked out, and seemed surprised to see them all.

"What are y'all doing out here?" She asked.

"We were hoping you weren't coming here to finish the job," Luna said flatly. The reply seemed to sting, as AJ flinched.

"I… I could never kill someone, especially not a friend," AJ said quietly. "I was in there to ask Dash a question."

"A question?" Tyr frowned, not following.

"It's of a… private nature," AJ said, glancing at Fluttershy. "…I'll see y'all around."

With that, she left. "I kinda wanted to speak to Dash myself," Tyr said after a moment.. "Luna, stay out here with Fluttershy."

Luna frowned, but nodded. Tyr entered the room. Dash was sitting up in bed, angrily tugging at her bandages. She paused for a moment when he came in. "Oh, yo Tyr. What's up?"

"Nice to see you're better."

"Well, not everyone can say they've survive AJ when she's angry," Dash laughed, but winced. "Ow."

"Still hurts?"

"Would have hurt worse if you, Luna and Flutters hadn't shown up." She smiled sadly.

"What is it?"

"For a moment there, I felt like AJ was actually going to kill me." She shook her head. "Well, I'd have deserved it."

"What?"

"I hurt Shy. Probably more than anyone ever has… or if AJ has the last word, will." Dash sighed. "I loved her once."

"What happened?"

Dash laid back down, wincing ever so slightly. "…It's not that important. Besides, why do you care, anyway?"

"Because I'm your friend." Tyr smiled. "I'm a repairman. I tend to have to listen to my clients."

"…Fine then." Dash looked up at the ceiling. "I realized Shy was… too slow for me."

"Too slow?"

"You know how she is. Always caring, always kind… I mean, she's not the Element of Kindness for nothing." Dash gave a small chuckle. "But… I like speed. I like excitement. Everything I like to do, Shy is afraid of it. Humph, not that I can blame her."

"So you guys weren't a good match?"

"It was better in Equestria, where I could fly. My wings… were everything. But I found that there was a lot of cool stuff to do as a human, and Shy… wouldn't ever go with me. Never tried."

Tyr frowned. "I get the feeling you tried to push her too hard."

"…Yeah. She got mad. Said I never wanted to just… curl up on the couch and watch a movie or something. As if I could do something that boring!"

Tyr felt a small bit of anger rise in him, but he kept it down. "So you just lost your attraction to Fluttershy?"

"Attraction? I still think Shy is the hottest alive, save me."

"None taken," Tyr mumbled under his breath.

"Huh?'

"Nothing. Go on."

"But I just don't feel the same way like when I thought the world was ending or something. Sort of thing kinda makes you emotional." She scratched at her head.

Tyr realized why AJ had hit Dash. The girl just did not get emotions the way others did. She didn't see anything wrong with what she had done. AJ would have seen that sort of thing as lying to Fluttershy. "So you and Fluttershy…"

"We're done. If she wants to go chasing after AJ, it's her deal."

"…Wait one second. Run that by me again?"

Dash frowned. "Shy likes AJ. Not that it'll go anywhere, as AJ can't even understand being attracted to the same sex. She came in here demanding to know how I decided I liked mares… well, girls."

"That's what she wanted to ask?"

"Yeah. She seemed pretty adamant that it was weird and unusual. Didn't surprise me; AJ was always a stickler for rules and lame stuff like that. Poor Shy though."

"Yeah… poor Shy. Well, you get better, Rainbow."

"See ya!"

Luna and Fluttershy were waiting outside. "Is she okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"She's… fine, I guess." Tyr frowned. "If you call emotionally illiterate okay…"

Fluttershy sighed. "That is normal for Dash. I guess since we grew up together and I looked up to her… When she confessed I was really happy."

"But it didn't last?" Luna asked.

"…It was a bad match, I realize now." She smiled. "I couldn't keep up with her, and she doesn't like to wait."

"So you'd rather have someone down to earth? Someone who might be too honest for their own good?"

"Yes…" Fluttershy blinked and looked at Tyr. "What…?"

"Luna, are we still going to go talk to AJ?"

Luna nodded. "Lead the way."

"Hey wait!" Dash's voice called out. "Tyr! Come here for a bit."

Tyr reentered the room. "What is it?"

Dash was quiet for a moment. "You're planning on helping Shy out, right?"

"…How'd you guess?"

"You like to help out, don't you?" She sighed. "It's… weird, letting someone else help Shy. Normally that's my job."

"You are kinda out of commission."

"Yeah, I know. Here." She reached out and stuck something in his hand. It was a small pin, shaped like a cloud with a rainbow colored lightning bolt coming out of it. "I got the thing cause it looked like my Cutie Mark… but take it. As a thanks for doing my job for me. Think of it like I'm deputizing you."

"I'll hold onto it," Tyr said, smiling. "You… really do care about Fluttershy, don't you?"

"I know it seems like I'm an uncaring… you know, but I really do want Shy to be happy. And that isn't if she's dating me."

Tyr was feeling his impression of Dash change a bit. "I see. Alright then Dash. Get some rest, okay?"

"Ugh, that is the last thing I want to be doing…"

-x-

"So we are heading over to Sweet Apple Acres now?" Luna asked as Tyr pulled up to a stoplight. He had forgotten to reattach the sidecar, so Luna was riding behind him. It was a bit more enjoyable than when he was riding with Rarity.

"Yeah," He replied. "AJ was asking Dash about her feelings."

"You don't think…?"

"I doubt it. AJ is probably just being a big sister."

The farm pulled into view pretty quickly. AJ's brother, Big Mac, was out in front, lifting some large boxes onto the back of a truck. He spotted them as they drove up. "Howdy y'all," He said. "What brings you out here?"

"Hello, Big McIntosh," Luna said, climbing down off the bike. "We were looking for Applejack. Is she around?"

"Eeyup. Out in the orchard."

"Thanks," Tyr said. "We'll go see her."

Big Mac nodded and went back to lifting. Tyr and Luna went out into the apple orchard, and it wasn't too hard to spot AJ. She was directing a group of workers in carrying some barrels of apples to a waiting truck. She noticed them as they approached. "I wasn't expecting y'all to come by."

"Well, it was on the to-do list," Tyr admitted. "You and Dash are alright?"

"I'm still mad at her, but it's just the way she is." AJ sighed. "She's so loyal she'd rather break Shy's heart instead of keeping her in an unhappy relationship. A bad way of thinking, but it's not entirely bad."

"I suppose that is fair," Luna said.

"So all I can do now is work, and help Shy out if she needs me." AJ shrugged.

"So Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy being in a same-sex relationship does not bother you?"

Luna had spoken the question AJ was trying to avoid. The farm girl glanced behind her to make sure the other workers were out of earshot. "…I'd be lying if I said it didn't."

"So…"

"I can't hate my friends for their… preferences," AJ said quietly. "It's just… I can't… It's just strange."

"So it just seems odd to you?"

"I mean, we were raised that we had to marry a colt…man." AJ sighed. "It was just rare for a couple of girls to be together."

Tyr felt a bit of irony at AJ's use of 'rare'. "So you think it's wrong?"

"Not… entirely. I mean… I can't see myself in a relationship like that."

Poor Shy indeed, Tyr thought. "So you wouldn't do it, but you would be fine if your friends were… that way?"

"…What are you getting at, Tyr?" She raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Just curious. One last thing. You should go talk to Twilight."

"I… I know." AJ sighed and turned away. "I'll get around to it. I got work to do."

She walked away. "I don't think that went so well," Luna murmured.

"Well, we can't fix everything," Tyr admitted. "Let's just head home for now."

"Alright."

-x-

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Luna snapped.

"What? It was funny." Tyr had just finished recovering from a long laugh.

"So you're enjoying treating your girlfriend like this? I do not even know how to play this game!"

"It's just Soul Calibur. It's not that hard."

"But this is the first fighting game I have ever played!" She complained. "And you are not taking it easy on me!"

"You said not to hold back…"

"But you are being absolutely ruthless!"

Tyr grinned. "I am your demon, after all."

Luna blinked, and then a smile crossed her face. "…You evil man. Kiss me."

Tyr did so, sliding his fingers through her hair to cup the back of her head. As he began to press the issue, the doorbell rang. "Shoot."

Luna smiled softly. "Go answer it. I am not going anywhere, my love."

"Well, that is true." Tyr got up and headed downstairs. The doorbell rang again. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

He opened the door to find Pinkie standing there. No bouncing, no excitement, just standing there. "Hey Tyr," She said with a gentle smile.

"Pinkie? What's up?"

"I heard that Rarity gave you a necklace…?"

"Huh? Oh right, she did." Tyr pulled it out of his pocket.

Pinkie smiled. "Silly, necklaces are for wearing."

"Well…"

"Here!" She reached out and fiddled with it for a minute. When he handed it back, a red balloon charm was hooked onto it. "Now it's a gift from both of us! Make sure to wear it, okay?"

Tyr couldn't help but smile. "Alright Pinkie. I'll wear it as often as I can."

"Great!" She grinned. "See ya!"

She bounced off. Tyr chuckled and hooked the charm-necklace around his neck, the diamond and balloon charms clinking together. He closed the door and went back upstairs. Luna was reading the move list. "Who was at the door?" She asked.

"It was Pinkie. She wanted to give me this." He indicated the necklace and its new charm.

"I see… Perhaps I should try to find a moon shaped one?" She thought to herself.

"Nah, don't bother." He pulled her to his side. "Having you here is good enough for me."

"If you say so."

Tyr smiled and kissed her again, fully attempting to pick up where he left off. However, at that very same moment, he heard the front door open. "Dad, Luna, I'm home!"

As Tyr groaned, Luna laughed quietly. "We'll have privacy later."

"I suppose you're right." Tyr sighed. Sherry came up then.

"Oh, you guys are in here. Ooh, are you teaching Luna how to play a fighting game?"

"More like just mercilessly beating me," Luna said.

"Dad…"

"She said not to hold back!"

"You know what? Let me play. At least then someone can actually have a chance against you."

"You'll regret this, young lady."

"Make me!"

As the next match started up, Luna rested herself in Tyr's lap. "This is… pleasant," she murmured.

"Hm?" Tyr glanced down at her.

"This… closeness. I enjoy being around you and Sherry, Tyr."

"We like having you!" Sherry said, laying back against Tyr's other side. "Dad's been way more happy since you started coming around so much."

"Well, Sherry… how would you feel about me moving in with you and your Dad?" Luna asked.

"You actually want to?" Sherry looked surprised. "That would be amazing! I know Dad would love it. I mean… I would too."

Luna smiled. "I'd love to live here. We are almost like a little family, the three of us."

"A family I'm happy to be part of," Tyr said quietly, nuzzling Luna.