//------------------------------// // chapter 2 // Story: A New Life; An Old Demon // by dragovin08 //------------------------------// A lot of ponies were heading toward a big field where a music concert was being held, Aeon was quite unsure about this cause he sticks out like a sore thumb. Yet he just felt out of place being the only zenthian there around all these ponies and stallions. He looked at the stage in an odd fashion cause when he usually saw a stage it was going to be a draft or execution. "What's going on?" Aeon asked. "Why it's a concert," Pinkie answered. "Concert?" "Yeah!" "What's a concert?" "You don't know what a concert is sugarcube?" Applejack being flabbergasted. "No." "It where ponies with musical talents sing and play instruments in front of alot of other ponies," Rarity explained to Aeon. "Oh... I see," so they all stayed in a spot where they got a good view of the stage. Throughout the concert there were many ponies dancing and even Twilight and the gang were even spike was when he got there but Aeon wasn't he just stood there listening to the music not really caring about it. Vinyl Scratch had jut finished her tracks when the announcer came on to the stage. "Alright everypony how was that!" The announcer said into the microphone; all the ponies were screaming wanting more,"Unfortunately that's all for tonight, please come back tomorrow." So everyone started turning back into town to go home. Twilight and the gang stopped by Sugarcube Corner to say their goodbyes for the evening. "Alright see ya tomorrow," Rainbow Dash went zooming off ino the clouds. "I'll see y'all later," Applejack went trotting off to Sweet Apple Acres. "Good night everyone," Rarity started heading to her house. "Will I see you guys tommorow?" Pinkie pie asked in her exciting manner. "Probably," Twilight said. "Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie skipped to her house and accidentally stepping on Aeon's tail. "Aaaayyyyeee!" Aeon screamed then Pinkie stepped on it. Twilight turned to look at him, seeing the sight of a lizard three times bigger than Spike holding his tail made her giggle a bit. "Well uhh good night," Fluttershy said. "Good night Fluttershy," Twilight said, then Fluttershy started home. Twilight and Spike started off to the tree house and Aeon was following behind. After a little bit of walking they made it back to the treehouse. Twilight opened the door and Spike and Aeon followed in. "Well unfortunately I don't have another bed so can you find somewhere to make yourself comfortable," Twilight told Aeon. "Yeah I should be able to," Aeon said. Doing some searching around Aeon found a chair to sit on and sleep. He sat down and made himself comfortable and he quickly fell asleep. The next day he woke up having the same nightmare as yesterday. He got up slowly stretching his back and his arms. The sun was barely out so he had gotten up pretty early. He walked into the kitchen and went searching the cabinets and found nothing he really wanted. "Well I'm not very hungry," he told himself. Aeon walked out of the kitchen into Twilight's library; standing there wishing he could read one of those books about whatever was there, but he can't read the pony's language. After a few seconds of standing he decided to take a walk just to get a general feel and sense of the town since he didn't know didn't know where anything was; just so he didn't always have to follow Twilight around. With his decision made he went back to the chair, opened his bag and grabbed his small sack of coins. He walked to the front door, slowly opening it so it would creak to wake anyone up. As soon as he was outside he stood in an aw feeling envied. That he was here in a place full of such life and color to him seeing this felt like a privilege; for his home had grown dark and lifeless turned into a place such despair and such death it was a living hell compared to Equestria which to him was more like paradise. While pondering on the beauty of the land, he chose to go into Ponyville. While walking he kept looking at the colorful buildings and the feeling the nice paved road under his feet. Aeon eventually found himself in the center of Ponyville at the fountain. He turned around and sat on the edge of the fountain just having that feeling of such life and peace around him, for Aeon it was quite the sight to behold. He rested for a bit and went the same direction as he was going. Passing a small shop with a silver horseshoe above its white door with a small bell hanging on it, the shop was no bigger than a small house, its stucco was a sky blue color with white on the trim of the large windows on each side of the door. The windows showed off different colors and sizes of horseshoes ranging from the typical grey color to something like pink, green, blue, red, well any color. Aeon opened the door, the little bell rung when the door swung open; he went inside and the little bell rung again as soon as the door closed behind him. His head was turned to the door, he turned his head around to look ahead of him. Stepping off the hard tile his feet hit the soft carpet. It felt like stepping on a blanket to him; the shelves in the shop were like the windows they were full of horseshoes but each shelf had a different size on it. He walked to the shelf nearest to his right. Up on his hind legs he grabbed a horseshoe off the shelf it was grey. With the horseshoe in his left hand, he used his right hand and flicked it with his claw. The horseshoe made the same sound like his blade when he flicked it "Hmmm," he was telling himself," I could melt this down." "Could I help you with something?" A soft feminine voice asked him. "Woooaaah!" Aeon quickly jumping and throwing the horseshoe in the air. Hitting the ceiling the horseshoe came down and smacked right on the head. "Oh my goodness! Are you okay?" The mare said. All that could come out of Aeon was a dazed out hum noise. After being dazed for a couple seconds, he shook his head a bit. "Sorry, I'm just a little jumpy that's all." "Oh I'm sorry that I scared you," the mare moved her head down to pick up the shoe that Aeon threw. "No it's my fault," Aeon went down to pick up the shoe with his hand. Her nose and his hand touched eachother just and inch above the shoe. She looked up at him with her big violet almost magenta colored eyes he looked at her with his lime green eyes. Then he moved his pointer finger and hooked around the shoe and picked it up. "Ummm,uhh well," he stood fully on his hind legs with the horseshoe in his hand," I still need to keep looking." "But my shop doesn't open for while," She was rubbing her eye with her fore hoof," How did you get in?" "Well the door was open so I decided to come in." "Oh!... my I must have forgotten to lock my door I was so tired last night." Aeon chuckled a bit," Maybe, but I don't think anyone noticed," Looking at this mare her coat was light blue, with a blue grayish color mane that had two curls on her head a small curl then a big curl almost covering her right ear since she was facing his direction, the end of her mane had a large curl at the end of her neck hanging off her neck touching her the right side of her back, her tail is also the same color as her mane with three curls at the end of it one was higher than the other, and her cutie mark was two horseshoes interlocking eachother the big one was yellow and the smaller one was grey," Oh where are my manners the name's Aeon." "I'm Shoeshine, but your name is very interesting," she said. "Well it's better than being named Scales," they both started laughing at the joke. Aeon turned around and grabbed five more horseshoes that were the same size and walked over to the counter where Shoeshines had followed him. She went behind the counter. "That will be sixty bits." Aeon's eyes shot up as big as dinner plates," sixty!?" "Yep." "Oh come on," picking up a horseshoe off the counter," Something like this is only worth two coins a pop where I come from, so cut me a deal twelve." "Sixty." "Twenty." "Sixty." "Twenty five." "Sixty." "Twenty eight." "Sixty." "Thirty." "Sixty." "Forty." "Sixty." "Forty five." "Sixty." "You really drive a hard bargain," Aeon pulled out his sack of coins, opened it and pulled out one," Okay then lets play a game of chance heads I pay you full price tails you give me a discount." "Okay," Shoeshine went along with this; he put the coin on the counter and spun it. They both were focusing on the spinning coin and when it started to slow down they didn't take their eyes off it. The coin finally stopped spinning land on heads, Aeon looked up at Shoeshine who had a big smile on her face. He sighed while lowering his head," Well a deal's a deal I'll pay you full price," Giving her the sixty coins he closed his little sack which only had five coins in it now. "Thanks for doing business," She said but before Aeon could even turn around she asked him," Are you a dragon?" "No, no I'm not." "Then what are you?" "I'm a zenthain." "Why I've never heard of such a creature it's just I thought you were a dragon cause you kind of look like one." "Well zenthains are creatures that don't leave their land." "Oh! I almost forgot to put these into a bag," Shoeshine bent down behind the counter trying to look for a bag," hmmm... maybe they're over here," She turned around," There's got to be one around here somewhere," Bending down her flank was up in the air and Aeon was trying not to look down. Then Shoeshine raised her tail and it started rubbing Aeon's nose . Doing this would stimulate a colt but with Aeon it was tickling his nose so much it made him want to sneeze. "Ah-choo!" His sneeze scared Shoeshine making her hit her head on the shelf above her. Sniffling," My bad Shoeshine," He apologized "It's okay," pulling her head out of the shelf with a bag handle in her mouth, setting it on the counter," At least I found one." Before she could even try to put the horseshoes into the," Don't worry I got it," He put the horseshoes into the bag, with the bag in his left hand he started off to the door. Before he left he told her," Thanks I hope to you around again." "Bye I hope to see you around too," Aeon went outside the little bell rung again. Starting to head in the direction towards Twilight's house he could but think about that mare Shoeshine and how she didn't seem too curious about where he came from but there was something about her that made him interested. Yet whatever this feeling was towards her he didn't feel like shaking it off.