Family Begins With You

by Jmaster49

Arc XXIII Episode VII: Festival Chat

With Aidon…

The shadowman was busy taking in the scenery of the festival scenery when he bumped into someone familiar.

“Oh, hey teach,” Aria spoke casually as she stopped in front of him. “Looking for someone? Wait, no--of course you are. You’ve got this sorta…hopeful look in your eye.”

“Hello Ms. Blaze and…” he adjusted his glasses and replied, “...I do? How can you tell?”

Aria rolled her eyes with a slight smile on her face. “All you ‘adult’ folk tend to get like that when you’re missing something.” She folded her arms. “Lemme guess, you’re looking for Luna, huh?”

“W-well…if she’s available…” Aidon replied with uncertainty. “If not then…it’s not a big deal.”

“....Come on, guys, gimme some info.” Aria turned around and looked at her phone for a moment. Once she received the text message she was looking for, she turned to Aidon once more and told him what she knew. “Oh uh…I think one of my friends saw her walking up one of the hills towards the springs.”

“That does sound like her,” he agreed, “That woman doesn’t generally enjoy an overload of flashing lights and colors. Who can blame her? I imagine that’s why this only comes around during the Summer.”

Aria shook her head and pushed Aidon in the direction of the hill. “Listen, uh…I’m almost certain that she’s up there. Go on and have a chat with her. I’m sure she wants to see you too. And make sure you call out for her so she doesn’t leave off before you get there.”

“That’s…a good idea,” he muttered as he started walking off towards the hill. “I’ll be seeing you, Ms. Blaze.”

As Aidon left, Aria sighed to herself and looked at her phone again. “Good. He’s on his way there. Now we can rest easy knowing they’re finally gonna meet up with each other.”

Meanwhile, Aidon continued to walk away from the festival grounds and up the nearby hill. Eventually, he’d finally find who he was looking for: a blue-skinned woman in eastern robes sitting on a lone bench at the top of it.

“...Luna?” he called out to her.

And almost immediately, she perked up, calling out his name with a hint of excitement in her voice. “...Aidon?!” she paused to gather herself. “Ahem…I mean…what are you doing here?”

“...the brightness and sensory overload of the festival itself was a bit much for me after a while,” he explained as he reached the top of the hill. “I prefer the nice, quiet confines of my home or office where I can think to myself, you know?”

“Yes…I can certainly feel that,” she replied while pushing her index fingers together, “Although, there is some fun to be had when things go right.”

“For sure,” he said with a smile, “There’s so many different ways to apply equations to solve the problems that some of these festival games present. It’s actually quite intriguing…” He caught himself mid-sentence and stopped. “Er…but you probably don’t want to listen to me explain all that.”

But to his surprise, Luna was ecstatic to hear more, actively patting the empty seat on the bench beside her. “Nonono! I mean…erm…please. I do wish to hear more about your passions. Come sit with me, Aidon.”

“Oh…alright…” He did just that, taking a seat on the bench next to Luna, to which the blue woman would continue with another question.

“So…Aidon--you are from Equestria, yes?”

“...correct,” he answered carefully.

“And you have the powers of a shadow…?”

“No…I am shadowpony,” he explained, “We’re a rare breed. Aside from King Sombra and The Pony Of Shadows--both of whom were purged--there aren’t too many of us left in the known dimensions.”

Luna’s expression fell as she looked at the ground. “I see…” she then looked up at him once more. “That…is unfortunate. However, what I’d like to know is: Where exactly did your passion for mathematics come from?”

“...Hm?” Aidon tilted his head.

“Well…I highly doubt Tartarus has anything in the way of education,” she continued, wondering about the land he hailed from, “And it sounded as if you were banished here almost immediately after leaving the underworld. When did you have the time to study math in such…interesting depth?"

Aidon folded his arms and sat back against the bench as he gave it some thought. “Well…I suppose it came about when I was first brought into this world. It was actually about…10 years ago, believe it or not. I had become so…distressed and displeased with myself that I had fallen into…I suppose you could call it a depressive state?”

“...Depressive…?” Luna muttered in horror as she looked away for a moment, taking time to reflect on her own life and the similarities to the man sitting next to her. “I…I can empathize with that. But please, do go on, Aidon.”

Aidon nodded and continued upon her request. “...Alright then. So…to distract myself and keep myself from becoming a destructive force due to my sadness, I decided to focus on something else. Something that would keep my mind distracted for as long as I needed it.”

“...Math, correct?” Luna asked.

“Bingo.”