~Phoenix~

Phoenix continued to walk along silently. she pondered what sort of things she would eat first. in fact, the thought began to excite her a bit. it had been a long time since she had been near civilization long enough to have some decent food, and she was beginning to look forward to it, rather than dread it.

Phoenix eagerly followed behind Smokey as her stomach continued to give her reminders about how empty it was. of course, Phoenix really wasn't all that concerned with how safe any given path was. first off, she too was confident in her own abilities to ward off any predatory creatures should they be unfortunate enough to bother her, and Second, she cared more about getting food at the current moment. in fact, it inspired her answer; "i'm fine with whatever we come across first" she says in reply to his statement about better food just a bit farther off. as they walked, Phoenix kept glancing at the crude note hanging off the back of Smokey's hat. she contemplated letting him know, or simply taking it off herself. but she had no real intention to follow what the note says. as they continued walking, Phoenix made sure to look out for poison joke. her eyes scanned the edges of the pathway ahead, as well as occasionally glancing off to the sides just to make sure none was currently brushing her ankles.

Phoenix chuckled a bit at Smokey's remark, but she otherwise said nothing. she watched, admittedly a bit amused as Smokey whimsically made his hat appear from nowhere. even morose as she saw the notes left on it. a smirk crossed her face, but she figured she wouldn't actually do anything to him. maybe she'd wait and let someone else do it for her. after all, she wouldn't want to kick her prince charming. she walked up next to Smokey, and looked up at the bright morning sky. however, she was interrupted by a soft rumbling noise coming from her own belly. hopefully it was soft enough for Smokey to not hear it. all of this thought of breakfast definitely was making her stomach a bit anxious. with any luck, the trek to the nearest restaurant wasn't too far. "let's head to the train station" she responded to Smokey's question "and from there, we'll go to whichever town is closest" she followed it up with. she definitely wanted to get some food in her as soon as possible, and she's willing to settle for the first thing they see.

Phoenix didn't quite know how to respond to such an offer. after all, it wasn't even 24 hours ago that she had met this Stallion. "Perhaps i still am dreaming" she remarked to his description of the Manhattan Bistros. this wasn't a compliment to the offer. rather, it showed her discomfort towards the situation. she weighed her options. If Phoenix had learned anything over the years, it's how to gauge a threat. not only by how dangerous they have the potential to be, but also by their intent. Clearly, Smokey had no Intent to harm her. However, there's no Telling who or what could be waiting for her in town. that's the reason she's stayed away from them for so long. so much so, that it's become apparent she doesn't even remember where the nearest town is. it's a wonder she hadn't run into it by now. Phoenix placed a hoof on her head, and cringed at herself a little bit. she doesn't quite know why, but it seems like any time she's faced with a Decision, or something unfamiliar, her first response is to go into survival mode. Normally, this wouldn't be much of an issue as she typically fends for herself, but something felt a little different this time around. she felt like she aught to be less feral around Smokey, but she still couldn't figure out why. "Sure", she replied after her few moments of silence. just afterward, her ears perked up and she looked off into the treeline as she too heard the call of the bird.

"hmm..." she hummed, as she pondered the situation. then, she let out a soft chuckle "maybe i should meet this mare. we may have something in common" she remarked, jokingly. although she normally wasn't the one for meeting other ponies, she could hardly pass up the opportunity to make quick quips like that. she turned and walked out away from the tent, where she might expect to find a fire pit. although the sun had risen, the air was still a tad chilly. after wandering around a bit, certainly within earshot of smokey, his offer had found it's way into her ears. her head perked up a bit, and her ears stood straight up as she turned to smokey. clearly, it had caught her attention. "take me to breakfast?" she asked as if she didn't hear it. of course, she did hear it, but she was struggling to think of why he would offer something like that. as far as Phoenix was concerned, logically, they were still mostly strangers. however, some illogical part of her was telling her that all of this was perfectly fine. and then, another question arose. "where?" she asked him, a couple of seconds later, as she looked around the tree-lines. as far as she could tell, there wasn't a town nearby.

after Phoenix had finished smelling the morning air, she let out a soft yawn, as she heard Smokey come up from behind her. "good morning" she responded, as she turned to him. she didn't seem necessarily energetic. part of it was the fact that she still felt a bit of the fatigue from yesterday, and another part of it was just that her personality never seemed to be that of the bubbly type. as she turned to see him, she simply couldn't gloss over the large crater that sat right next to them. her gaze never even met Smokey's as she stopped to inspect the crater with wide, quizzical eyes. "i must have really been asleep if i wasn't waken up by that" she said, with a concerned tone. if she wasn't woken up by something like that, then there definitely was something to be concerned about. if whoever it was that caused this had malicious intent towards her, then she would have been a goner. she could only hope that after her fatigue had gone away, she would return to her normal self. "do you have any idea what happened here?" she asked, as she looked all around the crater as she stepped closer to it.

@Blitz Boom Phoenix had drifted back to the realm of consciousness from the sounds of the birds chirping. her eyes fluttered open, and she rubbed them a bit with her hooves to shoo away any sleep that may still be in them. she used her fore-hooves to lift herself up into a sitting position, and she turned her gaze towards Smokey, to see if he was awake. sure enough, he was. Phoenix wasn't much of a morning person, and to much noise when she first wakes up typically bothers her. without saying anything, she made an attempt to bring herself into a standing position. after the events of last night, she expected to have a little trouble with it, and she certainly did. her legs were still a little weak, but with a good amount of effort, she was able to do it just fine. once she had stabilized herself, she carefully walked out of the tent and into the morning air. she stood out there for a few minutes, doing nothing but looking at the surrounding area. she wasn't able to get a good view of it before in the darkness of night. after taking it in for a few moments, she lifted her snout to get a good whiff of the cool morning air.

As Phoenix began to drift off to sleep, she began to ponder whether or not she actually minded him staying in the same tent. of course, she didn't want to admit that to herself. she was much too stubborn for that. she listened to the rustling accompanied by Smokey's movements throughout the tent, and waited for it to all settle down before she relaxed her mind and drifted off once more.

@Blitz Boom Phoenix continued staring at the wall of the tent as she listened to Smokey make his case on why he needed to stay in the tent with her over night. she was already tired enough, still feeling the drain on her from the events that had taken place just earlier. as such, she didn't have the energy to argue with him. she rolled her eyes, and spoke up "yeah, that's fine i suppose" she said, as her heavy eyelids came back down, and her body settled back into position.

@Widdershins @Blitz Boom Phoenix, now in a sitting position had looked around, taking in her surroundings. sure enough, she was still in her tent, and on top of her bed roll. she lifted a hoof up to her face and placed it on her forehead in exasperation "what an ordeal" she muttered to herself. it wasn't necessarily a scary dream, save for the last bit, but it deffinately did dig deep into her mind. although she fancy's herself a clever girl, that's a locked door that she prefers not to go into. of course, without surprise smokey had entered the tent. surely he was concerned by the loud noise. "it was nothing. just a dream is, all" she explained to him, as she turned away, towards the wall of the tent and layed herself back down. of course, she couldn't help but think about the dream stallions words. did Smokey really have a thing for her? she blushed a bit as she pondered it, but hid her expressions away from Smokey.

@Widdershins @Blitz Boom "Nightmare... deffinately a nightmare" Phoenix had confirmed with herself. she perhaps had expected a scream, or a loud jarring noise to wake her. such would have been like quickly ripping off a bandage. this, however, was the slower, slightly more pain inducing version. she watched, eyes wide with horror as these vile masses began to sliver from his mouth. as some of them seemed to approach her, she took a few steps back to avoid coming in contact. after all, who knows what their intention is, or what that gross slime is made out of. she looked beyond the ones that are extended and noticed that the other ones looked like they were ready to pounce. and just as they were about to, as she was sure, the dream realm began to fade. and then, as if a popped buble, it was all of a sudden gone, and she found herself shooting up into a sitting position from where she was previously asleep in the tent. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" She screamed, as all the air was forced from her lungs. once she was done, she sat there and looked over herself. all the while, trying to catch her breath.

@Widdershins Phoenix sat there, and watched as the dream pony awkwardly scooted up to her. her silence and staring may have only added to the level of awkward. she sat there unsure of what to do as the dream pony simply poked at her face. but to her surprise, he followed it up with a statement. although some may want to believe she is, Phoenix certainly was no numb-skull. she could definitely see the truth behind many of the strange stallions words, and she tried her best to take them all into account. she spent a few moments simmering her thoughts over what has transpired, and she tried to come up with some sort of summary of the lesson here. the dream stallion was most certainly correct in saying that Phoenix needed to learn to love herself and try to see things from that point of view. she sighed at the thought. "easier said than done", she muttered. "but, other than that, i am ready" she replied. she seemed more than ready to end whatever sort of dream this was, be it a nightmare or not.

Phoenix simply remains still as all of this sinks into her. of course, there was the strange stallion trying to comfort her. she felt his fluffy mane as it brushed against her, and it made her crinkle her nose ever so slightly. she took a bit of a step back, as such a sudden gesture was a bit unwelcome in her eyes. she still avoided making eye contact with the being as his words hung on her. she sighed calmly as she realized the truth in his words, and she too took a seat, not terribly far from the stallion, but also not very close. it was a bit standoff-ish. he was absolutely correct, and she put a hoof to her forehead in shame. after all of this time, how could she not see things the way they are? the issue was nearly 100% to due with the fact that she allowed herself to be miserable. yet, if most were put into her situation, they may find it hard to blame her. still, there were certain things she may yet to get by. romantic relations certainly was something of an oddity with her circumstance. "i understand...." she said solemnly, as she stared at the floor of this strange realm. hearing that this whole nightmare could end at her will certainly was a relief for her. and in that moment, she found she desired nothing more. ending a dream willingly, is not something she's ever had to do before, so it wasn't at all strange (at least in her mind) that she didn't know how. "if you startle me, i can't guarantee that it won't backlash on you" she bargained with the stallion "but you're free to do so at your digression"

@Widdershins Realizing that her attack didn't work, she simply Sighed. she really didn't appreciate being put through this, however. still avoiding eye contact, she spoke "it's my own business, what i decide to do with myself" she said, a little bit more calmly. clearly, she still had no intention to change. she just wished that this whole situation would cease. "why does it matter what i do?" she asked with exasperation, hoping that the being in front of her would stop caring so much and leave her alone.

@Widdershins Phoenix was very clearly getting irritated at this point. if this pony had known what had happened to the poor draconicuus earlier in the night, they'd know that pestering her was no simple task. she continued to walk backwards, turning her head upwards to see the two Unicorns as they merged into one, as well as her alternate self, and almost without warning, her horn began to glow, and a slew of fireballs lashed out towards their targets. "i don't have to tell you!" she yelled out, as the last of the fireballs had flown off of her horn. truth be told, she was beginning to question herself. was she doing it for her own protection, or was it simply out of humility? she shook her head, not even bothering to see if she had hit her mark with her attack.

@Widdershins Realizing that she had bumped into the dream pony, she shuffled herself to the side, and turned to face away from the Stallion version of herself. she heard the two voices speak, but she didn't quite know what to say in response. instead, she hung her head low as she refused to make eye contact with the strange dream unicorn. why was she so humiliated by all of this? did she have a reason to be? of course she did. after all, her curse was not something she had necessarily come to enjoy. in fact, over time she had merely grown content with her new form, and nothing more. it served her as a means to forget what had happened before that, starting a new life. or at least, that was her excuse. if she had to be perfectly honest with herself, nothing had changed in her mind after the curse. she still went on moping about her tragic past, and acting as though nothing in her life could ever be happy. her curse served no means to help her forget

@Widdershins Phoenix's Eyes grew wide as she saw the stallion. of course, she knew that the stallion was him. well, her to be exact. the form of Phoenix that never came to be. it was quite the strange sight. She could barely even recognize herself in that form, considering she had never grown old enough to see herself as a stallion. to her surprise, the stallion seemed to mimic her expressions. it was strange, almost as if it was mocking her. she nervously lifted up one of her hooves, and began to slowly step backwards. but to her despair, it only seemed to follow her as it had stepped out of the glossy mirror like doorway. this certainly was the humiliating situation. watching herself as she could have been stand right in front of her and mock her. it was on some level of cruel irony that some could only dream of. she avoided eye contact and shook her head as she continued to back up. eventually she bumped her rear back into the strange unicorn. she had almost forgotten that he was there for a few moments, considering the distraction that stood squarely in front of her.

@Widdershins Phoenix trotted alongside the strange Unicorn as they walked around through her dreamscape. as strange as it was, she wasn't focusing on the spectacle of a Unicorn, and rather she looked at the strange void around her. she looked at each door, wondering if each of them led anywhere. were they distant memories of her own? or were they something else entirely? the curiosity began to grow within her. after all, in such a strange realm, who wouldn't want to open a few doors? of course, there was always the risk that something terribly embarrassing was inside. and of course, the answer she got was as expected. it was indirect, and quite cryptic. however, it didn't seem entirely nonsensical. there deffinately was a message behind the strange stallions words, and it was only a matter of time before she found out. all of a sudden, the stallion stopped talking. she looked over at him, and noticed that he was staring at her "what?" she said as she rolled her eyes and turned her gaze to the nearest door. she walked towards the door slowly, looking it up and down as she stopped in front of it. her horn began to glow, and a magical aura began to envelope the handle as it slowly began to swing open.

@Widdershins Phoenix looked around at her abstract surroundings. now that it was brought to her attention that she was dreaming, it certainly was noticeable. every time she looked away from something, it changed slightly. nothing was consistent. "i see" she said in a curious tone as she continued to look at her surroundings. this certainly was a strange experience. of course, being in the realm of dreams, anything was possible. however, she still figured that the strange pony was all just a figment of it. but, he had to be representative of something in her mind. and it might be useful if she were able to find out. "then... why are you here?" was her next question. of course, rarely were things ever as easy as simply asking in dreams. many times, all she would get were cryptic responses, or no response at all. such was the frustration with trying to figure out your own mind.

@Widdershins @Blitz Boom Phoenix was watching her dreams as they happened around her, when suddenly something very odd made it's way onto the scene. it was certainly a very strange looking Stallion. Phoenix stepped back a bit, and cocked her head, perplexed at the strange situation that was now taking place. of course, she simply thought that her mind was making up this scenario, as that is what the majority of dreams are. normally, each and every thing within a dream has meaning. and seeing as this pony had taken center stage, there was certainly some message here. of course, Phoenix really wasn't aware she was dreaming. in fact, most ponies are unaware that they're dreaming until they wake up. and such was the case here. "dream? who are you?" she asked. as she took in all of the strange details. her last couple of words sound like their pitch was trailing downwards. the sound of the strange stallions voice must have subconsciously gotten to her, considering it was beginning to effect her.

(let's not leave out @Widdershins) Phoenix simply went with him, silent the rest of the time. she was sure she had lots to explain to blitz. she was sure that he wanted to ask millions of questions about her talent. quite frankly, it would have been a bit much for her to explain at the moment, and she was thankful for the fact that Smokey respected her current condition. after they had reached the tent, she flopped down onto a sleeping bag, not even bothering to waste the energy to crawl into it. she knew that Smokey would probably stay there until she fell asleep anyway, and she was too weak to protest. she simply lay down and closed her eyes as she let the thoughts and events of the day dance through her mind. slowly, as she held these thoughts they began to become more and more abstract as she drift into the realm of dreams. some of them were horrible, as she dreamt that the draconiquus simply went on revealing every detail about her, and all of her attempts to attack were fruitless. and some of her dreams were rather delightful, as she dreamt that she was learning from Smokey. . from the outside, Smokey could clearly see Phoenix laying there like a sack of rocks as she lightly snored. it was very clear that she was asleep, and it had happened nearly the instant she closed her eyes.

Phoenix gave a quick nod, and a "thank you" as Smokey lifted her up off of the ground. she lifted up one of her hooves to brush the dirt off of her face, and chest. she leaned against him as she moved each of her hooves one by one as they walked towards the tent. although it did work against her sense of pride, she couldn't help but be thankful. after all, he did sorta owe her after she healed him like that. she rolled her eyes a bit as she imagined the following conversation. surely he'd pry at her to try and find out where she learned that. even she herself knew that not many ponies had such a talent.

(and @Widdershins) Phoenix looked at Smokey as he offered her the help "no thanks, i'll be fine..." she said as she lifted her hoof to attempt to walk. she was able to successfully lift one of her hooves, and with a decent amount of concentration, place it down where she wanted it. however, it was obvious that this method was slow and inefficient. she clearly wasn't walking normally. she made another attempt, and tried to put herself into a good rhythm, but as she tried doing so, she stumbled and fell face first onto the ground. "so much for playing it off" she thought to herself as she huffed, blowing her mane out of her eyes. it was clear then from this point on that she would require some assistance, something that a pony like Phoenix absolutely despised asking for. to Phoenix's fortune, it seemed as though Smokey was the understanding type, and wouldn't ridicule her or make fun of her for needing help. she simply lay there in wait for him to assist her to her hooves.

Woah. At 40 seconds in, that is definitely the back of a gundam head, no doubt

ah. i'm a fan of anime with a really deep story. ones like fate/zero and fate/stay night: unlimited blade works. as well, i also love code geass and guilty crown. i'm also a mecha junky, so gundam is in there as well. would widdershins pilot a 60 foot war machine that was as agile as a ballerina and could fly as fast as a sonic jet?