//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Old Habits // Story: A Human's Walk Across Equestria // by JadedandDazed //------------------------------// Phoenix looked around the dark and starry landscape he appeared to somehow be standing in despite the lack of a floor. This place wasn't new to him, however, as he had been here a few times before. This time was different though. He never just appeared in this place. Every other time, he was having a nightmare, before whatever dream monster could get to him, he was whisked away to this place. There he would meet with the princess of the night who would help calm him down. This time, he didn't even remember dreaming in the first place. For whatever reason, Luna had decided to intercept his dreamscape before he could even see it. Phoenix tapped his foot as he again looked around, looking for Luna to make her appearance, but he seemed to be alone. "Uh, hello?" Phoenix called out, "I only left two days ago, did you really miss me that much?" "For someone on such a long and strenuous journey..." A familiar voice echoed as the stars began to move, taking form into a familiar pony, "You go to sleep very, very late," The pony said as she made her first steps as a tangible being. Phoenix laughed as Luna's little show finally ended and the pony trotted up to him, taking a bit more of his personal space than he was comfortable with. Though he wanted to take a small step back, the small smirk on the princess's face told him that making him uncomfortable was her goal, and he was not about to give her that satisfaction, "Well, how am I supposed to go to sleep when you make the night sky so god damn beautiful?" Phoenix said with a smirk of his own. "I-I'm sorry?" Luna asked as the smirk ran away from her face and a blush crept across her face "You make such a gorgeous work of art and you expect me to just go to sleep?" Phoenix laughed, "Do you really think I'm that much of a philistine?" Luna's blush grew as she stared at the human as if she was waiting for him to either say he was joking or for him profess his undying love. However, as the smug look on his face grew, the princess began to realize what he was after. She took a small step back as she let out a small laugh, "Fine, fine, you win this round, Phoenix. You truly had me going there for a moment." "Hmm?" Phoenix hummed, the smirk turning to a genuine smile, "What, you think I'm joking?" "Either you're joking or something is horribly wrong," Luna said with a knowing smile Phoenix sighed, his smile still on his face as he shook his head, "I really can't compliment you without it being a joke?" Luna froze in place as her smile once again ran from her face, "I-" "I mean, I guess I was a bit aggressive with it," Phoenix said as he scratched his chin, "But I feel like that's par for the course with me, yeah?" Luna shook her head, "I'm sorry, it's just... I'm not used to compliments like that... Especially coming from you." Phoenix's smile finally faded into a confused frown, "What do you mean 'especially coming from me?'" "Well, you're a stallion of few words, couple that to your more stoic nature, your compliments are few and far between... finding sincerity from the few you do give has never been easy, especially with your sense of humor," Luna explained Phoenix nodded as he listened to the princess spoke. Though her words certainly hurt him, he wasn't upset with her. She was telling the truth. He had never been very good at handling his emotions, let alone showing them. While this always troubled him personally, he never realized that it affected others so badly too. "I'm sorry..." Phoenix mumbled as he looked to his feet. Luna frowned as she looked the human up and down. His happy and playful aura from before had quickly disappeared and been replaced with one of sadness and guilt, "There's nothing to be sorry about, Phoenix. There are just some ponies out there who have a hard time expressing themselves... I just didn't expect such a sudden change from you. You're typically very... unemotional. I suppose it is simply taking more time for me to adjust to this new attitude of yours. "Yeah, I guess..." Phoenix said as he tried to look anywhere besides at Luna, "So, did you just come to tell me to go to sleep earlier or is there something else?" "Phoenix, I apologize, I really did not mean to offend you," Luna said as she stepped forward "I know, Luna," Phoenix said, "I just feel bad is all." "Phoenix," Luna smiled as she approached, putting a hoof on him reassuringly, "There is nothing to feel bad about. I promise you." Phoenix took a deep breath as he looked down at the pony, a smile crossing his face, "Thank you, Luna." "You're very... welcome..." Luna trailed off as she spoke. She began with a smile, but it quickly faded away as she just barely noticed that corners of Phoenix's lips twitching. ------ Twilight had been reading over the letter Phoenix had sent her. Based on the fact that it came from Spike's breath, she could tell immediately Princess Celestia had sent it over herself. The worry she felt all day eased a bit knowing he was in good hooves. The contents of the letter, however, brought her new worries, she just didn't know why. It certainly seemed like a positive letter, it read positively despite the deprecating humor which Phoenix was certainly known forever. Yet, despite his humor being apparent in the letter, it didn't read like something Phoenix would write. She couldn't quite place her hoof on why it felt like that, though. Determined to find out why, she read the letter over again... And again... And again. She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for; a hidden message, a puzzle, maybe even a riddle, but she was determined to find something. There had to be something deeper about this letter, she just felt it. So engrossed in the letter, she didn't notice her friend Rarity standing in front of her, trying to get her attention. Nothing seemed to work until Twilight felt a hoof on her shoulder. "AH!" Twilight jumped in surprise, turning around to face the white mare, "Rarity?! Why would you sneak up on me like that?" "Darling, I'd been calling your name right in front of you for minutes," Rarity said, "What ever could be so entrancing?" "It's this letter from Phoenix," Twilight told, "I just... Something's off about it, but I can't tell what." "Oh, what a coincidence," Rarity smiled, "I actually came to talk to you about him." Twilight frowned a bit as she looked away from the letter and finally gave Rarity her full attention, "Oh?" "You said after Canterlot he would be heading to Baltimare, yes?" Rarity asked "Yes, if he's left Canterlot by now he should be there in... 2 days most likely, 3 at the most... Why do you ask?" Twilight questioned with a tilt of her head "How serendipitous," Rarity smiled, "It just so happens I'll be in Baltimare in the day after next and I thought that I might bump into him! Since that seems to be the case is there anything you'd like me to bring him? Perhaps a letter?" "Oh, wow! Serendipitous indeed!" Twilight perked up, "Yes, if you wouldn't mind delivering it to him, I'll write a letter now!" "But of course," Rarity hummed, "Oh, what about his clothing situation? He's heading towards the Crystal Empire, yes? He did pack warm clothing... Right?" Twilight stopped in her place, her quill and paper floating mid-air as her eyes widened, "I completely forgot about that... I- I don't think so... He wasn't wearing any of his winter clothes. That bag of his definitely didn't have enough room for them either." Rarity blinked as she processed what Twilight just told her, "He knows it's called the Frozen North because it's cold, doesn't he?" Twilight sighed as she shook her head, "Honestly, I don't even know when it comes to him anymore. One day he's one of the smartest beings you ever met, the next he's burnt his hand because he forgot that things just coming out of the oven are hot." "Well, I suppose I still do have the designs I originally made for him, I can whip something up quickly no problem," Rarity assured, "...And you mentioned a bag, yes? Like a saddle bag or a gym bag?" "Kind of like a saddle bag," Twilight told, "But it looked like it was made for his back and not a pony's... I suppose he made it himself." "Hmm, I suppose I'll have to see this bag for myself!" Rarity said as she pointed her snout into the air, "You would think he would ask me. I'm wonderful at making bags!" "You would think," Twilight laughed as she trotted over to her table, "But that's Phoenix for you." "He certainly is a bit eccentric, isn't he?" Rarity hummed, "Is there anything else you'd like me to bring to him?" "I think that's it for now. Thank you, Rarity. I'll bring the letter over right away!" Twilight told "My pleasure, dear," Rarity smiled as she headed to the door happily, giving another smile before she closed the door. "Hey, Twilight!" A voice shouted out, "The Princess sent over another letter!" Suddenly the source behind the voice ran into the room, scroll in hand. "Really?" Twilight frowned as she took the letter in her magic and unfurled it. She squinted a bit as she lifted it to her face, "It's from Luna..." -------- "Jeez, you'd think someone would tell you..." Phoenix mumbled as he ran his hands through his hair, looking at his reflection in a Baltimare fountain. Apparently, sleeping in the woods was a good way of getting leaves in your hair and it must have looked so good nopony bothered to tell him about his new leafy hairstyle. Once he could no longer see any leaves in his hair, he stood up straight and sighed. He didn't dare glance around the park as he knew he'd be met with odd glances. It was weird enough a strange bipedal creature was in the midst of ponies, but even weirder that it decided to bend over a fountain and style its hair. He quickly turned on his heels and looked to his left. There was an exit to the park that led to what he assumed to be the city center. Shrugging his shoulders backwards, he readjusted his bag and prepared himself for a day of sightseeing... He wasn't actually sure what sights there were to see, but he'd surely sight some sight to see. "Maybe there's some tour stands around here..." Phoenix said to himself as he exited the park and entered a new, more urban area. Scores of ponies trotted up and down the streets, half seeming like they were on a determined mission, the other seeming as if they were just happy to be out and about. The city was certainly nice to look at, he would give them that. Aimlessly wandering the paved streets, Phoenix found himself in what appeared to be a shopping district. Had he begun his journey here instead of Canterlot, this place would serve little purpose for him as he had no bits... However, somepony managed to sneak a sizable bag of bits into his bag when he wasn't paying attention and he wasn't aware until he was long gone from the city. Now that he found himself with a decent amount of wealth, he was hoping to get rid of it as quick as possible. While the bits certainly would make his journey easier, he was a man of principle, he set off his journey with no bits for a reason. Stopping in front of boutique, he peered at the dress in the window, "Huh... I think Rarity might like this... Maybe they do deliveries." Phoenix said to himself as he went for the door, only for it to open before he had the chance. He stopped and stepped aside to let the pony leaving make their way, but something seemed to hold this pony up. "Oh, Phoenix! What a coincidence!" A familiar posh voice said Phoenix looked down at the pony and blinked in surprise, "Rarity?" "Who else could it be, Darling?" Rarity flashed as a smile and tossed her mane, "Now what brings you into a boutique like this?" "I was actually going to see if I could ship you a gift... I saw the dress in the window and thought you'd like it," Phoenix told Rarity giggled as she held a hoof to her muzzle, "Oh, Phoenix how thoughtful of you. You're right, I do like that dress, but that's because I made it!" "Oh," Phoenix said, a frown crossing his face, "Figures. You make all the good dress in Equestria, huh?" "You charmer," Rarity hummed with a playful gesture, "I don't make all the good dresses... But certainly a decent number of them. There's actually an event happening tomorrow night, all the boutiques in Baltimare are involved. Since we've managed to bump into each other I wouldn't suppose you'd like to accompany me would you?" "What kind of event is it?" Phoenix asked "It's a sort of a charity fashion show. We show off our dresses, sell them at an auction later on, have a nice banquet, then we donate our proceeds to charity. I'm not sure if that's your cup of tea, but it could be nice." "Oh," Phoenix said, the sound of his pleasant surprise evidence in his voice, "Believe it or not, that's exactly my cup of tea. Not the fashion part, but the charity and banquet part... That's actually what I used to do back on Earth. I worked with a lot of charities and, man, were banquets sure part of it." "Really?" Rarity said, a renewed smile crossing her face, "How fortunate! So you'd like to come, I take it?" "If I could help too, I'd be more than happy to," Phoenix said with a smile of his own "Oh of course! I'm sure we could use the help of a professional like yourself," Rarity told "I'm happy to be of service," Phoenix hummed, "So, could I get a copy of the press release so I can get an idea of what's going down?" "Press release?" Rarity frowned Phoenix blinked as he looked at the pure white mare, "...Yeah, the paper you send out to the press so they come and cover your event? And when they write about it your event and charity, it gets publicity, making the cause even more well known, bringing in more donations and attention?" "We... Didn't write a press release," Rarity said with a nervous laugh "When is the event?" "Tomorrow afternoon?" Phoenix swallowed, trying his hardest not to scream as anxiety filled his gut, "I think I have a lot of work to do." ---- "You've barely touched your breakfast, dear. Are you alright?" Rarity asked as she set her tea cup down, glancing at the disheveled human "I'm a little worried," Phoenix admitted as he tapped his foot, staring at the news stand across the street, "Shouldn't the papers have been delivered already?" "Relax, darling," Rarity hummed, "Enjoy your food, you worked very hard last night, no matter if we end up in the paper or not, this event will go perfectly." "I know," Phoenix sighed, "Just... You've all clearly worked so hard on it, I just think that if we got more people in the know it could be something really big." "If its not, there's always next time," Rarity told, "I'm always an advocate for big and well-covered events, but not everything can be the biggest hit. All that matters is that we're able to do what we set out to do. Put on a show and raise money for charity." "I..." Phoenix began, but trailed off. For once, he didn't have a response. She was absolutely right, not every event, charity or not, could be the Grand Galloping Gala. While it would certainly be nice, as long as you do something... You've already done more than enough. Before Phoenix could continue to sit and explore this simple, but new (to him at least) idea, he noticed a delivery pony with a large wagon of newspaper appear in his view, "Excuse me for a second..." He said as he sat up, rushing to the news stand. "Excuse me, which papers do you have?" Phoenix asked as the delivery pony unloaded stacks of papers. "We've got The Baltimare Times, Canterlot Gazette, The Applewood Reporter, and the Baltimare Examiner." The newsstand pony told "Great, I'll take one of each," Phoenix said as he reached into his pockets and put a small handful of bits on the counter "Coming right up," The pony said as he brushed the bits into a bag then cut into the stacks of newspapers, allowing them to air out and extend their full size. Gathering the papers, he gave them to Phoenix who happily took them in his hands, "There ya go, kid." "Thank you, sir," Phoenix said with a nod and smile, rushing back to the table, "Sorry about that." "Nothing to be sorry about, darling," Rarity assured, "And? Did you make it in?" "Let's see," Phoenix said as he grabbed the first paper on the stack, "The Baltimare Times... Oh! Look at that!" Phoenix said as he flipped the paper to show Rarity, "We got front page!... Below the fold, but still!" "That's wonderful!" Rarity smiled "Yep, getting in the local paper is always great!" Phoenix said as he set the paper aside and grabbed the next one, "Applewood Reporter..." Phoenix mumbled as he scanned the front page. With a frown, Phoenix skipped over a few pages, "Oh!" He said in surprise "What is it?" Rarity asked as she leaned in "We're clearly not front page," Phoenix said as he flipped the paper around, "But we take up nearly half a page of the notable events section!" "Oh!" Rarity smiled as she took the paper, "Would you look at that?" "Mhm," Phoenix nodded as he picked up the next paper, "Next up, Canterlot Gazette," Phoenix again scanned the front page, finding nothing. He threw the pages open and continued to scan the pages until there was nothing left to scan, "Huh..." "Hmm?" Rarity hummed as she looked up from her paper "We didn't make the Gazette..." Phoenix mumbled as he sat the paper down "Oh that's alright, dear," Rarity smiled, "We did make the Reporter and the Times, didn't we? Without you we wouldn't even be in any paper today!" "Yeah, I guess," Phoenix said as he scratched the back of his head, "It's just the Gazette was the biggest paper... I was hoping we'd make that one." "Remember," Rarity said as she put a hoof towards Phoenix, "Not everything has to be big. We tried and we succeeded in other places. That's what matters." "Right..." Phoenix sighed, "It's just... Back on Earth, I don't think I would've still had a job if I didn't make the big paper." "You don't think?" Rarity frowned, "Have you never not made the paper?" "My organization a few times hasn't, but me personally? No. Whenever I got hired I at least made it on to two big papers." Phoenix told "Well, when whoever was in charge of your press relations didn't make it to the big paper, did you fire them?" Rarity asked "No, of course not," Phoenix frowned "Then why would anyone fire you?" Rarity asked, "It seems like you're holding yourself to a much higher standard." She got him again. He didn't have an answer. His entire time back on Earth, he worried about his quality of work. Despite rarely being chastised or reprimanded, he always worried that his work was never enough. He worried that he had to keep going bigger and bigger or he would be tossed aside. He worried that if didn't keep going bigger then nothing he was doing mattered... But Rarity had a point. As long as you do what you set out to do, then you've done well. The more he thought about his failures back on Earth through this new view, the more they began to seem like successes... And for some reason that made him feel even worse. "I... The show doesn't start for about six hours, right?" Phoenix asked "Yes, just about," Rarity said "I, uh... Is it alright if I go to your hotel room and take a quick nap? I didn't sleep much last night," Phoenix said "Didn't sleep much? Darling, you didn't sleep at all," Rarity said with a small laugh, "You were up all night running across town delivering your releases and fliers." Phoenix laughed a bit with a blush, "Yeah... Sorry, I just... I'm really passionate about this stuff, I guess." "That's nothing to be embarrassed about," Rarity assured with a smile, "Here's a key... Oh, also I didn't have the chance to tell you considering how busy you made yourself, but there's a royal blue bag with winter clothes for you. The bag's also yours to keep. I tried to design it so it sat comfortably on your shoulders, but since I didn't have you as a model I can't confidently say it's perfect, so please let me know." Phoenix laughed a bit as he grabbed the key from the table and stood up, "Thank you, Rarity. I appreciate that." "Anything for a friend," Rarity smiled, "Oh, I almost forgot! There's a letter from Twilight in there as well." Phoenix felt his face begin to heat up as he swallowed. Twilight. She's probably livid beyond belief considering what he did and said the last time he saw her, "H-how is she?" "She's very worried about you," Rarity told, "But she does truly hope you find what you're looking for on your journey." Phoenix nodded as he turned the key over in his hand, "I-I'll see you in a bit..." --- Dearest, Phoenix, You may have never said you were smart, but you should. I for one think you're very intelligent. I forgive you for your "joke". I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I think of you as some sort of annoyance or that I want you "out of my hair." I love you as well and I'm proud to call you one of my best friends. I care for you very much and I just couldn't stand to lose you. I understand this is something you need to do by yourself. For as long as I've known you, which isn't very long to be fair, you've always been stubborn. I can't begin to imagine how you must feel, being trapped in a world so different than your own with noponyone of your kind by your side; it must be very lonely... Please know that I will always be by your side to help you through whatever hardship you face. Together, there is nothing we cannot do. I'm glad you reached Canterlot safely and at a startlingly fast pace as well! At this rate, you may actually make it back within two weeks! Not to rush you, of course, but I can't wait to see you again. Princess Luna wrote to me about your time with her and Princess Celestia. I'm glad you three get along well, they really do adore you. Princess Luna told me about the story of the Emperor's New Clothes that you shared. I think that you should consider writing that into a book and having it published, it would certainly be a welcome addition to my library! I wish I could keep this letter on a happy note, but there are a few things that have been bothering me. The first is in regards to your first letter. While the general humor of it certainly fits your style, the heavy-hoovedness of it seems... More than usual. It is hard to portray sarcasm over letters, I recognize. However, I can't help but feel the deprecating statements aren't jokes. I get the feeling that you sincerely believe these awful things... Perhaps I'm just overly worried, but it had been bothering me. Please write me back letting me know. I trust you to tell me the truth. The second thing that has bothered me is the reason for your trip. You told me the purpose of the trip was to sightsee. To gain insight into this new land you call home. However, according to Princess Luna, you told her and Princess Celestia that there was no reason to your trip and that you simply decided to go on it for no purpose. Again, I trust you to tell the truth, but how would you reconcile this contradiction? Lastly, it has been recently brought to my attention that you set off on your journey without proper clothes for the cold journey. Perhaps it simply escaped your mind, but that doesn't seem like you. During the two winters we've spent together, you were never without the long coat Rarity made you... You told me how much you loved that coat. So why did you not bring it with you? I'm sorry if I'm over burdening you with these questions, but they have been nagging at me for a while now. I hope you're doing well and continue to do well. Know that I completely support you and I know you'll make the most of your journey. I can't wait for you to get back so you can share your incredible stories and we can really begin to know each other like you said you wanted to in your last letter. Forever and Truly Yours, Twilight Sparkle Phoenix blinked away a tear as he held the letter close to his chest. Staring up at the ceiling of Rarity's hotel room, he shifted uncomfortably on the bed, "Why do you have to make this so hard, Twilight?"