It had been over a month since Crimson had merged with Bleeding Heart. His life had begun to settle down. A few days after they united, Crimson went around town, explaining what went on to his friends. Some understood him and accepted his apologies. Others however were a little less understanding. Lately, Crimson felt that it was time to move on. He was thinking of returning to Canterlot, but decided that it was still too soon. He didn't feel ready to face all the ponies back there. He remembered that he spent a brief period of time in Ponyville while looking for his parents. With that in mind, he prepared to move once more. He spoke to a couple of friends who agreed to run his store for him. Crimson felt it was better to keep the store running than to just sell the building. He spent the night, thinking of what he should do and eventually fell asleep while lost in his thoughts.

Crimson opened his eyes to find that he was surrounded by fog. Looking down, he saw that he was standing on a path made by red blocks. Everything else was hidden from his view. Crimson turned to his side to see Bleeding Heart standing next to him, in flesh. "Bleeding Heart? What are you doing here?"

"I don't know if you realise this, but we are in your dreams right now. Being called here, is not a good sign." he said with a serious expression locked onto his face.

"Should we keep moving? I don't see any way to leave, and I don't think I'm able to wake up right now." Crimson said as he looked down at the blocks, floating in the fog. "I don't even know where we are. I've never been here before."

"That doesn't suprise me. Anyway, yes we need to keep moving." he said, taking a few steps forward while signalling Crimson to follow him. "I know this place only because I am a Shadow. The fact that I am here with you now, makes me wonder if we were brought here because of what happened a month ago."

"A month ago? You mean when I faced myself and you became one with me?"

"Exactly. You see, normally when a host accepts their Shadow, it becomes a Persona. I however did not. This makes me think we were summoned here in your dreams, for that exact reason."

"What exactly is a Persona? Is it a good kind of Shadow? I don't understand." Crimson began to look confused and felt worried that he didn't know as much as Bleeding Heart seemed to.

"A Persona is an extension of oneself, which acts as a mask when faced with hardship. They are like Shadows, except Personas are tame. Most Shadows are wild and malevolent as they often have no control over their actions. I'm not like that, mostly due to the fact that my power was locked in the journal. That being the case, the power never corrupted me, allowing me to keep a level head while completing my task."

"So does that mean you're a Persona instead of a Shadow?" Crimson asked curiously while still walking through the dense fog.

"That is something even I don't know. I would imagine that we are here to find that out. Those that are called to this place are often seeking truth. There are still many things you wish to know, about your family and yourself. I also wish to know about myself, in a sense of finding what I really am." Bleeding Heart continued his explanation of the world they were in, until they reached a giant red gate. A voice could be heard on the other side.

"If you seek truth, pass through the gate and approach me." the mysterious voice said to the pair of them. Crimson had never heard this voice before, but felt that it was being truthful.

"We have to go through. I want to know the truth." Crimson said, determined to keep moving. He was tired of looking back.

"I won't let you go in there alone. I also seek answers, but I must also protect you. It is my duty." Bleeding Heart nodded and stepped forward through the gate, sticking by Crimson's side.

As they walked through, the fog began to thicken quite rapidly. Crimson was suprised by this and started to worry that the fog was going to become too thick. Bleeding Heart stood by his side, not faltering by the thickness of the fog. Neither of them could see, but Bleeding Heart knew that all they had to do right now was listen. The mysterious voice began to speak to them again as a strange entity appeared before them in the fog.

"I see you are both strong enough to brave the fog. One day soon, you shall both recieve the answers you are looking for. However, there is one thing I must tell you now. Bleeding Heart, you are the reason Crimson Breeze was called here."

"I'm the reason? Would you care to elaborate on that, or just leave me in the dark with no more answers?" he said, while staring at the presence in front of him.

"You are a Shadow, yet you have been united with your host. You are tame, yet you are not a Persona. The reason behind this, is that there is a deeper Shadow that must be conquered. Bleeding Heart, you are incomplete."

"Incomplete? What do you mean? Is there part of me that exists elsewhere? Tell me what is going on!" As Bleeding Heart finished what he was saying, both he and Crimson began to feel faint. The fog around them deepened further, until they both fell unconscious.

Crimson woke up the next morning, with Bleeding Heart pacing across the bedroom floor, once again in his spiritual form. "Oh good, you're awake." he said while still pacing around.

"What in Equestria happened last night? Also, why are you pacing around like there is something majorly wrong?" Crimson said as he hopped out of bed and headed downstairs to his kitchen.

Bleeding Heart followed him down, still thinking about the events last night in Crimson's dreams. "Its what happened in your dreams. That voice said I was incomplete. It just feels wierd to hear something like that. Think its true?"

"It could be, but even if it is, its not like we're going to find out. That dream may have said we could find answers, but I have no idea where to look. I think we should just move on with life the way we planned. I'm due to move to Ponyville tomorrow. All my stuff is packed and the moving truck will be here to collect it all this afternoon. Lets go out into town and say our goodbyes. It will help take your mind off of things." Crimson grabbed his bag and headed out the door, waiting for Bleeding Heart to join him.

They went down into town and spent the morning visiting Crimson's friends. Crimson said each of his goodbyes one after the other, which didn't feel as bad as he assumed it would. Bleeding Heart stuck by his side, wondering if Crimson was right about moving on. There wasn't much Bleeding Heart could do anyway. Crimson was right about them having no idea where to look for answers. With this in mind, Bleeding Heart slowly accepted the fact that he was not going to solve anything for the time being, and simply enjoyed the rest of the morning.

They came back in the afternoon and waited for the moving truck to arrive. About half an hour after they got back, there was a knock at the door. Crimson answered it to find a rather robust pegasus pony standing in front of him.

"You're Crimson Breeze, right?" After he nodded in response, the grey pegasus walked inside and introduced himself. "I'm Ernie. My bud out in the truck is Al. We're kinda short-staffed today. Mind helpin' us move your stuff onto the truck?"

"I don't mind. It is my stuff after all." Crimson smiled and proceeded to pick up a few boxes with his telekinesis.

After all the boxes were all packed away, Ernie wondered how Crimson was getting all the way to Ponyville. "Hey Crimson. You got a ride to Ponyville all sorted out yet?"

"Sadly no. Somepony did say they would help me out, but they told me they had to take care of family business at the last minute." Crimson sighed and looked down.

"Well we got space in the truck since Pete didn't show up for work. Wanna tag along with us?" Ernie said, hoping it would cheer him up.

"Thanks. Thats a big help." Crimson said as he hopped into the truck and Al carried them off towards Ponyville.

He arrived in the evening and decided that it would be best just to have his bed unpacked. Ernie and Al helped get his bed taken up to his new bedroom, while Crimson unloaded some of the boxes into the living room. When everything was taken off of the truck, Crimson said his goodbyes to the two pegasi and they flew off. Crimson went up to his room and decided to head to bed early so he could take care of the unpacking the next day. Next Chapter: Into the Room Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 21 Minutes