One Last Chance

It was a calm summer day, a warm breeze emanated from the Everfree Forest, washing over the nearby town of Ponyville, drawing its citizens out of their homes and out into the bustling street. The cafe was packed as everypony was trying their best to enjoy the wonderful summer weather. Equestria was always blessed with beautiful, seasonal weather and the pegasi on the weather patrol always kept things up in the sky very neat and tidy. Ponyville would appear a quaint town from a distance but when you really get to know the town, it starts to feel more like a city. Barber shops, restaurants, the greatest clothing stores and sweet shops in all of Equestria, if you need something, it's probably only a hop, skip and a step away. It wasn't so much a city in terms of size, but more in terms of density. A very nice place to live, for sure. Regardless of how quaint it looked, Ponyville was an epicenter for disaster. The return of Nightmare Moon, Discord wreaking havoc, Tirek turning the place into a living hell, almost literally. This town had seen its fair share of disaster. It seemed, though, that regardless of what attacked it, somepony would be there to help; put things right again. The Elements of Harmony, the four princesses, Starlight Glimmer, even Discord had thrown his hat into the world-saving ring a couple of times. Yes, it seemed that Ponyville was in good hands. The town seemed infallible, a constant, as if it would never change. Everypony would be best friends forever and everything would be fine in the end.

This was the mindset that the citizens of Ponyville took with them everywhere they went. A quiet confidence that everything would be fine. This was merely an afterthought for most, preoccupation keeping their minds elsewhere. Twilight sparkle was muzzle deep in a book, Fluttershy was tending to all of her animals needs, and Rarity was watching over her little sister and hyperactive friends as they embarked on yet another sleepover. Everypony was content. Things were good in their small alcove, separated from the busier parts of Equestria. It was strange how central the town had become, especially when it came to world saving. Yes, Ponyville was a beautiful town indeed, filled with intrigue, and a sightseeing must-have for anyone visiting Equestria from out of country.

On this particular day at this particular hour, midnight, a mint green unicorn was meandering through the center of the town, glossing over the scenery on her way to her house. She'd pulled another late night back at the Musicians' Guild, which was essentially where all aspiring musicians in Ponyville gathered to practice and was eager to jump into her warm, comfortable bed. Unfortunately, fate was cruel and soon enough something particularly odd happened, something she believed required her attention.

Sitting, or rather, laying down, a few feet away from the fountain, was an odd looking fellow. A stallion. He looked injured, very injured. The mare was unaware of his presence until she heard labored breathing. Following the sound back to its source revealed him to her. She walked closer to get a look at who was making the odd noise. She noticed bruises lining his body. His identity was a mystery due to the moon being but a sliver that night. She was no medical expert, but he didn't look too good. She decided it would be safer to check on him and possibly check him into the hospital. She walked over to inspect his injuries further when the strange stallion rolled over onto his side, grimacing. There had to be something wrong with him. The mare walked over to help the stallion up. Approaching him, she whispered softly, trying to carefully rouse him from his semi-conscious state.

"Hey, um, are you alright?" she asked. No response. She decided that, if he wasn't talking, he was probably better off at a hospital. She did her best to inform him that she was going to guide him to the hospital. A strange, no, terrifying thing happened when she tried to stand him up though. She tried to push him up into a standing position with her snout, but he didn't budge. It's not just that he didn't budge, he literally did not move a milometer. It was weird at first but it soon turned scary when she pushed with all her force and not a hair on his head moved even a little. He wasn't a heavy looking fellow or anything, he just... wouldn't move. At this she ran to her friends to see if they could help him. Everypony was terrified after their next attempt. He was barely breathing and even with five of her friends pushing and pulling as hard as they could, with magic, he didn't move, he didn't so much as open his eyes. In the end, the six of them decided that it would be better to go to the hospital and have a paramedic come check up on him...

"I really don't know what to tell you." The beige coated paramedic told the six friends. "If you want my professional opinion though he's probably being held in place by magic, and he looks physically fine, so why am I here?"

"What do you mean he's fine?" The mint unicorn from earlier asked, clearly irritated at the incompetency of the paramedic. "He's got bruises all over his body and he was barely breathing a few hours ago!" She gestured to him before looking herself. But to her shock, all of his wounds had miraculously disappeared. She took a second to look over the pegasus now that it was morning and Celestia was raising the sun. She was taken aback. He looked better than normal. His bright white coat practically shone even with minimal light from the just-now rising sun. Well, bruises did heal quite easily. Maybe somepony who knew healing magic had seen him and decided to help him. She scrutinized him closer. His mane was styled in an up-do that split right down the center, and every single hair was exactly where it belonged. He looked like he had checked into a salon a few hours ago. That's not to say he looked better. He hadn't opened his eyes and he almost looked, afraid. Looking at him almost felt wrong, like he belonged somewhere else but couldn't reach his destination. She continued to inquire about his condition. The details were odd, to say the least. He was breathing at half the rate of a normal pony, and his heart rate was a bit slow. He wasn't moving, like really not moving, but he was stable. He was semi-conscious, but there was no way he was still asleep. He was in a comatose state, most likely, not serious. His breathing and such would catch up when he awakened. The paramedic's opinion was to consult a magic expert, as everything so far was pointing to high-level magic. Luckily one of them knew the perfect pony for the job.

"Hmm. It would seem that he is indeed being protected by some kind of aura or field. Very powerful. He's not moving one inch." Twilight Sparkle had been called down to the location of the mysterious stallion. "Don't worry. I can undo it, I must say it is oddly powerful, and for such a simple spell. Oh well, it's not like I know every powerful unicorn on the block." Her horn glowed brightly for a few seconds and she strained to remove every trace of the spell. If she left any the poor guy might randomly freeze up in the middle of the day. "Aaand it's gone. I wonder who would put a freezing spell on some random pegasus." She took a second to ponder before beginning to walk away. She didn't get far, though.

"Hey! Twilight!" She looked back to see everypony looking at her expectantly. She noticed a few of them still attempting to push the pony, "He's still not moving."