One Last Chance

Myst woke up, staggering to his feet with no apparent grace. His head was throbbing from where it had been impacted, and his shoulder felt as if it might fall off at any given moment. His vision was blurry, the world around him nothing more than incomprehensible shapes slowly coming into focus. He glanced around in worry, only to find he was finally alone. The hallucinations had vanished with his consciousness, and now that he had awoken, they had yet to return. He looked at where he had hit the wall, only to watch it shimmer and glow a golden colour, expanding in a ring that outlined its location. He pressed his hoof back against his cell, feeling a little surge of magical energy course through his leg and dissipate. Myst coughed to clear his lungs before he began to walk along this border of magic that separated him and the outside world.

What could he do? It was hopeless. He couldn't escape from Ponyville. Whatever was coming after him, would soon destroy his friends, and his home, well, his home for the moment. He collapsed onto the ground. What could he do? Tears almost began to form, but he pushed them back. All of his friends were going to die. He just wanted to run away. He wanted whatever evil that was looking for him to follow him somewhere safe. He had tried so many times to break the seal. It never worked, though. He always failed. All he could do was protect his friends. Nopony was going to die. They just couldn't. Saving them was the only way he could atone.

He began to walk away. He needed to clear his head. He also needed to retrieve something he had forgotten at his hotel room, his calendar. Maybe it would contain some information. Something on what he could do. He turned around, gazing over the grassy hillside down to the town of Ponyville. It was still nighttime, but not too late that all of the lights were turned off. They kind of twinkled in the night. It was very beautiful, how they shone. Regardless of his fondness for gazing on the cityscape, he needed to do something much more important. He wandered around the streets for a little while. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, wandering. Then again, his sleep cycle had gotten all messed up, with all the passing out in the middle of the day and hitting his head on an impregnable barrier. So when the late or early hours came, he usually had nothing to do but wander.

Myst looked up, the full moon illuminated the sky and the nearby clouds. Some stars poked through them, but generally, the overcast blocked most of them out. He focused back on the road and noticed his hotel was right beside him. He had checked out so he'd probably have to sneak back in. Wait... His calendar wasn't in there was it? Did that mean that he left it at- Oh no. He left it at Fluttershy's He was going to have to get it back for her, but he really wasn't in the mood to talk about his feelings or any complicated issues of morality at such an early hour. He wondered if she would mind too much if he just broke in. It wasn't the most gentlecoltly option, but it certainly involved the least talking. It was very tempting indeed. After a moment's thought, Myst decided to just walk to Fluttershy's house. If she wasn't there he would invite himself in. If she was there he would… come back later? He really didn't want to talk with her. She was just too friendly. Myst kind of wished she would stop being so understanding and just be angry with him. He didn't deserve friends. He just didn't. It wasn't just his opinion, it was fact. Myst approached the cottage. The lights were on, but that might've just been the animals. Fluttershy usually wasn't too worried about keeping the lights on for them. Plus the sun had just started to come up, and considering it was Friday, she was probably heading over to Rarity's at the moment. Was it Friday? Myst really wished he had kept better track of what day it was. He peered through her window, empty. Slowly opening the door, just in case somepony was in another room, Myst began his trespassing journey. He closed the door behind him to not arouse suspicion from any passerby. The calendar was right on the kitchen table if he remembered. He crept through the living room and into the kitchen. There it was, right where he had left it, a large piece of parchment, in excellent condition considering its age and purpose. His only true possession, he reached for his calendar, only to find a number of things out of place, such as the slight distortion of light around the paper, similar to the effect caused by high temperature. He noticed this only a second too late as his hoof touched the paper.

Suddenly Myst heard a loud noise and found himself looking back at his reflection, but with a strong purple tint overlapping it. He staggered back a bit only to bump into something behind him. Was he inside a magical shield? Who in Equestria would trap him there? He looked around. It seemed he was. He could tell by the way his reflection bent in some places, and from the constant shade of purple everywhere he looked. Purple? Could this be Twilight's doing? He pressed his hoof against it. It didn't shock him or anything. It seemed to just be a regular shield, basic. But of course, near impenetrable without powerful magic. Being a pegasus, this was out of the question. Or was it? He glanced to his left. The counter had been partially absorbed by the shield. He pulled open a drawer. He pushed the forks and knives around. Nothing in there. Fluttershy was way too organised. Why couldn't she just keep all of her stuff in the same drawer? He heard the sound of hoofsteps approaching and was soon in the company of Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. Twilight looked very pleased with herself, and Fluttershy just looked concerned. Why did she have to be so sympathetic? He hated sympathy. He didn't need it. Twilight approached Myst.

"Hi Myst, sorry about this but I've trapped you inside-" Myst didn't need her to explain.

"This is an advanced shielding spell, grade nine elementary if I remember the standard curriculum for spellcasting, used to either protect oneself from damage or to trap somepony else, as such. It draws directly from your pool of magic. It can be maintained near indefinitely at a small level, and upon receiving damage it passively replenishes, drawing from your magic pool once again. That is its flaw, though. Because if it sustains too much damage in a short period of time it will fail, as it can't be repaired quickly enough. Though it is far more efficient for trapping weaker opponents, such as I, because I can't hit it hard enough to instantly break it." Twilight was clearly a little shocked, however, she tried her best to maintain a friendly but serious demeanour.

"Yes." She replied. "We just need to ask you a few questions." Myst knew there was only one way out. He had discussed enough with Fluttershy. He did not want to discuss anything else, anymore.

"I really would prefer not to, but fine. Could I have a little more space, and maybe some water?" He asked. Twilight agreed. She assumed Myst was going to try to run away when she dropped the shield to give him the water, after all, how thirsty could he possibly be? So, to keep him from trying anything, she just made a hole and handed him the water. Myst looked shocked and frowned after he grabbed the water. He was obviously being sarcastic in his motions, and had already suspected he wouldn't be able to get out.

Twilight expanded the shield to cover the entire counter and a bit more of the floor.

Myst walked over to the cupboards and began opening and closing doors, looking for some flour. Fluttershy and Twilight ignored his odd behaviour and began the interview.

"Why did you run off Myst? I told you I really don't care what you did." Fluttershy said. Her words sounded strained, though. She was still coming to terms. He could tell.

"Listen, Fluttershy." He said, finally locating the flour. "I have my secrets and you have yours. You dug too deep." He found the salt in the next cupboard, and deep inside the salt cupboard was some red food colouring. He pulled it all up on the counter. "I trusted you with information I haven't trusted anypony else with. It comes with a price, though." Fluttershy was taken aback by Myst's ideals. That wasn't how friendship worked! Friends trusted each other with their secrets, but that didn't mean they had to estrange each other. Why did Myst have to be so stupid? He was usually so level headed and friendly. A wonderful, if a little shy, friend. But whenever he talked about his past, he donned a new identity. One of cold detachment and sickening formality.

"Myst. Why did that price have to be our friendship?" She asked. Myst sighed.

"Every action has consequences." He said. "Everything we do destroys the future and proceeds to rebuild it. Perhaps it will be worse than that other past, perhaps a little better. An old friend of mine taught me that." Myst mixed some of the flour and salt with the water, creating a thick solution. He poured in the food colouring. The result was a kind of paint. He dipped his hoof in the paint. "Don't worry Fluttershy, this stuff washes off." He said. Fluttershy didn't understand, but quickly understood after Myst began painting, on her floor! Okay. It was alright. He said it washed off. But why did he want to paint on her floor? "Have you ever realised how many different ponies have dreams? Not sleep dreams, real dreams. Dreams like… running their own restaurant or travelling Equestria with all of their friends." Fluttershy thought about that for a second. Yes. She knew plenty of ponies with dreams. Tall, small, young and old. Though, most of them-

"Most of them never achieved those dreams did they?" Myst drew a fifteen-sided star with his homemade paint.

"No. They didn't. A few of my friends got lucky. Rainbow Dash is a Wonderbolt, Rarity has shops throughout Equestria, and Twilight is, well, a princess." Fluttershy said. "But then, there are my other friends. Berryshine wanted to run a brewery, she ended up bartending. Octavia has always wanted to perform for royalty, but she never got the chance. Cheerilee wanted to be a professor, now she teaches sixth grade." Myst sighed. He began to speak again.

"Yeah. I guess you got pretty lucky, didn't you? You get to live your dream, you live in a beautiful town, and you have so many wonderful friends-" Myst drew a circle around the star and began to draw tiny intricate symbols and words around it. "What if you never got the chance?" He asked. "What if all your dreams were crushed before you even got the chance to realise them?" He noticed Twilight becoming more tense with every passing word. "Everything you could hope to accomplish… wiped away? How would you feel? How could you possibly cope?" He looked up, a miniature flame burning in his eyes. A stark contrast to their usual icy blue. "And if you were to destroy somepony else's dreams, how could you even look at yourself in the mirror? How could you even deem yourself a pony? A monster, that's what you'd be. Good for nothing but forsaking those around you to a cold fate."

"Do you have any particular reason for that little speech, Myst?" Twilight asked, rather aggressively. He could see her hooves shifting to a more stable position.

"You don't trust me, do you, Twilight Sparkle?" He asked.

"No, Myst, I don't trust you, but that doesn't mean we can't cooperate with each other." Myst looked over at Fluttershy, she was shaking ever so slightly. It seemed she could feel the tension. All it would take was just a little push for the situation to go haywire.

"Twilight," Myst said. "are you familiar with the act of stealing magic?"

"Not really," Twilight said, carefully choosing her words, as if she knew what was to come, "in, fact, I think Celestia banned it a little while ago after the incident with Tirek."

"Yes, I suppose that would do it. Well. Allow me to fill you in. Stealing magic requires a gateway directly into another pony's pool of magic. Well, I like to call it a pool. Because, you know, it's this reserve of energy. When you use some of it, the pool empties slightly. Eventually, it replenishes, like a water pump. Where it comes from even I don't know, and I come from a family well versed in magic. You just take your own bucket, usually a physical catalyst, dip it in and…" Myst finished writing and pressed his hoof against the centre of the red star on the ground. "Ta-da." Twilight's horn began to glow a painfully bright purple. "Unicorns may be the only ponies with horns, but that doesn't mean magic is yours and yours alone." The energy emitted from her horn shot to the centre of the circle, passing through the shield without disturbing it. The energy gathered inside of Myst, disappearing within his body, and the whole group witnessed Myst's eyes glow once again. Twilight actually had to look away. Fluttershy couldn't though. She wouldn't let herself. This would be the last time she ever saw her friend…

Myst and Fluttershy sat on the couch. "Thank you for staying up with me again."

"It's no trouble Myst," Fluttershy said. "you always look so lonely. I just can't help myself."

"It means a lot to me. You know. You're kind of my only friend. I mean, I used to have friends, but I couldn't let them anywhere near me after the spell." Myst got real quiet after that. He looked away for a while before turning to face her again. Fluttershy gazed into his eyes. Something was different. He was no longer filled with the same cold detachment, something had replaced it.

"Really? That sounds horrible." Fluttershy asked. Myst looked at her.

"It is." Myst said. His voice was shrill and coarse. Then she saw it.

Through the mask, through the facade Myst had tried so hard to maintain. One of control and of calm, there was something buried there, something he wanted nopony to see. She realised what that was now. Fear. Fear that everything he loved would eventually go away, that his only dream, that of living without any fear, would vanish. And, perhaps most of all, that those around him would suffer the same fate.

The barrier exploded. Nopony was harmed. However, Myst was free to walk. The room filled with magical dust. It was impossible to see through. Myst walked through the dust, weaving past Twilight and Fluttershy. He walked to the door and reach for the knob. He knew this would be the last time he ever saw his friends, but suddenly- he didn't want it to end. It wasn't the send-off she deserved. She deserved better. Myst walked back to Fluttershy, gently whispering. "Meet me south of Ponyville, on the large hill. Dusk. It will be our last meeting."

Fluttershy approached the hill Myst had mentioned. True to his word, there he was, gazing at the stars. She walked beside him, and looked up.

"That was some nice work with the magic there." She said.

"Thank you. However useless it is compared to unicorn magic, it makes me feel capable." He replied. There was a long silence.

"Are you really leaving?" She asked. Myst looked at her. He gave a grim smile. His mane was frazzled and he looked exhausted. His eyes had lost their luster.

"No."

"I don't get it, Myst. You obviously care more about us not getting hurt than you, so why are you staying? Couldn't you just have the spell follow you somewhere where it can't hurt anypony?

"No."

"But why?" Fluttershy asked again, this seemingly unsolvable puzzle leaving her tired and confused. Myst, on the other hoof, didn't seem to be struggling with any great conundrum or moral issue. it was almost as if he didn't have a choice. Well, he didn't.

He slowly extended his hoof to his left. He couldn't fully extend it, but the display served it's purpose. The shield came to life once more, shimmering and writhing in a brilliant display. Becoming more intense as he pushed harder against it, showing its protest as it pushed back, eventually repelling Myst's hoof as he placed it on the ground once more.

"There's nothing I can do." He said, gazing at Fluttershy with a dead look, "I dream only to live far away, somewhere nopony will ever be hurt again, but even that right, has been stripped from me."

-3 Days Left-

The time was one o' clock, most of Ponyville was asleep at this point, except for one stressed out princess. Twilight Sparkle had been staring at the encoded paper for a solid half hour, saying absolutely nothing to her student, Starlight, who had stopped in to help.

"What if it's... two codes?" Starlight asked, exhausted and out of ideas. Twilight responded with a question of her own,

"Which two?" The night was drawing on far too long for both of them, and Twilight was feeling very irritable.

"Um..." Starlight struggled to think of two cyphers that could be used in unison.

"Exactly." One of the candles set atop the cluttered desk the two were utilising was extinguished as Starlight collapsed onto the table. Giving up on logic, she decided to simply throw one last idea at Twilight,

"Well, what if those numbers, next to those words, are letters?"

"The letters don't mean anything."

"Oh..."