One Last Chance

"I figured it out. Dear Princess Celestia, it's so simple." Twilight ripped everything off of her table, excitement brimming her mind at this new discovery. A simple code! She could crack the highlighted text in minutes! She swiftly ripped the highlighted paper from the book, not caring to preserve the valuable piece of property. Myst was dangerous, she was sure of it, and she wanted to be the one to bring him into custody. She rapidly scribbled down a makeshift codex to serve as her guide. So simple. This pony was making a fool of her, "Starlight! I figured it out!" She bellowed down the hall, hoping the sound wouldn't be lost in the grand expanse of the castle. But luckily, soon enough, her student came trotting down the hall, noticeably fatigued from the near constant work. She and Twilight had spent the entire day delving into old code books, looking up records of birth, literally doing anything possible to find some scrap of information on Myst. Nothing. They had found nothing, so Twilight cracking the code came as a welcome surprise. Unfortunately, Starlight was very aware this would not permit her to sleep, as Twilight had a troubled look on her face.

"What is it Twilight?" She asked.

"These numbers... They don't add up..." She sighed, realising it would take a lot more than a code to figure out her latest discovery. "I need you to go find Myst, I'm going to find everypony else." With that, Twilight ran off, lacking any form of concern for her student's safety or opinion. Starlight watched Twilight leave the castle, shutting the door with an audible thud.

...

"Sure Twilight, I'd love to go find the potentially dangerous pony all on my own, thank you for your heartfelt concern." Starlight mocked.

Fluttershy and her friends slowly strolled down the boulevard. The time was late, and they would all be asleep by that point, but Pinkie Pie had very adamantly demanded all of their presences and a clear answer as to why she needed them had not been presented.

"Pinkie, I don't mean to sound rude, but, what do you want?" Rainbow Dash was the first one to voice her concerns, but the rest of the group quickly concurred.

"I told you, Twilight needs our help with something very important, and she's on a tight schedule, so we have to hurry." Pinkie hadn't said anything before, she just needed to get them close enough to the castle so they wouldn't turn back. It was fortunate, really. This turn of events, Pinkie leading the group towards the castle, and Twilight's search, would end up leading them to each other, the best possible scenario, really. Perhaps they might make it.

"Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed, running to her friend in hopes of securing her friends' safety more quickly, even if only by a second. She ushered the princess over. She walked alongside the group, as Rarity, unfortunately, remembered Pinkie's explanation for their late night walk.

"So, Twilight, what's this big project you're working on?" Twilight turned to Rarity and cocked her head to the side in confusion. The group was nearing Twilight's castle at this point. To most of the group, this was nearly irrelevant, but to Pinkie, this was possibly the most intense and vital moment she had ever experienced. 'Come on, Twilight. Please don't.'

"What project?"

Pinkie Pie flinched. 'Come on! We just need to make it to the castle.'

"Well, Pinkie said you had a project you needed help with."

"Um, well, I suppose I could always use help with the rest of the codex. speaking of which, I finally broke it, but it doesn't make sense. All I know so far is that Myst might be more dangerous than I thought." At this point, Pinkie felt herself finally relax as her friends' safety was assured. They were on the steps of the castle, heading towards the door, nothing would be able to touch them inside. The giant palace would offer them ample protection. She was certain Myst wasn't lying, about the danger. Something was out there, searching for them... actively. But, would the castle protect them forever? They couldn't stay inside indefinitely. Eventually, one of two scenarios would unfold. Either they would be forced outside by any number of conditions, or the threat would subside. She could only hope for the second option-

"Ow!" Twilight suddenly yelled.

"What's the matter?" Asked Applejack, looking around for any potential causes of Twilight's discomfort.

"The door, it's hot."

"What do you mean."

"Hot, I reached out to open it, but it was so hot I had to let go." Twilight explained. The rest of the group reached out to find out for themselves, except Pinkie. She was thinking, as hard as she could. Something was wrong, it was nighttime. There was absolutely no natural explanation for the door's heat, so... was this it? Was this what they were running from? On the other side of the door? It was too late, to tell the truth to her friends about the oncoming disaster. Pinkie looked over to notice one other pony who looked troubled, Fluttershy. She looked apprehensive, she was obviously put off by the door as well. Did she know something? Should they run? That... something was behind the door. Pinkie knew it. She didn't know the time, but she could only feel, the day was upon them, midnight had passed. Something was behind the door, and it wanted to hurt her friends. 'Run.' They needed to run. she was telling herself- wait. No. That voice was coming from somewhere else. Just outside of her own mind. It seemed adamant, intent on overpowering every scrap of logic inside her mind, bent on making sure she didn't get a say.

'I said run!' Pinkie was no longer in control. She acted purely on instinct. Whatever was telling her to run, it was right. She needed to grab her friends, and get them away, so that's what she did. Twilight was closest to the door. She needed to grab her,

"Get down!" She screamed. She yanked as many of her friends away from the door, before retreating herself. It didn't seem to matter in the end, as a violent force rocked the door and her friend's bodies, sending them hurtling towards the road like ragdolls. Pinkie could feel her vision haze as she looked up at the smouldering remains of the door. An explosion? She tried to get up, but as she attempted to lift her head she realised how out of tune her senses were. Her ears were ringing, and her sense of balance was essentially gone. Down appeared to be up, but only for what felt like a moment. Something was coming through the door, a shadow, no, it was a pony. It was a pony. Black? No, grey. A grey colour. A unicorn, male. Pinkie couldn't suffer to stand on her own, the unfamiliar pain was overwhelming.

"Hello there, everypony." The unicorn huffed, taking a moment to stretch. How long had he been waiting behind that door? The pony loomed over the group, who had all been scattered by the explosion, addressing them as a whole, "I'm looking for an old friend of mine. You see, he took something from me, and I was hoping to get it back." Nopony really processed his words, they were all writhing in pain, to the unicorn's displeasure. He cleared his throat before repeating the question, "Um, excuse me, everypony. If you could all just pay attention for one mom-" His speech was interrupted by an aggressive force hitting his side, the unicorn immediately identifying it as a tackle. It took him only a moment to recover as he pushed the foreign object away, which turned out to be Twilight, who had recovered from the explosion early thanks to her tactful application of healing magic. She was in pristine condition, looking as if she had never been hit by any such explosion, and she did not look happy.

"What... You work for him, don't you?" She said, panting, preparing for battle. The unicorn's response to her question was,

"Who?"

"The new pony in town, Myst." Twilight felt tense, as if he could spring forward at any moment, but he didn't portray that. He was standing as if waiting in line for coffee. His demeanour betrayed his intent as he looked towards Twilight, and he smiled.

"So, you have met my friend."