One Last Chance

Fluttershy's cottage was quiet and peaceful, the exotic smells of fruits and herbs wafting through the beige pegasus' home. It was the first thing Myst noticed as he walked in. It was beautiful on the outside and the interior was definitely of the same genre, shades of green and brown being predominant colours in its design. It was incredible how quiet the place was. Even with animals constantly running in and out. They seemed to lose their will to speak when they entered the building. Some squirrels ran up to investigate the guest, chattering amongst themselves. They didn't seem comfortable with his presence, and quickly their expressions turned from curiosity to suspicion. Was he a guest, or an intruder? They couldn't tell you why, but for some reason, he didn't belong there. Their chattering became louder and louder. Myst showed no hint of annoyance, he merely turned to the animals,

"Be silent." He said. The animals did as commanded, the pony standing before them was intimidating, at least from their view. "I am not your enemy. I am a guest of Fluttershy, and as such, I ask that you do not yell at me, will you agree to these terms?" The squirrels nodded, along with all of the other animals in his vicinity. He nodded at them thankfully before positioning himself on the green couch adorning the wall. He needed some quiet time to just think about his situation. Because really, what was he doing there? Why had he accepted the six friends' offer? He could've walked out, ignored them, continued his stay in peace, but no, he had to go ahead and indulge himself. He sat on the couch for another minute at the most. Unfortunately, he soon lost his contemplative trail of thought as Fluttershy felt the need to entertain her guest, not knowing that Myst was incredibly good at entertaining himself for long periods of time with next to nothing to do.

"So, um, welcome to my home. I wasn't expecting guests so sorry if it's a little messy." She said. Myst looked around. Her cottage was immaculate, spotless. Even the books on her shelves were all lined up in neat rows. He decided he should probably put his host at ease, as she was probably a bit nervous about having an unexpected guest without having time to prepare her home properly.

"Your house looks lovely Fluttershy. Don't worry about it. I'm just glad I'm not sleeping on the ground anymore." He said. He got up from the couch and examined the cupboards. He needed to check where the tea was for future reference. He opened and shut various drawers, but was quickly cut off when Fluttershy asked what he was looking for. "Tea." He responded.

"Oh, it's the third drawer on the left." She said. Myst opened it just in case she was mistaken, but sure enough, there it was. He would have to write that down, somewhere else, though. "Please excuse me Fluttershy, I have something I need to work on. Could you point me to a table?" Fluttershy led him into the kitchen, where a table adorned the centre of the room. He fetched a sheet of paper from another drawer that he needed help finding, before quickly writing something down in shorthoof. Fluttershy decided to address an issue, something that had been bugging her ever since Myst had told her about his job,

"Myst, you said you were a substitute teacher, right?" She asked. Myst nodded, finishing his note and folding up the piece of paper and turning his attention towards his host. "Well, I know substitute teaching doesn't pay very well, so do you have another job?"

"Well, I run a company on the side, helps pay the rent and everything." He said.

"Okay, that makes more sense. Why did you decide to come here, why not settle in a bigger city like Canterlot or Manehattan? You could rent an apartment, and there would probably be plenty of teaching opportunities. I'm not trying to ridicule you, it's just that I really don't get why you would want to come here." Fluttershy said.

"Well, I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but this is just the way my life is. My business helps offset the higher price of living, and I get to enjoy a new town every few months. Honestly, it's been like this so long, I can't see myself living any other way." Fluttershy nodded her understanding before Myst headed upstairs to work on something of his.

Fluttershy went outside to refill her bird feeders, leaving Myst to do his work, probably something to do with teaching. She filled up her feeders, birds flocked to them as she refilled them, they were very comfortable around her, some were practically pressing themselves against her. Next, she tended to her roses. They were very particular roses, and she had to be very careful with them. They preferred little water, it choked them if administered in excess, and too much sun made them wilt. But when treated properly, they bloomed beautifully.

After tending to her garden Fluttershy headed back inside her cottage to check on her guest. Entering the living room, she didn't see him immediately so she checked the kitchen. He wasn't there either. Oh yeah, she forgot, he went upstairs. There were only three rooms. There was her bedroom, a guest bedroom, and a bathroom. She went upstairs, calling for Myst. She checked her room to find it empty. She proceeded to check the only room left in the house. She knocked on the guest bedroom door. There was no response so she assumed he was using the bathroom. She walked back downstairs and sat on her couch, waiting for her guest to reappear. She waited for a solid thirty minutes before she got concerned. She shouted out his name and knocked on the door of the bathroom. There was no response. She did one more run around her cottage before confirming that Myst was indeed not on the premises. She called his name one last time, louder than normal,

"Myst!" There was a loud thud.

"OW!"

Myst walked downstairs, rubbing his temple feverishly, locks of his hair falling in front of his eyes, blocking his gaze. "Yes?" He asked. Fluttershy was dumbfounded. She had thoroughly searched all of upstairs and found no trace of her guest. How had he not heard her? "Did you need something?" Myst's question dragged her back to reality.

"Oh. Um, I was just wondering where you were. I looked for you, but, I couldn't find you." She said. Myst flicked his head to the side slightly, his mane no longer obscuring his vision.

"Well, I was... outside." He recounted. "Yeah. I… really like your garden, I remember trying to grow that particular species, they died within a week. You though, they seem to shine in your care." Fluttershy lit up.

"Really? Thank you!" Fluttershy said in a half shouting, half whispering tone. "I worked very hard to make my garden look nice. Those flowers are very high maintenance. I know it doesn't hold a candle to the botanical gardens in Canterlot, but, it's home." She smiled. Myst couldn't help but smile back. Of course, it wasn't a real smile. It was more of a tiny smirk, but Fluttershy was happy that she had made her guest happy.

"Anyway, I'm sorry for startling you." He said. "You don't have to worry about me all that much, I'm pretty low maintenance. I can cook for myself, I've got a day job-- oh." He suddenly realised that he needed to get out of the house. "I have to go." He ran out of the house, fast as he could, leaving Fluttershy to stand there, slightly confused. She decided to meet up with her friends, and let them know that Myst was fine. Wait, if Myst was outside, why didn't he use the front door?

Fluttershy had met up with Rarity and Pinkie Pie at a cafe to chat and catch up. They were all discussing their days, which had all been quite eventful when of course Myst entered the conversation once more. He seemed to be a hot topic as of late: barging in on their meeting, and then lodging with Fluttershy had made him into quite a popular figure in the community.

"How's he doing? Is he adjusting well?" Asked Rarity.

"Oh, he's doing wonderful!" Said Fluttershy. It was true. He got along great with all her animal friends, in fact, they seemed eager to meet him and they always behaved around him. He didn't ever ask for anything and he was very polite, he was the perfect guest, which was relieving since he could very well have been rude or insensitive. Heck, for all she knew he could've been a burglar.

"That's good!" Said Pinkie Pie. "Does he want to come to the picnic?" She asked. The thought had completely slipped Fluttershy's mind. She really should've asked him before he barged out the door, it was too late, but she made a mental note to remind him.

"No, I forgot." Applejack had invited all of her friends out to a picnic on the orchard. Luckily for Fluttershy, she wouldn't have to remember for long.

Myst walked out of the pharmacy, his eyes were sunken and his hooves dragged along the ground. He had just picked up his medication and he was eager to dispose of the bags adorning his back. He didn't like them. They were bulky but necessary for his shopping trip. Well, they weren't necessary, but he needed them for a separate reason. He started heading back, but while he was walking down the street he noticed his host, speaking with her friends. Realising that he was going to have to walk past them, or walk five blocks extra with the annoying bags, he tried to keep his head low and walk past them but Pinkie Pie, the one with the sharp eyes was among them and soon enough she spotted him.

"Hey, Myst!" Pinkie called out to him, noticing his unique cutie mark, "Come sit with us!" He wanted to make his new acquaintances happy, so he obliged. He walked over and sat down, propping himself up on his front knees. He sat in between Fluttershy and Rarity, not saying a word.

"Um, Myst. I kinda forgot to ask you, Applejack invited us all out to a picnic and I wanted to ask you if, maybe you wanted to come?" She asked, a bit embarrassed that she had forgot to ask him. Celestia had entrusted them with helping introduce him to Ponyville. She wanted to make princess Celestia happy, and make Myst happy. But Myst didn't want to be happy apparently.

"No thanks." He said politely. The three ponies sitting next to him were surprised, but they looked at each other, and non-verbally agreed amongst themselves that Myst should come to the picnic and that no was not the answer they were going to accept, after all, that was the best way for him to become better acquainted with Ponyville and its residents.

"Please?" Rarity asked. Trying to make her voice sound adorable, in a pleading kind of way. Myst paused for a second, his knees slipping out from under him slowly before he propped himself back up. He sighed heavily before responding,

"Alright... sure." The three friends glanced at each other, confused. Why was that so easy? Pinkie leant in closer to Myst, examining him closely. Everypony followed suit, as they could all tell something was wrong. Myst looked tired. He looked very tired. He didn't look like he had a long day, he looked like he hadn't slept in days. The bags under his eyes were very obvious, and he was swaying back and forth like a palm tree ready to collapse. "Can I go? Please?" He asked. He sounded very anxious.

"We'll help you back, Myst." Fluttershy said. The three helped him back to Fluttershy's cottage. He staggered up the path and collapsed onto the nearest couch. After a minute of just sitting there, saying nothing, he climbed off the couch and informed his friends he was going to deposit his saddlebags in the guest bedroom. He dropped them off and was walking back down the stairs when he overstepped and fell the other halfway down to the bottom floor. The three friends rushed to his side. But Myst dragged himself to a standing position. He glanced at his friends, and said,

"Well, that's better. Those bags were really bogging me down, I think I'm gonna go for a gallop." His friends were dumbfounded. He barely made it back to the cottage without collapsing, then he fell down a flight of stairs, and now he was up, attempting to exercise after he had barely made it to the cottage. "I'm going out to town, I'll be back in a few hours." His voice maintained the same monotonous tone he used under all other circumstances, he seemed to be avoiding his clear sleep deprivation. He walked out the door, taking flight, kicking up dust as he pushed himself into the air. What was his problem? He should be asleep! Nopony went after him, though. Rarity and Pinkie couldn't fly and Fluttershy would never be able to catch him with her wing strength. They simply stared at him as he disappeared into the sky. Within seconds he was no more than a speck on the horizon.

Myst flew through the air, fast as he could. He was trying hard to not fall asleep, he couldn't fall asleep, he wasn't tired enough. He needed to be exhausted. It was... very important that his body and his mind were completely... exhausted. He'd just fly at top speed for an hour and- pass out- from… exhaustion. He ne e d-

Myst barreled into a large cloud, tearing through the soft white structure, jolting him back from his near asleep state, though he soon felt the urge to sleep return. He had a more pressing issue. The cloud was so large, he found himself trapped in the middle of it. He pulled himself through the cloud up onto the surface. He looked around. He realised he had just bombarded somepony's home, accidentally of course, but that wouldn't excuse property damage. 'Oh dear' he thought. Luckily, or rather, somewhat unluckily Rainbow Dash appeared from another room, a dumbstruck expression adorning her face.

"I'm very sorry about your home, Rainbow Dash." He said. He knew how hard it would be to repair that hole. Clouds could be delicate things.

"Wow! You broke my record!" She seemed completely taken in by something completely different. Myst felt the need to ask, even if he knew this was going to lead to something he wouldn't understand. Rainbow Dash bolted upstairs before coming back down with a measuring tape, examining the hole Myst had created.

"What record?"

"My cloud diving record! At least laterally." She said excitedly. She then proceeded to lead Myst outside and bring him to a huge, very uniform looking cloud. Holes adorned the cloud. Some of them deep, some shallow. "I come here to practice horizontal cloud diving. They're thinking of adding it to the Equestria Games and I want to help pioneer the sport!" That was actually very intriguing. He could always appreciate those driving the world forward. It was a lot harder than most ponies thought.

"A fellow pioneer then." He said. He was actually very intrigued by this new sport. "I'd actually like to learn more about this if you don't mind."

"Sure! You know, it's a lot more complicated than most ponies think, you're supposed to pierce the cloud starting in a dive, but somehow you actually beat my record without gravity."

"Yeah, I'm a bit of an athlete, have to keep myself in shape for... stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Oh, you know. Athlete stuff."

"Right..."

"I'm back." Fluttershy heard a familiar voice call from the living room, followed by the sound of a door closing. Myst said a few hours, and he came back at eleven, he must've been gone for at least six. Figures, she had tried to make dinner, but when he still wasn't back by six thirty, she abandoned her pursuit. Myst walked into the kitchen. Fluttershy turned around to look at Myst, but what she saw was actually kind of scary. He looked like he hadn't slept for weeks. For some reason, though, he still hadn't given in to his desire for rest. He acted like he just woke up.

"Well, you were out late." She said.

"Yeah, sorry but I had lots to do. At first I was just going for a flight, but then I flew into Rainbow Dash's house and she introduced me to cloud diving. It sounds weird, but it's a lot of fun. So I did that for like two hours and then I remembered Rarity had a big order to fill. So I ended up helping her with that as well. Then I baked a cake with Pinkie Pie and helped Applejack around the farm." He said, slowly but confidently. "Oh. Also, I remembered how much you love your garden so I planted a few very special flowers in there. Consider them a gift for your kindness."

After having received this new information Fluttershy forced Myst to go to bed. He was already tired and then he went ahead and did another days worth of work. He was overworking himself and it was dangerous. Myst didn't fight her. He knew he was probably scaring her with his... work ethic. He quickly made a trip to the bathroom to grab his prescription, popped one of the pills down his throat and collapsed into bed.

It wasn't enough, somehow it wasn't enough. The shapes and shadows dragged themselves into his subconscious, creating violent, twisted images that bore their way into his mind,

Myst awoke with a start, breathing heavily, frantically scanning the room. He looked at the wall in front of him as his memories slowly faded back into his mind. Just a nightmare, again. He dragged himself out of bed. There was absolutely no way he would ever get back to sleep after he had just woken up like that. He grabbed a circular piece of parchment he had placed on the table beside his bed and headed downstairs. It needed updating anyway. On his way out of the room, though, Discord appeared from thin air, looking very troubled.

"Hello." he said. But from the white pony, he recieved nothing but silence. "Listen, I'm not quite sure who you are but, I think I have an idea." Myst continued to say nothing. "I, don't really know what I can say to you, but, I'm sorry, for what I did, if there's anything I can do, just let me know." Sill he recieved nothing. Discord desperately wanted Myst to say something, to confirm he had even heard what he said. Still nothing. Discord knew there was nothing he could do to console him. As far as he was concerned, Myst wanted to be left alone, and if Myst wanted to be left alone, He would leave Myst alone. Myst continued his descent after Discord disappeared.

Unfortunately, he was a bit too noisy on his way downstairs, and Fluttershy, being a light sleeper and afraid of every single noise she heard in the dark, awoke quickly.

She peered down the stairs to find Myst staring at a large piece of paper. It looked interesting, circ,ular. What could he be writing, or perhaps drawing? She walked down the stairs to examine it when Myst sprang up, suddenly aware of his company. He rolled up the piece of paper and didn't move a muscle. This definitely confused Fluttershy so she walked down the rest of the stairs to get a better look at him. Myst stood up. He started walking away. Unfortunately for him Fluttershy wasn't done yet. She walked over to him, but before she reached her destination he slowly began to walk towards the door. He didn't make a noise. He just continued to face it. Fluttershy circled around him so that she was facing him, asking what was wrong, but when she looked, his eyes were closed. Why were her eyes closed?

"Myst? What's wrong? Why do you have your eyes closed?" She asked. Myst stood there, saying nothing for a few seconds. He looked conflicted, as if some difficult thought was viscously tugging at his mind. After a minute or two of speculation, he faced her, all emotion drained from his face. No longer did he look confused or conflicted. He took a moment, flinching for a second before ignoring his deep seeded desire to just run away. He faced her and opened his eyes. And what Fluttershy saw, she never forgot.

They were glowing.

His eyes were glowing.