One Last Chance

by BoundlessBeyond

Rating: teen
Tags: Mystery, Adventure, Sad, Drama
Length: 52429

When a stallion of unknown origin suddenly appears in Ponyville, everypony's life will change, for better or for worse. The question is, where did he come from and why is he so eager to keep his past a secret?

Ponyville was not the most exciting place, most of the time, but when an odd, nameless stallion randomly drops in one day, trapped in a magical seal of unknown origin, only disaster could follow.

In time this pony would come to learn a great many things. Things that would soon require his attention. He thought they would never surface again, he thought he buried those secrets a long time ago, but he was sadly mistaken. There was one more loose end to tie up, before he could finally move on.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2017-08-12 23:18:02 UTC

Chapter 1- Unmoving

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."

Chapter 2- Progress

"It's amazing!" The now very much alert Twilight Sparkle was carefully scrutinising the strange pegasus that refused to move. It's almost like someone was standing right next to him, constantly supplying the spell, never letting him rest. It was remarkable, if not a little scary. A self-replenishing spell such as that took incredible skill and precision to get right. "Alright. I guess we're going to need some equipment." She said before taking off, eager to start testing the strange pony, which left the six friends to watch over him.

"It's very odd." A brown, chestnut-maned stallion at the front of the group said. "Who would want to seal this poor fellow in an endless prison? I mean, what could he possibly have done to warrant this kind of... torture?" A crease formed on his brow. He was obviously very troubled by the look of pain on the strange pony's face.

"Is that really the question?" a grey pegasus in the back asked. "A better question might be, how did he get here and why is he still frozen. I mean, look around us, there's no one. It's just us… and him." Her mind seemed to wander with those last words. Everyone else applauded her vocally for the very accurate inspection. It was indeed a mystery. After all, how could somepony keep him enchanted if they weren't there? It should be impossible. Her friends stood there and gawked at the recent discovery. It was true. If no one else was there then maybe the spell was self-replenishing. Perhaps Twilight Sparkle had missed something and the spell repaired itself? Odd, but stranger things had happened in Equestria before. A little freezing spell was nothing to worry about and a couple of them kind of lost interest, deciding to head back to their homes. The only ones that stayed were the mint unicorn, the grey pegasus, and the brown stallion. One too concerned, one too intrigued and one not really wanting to go back to her day-job.

Twilight sparkle was back soon enough with a strange mechanical device. "Hello everypony! The others really should've stayed for the show. I mean, I haven't seen magic like this since, well, actually I've never quite seen a spell like this." She shook these thoughts from her head and gestured with her hoof to the device. A hoof-held dial ranging from red to green. "This device I hold in my hoof measures magical presences in the area. I just point it around until it locks onto something. Green equals magic, red equals… not magic. As long as nopony uses their horn in the nearby area it should be able to track the aura back to where it's coming from. Anyway now I'll just point it at him." Twilight turned it towards the strange stallion, and the device made a beeping noise signalling that it had found the magic she was looking for. She then proceeded to walk around in circles for five minutes, shaking the device violently multiple times. "It's not working." She said, irritated with her homemade device's refusal to cooperate. She then proceeded to tamper with the machine for another ten minutes, and after all of that work ended up walking around in circles again. The device would pick up on the spell, but it always just led her right back to the frozen pegasus. "I guess maybe somepony imbued him with magic so the spell would just repeat itself?" Now that was powerful magic. In fact, she knew just about every spell in the book but she had no clue what this one was.

With this, Twilight Sparkle discarded the device and tried to prod him awake. Whispering to him and eventually yelling and shaking as she got more and more frustrated with the lack of response. She wasn't used to being so stumped and it drove her crazy. She refused to give up until she had won and strange magic had lost. Eventually, a particular grey pegasus got tired of this ridiculous rinse and repeat process. "Hey, has anypony ever wondered if maybe he's making the magic?" At this her friends along with Twilight turned to stare at her. "What? It's possible." Of course, everypony originally discarded the idea because he was a pegasus, it was anatomically impossible, however,

"Well, I'm no expert when it comes to magic, but anatomy I understand quite well." She chestnut stallion spoke up again, "Pony bodies can be used as vessels, for magic of all kinds, if required. All somepony would need to do is embed magic deep inside him that constantly resupplied this spell. Am I right, Twilight?" She thought about it for a second, and then nodded. An interesting concept. Now all the attention was back to him. Was he being imprisoned in broad daylight? Twilight picked back up the device and pointed it directly at him. The dial on her device was going as far as it could, and it looked like it wanted to go farther.

"I'm not sure if I know any unicorns powerful enough to give non-unicorns magical abilities. She took another second to think. The only way to remove such a spell would be to cut off the supplier and force the magic back into them. "Well, I guess we're going to have to do this the hard way and search all of Ponyville. There's no other way. We have to find the pony that did this to him and get them to undo it. They should give off the same magical signal as what I'm reading off of the shield." Twilight said. "I'll get my friends on it. We need to be quick about this. In all the rush to study him, I almost forgot that he's been lying here for two days and hasn't eaten or drank anything in all that time. Don't try to feed him, by the way, his mouth is sealed shut." With this, Twilight sprinted off, eager to get the search underway. "I'll be back soon!" she shouted back to the group as she bolted towards Carousel Boutique.

"Well I certainly didn't find anypony." said a dejected Rarity. Twilight had busted into her boutique in the middle of a long, dress making session. She was shouting about an emergency and Rarity had ended up spending the rest of the day searching the town for a 'powerful unicorn'. Unfortunately, Ponyville was a little sparse when it came to unicorns with exemplary abilities.

"Me neither, and I searched the neighbouring towns too!" was the response of the local speedster Rainbow Dash, who had taken the responsibility of asking around at nearby towns. They too were devoid of particularly strong unicorns, although she ran into a grey one that seemed above average, just based off the device Twilight had given her, but his magic didn't match the spell.

"Checked the shops, checked the park, checked all the roads. Nopony was matchin' the signal. The thing wasn't even movin'." stated Applejack. "Whoever did this, they could be on the other side of Equestria by now."

"The poor fellow. If he doesn't get something to drink soon he may very well not survive." said Fluttershy, sympathy and concern pouring out of her voice.

"Yeah. It's a real bummer, he would've really liked Ponyville, considering he's from out of town. Actually, I'm not sure if he's from any of the other towns either." Pinkie Pie said. At this everypony turned to look at her, confusion lining their faces. "Well I've never seen him before and I know just about everypony here in Ponyville, but that really wasn't enough so I started to learn the names of everypony nearby as well but then-"

"Alright Pinkie. We get it." Twilight interrupted, not letting Pinkie get too far into her rant. "So what do we do now?" Twilight was at a loss. There was nothing they could do but watch this poor stallion's health decline. Really, what could the six of them do? He was frozen. The culprit had imbued him with a self-replenishing spell the likes of which Twilight did not fully understand. They were completely powerless in the face of something so simple. Here he was. He was right in front of them and they couldn't do a thing to save him, nothing. Twilight sat, for several minutes, just thinking. The purple alicorn did not so much as utter a word for several minutes, refusing to give up on the suffering pony. "Alright. Well, if we can't do anything I guess we're going to have to bring in a specialist." she finally said. "Fluttershy, I need you to go get Discord. He's our best shot." She hated calling on Discord. It seemed every time that draconequus stepped foot in Ponyville there was some sort of calamity, but they needed him this time. Fluttershy was off in a second, as the colt laying before them had very few to spare.

Fluttershy and Discord were back relatively quickly. In fact Discord actually looked serious, very serious. It was almost scary. There were no clever jokes or witty banter as he approached the pegasus, he was like a doctor trying to save his patient kind of serious. "Alright. I don't have any time for goofing off today. What's the problem?" he said with no hint of sarcasm or humour. This wasn't usual for him, even when people's lives were at stake he was usually cracking jokes or at least messing with reality on a minor level, today he was completely focused, not so much as a smile lined his face. In fact, he was walking too. He never walked more than a few feet before he started to teleport or hover.

"Well, uh, h-he." Twilight took a second to clear her throat, astounded by Discord's icy demeanour. He didn't so much as blink. Twilight Regained her composure and resumed speaking. "He's right here. He can't move an inch. We've tried everything. He's been imbued with something, we can't fix it by ourselves." He looked at the stallion laying on the ground. Shock passed briefly over Discord's face before he returned to his passive demeanour. "I'll..." Discord drifted off. This simple task seemed to befuddle him. "Yeah, I'll fix him." He knelt down and pressed his mismatched paws against his patient. "Everypony stand back." He said. He sounded strained, like he had something caught in his throat. He took a deep breath, calming his nerves and pouring chaos magic into the stranger. There was a sickly, cracking sound and flakes of magical energy began pouring off of the mysterious stallion's body like mystical dandruff. There was a satisfying shattering sound and the spell that had been plaguing the stallion for over two days was finally gone, destroyed.

"Thanks so much for helping Discord." said Applejack, who was trying to slowly rouse their patient from his sleep-like state. "We gotta get this fella to the hospital."

"Yeah, thanks." Fluttershy reiterated to her friend. "Without your help, he might not have made it." Discord didn't say 'you're welcome' or make any kind of joke. He just began walking away, when all of a sudden the mysterious stallion opened his eyes for the first time in two days. The first thing his eyes fell upon was the rapidly retreating form of a draconequus, then looked at all of the ponies trying to help him up. He shrugged AJ off and staggered to his feet, which were very unstable from the look of things, he uttered his first word in several days, hostile and clear.

"You..." But he wasn't talking to any of his pony acquaintances, he was speaking to Discord.

Chapter 3- Waking Up

The awoken stallion was staring down Discord, who was looking rather uncomfortable. The draconequus seemed intent on not looking him in the eyes, as if he had something to fear from this odd pony. However, neither would reveal to the onlookers exactly what was going on. Discord wasn't revealing anything, and the stallion was in no mood to talk either. His face was unreadable. He stood there with a blank look, devoid of any kind of emotion. It was as if the one thing that had yet to be unfrozen, was his expression. Several uncomfortable seconds passed, everypony squirming on the spot, tension rising and festering over time. The six friends couldn't help but fear the worst. The white pegasus and Discord, were they enemies? Were they estranged friends? Why had Discord never mentioned him? Something was going on and it wasn't good, not in the slightest. Somepony had to speak.

"Um, Discord? Do you know who this is?" Fluttershy was the fist to speak up, confused as to how her friend was related to this odd stallion who had randomly appeared one day in Ponyville, frozen. It was perfectly plausible to believe that Discord had wronged this pony in some way. However, Fluttershy didn't want to believe, that with his violent history, he had done even more to harm others. She had worked very hard to help Discord change his ways, and she didn't want anything, or anypony, to upset that delicate balance that had just recently been achieved. Finally, Discord snapped out of his haze.

He took a moment to speak, but honestly, he might as well have not spoken. His words were vague and muddled, "I think I do, but, I don't know how... he's… I think it needs to… I can't really talk about it with you. I mean, I think this needs to stay between me and him. It's kind of personal."

He looked sympathetically at the mysterious stallion, desperately hoping he would put aside any feelings of deep hatred for the sake of everypony around him. He stared back and thought about it for a second, before barely nodding. The pegasus stooped his head and began to walk away, slowly. "Wait!" Discord shouted at him. It was no use, though, he didn't want to talk. Discord made no attempt to go after him, he felt it would be best to give him his space.

The six other ponies weren't letting him off so easily though and trotted up beside him, still eager to get him to the hospital. They tried to coax and guide him towards Ponyville General, but he seemed completely and singularly focused on going the other way. The six walked alongside him for another few minutes, expressing their concern for his safety and health until Twilight Sparkle was sure that he wasn't going to cooperate. She was in no mood to chase this strange pony all around Ponyville. Teleporting in front of him, she stomped on the ground.

"Okay! I get it! You don't want to go to the hospital!" She said firmly. "If you don't want to then fine. At least tell us why, for the last two days, you've been sitting on the ground completely frozen by a spell that's been feeding off of an energy source that I can't identify! I know everything about magic, and yet you seem completely unfazed by a type of spell that had never been documented in the history of Equestria! What are you hiding?" At this the stallion raised his head, staring at her. He stayed in this position for a few seconds before turning around, heading directly to the hospital just down the road. It seemed he was eager not to discuss such an issue. Everypony sighed in relief. Whoever this strange pegasus was, he required their full attention. He wasn't normal, and everypony was still on edge after the recent changeling invasion. For all they knew he could be a spy for Chysalis, or a new foe entirely. There was always the chance he was just a normal pony with particularly bad luck. Either way, it would be best to keep him on their radar for the next few days. They followed him into the hospital and guided him to the front desk. He got checked in within a couple minutes thanks to the entire hospital ward recognising the Princess of Friendship. He was taken away on a gurney, per Twilight's request, and the six waited in the foyer. They weren't alone for long though as the other six ponies from earlier joined them to check on their now awakened acquaintance. It seemed everypony was eager to find out more about Ponyville's latest visitor.

"He's in perfect health." said the doctor proudly, happy he could help out princess Twilight. "I'll send him back out." Apparently it hadn't taken very long to check him over and give him a clean bill of health, he looked immaculate, like a perfect example of what healthy looked like according to the doctor. It was almost scary how healthy he was. His blood pressure was normal, his heart rate was normal, breathing, normal. He showed no signs of dehydration or any other problems he should've contracted from laying on the ground for days on end. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him. The twelve ponies nodded their thanks and walked out to greet their silent friend. He walked out of his room in no better a mood than before, looking at all the ponies waiting for him. A curious look passed over his face and he cocked his head to the side. Everypony assumed it was because his eyes were shut when the other six had been checking on him, so he was unfamiliar with them. The twelve of them walked over to him, Rarity was the first to speak.

"Hello there, sorry to drag you to the hospital like that, but we were worried about you and figured you could use some help. I'm Rarity, what should we call you?" The pony uttered his second set of words, his voice was monotone, expressionless.

"Thank you for retrieving me, but I must be going now, places to be. You know how it is."

The twelve of them didn't really know what to say. Standing in front of them was a pegasus that wasn't the least bit concerned about any of the events that had transpired over the last few hours, or being in a town he was unfamiliar with, or the fact that he had been dragged into a hospital for a physical by some ponies he had never met in his life. He should've been at least a little worried, right? He didn't even care to tell them his own name, or to ask theirs. He casually walked through the double doors out into the afternoon sun. Pinkie Pie followed suit, undeterred by his strange behaviour. She had to discuss something with him.

"Hey mister! I haven't seen you around here lately which is odd because I know everypony around here! In fact I'm not sure if I've seen you ever, which is also odd because I've seen just about everypony in this town and all of the towns next to us at some point or another! *gasp* does that mean you're new here? Because if you are new here that means I have a very special surprise for you! In fact, I think I'm going to throw you a super special surprise welcome to Ponyville party!" The pegasus turned to look at her and said... nothing, he just kept walking. "Okiedokie then! I'm gonna go do that! You stay here!" She bounced off, to plan his 'surprise' party. The stallion simply kept walking. having nowhere to be, he decided to take a walk around the town.

He didn't have to walk long though. As while he was walking down the block, his head in a swivel, his eyes landed upon something that intrigued him. Down at the end of the road was a large, crystalline building, a castle he would assume. That was definitely worth investigating while he was in town. He began to walk towards it.

Twilight and her friends were gathered around the holographic table in the center of Twilights Castle, every single one of them had been called simultaneously so it was probably something pretty important. The friends were glad they had been called though, as it had been a while, a few weeks, actually. The map had called them all there for a reason, why? No one was sure. Everypony had been getting concerned that the map might stop calling them altogether, but here they were, back together, ready to take on whatever the mystical device had summoned them to the castle for. What could it be? Whatever it was it must've been worth the wait.

"So!" Rainbow Dash broke the silence. "Where are we going today?" Everyone else wasn't really paying attention to her though, they were all completely entranced by the map. Rainbow Dash took a second to examine the hologram, and to her surprise their cutie marks were not hovering above any particular city or town, valley, nothing. In fact, their marks were nowhere to be seen on the map. In place of them there was a single grey dot, beeping like a radar scan. That wasn't the only thing out of place though, as the dot was directly outside of the castle and getting closer. Looks like there wasn't any grand mission after all. Everypony looked disappointed and confused, clearly a few of them had built up a much more exciting endeavor in their minds. Rainbow Dash sighed and got out of her cutie mark emblemed chair. She volunteered to check out whatever the problem was as everypony else began to get up and walk away. However they were all interrupted when the doors swung open revealing a familiar face. It was the mysterious pegasus they had spent hours trying to save. For some reason he was now inviting himself into Twilight's castle. He really could've just knocked. Twilight often had visitors and wasn't completely against letting ponies take a look around. The intruding pony, however, cared not for announcing his arrival or checking with his 'host' to see if he could come in. He began to walk towards them.

"Oh, hi." Said Rainbow Dash, hovering a few feet in front of him. She was just as confused as everypony else, except the mysterious stallion, who was retaining his passive, emotionless demeanor. He walked right past Rainbow Dash, distracted by something in the distance. He walked over to the holographic table, entranced by its odd design and unusual purpose. He scanned over it once more before looking at everypony else. His face was no longer serious and melancholic, more curious. He looked like he was trying lo put a puzzle together but was missing a few pieces. He was looking for something, but what? He began to look over the entire room, his eyes scanning the ceiling, the walls, even the ponies in front of him. Nopony interrupted him as he always looked like he was on the brink of discovery. There wasn't anything particularly interesting in the room. All that was in there were the six friends, the chandelier, the chairs and the table. Eventually, he stopped scanning over the room and turned to face them, realising he was confusing everypony.

"My apologies for breaking into your castle." He said to the ponies. "I have never seen anything quite like it." Nopony was quite sure what to say, so Twilight spoke up. She cleared her throat,

"No problem, we get visitors all the time. I'm just curious as to why the map called us here just to deal with a security issue."

"Hm?" The mysterious stallion was now much more curious.

"Um, Twilight, I'm not sure he knows what the map is." Applejack reminded her.

"Oh yes, allow me to explain. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends" gesturing to them "This is Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. We never caught your name." She waited for a response. Unfortunately, the stallion seemed preoccupied with the map sitting in front of him. Twilight decided to continue with her explanation,

"This map usually calls us here two at a time to help deal with a friendship issue, but today it called every single one of us to let us know there was a small breach. It could've just sent one of us, really." She finished explaining and the white pegasus looked at her with curiosity in his eyes.

"So that's what this is, very interesting." He said. "Well, you six are very lucky to be entrusted with such an important task." He never spoke with any hint of interest but Twilight could tell he was intrigued by the magical device. He took a step back, taking in the scenery, nearly backing out the door. He looked around the room before settling his eyes on the centre. The six friends stood before him and after a couple seconds, he walked forward again, a look of discovery on his face. He was smiling, barely smiling but still, he hadn't smiled since arriving.

"Well. I'm sorry to interrupt, but thank you for showing me all of this. It truly is one of the most interesting things I've seen in a while." He said. "It's been nice meeting all of you. I have one last question, if I may." Everyone nodded hesitantly, what could he possibly have left to say? His question was,

"Do you all know Princess Celestia?" He asked. What an odd question. Did he know her? A friend perhaps? Everypony nodded in affirmation. "Very interesting," He said, "It's happening again."

Chapter 4- Discovery

"What do you figure he meant, it's happening again?" Twilight was mulling over the strange stallion's question and his response to their answer. He must've known Princess Celestia at some point or another. Perhaps it would be best if they wrote her a letter asking about him. Twilight stored that thought in the back of her head, trying to catch up with the conversation happening all around her. All her friends were abuzz with this latest information, trying to piece together this pony's life story from a few vague words and unusual actions.

"I guess that means he's not new to Equestria." Fluttershy was also helping to piece together this strange visitor's life story. "So where do you think he's from?" She said. The six of them didn't even know what the stallion's name was. Finding out where he lived would be next to impossible. Why did any of them care anyway? He was just a visitor, Ponyville got plenty of them. It was probably just how odd he acted: Not moving for days, breaking into Twilight's castle, not to mention how little he spoke. He was a total introvert from what they could tell, kind of like Twilight before she moved to Ponyville, or Fluttershy... all the time.

"He's probably from Canterlot." Added Rarity. "It makes sense. He knows the princess and he's obviously not used to Ponyville. He's probably better adjusted to high society. I mean, did you see his mane and tail? They looked immaculate."

"Like he had just got back from a trip to the spa." Applejack commented. She didn't know much about spas. She always felt they were a bit too fancy for her liking, but she could tell when somepony had been pampering themselves. It made a lot of sense. Canterlot always did have a reputation as one of the finest cities in all of Equestria when it came to beauty and fashion. Plus, it would make sense that somepony used to wealth and comfort might find Ponyville a little less fancy. That's not to say Ponyville was a bad town or that its citizens were messy ponies. It's just that Ponyville was unique like any other town and things were much different there than in Canterlot. "I suppose he'll be heading back then soon."

"I guess." said Pinkie Pie, bouncing along beside everypony else. She suddenly stopped; a look of dejection on her face, "Awww. And I was almost done setting up his surprise welcome to Ponyville party!" She caught up to the group and changed the subject to ease her suffering. She didn't last long though and decided to simply speed up the party-making process so that their new friend could still have free cake before he headed back to Canterlot. She raced off at a speed that rivalled the Wonderbolts to complete her preparations.

The group of five friends continued to walk along, chatting about various subjects before they all split off and headed for their homes near Twilight's Castle. Twilight entered her home and headed to the library near the back for some light reading. She was definitely starting to enjoy this castle. There was a ton of book space, she dared even say it rivalled the grand collections of Celestia and Luna, and they could be very scholarly when they wanted to. She sat herself down and began reading 'A Tale of Two Ponies'. About halfway through, Twilight decided to write that letter to Princess Celestia before she forgot,

Dear Princess Celestia,

My friends and I came across something strange recently. A pegasus in the main square who was incapable of moving a single muscle, he appeared trapped by some kind of magic. This would've been strange enough on its own but for some reason when we tried to track the magical signal it led us in circles. We had to get Discord to undo the spell in the end. That wasn't what was most odd, though. He seemed set on not going to the hospital but when we finally managed to get him there the doctor said he was in perfect health! He had been frozen for two days and after all that he was absolutely fine. It seems impossible. He's lucky to be alive. He and Discord seem to have some kind of history, and it doesn't look like they're on the best of terms. Maybe you know him? He has a white coat, very neat, and a black mane done in an up-do, splitting along the centre, it falls down along the sides of his head. It's very hard to explain, but it looks hard to maintain. Please let me know as soon as possible, he's not quite acting normal and I'm worried something might be going on.

Thanks,

Twilight Sparkle

It was getting late and Twilight could feel the weight of sleep bearing down on her, she placed the letter on a shelf and decided to lull herself to sleep with some more light reading. That always helped her sleep. But what to read? Well, if she couldn't think of anything off the top of her head she might as well do some research, as she headed for her bedroom she called to her dragon assistant,

"Spike, could you fetch me the Encyclopaedia of Magical Spells and Properties A-Z please?" Twilight could see her dragon assistant's shoulders visibly sag. He sighed and went to fetch the book. He was back within a few minutes with a book many times larger than him. He slammed it on the ground in front of Twilight. If dragons were capable of perspiration, he'd be sweating up a storm.

"Here you go Twilight." He said, gasping for breath.

"Thanks, Spike. You're the best assistant ever."

"Don't remind me." He whispered under his breath. Twilight didn't hear him though as she was already muzzle deep in her book.

Twilight spent the rest of her short night mulling over the shields section of her massive book, using her horn as a makeshift candle. Unfortunately, her search was in vain as she found nothing of any particular interest relating to the mysterious stallion. Oh well. She guessed it was just one of those unusual things that couldn't be explained. She placed the book back on the shelf herself as Spike had fallen asleep while she was reading. She pressed her hoof against her horn to extinguish it and headed back for her bedroom. She climbed back into her bed, letting her eyes rest as sleep welcomed her…

Twilight was up soon enough, clutching the letter she had left on her shelf and headed out to find Spike. She walked round the castle, searching for a while until she finally found him in the library, reorganising the bookshelves. She was so proud of him, taking the initiative like that. Or somehow he had already figured out today was a surprise reorganising the bookshelves day. Either way she had a letter to deliver.

"Hey Spike, could you send a letter to Princess Celestia for me?" She asked, handing over the letter she had just finished. Spike climbed down the ladder he had been using and clutched the letter in his claws,

"Sure Twilight. What's it for this time? It must be important considering you wrote it yourself." He said, not bothering to investigate further into the content of the letter. Twilight took a second to think about that, it was strange. Why didn't she ask Spike to write the letter? That was normally what she did whenever she needed to contact somepony far away.

"Well, you know. I just felt like writing this one myself." She said. In reality, she had simply forgotten that Spike usually wrote the letters to the princess. She never forgot. It was something she prided herself in. This was certainly shaping up to be an odd week. Spike sent the letter away to Celestia and Luna's castle in Canterlot, engulfing it with green flames before it was whisked away. With that all said and done, Twilight and Spike went about their usual days, a singular thought lingering in Twilight's mind. 'how did I forget?'

The mysterious pegasus was walking about town, taking in the scenery. Ponyville was a very lively but surprisingly peaceful town. He could immediately gauge that the town had a low crime rate and a strong sense of community. Whenever there was an issue, the people of Ponyville obviously went to the six ponies in the castle, Twilight was probably their leader. Well, not necessarily their leader as in commanding officer, friend. Yes, that was it, their friend. It was obvious, however, that she handled major concerns, being a princess and all. Overall Ponyville was a quaint place but definitely more important to Equestria than it let off. Maybe he should investigate, but for now he needed to find a motel or something. He heard there was a particularly nice one a few blocks away. Yes... no. He didn't need anything fancy. He decided to just stay in the first one he found. That would be much easier.

Princess Celestia was bored. No other word could describe how she felt at that particular moment and tending to her royal duties of sitting around, doing nothing, had not left her in any better a mood. She let out a long, drawn out sigh. She was a princess, there must be something she could do. The day had been very slow and it was getting to her. Luckily something would soon break this endless silence, a letter from her former pupil and fellow princess Twilight Sparkle. The letter materialised, dropping right in front of her. She caught it with her magic and unscrolled it. What could this be about? Twilight occasionally wrote letters about friendship to her, but not as often as she used to. Was there a problem? She opened the letter via magic and began to read.

It seemed there was not a problem, thank goodness. But; what was this? It seemed Twilight and her friends had come across an injured pegasus acting a bit unusual. It was strange that of all things for her to write about- wait. Oh, that made more sense, an unusual spell. Twilight often struggled with magic she didn't understand. Wait, he had been gifted magic? Celestia had been alive thousands of years and very rarely had she ever came across a unicorn with the power to force magical energy into somepony's body. She was one of them, then again she was an alicorn, not exactly a fair comparison, and besides, she never used it. The pegasus she described sounded familiar, though, but the princess couldn't quite put her hoof on it. It kind of reminded her of… It couldn't be, she hadn't seen him in years! She picked up a quill with her horn and began writing, wanting to get the letter to Twilight relatively quickly. This could be a wonderful opportunity.

Five ponies sat around a large table in the centre of a patio. They were just outside a very popular local eatery that regularly got visitors, even in the frigid winter when there was half a meter of snow coating the ground. Rainbow Dash had invited everypony out for shakes on a much nicer summer day so they could all catch up, with the exception of Fluttershy, who was overwhelmed with sick animals she needed to care for at the moment. It had been a while since everypony had been able to talk as a group, and thankfully today nopony had any bad news and Applejack was getting everypony up to speed on the state of the farm. The harvest had been particularly good that year and the price of most of their products hadn't dropped anymore since last year's dry summer. In fact, if everything went well they might be able to expand their pasture. Rarity decided to jump in on the conversation and talk about her shops. The boutique recently got a new shipment of fabric and Rarity was going to have to sort them all out later that day. Rainbow Dash was being considered for a permanent position on the Wonderbolts and Pinkie… had a lot to say. Nopony really paid attention. Something about frosting? Their chat was shortly interrupted when a certain purple dragon was spotted on the horizon with a letter in his hand.

"Twilight! Celestia wrote back." He jogged up to the table and handed her the letter, pulling up a seat from a nearby table to listen to her read it out. Twilight studied the letter carefully, glancing up halfway through as a shadow on the paper caught her eye. All of her friends were leaning over, trying to catch a glimpse of what they assumed was an urgent letter or special request. Twilight realised she was being a bit inconsiderate, ignoring her friends like that.

"Maybe I'll just read it out loud. That way you don't all have to crowd me." She said. Everypony nodded and frantically sat back down at their seats. "I wrote a letter to Princess Celestia the other day about that stallion in the square. So, this is just her response probably." She didn't want to get her friends all worked up only for them to be read a boring response letter. She cleared her throat and began,

"Dear Twilight,

I do indeed know the pegasus you are referring to. He is, in fact, an old student and close friend of mine. He's known me ever since he was a colt actually. It's a long story and I won't bore you with the details. Also, don't worry about him being a threat or anything, he's just a normal pegasus, he isn't dangerous, quite the opposite. He is a very nice stallion and incredibly docile. You have nothing to fear. He is a bit shy, though, so if you could make him feel welcome that would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure if he'll be staying, but he might be. Even if he isn't I'd still appreciate it if you could have Pinkie Pie throw him a party or something of the like, I'm sure he'd enjoy it, even if he doesn't quite know how to show it. Please make him feel at home in Ponyville.

Best of wishes,

Princess Celestia"

Twilight looked up to see that Pinkie Pie was already gone. That pony. She hears anything about a party and everything else takes a backseat to her primary driving force, planning parties. Everypony else was simply sitting, digesting the information. The first one to speak was Rarity.

"Oh the poor fellow!" she exclaimed. "He must be so lonely! I'm going to help Pinkie with the party. He's going to be welcomed whether he likes it or not!" She galloped off to go help Pinkie with her welcome party planning. Applejack and Rainbow Dash quickly followed suit, as they wanted to pitch in too, leaving Twilight and Spike alone at the table, the letter still in Twilight's magical aura.

"Well, they sure did leave fast." Spike said.

"And the streamers go over there, and- oh! The balloons go over there! And make sure someone picks up the cake from Sugarcube corner!" Pinkie Pie was zooming around the castle, overseeing the preparations for the strange stallion's 'welcome to Ponyville' party. She was desperate to make this party perfect, their new friend needed it. She was going to have to ask him about his name later, but for now, she had a party to plan. The party was being held in the foyer, everything had been cleared out and decorations had taken the place of the furniture. It was extravagant. Pinkie Pie was really putting her back into this party. When somepony needed welcoming, that was her job, and she took it very seriously. This was going to be the greatest party he'd ever been thrown, she'd make sure of it. She got back to looking over preparations. After all, how was this going to be the best party ever if a professional wasn't overseeing the operation?

"Hey Pinkie. Where should we put this banner?" Rainbow Dash asked, accompanied by Fluttershy, who had finally finished tending to the injured animals at her cottage.

"Put it right out front, where everyone can see it!" She said cheerfully, bouncing along as she hung some streamers on the wall. The party was shaping up nicely, now all Pinkie had to do was find their new friend.

The nameless pony was walking along the road, heading to a cafe for something to drink, little did he know he wouldn't make it, as the greatest threat to his peace and quiet ever conceived was bouncing towards him at breakneck speeds.

"Hey, Mr. Frozen Pegasus!" It was Pinkie Pie. "I need your help with something down at Twilight's castle!" Mr. Frozen Pegasus was a pseudo-name Pinkie had given him since he had been quite reluctant to give up his real name. "Can ya help me with something? I left something at Twilight's Castle and I need help moving it." She said. He thought about it for a second. Tea sounded really nice right now, and he was right next to the cafe, but the pink pony... Pinkie, yes, Pinkie needed his help and she was probably the persistent one in the group.

"Sure." He said, getting up and heading in the direction of Twilight's castle. He had a sense that was where the 'problem' was. Chances were he was being led thee for another reason, and he knew that. He walked down the street, not bothering to knock on the door of the castle. He opened the door, and was met with a thunderous cheer,

"SURPRISE!"

Chapter 5- Familiarity

"You've got to be kidding me." The strange pegasus walked into the surprise party, a frown adorning his face. Then again, it didn't differ much from his regular expression.

"Hey there!" Twilight Sparkle, heading up the group of friends that had arranged the party, greeted the pegasus. He looked at her and around the room, he wasn't impressed. "Sorry to be so forward, but I didn't catch your name." She said, hoping he might just let it slip out. He looked at her, but once again he said nothing. He tried to walk away, but the friends dragged him back in, chanting that he wasn't leaving just yet. For a second he considered just muscling his way through the six, but the beige one looked particularly strong. He made his way in the other direction, examining the large hall that made up the foyer. It was quite the party, very high energy. He didn't like it, or at least he didn't show it. The six friends were confused, what did he have against parties? Then again, Princess Celestia did say that he was shy, so maybe he just needed to warm up to everypony. They showed him around and introduced themselves, again. He didn't give his name, again. Fortunately, Pinkie Pie finally broke this ridiculous name barrier and got right to the point. Running up to him and bringing her head really close to his she said,

"Alright, Mister Strange Pegasus, I can't think of one good substitute name for you. So you'd better cough up your real name before I think of something really stupid to call you!" He got even closer to her, uncomfortably close, practically pressing his forehead against hers, and said,

"No."

This drove Pinkie nuts. She frowned at the pony, actively showing her distaste. She knew everypony's name, everypony's, except for his. He seemed adamant about not giving up his name. She guessed she was going to have to give him a name for the time being. It wasn't possible he didn't have one, was it?

"Alright then, guess I'll have to name you myself, but be warned! It could be anything..." Pinkie said, walking backwards, never breaking eye contact. She had to go off and think for a little while. Of all the things to withhold, why his name? Everypony had one, there was nothing special about them. Well, everypony's entitled to their secrets weren't they? The stallion walked past the friends and surveyed the party. Plenty of ponies had come, not to introduce themselves or anything, most only came for the free cake and the company. They remained huddled in their little groups, chatting and enjoying the sweets Pinkie Pie had prepared. He couldn't help but admire the effort.

"Thanks for the party. I know I never sound happy, but this is actually refreshing and it's very nice of you to throw a party for somepony you barely know, especially after I caused so much trouble." The stallion said, not sounding very excited, but for all they knew, he hated parties and was just trying to make them happy.

"It really wasn't a big deal." Applejack said, "Pinkie Pie's thrown so many parties it's practically a reflex."

With that their new acquaintance walked along to explore this energetic gathering. The white pegasus sat down at a table and looked around, admiring Pinkie Pie's handiwork. He decided that since he was already up he might as well enjoy himself, or try. He told the five friends to go do their own thing. He got up to talk to somepony he met earlier, he didn't get far, though, again, as a pink projectile was barreling back towards him, looking a little too excited.

"Alright then. It's been decided." Pinkie Pie was back, from out of nowhere. "Are you prepared for your new name?" She said to the pegasus, with a tone of seriousness to her voice. He was convinced, this pony was completely insane. "I took the liberty of writing it out on the banner. Cuz you know, welcome to Ponyville, mysterious stallion we found frozen on the road doesn't really roll off the tongue. Sorry, getting off topic, are you ready?" She asked him, bubbling with excitement.

He nodded hesitantly, slightly concerned as to what everypony would be calling him for the next few months.

"Hey Pinkie, did you come up with a name for him yet?" Rainbow Dash asked, soon accompanied by the rest of her friends. Everypony was very confused as to why he was being so stubborn with his name, but if he wasn't going to give it up, they might as well just give him a name, hopefully some embarrassing nickname that Pinkie came up with, then again that was almost a guarantee considering who was naming him.

"Yes indeedy!" Pinkie Pie was very excited about naming the stallion. After all, if she named him, even if it was just a temporary name, then she knew everypony's name again. Then it was just a matter of finding out his birthday...

"So. What is it?" They asked. Pinkie wore a proud smile on her face.

"Why don't you see for yourselves?" She said, running over to the banner she had hung on the ceiling only moments ago. She yanked a rope, unsheathing the banner that they had all set up before the party, revealing his new name with a loud, ta-da!

Welcome to Ponyville, Myst!

...

Myst? What kind of a name was that?

"Get it? It's short for mysterious!" She said cheerfully, "Because he's all vague and unusual and he kinda makes me angry!" At this everypony's expression changed from confusion (and concern on 'Myst's' part) to realisation. "I've got a whole naming scheme set up! I'll show you all later."

"Hey... it's not silly!" Rarity said. "Actually, it's kind of catchy."

"Well, yeah. It's not like I'm only good at juvenile endeavours." Pinkie Pie responded. She actually had many talents that were in no way related to parties or candy. Her vocabulary rivalled that of Twilight's and she was, surprisingly enough, an incredibly good ballroom dancer.

'Myst' had not yet responded, in fact, he was just staring at the banner, he looked mortified, just like when he had first arrived at Ponyville. It was that same expression. Myst walked off, no one followed him. Something was wrong and nopony wanted to intrude. They saw him sit down. He didn't say anything, he just sat there.

"I'm gonna go check on him." Fluttershy was the first to speak up. Her friends looked at her, concerned. "He's obviously upset about something." Being the element of kindness, she felt obliged to help him. She walked over to talk to him.

Myst sat alone at the table, scanning the room. He saw Fluttershy approaching and tried to slink off. She didn't stop him, she just kept following him out of the room, out of the party. When Myst got outside he walked a bit faster, not quite yet content to run. Fluttershy followed him for a little while longer before pulling up next to him, the two walking side by side. Eventually, he stopped, turning to face Fluttershy.

"Did you need something?" He asked nonchalantly. Fluttershy wasn't having it. She could tell when somepony was attempting to shift focus, she practically had a built-in lie detector.

"It's alright, I can wait." She said and waited. Waiting was the best option at the moment. Eventually, he would realise he wasn't getting off that easy. This certainly took a while. They stood there for ten minutes, doing nothing. Over time Myst's expression changed from annoyance to a kind of sympathy. He looked at Fluttershy,

"You haven't moved an inch." He said, head hanging. Fluttershy just smiled.

"Well of course. I wouldn't just abandon my friend." She said happily. At this Myst raised his head to look at her.

"I'm flattered you want to help me, but I'm fine, you should just go enjoy the party." He looked very upset and Fluttershy wasn't content to leave just yet. He needed her help. Luckily she had a perfect response.

"Last time I checked, it's your party." She said, not moving an inch. Myst sat there for a few seconds, drinking in the information. Why was everypony being so nice to him? He didn't know why, but their kindness was undeniable. He sighed heavily, before turning around, back towards the castle, and his party. This made Fluttershy happy and the two headed back.

When they got back in everypony was waiting by the door for Myst. They ushered him back in, and he began chatting with the six friends. The topics though, he seemed to have difficulty communicating properly. First they talked about their jobs. Rainbow Dash was still applying for a permanent position on the Wonderbolts, Twilight was, well, a princess, Applejack almost had an infestation on her hooves, but she found the insects early, Fluttershy was recently approached about a position at a veterinarian clinic, and Rarity was super stressed out about a huge order of dresses. She always seemed to be taking on too much work.

"So, Myst, what do you do for a living?" Asked Twilight. He hesitated for a minute, unsure of what to say. Eventually he stammered out,

"You know I- I travel a lot, for work."

"So are you like a businesspony?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"No, not quite. I.. travel around to… teach, yeah I'm a substitute teacher and I can't quite seem to land a job." He said. He seemed eager to change the subject, perhaps he found his job inadequate or something, and so he immediately asked the most talkative pony he knew about her favourite thing.

"So Pinkie, do you always throw parties like this?" He asked.

"Of course! I love throwing parties, it makes everypony happy! And making everypony happy is my special talent!" Pinkie said. In Ponyville there was almost always some kind of event being coordinated and Pinkie was almost always heading up that event.

"Hey Myst, what's your special talent?" Twilight asked, glancing at his cutie mark, which for some reason she had never noticed before. "It doesn't look like it has anything to do with teaching." It was an odd symbol that she couldn't identify. Three sharp, black ovals that linked into each other. It was very plain, black, colourless.

"Yeah, what is that?" everypony else was soon gawking at his cutie mark. At this suddenly his expression changed from somewhat comfortable, to mortified.

"How did you see that?" He yelled. Everypony in the nearby vicinity snapped their heads towards him. They were all looking at him like he was crazy. His cutie mark was clearly visible, and kind of obvious. Eventually most of the ponies that were staring went back to their own conversations.

"Is something the matter Myst?" Asked Fluttershy.

"I'm fine, it's just odd. Maybe I'll explain later, I'm not sure yet." He said. At this, his new friends became increasingly perplexed. They all began prying into his cutie mark, what it meant. Unfortunately they never got any further. He was open about some things as they talked a bit longer, but he never budged when it came to the symbol on his flank. Eventually, when the group started chatting about their pets, Myst started to fidget around. He started glancing around and seemed distracted. Eventually Fluttershy noticed, and, knowing that Myst was a bit shy, nudged him and gestured away from the group. He nodded and the two walked away.

"I could tell you were getting a bit anxious back there." She said.

"Thank you so much." Myst said. "I really can't tell you how grateful I am. I'm not used to this."

"That's alright. I can tell you're kind of shy." She replied. "I find these parties a bit too much for me as well. I prefer tea parties honestly." Myst looked at her with understanding.

"Me too. I love tea." He replied. He walked off to find somewhere more peaceful. He wasn't alone for too long though, as a familiar face soon made itself known.

"Hey there." Standing next to him was the unicorn that found him. Her mint coat and golden eyes were a dead giveaway. "You probably don't remember me considering your eyes were closed."

"No, I remember you." He said. Myst did remember the unicorn, she was very determined and he could appreciate that. She tried so hard to help him and he had kind of been a jerk to her. He felt obliged to set things straight with her. "Sorry about earlier." he said, wanting to apologise.

"What do you mean? The only time we've ever met was when you were frozen." She said.

"Well, I could still hear you, I recognise your voice." Myst replied.

"Well anyway, I never got to introduce myself. Everypony else rushed you off to the hospital almost instantly. My name's Lyra."

"Nice to meet you Lyra." He said back to her.

"So I'm guessing you're Myst?" She asked, unaware of Pinkie's incredible naming scheme.

"Temporary name." He responded. "I can be a bit stubborn about, certain things."

"Oh." She said. "Well, I think it's rather catchy. One of Pinkie's?" She asked.

"Yeah. How did you know?" He asked in return, wondering how Lyra could've known.

"Pinkie loves naming things, especially pets." Lyra remarked. "She has a this huge flow chart back at her home, it's actually kind of amazing."

"Very interesting." He said. That was worth checking into. It turned out that Lyra knew his six friends fairly well. They sat down at a table and chatted for a little while before a cream coloured earth pony with a pink and blue mane called Lyra away. Lyra promised to introduce Myst to the rest of her friends at a later date, and with that, she was off.

The party had calmed down substantially and eventually the only ones that were left were the six friends and Myst.

"So Myst, what did you think of my party?" Pinkie Pie was asking.

"It was very nice Pinkie Pie. Thank you." He said. The party had been very nice indeed, a little high energy for his taste, but then again it had been years since he had last been to a party. But this was definitely a good way to get back into them. "You six have been very kind to me. In fact, you kind of remind me of six friends I had a long time ago. Wait." He stood frozen for a few seconds, thinking. He dismissed the thought for the time being and brought his attention back to his new friends. "Sorry, you just really remind me of them."

"Where do you normally live?" Asked Rarity. "Maybe we know them."

"Oh you wouldn't know them." He said. "I live pretty far away."

"So you're not staying here in Ponyville?" Applejack asked.

"I'll be here a while. It's usually anywhere from a month to three." He replied.

"That's quite a while just for teaching jobs." Rainbow Dash said, a little confused as to why he would be staying months for a part time position.

To this he responded, a bit hesitantly, "Oh. Yeah. Well you know, I like to take on longer jobs. It… looks better on my resume. You know, teaching can be pretty competitive." At this everypony nodded their understanding. They didn't realize Myst was so savvy when it came to job hunting, but the time was late and Myst had to go. "This has been great everypony, but I have to get back to my motel room before they think I just forgot to check out." The six friends glanced at each other, all silently agreeing that they could offer him more comfortable and less expensive residence.

"Why don't you come stay with one of us?" Twilight asked. "We know how hard a substitute teaching position can be. Paying rent's just one more problem you shouldn't have to worry about."

"Yeah, it'll be fun! Like a slumber party!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Well." Normally Myst would deny, but they had been so nice to him that the least he could do was not argue with them again. He'd been nothing but stubborn and they had put up with him. He didn't want to cause them any more trouble but they wanted to help him, and so Myst agreed.

"Okay. If it's no trouble." He said.

"So, where do you want to stay?" Twilight asked. Myst didn't have to think long. In fact, the answer came almost instinctively.

"Well... if it's not too big an issue I'd like to stay with Fluttershy." He said.

"Fluttershy?" Everypony seemed confused as to why he would want to sleep over with somepony who practically ran a zoo out of her house.

"Can I ask why?" Twilight said.

"Well, I'm not really sure why, but I already feel like the two of us are friends." He replied. The six friends smiled.

"Yeah, she tends to have that effect on ponies."

Chapter 7- A Glimpse of the Past: Part 2

Myst stared at Fluttershy for a few seconds, his eyes slowly fading back to their icy blue colour, almost disappearing completely before they returned to normal. He turned around, and he ran. He ran as quickly as he could, barreling through the door. The yellow one had seen him. He had to plan this out, she would have questions. His mind raced as he ran through Ponyville. He ran out onto a hill on the edge of town. For some reason, as he ran up onto the hill, he felt different than usual, happy? No, it wasn't happiness, it was more... excitement. His life had been very, monotonous as of late, so this actually made a small part of him excited. For the moment, he just sat on the hill examining the stars. He always had liked the stars, they were beautiful on their own, but spectacular when they all revealed themselves at once. He let out a long sigh. He wished his family would come visit. They were always so good to him. So, his calendar was still on the table, he should probably have retrieved that before he left. He estimated he had approximately twelve minutes before somepony found him, but thankfully this would keep Fluttershy from looking at his calendar. So what was he to do? He honestly shouldn't have cared as much as he did, but regardless, he did. He walked to the very edge of the town, the border of where the town and the outside world met. He sat there for a second, feeling the grass against his hooves. He needed to come to a decision on what to do with Fluttershy.

"Damn it all." he said to himself. "This wasn't supposed to happen." He wished things could go back to before his... road trip. Luckily he didn't fall too deep into his chasm of thought as he was soon approached by a vaguely familiar face. A grey, blonde-maned pegasus with one yellow eye facing towards him and another, wandering off.

"Hey there. Aren't you the frozen pony from the fountain?" She asked, approaching Myst.

"Yeah." He said. Recalling where he had seen the pony before, she was part of the group of friends that had retrieved Twilight. "I remember you, thanks for helping me back there, but I don't think I ever caught your name."

"Uh. Well, I've actually got a couple different names." She said. "You can call me Derpy. It's kind of a nickname my friends gave me." Myst chuckled. Derpy made a sound indicating that she didn't understand, but Myst just told her it was nothing.

"It's nice to meet you, Derpy." He said. "May I ask why you're out so late?"

"I like to take walks at night, the stars are really pretty." She responded

"Yes, they are quite spectacular aren't they? They remind me of an old friend actually." Myst sighed quietly. "Well, I'm glad I could meet a fellow admirer of the stars." Unfortunately, the two didn't get to chat any longer as Myst's friends came running along, Twilight heading up the group.

"Myst!" They all shouted. Myst panicked for a second. They were a lot quicker than he had expected. An outsider wouldn't know it, but inside he was slightly nervous, which was big for him. He needed more time. He needed more time. No, he had enough time. He broke down the facts… Fluttershy had seen his eyes, glowing. He could easily explain that. If they had seen his calendar, well, it's not like they would understand it anyway. He turned to face them, dawning the same expression he had at the hospital, at the cottage, at the fountain… indifference. It was practically all anypony ever got to see of him, the confines of his mind were a dangerous place, so he made sure nopony ever saw what was in there.

"Myst? What happened? Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked as she was the only one present during the incident. Myst had come to a decision. Lie his dull white flank off. Unfortunately, Myst was a very bad liar.

"Well, uh… I have a medical condition. Yup. Medical condition." He said, trying to maintain his posture. Fluttershy looked closely at Myst.

"No. You don't." She said. Myst looked at her. He thought for a second. The others didn't know the whole story. He had lied too much around Fluttershy, and she had caught on to the pattern, the very predictable pattern.

"I'm sorry Fluttershy, but what's going on here?" Twilight asked, "All you've told us is that something was very wrong, what is it?" Myst was eager not to spread any information, couldn't avoid Fluttershy, it was inevitable. He looked at her, and made an indication with his head, signalling that he wanted to talk with her elsewhere. The two walked away from the group briskly, with Myst turning to face Fluttershy.

"You have been very good to me Fluttershy." He said "You've given me a home, and you've been a wonderful host. But… what you saw there, it was not meant to be seen. I will explain as best I can. I only ask that you put your friends at ease. Tell them that I explained my 'medical condition' to you, and I'd prefer not to talk about it." Fluttershy really wanted to know what happened to Myst, but she also wanted her friends to know. She wouldn't go behind Myst's back, that would be cruel. So she could either say no and try to make him explain to everypony, which he wouldn't, or she could find out for herself. In the end her curiosity got the better of her.

"Okay, I'll tell them you're fine." She said. Myst nodded his approval. She briefly walked over and discussed Myst's fake condition with them, before meeting back up with him. The others, along with Derpy, walked off and the two walked back to Fluttershy's cottage.

"Can I ask something?" Fluttershy and Myst were sitting down on Fluttershy's green couch.

"Go ahead." Myst replied, readying himself for the worst.

"What is that medicine you bought for?" Fluttershy asked. Thank goodness. That was something he could answer, truthfully, and it might even satisfy her curiosity somewhat.

"It helps me sleep." He said. "I get nightmares almost constantly, and the medication helps… sometimes. Other times it does nothing. Usually though, usually if I'm exhausted, completely exhausted, I can sleep without interruptions. Tonight wasn't a good night for me. That's why I was up so late." Fluttershy looked sympathetic.

"That must be horrible." She said.

"Yeah." Myst said, remembering all of the nightmares. They never left. They were always burnt into his memory. He could recall every single one of them perfectly. "That's why I was up. I needed to relax. There are very few activities that actually help me relax, and one of them is working on my calendar." Fluttershy was only more concerned. What kind of calendar do ponies have to work on? All they do is tell you what day is coming up. She wanted to know.

"What calendar?" She asked. She never expected an answer, but an answer she got.

"See for yourself." He said, bringing her to the calendar, peeling the circular parchment open. He hoped she wouldn't understand, this calendar was very valuable to him, and he didn't want anypony messing with it.

The inside of the paper was something Fluttershy had never seen before. Rings ran along the paper, getting smaller and smaller as they centred, and in the centre, laid Myst's cutie mark, barely visible. As for the content of the rings, they contained a language completely unfamiliar to her. Even the symbols, most likely letters, were foreign. Incredibly detailed imagery flooded the rings, some of it so small it was barely recognisable. When she looked at the entire thing all at once though, it was one of the most beautiful paintings she had ever seen in her life. Myst broke the silence.

"I'm more of a musician than an artist, but years of working on the same piece gives you some time to perfect your style." Fluttershy just continued to admire the scroll. Most of the pictures she couldn't make sense of.

"What does it do?" She asked.

"It's just an artistic representation of past events, I use it as a kind of journal." He said. Flutterhsy nodded, she had one last thing she needed to ask about, and that was Myst's eyes. She feared the answer, he could be anything, a changeling maybe, or perhaps a dangerous creature that simply resembled a pony. She didn't take her eyes off the paper, though. It was too beautiful for words to describe.

"Um, Myst? Could you please tell me the real reason your eyes were glowing?" She asked, bracing herself for the worst. Unfortunately, Myst's answer wasn't scary or something to worry about, no, it was worse. It was vague.

"All I can tell you is that a very long time ago, I was put under a very powerful spell, a curse. These eyes were part of the deal." He said. Fluttershy thought about that answer for a second. So Myst was cursed? She looked back at the calendar. Who was this pony? She desperately searched the map for something to make sense of. The picture was very beautiful. She found nothing, unfortunately, that would help her decipher the pony next to her. Eventually she took her eyes off it and focused back on Myst. It was convenient that she did because Myst had a request.

"Fluttershy?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"Um, once I've woken up from a nightmare, I never go back to sleep. So I'm going to head to town, don't look for me, okay?" His voice sounded hoarse, almost melancholy. Fluttershy didn't blame him. After all, nopony enjoys sharing their deepest personal secrets. Dreams were for one pony only, and that was the dreamer.

"If you need somepony to keep you company, I'll go with you." She said. She looked back at the calendar, only to see something she'd hadn't seen before.

Outlining the calendar, perfectly spaced from each other, were six small circles. Purple, blue, yellow, green, pink, and red. The elements of harmony. What were they doing there? At least she assumed those were the elements. They must've been, right? Regardless, it could wait. She expected her friend to decline her offer, but Myst didn't see the harm in letting her come with him, so he agreed, and the two headed out to town together. Eventually, the two found their way to a bar, Myst's favourite location to burn away the night.

"And that was the time I wrestled a manticore, and won."

"Myst, I think you've had a bit too much to drink."

"What if I told you the alcohol helps me sleep?"

"I'm sure it does, now come on, let's get you to bed."

"You know, Fluttershy, you're, like, my only friend, and I guess that makes you my best friend."

"That's nice, Myst, careful, don't hit your head."

"OW!"

"You alright?"

"That almost hurt me as much as I hurt that manticore."

"Okay Myst, you fought a manticore, alright?"

"That's right I did."

Fluttershy practically dragged Myst into the guest bedroom, but when she finally deposited him in the room the full weight of the night hit her. Myst had gone really heavy on the alcohol back there. She hoped it wasn't an issue. Then again, if she was cursed and her only friend was a practical stranger she met two or three days ago, she would probably tip them back a bit faster than normal as well. Where were Myst's friends? Did he really have nopony to support him? What was this curse anyway? What did it do? Who wanted to hurt him? Well, those questions could wait until the morning.

She had made a promise, she couldn't break it.

Fluttershy walked into Twilight's castle, determined to keep Myst's secret. Of course it wasn't like she had that much to talk about. Why did Myst not want everypony to know he was cursed? Should she go behind his back and tell her friends? Maybe Twilight could help Myst. She was very well versed in magic. No. He had been very clear. VERY clear. There was one thing she was not to do, and that was talk about him with the others. She pushed through the doors into the map room, her friends rushing to meet her.

"Hi, Fluttershy!" They all chanted.

"You ready for the picnic?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy began to say yes, but stopped halfway through her sentence. She forgot. She forgot to tell Myst. Fluttershy told her friends she'd be back in a second and darted back out the door. She was a bad host, how could she have forgotten about the picnic? She pushed her door back open to find Myst sitting on the floor, mulling over his calendar.

"Hi, Myst, how are you?" She said, trying to sound friendly. She knew Myst hadn't planned on going to the picnic in the first place, and if he knew she'd forgot about him, or that they were going to be late, he might want to back out again. Unfortunately, Myst was not in the mood to be conned. He may have been bad at lying, but he picked up on it pretty quick. Plus, he wrote it down.

"The picnic is today, we're late." He said. Fluttershy was dumbfounded. How did he know that was what she was there for? She nodded signalling that he was correct and asked him if he still wanted to come. "Sure." He said. Fluttershy didn't understand why he was so eager to come all of a sudden, but she left it there. She really wanted him to come to the picnic and wasn't ready to risk him changing his mind.

Myst had brought along some food of his own to the picnic. Fine cheeses and breads, olives and such. It looked very expensive. Nopony raised a hoof to stop him though, it was all too delicious. The smell of the picnic was enticing in its own right. But Myst didn't seem that eager to eat anything. He did have a lot of questions though. The other six didn't know, but he was carefully trying to pry information out of them,

"So the six of you solve friendship issues, what's that like?"

"It's usually pretty fun, actually. The map's pretty vague so we have to do a little digging when we get to the towns." Applejack said.

"That's interesting, but why do you have to do it? Did you design it?"

"No, it just popped up one day. As for why we have to do it, it's probably because we wield the elements." Rarity said.

"Elements?"

"Yes dear, the elements of harmony." She responded. Myst's expression changed from his usual lack of emotion to realisation.

"Have you heard of them?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Who hasn't at this point? It's great to meet you in person though." Myst said. The seven ponies took a second to just enjoy their picnic, before Rainbow Dash spoke up,

"Hey, Myst. Do you want to practice racing with me sometime soon?" Myst replied swiftly,

"I would but I have to work on my ca-" He stopped, catching himself. Even Fluttershy didn't know that much about his calendar, and it was imperative it's true function remain a secret. The last thing he needed to do was tell everypony about it. "I'd love to practice flying with you Rainbow Dash." Everypony sat there in relative silence until Myst spoke,

"Well, I'm really sorry I can't stay longer, but I have to go, teach." He said. His friends waved him goodbye and he made his leave. The six waited for a little while before everypony turned to face Fluttershy.

"Alright Fluttershy, should we be worried about this pony?" Rarity asked. Everypony else nodded and leaned in to listen to her response.

"What do you mean?" She asked, unsure if they had caught on to a bit of their earlier conversation that night Myst got really drunk.

"We know he told you more. There's no way he's just got a condition! Twilight looked it up." Rainbow Dash added. They pestered her for a few more minutes, with Fluttershy denying all allegations, some of which included: Myst secretly being Sombra who had come for revenge, Myst being a changeling sent to infiltrate Ponyville, and, her personal favourite, him being an alien who had crash-landed in Equestria. Unfortunately, Fluttershy's words got away from her for a second,

"I'm sorry everypony, but I can't tell you." She said. They all looked at her with expressions of curiosity, her words confirming that she had indeed heard more. "I made a promise, and I don't intend to break it anytime soon."

"Oh come on Fluttershy!" Applejack said. "We promise we won't tell anypony else. Come on, is he holding you hostage?"

"Applejack, why do you find it so difficult to believe he's just normal?" Fluttershy asked. "Of all the ponies in Equestria I figured at least you could be able to put some stock in the kindness of strangers." They didn't understand. Myst was cursed. Any matter of horrible things could've happened to him. He wanted to keep those secrets to himself, and she respected that. Apparently her friends didn't though. "I'm telling you, there's nothing wrong with him." She suddenly wasn't in the mood to talk anymore, so she walked off, back to her home. She trotted up the path and into her home to find Myst dusting off one of her bookshelves. It seemed he had also took the liberty of cleaning up the rest of the cottage. She walked over to him. He dropped his duster, and stood up straight, stammering.

"Uh, h-hi Fluttershy, sorry I was just doing a little cleaning." She looked around, he had put on a kettle of tea, ginger judging by the aroma, and he was cleaning her house?

"Thank you Myst!" She said.

"Well," He started to say. "I know it must've been difficult to hold back on your friends, especially with them pestering you like that."

"How did you know?" Fluttershy asked.

"Intuition, there's no way they bought my excuse, or yours, so I figured they probably tried to pull something more out of you."

"Well, you're not wrong." She responded. It was kind of exhilarating, guarding a secret nopony else was aware of she looked back at Myst, he looked much more serious than before,

"You have been very good to me Fluttershy." He said. "You gave me a place to stay, you kept my secrets safe, and you have been a wonderful friend." He took a deep breath. "It's been quite some time since I've had an actual friend, but I do consider you to be one. What I said back at that bar wasn't just a bunch o drunken ranting, I was serious, you are a dear friend of mine." He paused for another second, really taking his time. "I have a secret. Worse than anything I've told you thus far. I vowed to myself that I would never tell another soul, but regardless of that, I want to trust you with it, not just because I trust you, but because I need your help." Fluttershy walked towards Myst, putting a hoof on his shoulder. She didn't say anything, she simply silently supported him. He looked into her eyes and said, "That calendar, it doesn't just record the past, it foretells the future."

Chapter 8- Lessons

"I gotta go, see you all later!" Fluttershy yelled to her friends on her way back to her cottage. She had been leaving early from all of their get-togethers for the last few days as Myst had offered her something she couldn't help but accept. He had been teaching her all about the ancient form of magic contained within his magical device that he called 'the calendar'. Apparently, it was thousands of years old and it had been passed down through his family for generations. She sat on the floor next to Myst, with his calendar as a centerpiece.

"How can it predict the future Myst?" She had finally asked one day. Myst had been trying to teach her as little as possible whilst still giving her insight into ancient magical artefacts, but she had got a little too curious.

"Well, the calendar exists in a plane of time separate from our simple past, present and future. It exists at all times. You draw something on the calendar, and it delves into the object's future and dredges up information. It's always incredibly vague, however. For example," Myst took to a tiny corner of the calendar and drew a crystal castle, the one from the crystal empire. "Well, I didn't know those two had a baby. Let's see, in the future, I see... dark clouds."

"Sombra?" She asked.

"Or a particularly rainy day."

"When?'

"Sometime in the next ten years."

...

"That's it?"

"I told you it was vague. The calendar has a mind of it's own, and it reveals what it must. Sometimes it will even enter my dreams."

"Incredible." Fluttershy stated, not taking her eyes off Myst for a second. Normally Fluttershy wouldn't be too interested in magic. But this was different. It was ancient knowledge, passed down through his family for generations. It had never left his bloodline and now he was trusting it to somepony he had met only a week ago. Why her though? She couldn't do anything with it. Any ancient rituals or long forgotten spells, she couldn't use them.

"Yeah. My parents were pretty bummed when they saw that I was a pegasus." Myst said, recalling his parents briefly. "They really wanted me to be a unicorn so that I could experiment, and add to the basin of knowledge. Unfortunately, I've just been stuck verifying the calendar and adding to it best I can. I can't teach anypony about it because it's a bit of a family secret, so... yeah. But I trust you, so I might as well share the information with you. You've proven yourself reliable."

"That's too bad, I would've really liked to see ancient magic at work." Fluttershy said.

"It was something, I can tell you that. My family's work was brilliant." Myst added. "Nothing like normal unicorn magic. My parents were pretty skilled." He sighed, pushing around the papers on the floor, head down. Fluttershy picked up on this and asked a question she already knew the answer to.

"Myst. Where are your parents?" She waited for his response, but never got one. Myst just looked up at her, all traces of happiness drained from his face. "Oh." She said, realising she had just hit a very sensitive nerve. "I'm sorry."

"I think that's enough for today." He said, compiling all the papers lying on the floor and rolling up his calendar. Fluttershy just nodded. She knew she had brought up a sensitive topic, and so she let Myst be. He wandered off outside to get some air, before he took off, back into the skies. As he flew off, he thought to himself, 'I wish I was back in Canterlot, I can't rely on just those six'.

Myst walked through town, heading to his day-job, which was essentially just walking around pretending to have a job. Myst didn't teach, school ponies drove him completely insane. So he usually just walked about, telling his friends he was on his break or he had gotten off early if he ever ran into them. Maybe he would buy some more tea while he was there? They were running out of non-caffeinated tea. Myst always stayed away from caffeine and sugar, they made him feel awake, and if he didn't feel exhausted when he went to sleep then, well, nightmares. He walked into a department store, running his hoof along the fully stocked metal shelves, searching for the tea. Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, tea! There it was! Why did everypony love coffee so much? Geez. He picked up as much as he could get his hooves on, and walked out to the counter, greeting the cashier and paying his due. He seemed to have forgotten that he had to walk all the way back to the cottage. He paid for the tea and found himself uncomfortably balancing the boxes back along the grassy path to the cottage. Luckily another old acquaintance showed up to help him soon enough. The brown stallion, with an hourglass cutie mark, from when he was frozen.

"Hey there, don't overwhelm yourself." He said. Rushing over to catch some of the tea that threatened to tip right out of Myst's hooves, Myst recognised him immediately. An old acquaintance from a few years back.

"Don't you have better things to do than help somepony with his groceries, Whooves?" He asked.

"Nonsense, I've got all the time in the world. And besides, why wouldn't I want to help an old friend?" He replied. Myst just sighed and continued walking, taking a turn out into the countryside. It figures that he'd just so happen to live in the one place Myst was actually enjoying. Technically, he didn't live there, but still, he liked to park his home there, though. Regardless of how bad he wanted his doctor friend to forget he was there and go away he didn't really feel like bothering. He liked Ponyville, and it wasn't going to be fun leaving for his next job. But, while he couldn't stay, he could certainly enjoy himself while he was there. Whooves was usually trustworthy with secrets and such, but Myst still felt the need to confirm he would keep his,

"You, haven't told anypony about it? Have you?" He asked.

"Of course not! Can you imagine what would happen if everypony in Equestria knew your secret? We'd have a national crisis on our hands!" He said flamboyantly.

"Please Whooves, it's not that serious," Myst added. "I merely would prefer to be considered normal by pony standards."

"Yes, because we all know just how mentally stable you are. I don't know why you refuse to get counselling." The Doctor said.

"Too expensive."

"Bugger off, Myst, you're the richest pony in this entire town."

"Fine then, I don't have time."

"Myst, I will hurt you."

"Okay, okay. I just don't like sharing my problems with other ponies. They're my problems, not theirs. The only ponies I can really talk to are ponies like you, you know: Celestia, Luna. You've seen enough that it helps me feel like my problems aren't that big."

"Myst, your problems will always be big. And see it's not so difficult is it?" He asked.

"Well, it's not like I've ever been a very good liar, plus you know just about all of my secrets at this point."

"Hey, we're friends, right?" The Doctor asked jokingly.

"If you insist." Myst said. It really sucked. He liked Ponyville, but his job demanded that he moved and so he was forced to move. "Maybe one day my life will go back to normal."

"Well, I look forward to that day, friend." The doctor replied. They approached the door of the cottage and Myst waved his friend goodbye.

"Thanks for the help with the tea. You know how I despise caffeinated beverages." Myst said. They exchanged goodbyes and parted ways, Myst heading inside and the Doctor wandering off to do whatever he did in his spare time. Myst immediately put the kettle on, humming a tune as he cracked open a book he bought at the store. About halfway through One Hundred Years of Solitude, Fluttershy opened the door and stepped inside the cottage.

"Hi Myst, who was that outside?" She asked. Myst looked up from his book. As soon as he saw who it was, he closed the book and came to greet her.

"Hi Fluttershy." He said. "That was an old friend of mine. He helped me bring in the tea." He said, gesturing to the kettle, which was not quite finished heating up yet. "Would you like some?" He asked. Fluttershy nodded with a 'yes please' and Myst got up to check on the kettle, which still wasn't quite finished yet. Oh well, if he let it heat all the way it would be too hot anyway. He poured and steeped the tea, handing one of the cups to his host. They sat on the green fabric sofa and drank in silence for a little while before Fluttershy asked Myst a question.

"Um, Myst. Why are you back so early? It's only one o'clock." Myst looked up at the clock, stricken by how he could've slipped up so much. Oh well, easy fix.

"I got off early, their normal teacher was feeling better." He said, accidentally taking a much too large sip of his tea, which promptly burnt his tongue. He made a sound of alarm indicating that the tea was just a bit too hot. Fluttershy looked at him, amused.

"Too hot?" She asked.

"Mhm." Myst cried, not opening his mouth. He put down the tea, swallowed what he was drinking, and fanned his mouth as if that would help. He finally got a hold of himself and decided to ask Fluttershy about her day.

"So what were you up to today?" He asked.

"Well, I work part time at the veterinarian's clinic" Fluttershy said. "They were getting overwhelmed, so I got called in to work some extra hours. It seems everypony has a pet these days and there's a vicious flu circulating around. Usually I take in injured animals on my own, when I'm not working but they seemed really desperate for help."

"That's nice of you to help them out like that Fluttershy." Myst said.

"Yeah." She said back to Myst. "It felt good, and they really appreciated me working the extra hours. Thanks for listening to my story. A lot of my friends don't tend to listen to my stories. Sometimes I think they just summon me whenever they need to vent, or need somepony to cheer them up." Myst nodded, signalling he understood. "I like cheering ponies up, but sometimes I just want to talk." Myst thought about that for a second. It must upset her. He couldn't relate of course because, well, he had no friends, essentially. Luna and Celestia didn't count, they felt more like family, considering all the tough times they pulled him through. The Doctor was always rushing about, and anypony he had met in the other towns had probably forgotten about him by that point. He had only ever had…. one real friend. He was gone though. Fluttershy was his only friend now, a lonely prospect for most, but Myst simply enjoyed her company. She was an introvert, like him, and she was very friendly. She had been an excellent host. Plus she shared his appreciation for tea.

"I think I'm gonna head back out into town, say hello to some of the ponies that helped with the freezing incident." Myst said. He never thanked them properly, and the guilt was weighing on him. He strolled out the door, thanking Fluttershy for keeping him company. He was always grateful for her company. She had been the only one around to talk to after all of the nightmares, and she was very understanding. He walked down Fourth Street, wandering about through Ponyville, hoping to run into one of the six ponies that had fruitlessly tried to move him. And luckily enough he did. It was the pink and blue-maned mare from the party. He was just having the best of luck today! He approached the mare.

"Hello there." He said.

"Oh, hi..." The pony said back. Do you need something?"

"Right, I forgot, you left early." Myst said, slapping himself mentally. He really should've taken note of that. "My name's Myst. I was the frozen pony near the fountain, you tried to help me up." She did remember him. Lyra was really freaked out when she had found him. "It's just, I never got to thank you. I didn't even catch your name."

"Oh, it's Bon Bon. And you're welcome." She said. "I kinda feel bad for leaving you out there, though. I mean sure, I came to visit you at the hospital, but that's just because Lyra dragged me along."

"That's alright." Myst said. "Not everypony can make time for random ponies they find laying around on the street" Bon Bon chuckled at his last comment.

"Thanks. You should come meet the rest of my friends." She said. "We usually all hang around at my sweet shop on Wednesdays." The offer was appreciated, and Myst wasn't doing anything on Wednesday… or was it Wednesday already? Maybe Thursday?

"I'm sorry but, what day it it?" Myst didn't want to ask her, but he kind of needed to.

"Um, Tuesday." She said. "How did you forget the day of the week?" She asked.

"Well, to be honest I just kind of didn't bother to keep track. One day has just been another for me." Myst said. He was definitely going to keep track of the day from then on. "Also, I'd love to come to your sweet shop."

"Great, see you there. You should get yourself a calendar or something." She said, wandering off. That took care of Myst's thank you problem. The other two that had tried to help him would surely be there. The musicians, judging by their cutie marks. He had to go tell Fluttershy that he couldn't teach her anything about ancient talismans on Wednesday.

"Sorry, Fluttershy," Myst said. "I can't teach you on Wednesday." He regretted not being able to teach his best friend about ancient magic, plus, it had been over a week since he had arrived. He really should've been more closely studying his calendar, it had been acting up lately. Fluttershy was perfectly understanding. She was happy Myst was making friends. "Hey, maybe you could come along." He said. Fluttershy was all for Myst making new friends, but then again, it had been a while since she'd seen Vinyl, or Bon Bon, or Derpy. Well, she guessed it wouldn't hurt to come along. How much of a difference could it make?

"Sure."

Chapter 9- New Information

Fluttershy listened closely for the screams of her guest. She heard nothing though. It was unusual. Myst tended to be very vocal about his nightmares, sometimes shouting loud enough to wake the birds outside. Then he would wake up, and try his best to function with only four hours of sleep. There was only one night that Myst had slept all the way through, and even then she had heard yelling, at least semi-frequently. It was terrifying even imagining what was happening in his sleep deprived mind. Myst always claimed he slept like a baby, but he lied. She knew the nightmares were bad, really bad. They were vivid and painful, she could see it in his eyes. Sometimes she wished Myst would just wake up so she could tell him it was all a dream, so she could make him feel better. She knew this was selfish, and that Myst preferred to rest. She was actually more worried that he wasn't making noise that night. She needed to check on him. Fluttershy tiptoed over to Myst's room, trying to be as quiet as possible. Myst was a crazy light sleeper. He could hear a feather hit the floor in the room next to his when he put his mind to it. She slowly turned his door handle, using both hooves. She held the handle where it was while she pushed the door in. What she saw was worse than anything she had ever seen before. Myst was tossing and turning in his bed, but no noise came out of his mouth when he tried to scream because it was taped shut. For a second she felt good, seeing how far her friend was going to help her sleep, but that soon passed as she began to realise he had taped his mouth shut. That could be seriously dangerous. Fluttershy ran over and peeled the tape off of Myst's mouth. A small part of her wished she hadn't because he began violently screaming again. She couldn't help herself. She shook Myst awake, and he sprang up, sweating profusely, his eyes darting around the room.

"Where are you!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as he forced himself into a sitting position. He quickly lost his balance however and tipped off the side of the bed and hit the floor with a thud. Fluttershy wasn't sure what to do, so she just waited for Myst to fade back into reality. Eventually, he crawled back up. "Fluttershy?" He said, confused. He was looking at her like she was a total stranger to him, "Oh." He eventually realised that he was back in the cottage. He wasn't really sure what to say to her.

"I'm sorry Fluttershy." She just stared at him. Was he crazy? He could've choked on that tape.

"Myst, why did you tape your mouth shut?" She asked. Myst took a second to answer, glaring at nothing in particular before he realised he had been found out. He looked at Fluttershy. Her mane was frazzled and her eyes were slightly squinting, eager to seal themselves shut for the night, and angry at their owner for not allowing such a luxury. Regardless of her physical appearance, Fluttershy was maintaining a look of concern. The kind of concern nopony had greeted him with in a long time. He sighed and walked around his temporary bed. His steps were unstable and he was shaking. For a second one of his hooves lost its place and he hit the floor again. He pushed himself into a kneeling position, with Fluttershy trying to help him up. He shrugged her off though. He finally stood and quickly regained his strength, partially. He took haggard steps down the hall, as he began to speak,

"You don't deserve to be kept up all night, Fluttershy." He reached the bottom of the stairs. He pushed around through bookshelves, looking for a specific novel he had in mind, to help pass the hours until morning. He found it somewhere in the back, it was a little dusty, but she had quite a lot of books, so it was to be expected. He placed War and Peace on the table and resumed speaking, "I'm not normal if you haven't noticed by now. Sometimes I'll go a week barely sleeping at all, but you need to rest. That's just fact. And it's not fair to you for me to be muttering and shouting all night, regardless of how you always say you barely hear it." The sounds she heard were muffled by the walls, but that didn't stop her from worrying, hoping it would stop. It never stopped. Sometimes, she would listen to Myst screaming, and thoughts would dart through her head like, what if he's being attacked, or what if the nightmares traumatise him? Yet each day Myst would get up, usually at one o' clock in the morning, and he'd be fine. Three hours of sleep, maybe four. That's what Myst had been running on for the past week and a half. Every day he'd be more nervous than the last. He'd pace constantly, glancing at his calendar like he was expecting it to attack him at any moment. Recently he had started sending Fluttershy back to bed, pretending to go back himself. After she dozed off again he'd creep down the stairs and read a few novels. He'd quietly make himself some tea, sometimes he would even leave the cottage and fly around. Then he'd land on his favourite spot, a little hill near the border of Ponyville. He'd lay there on the grass for a little before he'd just kind of wander through the streets. He'd find the nearest bar and temporarily drown his worries underneath a sea of cider and other assorted beverages. It got lonely sometimes. He wished he could go back to sleep but he could never bring himself to experience the nightmares a second time. Yes, it was very lonely, but he was used to it, he barely felt it, anymore…

"Maybe it's best if I just find somewhere else to stay." He finally said. Fluttershy could feel her heart crack. He wanted to leave? No, he needed help, her help. She was his only friend. He'd said so himself. If he left, who would take care of him? Myst was not as stable as everypony thought. She'd seen him one night. When he thought no one was watching,

She peered through a crack in his door. He had dragged himself out of bed, collapsing onto the floor of his room. Then he staggered to his feet, glancing around… and whacked his head against a wall, right where the beam was so that it wouldn't leave a mark. Were his nightmares so horrible he was willing to concuss himself just to stay awake? Then he walked, no, shuffled over to his door. Fluttershy had sprinted behind the door of her room, pressing her head against it so she could listen for him. Myst walked over to Fluttershy's door, and also pressed his head against it, listening for her to make sure she hadn't heard him. She held her breath, waiting for Myst to be satisfied with the results. He soon left, tiptoeing down the stairs, and sitting on the floor. He had sighed and then proceeded to put the kettle on, as hot as he could get it. He waited for a few minutes, and poured the scalding hot water into a mug, but instead of steeping it, he just drank it straight up. He downed the boiling hot water in a matter of seconds. Fluttershy had almost let out a gasp at that. That water could've led to internal injury. However, Myst didn't even flinch. He just breathed out as steam came rushing from his mouth, filling the air. She followed him out of the cottage and found that was not the end of Myst's misfortune. He had hit up one of the few bars in Ponyville and got into a fight with four other ponies. He didn't fight back, though. He just let himself get beat. Over and over and over again. He got stomped on, choked, battered, everything imaginable. But he just took it, his expression never changing. After the four had beat him to the afterlife and back, he just walked back to the cottage, and sat on the floor. Fluttershy had to sneak through a window, but when she went back to her room, she didn't hear another sound, not so much as breathing. She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it. What was he doing to himself, why was he doing it? Why would he want to put himself through that. He didn't deserve this.

"Fluttershy?" Myst asked. "Are you okay?" She looked at him, distressed, weak, looking like she had suffered a great pain,

"You can't leave." Myst saw Fluttershy's distress. What had he done? He didn't want to leave. Fluttershy was his only real friend, but he was destroying her. She wasn't getting enough sleep. She was dedicating too much of her time to him. He wasn't worth it… He didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve anything, let alone a friend that actually cared. He wanted to just leave, to get out of her life. He was going to hurt her if he stayed any longer.

"Fluttershy, why are you so upset? I'll be fine." He said, trying to sound sympathetic. Unfortunately it had been too long since he had felt sympathy for anypony, and it came out as more of an annoyed than concerned tone. Fluttershy sniffled, readjusting herself for a moment,

"No, Myst. You won't be fine. I know you." She said. "You act like you're just shy around other ponies, but that's a lie. You're not shy. You're hiding something. Something big. Something you feel like you can't share with anypony lest you risk dragging them in as well." Myst stood there, his brow furrowing. He actually almost felt angry. This pony thought she knew him. She was in for a rude awakening then.

"Why do you think you know me so well Fluttershy?" He began to say. His change in tone startled her and she backed up a little, looking Myst right in the eyes. "You know far less than you think you know, and most of what you do know is a lie." This really hit Fluttershy hard. Obviously he lied to her, but about how much? Was Myst even the pony standing in front of her, or was he merely an illusion created by the pony in her home to draw away her sight. She wanted the old Myst back. The one that would come picnicking with her and her friends, The one that would teach her about ancient equestrian magic, the one that would read aloud to her when he inevitably woke her up in the mornings. Where did that Myst go? But she couldn't find him.

"Myst... What's wrong?"

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into, Fluttershy. Get out now. I will only warn you once. If I told you everything, absolutely everything I know, you'd run away without giving it a second thought." Fluttershy did feel scared for a second, but underneath the anger and torment, she knew he wasn't bad, and she wanted to help him through whatever his problem was, and she was pretty sure she knew how,

"Myst. Do you remember back at Twilight's castle, when you tried to sneak away from us, and I followed you out the door?" Myst didn't know what she was planning, but he went along with it.

"Yes?" He said.

"You stood there, and you waited for me to leave." She said, her voice changing to a much more melancholy tone. Myst wasn't sure what was happening, but she was definitely achieving her goal, he felt bad, really bad. Like he had just committed a heinous crime. "I didn't leave though, did I? I mean, I couldn't do that a friend." She waited for a response.

"No," he said. "I guess I couldn't either." He understood then, what she was saying.

"Exactly." Fluttershy said, "You need to stay, and I need you to stay, so why leave?" Myst smiled. This might just turn out alright.

Fluttershy and Myst walked into Bon Bon's sweet store. Myst pushed open the door and held it for his friend, who thanked him before turning her attention towards the six ponies chatting among themselves. She expected Myst to be a bit shy with them, so she went to announce their arrival. He jumped right in though,

"We're here!"

Everypony turned around, expecting to only see Myst, but to their surprise, Fluttershy was accompanying him. They weren't going to complain, though. The more the merrier.

"Hey Myst, hey Fluttershy." Lyra said, beckoning them over. Sitting at a few tables were Derpy and the Doctor, Lyra and Bon Bon and two female ponies Myst had seen before, but never got their names. One was an elegant looking brown earth pony with a purple g clef for a cutie mark and the other was a white coated unicorn with a scruffy looking blue mane and two eighth notes attached by a beam for a cutie mark. She wore bulky headphones and dark sunglasses. He walked over to them and Fluttershy introduced him.

"Myst, this is Octavia." She said. The brown pony, Octavia, stood up to shake his hoof.

"Octavia Melody, nice to meet you." She said. The other pony, Vinyl, seemed a little distracted though. Octavia cleared her throat, hoping to catch her attention. After that didn't work she tried calling her by name, softly at first,

"Vinyl." There was no response from the unicorn, so she resorted to yelling. "Vinyl!" The unicorn looked up for a second to see Octavia looming over her. She smiled cheekily and stood up. She shook Myst's hand, not saying her name. "This is Vinyl Scratch." Octavia said. "She doesn't talk a lot, but we love her for it." Vinyl smiled, and Myst chuckled.

"It is good to meet you both. My name is Myst." Fluttershy and Myst pulled out the chairs at the nearest table, turning them to face their friends before sitting down.

"So what have you two been up to?" Myst's friend, the Doctor asked. The two didn't immediately answer. They looked at each other, non-verbally agreeing that it would be best to skip over the events of the morning. That was something they would sort out amongst themselves, privately. For now, they would just talk about their days,

"Well, as you all probably know, Fluttershy is letting me stay with her, and, I'm thinking of applying for a position at a school in Manehattan." Myst said, a bit more chipper than he was in the morning. Fluttershy almost let out a 'what?', but she didn't want to seem like she didn't keep up with her friends. She could ask later. She went ahead and talked about her day.

"And the Veterinarian's office is offering me a full-time job." She said. Unfortunately, Myst didn't understand the facade she was trying to maintain, that they were good friends with no problems. Of course, she was perfectly fine discussing personal matters with her friends. It was Myst she was worried about. Sometimes he could get a little, depressed. Well, not depressed. He was just a little shy, or, antisocial, or both. No, he had problems communicating with other ponies, particularly pertaining to his personal life. Yes, that was it. But he was very honest when he wasn't lying. Okay, Myst was a very strange pony to describe, but he was very endearing, and kind to everypony. He would always rush to the aid of anypony who needed it, with military precision too. Bad things didn't happen very often in Ponyville, but when they did, he was always the first to try to fix things. One time, a baby bird had fallen out of its nest, somehow surviving the relatively long fall. After Fluttershy had looked it over and confirmed that it didn't break anything, Myst climbed twenty feet up a tree to put it back. He succeeded, but ended up falling, but didn't break anything. Fluttershy thought he was rather odd herself, but regardless of his odd nature, Myst was incredibly gifted at most things, except anything that required cooperating with other ponies, he wasn't even good at team sports.

"Really? When did that happen?" He asked.

"Yesterday." Fluttershy said. "They were eager to take on more staff, and I think I'm going to accept it, I mean, they really seem like they could use the help." Myst complimented her on her choice of career, and soon they were on to a different topic of conversation. Nothing slipped through. Everypony thought Myst was perfectly normal, except the Doctor of course, but he had known better from the beginning. Everypony seemed a little too eager to pry into Myst's life so he changed the subject. It turned out that Myst was excellent at changing the conversation topic. In fact, it was quite a novel idea. He changed the topic, by not changing the topic.

"Speaking of living arrangements, are you and Derpy living together yet?" He looked at them expectantly. Derpy looked like she nearly fainted, and the Doctor just stuttered, over and over again.

"No. Of course not! Why would you think that? I mean, why would we? That doesn't make any sense!" Whooves spat out, finally. Myst just lowered his head, and raised his eyebrow. The two were very uncomfortable sitting next to each other all of a sudden. They shifted around, glancing at each other but immediately turning away every time they accidentally locked eyes. "Now." Myst said. "Who's next?" The group spent the next half hour chatting, with Myst tactically poking fun at them every few minutes. His presence breathed life into the room. In fact, if you were to ask an observer, they'd tell you Myst almost reminded them of Pinkie Pie. He seemed to shine when surrounded by familiar faces. Everypony chatted with each other for a little while longer. They talked about how Vinyl, Octavia, and Lyra were going to try to collaborate on a group concert. They also talked for ages about Derpy and the Doctor's adventures, which everypony in the room was familiar with, even if they had tried to keep it under wraps for a while. And finally, they talked about all the crazy things that had happened in Ponyville over the years. Myst picked up on everything and instantly catalogued it. He was very good at storing information. Eventually, Myst decided that there were more exciting places to be. He invited everypony out for ice cream and paid himself. Everypony quietly ate their frozen treats, making light conversation, before they all parted ways. Myst and the Doctor stopped to chat for a quick minute before he caught up with Fluttershy. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Derpy and the Doctor walking side by side, much closer than they had before. He chuckled to himself,

"Mission accomplished."

"When did you become Mr Matchmaker?" Fluttershy asked, curious as to Myst's odd behaviour.

"Oh, come on. They're perfect for each other. He's been bragging about her for ages, I'm just trying to speed things along." He replied.

"That's adorable, Myst. Just be careful who you try that on."

"I feel so powerful."

"What's with the change in attitude? This morning you were just about ready to burst."

"What can I say? He's an old friend. Friends do everything they can to make each other's days just a little more awkward, before fixing the problem later."

"Is that so?"

"Of course." Fluttershy was surprised. This pony, almost inspired her. He seemed to radiate kindness and warmth, and she could tell his heart was filled with the purest of intentions. Even after all of the nightmares, the lack of sleep, the weird magic attack when he had arrived, he still found time for trivial things like helping his friends with their relationships. He was pushing through his life with nothing but the desire to make everypony happy, except himself...

The two cruised back to Fluttershy's cottage, Myst returning to his regular demeanour of low interest as the walked on. The place was still in immaculate condition, and Myst took up a comfortable position on the couch. He couldn't think of anything else to do for the day, so he decided to do some precognition. He pulled out his worn piece of parchment, his calendar, and spread it out on the brown kitchen table.

"Come here, Fluttershy."

"Yes?"

"We're going to do some precognition."

"Why, Myst? Is something wrong?"

"No, but do I really need a reason to foretell the future?"

"I guess not." Myst handed Fluttershy a pencil from a drawer nearby, gave her a two by two patch to write in. He went off to another section of his calendar. He didn't have anything in particular to draw, but he knew how best to manipulate the object. He doodled for a little while, drawing miniature circles and squares, around the outside ring. That was the thing about his prophetic device, the closer to the centre he drew, the more accurate and important the predictions became. And the more they pertained to his life in particular. He never drew anything in there, unless he knew it would be important. The squares and circles turned into tables, it looked like a pub or restaurant. He had no clue what that meant, but it was inconsequential. So he just let the map erase his writing. He looked over at Fluttershy. She was drawing her friends, quite well, if he did say so himself. Her eyes widened in wonder as they came alive and started to walk along the paper, hopping over into an inside ring. Now Myst was intrigued. They walked over other prophecies and black parchment until they reached the second to inside ring. They strolled into Twilight's castle before the picture faded away...

"What does that mean, Myst?" She asked. He wasn't paying attention to her speech, however. Ever since they had jumped a ring deeper he had catalogued its descent. This could be very serious indeed.

"Myst?" He snapped back to attention, realising Fluttershy was trying to communicate with him,

"Yeah."

"What does it mean?" She reiterated.

"You're going to visit Twilight soon?" He said, complementing his careful lie with a raise of his brow, meant to represent confusion.

"That's it? You kind of spaced out there for a second."

"It's just interesting, but don't worry about it." He said. Fluttershy decided to drop the issue and she continued to quietly draw in her patch. The two spent a little while longer before Myst got bored. To most, his calendar was a sight to behold, a wonder in its own right. But to him, it was just another part of his life, a time killer at best, and he had other things he would prefer to do. For a few minutes, Myst just quietly tapped the table, whistling an unfamiliar tune, before he finally got a little too bored and asked Fluttershy a question,

"Do you want to go out for lunch?"

"Huh?" She replied.

"Lunch. I thought it would be a nice way to get to know this place better."

"Oh... yeah sure."

"Great, you mind leading the way? I don't know any good places to eat. Don't worry, I'll pay."

"Well, okay. I guess there is this really nice-"

'Myst.' What? Who was that? Was somepony there? Myst glanced around nervously, expecting company. The only ponies in the room, however, were him and his host, Fluttershy. He was near positive that he heard something. He tried to tune back into the conversation. Nopony needed to know.

"It's got great decor too. So what do you think?"

"Sounds great." Myst didn't have any idea where thye were going, but...

'Myst. What are you doing?' Who was that? The sudden appearance of an intruder within his mind terrified him, quietly though. He could not alert Fluttershy, she would only worry. He had a lot of problems in the past, but nothing like this. He had always been positive that everything he had seen and heard, were real. Now, though, the equation had changed. He was sure. He pushed the issue away for a moment. He looked over to see Fluttershy standing, heading towards the door towards their destination. He trotted over to her, searching the confines of his mind for that intruder. He was found, and dredged out.

'What makes you think you deserve this?' It asked. 'You think because you've been such a good pony, that all of a sudden you deserve peace? Don't make me laugh.'

'Who are you?' He thought, hoping the voice could understand his thought patterns, He was given no response. In place of one, all he received was a horrible pain in his head, akin to being slammed against a wall. His walk became more of a slow stagger, until he could no longer support himself, and fell against the doorframe, which was luckily vacant, with the door being open. Fluttershy rushed to help him stay standing.

"Myst! What's wrong? Can you-"

'Ignore her, she is not important.' The voice had returned, louder this time. Commanding its presence over his mind. 'What's important is that you remember your place.' The voice chanted knowingly. Myst felt his vision begin to go. 'You belong in the dark, and that's where you will stay, indefinitely.' The darkness that had once only clouded the corners his peripheral vision overtook the rest of his sight, plunging him into pure blackness.

"Myst!" He felt something cold and hard press against his torso...

Did it happen, had it transpired? Was it done? He found himself in a room. A table adorned the centre, that was it. The room was filled with what he assumed were the forms of ponies all around him, huddled into small mobs. He, however, stood alone. There was an eerie silence filling the room. Shadows, given shape by candlelight, stretched across the walls. He could feel an immense sense of pain wash over him. What happened? Why was he in despair? Doors busted open and the news arrived, news not fit for this world, but correct nonetheless. Despair flooded into the room, the forms of ponies around him stooping their heads. He recognised this place. Location was hardly worth noticing, though. To him, there was nothing but the messenger. A messenger of sorrow. What else could be expected, though?… He knew nothing else.

-7 DAYS LEFT-

Chapter 10- Preparation

Myst didn't sleep very well, which he expected, considering the voice that was now embedded in his mind. What was it? What did it want? He awoke, but he didn't yell or scream. His dream had been more of an abrupt shock than long lasting terror, and as such he never had time to experience the pain. He was grateful. He wasn't sure if he was up for company, that night, though. He had a lot he needed to think through. He waited a few seconds, regaining his strength, waiting for his muscles to relax. He shuffled off his bed and walked to his door, trying to be quiet so he wouldn't wake Fluttershy. She was his host, and she needed her sleep. She had pulled a lot of late nights with him over the past week and a half, and he wanted her to get some rest. He opened his door, taking a deep breath, and walked over to the stairs. The second step down was very noisy when stepped on, so he carefully manoeuvred himself down the stairs, skipping that step to minimise the chances of Fluttershy waking up. He reached the bottom, and he sat down. He didn't want to, he simply felt odd. It was like a sinking feeling in his stomach. He recognised it and immediately began to worry. he tried to get back up, but his legs simply couldn't support his structure anymore, for some reason. He felt his chest begin to tighten and his eyes begin to dry and tear up simultaneously. His left shoulder closed in on itself, tensing and tightening and he rolled onto his side. He spread his legs out so that he was half sitting on the floor. The pain became more intense. His throat began to ache, mucus welling up inside of it as if he had swallowed a piece of broken glass. He felt that throat pain become a cough, but as he let it out, he found the floor coated with a crimson substance. He shook violently, reaching out towards the lacquer to identify it. Myst held his hoof towards his eye. Blood. It was blood. He glanced up at his map, still laying on the kitchen counter.

"What do you need from me?" He asked pleadingly. His eyes began to slowly drift shut, but he forced them to open. "What's wrong?"

He dragged himself back up and walked over to his calendar. There was no doubt about it. It was calling him, it required something from him. He pressed himself against the table, blood dripping from his lip, onto the paper. It immediately took shape. Myst and the calendar were bound, and his blood formed the deepest connection between the two. It was the essence of his very life. He coughed, more blood came out, and the calendar took that as well. He coughed again, and the calendar greedily sapped that away too. He watched as it collected the liquid, using it to draw its sick prophecy. A house, and a garden. Brilliant orange flowers that blossomed and expanded, consuming the entire page before constructing a village. A small village with little houses. Myst was dragged in by the visuals. He wanted to stop. But the train had left the station a long time ago. He was trapped, and this... thing wasn't helping him.

'Myst.' The voice was back. It was starting to become too much. The visuals of his map mixed with the twisted chimes of a mysterious voice in his mind. 'It's trying to help you, Myst.' The calendar swept away the village in an instant, reconstructing it into the town known as Ponyville. It was obvious what it wanted. It wanted him to stay, build a life there. It wanted him to fight. He couldn't, though, he tried so hard but it was pointless. He couldn't stay, he wouldn't allow himself to stay. 'Look at that. Your calendar wants you to stay.' Myst thought about it for a moment. Ponyville... was it worth all of the effort?

No.

"You know I can't do that." Myst seemed to forget that the voice was inside his head, and he began to speak aloud. "I don't deserve it."

'And why not?'

"I took the easy way out. I compartmentalised. I cut everypony off and let my own desires consume me. I pursued my goals at the expense of everything around me, everything. My friends, family, my soul..."

'See? That's not that hard to accept, is it? And it'll all be so much easier when,-'

"When what?"

'Nothing.' The voice vanished from Myst's mind, the usual dull ringing that accompanied it disappearing completely. Myst shakily veered his head towards his calendar. It wanted to show him more. Its power was overwhelming, and it wasn't wasting said power. Ponyville vanished again as a room composed entirely of fractals appeared, infinitely expanding deeper and deeper into a realm of nothingness, shrinking but never stopping. Forming a curved, twisted line accompanied by deep spheres. The calendar dragged him into its twisted world. No longer could he see the table or the room in his peripherals, it was just the room, the fractal room. He recognised that place, and he wanted out. Whatever his calendar was predicting, he didn't want it. He tried to walk away, but the parchment just dragged him back. It had a hold of him, bonded through blood. Myst watched as his friends once again walked into Twilight's castle. But this time, they stopped. They didn't enter the castle, they just vanished... representing an event he would have to witness on his own. Suddenly, the blood pooled an exploded off the paper, coating his coat and releasing him. Myst flew back against the floor, feeling an immense sense of relief as the power the calendar had placed him under was released. He moaned painfully as he fought to catch his breath. The marathon of magical power that had just run directly through him was brutal. It hurt like a thousand tiny knives bearing down into his flesh. He had to go, he had to reset. Things were getting out of hoof, and it upset him. He just hoped his friends didn't believe he was going to stay. Most likely they would never see him again. That also upset him. He didn't know how he was going to tell them all, that he wouldn't be coming back. He wished he could map everything out, make a spreadsheet or something, but he didn't have any paper. For a moment he just sat on the floor, blood soaking into his coat, before he decided to try to stand. He needed to do two things before Fluttershy got up. He needed to check on the flowers, and he needed to wash off all of the blood.

Myst walked out into Fluttershy's garden to check on his flowers. It took him a moment to find the location of the seeds he had planted, considering they probably hadn't sprouted yet. Plus, they were surrounded by other vibrant plants. Hedges and flowers, and even a willow tree, which only aided in blocking out the moonlight. Eventually, he did find them, and he didn't see anything, not so much as a sprout. That was a pleasant thought, he liked it when they bloomed later. It didn't make a difference, of course, the flowers always bloomed in the end, but he wanted them to wait for a while. He began to walk away when one of the patches where he had planted the flowers did begin to shift. It was about time. He wondered how big this one would bloom. Would multiple? The flowers tended to have a low survival rate. Such a mystery, they were. Natural beauties, but when they finally did blossom into mature flowers, which could take years in some cases, they lasted maybe a few days, if you were lucky. The dirt continued to shift until at last a small sprout burst through the soil. It was so beautiful, even if it was just a seedling. Now these flowers grew fast, and this was quite a sizable specimen, so he estimated that the flower would bloom within… seven days. Quicker than he would've liked, but maybe that would be a good thing. At least Fluttershy would be able to enjoy them. Now then, he needed to get rid of, the other problem, which would be that his coat currently resembled a cherry tomato. He trotted off, to find some sort of water source. Perhaps there was a riv... oh, well that was convenient. There was a stream right next to Fluttershy's cottage, just large enough that the blood could be washed away without saturating the water.

Myst dipped his head into the water, soaking his mane, much to his dismay. He could sometimes spend hours trying to get it just right, but when he did style it properly, a bath or shower was just about the only thing that could undo it. He'd be in the bathroom until sunrise. He dipped his hoof in the water. It was lukewarm, slightly colder than the air, but he didn't mind. He swished it from side to side, letting the blood run off of his white coat, watching it return to its usual sheen. He stepped in completely, letting the water soak all four of his hoofs. He felt overwhelmed, and the water felt very nice, the current, the small pebbles on the bed of the stream. He didn't see the need in taking his time, so he simply laid down on his side, letting the water run past him, almost reaching his nose, but leaving him just enough room to breathe. He had to keep one of his eyes closed to not let the water in, but other than that it was incredible. It was like nothing else in the world. The stream had absolutely no significance in his life, It was literally just a stream. It made him relax, loosened up his tense muscles, but other than that the stream served no purpose in his life. He could see the cottage from where he lay. For a second he thought he left a light on, but then he just realised it was a firefly. He loved those brilliant little insects. He was hoping more would show up, and they did, but it was gradual. It wasn't instant like he hoped. They did fly rather close to him, though, and now he was experiencing something else. It was a sense of peace he rarely got to experience. There was something broken about him, that he never shared with anypony. He was a lazy kind of pony, but not in the conventional sense. He poured plenty of effort into everything he did, but there were lines he refused to cross, for one reason or the other. And even for the benefit of others, he couldn't cross them without help, help that he refused to accept. And so, in an endless cycle, he would need something, or perhaps somepony else would need something, but he couldn't help them, or himself. His friends would try to push him through it, but he couldn't, he wouldn't, and other ponies would suffer because he tried to force his way through problems to protect himself. The stream was kind of ruined now, but he needed to wash the other side of his body. He flipped over, but systematically, this resulted in the waking of his host. They took to the air upon this disturbance, flashing brightly and disturbing a particular yellow pegasus.

Fluttershy woke up, glancing around her room for the cause of the visual disturbance that spurred her awake. It was three o' clock. Why was she up? Myst was usually up by one or two o' clock, and she didn't usually wake up until seven, so this time didn't really make sense. Maybe it was just one of those days where you woke up a bit earlier for no real reason. She quickly realised this was not the case when she rolled over and noticed the fireflies collecting at her windowsill. She smiled at the innocent little insects, blinking away feverishly. Fluttershy kicked off her covers and sauntered to the windowsill. The landscape was very beautiful at night, but something was off. The fireflies weren't all at the windowsill, some were gathered around the stream out back, gathering around some sort of mass in the water. Was that Myst? It sure did look like him, so what was he doing in her stream? She watched as Myst shook himself as to scare away the fireflies before he stood up, so none of them would get wet and drown. Very thoughtful on his part. He stood up, his mane dropping to the sides of his head, no longer in its usual position. It looked unnatural, but not necessarily unwelcome. He stepped out onto the grass, laying himself on his side to just relax. Fluttershy was tempted to just keep watching him, for some reason. Possibly because she never got to see how he acted when she wasn't around, possibly for another reason. But she wanted to talk to him more than she wanted to observe him. Fluttershy quickly darted out the door and trotted over to him. He didn't even bother to look at her. Myst just did his best to not doze off while he relaxed.

"Myst, is everything alright?" Fluttershy asked quietly. He seemed to be in a better place at the time, so she didn't want to pull him out of it by raising her voice too much.

"I don't know why you always worry about me. I'm totally fine, Butterfly." Myst muttered. One of his cheeks was pressed firmly against the ground, so his speech came out slightly slurred.

"Fluttershy."

"Isn't that what I said? I'm just a little stressed out, it's no big deal."

"Really?"

"Fluttershy. I'm always stressed out. I've got so many skeletons in my closet I had to buy a second." He mumbled. She laughed at this comment. It was hilarious how open Myst was about having problems, but how firm he was with not discussing them. She was pretty sure she could get him to open up, though, with a little persuasion.

"I'm sorry about that. It must be hard." She said soothingly. She laid down next to Myst, facing towards him so the two could talk.

"Yeah. It's tough, but things are alright." He replied. "I like your stream."

"I can see that."

"Oh, yeah sorry. I got all covered in mud, at one o'clock in the morning, and I didn't want to run any water in the cottage."

"Well, that's very thoughtful of you. Do you know what's up with the fireflies?" She asked.

"I don't know. Usually, fireflies just blink, but they seem extra cheerful tonight. I'm not sure why, but animals have always seemed to like me. Probably because animals are quite easy to please. Just be friendly and don't give them any reason to not trust you." Myst reached out and let one of the fireflies land on his hoof.

"I know, right? They don't judge you based on your morals or your dreams. All they see is you, trying to befriend them, and they appreciate the effort." She replied. Myst smiled.

"Yeah." He said, strained, as he rolled over onto his back. He stared up at the stars, suddenly groaning in pain as he felt the effects of being slammed against the floor by his calendar. He let out a small gasp of pain that Fluttershy immediately caught.

"Are you hurt?" She asked.

"No, not really."

"Where?"

"I said I'm fine."

"Is it your back?"

"Do I have some sort of tell that lets you know I'm lying?"

"Yeah, it's kind of obvious."

"Alright, fine. I did hurt my back. I slipped in the mud and pulled something. So I figured I could kill two birds with one stone and wash the mud off as well as take care of my injury. Because, you know, cold water helps with an injury."

"I... don't think it was mud."

"Dear Celestia, are you kidding me?"

"Come on, just roll over. I'll help."

"How?" He asked as he agreed to her terms. When he did, though, he immediately discarded he had previously thought was heaven, because this had to be it. Fluttershy began to press her hooves into Myst's back, massaging it in an attempt to relieve the tension in his muscles. She was looking for tense muscles, but she didn't even have to look. All of them were tense. Literally all of them. They felt hard as stone. It was as if his entire body should be failing, but something else was holding it together.

"Oh, wow. You are... really good at..." Myst never bothered to finish his sentence. Fluttershy was almost scared by how pent up he felt. Well, somewhere around three or four hours of sleep a night would do that to somepony. He seemed to be enjoying his massage based on his expression, but he still felt stiff everywhere. She worked over his shoulders as Myst tried to mumble something out.

"Whye you s'nice t'e."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Why are you so nice to me?" He asked. "We barely know each other. Don't you think this is a bit, intimate?"

"I'm just trying to help you relax, don't worry about it. And besides, you know me pretty well. Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" Myst considered this for a second. It didn't really seem like a big deal at the moment. He could afford this one luxury.

"Um, well, I'm roughly... how old am I?" Myst was having trouble figuring out his age. Fluttershy didn't interrupt him. Myst was odd in just about every sense of the word. So him forgetting his age wasn't really that surprising. "I guess I'm twenty-... three? Maybe twenty-two?"

"Oh, young and stressed out, are we? Usually youthful vigour runs out at around forty-five, at least in my experience, but you seem to have burnt out especially early."

"I thought Pinkie was the funny one. Right there, thannk you." The beginning part of the sentence was about her, the last part was about the massage he was receiving.

"That's not very nice, I'd like to consider myself funny."

"You're shy too, right? When I met you, you seemed kind of boxed in. You're like a different pony than the one I met at the fountain." Fluttershy stopped rubbing Myst's back, much to his dismay. But he kept it to himself. "Is that better?" She asked.

"Mhmm." Myst hummed. He sat up next to her, looking up at the moon. Fluttershy explained to Myst her situation,

"I don't like crowds. They make me nervous. It's like everypony's watching me." Myst could definitely relate, he was more of an introvert as well. Well, that was something he could talk about.

"Yeah. I understand. I've always been a bit uneasy around lots of ponies too. There's just too much to do. You feel like you're not making any real connections." The fireflies had flown away by then and the only light the two were getting was from the half moon.

"Wow. That's actually a really good way to put it." Fluttershy followed his gaze. Myst wasn't sure what else to talk about, so he just picked a random topic, "I hate strawberries." He said solemnly.

"What?"

"I dunno, I guess I just really wanted to tell somepony. It's been weighing on me for quite a while. To me, they just taste like syrupy water. I also play the piano, quite well I would say, and grasshoppers are the only insects that scare me. You know, with those evil little mandibles." Fluttershy chuckled. Grasshoppers, of all insects.

"It's nice to hear a bit about you, Myst." Fluttershy chimed.

"Well, I'd like to be more friendly, with ponies. I've always been kind of..."
'Hello there, Myst.'
"Oh no."

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked

"He's back."

"Who?"

"The voice in my head."

"You have a voice in your head? Myst, that's serious-"

"Wait, I think he's gone." Myst paused for a moment, halting his movements to check for the voice's vacancy.
'Not quite.'
"Dammit. Sorry Fluttershy, I have to take this."

"Take what? Myst?"

'Ignore her, we have something important to discuss.'
"What? What do you want? I'm busy."
'I didn't mean to intrude, it's just that things might get out of hoof. You're getting very close to that yellow pegasus. Butterfly, was it?'
"Her name is Fluttershy. And she's just an acquaintance."
'Whatever, all I know is you seem to be enjoying yourself a little too much, here in Ponyland.'
"Ponyville."
'It doesn't matter. The point is that you shouldn't.'
"Why?"
'Have you really forgotten already? We had a deal, way back when.'
"What are you talking about?"
'Me and you. We're connected. I'm here because you wanted me to be.'
"Why would I want you to be here, in my mind? It's an invasion of my privacy."
'I know. That doesn't really matter though. I'm in here because you let me in. We had one rule, Myst, and you broke that rule. Don't tell me you've forgotten already?'
"...Oh, right. how could I have forgotten about you, voice?"
'It happens sometimes, don't worry. But you do remember, don't you? Your punishment, I can recite it to the letter.'
Myst sighed. How had he forgotten? "Which one?"
'Yours.'
"Yeah, I remember that one."
'So, then you know why we can't continue on your current course.'
"Yeah, protecting the innocent and all that. I guess I just hoped for more, in my life."
'We both did, Myst. So, are we in agreement?'
"I suppose. Just... I can't hurt her, alright?"
'It's alright, I understand. Just, don't trap yourself, okay?'
"I won't. I promise. Thanks for reminding me, I guess."
'Don't worry, we're not enemies. We're coworkers.'

"Myst? Are you alright? Do you need to see a doctor?" Fluttershy asked. She was very concerned right now. Myst was quirky, sure, but now he was crossing a line. He was hearing voices. This could be indicative of a serious problem.

"A doctor would take one look at me and declare me dead on the spot."
'Myst, no clever jokes that reveal a small truth about yourself.'
'Okay fine, just go away.' He thought, trying to drive the voice away.
'Don't worry, slick. You just give the word and I'm gone.'
"You don't look that bad to me."

"I'm not, I'm just a little stressed out, but thanks for coming to check up on me, you can go back to sleep now."

"That's alright. I think I'm just going to watch the moon." She replied. It was obvious she just wanted to keep an eye on her friend, considering he was hearing voices just a minute ago.

'This is bad, Myst.' The voice said. Myst watched the moon with her while he did his best to think up a strategy. There was one thing he could say, that would be sufficiently scary to put some distance between them.
'I think I know how to end this, voice, but it could be risky.'
'I understand. Your thoughts have been made known to me. Do what you have to do.' Myst turned to face Fluttershy, donning a serious expression. Sighing quite aggressively as he prepared to sever his only real connection in a long time. He could feel his heart rate spike, akin to the feeling one receives when they're about to speak in front of a large crowd.
"Fluttershy. I'm trying really hard here, to let you off."

"Off what?"

"This. All of this. Just go back to sleep. I'll be gone when you wake up, okay?"

"Why? I want you to stay here, it's the least I can do to help. We're friends, aren't we?" Fluttershy would've been plenty comfortable letting anypony else find somewhere different to stay, but Myst, he had issues he clearly wasn't going to address on his own, and he needed a guiding hoof. She wanted to be it.

"Yes, we are friends. Stop playing the friend card. I'd be your friend if that was an option. It's not, however. My pain will seep into your reality, slowly at first, until it becomes your entire life because that's what I do, I ruin lives. It's my curse. I don't mean that figuratively. It's my curse, absolutely no exceptions. Every single town I visit, sorrow will be wrought; disaster, chaos, death... It is no stretch of the imagination to say I'm the most dangerous pony in all of Equestria." Myst paused for a second and stood up, Fluttershy following suit. She looked very divisive. Myst could understand why. There was no going back now. "Everything, I've seen everything. Sometimes only a few will die. Sometimes dozens. Once there was a hurricane at a town on the coast. fifty-seven died, and it was my fault. I can't stop it or control it. It's random, any day of the week it feels like striking, it does. I can usually predict it, but what can I do to stop it? It learns. A spell that learns, the most powerful spell in existence, some called it. Everything I do to stop the pain is in vain. I've tried everything, I've even tried to end my own life. Nothing worked. The only way I can reduce the damage is to cut myself off from everypony. Make no connections. This curse is meant to slowly torture me until the day I die, and if I don't forget about you, and your friends, one of you is bound to die.
No. Not one of you.
You will die."

Fluttershy froze, ramrod straight. She would die. She would die. The words seemed to echo around in her mind like a cavern. Myst was going to kill her, just because she wanted to help him. He needed to get out. He needed to leave forever. The spell would come for her, and kill her, and her friends. And then... it would kill another set of ponies. It would kill some more, wherever he went. He couldn't do anything to stop them.

"Myst. Why does that matter?" She asked, suddenly realising her goal.

"Huh?" He replied.

"I said, why does it matter?"

"Because you'll die."

"Yeah, I guess I would." Along with a lot of others if I don't do something... "But I think it would be worth it."

"What do you mean? Do you not care about your life?"

"Yeah Myst, I care about my life. I also care about my friends, acquaintances, the ponies down the street, the ponies in the next town, the ponies in Canterlot and every other city in Equestria. Everypony. More ponies are going to die if we don't fix this." Fluttershy took a breath, looking Myst in the eyes, those icy blue, glowing eyes. "You talked not too long ago, about your overwhelming sloth. About how there are certain lines you're not really willing to cross. I want you to get rid of them. I want you to gamble with my life, do what you have to, but together, I want us to end this curse. We can talk to Twilight. We can talk to Sunburst, if I have to, I'll get us an appointment with the princesses." Myst was dumbfounded. How could this be Fluttershy? The Fluttershy that was terrified of strangers, let alone death. She was sealing her doom without even knowing it, and she didn't seem to care.

How was this going to work? How could he carefully navigate out of her life? She was so naive, thinking any of them could help. Now she was only strengthening her emotional bond towards him. And the stronger the bond, the more aggressive the spell would be, the more it would want to kill her. No, kill was too nice of a word. Myst could see it now. An earthquake. She'd get her wing stuck underneath a piece of rubble from a collapsing building. The search crews would look for her but in the end, after four days, she'd finally succumb to a combination of dehydration and dust inhalation. That, or asphyxiation from lack of air, but that would take maybe an hour. Myst looked at the pony standing in front of him. He saw nothing but determination in her eyes, those beautiful blue eyes. He couldn't destroy something so pure, so naive and innocent. The mere thought of her death as a direct result of his actions sent horrid vibrations through his spine and down into his liver. No. He would have to... no, he couldn't do that. It would leave a print. And he couldn't make her hate him. That would only cause conflicting emotions, even easier for the spell to track. He had to find a way to make her forget him, or not care about him. But the two had formed a close friendship in the few days they had known each other. He didn't have time to formulate a plan, so, for the time being, he pretended to just drop it for the time being,

"How about we go back inside?" The water from the stream had reached the intersection of his skin and fur and it was incredibly cold, the harsh night air wasn't helping that either. Fluttershy nodded and the two went back inside. Myst fetched himself a towel from the bathroom and collapsed on the floor. He actually had to go get something first before he began to formulate a plan. Perhaps he could take out a loan. That would keep her safe.
'Don't take out a loan, Myst.'
"Why not?"
'It's too dangerous. Don't worry, though, I'll help you think of something. We'll get your notes and see what we can find.
"Thanks. You know, when you first appeared, I expected you to be a lot more sinister."
'Don't worry, I'm just here to help.'

Myst and Fluttershy walked down the gravel street heading towards the grocery store, the small stones crunching beneath their hooves, neither saying a word. Fluttershy was still thinking about her new friend. She was walking next to what amounted to a disaster magnet. Eventually, something would come to attack him, and it could be anything! Maybe it was best if she cut him off, made him find somewhere else to live. She would be safe, that was something. Really, what was the point in keeping him around? He was a danger to her and her friends. What if the thing went after Twilight or Rarity? They could get hurt, all because she couldn't just let something go. No, she had made her choice. She was going to help him end this spell. Myst didn't seem to believe in her, but she was confident, that with her connections to powerful unicorns and practicers of magic, she could get him the help he needed. Perhaps she should talk to Starlight? She was very well versed in obscure magic. Although she hadn't seen her as of late.

"Hey, Fluttershy." Myst derailed her train of thought. "I'm sorry, I needed to tell you. Like I said, you're my only friend. Every second I hid my secret, I couldn't help but worry about the ramifications of my actions. You are the first pony I've trusted in a long time with what you've learned and I consider your friendship a sacred gift that I can never repay." Fluttershy beamed. This new information shed a lot of light on Myst's morals and values. Hundreds had died because of a terrible curse he couldn't end in any way. But he still tried his hardest to cover it all up and leave fixing his issues to himself. It was both honourable, and kind of irresponsible, not allowing anypony to help him. It was as if he wanted the curse right where it was. Fluttershy wondered, for a moment, how long it had been since he had an actual friend.

"Thanks, Myst." She said. "Don't worry, I won't kick you out. We're going to fix this, together." Myst smiled. Fluttershy was a timid pony, but her words were always concise, and she committed to everything she said, throwing all of her faith into them, never doubting them. He could appreciate that. They continued to walk along, but eventually, Myst stopped for a second. He looked at Fluttershy, who also stopped, for a moment the two stood there, the yellow pegasus not understand why her friend had stopped. Myst pulled her into a tight embrace, wrapping his left hoof around her neck as he closed the gap between them. He held her there, for a second, on the street, before he said something,

"Fluttershy. Thank you, so much, for trying." Myst almost whispered the words, as if they were only ever meant for her. Fluttershy felt her heart stop for a second. There was something about her new friend, the way he was speaking. It was pure emotion, completely untouched by opinion or fact. It was simply what it was. Myst marvelled at how beautiful his friend was, trying to soak up every detail about her, knowing that he would have to leave, and soon. Her coat was soft, like a silk drape and she smelled like... strawberries, but he could overlook that... Actually, no, he couldn't. That hug needed to end promptly. He let go of her, kind of reluctantly. Fluttershy was inspired, in a way, by Myst. He tried so hard to keep everypony out of his life, to protect them, but even when one slipped through the cracks, like her, he showed them nothing but the best of him. He did deserve friends, he deserved the best. Neither of them knew what to do, so they just continued towards the grocery store. They were nearing their destination, so they could pick up some supplies for dinner, and afterwards, Myst was going to split off and grab his notes. (he had told Fluttershy he was treating himself to lunch) Then he was going to head to Pinkie's to help her plan a party, even if he did have a horrible sense of colour, and an even worse concept of 'fun'. Still though, he was determined to get to know his new friends a bit better before he cut them off. After all, the Elements of Harmony represented a type of magic he was not very familiar with. Who knows? Maybe if he was really lucky he'd meet them again after he left Ponyville. They did seem to travel a lot, probably due to the frequency at which the map had been calling them to different locations all across Equestria. He glanced around as he walked alongside his friend. His stay was going on two weeks, not that long really, but for some reason, he felt like he knew this town inside and out. It really was beautiful. She, his host, was also-

Myst shook his head, trying to get rid of the bad thoughts. No, no nononono. He couldn't think of the pony beside him as anything but a temporary companion. He trotted a bit ahead of his completely platonic friend. He tended to walk a bit faster than your average pony, so he often had to slow down to keep pace with everypony. He was used to being in a hurry, so the concept of having plenty of time was lost to him. He did slow down, however, not wanting to run off on Fluttershy. They approached the convenience store, the enchanted doors automatically opening. They actually seemed to startle Myst, who back up a bit after they opened for him. On his way in he marvelled at them, as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world. Fluttershy decided to ignore him, maybe he had never seen them before? Geez. Somepony was out of date. The building was very plain looking on the inside, lots of white, with numbered shelves dictating various items in certain locations. Fluttershy pulled up a handy shopping list Myst had thrown together. The groceries were all in order of where they were located throughout the store for maximum shopping efficiency. Fluttershy was starting to wonder if Myst actually had a day job. They went through the isles, Myst taking one side of the shelves and Fluttershy taking the other half. Once again, Myst's idea. This pony did not mess around when it came to groceries, did he? Fluttershy grabbed some cucumbers and coriander for dinner and Myst got a little preoccupied when he thought of a 'brilliant' idea.

"Hey, do you think if I tranquillize myself or something, I'll sleep longer?" Myst could be so random.

"Um, Myst, don't you think that's kind of dangerous?" Myst stopped for a second, counting quietly to himself before laughing.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Look at me. I've got a doctorate of medicine and I can't even remember how bad stuff like that can mess up your sleep patterns." Okay, seriously, what was wrong with Myst? Fluttershy wondered. Why would a schoolteacher need a doctorate? She decided to just ignore it and the two finished up their shopping, with Myst getting a little bit distracted when he saw what a huge variety of herbal teas they had. He tore through the shelves for ten minutes, complaining about how nopony had his favourite kind before Fluttershy finally pried him away. They paid for everything, or rather, Myst tried to pay for everything but Fluttershy declined, wanting to pay herself. They eventually compromised and split the bill after the cashier started to get a bit annoyed. Myst then offered to carry all of the groceries back to the cottage, but Fluttershy said it was fine and that he should go help Pinkie with the party. She knew he was trying to repay her kindness, but he had already done enough. Little did she know, that wasn't the case at all. He simply sought to make her happy, before he left.

"Isn't this exciting? Are you excited? Cause I'm excited! I've never been so excited! Well, except for this one time that I went- *gasp!* But really, what could top that?" Pinkie had descended into another one of her rants upon Myst's arrival at the local cafe, the location of the party. She tended to get kind of, excited when it came to parties. The oak tables had all been pushed to the sides of the room to give everypony space to get things ready. The room it was hosted in was quite simple. There was a grey countertop, behind which the kitchen was situated in another room, and the windows on the front of the coffee shop ran near all the way to the hardwood floor. There was a lot of brown, but it worked quite well, giving the place an elegant charm. Helping with the party as well were Rarity and Rainbow Dash. Dash was there to help hang streamers and Rarity was just looking over the colour scheme. Who the party was for was a mystery, and Myst honestly couldn't care less. He was just there for something to do. Everypony would look at him weird if he just sat down in the middle of the street, which he tended to do a lot when he was bored. So he headed to the back of the room and pulled out a big piece of paper with lots of numbers on it. The entire thing meant absolutely nothing, but it looked complicated and very important. Nopony bothered him for about ten minutes, but unfortunately Myst had gotten lost in thought and his icy eyes, which he forgot really stood out against the rest of his features, hadn't moved one inch the whole time. Eventually Pinkie bounced on over to him.

"Hey there Myst! Do you wanna help us with the party?" She asked.

"I would Pinkie, but I've got a lot of work to get done." He said in response, he forgot that Pinkie was scarily observant.

"If you're so busy then why have you been sitting here, reading the same number over and over and over and over again, silly?" She asked. Damn. Why did he always forget the little things? Which actually reminded him he forgot to buy sugar at the store. "I mean, I like the number six as much as the next pony, but ten minutes? Don't you think that's kind of overkill?"

"Well, you got me there." He said. He stood up, grabbing some streamers sitting in a box and flying them around the cafe in an arrangement he thought looked acceptable.

"Darling, do you really think those bright yellow streamers should be used as something other than accents?" Rarity interrupted. Myst looked at them from the floor, the streamers would look a bit out of place to most, but Myst was completely oblivious. He just looked at Rarity with a confused expression. "That's alright, just try not to draw too much attention to them." Myst flew back up and rearranged the streamers once more. But he could immediately garner from Rarity's expression that he had done it wrong again. And so he took them all down again and fixed them once more. Rarity simply continued to give a series of disapproving hms and nuh-uhs.

One Hour Later...

Fluttershy walked into the cafe, looking over the work of Pinkie and her friends. It looked wonderful, well, except for the streamers. There was just something off about them… She turned her attention back to her friends, and walked forwards, but she bumped into some sort of fuzzy mass on the floor. She looked down to see Myst laying down, face pressed against the floorboards.

"Myst?" She asked, concerned for her friend.

"sfmf mm" He said, with Fluttershy not being able to understand him, due to his position, which was muffling his voice.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" She asked, leaning in closer. Myst flipped his head around so she could hear him.

"Save me."

"Please. He's being such a drama queen." Rarity said, somewhat ironically. "All I had him do was fly around and rearrange the streamers a few hundred times. Nothing too major." Fluttershy gave her a glance that meant she needed her friend to carefully go back over her words. Rarity soon realised how exhausting that must've been, and quietly apologised to Myst. Myst had never felt so exhausted in his life. He could feel the need to sleep weighing down on him. Pinkie walked up to Rarity and Fluttershy. "Okiedokie. The party's in about half an hour, so could you- t- go- g-t Tw- her voice faded as Myst fell into unconsciousness, the weeks of inadequate sleep finally taking their toll.

Snow fell across the stark white valley. Myst didn't know where he was. Was he in a dream? No? His dreams were usually muddled, confused, but always horrifying. This was different. This was sharp, clear, and defined. He could even identify his own consciousness within this false reality. He looked around. He could see nothing but the crystalline forms falling around him, coating the ground. He wandered for a little while, but he didn't feel like he was going anywhere. He glanced around again. Nothing changed though. White everywhere. He checked the horizon one last time, and standing in the distance was a figure. He turned his body to face the figure, trying to identify it from a distance. It looked to be a silhouette of some sort of figure. The snow stopped, freezing in midair, accentuating the seriousness of this encounter, and what it would signify. Myst paid it no heed though, he was focused on the only unique individual in all of that warped reality. He walked closer and closer to it, the edges of his vision distorting as the image became the only prevalent image in his mind. Soon it began to make sense. It was a pony, a stallion to be exact. Some sort of unicorn with a red coat and dark brown mane flicked up all the way down his neck…

Hugo.

No.

-6 DAYS LEFT-

Chapter 11- Hopes and Dreams

There was a strange smell permeating the air. What was it? Strawberries? Not strawberries. Anything but strawberries. There was one fruit Myst could not stand and that was strawberries. He opened his eyes, cursing that aroma for daring to inteerupt his less than peaceful sleep. When he did though, he quickly discovered the party had begun without him. He looked up, his mane falling over his eyes from not being properly brushed that morning. He scanned the room before looking at the ceiling. The streamers were definitely the worst part. He averted his eyes from the monstrosity that was his interior decorating skills and focused his attention on finding his friends. There was Pinkie, by the snack table, and Rarity talking to some ponies he'd never seen before, Twilight was talking to Rainbow Dash, who was looking very confused. Maybe he could help translate. He was fluent in both scientific and normal Equestrian. And besides, he didn't hang out enough with those two. Then again, the only pony he ever did talk to on a regular basis was Fluttershy. Oh well, expand your horizons right? Just, hopefully not enough to form any kind of attachment. Just enough to get some information would be ideal.

"Hello." He said. The two turned to face him, with Twilight speaking first.

"Oh, hey there Myst. Glad to see you're up." She said, with Rainbow Dash trying her best to supress her laughter.

"Up?" Myst asked, obviously confused.

"Did nopony tell you?" Rainbow said, not being able to contain herself any longer. "You fell asleep at the front door, and Applejack had to drag you behind one of the tables. But when Cloud Kicker came in, you started snoring." Myst was not amused, but he could admit that probably was quite funny. He could've sworn that there was something more urgent to attend to. Something incredibly important that required investigation, but he couldn't remember. Did it have something to do with his dream? It was probably just his calendar acting up again. The thing practically had a mind of its own, and it could be very annoying when it wanted to be. Very annoying. One time it genuinely woke him up at one thirty in the morning, just to tell him that he had a dentist appointment… in ten hours. Sometimes he just wanted to throw it in a fire, but it didn't burn, or tear, or get soggy, or even crease. It was just one big indestructible alarm clock. It even invaded his dreams sometimes. For the moment that was the least of his concerns though. That smell was burning his nostrils.

"Do you two smell strawberries?" He asked, intent on finding the source of his problem.

"Yeah," Twilight said. "that's the cake. How long were you asleep?" Myst was doomed, he couldn't just leave, that would be rude. He was trapped, in that room, with the evil cake.

"Oh, okay. Guess I must've dozed off for awhile." He wanted to say more, but he really had nothing else to say. He knew who the party was for, and he knew where that annoying smell was coming from, but that was what friends did, right, made light conversation? Maybe he could talk about… Oh, there was Fluttershy. Well, now he definitely wasn't staying. "Well, I'm glad I could amuse you for a moment. Farewell." The two said goodbye and went back to their conversation. Myst walked off, heading towards his best friend. He approached her, only to realize she was talking to fairly large group of unknown ponies. This would be risky. He didn't like strangers. Well, at least, he didn't like the idea of strangers getting to know him. They asked way too many questions. He decided against it. Sure, he enjoyed her company, but it was really only her company that he enjoyed. He walked off and sat at a table nearby, doing nothing of particular interest. He just sat there. After a few minutes though, he grew restless. He began tapping the table and glancing around, searching for something more exciting to do. Oh no... He was getting bored, wasn't he? No, no way. There was no such thing as boredom for him. He never got bored. He had numbed himself to that concept. There had been days where he had done nothing but stare at a wall ceaselessly, but now after a few minutes he felt bored? He eventually gave in to the boredom and sought out somepony to talk to. All of his friends, barring Vinyl and Lyra, were present. And so he got up from his table and walked over to Pinkie, to congratulate her on another exceptional performance. This party could be defined as 'spectacular' by another. Of course, Myst was never one for parties, he preferred other means of entertainment, such as dinner parties or tea parties or really any other kind of party as long as it had some sort of word in front of it. He approached Pinkie. He knew he shouldn't be making too many connections, but he was hoping to learn more about the Elements of Harmony. Perhaps Pinkie would be the one to ask. She didn't seem like the type to dig too deep.

"Hi there Pinkie, nice work with the party." He said.

"Thanks, Myst! You know, I work really hard on these parties but I think some ponies become desensitised since I've thrown so many. You know, kind of like the law of diminishing returns, but with parties. You know, I've actually made a formula for this. The amount of fun per party not incorporating variables such as a number of ponies there equals the number of parties thrown in a week dived by (parties thrown in a week minus zero point nine). Cool right?" Myst was impressed. That did make a lot of sense. Though he was confused as to how one could quantify something as situational as the enjoyment of an event. It seemed more subjective.

"Very interesting." He said. This pony was very intriguing, to say the least. "So, how are you?" He asked, knowing he would need to segway into the conversation topic of the elements naturally. He couldn't force it.

"I'm doing just dandy Myst! Well, for a second I thought that Cloud Kicker wasn't going to show up and then I would've planned this entire party for nothing and then I would've gotten really sad, and then I might not have been so happy and then this wouldn't have been any fun at all!" Myst could relate. Work was something he didn't take lightly. He never did anything that required work if he didn't believe it was going to achieve something productive.
"Well hey, it's not like you haven't achieved something amazing already. You are an element of harmony." He said. "How do those things work anyway?"

"Oh, well... They seem to repel evil, so long as they're gathered together. I guess it's just our strong connection as friends that makes them go. Why?"

"I was just curious. I've never heard of anything like it. That's all, thanks." He wondered to himself, if it was possible the elements could break the curse. Then he would be free to... No. He could think about that later. He went to discuss something less high-energy with Octavia, or maybe Bon Bon. He spent the next hour bouncing around the party looking for ponies to talk to and getting dragged back into the party by Fluttershy every time he tried to escape. It would've been so easy to just, walk away. But he couldn't bring himself to overpower her. Eventually, Fluttershy decided to just talk to Myst.

"You really don't like parties do you?" She asked.

"I used to," He said, "but now they just annoy me. I had a very exciting life in my early years, but lately, I've decided I'm done with excitement. Now I prefer simple things, like card games, or… I dunno, sleeping?" Dear Celestia. Fluttershy thought she was low energy. But Myst took that concept to the next level. Oh well, maybe he had a bad experience with parties, along with all things fun?

"Yeah. Me too." Fluttershy said. It wasn't totally a lie. She much preferred tea parties to parties like the ones Pinkie threw. But it was almost like Myst didn't want to have fun. "So, have you been enjoying Ponyville?" She asked. She hoped he had been enjoying his stay. She knew it must be hard when any second a tornado could wipe out everything he loved.

"Yes. I have been enjoying my stay here, as best I can." Something was wrong. Myst didn't seem to say those words with any hint of joy. In fact, he actually sounded kind of sad. She felt bad for him. It was obvious he wanted to just live a normal life, but there was too much in the way. He regained his composure within a few seconds though, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "You've been very nice to me, along with everypony else. Thanks." He said, smiling weakly. Fluttershy could sense something was wrong.

"Are you sure? You seem upset." She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just… nothing." Myst seemed to deflate a little, as if he had just received horrible news.

"Come on, Myst, you can trust me." She said. Myst looked at her. He wanted to talk to her, but he couldn't this time.

"I'm fine, really. I just remembered something I have to do, it's very important." He lied. But luckily for him, Fluttershy bought the story.
'Alright, what next?'
'Go find her friends.'

"Oh. Okay." She said. That would explain it. That happened to her sometimes too. "Just checking in on my friend." Myst's smile returned. In fact, she'd never seen him happier. Then again, smiles were rare when it came to Myst. It was like there was always something weighing him down.

"Thank you." He said, very sincerely. He walked away, smile still plastered on his face. Step one complete. It was quite fortunate that all her friends were gathered in one place. He walked up to them, trying to maintain his smile.

"Hey there Myst, you look particularly happy today." Applejack said. And now for the final phase.

"Yeah…" He said, drifting off for dramatic effect. "It's just that Fluttershy has been really nice to me over these past few days." He mentally apologised to her for what he was about to do even though she couldn't possibly know what he was thinking. "I, I kinda think I'm falling for her." He walked off, desperately hoping they'd take the bait. He positioned himself in the corner of the room so that the five would have nopony to discuss this with but Fluttershy.

Eventually, Pinkie couldn't contain herself, and she bolted over to Fluttershy, with her friends following her example, not being able to suppress their need to share this new 'information'. Myst made his escape whilst the crowd of ponies conveyed this 'revelation' to her. He didn't really have anywhere to go, but he didn't want to be in there. Then he remembered, this would be an excellent time to fetch his notes.

Myst worked alone. The cafe owner had told Pinkie that they could clean up the party supplies later, and that he would just close down the cafe in the meantime. Myst had snuck in, though, when nopony was looking. Now he was locked in the cafe, with some serious work to do. Well, that's what he deserved. He picked up a broom and began to sweep. He was glad that the windows all had blinds and he had tended to the front door by covering it with streamers. It looked like it was all part of the party décor. He continued sweeping for an hour, collecting every last scrap of confetti. He cleared the tables, took down the still ugly streamers hanging from the ceiling, and then sought out some air freshener to get rid of that putrid smell from the cake. After he had tended to that he examined the walls. They were covered in glitter. He would've liked to wash it off with something low pressure, but he guessed he would have to sweep it off. He took his broom, dusting it off, and started his work on the walls. It was annoying because some of the glitter wouldn't come off. He had to go through the walls three times to clear all of it. Eventually, though, the cafe looked normal. He rearranged the tables to where they were before, and he sprayed down the entire area with air freshener one more time. He hated strawberries, hated them. He picked the lock on the door, something he had taken upon himself to learn, but he did get it unlocked eventually.

Myst strolled out of the cafe, fixing the lock so that the door was still secure. He then made his way back to the cottage, so that Fluttershy wouldn't worry. He cruised in, closing the door behind him.

He kinda wished he had spent a little longer cleaning though. Because there was Fluttershy, looking very agitated. He gave her a cheeky smile, hoping he could just sneak away. Nope.

"You're kidding me right?" She said. Myst knew that stunt was going to bite him eventually. Better soon than later.

"Sorry." Myst said, really meaning it. It must've been really annoying dispelling all that false information.

"I had to spend ten minutes trying to wrestle my way out of a crowd of my friends who kept bugging me about something you said. I cant even remember. Umm. Something you said about falling for me." She said.

"Sorry, but, I needed an effective distraction." Myst said.

"Really Myst? Most ponies don't leave parties in the first place, let alone throw their friends at their other friends for a suitable distraction." Fluttershy was getting irritated.

"Once again, I'm sorry Fluttershy. You know I don't like parties, and I remembered something, and it just ruined my day, okay?" He said that last word with an unexpected, scary kind of enthusiasm. Fluttershy knew Myst's past was like a minefield, you had to be careful, or you'd hit something you didn't want to. But Fluttershy was done with that. And she'd be damned if she let Myst sneak away again. She was his friend, and it was her duty to provide moral support, comfort.

"No. Not okay, Myst." She said. Myst was taken aback. "You need my help. And because you won't ask for it, I'll just help you without your permission." She said in that half yelling half whispering tone that Myst kind of feared. She was pushing. Nopony had pushed him any further than he had let them before. Well, that's what friends did, wasn't it? But still, this was different. This was something only one other pony knew about, and she was long gone. This was something he was hoping to take to his grave... Wait. This could be it. If he chose his words carefully and thought everything through. He might be able to convince her that he was too guilty to stay, then he'd leave, find somewhere else to stay, and mission accomplished. She'd be safe. As long as none of his emotional bonds was too strong, the calamity that would seek after him wouldn't be too dangerous, likely it would still claim lives, but hey, at least it wouldn't be her's.
'I think I have an idea.'
'I hear you. I think you should go for it. She's too innocent. We can't let her get involved.'

"Fine then." He said, he still didn't enjoy ponies prying into his life like it was a library. Then again, this was Fluttershy. If anypony deserved to know his secrets, it was her. "If you really want to know my life, I will divulge it to you, but may I tend to something first?" He asked.

"Sure. But, please hurry Myst. I'm worried about you." Fluttershy said, concerned with how badly Myst was trying to avoid the issue. Myst nodded and walked off, heading to the guest room. Once he reached the room, he began to pack. He had very little. It would all fit into his saddlebags, which he hated wearing. But he'd be living out of those for a little while until he could find more permanent lodging. After all, this story would mark the end. The end of his secluded life, and the end of his only friendship. Regardless of how sympathetic Fluttershy felt, she would never be able to look at him straight again. And even if somehow she managed to forgive him, he would never forgive himself. And so it ended here. he seriously regretted teaching her so much about ancient magic. That was a family secret. He should've just shut his mouth. Instead, he let the desire to feel some sort of connection cloud his thinking. Myst could feel his heart rate beginning to speed up. He could no longer hide from his fate. He walked down the stairs and looked at Fluttershy. The two sat down and he began his story.

"It all began when a unicorn was born."

Fluttershy said nothing. She just stared at him. What was she supposed to say? She pushed too far. "Myst." She said. "I'm sorry, but please, don't let it change anything." She tried so hard, he noted. Oh well, her efforts were in vain, and he really didn't care.

"I wish it didn't have to." He said. He walked back upstairs to grab his things, before leaving through the front door. She cared so much, or at least, she pretended to. There was no way she actually still cared, was there? Not after that. He hoped it was the right decision. What if she went to the police? No. Celestia would handle that. He was safe, and, so was she. Myst stopped once he reached Ponyville, sighing very audibly. He did it. He had figured out a careful way to minimise the chances of her getting involved. He wandered about, not wanting nor needing shelter, but eventually succumbing to his desire to sleep on a bed. He checked in to a motel and unpacked his things. He spread his calendar out on the floor, along with eight old notebooks. His notes, they were key to unlocking the secrets of ancient magic. Eight treasures of his bloodline. He didn't feel safe having them lie on the floor, so he locked them in a cabinet. He verified some dates and drew in some images on his calendar. Nothing particularly useful to him, but he was bored and lonely, and he didn't like it there. But he had to leave. It was too dangerous for her. He wanted to return to the time before friends before he had the urge to reach out to others. It was almost a blissful time. But he had touched heaven and now Equestria felt more like a prison. Oh well. There was no point in sulking. He collapsed into his bed and let sleep take him away from cruel reality…

Again? Where? The field, again. Interesting. This time, there were many towering trees. It wasn't so much a field anymore, as a forest. It seemed to stretch on endlessly in every direction, almost completely blocking the dim sun. The air itself seemed to be covered in a dull gradient, slightly obstructing his vision. He looked left. In the distance, there was the outline of a pony, except less red, more of a jet black colour. It seemed to be the exact same dream, except for the pony in the distance and the forest. Myst glanced around. Once again, nothing was happening. He started walking, but for some reason, the scenery moved with him, making it seem as if he wasn't moving at all. He assumed, that he was being forced by the confines of his own mind, towards the shadowy figure. However, the closer he got, the more distorted the mirage became. Soon it looked like two, then three, until finally, four ponies stood before him. He recognised their composure and builds; their mane styles as well. No. Not them. Please. He soon found them walking past him, towards something in the background. It was him, wasn't it? It would've been best if he didn't turn around. After all, he was lucid. He could just... not. But he couldn't. He knew how the story ended. Myst shifted himself so he could face them, trying to move towards them, but finding himself unable to move, some greater force holding him in place. He looked up and saw a massive cloud of darkness swarming towards him, propelling itself towards his shadows. He knew it wouldn't help, but he called out to them. They took no heed, as the typhoon of darkness hit them and him full force. He strained to see as the shadows disappeared one by one, clearing the trees and blowing away the landscape like dust, leaving nothing left but him, nothing but him. He didn't need this. He tried, he tried so hard. Please...

-5 Days Left-

Chapter 12- A Simple Solution

Myst awoke. Exhaling heavily as he tensed his muscles and began to roll out of his bed, tossing aside the covers. He teetered over the edge of the mattress before falling for a brief moment and feeling his face impact against the floor. He suddenly felt a sense of dull pain come rushing in, his body reminding him that he was a total idiot. It gradually intensified as his senses returned and he worked hard to stand himself up. He checked the time, 2:41, and proceeded to make himself some coffee, as there was a coffee maker in one of the cabinets. Likely to help ponies just like him, that couldn't seem to get going in the mornings. He let the coffee sit as he turned on all of the lights, blinded by the sudden intake of colour. During that split second when the light entered his eyes, he thought he could see his shadow, but... it was too small. It didn't look like a full grown pony. And it's mane looked like... The lights finished turning on, with his eyes quickly adjusting, casting aside any sense of fear Myst had just felt. He rubbed his eyes, glancing over to where his shadow was. Yeah, it was just him. Myst ignored the strange feeling he had just experienced as he stumbled over to his drawer slowly and clumsily, collapsing onto the cabinet, resting one hoof on it before feeling around for the key. He grabbed the small object and wrestled the drawer open, rifling around for one of his notebooks. He aggressively ripped out the old and worn out book and threw it on the area rug, collapsing beside it as he pulled it open, only to be met with a heavily encrypted text. Of course, it wasn't that hard for him to decipher, considering he grew up with it, but if somepony else got their hooves on it, it could take days to figure out, long enough for him to get it back. He slowly flipped the pages of the book, looking around at nothing in particular. This particular book was a history text, one of the most complete and accurate in Equestria. Historians would probably pay hundreds of thousands to get their hooves on it. Myst happened to find that idea inspiring. Somepony willing to go so far for the sake of their passion. A frown crept onto his face as he closed the book, the old parchment giving off a somewhat loud clap when closed. He tried to throw the book back into the drawer, nonchalantly playing a game of hoofball with ancient artifacts, but missed completely. Instead, it landed near the base of the cabinet, sliding slightly under. Myst knew he should fix that, but didn't really feel like it. Instead, he grabbed a grey, somewhat tattered hoodie from the closet, one of the few items he kept with him. It was old and losing its colour, but he never intended to get rid of it. After all, what kind of a pony would dispose of something so valuable? He slipped it on, leaving the hood down, as he was only wearing it to keep himself warm.

Myst gently opened the door of his room, doing the best he could to not wake anypony else, as he was sure the majority of the hotel would not be too fond of waking up at his usual hour. He snaked his way down to the lobby and opened up the doors, feeling a blast of cold air hit his face, which served to reawaken the pain from falling on it earlier. He tried his best to ignore the constant biting sensation and started off on a walk. Where? He wasn't sure, but it beat reading until the sun came up.

Myst really was quite bored. And there was nothing to be done about it. Frown still plastered on his face, Myst decided to head into the park. He took in the sights of the trees and plants, the very faint smells of flowering plants working their way into his nostrils. He noticed many small animals that were not concerned with his presence, simply continuing their nighttime routine. It was quite shocking to him, seeing so many animals still awake at this hour. His frown turned into more of a neutral expression, the sight of nature warming him up a bit. He sat against a tree, letting his mind wander a bit.

'You bored?' The voice had returned, but Myst was aware of its origin and purpose, so its presence was not bewildering in the slightest.

'Yeah.' He responded, hoping it may have some way to kill the time.

'Would a story help? I have many to tell.'

'Sure. Why not?' The voice vanished out of his head, along with the dull ringing that constantly accompanied it, before it returnd no less than a minute later.

'Ah, yes, here's a good one.'

"What do you mean he's gone?"

"He left early in the morning, we had no idea."

"But that's your job! All I asked was that you keep an eye on him!"

"Hugo can take care of himself. He's full grown now. I'm sure wherever he is, he's living a good life."

"Princess Celestia. We may have a problem."

"And what might that be, sir?"

"We think he took the books."

Myst recalled that memory in perfect detail, down to expression on each of their faces.

'Yeah. She ate like fifty litres of cake that day.' Myst recalled.

'She was really stressed out.'

'Well, can you really blame her? He took the notes.'

'Yes. I suppose that would warrant panic.' All this talk was reigniting very strong feelings from Myst. Images from his earlier years popping into his head like slides. An idea suddenly overtook him. It had nothing to do with the conversation, but it would certainly give him something to do.

'Hey, I just thought of something I can do!' Myst said with obvious enthusiasm.

'Don't have fun.' The voice remarked.

'Shut up. Nopony asked you.' Myst said, the damage from its words already evident in his mood.

'See you later.'

Myst decided to find a twenty-four-hour shopping centre of some sort so he could endlessly browse the aisles. Who knew? Perhaps he'd find something he wanted. Though the chances were low. He had about twelve personal possessions, everything else was stored elsewhere, or had been lost at some point. He then proceeded to find a single store that was open and tear through the aisles looking for something he might buy. He then went back through again, trying to identify the cheapest item, along with the most expensive. He managed to fish around the store all the way to sunrise. It was then that he decided to get back to his motel room in case housekeeping came along and found his books. He trotted out of the store and headed back to the motel, which was only about a twelve minute walk away. He walked past two ponies in the lobby and shut his door. He was feeling rejuvenated from doing nothing for so long and decided he might even add something to his notes. He flipped back open his book and tried his very best to recall any signigfigant event in Equestrian history he could write about. He didn't get very far.

Knock knock.

His train of thought was completely derailed after somepony began feverishly knocking on his door. Who could that be?

"Room service!" The pony called from the other side of the door. When Myst had checked in, he had been surprised to learn that the motel offered room service. Then again, one could hardly call it a motel. It was more like a small hotel. Apparently, with all that had transpired in Ponyville over the last few years, along with its rich culture and variety of top of the line stores and restaurants, Ponyville had become a very popular travel location. Thus many savvy business ponies had erected hotel structures in the area. They had been kept small though, to fit the style of architecture. Myst couldn't have cared less though. As long as they continued to offer ridiculously overpriced and highly caffeinated tea, he was fine. Myst opened the door, only to be met with the last face he wanted to see. Well, second last. It wasn't room service. He should've guessed from that poor impersonation of a Canterlot accent. Standing at the door, were Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Myst didn't even blink. He just slowly shut the door…

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash slammed her hooves against the door. Myst didn't open it for her, he couldn't risk another conversation with any of those six friends. He walked to his window and slid it open, grabbing his notes from the drawer and stuffing them inside his saddlebags. Shimmying through the crack, soundless, he scaled down from the third floor to the first, nearly slipping and plummeting to what he could only imagine would be a broken leg. He sauntered into the foyer to check out of the hotel. As he was walking to the front counter, he noticed the mare working there suddenly flick her head up, standing at attention. Did she hear something he couldn't? If he had to guess Rainbow Dash had most likely tried to break the door down. What a fool. She had walked into the living space of a practical ticking time bomb-

Dear Celestia. He was staying in a motel. He could be such an idiot sometimes. 'Oh, I don't want anypony to get caught up in the disasters that actively seek me out, so I'm going to stay in a small building, surrounded by other small buildings, with dozens, maybe hundreds of ponies in them, I'm sure the tornado, or whatever the calamity would be, will just ignore them. That will help, certainly.'

Myst walked up to the counter, he needed to get out of there. He was threatening lives with his presence.

"I'd like to check out early." He said. He checked out of the motel, allowing them to keep any extra bits he had given them, and decided to head somewhere completely devoid of pony life, right after lunch. Myst wasn't really sure what he wanted to eat, so he headed down to Sugarcube Corner. He liked that place, though he rarely ate there. He needed to watch his weight, plus, sugar made him sluggish. Myst realised he was going to have issues not getting recognised by somepony. Fluttershy had obviously told her friends he had ran off, though he had no clue how they had managed to track him. Were they the ponies he saw in the lobby? Had he mentioned staying in a motel to Fluttershy? He zipped up his hoodie and walked along the street. Luckily for him it obstructed his face from everypony's sight. He got to the store within minutes, with no interruptions. He pushed open the doors of Sugarcube Corner, walking up to the counter, and glancing over the menu. It had changed a bit since the last time he had visited. How long had it been, a week? He decided on his order and approached Mrs Cake.

"Hi there, could I get... six apple turnovers?" he asked.

"Certainly." She said. "One moment please." She ducked behind the counter and soon returned with his order. "I'm sorry, do I know you from somewhere?" She asked.

"Um, well, I wouldn't think so! Because... this is my first time at a store- I mean, this store! I mean… Uh… No?" He stuttered out.

"Myst?" She asked, dumbfounded as to why the pony that had walked off from all his friends without so much as a goodbye was now ordering food from a pony he must have known had been informed of his absence. "Fluttershy is worried sick about you Myst, why'd you run off?" She didn't get very deep into her thoughts though because Myst was already running off with his order. The money was on the table and Myst was gone within a second. He ran as fast as he could around a corner, disappearing from town. He sprinted for a little before he slowed down near the border of Ponyville. He walked along the grassy fields outlying the town and found himself a spot he could eat at. He pulled out a thick black cloth out of his hoodie and rested it on the grass. He didn't want to get his legs all wet when he sat down. The time was sunset, and Myst was feeling surprisingly at peace. He assumed that was what came with having next to no responsibilities. All he had to do was find a way to keep the town safe. There was no way the disaster would be natural, which meant that it would most likely be… an angry mob? Maybe a flood? There was a river nearby, so maybe it would be natural. Either way, he needed to get to work. Right after he ate dinner, well, not dinner, but still. He needed something to eat… Yeah. He did need to eat. Myst looked up from his meal, noticing the small figure of a pony highlighting an area far away. Despair creeped over him in an instant. Why was he feeling these emotions so strongly all of the sudden? Was it because of how much he had strayed from his path? He had let himself forget. Look at him. There he was, having dessert for dinner, sitting on a blanket, enjoying a sunset? He didn't get to enjoy trivial things like that. He just didn't. He had made that decision years ago. It was over. No more. He tossed the blanket aside and threw away his food, travelling back down to town. He needed to plan ahead, for the calamity, he needed to minimise casualties.

Myst walked around town in his hoodie, still content to hide his identity. Where could he find sand? Sand, sand, sand, sand, sand… sand. He guessed there weren't any stores that specialised in sand. Was there a fabric store? He needed to find a source of the small coarse material, but there weren't any beaches in Ponyville, and that would take too long. He guessed he was just going to have to place an order. He headed to Derpy's house, the loctation of which he had actually learned from Fluttershy when he had lodged with her. Turns out the two of them were old friends. Not bothering to knock, he opened up the door. What he saw both shocked him and pleased him. Derpy and the Doctor were sitting on her sofa, with the Doctor wrapping his arm around her-

"Oh," Myst said, "hello." The two stumbled back.

"Wha?" The Doctor visibly jumped, hitting the ground very ungracefully.

"Myst?" Derpy said, bewildered by his sudden presence in her home. "What are you doing here?" Myst smiled knowingly.

"Just, checking in." He said. "I see you two are having a good time." Myst, unable to control himself, began grinning wickedly.

"Um… Did you need something?" The Doctor asked, pushing himself up into a standing position, along with Derpy, who hopped off the couch. Obviously, the brown stallion thought Myst required his services.

"Yes, I do, but not from you, Whooves, from Derpy." He said. The Doctor looked quite flustered, but also very surprised. Myst guessed that it was probably just an occupational hazard. Ponies probably came to him all the time asking for help. But it was Ponyville's local mailmare that he required at that particular moment. "I need you to deliver a message to the Canterlot Bulk Shipping Association." Derpy was a bit confused, but she just nodded. "Tell them that uh..." Myst struggled for a second to come up with a convincing name for a building company. He never was good with lying, or fake names, or fake anything. Fake IDs had been a particularly nasty pain. "That TLC Contractors needs a mass shipment of sand. Around 1800 kilos if they could manage. Here's the money in advance." He pulled out a small pouch, with a few coins in it. Derpy was only getting more confused by the second. She tugged open the pouch, there was no way that would be enough-

Geez. Were those ten thousand bit coins? Derpy visibly gawked at the sheer quantity. Sixty thousand bits! That sure was a lot of money. Was he trying to bankrupt himself? "Wow." She said, all other phrases seeming to flee her mind. Myst must've run some sort of construction company. There was something odd in the pouch though. A piece of circular plastic, about the size of a large coin. Grey, almost translucent. It had Myst's cutie mark burnt into it. Although Derpy was unaware of this fact, she had never noticed his mark before. She thought it might be in there by mistake, so she handed it back to him. "Here." She said. "I think you might've accidentally put this in the pouch."

"No." Myst said. "I always send that with my orders. Reminds them that their top customer wants his order fast." Derpy couldn't believe that Myst was trusting Ponyville's clumsiest mailmare with such a massive order. "Also, remind them to send the order to Ponyville, or just outside if there's no space. In large barrels, one meter by two meters." Myst was being very specific. But that was fine. She could remember that. She was certainly clumsy, but she could recite every single day it had rained or snowed in the last two years, her memory was just that sharp. She hesitated to take the money at first, it was such a large amount. What if she lost it? What if she got lost herself? But Myst trusted her. "Don't worry about the money. I trust you with it. I'm actually surprisingly well off for a substitute teacher. I run a construction business on the side." Derpy was relieved at this. He wasn't throwing all his money away, and he had full confidence in her. She pulled the pouch tight and set it on her table. "I don't need you to do it tonight. You can take it tomorrow. If you don't mind that is." It seems a bit of Fluttershy had rubbed off on him.

"Sure." Derpy replied. Myst smiled weakly. Feigning happiness was always a struggle.

"Thanks." He said. He began to walk towards the door before he was stopped by the Doctor.

"Myst." He said, walking towards him with a look of concern. "I heard you stopped lodging with Fluttershy. Do you have anywhere to stay?"

"Don't worry about me," Myst replied. "I found somewhere much nicer to stay." He thought he was getting a lot better at the whole lying thing. His only plan when it came to finding somewhere to sleep was to lay down on the grass.

"No, you haven't. In fact, I'm near certain that your only plan for tonight is sitting in a field." The Doctor said. Myst was dumbfounded. He thought he'd actually fool somepony that time. "You know if you need somewhere to stay you can sleep in the TARDIS." Myst was definitely not staying there.

"No thanks. To be honest I think she kinda hates me." Myst said. "The last time I slept there she cut off the supply of oxygen in my room."

"Well, your presence bugs her." The Doctor said. "She thought you were a threat. So she got rid of you."

"Tried," Myst said. "she tried to get rid of me. Okay? I know you think I'm helpless, but I'm really quite fine-" Myst held himself proudly, trying to assert his strength, and capability to support himself. His friend noticed this, a frown forming on his face before it clicked. It was back to that then.

"Right." The Doctor said quietly. He stepped out of Myst's way, finally understanding what he was doing. He smiled gravely. "Have a good time then." Myst pushed through the door, but as he went to leave, The Doctor put a hoof on his shoulder, pushing down hard, demonstrating his own strength. "You can't blame yourself forever, Myst." Myst stared at his friend coldly, his icy eyes burning holes through the Doctor's pupils.

"Yes I can." He shrugged him off and walked away disappearing into the cold night. His friend did nothing, he simply shut the door slowly and weakly, pushing his back against it and slouching in defeat.

"Doctor, why did you let him leave? He obviously has nowhere to stay!" Derpy shouted. The Doctor looked at her sympathetically, craning his neck as if it was some great struggle.

"Derpy. Myst's goals aren't straightforward like the rest of us. His desires are much different from what you would expect. He doesn't want a high paying job or a nice house. He didn't leave his friends because he wasn't happy... He left because he was. It's no use, I've tried,

but I'm afraid he might be lost to us forever."

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie walked into Twilight's castle. Fluttershy had enlisted the help of her friends with tracking down their elusive guest. The two trotted towards the map room, irritated with their inability to track him down. The only ones there were Twilight and Fluttershy, who were gathered around the map.

"Did you find him?"

"Well, yeah, obviously, but he somehow he got away!" Rainbow Dash said.

"I think he went through the window." Pinkie added.

"Then why wasn't he outside the motel when we checked?"

"I dunno, he's pretty sneaky." She said in a suspicious tone. Fluttershy looked utterly defeated, and Twilight was absorbing every word the two said. She seemed to be the only one who didn't think Myst was telling them everything. "He did leave something there." Pinkie Pie continued. "It's an old notebook or something. I can't figure out what it says. Maybe you can give it a try, Twilight?" She pulled the book out and tossed it to her. Twilight carefully opened the very old text, trying to be respectful of its delicacy and age, only to be greeted by a seemingly random assortment of words, some of them not even normal Equestrian. She flipped through the book and stopped when she found a spot highlighted. She quickly flipped through the rest of the book and distinguished that it was the only section highlighted. The text read as follows.

Zelferg (eer) (abs (s) esquire pub esquire qi (squieusuiei) yenfog (eo) alenzir (lei) ): Ferelirq. (el) have qeere. (veee) cevapriff (i) Pryori fogiven (oiorie) naff (af) no (o) ebb lonely (b#2,oe,l#2) flabby quevre (la,b#2,ue) Gava zir (aai) boss (os)

freive pore (e#2,o,e#3), 0031 OZR- 0001OZR. Fan gang haf (anaa) heck back (ekck) quev freeze viffiny: (uereeeii) Tyrar kyeny (yky) buse (ue) guard (ad) Neizil. (ii) Quevif pour bag vah req (ueio,u#2,r,e#2) freiv per (e#2) nase gre (ae) nap (p)

vapor veq rag (ore) jave guru (aer,u#2) rare zeal (ee,a#2) trap rent by. (p,t#2,b) Rag veritable (it,a#2,ble) food hanq (ooa) queer naq (ueea) been (e#2,n) zavn. (a) Pheel ragu (lu) fog nghf: (o) ZaVN (a) (Hand oy red (ded) gab (a) crest bez (t) qui hogl (uio)

vaq res vave grayl (eea) )

That made... absolutely no sense. Twilight assumed it was encrypted, running a few of the words through every cypher she knew. A caesarian shift, Rot13, morse, monoalphabetic substitution. Nothing seemed to work. What could he have written down, and, more importantly, why was she trying so hard to pry away at his private possessions? Was it because she still thought something was wrong? Regardless, she was going to hold onto this for a little while, to see if she could make some progress. Especially on that highlighted section. She got the impression that part was very important to Myst, plus, if he valued that book, he'd come looking for it, and they could ask him some questions, like why he would so heavily encrypt a simple notebook. What was in there?

"Um, Twilight? Are you sure you should be looking through that? It might be personal." Fluttershy spoke up, not enjoying the clear invasion of her friend's privacy.

"Fluttershy, I know you don't want to hear this, but there's a chance Myst could be dangerous. And if he is, I have to find out. I promise I'll only decrypt this little section here." She gestured with her hoof to the highlighted section. "It's just enough to find out a little about him. Chances are he's probably harmless, but I'm just double checking."

"Yeah. Harmless."

"Did you say something?"

"It's nothing." Fluttershy hung her head low, a certain amount of anger building up inside her quickly snuffed out by guilt. She thought about Myst, what he looked like, how he felt. She doubted he had many friends at any point in his life, it was just not an option for him. She had been one of the few ponies he trusted with his secrets, but she always wanted more, she was never content to just allow him his fleeting moment of happiness. So now he was back where he had always been, alone. Was it just fate? No, she couldn't believe that. Nopony should ever be alone, even if maybe it was for the best. She zoned out from the conversation around her, as he thought about those four or five times Myst actually had smiled. They were very special for her, they always filled her with this amazing sense of warmth and fulfilment. She wanted to feel that again. She was going to feel that again. She felt her strength return to her from an unknown source, determination to give that pony a home reignited her sense of duty. "I'm gonna go help look for him. He must be pretty lonely, out there on his own."

"We'll meet back up in a few hours, okay?" Twilight said, looking up from the book briefly to wish Fluttershy well on her venture, before diving back into her primary interest, deciphering the book.

"What are you, Myst?" She asked, to nopony in particular, as they had all taken flight to retrieve their lost comrade. Twilight decided she would need some help with the code, so she called for Spike to write a letter to her pupil and occasional duelling partner, Starlight.She flipped through the book again, looking for any familiar symbols, rather than words. She did find one, near the back, that caught her interest immediately. A magical rune. She recognised it, her suspicion growing by the second. "I know you're hiding something. And if you lay one hoof on my friends, it'll be the biggest mistake of your life."

Myst walked to the very edge of Ponyville, staring out at that vast horizon teeming with possibility. It called to him, begging for him to run through its fields, trek through its forests, to just run away. That was the first thing he was going to do, for sure. He didn't care who would try to stop him. It was his for the taking. Any day now. The sun was gone and all that was left was blackness at this point. Not ideal searching conditions, but he doubted it would stop his friends from trying. He shook their memory from his head, prioritising forgetting them as much as possible. Myst was feeling overwhelmed by the odds. Fluttershy was still looking out for him. Did that mean it would be too late? Was their emotional bond too strong for the spell to ignore her? She was doomed. He was going to have to do everything in his power to protect her, along with all of her friends. He decided to still spend those few days remaining away from them, just to help weaken the spell. He knew that it was probably going to be immensely powerful, sensing all of his positive emotions. In all honesty, he'd get rid of them if he could. But he just couldn't. Myst decided to get some sleep, there was no point in denying the nightmares that plagued his mind their fill. He laid himself down on the wet grass and drifted off to sleep. Thinking of all the ponies he had let down, all of them.

It wasn't snowing anymore. In fact, there was nothing around him. There was nothing, anywhere. How fitting. He thought. He looked down and saw himself, his reflection, staring back at him, shaking its head.

"I know." He said.

"I don't think you do."

Myst found himself violently jarred awake, his muscles catching fire and his head collapsing in on itself. He fell back down onto the grass, doing his very best to suppress the screams of pain he was uttering. He felt the pain slowly start to subside after a moment of sheer agony, before it disappeared completely. Myst was sweating and breathing far more heavily than was healthy, but the worse part was that he felt completely awake, no longer drowsy or tired, simply wide awake. He doubted he had slept longer than five minutes. He pushed himself up, only to be greeted with a worse sight, a little bit more of his sanity slipping away. Before him stood a young pony, no older than nine or ten. Myst knew his age to the day however. Ten years, fifty-three days. He was red, inheriting that dominant gene from his father. His mane, on the other hoof, was a blue colour, very light and colourful. Myst's eyes were reduced to slits, and he found himself backing up slowly.

"What's the matter, Myst? It's just me, don't you remember?"

"Yes..."

Myst turned to run, attempting to escape the pony, only to be met with four other sets of eyes. He felt his heart expand infinitely, threatening to snap right out of his chest. His mind was no longer functioning properly. He only sought to escape, all logic and reason evacuating his head swiftly. He tried to run through the only gap left, but there was one more group of ponies that sought his attention, another group of five. They were battered and beaten, one of them with a particularly brutal looking scar directly down her chest. Myst found himself surrounded, the ten of them forming a semicircle, closing in around him. They knew he couldn't run. What would they do to him? Could they even do anything? Myst couldn't bear to find out, his breath coming out as short gasps as he searched for an escape route back to Ponyville. There wasn't one, however. That left him with one option and one alone. Behind him lay the border of Ponyville, but more than that, an escape route. He looked back to the group of ponies, only to see one of them nearly upon him. He tripped over his own hooves, stumbling backwards, quivering as they all inched closer to him. He had to do it now, or who knows what kind of horror they would inflict upon his already broken mind. He stood up, quickly as he could, nearly losing his footing again. Looking them all dead in the eyes, he ran through the scenario again in his head. He knew what was to come, and it was painful. Myst cast all doubt from his mind as one of them reached for him. He yelled at the top of his lungs, preparing himself for the pain he was about to experience. Then, with a single swift movement, he swung his head and shoulder towards the end of the town's domain. He felt an impact as he was stopped dead in his tracks. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. His body, stopped, the force and energy of the impact transferring directly into his body. His body strained under the pressure as a surge of powerful energy shook his body, acting as an aftershock to the initial impact. Then, in a split second, Myst was flung back by a powerful current, sailing several feet in the air before landing abruptly on the ground. Finally, under no stress, Myst could feel unconsciosness grip him like a vice, ushering him quietly into a world of black...

-4 Days Left-

Chapter 13- Regrets

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..."

Chapter 14- The Day Before

"Myst? Why can't you leave?" Fluttershy asked.

"Remember when I told you about the curse, the glowing eyes?" Myst said.

"Yes."

"That was only a tiny portion of the curse. The full curse is as follows. "

"Suffer in eternal torment, an unbreakable prison, forever shifting. May you never return until the end of their years. One month unto three, never more, never fewer. Let disaster follow grief, and let your eyes forever serve as a constant reminder of my eternal wrath."

"Oh, my." She said.

"Yes. That curse was laid on my ancestors a thousand years ago. I told you that pony had quite a temper."

"I didn't realise there were ponies that could be so cruel."

"You don't realise just how much my great to the tenth grandfather hurt the deity- err, pony. Well. Actually, deity would be a better description of his power. He did something that the deity could not overlook, or ever forgive."

"What did he do, Myst?" Fluttershy asked.

…

"He killed the only family the pony had left."

Myst stood up.

"I'm probably going to head back to my old hotel room in a little while. I ask that you don't come there. I have important work to do."

Myst walked off, and Fluttershy didn't follow. He had to focus his studies, alone, with no interruptions. Fluttershy coming could’ve been a disaster, so he was grateful when she decided against pursuing him further. He wondered, for only a second, if this would be the last time they met. After the disaster was averted, he hoped he could simply avoid the six friends until he was whisked away to his next location, never to see them again. He felt pain, as he walked away from his friend. After all, good friends were hard to come by.

“Myst!” Fluttershy shouted. He stopped, not sure if he’d be able to say no if she asked to see him again. He waited for her to continue, but she only said a few words, “I still think you’re a good pony.” Myst seized up. She... how... Pride nor happiness coursed through his mind at that point, only one thought dominated everything else. ‘how pathetic’. Did she not know how to be angry, or did she not want to make his life any worse? Either way, all Myst saw when he looked back was weakness. She should hate him, but she couldn’t bring herself to it. He looked away slowly, walking away quickly, not content to spend any more time around Fluttershy. She had offered him lodging, that was nice, sure. But respecting somepony such as him, that was unjust in its own right.

Myst returned to his previous lodging, hopping along balconies in order to secure the room without having to pass through the idle procedure of checking in, and paying. Surely, this way was much more effective, he only needed around half a day. Perhaps he might find solace deep within his studies, hopefully. The trip was short but the hours spent stretched long, Myst shut himself inside his room, drawing a rune over the door so as to conceal his presence. He delved deep into the olden tales of Equestria past, feeling a sensation of weight bear down upon him. He knew it would return. This feeling, it represented, in a sense, all that he had accomplished in the small town of Ponyville. He knew, immediately, that the next time such a feeling overcame him, it would be simple to interpret. Grief, or remorse.

Myst sat on his hill, the grass tickling his legs, he had finished his studies, the task doing little to avert the sense of dread he was feeling. He knew nothing would, but he still tried. His eyes scanned the countryside. He couldn't help but think back to his conversations with Fluttershy in the late hours of the night, not the one he had with her many hours ago, the other ones, the ones from back when he was staying with her…

"Um, Myst. Why are the elements of harmony drawn on your map?"

"Elements?"

"Yes, the elements of harmony, the six circles drawn on the corners of your map."

"Oh, those? Well, actually. I drew those in a few years ago."

"Really? Why? Wait, you know about the elements?"

"No."

"Well, if you don't know about them… wait. Did you meet the wizard who discovered them? This could be an unprecedented discovery! I should get Twilight! She'll-"

"Fluttershy?"

"Uh, sorry, yes?"

"Those are just my favourite colours."

She got so excited when she thought he knew something. He could understand why, but it was better if she knew less about the elements, at least for the time being. The elements were a mysterious type of magic. Being a magic expert sure did come in handy. While it was still night, he might as well work on his rune circles. He pulled out his chalk, which he had grabbed while he was in the cottage. He drew a circle in the grass, a bit crooked, but it would function as required. This circle represented magical energy in the world. He had to draw from such a thing, as he was a pegasus and pegasi contained no magical energy of their own. He drew a square inside the circle. The square on its own meant nothing, but if he added a second circle in the dead centre, it would represent… ethereal energy. A benevolent force scarce in the world. What could he do with such energy though? Not much. Rune circles allowed non-unicorns to harness magic from the environment. However, most wellsprings of any particular magic flowed directly from a pony. He could do small, rudimentary tasks. Tasks such as healing small cuts or bruises, or stealing bits of magic. The only reason he was able to break through the shield was that he had trained for maybe a decade, plus Twilight wasn't really trying. She thought he was trapped, so she poured very little energy into the shield. Rune circles had been invented centuries ago, but had changed very little in that time. He wished unicorns didn't have such a leg up on everypony else. Seriously, flying was fun, but magic put flying to shame-

'Why are you thinking about magic, Myst?' The voice startled him, but he soon adjusted to its presence.
'I'm just trying to focus on something else.' He had more important things to worry about. There was the impending disaster, and there was the issue with his friends. They knew a lot, but they always wanted to know more. There was always his problem with Fluttershy. He had given her many different scraps of information, and if she put all of the info together, and did some deep research… she might actually figure out the truth. Well then, it was a race for information. However, all of those issues were mundane, and not worth his time. There was one thing above all else he needed to worry about.

That was the issue as to what he would do. Would he save his friends? Why did he give them so much information? The world had to move on! And if somepony figured out the truth, the cycle would begin anew, and last time…- He had to make a choice, a choice he didn't want to make. He had to decide whether or not to protect his friends. He knew he was a horrible pony for even considering the idea of allowing the disaster to take their lives, but he couldn't help but consider it. He was always the one making the difficult decisions. His… his old friends, his really old friends, were always too soft. That had nothing to do with the shield, or the disaster, but it kind of felt like it. It wasn't like he wanted to be cruel. He was practically under contract. What had he done? Why did he reveal some of his secrets to them? He had doomed them with his own stupidity! With his own urge to feel something again! That time was over! Myst collapsed back onto the hill, brushing off his rune circle. He didn't want to do anything at that moment. All that mattered was his decision. Yes? Or… No?

If he did save them, the cycle might begin again. He couldn't let that happen. He wasn't ready to get dragged back into that pit again. At least his friends wouldn't be there that time. No. He couldn't let it happen. There wouldn't be a next time!

But if he didn't save them… they would die. They would die. They would die.

His friends would die. Was the secret worth it?

Most ponies wouldn't understand his dilemma, obviously, he should save his friends right? Not necessarily. If he did save his friends, they might begin to put together the clues. He knew there would be only one way to stop whatever was coming for him. If they discovered… so many…

Why?

Why did it have to be him?

Myst walked away from his hill. He needed to go inside for once. He had spent the last few days almost entirely outside. Now, where was the nearest bar? He needed to drown his sorrows. He headed back to Ponyville and into the nearest tavern. The lowly lit estate suited him much better than that grassy field. He was greeted by a somewhat familiar face, Berryshine.

"Hey there." She said, unfamiliar with his face. He knew her as somepony had pointed her out to him at one of the parties, but they had never formally met.

"Hi. Could you get me something…. Really strong?"

"Tough day, huh? What's her name?" She asked as she reached to the shelf behind her.

"Guess again." Myst replied.

"Okay, what's his name?" She asked. Myst simply glanced at her with annoyance. Berryshine decided his real problem was probably personal and handed him his drink. Myst looked it. Alcohol was such an odd item. It was both socially accepted and frowned upon. Considered a social lubricant, but also an evil invention that most would be better off without. He didn't care though. He just liked how it tasted, and how it made you feel funny in large quantities. Myst took his time drinking it. He was going to be there for several hours at minimum and passing out after ten minutes wasn't really his style. He looked around for any familiar faces, after all, it was far easier to talk to ponies who really only wanted to gossip. It might be relaxing not having to talk about his feelings every five seconds. Unfortunately, it didn't look like that plan was going to come to fruition, nopony he knew was here, except… that pink pony sitting at one of the tables in the back did look familiar. Was that Pinkie Pie? Huh. He never took Pinkie for a drinking alone type. He really was hoping to not run into any of Fluttershy's closest friends, but having somepony to talk to after all he'd been through might be relaxing. He'd just not talk about his past, or the sealing spell, or his ancestors, or ancient magic, or… him.

Myst shook his head. He definitely didn't want to think about that. In the end, he decided to pay Pinkie a visit.

He slipped off his chair, leaving a few bits on the table to pay for the drink (plus a little extra) and trotted over to her. She was sitting on a bench adorned with a table and seemed perfectly content sitting on her own. For a second, Myst wondered if he should bug her. After all, one rarely gets time to simply sit alone these days. He knew thinking to yourself was a very important experience that should never be interrupted, but in the end, his desire to discuss his biggest problem got the better of him and he walked the remainder of the distance between him and the table.

“Hey there, Pinkie. Mind if I join you?” He asked. Trying to come off as friendly, rather than painfully confused and somewhat terrified.

"Not at all." She said. He was surprised to see that Pinkie was not alarmed at his presence. Myst waved over one of the bar staff and ordered more cider as he slid behind the table to join her.

"Might I ask why you were sitting alone?" Myst asked.

"You know, just needed a break from my crazy friends!" Pinkie said, waving her hoofs around for dramatic effect. Myst let out a little chuckle. Sure, Pinkie was usually funny, but their current situation was a new level of juxtaposition. There he was, the pony that had eluded the understanding of her and her friends for the entire duration of their stay. They recently found out he knew and practised a type of magic that he never been seen in all recorded history, plus, the literal princess of friendship didn’t even trust him, and now he was ordering drinks with Pinkie Pie, an element of harmony. One of Fluttershy’s closest friends, who, just a few hours ago, was attempting to hunt him down and drag him, kicking and screaming, back to the rest of her friends. He was impressed. He was very impressed. Few he met had ever shown such a complex system of thought as to not do something that could be immediately beneficial. He decided to continue their enlightened conversation,

“Do you happen to know where my history book is? I seem to have lost it.”

“Yeah. Twilight’s trying to crack it. She seems pretty focused. I don’t know why. The code’s pretty simple.”

“And yet you choose not to help her.”

“However things play out, that’s how they’ll play out. Something tells me even if she did crack that section of the book, it wouldn’t offer her any answers. She wants to know if you’re a bad pony, or if you could get her friends hurt. That’s her job, to protect her friends. But, I think there’s an easier way. And that’s asking you.” Myst was astounded but didn’t have time to linger on that thought. She had asked him a question. Was he a bad pony?”

“Yes.”

“But you aren’t going to hurt us?”

“No. Not me.”

“Anything we should know?”

“......I’d recommend that, two days from now, not 48 hours per say, but when the clock strikes 12:01, that you gather up your friends and lock them in that castle.”

"I appreciate that Myst." She said. "Thanks."

“For what?”

“You have something to hide. You could’ve just left us to be swept away by the current, but you’re making a conscious decision to save our lives.” She elaborated, smiling at Myst. Not one of her large toothy smiles, but something much more relaxed and genuine. “I have one last thing to ask you if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Go ahead Pinkie.”

“Will you save us if the castle isn’t enough?” Myst felt his heart stop for a second before he remembered to breathe and answer appropriately,

“Probably not.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“That’s it?”

“I guess I just expected an ideal scenario, but I suppose we’ll have to fend for ourselves.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that.” Myst paused for a second, trying to slow his heart rate. “If it’s of any consolation, you’re possibly the most profound pony I’ve met in years.”

“How many?” She asked.

“A lot.”

“From whose perspective?” Pinkie asked with a melancholic undertone.

‘She did it then.’ The voice returned for a minute, but Myst had learned to cope. He simply confirmed this within his own mind. ‘You might want to switch topics.’ Myst decided to switch topics, it was the only thing he could think to do. Pinkie seemed more than happy to oblige. They talked about Ponyville and all the mayhem and chaos over the years. Then Myst proceeded to talk about his old life, albeit cryptically. He talked about his lineage, and the task bestowed upon him until soon, he found they had been talking for several hours.

“It was great talking to you Pinkie. There’s a lot more to you than I gave you credit for.”

“It’s fine. Have a nice day, Myst.” Myst began to walk away, slipping out from behind the booth before turning. He felt a hoof on his shoulder for only a moment. He turned to see Pinkie looking at him with a serious expression, casting aside any sense of peace or adjustment.

“If you’re ever struggling with that decision of yours, just ask yourself how many lives your secret is worth. If it’s more than six, then you have your answer.” Myst felt himself freeze. Six lives, or his secret?... It was worth it, right?

-1 Day Left-

Myst glanced up at the clock. 12:03. It had been a few days. He had almost forgotten, he should check up on his flowers. Fluttershy probably felt really sorry for him so she would most likely leave him alone if he were to show up at her house. He stood up from his chair, leaving a few bits on the counter as a tip. He strolled out of the bar and headed towards the cottage. Waving goodbye to Pinkie as he stepped out the door.

Oh no. Tomorrow? The flowers will be dead by tomorrow? Myst inspected the flowers closer. The flowers were nearly in full bloom. They shone with a fiery, almost gold brilliance. Beautiful. None of the petals had begun to fall from the flowers yet but, he suspected it would be a little less than 12 hours before they started to. He was grateful for his flowers, but he also kind of hated them. They were such beautiful plants… but they also signified the end of his peace. Soon all of the petals would fall and the calamity would begin. Twenty-four hours, twenty-four hours to make a choice. Myst began to walk away in the moonlight. He glanced around. Fluttershy's yard really was beautiful. The stream was gently flowing along its designated route and the property was completely silent save for the chirping of crickets. Myst heard the opening of a door and picked up the pace, he needed to reach the road before Fluttershy identified his presence at her home. Light flooded out into the yard as Fluttershy opened the door and glanced around. Luckily Myst was already walking down the street, and looked like just another passerby to her. Myst stretched his stiff wings out to his sides, it was late at night and he was starting to get tired. His muscles were getting tense from fatigue and he felt the urge to sleep. He had to do some preparations before he could sleep though. He had ordered all that sand without even considering the dilemma he was facing with his friends. Plus, those nightmares were getting more and more specific. Usually, they were just massive, hour long amalgamations of all the horrible events that had ever transpired in his entire life. Recently though, they had been very specific. This had only ever happened to him… once before. That time, it had been his map. But it seemed as though- It seemed as though his recent dreams had been about something completely different from his old dreams. Last time- - - Myst felt sleep weigh down on him, he didn't last long, and he was soon out cold…

What?

Where was he?

It looked like a castle. Stone walls, beautiful tinted glass windows, and a massive throne sitting before him. Wasn't he just on the road? And why wasn't the writing in italics anymore!? Wait. Something else was wrong… the lights, they were too dim. He'd been in Celestia's castle a few times before, and it was always so vibrant. Then there was the fact that… he could feel the air. It was cold, snapping away at his coat. He had never had a nightmare where he retained his sense of touch. Never. He glanced around, his sense of vision was incredibly well defined. Usually, it was foggy, or hazy around the edges. He walked towards the throne, only to turn around when he heard a loud crashing sound. He looked at the large doors separating the throne room from the foyer, and noticed the doors were beginning to buckle, as if some great pressure was bearing down on them from behind. He heard them creak and crack from the stress. He thought he saw something beneath the shroud of twilight. Was it a pony? Yes. It was. But... wait, what was it doing? It seemed to be slowly making its way towards the door... the figure reached for the latch as the pressure came to a peak.

"Wait! No!" Writhing black ink burst into the hall, attacking the lights, dimming the room until Myst could only see a few feet in front of him. The darkness wasn't the result of a vacancy of light, more that the darkness had swallowed it up. Myst uncomfortably started moving backwards. He felt chills running all along his body, prompting him to turn violently in every direction. Wherever he turned though, all he saw was darkness. He turned back to face the door, or at least the general direction of the door. The darkness parted, and he felt heat return to his body. He hadn't realised how cold the darkness had been. He walked along the path designated for him, but he didn't get far before he stopped in his tracks.

In front of him stood eight shadows, two taller than the rest. Myst went pale, well, paler than usual. He recognised them. The six smaller ones… one unicorn, three pegasi, and two earth ponies… were they… there was only one way to find out.

"Hello?" The shadows gave no response. "Hello?" He looked at the unicorn. He was slightly taller than him, and had a spiky mane-style, along with his tail. Well… Myst assumed it was a he. It was…

Him. Hugo...

Myst ran towards him, he couldn't slip away. How was he here? How!

The figure disappeared, fading from his sight. This didn't bode well. He turned to face the other seven, but they had vanished from his sight as well. It didn't take long to find them though. They were gathered around the throne, well, two were sitting, the rest stood. The walked towards them, but they began to disappear one by one. First one of the earth ponies, then two of the pegasi, then the other earth pony, all that remained before him were the two unusually tall ponies and one last pegasus. He watched as the smaller one disappeared slowly, much slower than the others, and after that, he watched the largest of them vanish near instantly. All that remained was the pegasus, staring back at him…

"Hello." He said.

It didn't respond. He walked towards it, it walked backwards, maintaining a distance of one and a half meters at all times. Myst walked backwards, and it followed. Myst frowned at the odd shadow standing before him. Why didn't it want to get closer to him? He ran towards it, full speed, it turned and ran as well. He chased it through the throne room and out into the foyer. It jumped down to the first floor, Myst followed. When he landed though, he was met with six more shadows. He recognised them, particularly the one in the middle. It was him again, was he being taunted? He watched five of them disappear, until only one remained, plus the shadow beside him. Soon enough though, that's what it turned into, his shadow. All that remained in the room were Myst and… Hugo. The last two pieces on the board.

What did this dream mean? He already knew all of this. Was it just another flashback? No. His flashbacks never contained the capacity to feel pain. This was much too real, much too conscious.

The shadow violently jerked towards him, setting its course for the space between Myst's eyes.

He slipped under the pony and watched it barrel into the wall. He looked back at it and ran for the door. Bursting through it and running as fast as he could. What he encountered on the other side though, terrified him even more. It was his six new friends. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack.

He tried to move towards them but found himself bound by some sort of greater force. He looked down only to see his shadow greatly stretched and distorted, desperately clinging on to the massive castle behind him. He watched helplessly as the silhouette of Hugo strolled past him casually.

"Stay away from them!" He bellowed. Hugo ignored him, moving closer to his friends by the second. So, that's how it was. They would all meet their ends, while he just watched from the shadows. Myst tried his best to choke back tears. He knew, in the end, he was making the right choice.

'Are you?' The voice had returned.
"What do you mean. You, of everypony, should know I have to let them die. It's just six more lives."
'I know. I just can't help but feel like their lives are worth more than you attribute to them.' Myst had never thought before, about the inherent value of a life. After all how valuable could they possibly be?
'Valuable enough that the six of them would gladly risk their own lives for each other.'

...

Value. What a strange term. Myst noticed Hugo's hoof reaching out to the six, but ignored it.

He thought about what a life amounted to for only a moment, but he found he was unable to focus on life itself, and was instead reminded of very specific individuals. Twilight Sparkle, the alicorn princess who didn't trust him in any capacity, but only for the sake of her friends. Then there was Pinkie Pie, unique and eccentric, but nonetheless admirable, and finally Fluttershy, a kind, caring soul whose only goal was to help others. Each one was so radically different, but no less important than the others, after all, what really determined the value of life in comparison to another?He was reminded of the way they had reached out to him, the way they sought the truth. Truly, their lives could not be replicated, they were simply too vast, too...

priceless. Pinkie's words from earlier made much more sense to him. His secret wasn't worth six lives, in fact... it wasn't worth one.

He couldn't do this anymore. It wasn't worth it. He looked behind him. There lay the castle, his shadow, everything he had left behind, and yet, no matter where he travelled, he had always felt as if he had been getting nowhere. He had to let it go. He looked down at the dark vessel that bound him, and he severed it, violently. Staring towards the entity that dared to threaten his friends, their lives, their perfect, indescribably valuable lives. He didn't even have to think for a moment, before he barreled into the dark mass, perhaps not actually saving his friends, but he knew that was only the first step.

He was done running.

Myst awoke with a start.

Day Zero- Part 1

"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."

Day Zero- Part 2

"What do you want with Myst?" Twilight asked, suspecting the worst.

"Like I said, he took something of mine, I was just hoping to get it back, then I'll be on my way, promise." The two were locked in a staring contest, neither trusting the other not to attack at any moment. "If I need to add further incentive, I'll even leave your friends alone, deal?" Twilight couldn't care less if this pony was lying, or if he wanted to hurt Myst. She just wanted him away from her friends, but she was still apprehensive, she had a feeling bringing the two in close proximity was a horrible idea, and besides, there was a much simpler solution than that.

"Sorry, but you attacked me and my friends, and I don't negotiate with ponies like you."

"So, we're to fight, then?"

"It would seem that way." The grey pony, who was now in full view thanks to the smoke from the explosion clearing, smiled. This news made him very happy. Pinkie Pie, who was still on the ground, finally regained her full sight, but upon turning to view Twilight, she could not have asked for worse a sight. The two intended to battle each other. Twilight was possibly the greatest wielder of magic in all of Equestria, but she had no experience. This pony... he stood as if this moment was an everyday occurrence. No fear, no hesitation. He was trained. He didn't look military, with his navy blue, wavy mane and tail. It was obvious he let them grow out, but that didn't change the expression on his face. He was enjoying this, losing had not even crossed his mind. If Twilight wasn't careful, Pinkie was sure she would lose, and considering the state everypony else was in, if she lost, they were completely at that pony's mercy. Pinkie felt a ring course through her head again, 'I'm coming, just stay safe.'

What was that? It hurt, it was so intrusive. Was somepony coming to help them? Pinkie hoped so, for all their sakes. An explosion rocked Pinkie's thoughts straight back to Twilight, who was now engaged in battle with the unicorn, but she wasn't approaching it as she usually would, with fierce but calculated aggression, rather, she was doing her best to stay far away, and bombard the unicorn from a safe distance, firing one spell after another. Pinkie's hopes for the fight were dwindling quickly, after observing the face of Twilight's opponent. He was barely moving to avoid the series of projectiles, and his shields didn't even flicker when he raised them to block oncoming attacks. He was dedicated, Twilight was apprehensive. Pinkie couldn't help but notice the horrible shaking in her hooves.

Six meteoric bolts of purple energy shot towards Twilight's opponent, who, so far, had been playing evasively, propelling himself off various obstructions, his movements surpassing that of a normal pony, obviously through intense training. He was skilled, composed, and knew exactly what to do in every situation. He bounded off a rooftop, closing a considerable distance between him and his opponent, before unleashing a much more wild and vicious torrent of magical energy compared to Twilight, unpredictable and horrid. A sickly black and red colour, threatening to rip apart the very air. It was like a horrible tornado. Twilight, for a split second, was completely enthralled by the torrent of energy, incapable of moving out of pure fear. It was like a a thundering cloud of destructive energy. Twilight eventually snapped out of her haze and sprinted for cover, diving away from the blast as the residual energy from the magic's momentum flung her away from the ground, mostly unscathed. Pinkie could see Twilight shaking. This battle was going to test her skill, and to be honest, she'd lose without help. Pinkie tried to pull herself up, but the sheer force of the explosion had rendered her helpless, immobile, but not injured. Twilight and the grey pony continued their duel, blasting spells back and forth with abandon. Twilight's distaste in her opponent's tactics and her rage at being injured by such a pony was helping to bury her low confidence as she leaned more towards the offensive, shooting magical lasers and massive bolts of energy, trying her best not to hit any buildings. How had nopony heard this battle? It didn't make sense, all this noise and confusion should have driven everypony in the nearby area running from their homes in a state of terror. Twilight could feel herself losing the edge in this battle as the grey pony effortlessly glided past her attacks, partially deflecting them towards buildings, which then forced Twilight to dissipate the spells prematurely, further draining her power. Twilight, in comparison, was completely receiving every one of her opponent's attacks, blocking them with shields that were rapidly failing to do their job. She could feel the spells slipping through. One more minute, at best.

'Well, if my magic wont last much longer, I might as well throw everything at him!' Twilight prepared for the immense exhaustion that would come with her following spells, as she summoned a number of large, long, unstable magical projections, resembling deep violet lightning if it was captured and forced to take shape. She didn't fire any, but instead surrounded herself with them. She felt her body strain as the count went from five, to ten, Twilight could feel victory just around the corner, all she needed was one sure hit-

Twilight felt a surge of incredibly powerful energy envelop her, and her friends were forced to look away from the blindingly bright light that suddenly encased the battlefield. Rainbow Dash was the first to make out what had happened. Magic, in the form of a huge beam. The grey pony had completely disintegrated her, the beam tearing through where her friend used to be.

"Twilight!" She screamed. The entire experience felt surreal. How did this happen? It wasn't supposed to go like that. Twilight was supposed to win... he thought never managed to complete itself as Rainbow looked towards the pony responsible for this senseless destruction. He...

The next few frames of time seemed to move in slow motion, more like a series of pictures than anything else. First, there was the pony, and the energy beam, then, with a quick flash of purple, he was forced away. A wall met him, as it cracked beneath the sudden force of his arrival. Twilight? Rainbow quickly noticed another projectile making its way towards the limp form of the pony, not caring if he was injured as it too exploded violently. Once the massive beam of energy had finally dissipated, everypony was met with a welcome sight, Twilight was alive and standing. She had used most of the projectiles, that she planned to fire, to shield herself. She had many cuts and burns to show for it, but otherwise she was still alright. Her mane was out of order and she looked like she had just crawled out of a bonfire, but she could still fight. The grey pony, nopony was sure if he was actually alright, after taking the full force of Twilight's attack. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, he stood up within seconds of Twilight, his posture slightly less austere. He obviously felt the attacks, and suddenly, there was a distinct possibility that Twilight could win against her well trained opponent. But... that feeling soon disappeared, along with any chance of Twilight emerging victorious. The grey pony began to walk towards her, their duel resuming after their most recent exchange, but this time, he made no attack of any kind, or perhaps he did, just too quickly and quietly for Twilight to notice, she just started to feel an immense pain in her head. It took only seconds for her to collapse, clutching her head in pain. The unicorn looked almost surprised, as if his opponent had fallen to a simple trick.

"Oh, come on. Where's that fighting spirit from a moment ago? Surely he must've warned you- oh." The unicorn's expression turned grim. "Well, I'm very sorry, then." He took a moment to raise up Twilight with his magic, before he flung her aside, towards a nearby building, taking a moment to shake his head, possibly in in disappointment. He dragged his feet towards the group, disheartened by Twilight's sudden defeat. Did he expect something more? It's almost as if he had reached a goal he expected to be insurmountable, only to surpass it easily. He breathed a hearty sigh as he approached Fluttershy.

"Tell me where he is." He mumbled, looming above her like a specter ready to pluck her life away at a moment's notice. His eyes were dead, lacking any colour, any distinction. It was mortifying, and Fluttershy could feel herself bending to his will, not voluntarily, it was simple sensation, one of unparalleled might, seeping into her mind. This undeniable thought that she was worth nothing to him, she wasn't valuable. Disposable, she was disposable, along with all of her friends. Fluttershy found herself trying to justify condemning Myst to this horrible pony. Everypony else porbably thought the grey pony and him were friends or something, but she saw right through him. He was there to settle a score, no matter the price, whether it be coin or lives. Her oldest friends had to come first, six was larger than one. Fluttershy could feel his patience slipping. With a quiver, she let out the words, Myst's domain, the place he had been living after leaving her house.

"See?" The pony said, turning away, inspecting the other five ponies he could see, all lying on the ground, struggling to stand, "Now I only have to get rid of one of you. Fluttershy felt her heart drop as the pony turned his attention towards Twilight. "She'd be quite the problem if she regained her strength." and with those words, he began his horridly slow walk towards Twilight. Fluttershy counted every step, every hoof-fall as their assailant made his way towards one of her oldest friends, one, two, two, three, ten. He was standing in front of her, raising his hoof, aiming for her neck, ready to deliver the final blow to Twilight, it was only at this moment Fluttershy found her voice again, along with everypony else, all of them screaming for him to stop. There were threats, pleas, bargains, but they all fell on deaf ears, that was until, for no reason at all, he stopped, just as they had asked.

"This... is fake." He said, turning around just quickly enough to be met with a horrible barrage of turquoise energy, blasting him clean through a nearby house and into the next street, rolling and skidding, until he flipped himself back into a standing position, sliding for another three metres before friction finally brought him to a halt. His eyes were lidded shut from all of the gravel near them as he wiped it away and raised his head to meet his attacker, a fury not yet uncovered burning in his eyes, his mane falling to the sides of his head. He was met with what he could only describe as the worst potential outcome. Starlight Glimmer, one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, alongside her teacher, both of them clearly ready for a fight, and both of them more than ready to wipe him off the face of the earth if necessary.

"Was the building clear?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Good."

Pinkie understood. It was Starlight. She sent those messages. This was their chance to beat him, their one chance. Two champions of Equestria, facing off against a mysterious foe with a despicable agenda.

The unicorn really wasn't sure what to say or think. But there was one thought lingering in the back of his mind.

'This... this is going to be a real fight!'

Chapter 6- A Glimpse of the Past: Part 1

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.