“. . . . . . . . I just don't get this guy!”

Rainbow Dash looked down into town from a cloud, and saw Nocturne walking through town with a mail bag.  Above him, Derpy Hooves had her own bag slung around her neck, and she seemed to be receiving his assistance in delivering mail.  Still unable to remember his talent, Nocturne had taken to begging for work around town, getting odd jobs whenever they were open.  He'd been working for Rarity, Twilight and Applejack already, and was always calm, respectful and dutiful every time.

The complete opposite of the way he was when he attacked Dash weeks earlier.

“I don't get it!” Dash said again, aggravated, “This guy was a vicious animal then, but he's Mr. Colt-of-All-Trades now? Whatever happened to the 'phantom pony' everypony was so scared of? What makes him so . . . nice all of the sudden?”  She drove herself mad trying to figure it out, but there was a more pressing question in her head concerning Nocturne.  It wasn't just how Nocturne had reformed, or what made him so docile, but why he hadn't taken the time to apologize for what he did to her before coming back to town.

If he was such a wonderful pony now, why not own up to what he'd done?

Dash continued to watch Nocturne as he assisted Derpy with the mail.  He seemed quite at home with slipping letters into mail slots and not having to directly interact with other ponies.  Whether that was his intention or not, Derpy seemed to enjoy his company.

“Thanks again, Nocturne,” Derpy smiled, finally used to pronouncing his name right, “You've really been helpful the last couple of days.”

Nocturne's reply was subdued, “Yeah, no problem. Just . . . just doing my part, I guess.”

Derpy looked at him with concern in her crossed eyes, “What's wrong? Are you sad? Is it because other ponies still talk about you? If it is, then you shouldn't be sad. Like I told Applejack and Fluttershy the other day, just because you make mistakes, doesn't make you bad. Believe me, I make mistakes a lot. And sometimes, ponies say mean things about me, too.”

Nocturne seemed to have a soft look in his eyes at Derpy's attempt at empathy.  “Derpy, I want you to do me a favor,” he said seriously, “No matter what other ponies have to say about you, just keep being yourself. You're a nice pony, and you only do your best, and if that doesn't sync up with what ponies say about you, then don't listen to them. Take it from somepony who . . .” he trailed off for a moment, seeming distracted, before resuming, “. . . who used to buy the word on the street a little too easily.”

Derpy smiled up at Nocturne and blushed a bit, “Gosh, you're awfully nice. You're nothing like they say at all.”

Nocturne shrugged, “Well . . . depends on what they say, I guess . . .”

Rainbow Dash continued to observe them as they made their way to the next house.  As much time as she had already spent trying to figure him out, she was at a loss.  In fact, the longer it took, the more mystified (and the more annoyed) she was.  And the more she felt she was owed an apology from the stallion that injured her.

But she also considered past events; she had confronted Nocturne before, over another pony's feelings, which was what led to this conundrum in the first place.  If he was willing to hurt Dash over that, then he was always likely to repeat his actions if she confronted him for her own sake.  That, and she had promised Fluttershy she would be as helpful as possible.  It was getting more and more difficult to keep that promise, though; Nocturne had to answer for what he'd done, and if he was so decent now, then calling him on it would be that much less dangerous.

Promise or not, Dash still needed answers.

Jumping off her cloud and floating back down to earth, Rainbow Dash continued her careful observation of Nocturne from a distance.  House after house, he did his job dutifully and with very few words; simply watching this confounded Dash more and more, and admittedly, it made her angry.  What was it that made him so tame?  Was Fluttershy really that strong an influence over him?  And why the hay hadn't he used some of that niceness to account for the way he treated Dash?

Nocturne glanced Dash's way, and she quickly hid behind a tree.  It was at that point that she felt ridiculous, spying on him from a distance.  True, she couldn't predict what Nocturne would do if she faced him again, but sneaking around and spying wasn't her style.  It almost felt like she was afraid of Nocturne somehow.  But that couldn't be possible; Rainbow Dash was fearless.

Wasn't she?

“They'll never find us here!”

Dash felt her heart jolt as she heard a whisper next to her, from out of the blue.  “Pinkie Pie!” she growled under her breath, “How many times have I told you not to do that?!”

“SHHH!” Pinkie replied harshly, “Not so loud! You'll give us away!”  She then looked confused for a second and turned to Dash, “Who are we hiding from?”

“I'm not hiding!” Dash retorted defensively, then quickly took a glance at where Nocturne had been.  After seeing that he and Derpy had moved on, she breathed a heavy sigh.

“Oh!” Pinkie said, having a moment of realization, “I get it! You're still scared of Nocturne, huh?”

“No!” Dash replied, still indignant, “I just . . . don't get him, that's all.”  While true, it wasn't the correct answer to Pinkie's question.

“Oh, I see. I'm the same. Don't know what to think about him, really. I mean, I try to talk to him, but he's always cranky. It's like he doesn't wanna be my friend. Ooh! Maybe he's like Cranky Doodle Donkey! Maybe he's just missing his lost love! Ooh! Or maybe, he lived in a belltower all his life . . .”

Dash saw a good opportunity to get a look into Nocturne's mind.  Pinkie seemed eager to make friends with Nocturne, and nopony knew how to make friends better than Pinkie Pie.  If she could observe her progress in getting close to Nocturne, Dash could, at the very least, learn through Pinkie why the aloof stallion had not come forward about his actions; at most, Pinkie could act as her liaison with Nocturne, and Dash could find out herself.

“—and if he spent five years on that island, maybe he can fire a bow and arrow!” Pinkie Pie went on speculating about Nocturne's reclusive behavior.

“Hey, Pinkie,” Dash interrupted, “I've just been thinking, maybe you can introduce me to Nocturne?”

Pinkie looked at Dash for a minute as if she'd lapsed into another language, “Huh?”

“Yeah! See, I don't know him all that well, but you can get to know him, can't you? I mean, you are Ponyville's resident friend-maker, after all, and nopony makes friends better than you. So, if you can get all chummy with Nocturne, then he'll be just as happy to be friends with a friend of yours, right?”

Pinkie Pie continued to stare back at Rainbow Dash, seeming unsure of what she'd just outlined.  After another few seconds, though, whether it was clear to her or not seemed irrelevant, “Okey-dokey, Lokey!”

Straining a bit, Nocturne finally dragged two bushels full of apples to the front of the barn.  After getting off from helping Derpy with the mail, his next task of the day was to pitch in at Sweet Apple Acres; he had been planning on doing this since Applejack had let him walk off her farm with her merchandise free of charge.  He knew he had to pay her back for that.

He had a lot more to make up for, anyway.

On his way back to the fields, Nocturne walked past a pony about his height, but with more muscle, and knew him as Applejack's brother, Big McIntosh.  He'd remembered a promise he'd made to Fluttershy to try and speak to other ponies as often as possible, and tried it.  “Uhh,” he began, unsure of what to say at first, “Hard work, huh, Mac?”

Big McIntosh glanced at Nocturne as he, too, hauled in a large part of the harvest.  His answer was simple and direct: “Eeyup.”

Thrown by McIntosh's brevity, Nocturne pressed on, “So . . . lot more to cover, right?”

Big McIntosh's answer was the same, “Eeyup.”

Awkwardly realizing that this conversation was going nowhere, Nocturne decided to take his leave and continue working, “Okay . . . . good talk, Mac. Take care.”

Nocturne made his way to the fields to take more bushels back to the barn, and was stopped by Applejack herself.  “Hey, there, partner!” she greeted him amiably, “Workin' up a good sweat?”

Nocturne nodded, “Actually, yes. This work is a lot harder than it looks.”

“Well, I just thought I'd stop you for a spell. I got somethin' I wanna say. I admit, I had some pretty scathin' thoughts about ya, Nocturne. But seein' ya here today, you've been better than your word. A whole day's work, paid in full. I . . . I s'pose I was wrong about ya.”

Feeling touched by Applejack's words, Nocturne smiled and shrugged, “A lot of ponies are. But I'm still working on being worthy of words like yours.”

“Now, don't y'all worry your pretty head about it,” Applejack assured, “You just keep up the good work, and you can wipe the slate clean in no time.”  As she spoke she walked up to a tree that was loaded with ripened apples.  She turned around and gave the trunk a good kick with her back legs, and several of the shiny fruits fell into a set of empty bushels beneath the tree.

Nocturne observed Applejack's work, and made his own attempt.  He walked up to the next tree, stared at it for awhile, stood up on his hind legs, and thrust a single hoof into the trunk as if it were a punching bag.  One apple fell out and landed on the ground next to him.

“Uhh . . . Nocturne?” Applejack said tentatively, “That's . . . not really the way it's done.”

“I realize that, now,” Nocturne replied simply, frozen in position with his hoof still pressed to the tree.

There was a lengthy pause before Applejack continued, “You in pain, sugarcube?”

“Immensely,” Nocturne's voice was still simplistic, despite the agony he was in.

“Want me to help ya inside?”

“Would you, please?”

“Alright, come 'ere, then,” she said as she allowed Nocturne to throw his pained hoof over her and lean on her.

They made their way through the fields, and were halfway through them when they both heard rustling above them.  When they looked, a pink pony head poked out from the branches of a tree and grinned at them, “Hi, Applejack! Hi, Nocturne!”

Nocturne panicked; his attitude toward Pinkie Pie was still less than friendly, and he hadn't yet been equipped with a decent way of dealing with her.  “Pinkie,” he smiled, trying to force himself to be civil, “Hello. Nice to see you.”  He then whispered to Applejack desperately, “Get me inside. For the love of Equestria, get me inside, now!”

“Oh, don't get your bridle in a twist,” Applejack whispered back before replying to Pinkie, “Hey, there, Pinkie Pie. What brings y'all here today?”

“Friendship!” Pinkie squealed, “What else? Whoops! Whoa . . . OUCH!” she stopped when she'd fallen out of the tree, landing on her backside.  She shook it off quickly, though, and ran up to Nocturne, sticking her face up close to his, “You know, Nocturne, we haven't had a chance to talk! You were really quiet at the Nocturne party I threw for you, and you haven't come to any of my parties since then! What happened? Did you lose the invitation? Have you been busy? Sick? Out on a date with Fluttershy? Put in a coma after being struck by lightning?”

“Pinkie, please, I've been a little busy working lately, and I'm not—” Nocturne stopped, having gone through Pinkie's words more carefully, “—wait . . . . date? With Fluttershy? What gave you that idea?”

“Not 'what', silly!” Pinkie giggled and bounced in place, “'Who'! Spike tells me you two are all lovey-dovey now! And it makes total sense! I mean, you two are always together, she brought you back home, you get all red when you see her—oh, my gosh, you two make such a cute couple!”

“Pinkie!” Nocturne interrupted, “I know you're just trying to be friendly, and that's your thing and all. And I appreciate the gesture, really, but I have a lot of work today. And to be honest, I wouldn't be in a talking mood if I didn't. So if you could do me a little favor and get up off my back, I'd sincerely appreciate it.”

Pinkie looked confused, with a hint of disappointment in her face, as she answered, “Well . . . okay. I'll see you later, then, I guess . . .”  She started to walk slowly away, dejected, and Applejack continued to support Nocturne on the way back to the farmhouse.

“Well, I think I've outlived my usefulness here,” muttered Nocturne, still feeling the pain twinge in his leg, “I should probably get going after I'm properly patched up. Wouldn't want to test the limits of my ability to uphold the 'if you can't say anything nice' principle.”

Applejack nodded, “Well, even if ya do still need work on talkin' to ponyfolk, it was still a real pleasure havin' ya here, partner. If y'all still need to work and earn yer keep, we'd be pleased as punch to have ya back.”

“Thanks. I'll remember that. But I have other appointments to keep today.”  Nocturne thought back to what Pinkie said, and added grumpily, “I'll also need to have a little heart-to-heart with Spike today.”

Applejack couldn't help but grin, “Ya know, she ain't wrong.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Later in the day, Nocturne was in Fluttershy's cottage, helping her feed her animals.  They had gotten to chatting about her past exploits with her friends, and Nocturne had shown interest, fascination, and repulsion in varying degrees.

“So . . . .” Nocturne replied to her last story, more than a bit disturbed, “. . . . the spirit of chaos?”

“Oh, don't worry, Nocturne,” Fluttershy assured him, “Discord's nice now. As it turns out, all he needed was a friend. Oh! You know, in a lot of ways, you and he are really alike.”

Nocturne scowled as he took a carrot from a basket on the table, “You have no idea how much that depresses me.”  He placed the carrot in front of Angel, “Here you go, buddy. Tuck in.”

The rabbit looked up at Nocturne, blew a raspberry at him, and turned away.

Nocturne took a step back from Angel's snotty response, “And what's your problem, Fu-Fu?”

Fluttershy gently intervened, “Now, Angel. I know Nocturne is new, and you don't really trust him yet, but give him a chance. Pretty please?”

Angel responded by picking up the carrot, breaking it in half over his foot, and throwing it back, one half for each of them, in Fluttershy's and Nocturne's faces.

Fluttershy rubbed her nose where the carrot hit her and mumbled, “Angel's cranky today.”

“You're a better pony than me, Fluttershy,” Nocturne grumbled as he went to the table to get another carrot, rubbing his forehead for the same reason, “I would've said something a bit more colorful, like 'bratty, ungrateful little sh—'”

“Hi, Nocturne!”

Nocturne jumped and stumbled backwards when he once again saw Pinkie Pie's head appear out of the blue.  This time, she had popped up in the basket full of vegetables on Fluttershy's table.

Nocturne was flabbergasted, “How . . . . . . . how do you do that!?!”

Pinkie seemed to ignore his rather pertinent question and proceeded to chat, “Yeah, so, I was just talking to Rainbow Dash, and she says she wants to be friends with you, Nocturne! But she's still kinda scared of you, and I think she just acts all grumpy when she talks about you 'cause of what you did to her before, but she really wants to bury the hatchet, and she wants me to introduce you two! I thought it was kinda weird how she wanted me to do that, 'cause I thought she already knew you, 'cause of the way she jumped on your case on your first day back, but maybe she just forgot. Hee-hee! Dashie can be silly that way, I guess, but that's usually something I'd do, so I can be really silly like that sometimes, too! More than Dashie! In fact, just the other day . . .”

Pinkie Pie went on and on about some ridiculous, trivial nonsense Nocturne could hardly process, and the stallion sat there, unable to comprehend Pinkie's unending loquacity.  “She . . .” he tried muttering to Fluttershy as Pinkie continued babbling, “. . . just . . . won't shut up. She just won't shut up. Why won't she shut up? Why?!”

“—but it was a big turtle! At first, I thought it was Tank, but it had a sword! Anyway . . .”

“Now, remember, Nocturne,” Fluttershy gently reminded him, “Don't be mean. Pinkie's just trying to be friendly.”

“—makes me wonder if all colts and fillies have to wear a talking hat on their first day of school . . .”

“Good lord, she's still going!” Nocturne groaned under his breath.  Fluttershy glanced at him with a look of passive admonition, and it made Nocturne heave a forced, lamenting sigh.  Nocturne held Fluttershy in such high regard, and as much as he desperately wanted to tell Pinkie to go buck herself, he couldn't possibly let Fluttershy down.

“—so I had to appeal the decision to the Ministry of Silly Trots—”

“PINKIE!!” Nocturne yelled over her talking, and she was instantly silenced, “Will you please just pipe down for five measly seconds?!”  He stopped for a moment and glanced at Fluttershy; her deprecating look seemed to intensify, and he calmed himself, “Look, Pinkie, we've talked about this. Just today, in fact. I'm sure you're a nice pony, but I'm just not up for a friendly chat right now, all right? You might be, but I'm not. I'm just not the 'chatty' type, okay?”

Pinkie's mood seemed to deflate right then and there.  Her repeated, failed attempts at offering her friendship to him seemed to take their toll on her.  “Okay,” she answered sadly, “but if you ever feel like being chatty, I'm your pony, 'kay?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Nocturne grumbled, then remembered Fluttershy's disapproving look, and forced a smile, “I mean, thank you.”

Pinkie Pie reached out and hugged Nocturne in her death grip, “Bye-bye for now, new bestie!”  She then looked at Fluttershy as if seeing her there for the first time, “Oh! Bye, Fluttershy! Sorry about the B & E!”  And with that, she hopped to the door and out of the house.

There was an awkward pause in the wake of Pinkie's exit, until Fluttershy finally broke it, “That's funny . . . if Rainbow Dash wants to be friends now, then why doesn't she say so herself? It's not like her to be afraid of anything.”

Nocturne looked down at the floor dejectedly, “Sure it is. It's exactly like anypony to be afraid of me.”

“Oh, don't be sad, Nocturne,” Fluttershy put a calming hoof on his shoulder, “Rainbow Dash will come around. She can't stay like that forever.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But you know something? If she did, she'd have every right to.”

There he was.  Making his way out of Fluttershy's cottage and back into the heart of town.  What he'd done to the place could only be guessed at, as was where he planned to go next.

Rainbow Dash hovered above the streets of Ponyville, as far up and behind as possible to avoid being seen, and continued to observe Nocturne.  Judging from his direction, he seemed to be heading to Rarity's place—and judging from Pinkie Pie's exit from Fluttershy's a few minutes ahead of him—her attempts at fraternizing with Nocturne had been a bust.  She could hardly believe that; if Pinkie Pie could even warm the heart of Cranky Doodle Donkey, how could she fail at befriending Nocturne?

This was really driving Dash crazy.

Well, if you want something done right, she thought as Nocturne turned a corner, and stayed on him, you have to do it yourself.  Dash still felt strange about all this sneaking around, but she felt as though she had no choice.  Something about Nocturne made her keep her distance somehow.  How could he be such a changed pony and still be so repellant?

Or was it 'frightening' pony?

“No!” Dash said out loud, “I'm not scared! I'm never scared! I'm Rainbow Dash! Nothing scares me! I'll figure this pony out no matter what! And I'm not gonna let him freak me out again!”  She put a hoof to her mouth when it slipped out, as if she could somehow take it back.  'Again'?  She couldn't believe she'd said that.  She couldn't believe she'd even thought it.

It distracted her so much, she didn't even notice that Nocturne had caught her.

He stared up at her, a combination of caution and confusion on his features, and Dash simply stared back, her own confused/cautioned look mirroring him.  She slowly lowered herself back to the ground her eyes locked onto Nocturne's the whole time.  A long, cumbersome pause began once Dash's hooves touched ground, and went on for an uncomfortable length of time.  Dash fleetingly wondered, What did Fluttershy do when she first met him? What does she do now?  What should I do now?

The pressure of the situation started to get to her, and Dash finally spoke, “Uhh . . . h-hey, Nocturne.”  She felt herself trying to maintain calm and politeness; now that she had Nocturne's attention, she wanted to go off on a tangent, but she kept her cool, mostly for Fluttershy's sake.

Nocturne's gaze slowly lowered to the ground, and his voice was low and subdued as he acknowledged her, “. . . . Rainbow Dash.”

Dash felt her confidence rise a bit (she was still stunned to know it had dropped so much), and she continued, “Look, Nocturne, I . . . I've been wanting to talk to you about something.”

This seemed to be some kind of signal to Nocturne; he turned away and slowly started walking again, “Not right now, Rainbow Dash. Maybe later.”

Dash now started feeling her temper building more than her confidence.  She caught up with Nocturne quickly and stood in his path, “Hey! Here I am trying to make conversation, and you just walk away? What's your problem? You were a lot more willing to talk when we met in the forest—”

“Please, I said not now!” Nocturne raised his voice, prompting a few passing ponies to glance at him, “I have a lot of jobs to get to today, and Pinkie Pie has been bugging me enough as it is. Right now, I just want to be left alone.”  And with that, he walked around Rainbow Dash and quickly made his way down the street, turning the first corner he came to.

Dash was now incensed at Nocturne's insistent dismissal.  “Oh, no you don't!” she retorted, chasing Nocturne to the corner, “Come back here, Nocturne! This is serious business! I want—” she stopped when she turned the corner, and saw that Nocturne was gone.  She was sure she'd seen him turn this corner, and nopony else walking down this street seemed to notice him coming down this way.  And he couldn't possibly be that fast (nopony was faster than Rainbow Dash, at least in her own mind).

So, how had he just vanished into thin air?

Nocturne was surely glad he could still pull some of his old tricks.  Vanishing in the darkness of the Everfree Forest was always easy, so he believed he would be out of his element in Ponyville.  He was glad that being forced to disappear led him to discover he could still do it.

If Rainbow Dash was intent on following him all day, he'd need to.

After distancing himself from the insistent Pegasus mare, Nocturne finally reached Rarity's store and provided his services. Rarity was trying a new suit design incorporating reflective crystals, and needed Nocturne to model it outside in the sun.  Disliking broad daylight in the first place, Nocturne knew that this crystal suit would turn him into a living beacon, and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash would be able to find him easily.  But Rarity had insisted, and Nocturne couldn't disappoint her; he didn't want to alienate her the same way he'd alienated Rainbow Dash.

When it came to Fluttershy's friends hating his guts, one was more than enough.

“Oooooooh!!” Rarity squealed when Nocturne was fully dressed, “It looks positively stunning! I've outdone myself once again! Oh, Nocturne, darling, you look fabulous!”

Nocturne looked down at the crystal suit, and was honestly amazed at how the sun reflected brilliantly off the crystals woven into the fabric.  “It looks incredible, Rarity,” he marveled.

“Ooh, you shameless flatterer, you!” Rarity smiled, playfully poking him with a hoof, “It's only because you make it look so good, you know! I still say that if you get rid of that tacky hat, you could model professionally!”

Shaking his head, Nocturne replied, “No can do, Rarity. I'm not the kind of pony who likes being in the spotlight.”  He took a moment to reconsider; he was, after all, a semi-amnesiac, “At least . . . I don't think I am . . . am I?”

Rarity noticed his hesitation, and put a comforting hoof on his shoulder.  “You'll remember, darling. Someday, you will. I'm sure of it.”

“Remember what?”

“Oh, no . . .” Nocturne quietly groaned as he recognized the voice.  As soon as the words left his mouth, Pinkie Pie stood beside him, her face so close to his, their muzzles nearly touched.

“Found you!” Pinkie shrieked in delight, “Tag! You're it!”  She tapped Nocturne's shoulder so hard, two of the crystals on his suit fell off and hit the grass.

“Pinkie Pie!” Rarity scolded, “Darling, you must be more careful! I slaved over this outfit!”

“Oops! Sorry, Rarity! But that's what you do when you play tag! You tag! Hee-hee! Now, it's your turn, Nocturne! Betcha can't catch me! Hee-hee! Your turn, Nocturne! Nocturne's turn! Turn, Nocturne, turn! Turn, Nocturne, Nocturne, turn—”

Nocturne was confounded, “Since when are we playing tag?!”

“You mean, you weren't hiding because I was it? Wait, am I not it? Who's it, then? Somepony around here is it, I know it!”

Nocturne sighed and began taking off Rarity's outfit, “Look, girls, I'd better get going. It's been a long day, and I wouldn't want to—”

“There you are!”

Another new voice made Nocturne groan some more.  Rainbow Dash dropped down from the sky, making a beeline right for Nocturne.  “Thought you could sneak away from me, huh?” she pressed on, her blazing eyes locked onto the stallion, “Look, Nocturne, you and I need to talk. Now!”

“So, I guess we're not playing tag . . . . oooh! Then how about 'Red Light, Green Light'? Or 'Red Rover'? Or 'Blind Mare's Bluff'? Ooh, ooh! 'Heads-Up, Seven-Up' is one of my favorites!!”

“Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, please! You're disrupting my creative atmosphere!”

“I'm not leaving until I get an explanation from him! And I won't let you outta my sight this time, Nocturne!”

“Or maybe you play cards? How about poker? Or blackjack? Old Maid? Ooh, I know! Moo-Gi-Oh! The label says its for cows, but I don't see why we can't—”

“Darlings, I must insist you keep the noise down! You're causing a scene!”

“Nocturne, out with it! I think you owe somepony here an apolo—”

“STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!”

Nocturne screamed at the top of his lungs and flexed his wings to their maximum span, silencing all three mares instantly.  He could feel his temper and emotional balance slipping with each word in this chaotic mess, and despite his best efforts, he had snapped.  Now, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and even Rainbow Dash were staring at him fearfully, and several ponies walking by had stopped to stare at him the same way.  One mare walking by with her two foals had to quiet the children down, as Nocturne's outburst had made them cry.

It was no wonder—his hideous wings were fully spread, he was breathing harshly and unsteadily through his teeth, and he could feel the glow in his red eyes burning.

The glow in Nocturne's eyes subsided, and he quickly retracted his wings.  He looked, awestruck, at the faces of the three mares, glanced at the frightened and angered looks on the passing ponies, and felt his heart evaporate.  The feeling was quickly followed by another splitting pain in his head, and the feeling of sudden remembrance returned . . .

Fillies and colts screamed at him.  Parents hid their foals from him.  It had been the final straw.  Something had forced him to get angry.  Something had forced him to lash out, to get revenge, to show the whole town what would happen if they pushed him over the line.

Something had forced him to run away, and never come back.

The painful return of his memories sent shivers running through Nocturne's whole body, and spurred him into a present-day parallel.  Almost without thinking, he turned around and ran away, shuddering all over, breathing shakily, and holding back tears.

“Nocturne!” Rarity called after him, “Darling, where are you going? Please come back!”  It was too late.  Nocturne was gone, racing back to the only place he thought to go.

The place he'd gone all those years ago.  On the day he'd snapped the first time.

Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all approached the border to the part of Everfree Forest that Nocturne still called home.  They were accompanied by Fluttershy, as they needed somepony who knew Nocturne best, somepony who knew where he'd go.  Fluttershy had had the situation explained to her, and had a good idea of what had happened: a case of miscommunication gone berserk.

Rainbow Dash had been elected to try and approach Nocturne first, and she stepped forward, close to the trees, and spoke up, “Uhhh . . . Nocturne? It's Rainbow Dash. Look, all I want is to talk. We can do that, right?”

There was a rustling within the foliage, and the four mares were suddenly stricken with a chilling case of déjà vu.  They had been here before, and had done what they were doing now in the exact same instance.  The only things missing were Nocturne's glowing red eyes, but due to Nocturne's condition when last seen, it was likely that they would remain absent.

The group was greeted by Nocturne's voice: “What do you want?”  It sounded cautious, almost paranoid, a bit defensive, but was otherwise melancholy.  Even now, Fluttershy still marveled at how four simple words could convey such a wealth of emotional pain.

Rainbow Dash struggled to continue, but drew a blank as soon as she heard Nocturne speak.  “I can't do this, Fluttershy,” she muttered to her, “Nocturne can't even stand me. He's not coming out just 'cause I asked.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath and took over, “Nocturne, it's Fluttershy. Please come out. I don't want to see two of my friends so upset with each other. Can we please work this out? Do it for me. Please?”

There was a pause, punctuated by a deep, pitiful sigh from beyond the border.  Finally, there was more rustling of leaves, and Nocturne stepped out into the open, his fedora pulled shamefully over his eyes.

“Oh, Nocturne,” Rarity greeted him in a motherly tone, “Are you quite all right, my dear?”

“Don't be so gloomy, Nocturne!” Pinkie chirped happily, “We're here for you! And we're gonna make you smile again! YAY!”

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy addressed her, “Tell Nocturne what you want to say. Don't keep it all in, okay? Let it all out.”

Dash took a step forward, fumbled with her hooves for a moment, took a deep breath, and finally spoke her mind, “I've been wanting to talk to you about the day we met. You know, when you . . .” she struggled to bring it up, not quite wanting to remember it, but went ahead, “. . . when you hurt me. I know you've changed now, so . . . I just—”

“You're still angry with me,” Nocturne interrupted, “I understand. You have every right to be.”

“Huh?” Dash looked back at him, confused, “So . . . you feel guilty about it?”

“Every day of my life. What I did was wrong, and with all my heart, I wish I could take it all back. I never should have attacked you. I had no right and I had no excuse, and I'm sorry.”

“But, Nocturne,” Fluttershy asked, “If you felt so bad, why didn't you say anything? You could've apologized before, and none of this would have happened.”

Nocturne bowed his head, “I figured, what difference would it make?”  He slowly looked up at Dash, “You already hate me.”

Nocturne's words struck Rainbow Dash like a bullet to the heart.  All this time, she thought Nocturne hated her, and she didn't consider for a moment that the reverse could be true.

“Look, Nocturne,” Dash tried to explain, “I did have a pretty low opinion of you. I admit that. But I never hated you. The truth is . . . . well . . . . . oh, please don't make me say it.”

“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy gently insisted, a hint of a reprimand in her tone.

“All right, all right! The truth is . . . I was scared of you, all right? I still am, a little bit. I didn't want to bring up why you hadn't apologized, because I was afraid it would happen again! That's why I got Pinkie Pie involved. I figured, if she could be your friend, she could find out for me.”  Dash paused, sighed guiltily, and continued, “I guess it was a stupid idea. And it wasn't really fair to Pinkie. So, I'm sorry, okay?”

Pinkie quickly reached out and hugged Dash, “I forgive you, Dashie! I actually had lots of fun with Nocturne! Sure, he's grumpy and quiet, but he's a good pony!”

Despite maintaining his shame, Nocturne couldn't help but grin under his hat.  “You don't have to apologize, Dash,” he replied, “I'm not the best at communicating, either. I should have apologized sooner. In fact, this all started because of what I did. I'm the pony at fault here, and I need to own up to it.”

“Oh, darlings, it doesn't matter who's at fault!” Rarity intervened, “The matter is settled, isn't it? And there will be no more ill feelings between the two of you from here on out.”

“Rarity's right,” Fluttershy agreed, “It's all in the past now. And now, you two have a chance to start over and be friends.”

Dash nodded, “Yeah! Good idea, Fluttershy!”  She turned back to Nocturne and offered a hoof, “I'm Rainbow Dash, fast flier, aspiring Wonderbolt, and all-around awesome pony!”

The stallion grinned a little more, and bumped hooves with Dash, “Nocturne. Former 'phantom pony', and not much else. If I had more background, I'd fill you in, but that's all I've got.”

“Eh, don't sweat it,” Dash replied good-naturedly, “Like Fluttershy said, let bygones be bygones. And just so you know,” she added with a wink, “I forgive you.”

Now, Nocturne had a true smile on his face, “Thanks, Dash.”

Nocturne's Log

Day 12 of my return to the city

I'm still dealing with the long-term effects of what I've done as 'the phantom pony of Everfree'.  Having a past as heinous as mine has made me closed-off, to say the least. It's not easy to take responsibility for the things you've done, and the worse the act, the harder it gets.  Before I came back, Fluttershy's friend Rainbow Dash had confronted me in the woods, angry at what I had done to Fluttershy earlier.  My response was unforgivable, and I was so sure that, on top of already having a bone to pick with me, Rainbow Dash would despise me indefinitely.

I was wrong.

At least, partially.  She didn't hate me, but I still understood her opinion of me.  She, like many other ponies, still feared me.  So much so, in fact, that she felt the same way toward me as I did toward her.  Strangely enough, I wasn't the only pony to learn this lesson today—don't keep bad feelings locked up.  Make sure your friends know exactly how you feel, especially if you're around friends you can trust.  If ponies don't know what's in your heart, it could clash with what's in theirs, and that could lead to disaster.

It's going to be a rocky road, but things between Dash and myself have given us a good start.  She, like Fluttershy, showed me that no matter what you've done or who you are, nopony is irredeemable.  All you have to do is speak your mind, and say what you feel.

Thank you, Rainbow Dash.  You may be a raving egomaniac, but you're not so bad after all.  I only hope you feel the same about me.

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