After what could have been hours, Nocturne and Fluttershy pulled away from their deep embrace, and stood up in a haze of awkwardness. Nocturne felt weak and shaky on his legs, and his face felt warm and wet from crying. Looking into Fluttershy’s smiling face, feeling her fur pressed against his, knowing she’d forgiven him after everything that had happened—the knowledge that she was his first true friend—gave his face another reason to warm up.

“Nocturne, I want you to promise me something,” Fluttershy asked earnestly. “I want you to be able to apologize to my friends, too. Especially Twilight and Rainbow Dash.”

“Uhhh . . . who?”

Fluttershy sighed and answered, “The Alicorn and the Pegasus with the rainbow mane.” She leaned in closer and spoke low, “You know, the one you beat up the other day.”

“Oohhh . . . her . . . .” The look on his face and the tone of his voice clearly proved that Nocturne remembered fully well whom she meant.

“Yes. They’ve been through a lot, and I want you to show them you’re different now. Show them you don’t mean them harm, and show them how you feel about what happened before.”

Nocturne seemed to shake in place where he stood, only just enough for Fluttershy to notice. His eyes widened and his brow furrowed.

“I . . . I don’t know,” he said, “. . . I . . . w-would they accept my apology? Will they forgive me the same way you did?”

“Well, maybe not right away,” Fluttershy admitted, “but like I said, if you show you’re willing to work with them, everything will be fine.”

The stallion released a sigh. “Will I have to go out there again?”

“Yes, but only when you’re ready. I want you to be comfortable in this, okay?”

Nocturne nodded. “I . . . well, I actually want to try . . . going back out there . . . .”

“Really?” Fluttershy gasped, her eyes widening. “You really want to?”

“Y-yes . . .” Nocturne answered. “I can’t expect you to always be able to come and visit me. You have a life out there. So . . . I . . . I want to do my best to have a life out there too.”

“Nocturne, that’s wonderful!” Fluttershy cheered and hugged her new friend. “I promise you, Ponyville is not at all like you remember it! Everypony is friendly, and my friends and I will do our best to help you fit in! We might even be able to help you remember your talent, so you can share it with the whole town!”

“Whoa, whoa, hold it,” Nocturne calmed her. “That sounds great and all, but . . . they still think I’m the Phantom Pony . . . I can’t go out there yet. Not until they know I’m not bad . . . and that’s taken a long time to build up for it to just go away overnight . . . I . . . I don’t . . . .”

“It’s okay, Nocturne,” Fluttershy replied with a grin. “Baby steps. Only when you’re ready. Okay?”

Nocturne felt a smile creep over his face—the first true smile he’d had in years—and nodded.

“Okay . . . and whatever you need me to do, I’ll do my best . . . oh, but first . . . .”

Nocturne suddenly turned away and trotted towards a pile of leaves behind the tree that the bushel leaned against. He dug through the leaves, found what he was looking for, and carried it back to Fluttershy in his teeth. When he dropped it at her hooves, Fluttershy saw what it was, and gasped.

It was the duck plushie she’d given him as part of her care package to him, from what seemed like a lifetime ago. It sported deep slash marks in the shoulder, stomach and back, patches of its yellow plumage were bald, one leg literally hung on by a thread, and most of the stuffing was gone.

“The Lamia tore it up when it came back,” Nocturne explained. “I know I shouldn’t ask favors, but . . . could . . . well . . . could you fix it for me?”

Fluttershy looked up at Nocturne with a soft, glowing smile.

“Of course, Nocturne,” she said. “I’m sure my friend Rarity would be more than happy to help.”

Nocturne felt his blush strengthen as he dipped his head down, looking up at Fluttershy and smiling.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Nocturne.”

From a few feet away, hiding behind a tree, Twilight Sparkle observed the whole scene without being spotted. After Nocturne’s unexpected appearance at Applejack's farm, she had only one thought coursing through her mind as soon as she saw Fluttershy hours later. The same thought played on a loop in her head as she flew over Ponyville, watching Fluttershy like a hawk until she made it to the border to the Everfree Forest. It continued to play from the moment she snuck in just past the border, hid behind a tree, and began watching them in the dark of the woods to this very moment:

I need to be sure she’s okay.

What Twilight ended up seeing was nothing short of extraordinary. The so-called “Phantom Pony of Everfree”, in tears? It was far more unbelievable than seeing Nocturne in the flesh earlier that day. And yet, somehow, having heard a majority of everything between Fluttershy and Nocturne, it made sense. At last, seeing him at Sweet Apple Acres today made sense, and everything came together, just as Twilight was sure it came together for Fluttershy in the same way.

Suddenly, the prospect that seemed the most unusual and unlikely didn’t seem all that bad anymore: everything about Nocturne that had ever been said may have been wrong, and everything Fluttershy had said about him was right.

“She did it,” Twilight mumbled, feeling a generous swell pride in her friend. “She tamed him. I guess I should know better by now than to underestimate Fluttershy.”

“She really did become Nocturne’s friend.”

Twilight jumped at the voice that piped up beside her, despite it being almost as hushed as her own. She glanced down to see the speaker: Sweetie Belle. She and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had followed Twilight to this very spot.

“What are you girls doing here?!” Twilight hissed, keeping her tone low.

“We wanted to come by and thank Nocturne properly for savin’ us,” Apple Bloom whispered.

“We’ve been putting some stuff together for the last few days,” Scootaloo added, hushed, “and we think we might be able to help Nocturne, too. You see, something happened to him when he was a colt—”

“Girls, please,” Twilight said, holding up a hoof. “I know you want to help, but this isn’t the time.”

“But that thing in the paper—”

“He might have been attacked—”

“We could help him find out what happened—”

“Girls!” Twilight spoke up, a bit louder than she’d meant to. Hurriedly, she pulled the girls away from her spot in the woods and ushered them out of the Everfree Forest. Once a safe distance away (Hopefully, we’re out of earshot now, Twilight thought in a panic), the Alicorn addressed the Cutie Mark Crusaders more formally.

“Look, girls, I know you’ve done your homework on Nocturne, and it’s wonderful that you want to help him. But this is going to be a very strange and very overwhelming time for him. He’s on the road to convincing an entire town that he’s not the ghostly being they thought he was. That’s going to be enough on his plate without bringing up things in his past he may not be ready for. So, I want you girls to make a promise to me that you won’t talk to Nocturne about his past until he’s ready.”

“But Twilight—”

“We’re so close—”

“We can help—”

“Girls, promise me!” Twilight spoke over them. “Please. At least for Fluttershy’s sake. You could end up hurting Nocturne, and that will upset Fluttershy. If not for his sake or mine, then at least for hers, okay?”

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom glanced at one another, sharing frowns and shelling out cut off attempts to protest. After a few seconds, though, each filly muttered her consent:

“Okay, Twilight.”

“We’ll try.”

“Sorry, Twilight.”

“There’s no need to apologize, girls,” Twilight assured them. “None of us realized how . . . well . . . sensitive Nocturne can be.” It still sounded strange, even as she said it now. “So, he needs to figure things out before anything else. He’s proven he’s capable of making up for what he’s done, so let him do that first. Then you can help us help him remember his past. Fair enough?”

The Crusaders glanced at each other again, this time furtively, and all nodded in agreement.

“Good.” Twilight nodded as well, then turned to leave. “You girls go on home for now. Let Fluttershy handle things from here. She’ll have everything under control.” And this time, I won’t question her, she added in thought. She can do this. I know that now more than ever.

“Where’re you goin’ Twilight?” Apple Bloom asked as Twilight walked off.

Twilight stopped long enough to turn back toward the Crusaders, gave them a wide smile, and said something she hadn’t said in a long time:

“I’m going to write a letter!”

Dear Princess Celestia,

I know it’s been a while, but I just wanted to share my thoughts with you in regards to some recent events here in Ponyville. I recently met a rare pony who clearly needs help, but does all he can to reject it. This can be a huge friendship test; that kind of insistence may just be the biggest sign that you should be strong, fight your fears, and never give up on a friend.

Admittedly, I learned quite a bit from this situation. This same stubborn pony has taught me that fear takes many forms. Fear of being different, fear of reliving the past, fear of change—all of them can lead to anger, bitterness, and even vengeance, if not properly handled. But any way it goes, nothing quells fear like knowing there's somepony there for you.

Finally, I've learned that emotions are easy to hide, but hard to lose, and what goes on in a pony's mind isn't always out in the open. It's best to treat those that hide their pain with compassion; they're fighting a battle we may never see.

I'll be sure to update you on how the situation is going. I think this pony will show us new things, especially now that he has at least one new friend he can count on. I expect good things from him, and the new friend he’s found in Fluttershy.

Your still-faithful ex-student,

Twilight Sparkle

Author's Notes:

And here it is, the final chapter!

Thank you all so much for making this a long, successful story! You readers are the best! Thank you all!