Midnight followed Applejack down the girt path. He looked at the scenery around him as he walked. Never has he seen such beauty in nature. He was always forced into the dark and sinister areas of the woods or other dangerous areas. Everyone that met Midnight always wanted him gone. But now, he has met a few ponies willing to be friends. Applejack seemed nice, but he wasn't so sure. Soon, they came to a large farm filled with apple trees.

"Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres" she said, "We make the best apples in all of Equestria."

Midnight looked at a basket full of apples and his mouth began to water. His stomach growled loudly and even scared Applejack. Midnight looked ashamed but Applejack laughed. She grabbed a basket and placed it beside him. Midnight exchanged looks between the basket and Applejack. Applejack giggled, "It's alright, there's plenty." Midnight took no haste into eating. The apples he was eating were the greatest thing he has ever eaten in a long while. He nearly ate half the basket in one full minute. But, he stopped himself and looked up. Applejack had a slight look of disgust on her face. Midnight finished the apple he was eating and pushed the basket away. "I'm sorry Applejack" he said, "After many days of running; I haven't had anything so delicious in a while."

"That's might fine" she said. "I'm just glad you liked our apples. In fact, I know a way you can help out while yer here! Follow me partner!"

Applejack galloped towards the apple trees with a mouthful of baskets. Midnight grabbed a few and followed. Applejack placed all of the baskets under the trees in a circle. She reared up and kicked the trunk of the tree. All of the apples on the tree fell off and piled into the baskets.

"This here is called Apple Bucking" she said. "Let's see if you can do it…"

Midnight walked to a tree surrounded by baskets. He went up on front claws, something he has never done before, and kicked the trunk. Apples fell into the baskets, but they also fell on top of Midnight. A giant pile of apples were now where Midnight used to be. Applejack laughed as Midnight fought his way out of the pile. Another laugh went along with Applejack and Midnight turned. The same filly that was beside Scootaloo was now here. She had a pink bow in her mane and no mark on her flank. Applejack walked over beside her, "Midnight, this is my little sister Apple Bloom."

"I just want to thank you again for saving my friend" she said.

"It's no trouble…" he replied, "But what was she doing up there?"

"She was trying to get her cutie mark. You see, me, her, and Sweetie Bell are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Apple Bloom stood in a victorious pose that made Midnight chuckle. "We try everyday to find out our special talent and get our cutie mark! Hey!" Apple Bloom ran over and looked at Midnight's flank. "That's a mighty fine cutie mark ya got yourself there. How did ya get it?"

This caused Midnight to become uneasy. "Uh…I rather not…" he said. "Aww…come one!" Apple Bloom pleaded, "Please…?" Midnight looked slightly mad now, "I said NO!"

Midnight ran off in the other direction. What he didn't realize was that he was running straight into town. Midnight instantly saw that he was being stared at by many ponies. Everyone saw his heroic act, but that wasn't enough for some ponies. They simply walked right past him but couldn't help but to stare. Midnight slowly walked into the closest building. It was a large blue building shaped like a carousel. As soon as Midnight entered he gasped in awe. Surrounding him were several outfits and dresses designed with prestige fashion and beauty.

"Hello and welcome to the Carousel Boutique" said a voice. Midnight turned to see Rarity. She was facing him but her eyes were closed, "How may I be of service to…" Once she opened her eyes she let out a small scream. Midnight backed up but Rarity calmed down, "My goodness dear, don't sneak up on me like that!" Midnight looked down at the ground. Rarity seemed to perk up and patted Midnight's side. Midnight walked away from Rarity and looked at all of the outfits. Some of them were covered and lined with colorful gemstones and displayed on a grand stand. "Where did you find all of these gems?" he asked.

"I found them myself" she said. "That is my special talent and that's now I obtained my cutie mark."

The word cutie mark made Midnight feel depressed again. Rarity saw his sudden change in emotion. She came to his side and patted his back again. But Midnight turned and left. Rarity tried to run out after him but he was nowhere to be found once she went through the door. Rarity looked around and didn't see Midnight. She did see Applejack and Apple Bloom gallop past. "Applejack, where are you going?"

Applejack stopped in her tracks making Apple Bloom run into her rear. "Oh, howdy Rarity" she said. "Have you seen Midnight runnin through these parts?"

"Midnight just left my boutique. Is something wrong? He seemed very depressed about something…"

"Well he was angry when he ran from us" said Apple Bloom.

Rarity joined Applejack and Apple Bloom as they ran off. Unfortunate for them, Midnight ran off in the opposite direction. And another unfortunate turn of events was that Midnight ran into Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy as well. They all mentioned something about his cutie mark, causing him to run off. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy met up with the others to try and find him. But Midnight wasn't anywhere in Ponyville. With no clue where to look, they turned to one person and hurried there.

Twilight was organizing her books when the door flew open. "Twilight, we have a situation out 'ere!" shouted Applejack. The sudden sounds caused Twilight to lose her focus, causing all of the books to fall. Twilight groaned and faced them. A situation for them was always something simple. "Midnight is missing?!" Twilight was shocked that this was an actual situation.

"Wait, I thought he was supposed to stay with you Applejack?" she asked.

"He was supposed to" she replied. "But he ran off in anger when Apple Bloom asked about his cutie mark."

"He seemed sad when he ran from me" said Rarity.

"I tried to help him…" said Fluttershy quietly, "But…I was too scared…"

"I couldn't even make him laugh" said Pinkie Pie.

Twilight thought it over and an idea flashed onto her face. Using her magic, she levitated a book off the ground and it hovered in front of her. The pages turned very quickly but landed on a page that caught Twilight's attention. "This is his mark right?" she asked as the book floated towards the others. The page had a very detailed copy of the Heart of Darkness along with a detailed description. The others nodded and the book was brought back in front of Twilight. "It says here that the Heart of Darkness is extremely rare both to come by and to get. There has only been one other pony recorded within this book. His name isn't given and neither is the way he received his cutie mark. The only thing that is listed is that he was a very noble warrior."

"But then what does it say about the mark?" asked Rarity.

"The book mentions that the noble warrior said he regrets what he did to receive his mark. It gives no other details. The Heart of Darkness cutie mark is a complete mystery."

There was a small silence before Applejack spoke, "So…what you're saying is…Midnight hates his cutie mark…?"

"That would explain why he ran from us" said Pinkie Pie.

There was a knock on the door and Rainbow Dash walked in. "Hey guys" she greeted, "Why is everyone here?"

"Midnight ran off Rainbow" said Fluttershy.

"No he didn't. I saw Midnight heading towards the Everfree Forest. I think he was going to see Zecora. It didn't look like the normal way, but he probably just wanted to see some more of the forest."

Everypony ran past Rainbow leaving her stunned. But, she ran out and joined them. As Rainbow said, Midnight was just on the edge of the Everfree Forest. It was indeed not the same way they usually took to Zecora. Midnight seemed to be walking away with his head down. "Midnight wait!" shouted Twilight. Midnight stopped and turned. Everypony that he knew was there. "Where are you going?" Twilight asked. "I thought you wanted to stay in Ponyville."

"I do, I honestly do" he replied. "But…my cutie mark…"

The same book that Twilight was reading before was placed in front of him open to his mark. He looked at the page and then back at Twilight. "We know how the mark comes to a pony, but we don't know what you did. It obviously scares you, but maybe if you tell us we can help you. We know it upsets you but we are your friends. We won't judge you because of a stupid mark." A long silence filled the area as the sun began to set. As of now it barely touched the horizon. "I was a very small filly when I got it…"

---

A small black figure was running through a small village surrounded by trees. It was carrying a small basket in its mouth with some apples in it. He came into the light of the moon, revealing his colors. It was a younger version of Midnight, but he did not have his cutie mark and his eye had no sign of any scars. He placed the basket down and took a bite out of the apple. Then, a trio of older fillies came up behind Midnight. "So freak, what you have for us today?" Midnight shuttered as he turned and faced the group. They were large for their size, each one sporting some powerful muscle. One was blue, one was yellow, and the other one was black. Each of their manes were the same color and same style; short and red. The black one was a Pegasus and the blue on was a unicorn. The blue one had a knife cutie mark, the black one had an ice crystal cutie mark, and the yellow one had a boxing glove cutie mark. Midnight backed up as the three fillies ate the rest of the apples in his basket.

"W-Wait…t-that's all I had for…t-today…" said Midnight in a scared tone.

The three fillies finished eating but the blue one walked towards him. The horn on his head began to glow a sinister red. "Aww…does the little freak think it's unfair for us to steal its food?" he said in a mocking tone. "Well, let's see what my special talent thinks…" The unicorn swung his head and a red blade flew towards Midnight. Midnight dodged it and tried to run away. The yellow pony suddenly appeared in front of him and bucked him. Midnight landed right back near the blue unicorn. The unicorn charged his and sliced his horn towards Midnight. Midnight was flung back from the hit and his back slammed into a tree. Red liquid was near Midnight's face on the grass. He grasped his left eye and looked at it. His hoof was covered in blood and his eye continued to bleed. Midnight backed up as all three of them closed in on them.

"I think he's had enough" said the Pegasus.

"No…I think he deserves more" said the unicorn. "This freak has been here for years and he still hasn't left."

The unicorn continued his attacks. Midnight tried to run away, but he ended up getting several scars across his body. Blood ran all across his body. It almost seemed like his body was red instead of blue. Midnight collapsed on the ground from exhaustion and the lack of blood. The unicorn aimed his horn towards Midnight and the glow became extremely bright. "Just one more hit should finish him off…"

Suddenly, a blast of black energy knocked back the unicorn and the yellow pony. They got up rather quickly but shuttered at the sight in front of them. Midnight was now covered entirely in a black aura. The aura seemed to float up off of him and dissipate. His eyes now glowed a bright blood red. His wings were outstretched and the tips of his wings and spikes appeared to be razor sharp. His claws dug deep into the ground by just standing there. The two ponies were now scared stiff. "You wanted…to kill me…" Midnight said in an even deeper voice, "Let's see…how you like it!" Midnight pounced on the blue unicorn and began to slash his claws into his skin. As much as the blue unicorn tried to fight him off, Midnight continued his attack. Blood flew everywhere as Midnight continued his attack. The yellow pony ran towards them as a desperate attempt to stop the fight. However, a black energy formed around him and slammed him into the ground. Midnight's straight horn was surrounded in black energy as he turned to him, "You will get your turn…" Midnight ignored the annoying yellow pony and continued his attack. The blue unicorn was mauled until there was nothing left but a motionless corpse. Midnight turned to the yellow pony who was now trying to fight against the black magic. Midnight said nothing as he did the same attack onto him. But this time, he stabbed his straight horn straight into the pony's heart. Midnight dislodged his horn and stood tall. The black Pegasus stood beside them at a fair distance. Midnight slowly turned his head towards the cowering Pegasus, making him flinch even more. "You spared my life" he said in a deep tone, "So I shall spare yours…"

With that said, the black Pegasus galloped away with great speed. Midnight's all red eyes slowly faded back to the blue pupils of his original eyes. The black aura stopped flowing out of him completely. He collapsed on the ground from complete exhaustion. However, he quickly got up when he glanced down at the ground and saw a loose bloody limb. He looked around and saw two mauled corpses of what was left of the two bullying ponies. Midnight shifted his eyes across the scene, but his eyes landed on his own claws as he lifted them towards his face. Blood covered his claws, but this wasn't his blood. His body was also covered in a mixture of blood; some of his own, the rest of the two innocent ponies. Midnight had no idea what happened, but he was sacred out of his mind. Lightning struck and thunder sounded as dark clouds began to roll in. Midnight ran away from his village, away from the ponies, away from anything. He was a threat to everypony. One last thing he noticed before he said goodbye to his home forever, was the new mark along his side.

---

The entire group was silent after Midnight explained his past. Fluttershy seemed to be sick. Rarity looked ready to turn around and run from Midnight. Everypony else had a very stunned expression on their faces. Midnight knew they would do this. He turned around and started to leave, "If you ever see Princess Luna…tell her that…"

"Midnight wait!" shouted a voice. Everyone turned to see both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. "Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!" shouted Twilight. All of the ponies bowed except for Midnight. Where he was from, there was no princess. So he never learned how to address on properly. But, he caught on to the importance of the kneeling and attempted to mimic it. However, he fell over as a result. This received a small giggle from Pinkie Pie but nothing else. Both princesses walked up to Midnight.

"Midnight, we have heard your tale" said Princess Celestia. "We understand your concern from us. But your violent actions were only a result from the actions done onto you. Ponyville is one of the least violent places in Equestria. Please stay…"

Midnight gazed at the Princess. Her words were true and her emotion was kind. His gaze shifted to Princess Luna. She seemed like she was going to cry at the wrong answer. Midnight hated to see her like this, but he would hate it even more if he caused any pain to her on accident. He took in a deep breath and exhaled greatly. He slowly walked back to the group of ponies. They all jumped on him in happiness and started to laugh. Midnight couldn't help but to at least add a little chuckle in as well. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna smiled at his decision and left for their carriage. But Princess Luna stopped and turned to Midnight, "Midnight, what were you going to tell me?" Midnight's face flushed red as she asked that. Luna took this as an answer along with a small giggle. The sun was nearly set so the ponies said their goodbyes and departed. Midnight followed Applejack to her home. Sadly though, he needed to stay in the barn. Midnight did not mind though, it was probably one of the most comfortable places he has ever been in. He slumped onto a pile of straw and fell asleep.

Author's Notes:

The triple dashes --- mean a chance in scene