On a Cloudless night a long, long time Ago...

On nights like this, Nocturnal loved to roam the land known as Equestria.
It was a long way from germane to where he was now.
Dangerous journeys by land, even more dangerous journeys by sea.
Sea monsters, monsters on land, wicked ponies, and other creatures that wanted to harm him.
The chimera that cost him his left eye.
All this...
For this moment in life.
The stars twinkled, The moon shone bright and clear, no cloud could be seen. And even if he could get up in the air, for he was a batpony afte rall, he preferred the ground. The dirt under his hooves, the grass tickling his knees despite the red coat he was wearing. His sword was ready to be drawn though, as this place was a little scary.
The locals called it The Everfree Forest. Despite its relatively small size, it was close to where He was going.
The castle of the Two Sisters.
He was so excited.
If he hurried a little he could meet the princess of the night by tomorrow and thank her for all the beauty of her nights, all the times in which the moon had lit his way and all the times the stars twinkled and helped him to get along. He looked up with a smile.

"Such a wond'rful night..." he said softly, "thanketh thee, princess of the night, f'r this presenteth"

Stopping for a moment would certainly not hurt. He could use a short rest.
rustle
On his left.
In a bush.
Nocturnal moved cautiously towards the place, his wings ready to catapult him backward should this be necessary, his eye wide open.
It was a dangerous moment. No matter what was lurking there, he would be careful because his eye was important to him. Obviously.
Without that he would never be able to see the night again. And damn the monster that took away his good eye.

"Holla? Is anypone th're? feareth not i has't nay malicious intentions" he asked in the bushes.

In response, he got a ... cackle?
Okay that was strange.
Was there a chicken in the bushes? Maybe it ran away from her farm. If he brought it back maybe the farmer would give him a quiet place to sleep in the morning. Or even breakfast? That would be great.

"Cometh h're, dram chicken. I wonneth't harmeth thee. Doth thee wanteth me to taketh thee home?"

Something moved quickly towards him and he flapped his wings.
Whatever it was, it was clearly attacking him. Otherwise no chicken would approach an unknown one like that
The flap of his wing was so strong that it catapulted him off the path and deeper inside the forest. And he needed a second flap of his wing to bring some distance between himself and the attacker, which brought him a deeper into the forest, and down a small depression,
What came out of the bushes there wasn't a chicken!
It had the head of a chicken, but That’s where the similarities stopped.
He bit the hilt of his sword and swung it around, looking the beast in the eyes and getting ready when he felt something.
His tail felt so heavy all of a sudden.

The beast attacked, but he managed to hold it at a distance with a swing of his sword, looking inward for a second.
His back legs felt numb.

Oh nay! yond can not beest! Those gents turneth into stone!
What shouldst i doth?

First of all, take care of the monster in front of him. He threw back his head, and decapitated the beast!
Well, that was a little disappointing for a fight, but it gave him more time to see what he could do.
When he looked to his rear, his back was also petrified, and so were his wings, which he stretched out to keep him balanced.
He stuck the sword in the ground in front of him and looked around.
He was nowhere to be found, as remote as he stood in the forest. His wingbeat had actually carried him off the beaten track, if someone could call the dirtpath that on which he had hiked.
The forest wasn't too dense. Maybe someone would be able to find and help him?
Now his forelegs began to petrify. He was able to lift one of his leg a bit, but then it turned into stone stuck in this position.
Nocturnal felt a moment of panic, then calm and peace washed over him.
This was the end of his life, wasn't it?

"Oh alas. I very much desired to meeteth the princess of the night. What a shame. I'm traveling halfway 'round the w'rld from G'rmane to Equestria, surviving chim'ras and hydras, dang'rous flotes and flote monst'rs. And then i receiveth curs'd liketh yond done a thing yond looks liketh a chicken. Oh what a cruel fate "

He started to smile and looked at the moon when he felt his neck slowly turn to stone.

So closeth to the destination. So far hence anon

He felt the numbness rise further, now up the back of his head and forehead. He could see the moon.

I kicketh the bucket with a smileth yond shall nev'r vade grant you mercy to thee moon

As he continued to look, the petrification slowly reached his eye, a tear came off and flowed down to his muzzle where it stuck for a moment.
Then...
There was a bright light, shining in all colors of a rainbow and a shadow appeared on the moon.
Nocturnal opened his eye wide as he stared at the moon. There, on its light and white surface, the head of a mare was now depicted.

What...?

It was his last thought when the petrification enveloped him completely.

An unknown amount of time later

"I told you we're wrong here."
The mare's voice was annoyed
"The castle ruins can't be that far away. You will see that we are NOT lost."
The stallion was a little insecure, but he didn't let it show as best as he could.
"If any of these creatures of the forest attack us, I swear I'll break your leg." Now anger mixed with the mare's annoyance.
"Why's that? That would be really mean!" The stallion was probably scared.
"I would do this so I could run faster than you," said the mare in a matter of fact tone.
"That would mean that I would die!" Now the stallion was afraid, "Come on, we're colleagues!"

Just as the mare was about to answer something, the ground broke under the two of them. They slipped a little, both screamed, rolled over the forest floor and announced pain for everyone to hear.
"It's all your fault!" yelled the mare, then trotted off, "I'm done with you. If we don't come to this archaeological site before the sun goes down ..."
Her voice fell silent and she suddenly screamed out loud.
The stallion rushed after her, holding a machete in his snout, not sure what to do with it in case of need, but he would ...
He would drop the machete and scream too.

There in a small clearing stood a bat pony, one hoof slightly raised. Next to it a rusty sword in the ground, barely recognizable as such. And the batpony was about to trample his colleague down.
At least that's what it looked like until they both noticed that the batpony wasn't moving.

"What an extraordinary statue!" said the mare and began to examine the statue in front of her. She removed some vines, leafes and grass, "So detailed! and in such good condition!" she said delightedly.

"But ... what is this statue doing here?" asked the stallion, starting to look around the small clearing, "there is nothing here... no foundations for a house, no traces of ponies whatsoever... And look at his face. He smiles, but his eyes look horrified."
"Huh you're right. As if the artist had changed their motiv in the middle of the project... Could that be a hero statue? Or maybe a grave? The clothes look old. Very old. And take a look at the sword. A real sword! Albeit a little rusted." The mare looked closely at both the clothes and the sword.
"Hey, take a look here!" shouted the stallion after a while, "Here are petrified bones!"
The mare hurried over to him, looked at his find. There where just a few bones. But it was a chicken head that did not match the rest of the bones, and showed signs of a sword blow.
"Strange..." said the mare and began to lay the bones down as they belonged. There were missing parts, but it came enough together.
"That could be... a cockatrice..." she said thoughtfully, then opened her eyes wide in surprise and shock.
"Oh sweet celestia ..." she mumbled and looked at the batpony again, "I think this is not a statue... this is the victim of a cockatrice!"
The stallion just looked at her questioningly, while the mare went back to Nocturnals statue, "Cockatrice turn their prey to stone. It is their hunting strategy. Why exactly? Nopony knows yet. Captive cockatrices do not petrify their prey." she explained and freed the "statue" from more vines and grass and blew the leaves off from him, "This pony must have been here for a very long time! We have to let the others know and bring him to Canterlot."

The mare let her horn shine and shot a glowing red ball into the sky. A little later, a group of pegasies were on the spot and took the two archeologists, the bones of the animal and the petrified pony with them.
Carefully so that nothing breaks off, they brought the petrified pony to their camp, from there with the help of a carriage to the nearby village of Ponyville. There they asked a pony named Fluttershy if she could help them. As luck would have it, there was actually a cockatrice that could reverse the petrification.
It didn't take long to reverse the petrification, but Nocturnal almost instantly passed out and collapsed with a groan.

Probably a lifetime later

"Wh're am I? Owwww, mine own headeth is hurting"

That was the first thing Nocturnal said when he slowly came back to his senses. It took his eye time to focus, and he realized... that he was lying in bed. Not just in any bed. It was probably the most comfortable bed he ever felt.
Where was he?
What happened?

"Ugh. I am thirsty."

A pony entered the room in that moment.

"Oh good morning."

There was a strange noise from a corner of the room, like a small waterfall. With the help of magic the mare handed him a glass of water and a drinking straw.
So a unicorn then. Must be a noble.

"Since at which hour doth nobles doth such base ch'res?"

The unicorn looked at him with a raised eyebrow and started smiling.

"Me? A noble? How do you get that?"

Huh? this mare spoke strangely. He'd never heard an accent like that

"Here, have a drink first."

She handed him the glass and he drank, first cautiously, then more and more greedily. It felt like he hadn't drunk anything for ages!

"Ah thanketh thee valorous mare. But sayeth wh're am I? how didst I receiveth h're?"

She giggled!
Why is this mare giggling?
Nocturnal gave her a questioning look.

"Oh sorry. The way you talk is just extremely funny."

Nocturnal blinked in confusion, then stood up and stretched. He felt like he hadn't walked around for ages. All his bones cracked and he felt a little weak, but he stood.

"I thanketh thee f'r thy hospitality, but anon I has't to moveth on. I did want to wend to the castle of the two sist'rs to expresseth mine own grant you mercy to the princess of the night."

Now the mare looked a bit confused, cocked her head when she looked at him. He was physically okay, but he didn't seem to know that he had been petrified for a long time. Nobody knew exactly how long, and nobody really knew who he was. All that was known about him was that he had stood there for at least 200 years.
Probably longer.
Nocturnal went to the window and pulled the curtains aside.
And at the same moment as his eyes got used to the brightness outside, his jaw dropped.

"Which city is this? I has't nev'r seen such a big and magnificent city! and this magnificent castle! w'rthy of the princesses, I wouldst sayeth"

The mare, now better visible to Nocturnal, joined him. Her clothes were pure white, a red cross sewn on a breast pocket, her hat looked interesting and strange, but was also white with a red cross. She looked out the window with him and said quietly:

"This is Canterlot. The capital of Equestria. And that over there is the princesses' palace. There is a wedding there tomorrow, that's why it's a little more decorated here than usual."

Nocturnal turned to her again.

"The capital of Equestria? Tom'rrow thee sayeth? whose wedding is't?"

The mare looked him in the eye, with a little sadness and an understanding smile.

"The wedding of Princess Mi Amora Cadenza and Captain Shining Armor."

These names were completely unknown to Nocturnal.
Princess Mi Amora Cadenza?
Captain Shining Armor?
He must have slept longer than he thought.
memories came back at the thought, and he drew in the air in a loud gasp, grabbed the mare next to him by the collar and forced her to look at him.

"What hath happened to the moon wherefore wast th're a mare's visage th're? Is the moon n'rmal again? What didst the princess of the night sayeth about t?"

Nocturnal hadn't noticed that his Germane accent slipped through a bit too.
The mare looked at him fearfully, then tore herself free and ran out, calling something like hospital security and he woke up!
It was all really strange.
So Nocturnal contented himself with looking out the window again and looking at the city that lay before him.
On how many floors was he? It looked like he was a little higher up than a commoner's house. In addition, the bed frame was made of metal and there were strange devices standing next to it. And did the bed have wheels?
Queerly...
But breakfast was there on a small cupboard next to the bed, and Nocturnal was not going to waste it.
And what a breakfast!
Cutlery made of fine metal, porcelain plates, drinking glasses with two carafes, one with an orange liquide, one with water.
There were eggs, bread and several fruits that Nocturnal had rarely or even never seen. He took a mango and looked at it. He had never seen this fruit before, but it looked good, smelled sweet and felt right.However, it was the apple which really caught his attention. Red and shining. It was so perfect, the farmers who grew this apple had to be very proud of their work. Nocturnal bit into it with relish and was blown away by the sensation.
It felt like ages he'd ate something.
And the bread was so fluffy and soft and tasted very different from what he knew. And butter and Cheese! Truly a luxurious meal for a simple traveler like him.
Hopefully the owners of this fine house wouldn't ask for too much money.
He had only fifty golden coins with him, and he would need them to pay the fee when entering the castle of the Two Sisters.

Just as Nocturnal finished eating - only the mango was still there - two sturdy earth ponies came into the room, wearing a kind of white uniform similar to the mare from before. There was also another stallion with them, this time wrapped in a kind of long white coat. A Unicorn again.

"Hello. My name is Doctor G. W. Soon."

Nocturnal was surprised. A real doctor? Not just an apothecary or a mountebank? Was he the owner of this house or did he work here? He was a unicorn, so Nocturnal assumed this was the householder.

"I give you a valorous day, m'l'rd. And thanketh thee f'r thy hospitality. Unf'rtunately I has't not much yond I can giveth thee in returneth. I can only off'r thee mine own s'rvices with mine own sw'rd and mine own stout backeth"

The doctor looked at a piece of paper and raised an eyebrow, but then smiled openly and warmly as he sat down and motioned to Nocturnal to do the same, only on the edge of the bed.
This followed the request. After all, he wanted to be polite.

"I don't think it will be necessary to take your sword. And a strong back is good, but not needed here. I'm not a lord either, just a doctor." he smiled again, "Could you please tell me your name?

That weird accent again. and again the doctor was not a lord.
It was all very strange.

"I'm a Nocturnal Wand'r'r, from the 'ord'r of wand'ring blades' and if 't be true not through w'rk, how can I showeth mine own appreciation? And wh're art mine own things concluded, be it?"

Something seemed to be bothering the doctor, however. He slowly put the clipboard aside then put his hooves together and said with a more serious look:

"There is no need to be of service to this hospital. But I very much welcome the offer." He began to smile again: "So may I ask what your last memories are? It would be very interesting to hear that"

That was a strange question, but Nocturnal didn't know what else to do or say so he told him what had happened.
He then said at the end:

"Can I anon findeth out what's going on and what I am doing h're? and wh're is mine own stuffeth? I hadst a jurnal with me, a sw'rd, and a saddlebag. Can I has't yond backeth prithee?"

The doctor looked at his papers again, then took his glasses off his snout and said softly

"You slept, Mister Wanderer. At least 200, if not 500 years... We found you in the Everfree Forest about a week ago completely petrified."

Truly, the doctor's words hurt as much as his scalpel...
so did the memories that pounded him again...
And in Nocturnal case, the ground he standed on vanished under his hooves, and he fell into a deep hole...
And passed out again.

Author's Note

Edited by Wingnut
Many thanks for that