After the discovery

Nocturnal ran over the page of the book, always reading the date and who wrote the page, until he got to a page and stopped.
He read everything through here in more detail.

"What is written there?"

Nocturnal looked at kallaxia and began to smile slightly.

"That is the day that I was petrified. It looks like my report arrived that day too. Here it says...

Today I received a letter from one of the swordscolts.
Nocturnal Wanderer.
apparently he goes to the castle of the two sisters to fulfill a childhood dream.
Lucky stallion.
His reports are always timely and he is a very reliable fighter. I am curious whether the princesses will let him go again in the end.
He also lets us know that he is crossing an area known as the Everfree Forest, where there are apparently many magical beings and monsters whose restraint could bring some fame and glory, and a good payment on top of that. I am eagerly awaiting his next report.
Maybe he has discovered new hunting grounds.
Swordmaster Lightning Strike

Lightning Strike was one of the best swordmasters I knew. Fair and just, and he believed in the infallibility of the blade and the sunprincess. I am... i am happy to know that he received my report ..."

After that he was lost in thought and turned the pages. And as he turned the pages, the days passed.
One day after he was petrified
Two days after he was petrified
Three days...
One week...
two weeks...
Lightning Strike always wrote a little bit about the medal, then something about events, sometimes even personal.
Then in the second week Nocturnal stopped again and began to read.

"A report from Nocturnal Wanderer should have arrived a few days ago. And even if it is not unusual for the mail to arrive a little later, I would have actually expected a personal message from him regarding his visit to the Princesses. And two weeks after the face appeared on the moon we couldn't find an explanation for it. A few voices whisper about a certain Nightmare Moon and the mare in the moon ...
I will take some of my best fighters and leave for the castle of the two sisters. Maybe we will get an answer there and also find out what happened to one of ours.
Lightning strike.

He is right. I would have told him about the visit with confidence. We both knew each other for a long time. I was his squire for a week when we came here to Equestria. "

More time passed in the book. This time it was about the journey he had started.
Up to a point about four weeks after Nocturnal was petrified

"The castle was completely destroyed! The princess of the sun was apparently slightly injured and nobody knows more about the princess of the night. Nobody has seen our comrade Nocturnal either. There is chaos and the capital is being relocated to Canterlot. We wandering blades have offered them to help in the transition phase and the Royal Guard has agreed.
Nocturnal never got here.
Everfree is probably more dangerous than you thought if it didn't even make it through.
I hope he died with honor.
Lightning strike.

I ... I did not die. I..."

Tears came to Nocturnal and he put his hooves over his eyes.
All the while he had believed his comrades had been looking for him, but now it was clear to him that they had given up on him very quickly. A month after he was petrified.
Who knows how long it would have taken if they had tried a little longer?
Would he have been petrified for a thousand years?
Admittedly, this gave him the privilege of getting to know Kallaxia.
This leaned against him and hugged him carefully, whereupon he leaned against her.

"That ... I'm sorry to hear. But it's unbelievable that you can read this! I haven't met anyone who could! And if only in part! Please, can you tell me everything about this book? I am a descendant of Lightning Strike. "

The waitress pointed to an old oil painting and nocturnal vaguely recognized Lightning Strike. He looked older. But he managed to smile.

"That explains why this is in thou possession. I was wondering."

The waitress nodded wildly and then looked at him with wide eyes. Everything about her screamed curiosity, and everything in her gaze asked for more.

"What is thou name anyway?"

The waitress blushed before answering

"Oh that's right. I'm Sudden Strike. I'm thirtieth generation after Lightning Strike. Estimated...""

"The thirtieth generation? And then are his stories still known? His origins and what he did?"

Midnight sounded really surprised.
As far as she knew, much of the time had been forgotten. And that wasn't a miracle. A thousand years was long.

"My family made it a tradition to uphold the memory of him as he died in the service of Princess Celestia."

Nocturnal listened up and began reading the book again, but jumped back to the last written pages.
About ten years after Nocturnal was petrified.

"The Rote Rage is spreading. Many of my loyal followers have succumbed to this curse, others, including myself, feel the call of the blood.
Our time has come.
This pass will be our grave, this enemy our downfall.
Not because we are inferior to him.
But because he demands everything from us.
The princess's peace negotiations have failed.
There is only war ahead.
Only Blood...

The font changes here. it is no longer Lightning Strike writing.

The swordmaster has fallen. so are many of our brothers and sisters. If they have not fallen yet, they stand on the border and stop the yaks as best we can. I will give this tome to a courier who will take it to Lightning's family.
I miss the little foal of his.
She would certainly have made an excellent fighter.
That is the end of the order
Last entry, Autumn Storm.
PS: Whoever reads and understands this here. Our order has fallen.
Let our failures be a lesson to you.
And if you are a descendant of a Wandering Blade: Beware of the red rage."

All three sat at the table and stared at the last few lines.
Especially Sudden Strike.
She cocked her head and looked questioningly at Nocturnal.
He just sighed before answering

"The Red Rage is a curse, imposed on us by King Sombra .... But I only known that for a few months now. At that time we had no idea where it came from or why. And I still do not know what to do about it can. Have Thou never had the need to kill? The feeling that thou want to see blood?"

Sudden Strike said no with a shake of the head.

"Then thou are a very lucky mare. I suffer from it and I always become a wild animal. I always attack everything that has a pulse with my bare teeth, and I want blood and meat ..."

Sudden Strike swallowed audibly.
Midnight looked away sadly.
And Nocturnal turned back a few pages.
Apparently there were raid squads of the yaks besieging the villages. and the Wandering Blades answered the call of the princess and united in one of the largest gatherings that had ever existed.
What a sight it must have been!
A sea of red cloaks, a patch of black, and even armor was described! Some of the Wandering Blades had armor! Truly that must have been a spectacular.
Something else also occurred to him.
An official army was being described here, not really the order he knew.

"Can I borrow this book? I would like to know more."

"Of course, but only as long as you're here, treat it well and I also find out what's in it."

Sudden Strike smiled broadly, her wings moving into a more comfortable position, but you could tell she was excited.
Nocturnal couldn't help but smile back.

"I recognize a bit of Lightning Strike in thou. He was easy to inspire back then. I was surprised when he became the swordmaster, but he was good. His guiding principle has always been:"

Sudden Strike spoke to him without delay or uncertainty

"Teach so that you will not be forgotten and never forget where you are from. Your blade shows the way you are going, but nothing prevents you from looking back and seeing why you are following your blade"
"Teach so that you will not be forgotten and never forget where you are from. Your blade shows the way you are going, but nothing prevents you from looking back and seeing why you are following your blade"

Nocturnal's grin widened, and he drew his sword, holding it out to Sudden Strike.
She looked at it in awe and carefully took it, looked at it.

"It's a Royal Guardian's sword. Where did you get that from? Civilians are not actually allowed to own something like that!"

"It was during the Siege of Canterlot that I saw a Guard die. I took his sword and began to fight in his name. I also named the sword after him. Thundering Hooves and I are connected by his sword and that blood that we both shed. Princess Luna gave me the sword afterwards as a kind of welcome gift and as a thank you for defending the hospital."

"That is somewhat sad, but also so incredibly awesome! What is it like to be on the move as a wandering sound = and how does it feel to be here at this time?" "

Nocturnal smiled and began to tell of his experiences from then. It felt ... familiar.
All that was missing now were campfires and tents, and already it could be almost like it was back then.
of course it was different.
Next to himself Nocturnal had the mare he was in love with and who loved him. and in front of him he had a mare who was a descendant of an old friend. He would never see anyone from back then. but sometimes that wasn't bad at all.
He noticed that he was feeling better and better now, especially now that he was talking about the old days and had already lived a little in the now.
It got pretty early before Sudden Strike yawned and almost fell asleep. Kallaxia and Nocturnal fared similarly, so Nocturnal took out his bits and set them on the table

"Good mare, the best room this house has to offer."

Sudden Strike smiled thinly, sliding the bits back at Nocturnal.

"You don't have to pay anything as long as you help me translate the book. You are my guests, not my customers."

Nocturnal bowed a little to her.

"Your generosity can measure up to that of the elementbearer"

All three went up to the first floor. Midnight was so tired she leaned against Nocturnal for support the whole time.

around midday

Nocturnal woke up with Kallaxia snuggled by his side.
From the kitchen you could hear the hustle and bustle that there was always at lunchtime in such restaurants.
And it smelled so good ...
Somehow Noctunal was looking forward to spending a few days here. It would be interesting to find out a little about the last few years of the Wandering Blades.
As he got up and threw on his cloak, he noticed that Midnight was smiling at him.

"are thou hungry too?"

"and how hungry I am."

She got up and kissed him tenderly, dined on his love, and licked her lips afterwards.

"Better than any five-course meal."

Nocturnal looked a bit tired from indulging a bit more, but he smiled.
Then he went downstairs and into a full tavern. Or so it looked.
Almost like back then when it was still common
Nocturnal looked around with nostalgia and saw Sudden Strike flying back and forth between the tables, partly figuratively, partly literally
Everyone laughed and it was a very good atmosphere. There weren't even any peckish guests.
thats how a tavernvisit should be!
With a smile he slipped down the stairs and landed at an empty table.

"I wishthee a good day, Sudden. Is this table still free?"

"Yes, the table is free. I'll just clean it up quickly."

And how she cleaned him.
With a little tornade she blew everything into the air, and with a bucket she collected the crumbs and leftovers while the plates landed on the hooves.
It wasn't an easy trick, it was years of experience and perfect hoof-eye coordination.
Nocturnal applauded her.

"What can it be, noble sir?"

Nocturnal laughed heartily at the address and looked at her with a grin.

"noble sir? thee has't to mistaketh me f'r a unic'rn. I'm just a simple m'rcenary. "

Sudden's eyes widened and she began to laugh too.

"I take the daily menu twice. Once for now, once for the room. Midnight likes to sleep a little longer when we have the opportunity to do so."

"Then I'll bring the menu to her room right away."

Before Nocturnal could say anything, Sudden was on his way to the kitchen.

Author's Note

Oh they get some downtime i see

yes. are you happy now?

indeed i am. There cant be always drama.

i know i know... and now shush

dont shush me!