a new journey begins. Westward

The journey continued.
According to the map, they had to go west to reach the final battlefield of the Wandering Blades.
Nocturnal had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, he wanted to know what had happened and why the order went under. On the other hand, it would be a conclusion to this part of his history.
He could then concentrate fully on rebuilding.
Still, he noticed that Kallaxia was unusually quiet.
And she kept her disguise as Midnight.
that was strange
Usually she morphed back when they were alone.
Since he didn't know how to start a conversation, he decided not to say anything and just look at her questioningly out of the corner of his eye.
She understood the hint and sighed barely audibly

"I'm still ashamed of what I've done. Without me, the barrier would have lasted long enough. I unleashed evil on a city because I was blind because of love."

"Thee can not know that. And I think in reversed roles I would have acted exactly like that and let unleashed the evil King on the city to save thou. Besides ... I learned what the Red Rage really is."

he sighs.
The thought of having to live with such a curse was really horrible. Especially after being told what he had done the last time and how long it had lasted.
He still shuddered when he thought that he had asked for flesh and blood.
And Kallaxia had new wounds on her hoof because of him, since she gave it to him to quench his thirst for blood.
Well maybe you could break this curse too.
Any curse could do it. Right?
Maybe he should ask the most gifted unicorn he knew.
Too bad that he had forgotten that while Twilight was there, now he had to do it via letter.
How long would it take from here?
First come to the next village. Maybe there was work that would keep her busy for a week or so, then he could definitely write a letter and send it off.

The day is drawing to a close, night is breaking, temperatures are falling rapidly

Luna, it got cold in the night.
And Nocturnal was covered with fur, unlike Kallaxia, who had a little flame of green magic with her to warm herself.
Still, He could see her trembling.
They needed shelter, so he looked for a cave or something else they could use.

"There is a cave there. Maybe we will find shelter there."

"Ho-hopefully. I'm freezing my horn off here..."

Nocturnal went first and carefully examined the cave.
It appeared to be uninhabited.
However, in such a cold climate there was a lack of spiders that would definitely indicate that.
Still, he went in.
When he was in the cave, however, he could hear soft breathing.
This cave was inhabited, and so he quietly withdrew.
He silently signals to Kallaxia that they have to move on.
She wasn't at all enthusiastic about it, but nodded.
They moved on together, even if it seemed to be getting colder by the minute.

A little later it also started to snow.
and kallaxia seemed to freeze more and more.
To give her some warmth, Nocturnal put his wing over her back.
That made him feel colder, but also protected her a bit.

"W-w-we should bu-bui-build a shelter."

Kallaxia used her magic to shape snow into an igloo.

"A house made of snow? Does it not get cold in it?"

"No, ponies have survived in it for centuries. It's called an igloo."

"we shall see"

Both went into the igloo. to Noctrnal's surprise, the fire warmed the kallaxia with magic opened the igloo quickly and it turned out to be quite pleasant.
But Nocturnal could also see that the constant use of magic was draining her strength.
He got up, put his coat over her side so that it was completely covered on one side, and snuggled sideways to the other side so that his body warmth kept her warm.
That liked kallaxia and she leaned against him.

"thee certainly have hardly any magical power left. Here, let me help thee."

He kissed her throat gently. his teeth slid down her neck to her cheek.
That made her moan, and she closed her eyes, enjoying, while her flame grew brighter and warmer.

"not .. otherwise I will melt our shelter ... and you .."

"I will take the risk."

The next Morning

Fortunately the weather was better the next morning.
And when Nocturnal climbed out of the igloo, he stretched himself for the first time.
The air was clear, the sky blue and the sun was just rising, warming his wings and his muzzle.

"Did not think that I would be so happy about Celestia's sun."

"Yes, lucky. Now it's getting a little warmer. Let's go on. It shouldn't be far to the village."

Both went on and in fact, a few hours later they saw a village before them.
But it was strange.
Walls of snow were piled up around the village and the unicorns in the middle seemed to be maintaining a barrier.
As the two got closer, a unicorn stepped to the barrier and looked at both of them from top to bottom. He especially looked at Midnight and raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you here? Tell me the reason."

Kallaxia and Nocturnal looked at each other questioningly, then Nocturnal shrugged and gestured with his hoof. he let Kallaxia step forward so that she could explain better.

"We are nocturnal wanderers and I am Midnight Star. We are Wandering Blades and we are passing through. May we refresh supplies in the village and rest for a while?"

The unicorn looked closely at the two of them again.

"Your tribe is not welcome here. Especially not that heavily armed."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You stand at the gates of the village of Whitehorn pass. We don't like the other tribes and therefore do not allow them in our village."

"Great. Unicornsupremists ... we were just missing that... Come on, Nocturnal, we're moving on."

"Unicornsupremists? I thought the tribes were all the same now. Is it nay so?"

"These friendly stallions think differently."

Just as they were about to turn to leave they heard a new voice

"Wait! You are the wandering blades, aren't you? We may have work for you."

How nice that the news of the return of the Wandering Blades spread so quickly.
Maybe they could spend another night here after all.

"What would the task be, mister?"

"We have a monster problem in the area. Wereponies attack in the evening. Or vamponies, when things get particularly bad. You fight them, and you can stay in our village for that."

Wereponies?
Vamponies?
That sounded kind of implausible and yet it seemed to be meant seriously.
Kallaxia looked quizzically at Nocturnal.
he just shrugged his shoulders before he turned back to the unicorn behind the barrier

"We accept the offer and will take care of these monsters."

"Very good, welcome to our humble village!"

The village was anything but humble. the houses were all splendidly decorated, and each unicorn wore classy clothes.
But there were other types of ponies as well.
Kallaxia could make out an earth pony out of the corner of her eye that apparently did not voluntarily work as a street sweeper.
A unicorn was just yelling at a Pegasus because it had taken too long to clear away clouds.
She didn't like any of that, and neither did Nocturnal.
something was really wrong here.
But first they needed a safe place to stay before they could deal with the problem here.

"Here we are. Our inn. I hope you like it here."

There was a tiny hint of duplicity in the unicorn's voice.
Nocturnal had noticed, as had Kallaxia.
Another unicorn came towards them inside, and for a fraction of a second they could both see the wrinkled noses.
Things really weren't right here.
There were only a few seats in the inn, but not a single unicorn other than the guide and the inn owner as it looked.
An earth pony mare in scandalous clothes worked behind the counter.
She looked up, bored, just nodded and continued cleaning her glass.
Was she wearing a collar?
That was hard to make out because the only thing she was really wearing was a scarf.

"I'm sorry, my employee is sick. Otherwise she would greet you properly, as it should be."

The mare put her hoof on her throat and made a few croaking noises before coughing lightly.
And then continued cleaning her glass.
Nocturnal raised an eyebrow and looked around the tables. Hardly anyone was here.
it was almost noon. it should always be well filled for the break or something.

Nocturnal didn't like any of that.

"We thank thou. Can we maybe lie down? As Thestrals we are actually nocturnal and ... well ..."

"But of course, of course! Lie down, eat and drink a little something, the reckoning for today is on me."

The stallion bowed slightly as he started to walk back.
The two looked after him for a moment, then they were pushed on by the inn owner

"Come with me, I'll show you your room."

The room was a bit shabby, but otherwise very comfortable. Better than sleeping outside in this cold.
They waited until the door was closed and then looked at each other seriously.

"We have a problem."

"Yes, I noticed. We are in a village where the slave trade is going on. And we are in the lion's den for a short period of time."

The sun is slowly going down.

The two outsiders were ready as well as in the trap.
Kallaxia had a feeling for that, and also knew that it was apparently a matter of keeping two extremely rare specimens. Thestrals were less to be found this far north. And then a male and a female Thestral? what luck!
If only the residents here only knew who they were messing with!
Nocturnal circled and looked at the floor, thinking carefully.
Fighting unicorns without magic was a difficult task and required good planning.

"It is going to be an uphill battle. Wereponies are very strong, and vamponies are cunning and smart."

He winked at her. to make her understand that he believed the walls were listening.
She understood and winked back

"I've never fought them. I always thought they were a myth."

"They are ... actually. But we have seen an evil king who should be dead. And then there is the story with Nightmare Moon. And the list is getting longer. We should be prepared for anything!"

"I agree."

How beautiful language was.
All that was important about the conversation was that they had to be prepared for anything and that Kallaxia agreed and remained vigilant.
And Nocturnal would have to be too. In pairs and with a show of hands, they made a watch plan for the coming nights so that one could always sleep.
It was going to be pretty rough.
But Nocturnal was good things for bad game.
He knew that Kallaxia could count on.
In addition, it was also an advantage that she nourished herself on love. If you mix anything in the food, only Nocturnal would be affected.
His hope was simply that they wanted the slaves undamaged. That would significantly improve your chances.

The next morning, very early.

The mattresses were uncomfortable, but Nocturnal had slept on worse.
The breakfast wasn't really nutritious or tasty either.
Fortunately, Kallaxia didn't have to eat that.
The earth pony mare was still at the bar, still dressed scandalously and still cleaning a glass.
However, if she moved ...
Nocturnal pricked up his ears. He could hear it very well.
Slave shackles were made around their hindlegs to tie them to the bar, Nocturnal was quite sure of that. That explained why nobody put away the drinks glasses
Kallaxia took over and joined the bar. It was relatively quiet there at this time of day, so she started talking to the mare.
Not long, but apparently long enough to get some information out of it.

"We are in very, very serious difficulties."

"Any non-unicorn is enslaved and sold?"

"Yes, but not only within this barrier, but also outside of Equestria, especially in a southerly direction and Griffonia ... Only the lucky ones stay here."

That brought Nocturnal's blood to a boil, and he was only able to control himself with great difficulty. He could not afford to freak out.
Not now.
together with Kallaxia he went out on the streets, where they were already expected by the guide from the day before.

"Ah there you are. Nice to see you. How was the night?"

"Quite eventful. We lay down ... in beds! Instead of hanging upside down under the beam! It was quite strange."

Nocturnal had to control himself not to laugh, but Kallacia was proficient at telling lies and deflating them.
She only raised an eyebrow when the unicorn walked ahead in a fake laugh and showed her around, pointing to each building and explaining a little something.

Author's Note

Art by AlexDTI

Yay, i did it. I finally updated again after a mild writersblock. Hurray ^^