One cold winter later

If he had been told at the beginning that he would stay in this village for a whole winter he would not have believed it and might even have laughed. Nocturnal had never been in one place that long.
But the time had passed in a flash.
With the help of meditation he had been able to keep his anger under control, his sword school had developed well and the recruits learned quickly and efficiently.
Kallaxia helped him as best she could.
But as the days got longer it was time to leave again.

"Orchid, I want thee to lead the barracks. thou sword fighting skills are impressive, and thou have learned everything I have thrown at thee. I entrust thou with the future generations of our order. Always remember to fight with honor and to teach with pride . "

Orchid beamed across both cheeks as he handed her a red robe. In addition to the golden rim on the robe, a small badge had been embroidered on it, something that Rarity had suggested for the new generation of wandering blades.
He liked it a lot and that's how it was implemented.

"I'll make sure everything goes smoothly, Swordmaster Nocturnal."

She bowed to him and exuded energy all the time. Something that pleased Nocturnal more than anything.

"Take care while Midnight and I are on the way. When we are finished we will come back, then thou can go for thou first wandering."

A little later, Nocturnal and Midnight were on the outskirts of the village, the last of them said goodbye with a hug and a word of thanks.

And finally they were on their way. There was still some snow up here, but it wasn't as cold as it was in winter. And the sun was just setting.
Finally, the night would be his time again.
Nocturnal took a deep breath. the air was so fresh and so clear, if a little cold.
Midnight smiled thinly and joined his side. she didn't want to drop her disguise yet.
Both looked into each other's eyes, smiling briefly, Npcturnal leaned over to her for a kiss, then they started walking. An old destination in front of your eyes, to the west, and a few days' walk away.
Unless the next village had a surprise in store for them, which is why they would stay there for a few months.
but that was highly unlikely.
As the darkness enveloped them both, however, Nocturnal noticed a pettiness.
Kallaxia hadn't removed her disguise as Midnight.
he looked at her inquiringly, and she understood immediately, looked a little ashamed of the floor.

"I thought you might find me ... more attractive. Than my normal form."

"Yes, that's partly correct. But I love thou natural shape just as much. thou are the same mare under that face. And it's thou character that I love more than anything else."

Kallaxia smiled and the green flames enveloped her, turning her back.
They continued their way through a forest, which nocturnal gave a shiver down your back.
Something wasn't natural here, or it seemed like it to him.
and more than once his instinct said they were being followed.
and he was right. a little further behind you something moved in the bushes and looked after you with a crazy look in its eye

Just before sunrise.

The nights were still very short and, like months before, both always looked for shelter in a cave.
This time it was a small cave, but with little effort and thanks to kallaxia's magic, both could quickly expand the shelter so that both had comfortable space under one roof.

"I am on the first watch, okay?"

Kallaxia nodded and yawned as she lay down, hugging him while he sat by the fire and sharpened his sword.
Kallaxia didn't mind. In fact, it was quite comforting.
To know that he kept his sword so sharp and free of nicks proved, for her at least, that he was at the point and would keep an eye out.
If not he would cut and injure himself and that would tear him out of his thoughts at the latest.
What Kallaxia hadn't noticed until now was that Nocturnal felt watched and followed.
He wasn't sure what it was but it was better than the Royal Guard Scout months before.
It wasn't pony.
At the same time, it felt familiar.
Something that made him restless.
Nevertheless, he made sure that Kallaxia could sleep peacefully.
His eye wandered to her and he looked at her for a while.
He especially noticed her hoof.
Since the thing with Sombra months ago, Nocturnal always felt guilty when he saw the wounds she had inflicted on himself when his primitive, bloodthirsty self had taken over and refused to eat.
Sure she got all the love she wanted from him, but he was happy to give it to her.
She didn't have to do this for him. But she had done it and he would never be able to repay her.

"You are a danger to her ..."

Where did that come from?
Nocturnal looked around carefully but couldn't see anything. Nothing moved either.
He looked at kallaxia again.

"Whenever you lose control you will go after her. You ought to leave her. Then she would be safer."

He heard that voice, but where did it come from? it was omnipresent and seemed to come from everywhere at once.
was it in his head?
once more he looked around.
Kallaxia didn't seem to hear her, or she was just sleeping too soundly.

"All your efforts will be nullified by this curse. Even more, you bring shame to your order."

He closed his good eyes again and concentrated on his breathing.
Maybe it was the curse that spoke to im.
He always had to keep his thoughts together otherwise the curse would win and that was the last thing he wanted to allow.
The fact that he wasn't looking helped him to hear the voice more clearly. it came from outside, somewhere behind him. or very close to his ear.
No, it had to be an imagination.

In a dream

After the change of guard, nocturnal fell asleep as usual.
It was unusual that he met himself in a dream.
Well, not really himself. That in front of him looked like himself, but that's where the similarities ended. It was bigger, looked wilder, its hooves were clawed.
Long claw fingers came out of the wings and the teeth were unnaturally long.

"Hello Nocturnal. It's about time that I finally get strong enough to take over your dream world."

"Who are thou? What are thou doing in my head?"

Only when he had asked the question did an illumination come to him.

"Thou are my other me, are thou not?"

The laughter this creature uttered was confirmation enough.
It began to rush towards him and, since it was a dream, Nocturnal conjured up a sword. His conscious dreaming still worked.
A little hope arose when he thought that he might be able to free himself from this curse by simply knocking this creature down in front of him.
He stormed in front of but already this pass he realized that he had made a mistake. the creature lifted its hoof and pierced it.
and the pain was enough to wake him up

later tomorrow

Nocturnal woke up in a deep breath and looked around briefly, confused. beside him was Kallaxia, looking at him worriedly.

"Did you sleep badly?"

Nocturnal still had to sort out his thoughts and just nodded.
That just hurt a bit for a moment. when he looked down at himself he knew he hadn't just been speared.
Relieved, he lowered his head again, but then got up.
He was too awake to go back to sleep.

"Let us move on. I can not sleep now anyway."

Kallaxia nodded and put out the fireplace before loading her things into her saddlebags.
Both got ready to go on again. If all went well, they would arrive in the next village at night or early in the morning.

"You know, Nocturnal, it feels really good to be on the road again..."

Oh Nocturnal could hear the "but" galloping closer.

"... It's really good to be outside again and to be able to be myself again..."

That had to be a really big "but".

"... And I wanted to thank you again for allowing me to accompany you. I briefly had nightmares that you would leave me behind and move on alone when we opened school."

Nocturnal looked at her in surprise, then smiled. no, no but would come with hr. she came with him because she wanted, and he enjoyed her presence because he wanted her to be there. Neither of them would ever complain about traveling.
He raised his wing and placed it over Kallaxia, pulling her close as close as the equipment would allow.

"I would never leave you behind. Thou need me and I need thee. No, that is wrong said. I want thou with me. And I hope thou want with me. There is no one I would rather be by my side than... you . "

He had to pause briefly for the "you". even if he had improved when it came to speaking, he wanted to keep it that way because Luna handled it that way too.
But Kallaxia's smile showed that he had done it right.
Also smiling, and with an easier walk, he set out to overcome further hurdles.
with her at his side he could do anything, he was sure of it.
And a little later you were faced with a hurdle.
A canyon was between them and the only bridge must have collapsed under the snow masses in winter.

"It's good that we can both fly."

Both rose into the air. Kallaxias wing buzz while Nocturnal slid over silently.
On the other hand, they could continue on their way.

Around midnight

They reached the village and went straight to one of the inns that was probably still open. When they came in, everything was full of life and people were drinking and laughing.
Nocturnal liked it here.
Part of it all reminded him of his time. The furniture was old-fashioned, the ambience was kept that way, the music was a bit too modern for his taste. He sat down at one of the tables with Midnight next to him. So both had the wall in their backs and the door in their eyes.
"Welcome to ..." began a waitress, but then dropped her trays and stared at both of them.

"Uh hello. We wanted to order something to eat and drink. And ask for a room for the morning."

"You look like Wandering Blades!"

Both looked at each other questioningly. had their call rushed ahead of them?
somehow that nocturnal could not imagine.
on the other hand, trains seemed to spread everything quickly.
The waitress started squeening and pointed at the walls with her hoof. There were pictures there, painted pictures from old times, and all with red capes or cloaks.

"Welcome to the 'Red Robe'! This inn is dedicated to an old knightly order. The Wandering Blades!"

Nocturnal almost laughed.
Chivalrous order that he didn't laugh at! They were mercenaries, not knights.

"Good mare, thou must be misinformed. The Wandering Blades were mercenaries, nay knights. We wandered around to make our money hunting monsters and fighting."

The stuta, a pegasus with yellow fur and a brown mane, looked at them both briefly in confusion, especially Nocturnal.

"Oh, I understand, you are cosplayers! No no the Wandering Blades were knights who fought their last battle against a yak raid squad in the service of Celestia not far from here."

"Then you must only have been appointed to knight after I was petrified, since I know that I was and am a mercenary."

The mare cocked her head.

"You are really good. You even came up with an interesting story for your character. And that sword looks real. Cudos for it."

Nocturnal looked confused at Midnight who had to keep from laughing the whole time.

"A cosplayer is somepony who plays a role. An actor. Except that he doesn't play in a performance, but at a festival, for example. He also doesn't have a script but acts like the character he wants to play."

Then she turned to the waitress.

"He is new to this time. His story is true. We are not cosplayers. He knows a Wandering Blade from back then and was petrified for a thousand years and has only been among the living for what? A year? Maybe a year and a half."

The mare's eyes got bigger and bigger, then she screeched in a high-pitched nocturnal that reminded her of other bats he could hear from time to time ... when they were looking for prey with ultrasound tracking.
Then the mare ran behind the counter, babbled wildly before disappearing into the back of the kitchen.
Midnight and Nocturnal looked at each other in confusion. It was so strange that they both felt reminded of Pinkie Pie.
What was going on here?
When the mare reappeared, she had a very thick tome with her. and she came down a staircase from the upper floor.
Just as Nocturnal wanted to ask if she had blown up outside, the book landed on the table and she opened it.
Nocturnal looked in disbelief, and touched the sides.
The writing in it was a relatively new code among the Wandering Blades. well, new to Nocturnal

"What is it? What does it say?"

He hadn't taught Kallaxia to do it. up to now it hadn't been necessary.

"It is a logbook ... of our order."

Author's Note

I am superstitious and I am glad that this chapter is over without any major problems.

until now

Pinkie, stop it!

no i don't. I wanted to go withthem! And why can't you give Nocturnal a little rest? you are a bad pony!

Human. i'm a bad person and i know that thankyouverymuch

anyway, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading.