New city, new luck

This village was bigger than Nocturnal expected.
A small town, there were several hotels, a few inns and even a rather large school.
What pleased nocturnal, Kallaxia and Sudden the most, however, was the blacksmith shop, which was a bit out of town.
To their surprise, this forge was run by a Minotaur.

"Do I understand correctly? You three are 'Wandering Blades' a mercenary force that was disbanded a thousand years ago, and you are here because this Pegasus mare wants a blade."

Nocturnal stepped forward and bowed a little before answering

"That is correct, esteemed blacksmith, and we are sure that thou can master this task. I have seldom seen a blacksmith whose shop shows so many fine goods."

It wasn't an exaggeration. Armor, spears, crockery and cutlery stood everywhere in the workshop, everything finely worked out. There were swords here too, but these were made for griffins and minotaurs.
The Minotaur looked at Nocturnal, then tilted his head a little to one side as he indicated the sword that Nocturnal wore

"This is a sword of the Royal Guard. Where did you get that from?"

Nocturnal smiled narrowly and turned around so that he could get a better look at the sword.

"I got this sword after the battle of Canterlot last year. Unfortunately, its owner died, but it has served me loyally ever since. I got it from the Princess of the Night, Princess Luna, in pony."

The minotaur raised his hand and in a silent gesture asked for the sword.
Normally, Nocturnal would decline such a request from someone like that, but blacksmiths were something special.
They made blades.
Blades that distinguished the Wandering Blades and blades that saved lives when they struck down monsters.
And blades that the blood of enemies shed.
For a moment Nocturnal could hear his other side laughing again and he closed his eye.
Meanwhile the minotaur looked at the blade, ran his finger over the edge and held it up to the light to see and check whether it was straight. Only when he gave the sword back to Nocturnal did he know he was right back at him.

"A very good blade that has been very well looked after. I can see that you understand your work."

Nocturnal was genuinely pleased with the compliment and bowed to the minotaur.
This then turned to Kallaxia, who had disguised itself as midnight again.
She also gave her sword to the minotaurs.
But this time he didn't seem entirely satisfied.

"This blade has suffered a little. Seems to have a tough battle behind it. The gashes in the metal are deep ..."

Midnight looked a little ashamed and nodded

"Indeed. I have fought some battles with more strength than intelligence, and that's why my sword has suffered."

That brought a smile to the minotaur's face.
He bowed slightly and handed the sword back to her.

"I value honesty in my customers. Now tell me what I can do for the Pegasus."

All eyes turned to Sudden, who seemed to be getting a little smaller.
It took some time before she found the courage to speak again.

"I would like something light, elegant. Something that I can move quickly with and that doesn't hinder my flying."

The minotaure nodded at her description and rubbed his chin, thinking a little about the demands placed on the blade.

"I think something can be done there. Let's talk about payment now. A blade is not cheap. There is a lot of work in it and the material is not free either."

The three ponies looked at each other. So far, Nocturnal and Kallaxia hadn't needed a lot of money and Sudden couldn't just take everything she had with her.
Kallaxia was the first to speak after a short while.

"Is there work here that would be worthwhile for fighters like us?"

The minotaur scratched his chin and thought.
What could 2 obviously experienced fighters and an inexperienced Pegasus do to earn money?

"The farmers in front of the city complain of occasional attacks by wild animals that threaten the harvest. Perhaps someone from there can give you work that is worthwhile. On the other hand, the city is constantly being expanded. There is always work on construction sites."

He pointed to Sudden

"You could work on the weather patrol for a bit. They always need helping hooves."

All three looked up, then they looked at each other and nodded.
The plan was made.
They would all go to work and do what they could for a little money to get the sword in order.

Outside the city

a small changelinge reconnaissance force was watching the city. A little further back, Hellria stood bent over, her remaining eye flickering around wildly.

"The witch will atone for that! To cut up my beautiful face like that and to take my eyes off me ... oh I will make her suffer ..."

The small unit of changelings around her looked worried, then to their troop leadership.
Hellria had been after the two of them for quite a while now. sometimes she had shown herself nocturnal without him really noticing it.
How had Kallaxia managed to save him?
Why was he no longer a husk?
She didn't really care.
She just wanted Kallaxia. and if she had her, she would do to her all the bad things she could imagine.
And maybe the bat would have to watch.
And the Pegasus would make a first-class blanket.
Oh yes her vengeance would be terrible.
But the time for revenge had not yet come.
There were still too many variables on the board.
Oh ya, Hellria could play a round of chess against one of their drones! She always won and it cheered her up.
No, the goal was so close. not now, don't get distracted.

"Get ready to infiltrate the city. I demand control over the security of the city."

Her soldiers obey without grumbling.
Very good, so the execution of the doubters a month ago had worked.

The day creeps by

The work in the field was monotonous and, with the exception of standing around and keeping an eye on the nearby forest, there wasn't much to be done.
Allegedly there were creatures in it that looked like ponies in one moment and caught fire the next moment and could burn the fields down.
Old wives' tales as well as vamponies and wereponies.
But at least the farmers had promised to pay for the hour they stood.
and the three of them would quickly have the money together.
except the minotaur would build an extremely expensive sword.
None of the three hoped so.
It should be good, reliable, but not excessive.
Kallaxia yawned and leaned against a fence.

"It's also a way of living forever ... the time practically doesn't go by here at all .."

That made Sudden laugh and she leaned on the other side of the fence, smiling at kallaxia while holding the spear she had been given.
Nocturnal sat on his hounches and patiently sharpened his sword. The scraping of stone on metal could be heard clearly and hopefully would keep anyone foolish enough to try something at a distance.
After a while, Nocturnal put down the whetstone and circled his neck, got up and paced up and down for a while.

"That is the part of the job that I absolutely could not stand. Neither now nor a thousand years ago."

He sighed and began doing aerial exercises with his sword.
Kallaxia noticed Sudden longing look and handed her her sword.

"Be careful when you practice. I still keep watch."

Sudden beamed at kallaxa, took her sword gratefully and almost fell forward.

"The sword is really heavy! When you practice with it it looks so easy."

Kallaxia laughed at Sudden’s testimony and circling the spear around her hoof.
She did this with some practice before striking the staff on the ground and going into a fighting stance, the spear tucked under her wing.

"It's all a question of practice! You can do that at some point, I'm sure."

Just as Sudden was about to reply, a sharp whistle came from the clouds. A Pegasus instructed Sudden to come up with hoof signs.
She smiled, gave the sword back and said goodbye before she flew up and started her part-time job.

Kallaxia looked at the spear in confusion. She wedged the spear under her wing, then turned to nocturnal

"If she's helping up there now, why did she get a spear?"

The only answer she got was a shrug and a soft laugh. It was something Nocturnal had been wondering about, too. He had suspected that it might be some flying plague.
Only once had Nocturnal had anything to do with it...

Sometime in the past

"Watch out, Nocturnal!"

At Thunder's voice, Nocturnal looked away. A gryphon lunged at him, the spear ready to pierce him.
With a roll over his shoulder, Nocturnal was able to dodge, but that didn't help him against the enemy.
It would be so much easier if he could finally show his wings!
But the ponies behind him had never seen a batpony before, and there were fairy tales of beings who looked similar to his species and were known as vamponies.
They would fear him.
Even more so, they would probably attack him and try to chase a wooden stake through his chest.
Something that nocturnal could do without.

"Stop dreaming and finally fight, squire!"

Thunder again.
Had Nocturnal really dreamed?
He had to play an earth pony here! What should he do about the gryphons? These raiders were nothing more than bandits. They beat ponies, struck, always killed some and were gone in no time.
Another attack, this time on one of the civilians behind Nocturnal. That gave him the opportunity he had been waiting for. With a short jump and by jerking his head, his sword hit the gryphon on the front leg, severed it, and the spear and leg landed near Nocturnal, the griffin a little further away, clutching its stump and wailing.
Not for long, however. A quick push and the suffering of this enemy ended with his life.
Griffin blood tasted strange.
Another attack.
By killing one of them, Nocturnal had attracted the attention of many and so he had to throw himself more and more into the dirt to avoid the blows and barriers of the enemies.
But then one of the griffins got hold of him and pulled him up with him.

"That is for killing one of my Soldier, groundpounder!"

Then the gryphon let go of him.
So much for camouflage as an earth pony.
After a few meters, Nocturnal opened his cloak, let it flutter away and spread his wings.
The gryphon was as surprised as the others when Nocturnal pulled up and snatched the gryphon's dagger from his belt, slitting his throat with it.
holding his throat the gryphon began to fall, and nocturnal hastened the fall by lunging at him and pressing him down with his hooves.

"This is for all of those you murdered."

Nocturnal opened its wings and slowed its fall.
The gryphon slammed on the ground and died.
Nocturnal landed and internally prepared for the angry ponies, but what he heard was ...
Cheers?
Yes the ponies cheered and celebrated as the gryphons retreated.
After that, Thunder landed next to nocturnal, his wing over the younger stallion's back.

"That was excellent work, squire. I am proud of you. And it looks like you do not have to hide your wings for the time being."

Nocturnal beamed and the glitter in his eyes revealed that he was enjoying the cheering, which was meant for him too.
He had managed to kill a hated Fein.

"It is just a shame that my cloak is gone."

Thunder laughed at Nocturnal's statement and pointed to a tree in which the red of the cloak was clearly visible.

"Well then, get him back, squire."

With a big smile and a few flaps of his wings he was on his way to the tree, his price recovered.

present day

The watch shift was calm.
Apart from a few wild animals that got lost every now and then, nothing unusual was to be seen.
A really boring shift.

"Oh, I just remembered something! I think I've heard of the creatures this is about. They live south but further north than the Hive. We've dealt with them but ... getting rid of every emotion they had, they were uninteresting. They called themselves Kirins. "

Nocturnal listened. That was interesting to hear.
His gaze wandered over the forest before he turned back to Kallaxia.

"and what do you have to know about these kirins?"

When asked by nocturnal, kallaxia had to think for a moment. It had been a while since she had dealt with the Kirins.

"They are relatively peaceful beings, quite open, but they have a problem of aggression. When they get angry they transform themselves into flaming forms. Your village was once burned down in an argument, which is why they almost all went through a river with magical water to cool their minds. After that they were not interesting for my hive. But I also know that not all Kirins were there and some had refused and left the village."

Nocturnal cocked his head and listened out into the woods.

"So they are intelligent."

"Yes they are. Most of them, at least. Some of them are a bit clumsy. Just like you ponies."

That made both of them laugh.

A shift ends

At the end of the day, all three together had enough for an overnight stay in a hotel and a small deposit for the blacksmith.
And he only read it through because he had seen that all three were doing their work conscientiously.
A vote of confidence, he had said.

"So what do we do the rest of the time? May I practice with one of your swords?"

Suden beamed in anticipation but both shook their heads in the negative.
Instead, they calibrated her with a wooden sword.

"At the beginning we practiced with this. It is safer, believe me."

Nocturnal explained with calm matter-of-factness. In the previous villages he had started to see himself more like a teacher, and therefore his way of speaking and his tone of voice adjusted accordingly.

"A real sword is heavy, which puts a strain on the once inexperienced neck and can lead to contortions or Worse. Or thou cut yourself with thee own blade. Or break Thee own teeth. Slowly but surely, that is how thou become a sword master."

Sudden nodded in understanding and patiently went through the two exercises after practice.
She was a worthy valuer in Nocturnal's eye.

Author's Note

Unfortunately, I ran into writer's block a little. I have an idea how to get to the end, and even have three endings, but the details are not yet clear to me. But there are still a few things to do.

Anyways, thanks for your patience, and thanks for reading this.