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// Chapter 4: Family 
// Story: Home sweet home? 
// by PaladinponyT 
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Octavia and Sunblade sat across from one another; the white unicorn poured himself some tea and lifted the steaming cup to his mouth. Octavia watched him let out a long sigh of relief, and she also saw some of the tension in his face disappear. She felt at ease in his presence, like with Princess Cadence. And yet, there was something odd about Sunblade, he looked younger than Octavia, but carried himself in a way that felt older. 

He had clearly lived in the palace for a long time; however, Octavia could not recall ever seeing him before. He was not a pony you forget easily, although there were those who worked unseen for the princesses. Often you might hear rumors about them, ponies with unknown jobs who aided Equestria in secret. If that was the case with Sunblade, it would explain some things. 

The white unicorn placed his teacup on the table and he looked at Octavia, "Now that we are alone Ms. Melody," he said gently, "I would like to apologize for my actions." 

A look of guilt and shame appeared on Sunblade's face that Octavia had not expected.

"Apologize? For what?" she asked, slightly confused. 

"For bringing you here without your permission and for not being a good host."

Now Octavia understood what Sunblade was feeling guilty about. Yes, he had saved her, but in a way he had also marenapped her. He was also feeling bad about ignoring her and dumping her into the hooves of others. Anypony might feel the same under the circumstances. Perhaps he thought she was scared or upset with him.

She gave him a warm smile, "I accept your apology, and I want to thank you for helping me." she said sincerely.

Sunblade bowed his head in gratitude, "Thank you and you're welcome."

From a door that led to the kitchens, an earth pony in a chef's outfit walked into the room. He had a large brown box on his back; he walked around the table and stopped next to Sunblade. He thanked him and levitated the box onto the table in front of Octavia. The music mare looked at the box with curious interest, and after the chef pony left she opened it. A large yellow cake sat inside the box, it had a pleasant lemony smell.

"What's this for?" asked Octavia.

Sunblade drank some more tea before answering, "I had it made for you to replace the one you lost."

Octavia looked at the new cake for a long moment. With everything that had happened, she had quite forgotten about her meet up later. Remembering caused her stomach some unease, Sunblade could read the look of worry on her face like a book.

"Is something wrong, Ms. Melody?"

She looked up at him, "No, nothing's wrong," she said forcing a smile, "Thank you for the cake, Sunblade."

The white unicorn could see right through her, his face told her as much.

"If there's something bothering you Ms. Melody, you can tell me," He said sincerely.

Octavia closed her eyes and retreated inward for a short time. Her meet up with Vinyl weighted heavy on her mind, maybe, just maybe, talking about it might help. She opened her eyes and took a long look at Sunblade, would he understand? Could he understand? Well, she would never know unless she tried. 

"It's a little complicated," she began, "You see, later tonight, I am going to be meeting with somepony for the first time."

Sunblade raised an eyebrow, then smiled, "Is this pony, your boyfriend?"

Octavia felt her cheeks go red, "No, the one I'm meeting is a mare." 

Sunblade put both his forehooves up, "I am not going to judge you for liking mares, Ms. Melody."

Octavia's face went even redder and she spluttered a little. Sunblade chuckled as Octavia shook her head trying to cool down her embarrassment.

"No no no, you have it all wrong," she finally managed to say, "The mare I'm meeting is...." She hesitated.

"Yes?" said Sunblade, now concerned.

Octavia took a calming deep breath, "She's my half sister."

There was a long silent pause as Sunblade's eyes widened a little as the full weight of Octavia's words sunk in. The white unicorn put his hooves together and placed his chin on them. He let out an "Ah" of understanding, "I'm guessing there's a story behind that," he said "You don't have to tell me, if it's too personal."

"It is, but I want to share it," said Octavia, staring at the table.






It all started with my parents, my mother was an opera mare and my father was the heir to an old noble line. They met at a Nightmare Night ball, being hosted by my grandparents. My mother wore a beautiful black dress and mask, while my father wore a dark blue suit with a bright red tie. Their eyes met through their masks and both of them smiled as they danced in the middle of everyone. Ponies talked long about how they sparkled around the dance floor. At the end of that night, both of them were deeply in love. My father never missed one of her shows and my mother send letters that smelled like roses. They were perfect together, and when they married, it felt like Happily Ever After. Or, at least it should have been.   






"What happened?" asked Sunblade.

Octavia's face turned sad, "Me."

Shock hits Sunblade's face, then his eyes turned hard with anger, "Let me guess," he said in a voice like ice, "It's because you're an earth pony."

She nodded, with tears in her eyes.

Sunblade knew where this was going, and it made his blood burn, some of Octavia's family members were Blood Purists. They were the worst of the pony nobles; only six of the great houses remained. They were the oldest of the nobility, and they believed that the three pony tribes should have stayed separate. Some even dared to oppose the princesses rule. If Sunblade had it his way, they would be cast out of Equestria forever.

The white unicorn took a few calming breaths, "I'm so sorry, Ms. Melody, no pony should have to go through that."

She gave him a small smile, "It's alright, my grandparents are more to blame than me. They pushed my father to make him leave us, but he refused. So, they cut him off."

Sunblade rolled his eyes, "Typical, agree or leave. I've seen that before."

"We jumped from city to city trying to find a place to belong," Octavia said sadly, "It took a toll on my parents, especially my father."

Sunblade covered his eyes to hide his own tears forming, "I never knew my father, so I can't imagine how it felt to watch that."

The music mare put a hoof to her mouth in surprise, "Oh Sunblade, I'm sorry, here I am going on about my family and I never considered...."

Sunblade stopped her there, "I have had a long time to come to terms with it. But, the hurt never leaves, there will always be a hole."

"Can you tell me about him?" asked Octavia, sympathetically.

He smiled, "Everything I know about him was told to me by my mother, my father's old friends, and my grandparents. They told me that he was kind, brave, and had a smile that could light up any room. My grandpa said how the world was just a little darker without him." 

"He sounds amazing," encouraged Octavia.

"He was, but everypony has their flaws. His was recklessness." 

Octavia started to feel tension growing in the room; it was clear to her that Sunblade had not talked about this for a long time. The mix of no sleep and high emotion was having a very negative effect on him. She worried that he was close to his limit. She looked out the nearest window, the sky was turning light orange as the first signs of sunset began. Sunblade turned to look out the window, too.

The white unicorn sighed, "Time, there never seems to be enough," he turned back to Octavia and got up from his seat, "I have kept you long enough, Ms. Melody. As my last act of service to you, let me take you home." 

The music mare's heart fluttered for a moment, "A prince in appearance and spirit," she thought, "If not in title."

"Very well," she said to him, "I would love to walk home with you."

Sunblade lifted the cake box with his magic and placed it on his back. He walked to the doors and opened them, "Ladies first." he said with a bow of his head.

Octavia walked past and Sunblade followed her out.