When Octavia woke up, the room was brighter but still shadowed. Across from the bed was a thin sliver of sunlight pouring in through a crack in the curtains. Octavia hesitated a moment before she threw off her blankets and trotted over to peek through. At first she jumped back when the sunlight blinded her for a minute. But after blinking the stars out of her eyes she tried again, only this time she squinted to reduce the light. The sunlight still felt very bright, but now she was able to make out what was going on outside.
Two vehicles were being prepped and loaded. One was a simple wagon that held a large number of crates and trunks. The other looked more like a very large carriage with curtains in the windows. Outside loading the wagon and carriage were the ponies that Octavia met yesterday. Apple Vine was just finishing with the wagon and had secured the back and cargo while Steady Remedy was helping Strawberry Bonbon tie a couple trunks to the back of the carriage. Once those tasks were done, Apple Vine and Steady Remedy went to hitch themselves to the vehicles. Steady to the carriage and Apple to the wagon.
"Good morning, or should I say afternoon." Octavia jumped with a yelp and swiveled to face a grinning Melody Note. The unicorn mare was now dressed in an elegantly casual dress and her mane was done up in a messy but oddly neat bun that let some of the hair down in an altogether lovely look. Octavia had completely forgotten about her and quite frankly it still felt a little unreal.
"Anyways, we've taken the liberty to gather your things from the house." Melody continued. "And I picked out a dress for you to wear. We're going to be leaving soon, so get changed and come down." As she spoke, she levitated Octavia's favorite brown dress into the room and onto her bed.
Octavia didn't say anything. She just stood there and stared straight at Melody Note and it didn't take long for the atmosphere to turn awkward.
"So uh, I'll just leave you to it." Melody said as she left the room. She then trotted down the stairs and strode straight ahead to the nearest wall where she threw her head into it with enough force to create a small crater in the hardwood and stone beneath. That however didn't even register to the unicorn and she just sighed morosely.
"Melody? Are you okay?" Golden Skies asked when she turned the corner and spotted the other mare.
"Yeah Goldie." Melody Note said, her words muffled by the wall crater her head was in. "I'm...just fine." She then pulled her head out and began walking away. "I'm going to go check in with Steady. I'll fix that later."
"Uh...okay." Golden Skies said to no one in particular as Melody Note was already gone.
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When Octavia stepped out, she was wearing the dress and her mane was also done in a bun, only her's was more neat with only a couple of strands in front of her ears. She trotted down the stairs and spotted an odd crater in the wall in front of the bottom of the stairs. She quirked an eyebrow questioningly, but didn't say anything.
"Hey there new sister!" Golden Skies greeted with a flap of her wings and a grin. She also wore a dress, sky blue with a more simple style and her mane had been braided then wrapped around her head. "Did you sleep well?" She asked as she led Octavia down a hall.
"Very well, as one would expect." Octavia answered.
Golden Skies giggled. "I guess so. I remember my first time. I almost slept till evening!"
Octavia was silent for a time. "How did you do it?" She asked and Golden gave her questioning look so Octavia clarified. "How did you adjust to all this?"
"Well it's not the easiest thing to get through, but it helps to put a positive spin on it." Golden Skies said. "Being a vampire isn't as bad as the legends would have you believe. It's actually pretty cool you know. And you have your sister! Isn't that awesome?"
Octavia hesitated. "I can honestly say I don't know." She said.
By this point, they'd reached the back entrance and Golden Skies pulled open the door to start out but Octavia stayed rooted in place. Noticing this, Golden Skies paused and turned to her.
"Hey, why the sudden stop?" She asked and Octavia pointed outside.
"That's sunlight and we're vampires." She said. "Don't we like, burn to ash in the sun?" The moment the question left her mouth, she realized it was silly to ask since Steady Remedy and Apple Vine were outside at that moment and were distinctly not ash. Golden Skies on the other hoof giggled.
"Silly, that's not how it works." She said as she grabbed onto Octavia. "Here, let me show you." With that, she effortlessly pulled her out the door. Once the sunshine hit her, a funny feeling went through the new vampire like she lost much of her strength but she didn't feel tired. And most importantly, she wasn't burning.
"See? We don't burn in sunlight, but it does weaken us and our magic plus prolonged exposure tends to make us feel a little sick." Golden Skies spoke as she led Octavia up to the carriage.
"Yep. The reason why ponies think we burn up is because somepony saw that sunlight made us uncomfortable or something like that and assumptions were made." Melody Note continued as she came up from behind. "Eventually over time, it became known that 'vampires burn in the sun'. In my personal opinion, it helps hide our existence. After all, who would believe that a vampire can walk around during the day."
As she spoke, Melody climbed into the carriage then held out a hoof to Octavia. Octavia gave the hoof a very long stare before hesitantly grabbing it and letting herself be pulled into the carriage. When she entered the shade within, the feeling left her. Inside the carriage was very plush. There were soft rugs, some blankets and lots of large and small pillows were scattered.
"How long will the trip take?" Octavia asked.
"Well, considering how late we're starting out, I'd say we'll won't arrive until later this evening." Strawberry Bonbon said as she climbed in. "Maybe even around midnight if we're unlucky."
Golden Skies was the last to climb in, so she pulled the door shut and locked it. As she did so, Octavia did the math. It wasn't very hard to put two and two together.
"Wait! But that would mean Apple Vine and Steady Remedy will be out in the sun all day." She exclaimed as she poked her head out the window. Steady Remedy smiled.
"It is kind of you to concern yourself with our health, but Apple and I have done this many times." Steady Remedy said. "I would be very surprised if we couldn't handle ourselves by now."
"And I imagine it helps that much of path is shaded." Apple Vine added. "Do not fret Miss Octavia. We will be fine. Now we should be going now." The last part was directed at Steady Remedy, who nodded and took the lead as the left the yard and out onto the now bustling streets. Before she could be seen, Melody pulled Octavia in and drew the curtains closed. For a time they rode in silence until Octavia broke it with a question.
"So what exactly is this safehouse?" She asked.
"It's our Coven's Safehouse." Golden Skies said. "You see, vampires usually gather into these large groups we call Coven's and every Coven has a safehouse where vampires can stay for various reasons. Like if they're Newborns or if they've decided to take a break from the pony society."
"Otherwise a single vampire or a whole group will live amongst the Day Kind." Strawberry Bonbon picked up from there. "We can live in a single town for a decade or so, the max is three decades, then we either move on to a different town or city or we return to the Safehouse. It all depends on the vampire or group. Most of the time, usually when a group is sizable or diverse enough, we'll defer to what we call, the House Elder."
"Which is basically the oldest vamp in the house." Melody said. "And in our case, that's the good doctor, Steady Remedy here. Only three hundred years old and he looks like he's in his late twenties, early thirties."
"And I'm still going strong!" Steady Remedy called back in a playful voice before continuing in an over exaggerated old pony's voice. "And don't you forget it you whippersnappers!"
Everyone laughed while Octavia looked a little confused. "Wait, how did he...?"
"Extra sensitive hearing." Melody explained. "All vamps have it. Alongside sharp sight and smell. You can now hear more, see more and smell more than the average pony can. Neat huh?"
"I guess so." Octavia said trying to take Golden Skies advice and put a positive spin on things. "Now I can hear things when I play that others wouldn't be able to hear. What else can a vampire do?"
"Well, we're incredibly durable. Like its really really hard for a vamp to get hurt." Melody said. "And even if we do get hurt, we can heal quickly and without scars. We can even regrow lost limbs! We're also very strong and fast."
"Speaking of which." Strawberry Bonbon, who was peeking out the window, said. "You may want to brace yourself because we're about to-" before she could finish, the carriage suddenly lurched forward and there was a distinct feeling of speeding up as Octavia surged forward with the motion. "-speed up." The mare finished a little irritated since she could hear Steady snickering. "I swear, sometimes that stallion acts like a foal." She muttered to herself as she straightened out her cherry red dress.
Once she steadied herself, Octavia moved to the nearest window and pulled open the curtain to see the scenery rush past them at almost blinding speeds. "Whoa." She whispered.
"Yeah. It's pretty cool, isn't it?" Melody agreed. "Whenever we get out of the Day Kind's sight, we speed up quite a bit. Helps us travel faster."
"If it helps us travel faster, then why are we only going to make to the Safehouse at a late hour?" Octavia asked.
"Because this isn't our maximum speed." Golden Skies said. "The weight of a wagon and carriage tends to weigh a pony down you know."
"Add to that the fact that sunlight weakens and slows us, plus the fact that we need to consider the durability of said wagon and carriage and the end result is a longer journey than it would be if we were traveling on our own." Strawberry Bonbon continued. "At this exact moment, we're traveling at half the speed a vampire can accomplish."
Octavia blinked and turned to look outside once more as her mind put the pieces together. Once it was done with that, her jaw dropped and her thought processes short circuited at the same time. Nearby, Melody Note began to laugh.
"That was my reaction too." She chortled.
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As predicted, it wasn't until early evening that they arrived at the Safehouse. After their conversation leading up to the subsequent breakdown of Octavia Philharmonic, much of that time was spent resting in preparation of the upcoming night. As Octavia was waking up from her nap, she felt the carriage slowing to a stop. Around her the other mares were also waking up and stretching. The door opened, letting in the darkening evening light.
"We're here." Steady Remedy announced then held his hoof out to help the mares out. When he got to Octavia, he smiled and said with flourish, "Miss Octavia, welcome to the Safehouse."
Octavia looked up at the building in question and gasped. The Safehouse wasn't so much a safehouse as it was a safe mansion. It was huge multifloored building covered in equal parts white and black marble with red accents. Currently they were standing in a large yard designed to receive carriages and wagons and was closed off by a tall fence. And surrounding it all was a forest thick enough that Octavia had no idea how the carriage and wagon made it through.
"Powerful enchantments." Melody piped up, making Octavia jump. "You were wondering how the carriage made it through, there are special paths that only a Night Kind can find and these are protected by additional enchantments. In fact, this entire place is hidden by both enchantments and geography."
"How useful." Octavia said, remembering the telepathy. It was amazing how much a pony's life could change in just a few short days. But before she could contemplate these thoughts very far, the doors burst open and out came a pair of ponies. The first was a spring green pegasus mare with a long, slightly curled pink mane. Her companion was a dark mint green unicorn stallion with a chocolate brown mane.
"Welcome back!" The mare greeted as she came up.
"Good to be back." Apple Vine said as he came over.
"Its great to see you all, but we weren't expecting you here so soon." The stallion said, his face creased with worry. "What brings you back so soon? I hope nothing horrible."
Then his eyes landed on Octavia and suddenly, everything went quiet as the two newcomers looked her over. "Ah, a Newborn." The stallion said with a nod. "That explains it."
"Mint. Peach. I'd like to introduce to you, my sister Octavia." Melody Note spoke as she pulled the grey earthpony forward. "Octavia, this is Chocolate Mint," the stallion nodded acknowledgement. "And Peach Blossom. They're vampires who live here at the Safehouse more often than the others."
"Lovely to meet you." Octavia said with a small curtsey. Peach Blossom tittered gently.
"There's no need for formalities here." She said kindly. "Here amongst the Coven, many of us think of each other as family. Come on in. Everyone else is just getting up, so we can introduce you to the Coven."
"Thank you." Octavia thanked and they followed the pair in while Steady Remedy and Apple Vine moved the wagon and carriage elsewhere.
Inside was just as huge as outside and true to Peach Blossom's words, the occupants were indeed just rousing themselves. She could see vampires stumbling out of rooms yawning, a few standing in line for the bathroom and when they reached the dining room, a few were preparing the table for a meal.
"Shining Pearl!" Golden Skies cried out as she tackled a white unicorn with a blue and purple mane and hitting the floor with enough force to create a crater shaped like her.
"Golden Skies!" Shining Pearl greeted in response. None of the vampires in the room paid the crater any mind. The only one who seemed bothered by it was Octavia. Shining Pearl continued speaking. "You're back so soon. Thought you'd be gone much longer. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah. Nothing really really bad happened." Golden Skies answered as she pulled her friend out of the crater. "We just had to bring a new friend!"
It was then that everyone noticed Octavia and the earthpony suddenly found herself the center of attention once more. She shuffled her hooves lightly and waved. Then Melody slung her foreleg across her back and pulled her close.
"Guys, I'd like you to meet my baby sister, Octavia." She introduced the quiet earthpony. Shining Pearl's horn lit up and the pony shaped crater began to straighten out. As she worked to repair the damage, a silver pegasus with a dark blue and white mane stepped forward with a smile.
"Welcome Miss Octavia." She said pleasantly. "My name is Moon Feather. You've already met Shining Pearl." The mare in question waved then returned to her work. "And I don't need to introduce you to Golden Skies, Melody Note or Peach Blossom of course."
As they'd gone along, Strawberry Bonbon and Chocolate Mint went off to talk and they had yet to meet back up with Steady Remedy and Apple Vine. So when they'd reached the dining room, it was just Golden Skies, Peach Blossom, Melody Note and Octavia. Aside from those familiar ponies, plus Moon Feather and Shining Pearl there were four other vampires in the room that were approaching them. Moon Feather of course began introducing them all to her. The first was a bright red unicorn stallion with a white and black mane.
"This here is Red Script." Moon Feather introduced. "The most brilliant author ever. You may have even read a few of his works."
Red Script's blush rivalled his coat color. "S-stop that." He stuttered embarrassedly. "I'm not that great."
"Yes you are. And don't you dare deny it." A bright green earthpony with a white mane chided lightly before introducing herself. "Hey, I'm Pear Flower. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." Octavia said courteously. Pear Flower nodded then gestured to a black pegasus mare with a dark purple mane draped partway across her face.
"There is Night Wind and finally-" she spoke before she was suddenly interrupted by a pink earthpony mare with a mix of blues as her mane color. The mare in question had suddenly lept in front Octavia while declaring, "SEA BLOSSOM!!" Effectively cutting off Pear Flower.
Octavia of course reacted in a very reasonable way. That is to say, she let out a shriek at her sudden appearance and fell backwards onto her back. Pear Flower grabbed Sea Blossom's tail and dragged her back with a frown.
"Sea Blossom, don't do that!" She scolded her. "It's not good to scare ponies you've just met. Especially Newborns."
"Sorry Pear." Sea Blossom said, her cheerful enthusiasm not dropping at all at the scolding. "But I just had to say 'hi'! Plus I bet that Golden Skies met her in much the same way."
"It's true." Golden Skies confessed unapologetically. "I was just too excited about having a new Coven Sister to wait." Moon Feather and Pear Flower facehoofed.
"I'm amazed that the two of you haven't traumatized her." Moon Feather muttered. As this had been going on, Melody Note had helped Octavia to her hooves and dusted off her dress. Moon Feather then turned to Melody. "Melody, why don't you help her get settled in a room? Breakfast is almost done, so when you're done, come and eat."
"Sure thing Moony." Melody said with a cheerful smile and Moon Feather frowned.
"I really wish you wouldn't call me that." She growled. Melody just laughed playfully.
"Well, what am I supposed to call you?"
"Moon Feather." The mare replied seriously.
"Hmmmm, too long. I like Moony better." Before the silver pegasus could tackle\throttle her, Melody Note grabbed Octavia and got out of harms way as quickly as possible. Which was pretty dang quick.
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Melody Note threw open the door with a flourish and a "Ta-da!" as she presented the fair sized room to Octavia. It was a large and fairly plain room furnished with a wardrobe, a desk, a bedside table and a large conopy bed with thick curtains. There was also a large window that overlooked what seemed to be a large yard area with a garden, small orchard of ten or so trees and other such things. The windows in the room also had thick curtains that were currently open and let the moonlight in. When Octavia stepped into the moonlight pouring in, she felt strengthened and energized.
"So this is my new life." She said with depressed finality as she sat on her haunches. Melody Note quietly closed the door, sat down beside her and placed a hoof on the younger mare's back.
"I'm so sorry." She apologized. "When I was sick in the hospital and the doctor came to me, do you know what I said? I told him that I didn't want to die because I wanted to be your big sister. I wanted to be there for you and look out for you like any big sis would and it didn't seem fair to me. When he made the offer, he told me roughly what I told you and I said it was enough for me if I had to protect you from the shadows."
At this point, Melody pulled Octavia into a hug and Octavia could feel wetness seeping into her dress where the unicorn mare had buried her muzzle. "I've been watching you since, but when you needed it most I wasn't there!" Melody cried. "If I'd have been there sooner, you wouldn't be going through this and you'd be safe at home right now, living a normal pony life! So, I'm sorry for doing this to you! I'm so so so so sorry!" She cried for a few minutes longer before a sensation halted her tears for a moment. It was the feeling of hooves on her back as Octavia returned the hug and rubbed a hoof up and down her withers.
"I forgive you." Octavia whispered and Melody's heart stopped. "I forgive you because there's nothing to blame. You aren't at fault here. You tried your best to save me and you did. Sort of. I'll just have to...adapt to my new situation. You'll be there to help me right?"
Melody sniffed and pulled Octavia closer as she began to cry some more. "Yeah. I'll be there with you the whole way this time." She said in a shaky voice with a trembling smile. "I promise."
Octavia was still very much confused about her relationship with this mare and Melody Note knew it. But at this moment that didn't matter. What did matter was that Melody needed a shoulder to cry on. So for the moment they just sat there hugging each other as Melody cried tears of joy onto her sister.