The next few days, Dream traveled with Night and Star, making their way north towards Hollow Shades. They spent most of the journey in the woods, away from prying eyes. Occasionally Stardust would slip into a town to buy supplies with the few bits she had, but for the most part they were roughing it. It was hard, but Dream couldn’t help but find it exciting; she’d always wanted to go camping after all, but her mother had always said no.

Dream was still sad about what had happened, but she was starting to accept it. Listening to her travelling companions’ stories helped take her mind off of things.

“So, there I was, trotting down the street, heading home from a long shift at work, when I hear it,” Stardust explained, telling the story of how she got her curse.

“Something in an alleyway, rustling among the trash cans. At first I think it’s just a raccoon, or a stray cat, but then it starts making noises. Weird snarling noises.

“Like a total idiot, I stop and call out, trying to see what was wrong. And then he comes out at me. He looked like a normal stallion, but he was filthy, skinny, like he hadn’t taken care of himself at all. The whites of his eyes were a weird, pale yellow, with slit pupils, and he was baring his teeth at me. I was scared, sure. But then, I saw the fangs, and then I was really scared.

“Anyway, he lunges for me, and I just fall back and scream. He bit me, but I shook him off and shot him with my magic, and that scared him off. I thought that would be the end of it. But then, I started feeling sick and really weak. I was in bed for maybe three days. Then, all of a sudden, I felt great. Really hungry, but otherwise great. I tried eating, but nothing seemed to satisfy this weird craving I suddenly got. All of a sudden, ponies started looking really, really good. I started thinking about sinking my teeth into one of them.

“That’s when I saw the fangs I’d grown. That’s when I realized what had happened to me. I was a vampony.”

She paused in her story to clear her throat and Dream snuggled closer to her, seeing her distress at recounting the story. Star smiled down at her in thanks before she continued.

“So, I don’t know what to do. I’ve just become a monster, something from a foal’s bedtime story. But I didn’t want to hurt anypony. So, I go out one night, because I didn’t feel good during the day anymore, and I see this dying squirrel that some animal had left without finishing. I was so hungry, and that blood smelled so good… Well, needless to say, I found something to eat that wasn’t ponies. So yeah. Ever since, I’ve been trying to live off of small animals, and that’s been keeping me sane. I actually met another pony like me, and they told me about how there were two kinds of sanguine: the sane ones like me, who feed and stay hidden; and the feral ones who denied their hunger to the point where they lost all control, like the one who attacked me.

“This sanguine, they told me about everything I needed to know. They told me about all the secrets that normal ponies fear, witches, lycans, and sanguine. They told me about the new powers I’ve got now, sort of like a weaker version of a witch’s magic. And they told me about how Hollow Shades was a safe haven for ponies like me. I had been scared of being discovered for some time, and there were some ponies who were getting suspicious about my change in habits, so I decided to uproot and move to Hollow Shades.

“Then one night I ran into Nightshade, and when we found out we were heading to the same place, we decided to start traveling together. Safety in numbers and all that. And well, you know the rest.”

Dream hugged Star tight in thanks for telling her tale, and Star returned the hug in thanks for listening.

“Well, I come from one of the ancestral thestral caves, where a lot of my kind have lived for generations. Since a lot of ponies are afraid of us, the only ones who live in pony society are the ones who work for Princess Luna, and from what I hear most ponies assume those are just pegasi under some sort of magical guise. The rest either hide in caves like our ancestors or live in Hollow Shades, which was built to be a town just for us.

“I worked as a herb gatherer for the tribe’s healer. I’m good with herbs, both healing and poisonous. You show me a wild plant, I can tell you its name and what it’s good for. Anyway, life was good, but we all sort of wished for something more, at least the ones in my generation. We knew there was a better life out there, but we also knew that a lot of ponies didn’t trust us, so we were afraid to leave.

“Our only connection to the outside world was the occasional Lunar Guard check-up, or sometimes a visiting merchant who wasn’t picky about his customers. It was through them that we heard tales of Hollow Shades. It sounded like such a great place, but we weren’t ready to leave our home. So a lot of us, we made a promise: If anything ever happened, anything that made it so that we had no other choice, we would go to Hollow Shades. One of those merchants, he sold us a bunch of enchanted maps that would show us the way if we ever had the need to make the journey.”

Nightshade pulled out the map to show her. It looked like a plain, ink drawing map of Equestria at first. But then, he pointed a hoof to an arrow on the map, showing their location. Then he showed her where Hollow Shades was. They still had a good two days’ worth of travelling before they would make it.

“Well, then it happened. One day, while I was out, a pride of Manticores decided they wanted our cave. I came home to find them there, eating away at the ones who hadn’t escaped. I couldn’t find any of the survivors, so I hope they’re making their way to Hollow Shades safely. I had my copy of the map, and so I started on my way.

“It wasn’t a day later that I found Stardust, heading the same way. She said something about trying to follow the lay lines there, some magic thing that sanguine and witches can do I guess. The map makes it a lot easier though, and neither of us liked travelling alone, so we teamed up. And here we are! Oh and uh, I wanted to apologize for being so nervous when I met you. I uh, I wasn’t sure how you were going to react to me being, well me. I’m glad we met you though.”

Dream gave him a beaming smile, hugging tight to him. Stardust came over and joined in, the three companions cuddling tight. Dream let out a yawn, tired from the long trek. Star and Night held her tight as she fell asleep, smiling down at her, each making a silent promise to watch over and protect her.

The next few days of travel were uneventful. Stay in the darkness during the day so that Night and Star could sleep, with Dream spending most of her time keeping watch since she hadn’t fully adapted to the nocturnal lifestyle yet. Get up and travel at night, staying away from any signs of danger.

Slowly but surely, they made their way, until they arrived at the forest surrounding Hollow Shades. As they entered, Dream noticed that there was a strange magic in the air. And despite the fact that it was almost sunrise, the sky looked as though it were midnight.

“Since most of the residents of Hollow Shades are nocturnal, a long time ago Princess Luna enchanted the town and its surroundings with a spell that would make it always night here. It’s really just an illusion, but it works to keep us safe. This means we’re close.”

Dream smiled. She was about to find her new home.

Author's Note

Next chapter, and somehow I've managed to still stay invested in this project.

Thanks again to my editor Requiem17.

Also, I'm thinking of making a cover art. I do not yet know what it should look like, but I know that it would be beneficial to have. Whatever it is, it is definitely going to be drawn by me.

Any way, thanks for reading this far, hope you like it!