Taming Strange. Or: How I learned to stop worrying and make love in public

Octavia ran. Her lungs burned and her breath came in gasps but she couldn't stop running. She galloped pell-mell through the streets of Canterlot. She didn't care where she was going, she just had to get away. Finally exhaustion stopped her and she slumped against the wall, panting hard. She hadn't stopped crying the whole time and tried without success to wipe her muzzle clean.

She looked about in despair. Where could she go? What would she do? She couldn't go back to her dorm, Vinyl would be there. She couldn't go back to work because she knew sooner or later she would show up, "just wanting to talk". There was nothing to talk about. Vinyl was an idiot. A hedonist! "AN UNFEELING BRUTE!" She screamed as she beat the wall with her hoof.

She cast a look around to get her bearings. She had to find a place to actually go. Despite her state of mind she still knew it was inappropriate to make a scene in public. She sat down against the wall and tried to calm down enough to really think. Where WOULD she go. She couldn't go to her gran mére's in Gaconeigh. It was too far and she had no money on her. Her head popped up at the realization.

She knew where she had to go but she wasn't going to like it. Going there meant she'd have to talk about it, and all she wanted in the world right now was to NOT talk about it. She sighed heavily knowing it was the only other place she could go. She would have to go home.

She trudged all the way from Canterlot to the country house several miles outside of the city. It was a very long walk and it started raining for the last two miles. Octavia arrived at her childhood home soaked to the bone and exhausted. Her mother cheerfully opened the door, eyes closed. "Bienvenue chez ~ SACRE BLEU! Mon ma chère fille, que fais-tu ici dans un état si triste?"

The soaked earth pony lunged forward and buried her face in her mother's neck sobbing bitterly, soaking her with tears and leftover rain water. Her mother wrapped her wings and hooves around her darling daughter. While she was genuinely concerned about what drove her daughter to walk all the way to the country house in the pouring rain, it was always nice to be needed as a mother.

Octavia was brought inside and given a luxurious bubble bath and hooficure, much to her embarrassment. Her mother took her pink ribbon she always wore as a bow tie and delicately folded it into her mane. It was immediately removed and placed back in its proper place. Her mother rolled her eyes. "Devez-vous encore vous occuper de votre arc de crinière? C'est adorable"

"You know I prefer it as a bow tie." She said, trying not to whine. "It looks more professional." She straightened her bowtie and nodded that all was right and proper. She joined her mother in the foyer. Each had their usual spirit, her mother with her Chardonneigh, and Octavia with her cognac.

"Maintenant ma chérie, dis-moi ce qui t'amène ici dans un tel état. Le conservatoire ne peut certainement pas être si mauvais." Octavia sighed and swirled her drink thoughtfully. She told her mother all about Vinyl. The whole trek out to the house all she could think about was how terrible the party pony was, but telling the story of the last couple of weeks brought back all the wonderful sweet things she'd done.

She talked of how they'd met, of their first date, the shock at the door. Octavia had to chuckle in spite of herself at her own reaction. She spoke of Vinyl's heroic sacrifice to get her to the concert, of her reaction to her playing. She had to pause for a long moment and take a large sip of her drink to steady herself.

Then she spoke of Vinyl's show, and of the tragedy. She could no longer hold back tears as she related her sweet sweet Vinyl's reaction to an untimely death and how callous it revealed her to be. She couldn't continue. She placed her head in her hooves and sobbed. The pony she still loved so much, how could she be so sweet and yet so unfeeling? It broke her heart to think of it.

Octavia wasn't looking at her mother's face while speaking. If she had she would've been distracted by the pageant of emotions that ran across her face. First confusion at where the story was going. Then shock at the revelation she was talking about a mare. Then astonishment at the way she described her. Then a devious grin at the story of where their first date was. The story was strictly verboten, but it was still a pleasant memory for all that.

She smiled warmly at how Vinyl had let nothing stop her from seeing her daughter's performance. Then as she finished her final emotion was uncertainty. This was out of her depth. She had no idea how to help in this situation. She'd never expected to have to help her daughter with mare trouble, much less a mare of such a disposition.

Octavia looked at her mother through her tears. "What shall I do mother? How can a mare be so sweet yet so?-" She couldn't finish the question for her weeping. She knew she still loved Vinyl deeply, but how could she be with somepony who had no regard for her own life or the lives of others?"

Her mother flew gently over to her and again wrapped her comfortingly in her wings. She spoke softly in the language of Prançe to her and rocked her back and forth. She had no clue how to handle this but knew somepony who might. "My dear, I think you should talk to your father about this sort of thing. He'll probably know how to handle it better."

Octavia looked up into her mother's eyes. She knew she was right, but she had no idea how that conversation would turn out. She'd be convinced to either marey Vinyl, or kill her. She nodded and picked up her cognac. She bowed to her mother and shut the door behind her. Her mother sighed heavily not knowing what was going to happen to get dear little filly. The door immediately opened again and Octavia trotted back in and took the whole bottle of cognac with her.

The head of the fillysophy department at Royal Canterlot University sipped his cider and pondered upon the nature of truth when he heard the dullest thud against his study door, as if somepony was trying to knock with their flank instead of their hoof. He rose and opened the door, only to be delighted at what he saw. "My dear Octavia! What brings you home?" He looked and saw her expression and the mostly full bottle of cognac in her foreleg. "Ah I see."

She looked up at him the most forelorn expression he'd ever seen on her face. "Father may I sit with you in your study? I have much in my mind."

"Of course my dear! Always pleasant to have you about. Come sit." She placed the bottle down in the large cushioned window seat, and a her father resumed his large leather upholstered chair by the fireplace. She sipped her drink in silence and occasionally let out a wistful sigh. He took a large swig of his cider and puffed at his pipe.

He settled in for a nice evening of contemplation and started through his mantra. "I do so love cider. It slows the mental faculties down to where one can really ponder a thought." He exhaled. "To observe it from all sides like a.-" His mantra was interrupted when one of Octavia's sighs blew away his puff of smoke. He lost his train of thought and sipped his cider trying to remember what he was on about.

He tried again but again his puff of smoke was blown away by his daughter's sighs. He reached for his drink and realized it was empty. This was unacceptable. He smashed his glass on the floor and shouted. "OH WILL YOU JUST FUCK HER ALREADY!"

Octavia was speechless. Not necessarily at her father cursing in front of her for the very first time, but at somehow knowing she was thinking about a mare. She started to stammer a reply when he snapped off the question. "Do you love her?"

Octavia was pulled out of her shock and her face fell at the question. She could only weakly reply. "Yes."

"Does she take your breath away and every time you're with her the world seems a better place for it?" He barked.

Octavia put a hoof to her heart and answered ashamedly. "Yes."

"Does she give you a hope for the future and you just can't see a future without her." He said gesticulating wildly as he spoke.

Octavia's felt her heart burning in her chest. She lept to her hooves and shouted. "Yes!"

The pontificator rounded on the lover. "Then what's stopping you?" He said coldly.

She without missing a beat, burst out with tears in her eyes. "Because she's a degenerate who doesn't care if a pony drops dead in her audience!"

"Did she kill her?" He asked without looking away.

Octavia stepped back in surprise at the abruptness of the question. "Well, I mean no but.-"

"Then how is that her fault?" He said in the same cold voice.

"BECAUSE SHE SHOULD CARE!" Octavia screamed at her father." She should hold any value to pony life. She should care if she lives or dies! She shouldn't throw her life away in mindless hedonism." She fell back onto her seat in despair.

"Octavia, she's only adopted the fillysophy of the epicureans, life is but a passing fancy might as well feel good while you're here. Sounds like she's got her priorities straight. And as for throwing away her life you're not one to talk." He quipped.

Octavia perked up at the slight. "Excuse-"

"That mare is going out and experiencing life, while you sit scratching away at your cello all day. Tell me Octavia, in eighteen years how many colts did you bring home? How many friends did you have. Not even a summer fling in Prançe. Let that sink in Octavia. You avoided romance IN PRANÇE, the land of wine romance and bad accordion music!"

Octavia blinked a few times trying to think of a rebuttal. "But she's-"

"Clearly good enough to get the first chair cellist of the Royal Canterlot Fillyharmonic to pine over her. Now go! Take her! Make her yours. If you want her to value life give her something to value!" He stared hard at her.

She got slowly to her hooves. "But how? After everything I said! I even struck her father. I had the gaul to strike my sweet sweet Vinyl. I don't think she'd want to see me after that. I don't think I can face-"

"Oh for the love of Celestia! I BENT YOUR MOTHER OVER IN FRONT OF HER FATHER TO CLAIM HER AS MINE! And I'll not accept this insipid pusillanimity from my daughter! Now go and get her and stop filling my atmosphere with you incessant pining!" He plopped down hard in his chair mood absolutely cleared. "Oh and do bring her over when you get a chance she sounds lovely." He pulled at his pipe.

Octavia stood stunned at what she'd just heard. She blinked a few times to let the shock wear off. The thought of being reconciled to Vinyl seemed like a less unpleasant option than the mental image she had just had put into her mind. She thought about everything else had father had said.

She thought of how much she loved Vinyl, how sure had the capacity to be the sweetest mare in Equestria. How could anypony who could care so much for her not care for herself. Her sense of justice couldn't allow this. She loved Vinyl too much for her to not love herself. She stood up to her full height, a look of determination on her face. "Thank you Father." She said rubbing her cheek on the top of his head, and kissing it gently.

"Alright out with you!" He said smiling. Octavia galloped out of the room, leaving her unfinished cognac on the window seat and the door wide open. Her father sighed. "Silly filly left the accused door open." He reluctantly got to his hooves when he heard his daughter's voice from the other room. "MOOOM FATHER TOLD ME THE STORY OF MY CONCEPTION!"

"THAT TRAAAAITOOOR!" He heard his wife roar. He panicked. He cast his head about for an escape. His wife was flying down the hall straight at him murder in her eyes and a wine bottle in her hoof. He dove out the second story window just before the bottle would've hit him.

"MY LOVE! AH! CALM DOWN! IT- AH! WAS IMPORTANT!" He tried to explain while avoiding projectiles. Octavia galloped right past them. She had a mission. She loved Vinyl and nothing was going to stand in her way.