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

Octavia couldn't seem to trot fast enough. She started her classes at The Royal Canterlot Orchestral Conservatory today. The Alma Mater of Johan Sebastian Buck, Ludwig van Beethoofen, and Wolfgang Amadeus Oatzart. She was so excited she didn't even move into her room first. The cellist thought she'd lose her mind if she saw the central hub of the orchestral world without being able to participate.

She couldn't hold her head still as she galloped along the winding elegant sidewalks. Each section of the orchestra had its own building named after a pony that had exemplified and expanded the art. Octavia couldn't help but accost a pony at every building and explain to them their accomplishments. How this bassoonist invented the double Reed. How that composer doubled the size of the brass section. Half of the ponies she accosted were the virtuosos teaching the classes themselves. She was making an absolute Pinkie Pie of herself.

Then she saw it, the holiest of holies for any string player in Equestria. The Cordial Chords Concert hall. Her quick trot faltered and her breath stopped in her throat. Here she stood on the threshold of the place where the most important developments in string music happened. The Royal Canterlot Fillyharmonic can boast what it will. All concert halls we're just sounding boards to the music that was written here.

Her awe was interrupted by a neon blue unicorn stallion, who was holding a pile of loose sheet music, bumping into her causing him to drop his awkward bundle. "Damnit all young lady! Don't you know not to stand in doorways?" The disgruntled pony shouted.

"Pardon me sir, I was just caught up by the. Oh here let me help you with." The cellist stammered out awkwardly. Before she could help the very rude pony pick up the scattered sheets he snapped. "Don't you dare try to get a headstart on the sight reading music!" With that he snatched the remaining pages into a crumpled pile and stormed off.

The cellist was left alone in the doorway, overnight bag and cello starting to slump off of her shoulders. "What an absolutely infuriating pony! I certainly hope I don't see him very often." Octavia straightened herself up and trotted determinedly into the concert hall and found it nearly empty. As it was a full hour before class would start nopony else had arrived. The only pony present was. "Oh no" Octavia sighed to herself.

The neon blue unicorn glanced up from an ancient battered desk, littered with all manner of sheet music. "May I help you speed bump?" The very rude pony deadpanned.

"My name is Octavia." She tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "I'm here for my first day of classes."

The unicorn didn't look up this time. "Class doesn't start for another hour." He said nonchalantly.

"Yes I know but I was so excited I couldn't help myself and came straight on. I didn't even check into my room first."

The neon blue pony did look up this time. "Well try to contain your enthusiasm for the next hour." Not another word passed between the two. Octavia put her overnight bag and cello case in the corner. She then rosined her bow and tuned her cello by ear.

When she started to play a piece her mother had written the unicorn looked up. The cellist stopped playing, wondering if the very rude pony would ask her to refrain from playing. Instead the unicorn squinted, really looking at the pony for the first time. His eyes widened slightly with recognition, then squinted again. He went back to his paperwork and the cellist back to her music.

Eventually a bright pink unicorn mare walked in with a violin case held in a foreleg and introduced herself to Octavia. "Hi I'm Silky Strings."

Octavia stopped playing and bowed slightly. "Good morning my name is Octavia. Pleased to meet you."

The unicorn's ears sprang forward. Her face exploded with excitement. She leaned in uncomfortably close. "Octavia?! As in the new first chair cellist of the Royal Canterlot Fillyharmonic Octavia?!"

The cellist leaned back slightly in surprise.
"Uuhm yes. That would be me." She gave a nervous smile.

The violinist lept into the air. "Oh my gosh you are a freaking legend! Is it true you made Fortissimo cry?" The violinist's face was uncomfortably close to Octavia's.

She responded, horror apparent on her face. "What no! He just" The conversation was mercifully interrupted by a pair of earth ponies holding viola cases walking in.

"Oh hey silks what's up?" A jade green stallion called out.

"PLUCKS COME HERE!" She immediately made this command mood by galloping over to the viola player. She wrapped a foreleg around the Earth pony. "Do you know who that is?" She didn't wait for a reply. "That. Is. OCTAVIA!"

The pony's heads jerked from one mare to the other. "WAIT THAT OCTAVIA?"
The trio ran over and shook the cellist's hoof violently. "It's such an honor to meet you ma'am." The doors began to pour in a steady trickle of students as by this point class was about to begin.

The neon blue unicorn's voice cut through the din of the crowd. "OCTAVIA GO SIT IN THE FUCKIN PRACTICE ROOM!" He pointed a hoof stiffly at a small soundproof room devoid of furniture save for a chair, and a music stand. The overwhelmed mare, rather than redressing the very first time she'd ever been cursed at, was grateful for the chance to get away.

She calmed herself and was about to begin playing again when the door opened again. "OCTAVIA get out here!" The cellist complied. She walked out slowly and saw the full string complement seated, all eyes locked on her. Octavia looked sheepishly at the unicorn, unsure of what she was supposed to do. The very rude pony said petulantly. "Now come here and tell us all a story." The now thoroughly embarrassed cellist walked over and giggled nervously.

She cleared her throat. "Uuuhm Hello. My name is Octavia. Uhhm." She darted a glance at the unicorn, hoping for some kind of hint.

A double bass player shouted. "Tell us about how you made Lord Fortissimo cry!" The entire room, minus the very annoyed neon blue unicorn, cheered in agreement. Octavia was less than pleased about the apparent rumours, but was glad of the opportunity to clear them up.

"He did not cry!" She told The story of her impromptu audition. The truth impressed them more than the rumors ever had. She told the story with neither embellishment, nor vanity, and yet the facts of the matter floored the attentively listening ponies.

When she finished the unicorn called out. "And we're all terribly impressed. Now then you've all heard the story straight from the horse's mouth. Any discussion of the incident during class time will be met with disciplinary action. Is. That. UNDERSTOOD?" The entire class, Octavia included, responded as one. "Yes sir!" Octavia understood what the unicorn had done. He had made sure that the incident would not be a distraction in his class. The unicorn's earlier rudeness was completely forgiven in her mind.

Octavia knew implicitly that there were only two kinds of music teachers. Firm disciplinarians, and teachers that produced no music. Octavia's talents had been forged and tempered by such ponies. Her hardest teachers being her own parents. Now her parents had never had to snap or even be nasty. What they did was so much worse. Hey mother had instilled in her daughter a love for music, and her father had instilled in her a loathing of error.

Octavia was thoroughly pleased with her new teacher.