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

Octavia wandered through the large elegant campus looking for her dormitory. A little converted house on the edge of campus only a bowshot away from downtown Canterlot's entertainment district. She found room 420 and accidently interrupted an intimate moment with what were destined to be her new roommates.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?!" The light blue Earth pony barked.

"I'm terribly sorry but this is my room is it not?" Octavia held a hoof over her eyes and averted her gaze, face glowing red.

The indignant pony instantly brightened. "Oh you must be our new roommate! I'm deep tones, brass major and tubist, and this is my coltfriend Ivory Keys percussion major, pianist." The tan stallion bowed respectfully any memory of the intrusion long gone.

"Lovely to meet you, my name is Octavia." She thought about the pattern she had just heard, and added. "Uum String major, cellist."

She looked around the small dormitory seeing two bedrooms, a half kitchen,a water closet, and a full sized Grand piano bigger than any of the above mentioned spaces. Octavia wondered how they'd fit the damned thing into the room.

"Are you two bloody well done I can't, Well hello there!" An indigo Earth pony with blue mane and tail said. Erotic tone dripping from the greeting.

Deep Tones beamed at the newcomer. "Oh Harpo! Do come in, let me introduce you to Octavia, our long expected roommate. Octavia, this is Harpo string major and harpist."

"A pleasure to meet a fellow string major sir." Octavia chirped as she offered him her hoof to shake.

"The pleasure is all mine" the harpist crooned, lifting the offered hoof and gently kissing it.

The cellist decided not to be rude about the very presumptive stallion and diverted the course of the conversation by asking about the living arrangement. "I only see two bedrooms and there's three of us." Octavia said growing sheepish towards the end.

Deep Tones pointed with her hoof. "Oh the one on the left is yours of course." The cellist's dread was confirmed and she felt her face starting to warm again.

"So you two." She trailed off at the end, not able to bring herself to suggest such an uncouth idea outloud.

The tubist's eyebrow raised not understanding the question. "We live in the other room." Did the cellist have an issue with that? Deep Tones thought to herself. The tubist brightened and continued. "This one here." At this she bumped the pianist with her hip. "Cried all night and begged me to transfer here when he was all alone." The pianist pushed her away half heartedly, a smirk creeping into the corners of his mouth.

A terrible thought entered Octavia's mind."And mister Harpo, where are you staying?" She asked, voice not quite steady.

"Oh Harpo's our next door neighbor." The tubist answered for him. The cellist sighed in relief inwardly."

"So if ever you need anything you'll know where to find me." He said while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Octavia wondered if he had even a trace of introspection or irony.

"Wait a minute!" The tubist piped up. "Grey cellist." She screwed up her face really looking at Octavia for the first time. Deep Tones gasped. "You can't be the same cellist that humiliated Harpo's father can you?!" At this both colts went wide eyed. One at standing in the room with a local legend, and the other at having flirted with the source of his father's drunken violent temperament the last several weeks.

"Humiliated?" The cellist said looking honestly hurt. "Who did I humiliate?"

"Why", the tubist put on her best operatic bravado, "Lord Arpeggio Fortissimo, court composer to the prrrrincess herself."

"Oh Lord Fortissimo's your father?" The cellist asked brightening at the change of subject. But he was gone. The only son of the highest honored musician in the land had vanished from the room and locked himself in his dorm. His father would disown him if he knew he had spoken to, much less flirted with that mare. Not to mention anyone who could do that to his father was nopony to be trifled with.

"I'd hate to hear I'd embarrassed anypony." The cellist said, concern for her professional relationship with her new boss mounting.

The couple giggled to themselves. "Embarrassed isn't the word darling" Deep Tones chortled.

"Mortified is more like it!" Ivory Keys chimed in his heavily posh Canterlot accent. Octavia was now thoroughly concerned for her new career.

Her new roommates soothed her worries as they explained. "Oh don't worry darling. If anypony needed to be humbled it's him." Putting extra venom in the last word. "Did you know he always introduces himself by his full title? So ungraceful!"

"Lord Fortissimo is an excellent musician! I've even played some of his variations on Beethoofen's symphonies." Octavia said, feeling the need to defend somepony she genuinely respected.

"Yes yes, trust me Octavia one week of working with him and you'll understand everything." The tubist said conciliatorily.

The cellist was shown her cozy room and she set her cello case lovingly in the corner. She declined the invitation to dinner as she had been up all day and wanted to get settled in. Octavia opened the window enjoying the cool Canterlot Autumn air. She flopped exhausted onto her small bed, without bedding as she had only brought an overnight bag with her. A full day behind her she welcomed the loving embrace of oblivion.

That was until she heard the creaking.

Octavia's eyes shot open. The Moon was high in the sky, so she knew she had slept for at least a few hours. Instantly awakened by a series of furniture creaks and soft moans coming from her bedroom wall. "They're not seriously?" She thought to herself. But the sensual noises only continued. "Didn't they get enough earlier?" The cellist's face went crimson as she remembered what she had interrupted. "Well they're adults in what is for all intents and purposes their own home. They're free to do as they want." Octavia thought, trying to ease her mortification. "Plus this won't take long. They'll be finished soon enough." With that she politely covered her ears with her hooves and attempted to go back to sleep.

Three hours. The amorous couple didn't stop for three. Solid. Hours. Octavia sat staring at the wall for three solid hours. Hooves digging into her ears not able to fully drown out the sensual noises from next door. Either too polite or too embarrassed to ask them to be quieter she lay there and suffered for the entire duration. Finally. Mercifully. Celestia be praised, they finally gave it a rest.

Octavia smiled as she snuggled against her surprisingly comfortable mattress and finally started drifting off to sleep. That was until she heard the grunt coming from the other side of the room. Octavia's eyes shot open. "Wait a minute. He's alone in there. He's not seriously?" She thought desperately to herself. A slightly louder moan confirmed her fears. "Oh for the love of Celestia." She felt escape her lips.

On the other side of Canterlot, Celestia's head popped off her pillow reflexatorily. "Oi leave me out of this!" The god empress barked into the darkness. She pulled the sleep mask off of her eyes and looked around. "Huh where did that come from?" She settled back into sleep mildly concerned.

Octavia was entirely too disgusted to tell Harpo to stop doing. . . That, and she once again elected to shove her hooves into her ears. After everyone's endorphin situation had been well and thoroughly handled, Octavia finally, mercifully, got to sleep. For two hours. The first rays of Celestia's sun struck her square in the face. Her first class was early and Octavia knew she wasn't going to get anymore sleep. She sighed and shook herself awake. "Well at least that can't happen every night. . . Right? . . . Right?!"

Oh you poor poor silly little pony.