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// Early Morning Hatred 
// Story: Suffering in Silence 
// by SmokeShadow95 
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	A wall. A wall of magic, a barrier keeping them apart. She slammed her hooves down on it, tears streaming down her face. She watched as her friend, her love, was being forcefully kept away. Her voice rang out with cries of pain and heartbreak. 

Octavia's eyes snapped open. She shifted uncomfortably in her bed before sitting up. She rubbed her temple with a hoof and sighed. She had been having those dreams all the time lately, for the past several months. Her subconscious mind kept bringing these memories up to torment her. She sighed again. The stillness of her night was broken only by the sound of knocking at her door. 

“You may enter,” She said aloud. 

One of the double doors to her room opened with barely a creak and an older pony walked in just as quietly. 

“Are you well, Miss Octavia?”

“I'm fine,” Octavia replied sharply. No matter what these ponies said she knew the truth. They were always saying things like they were 'walking by' or simply 'in the area'. Her personal favorite was when they were so bold as to just bring her something. A midnight snack, a cool towel for the warm nights, a heated blanket for the recent ones. 

“Leave me be,” Octavia said as she lay down and turn her back to the door. “And be sure to tell my mother the same.”

“As you wish, Miss Octavia,” The old pony said as he backed out of he room. 

Octavia laid there for many an hour. The night seemed to last forever, even as much as she wanted it to end. She was left with nothing but painful memories and a teary pillow to keep her company. 

The next morning came after much too long. Octavia wasn't sure when she finally fell asleep, only that it was late morning when she finally did wake. She rolled out of bed and groggily made her way through her family home to the dining room. 

A long table filled the room and there was a chair waiting for Octavia with a plate of food. She was a bit less than ladylike when she pulled out the chair and slipped onto the seat. The scents of the food wafted up to her nostrils, breaking on through her weary state. She heartily took up the silverware and began to eat her fill. 

“Goodness, child, show some manners.”

Octavia finished chewing her mouthful of breakfast fruit and turned her eyes to her mother, who was barely paying attention to her even now. That was perhaps the only reason she didn't notice the look of pure, unfiltered hatred in her daughter's eyes. 

Octavia quickly averted her eyes as her mother looked back at her. “I have heard that you are still mumbling in your sleep, child.”

“What of it, Mother,” Octavia said less than politely. She didn't wait for a response as she kept to eating her fruit.

“Watch your tone,” Her mother scolded, “And this problem of yours is getting worse. It must be dealt with.”

“You are the only one who sees it as a problem, Mother.”

“I am the only one who sees it for what it is, child,” Her mother almost yelled. To anypony else it would have been nothing, but Octavia could tell there was a slight raise in her volume as well 	as tone. “This has been going on for months now. It has to end at some point.”

“And when will that be, Mother?!” Octavia roared. She slammed her hooves down on the table. “You know just as well as I do why this is happening. What did you expect to happen?”

Octavia's hatred showed in her face as she stared down her mother. In turn, her mother just looked at her with the same cold look she always had. The only acknowledgment she gave to Octavia's outburst was a raise of one of her eyebrows. 

“You must be speaking of . . . her,” She said after a moment. 

“Her name was Vinyl, Mother,” Octavia said. “And I enjoyed my time with her. I had more fun in the one day I spent with her than I have ever had in the many years I have spent in this house.” 

“No matter,” Her mother said. “You are here now, and you can continue with your studies, and continue your time with the orchestra. You can get back to your life as it was before.”

“As if nothing happened,” Octavia said. “But something did happen mother. I actually met someone-”

“I do not care!” Her mother said, finally showing some emotion in her face. “That trash of a mare was going to simply drag you down to her level. I was not going to let that happen!”

“That was not your choice, Mother! Aarrgh!” Octavia swiped her hoof across the table, sending her plate flying off the table with her enraged scream. 

“I am your mother, Octavia,” She said in a stern voice. “And as long as I am your mother, as long as you live in this house, I will do what I think is right for you. And you will learn to 	appreciate it. For now, get back to your studies. You have wasted enough of the morning already.”

“As you wish, Mother,” Octavia hissed.