> Caring No Longer > by chuck-vic-norris > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Enough is Enough > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl coughed slightly. It was now or never. "Dad...you're gonna be a grandpa." She then reached over and took Octavia's hoof in her own. "Octavia and I are having a foal." She then braced for impact. Rolando dropped his fork, in complete and utter shock. A moment later, his face flushed a shade of crimson, flames of anger roiling to the surface. "How...how DARE YOU!?" He roared, slamming his hooves on the table. "Dear..." Marianna started, but immediately retreated when he continued. "HOW DARE YOU SULLY THE NAME I HAVE STRIVED SO HARD TO BUILD!? Not ONLY do you get yourself PREGNANT, you get yourself pregnant with a mare, AND OUT OF WEDLOCK NO LESS!" He screamed. "I have had ENOUGH of you deliberately tarnishing our name! You have been an ungrateful brat since the day you were born, and now you not only ruin your OWN life, but OCTAVIA'S as well!? You FOALISH little filly, YOU HAVE RUINED US!" "ENOUGH!" Octavia shrieked. The remaining three turned and faced Octavia, who was shaking with anger. Tears were visibly streaming down her face. "Octy, no! I can handle him hating me! I couldn't handle it if-" "I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!" Octavia yelled, slamming her own hooves on the table. ""I could not care LESS if you WERE my role-model, you could be THE PRINCESS HERSELF, AND I STILL WOULD NOT CARE!" "Nopony, and I mean NOPONY, will ruin the two GREATEST THINGS to happen to me in my life! You will NOT speak so horribly about your daughter, whom I LOVE with ALL MY HEART, and you will NOT SPEAK ILL OF THE FOAL SHE HAS BLESSED ME WITH!" Octavia rose from the table, and hurried off without another word, her sobs echoing off the walls. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The tension in the room was palpable. Everypony in the room was frozen in place by her outburst. Marianna couldn’t help but stare at the floor, deeply stricken by the pain and anger on Octavia’s face. Rolando was in complete shock, never having expected somepony who admired him to burst in rage at his words. He couldn’t help but feel a bit remorseful to have destroyed the image he had made for somepony who was inspired by him. “What..” The quiet but deadly voice shook Marianna and Rolando out of their shock. When they faced the voice, they were not prepared for the gates of Tarturus that appeared in front of them “What part of your mind… gave you the stupid idea… to hurt Octavia…” Despite that Vinyl was facing the floor with her eyes closed, the rage in her voice was not censored in the slightest. As much as Marianna wanted to step in to prevent further damage, she knew now more than ever that this was something she should not interfere unless things became physical. Rolando did not know that his next action would burst open the gates of Tarturus. “Now see here, Vinyl-” “DON’T BUCKING SPEAK RIGHT NOW!!” Vinyl’s voice boomed throughout the dining hall with the intensity of a Sonic Rainboom. Her beautiful ruby eyes now took on the appearance of a demon with uncontrollable fury as she faced her father who was frozen in place. “I AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOU PUTTING ME DOWN FOR EVERY CHOICE I MADE!” The volume of her voice was only second to Princess Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice. “NOT ONCE DID YOU EVER HOLD BACK ON TELLING ME ON HOW I WAS NOTHING BUT A THORN ON YOUR SIDE, AND I’M BUCKING SICK OF IT!!” At the last word, Vinyl stomped her hoof on the floor with enough force to shake the table and silverware in front of her. Both of Vinyl’s parents could have been great actors with how they impersonated statues. The only signs of life were the movements of their chests as they breathed shakily. Not once had they ever witnessed Vinyl fuming at somepony to this extent. The next words were spoken in a more hushed volume without losing any bitterness. “I can handle you thinking I was a mistake. Hell, I get comments like that all the time with those stuck-up nobles in Canterlot… But I won’t ever put up with you calling my love for Octavia and my child a ‘mistake.’ That is unforgivable.” Vinyl stood from her spot and slowly walked to Rolando, each clop echoing in the dining hall as if trying to continue voicing her rage. She did not stop until she was but an inch away from her father’s face. “Now I remember why I never came back to this place. I hate the stuck-up attitude everypony has here, I hate how you expect me to be your definition of ‘perfect,' but most of all, I hate you. I could care less what you say at this point, I've had enough of your bullshit.” Neither parents dared to move for fear of setting off Vinyl again. After several agonizing seconds, Vinyl turned away and began exiting the dining hall. “Don’t bother trying to find us unless you apologize to both of us and mean it.” It took every ounce of her willpower not to shout again. She made no move to face them as she continued walking. It was not until she was directly in front of the exit that she stopped. Time had seemed to slow down. Each second that passed by in silence felt like a century. Ten seconds had passed before Vinyl spoke again. “The moment Tavi and I wake up tomorrow, we’ll be heading straight towards her parents' place, so the kid will have at least one grandfather. I’ve never met him, but who knows…” Vinyl slowly turned her head to her father, and what he saw nearly crushed him to pieces. Vinyl’s eyes were bloodshot, the dam of tears full yet unwilling to spill over. Anger was still clearly present but underneath was the pain and sadness she had tried to conceal but failed in the end. A single tear rolled down her cheek, the next words piercing Rolando’s heart. “…maybe he’s ten times the father you ever were.” Without another word, she faced the exit again, walking away feeling a weight off her shoulders but each step weighing like lead in her hooves.