A puppet to Her fame

Act 3

"Octavia, get up."

I kept my eyes closed and stayed motionless in bed. He may have thought it stubbornness, but I was truly mortified when my father spoke to me.

"I will not ask again," Father commanded.

I rolled out of bed, falling to my hooves and playing the role of beaten mutt that he was doubtless eager to see. My eyes remained on the floor. I would find a way back to orchestra practice. I would find Vinyl. We would run.

"Step forward."

I took a few steps towards the voice.

"That was quite the show, but ultimately useless. You continue to find creative ways to disgrace my family name. Now, feel your bow tie."

I lifted a hoof up and put it on my neck. The collar, half metal and half magic, they had devised for me was latched in place. I could feel the tingle of magic coursing through it, and the true despair of my situation sunk in.

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but my wife's methods proved insufficient. She'll be in shortly to begin your training. I'd suggest you stop antagonizing us. Both of us can track that collar. Both of us can use it to deliver a powerful magic surge through your nerves."

My Father's horn glowed and the device around my neck tightened. I could still breathe, yet it dug deeply into my skin. To demonstrate what would happen next time I disobeyed, he effortlessly activated it. I fell to the floor in exquisite agony as I felt hundreds of nerves running through my body, from my brain, down the spine, to my hooves, ignite in white hot fire. As sudden and severe as it was, the searing affliction vanished just as quickly, leaving me gasping.

"We thought you had better sense than this, it's truly disappointing. We have given you everything, sacrificed everything. All of this, we have done so you would be capable of playing music. Years of schooling, dozens of instruments, countless tutors, the best experts on music theory money can buy. And still, you refuse to learn your place."

I was still kneeling on the floor, tears streaming from my eyes. Even if I got to Vinyl, what good would it do now? Would her or Lyra even know the first thing about this kind of magic?

"Behave for your Mother and I'll escort you to the theater to practice tonight," Father stated.

I heard my father exit and my mother enter.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time. Go ahead, call me names now," Mother spat.

I stood up and faced her, searching for the words to convey my feelings.

"I gave you an order, insult me." Her horn glowed briefly. The sensation of thousands of small cuts spread across my skin, sending me convulsing to the floor.

"You're too big a coward to face me without magic," I whimpered from the floor.

"Is that so? Then go ahead, hit me."

I looked up in time to see her walk over and aim a kick for my head. I rolled to the side but was still too weak to get up.

"Hmm, doesn't look you have it in you. Now sit."

I closed my eyes and sobbed until she sent another burst of pain through me. This time my nerves told my brain that I was being compressed under several tons of pressure. I felt like I was being forced through the eye of a needle, yet I had not moved.

"Sit," she repeated.

I got up and sat on the floor, I had never felt so humiliated. Would this be my life, controlled from a safe distance by my cowardly parents? Was I destined to know only pain and servitude?