Mare-anormal Activity
By: Sound Blast
A semi-loud knock awoke Vinyl from her slumber. She rose off the sofa shakily, her signature purple glasses sliding down her muzzle slightly. Sighing, she pushed them up and walked over to the door, opening it with her magic. Outside stood a brown stallion in a light blue uniform.
"Are you Vinyl Scratch?" the mailpony asked, looking at a checklist quickly, then at her. She simply nodded, not in the mood to really say anything at the moment. "Good." he turned the pad toward her, pointing at an X'ed line with a pen. "I need your signature here."
The DJ sighed again, taking the pen in her magic and scrawling out her name on the line. The stallion looked at it momentarily before nodding, reaching into his saddlebag for a decently sized package in a plain brown box. As she took it in her magic, he turned to leave. "You have a good day, now."
Vinyl nodded again, walking back into the house and closing the door, setting the package on the living room table. She already knew what it was, so she didn't bother with it at first, but eventually, she opened it, revealing that it was, indeed, her camera that she had ordered a week earlier. Turning it on, she only had to wait a few seconds before she could see through the lens, and was surprised by the clarity. With a small tendril of magic, she turned on the camera's light, then turned off the light in the room, leaving her in near perfect darkness. Even now, she could see amazingly well. With the same speed as before, she turned on the light and turned off the camera, gently setting it on the glass table that adorned her living room. With another sigh, she laid back on the couch she had been on, but didn't go to sleep this time. Instead, she was deep in thought, about her predicament.
For the last few weeks, odd things have been happening... Occasionally, there would be hoofsteps downstairs, when nopony was down there, or something would be moved when she woke up the next morning. Vinyl didn't necessarily believe in the occult, but her housemate, Octavia, sure did, for being such a high class mare. The gray cellist was convinced that something was following her, and had practically begged Vinyl to help her, so she did... That's what the camera was for.
She grunted as she got up, using her magic to hover the camera in front of her, walking upstairs to their shared room. Setting the camera on her bedside table, she looked at the mess of wires attached to a laptop, microphone, and EKG recorder. Personally, she felt that the EKG recorder was useless, as all it had done the two times she's used it was drone endlessly. It didn't seem to do anything but that.
She sighed for the fourth time, bending down and reaching under her bed, coming up a few moments later with a tripod. Without a word, she set it up next to the laptop, facing the door. She then turned to the laptop, absentmindedly going over to a folder that was simply labeled 'Vinyl's Music'. She played the first song in the folder, and she instantly broke into a smile. She turned the music up to an unimaginable level, and her smile simply grew wider as she danced to her own beats.
After the song ended, she went downstairs into the kitchen, making herself a daisy sandwich. As she ate, she lazily looked around. Her gaze led her to the microwave clock, which read 7:29. She grinned. Octavia should be home in a few minutes.
The clock hit 7:30, and, as if on cue, the door opened, the cellist stepping through it with a large case on her back, closing the door with a tap from her hoof. The gray mare sighed in relief as she set the case on the floor gingerly, then rolled her shoulders, sighing again as they popped, obviously releasing her from a lot of pain. Vinyl walked over to her and rubbed her shoulder gently.
"You alright, Tavi?" she asked, looking at her housemate in worry.
The earth pony chuckled, shrugging off Vinyl's hoof. "I'm quite alright, Vinyl. This is nothing a hot bath won't fix." And with that, Octavia walked upstairs, starting up a bath for herself. Vinyl followed shortly after, levitating the case with her, walking into their room. She rested the case against the far wall, then, using her magic, she hovered the camera over to the tripod, fastening the machine to it, pointing it at the door. After getting it positioned correctly, she flopped onto their bed, turning on the TV with her magic, flipping to a random channel. A few minutes later, Octavia walked out of the bathroom in her white bathrobe, a content look upon her face.
Vinyl chuckled as the gray mare walked into the bedroom. "You feeling better?" she asked, propping herself on one arm, the cellist jumping at her voice.
"I-I'm sorry, dear... What was that?" she asked apologetically, sitting down on the bed, grabbing her brush from the nightstand.
As Octavia started brushing her mane, Vinyl leaned back down, her question answered.
Tavi looked around the room as she brushed her mane, noticing the rather expensive looking camera on the tripod. "Vinyl?" she asked, stopping momentarily. "Why do we have a camera?" She stood up and walked behind it, looking at where it was aimed. "And why is it pointing at the guest bedroom? Oh, Vinyl... Don't tell me you're-"
"Recording each night?" Vinyl finished, interrupting her housemate unceremoniously. She took off her glasses and put them on her nightstand, then looked at the earth pony with a look of stern resolve. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this, Tavi..."
Octavia sighed, knowing there was no way to change her housemates course-of-action. "Just promise me you won't get out of hoof, Vinyl..."
"Out of- How would I get out of hoof?"
"Oh, I don't know... Just don't, please?"
Vinyl nodded, laying her head back on her pillow, staring at the ceiling. "I promise, Octy..." the DJ said, which elicited a groan of annoyance from the cellist.
"Honestly, Vinyl... How many nicknames do you have for me?"
The mare-in-question shrugged, trying to hide a smile. "I dunno, at least three... Why?"
Octavia continued brushing her mane as she replied. "Can you please just stick with one?"
Vinyl shook her head, smiling broadly. "But where's the fun in that, Treble Clef?" she asked, propping herself on an arm again, looking at the annoyed mare.
"And there's the third..." Octavia muttered under her breath, setting her brush back on the nightstand. In an effort to change the subject, she brought up the camera. "So, what were you planning to do with that thing?" she asked, pointing a hoof at the tripod-mounted camera.
"Ah!" Vinyl uttered suddenly, jumping off of the bed, walking over to the mess of wires. After a few moments of messing around with her magic, she had the camera attached to the laptop, and the microphone wired to the camera. She left the EKG recorder alone. "Well, it's a rather simple plan, but hopefully as effective as I hope..." She pointed to the camera, then the laptop. "During the night, I'll have this recording. In the morning, I'll check the video on the computer to see, or hear, as the case may be, if anything happened the night before. By the way, thanks for reminding me about it... I almost forgot to hook it up."
Octavia nodded curtly. "You're welcome, but...is it on now?"
"Nah... I figured I'd wait to turn it on until we were about to go to sleep. Otherwise, I'd be wasting the battery."
"Well, look at you..." Octavia chuckled. "You're actually planning this out..."
"Duh..." Vinyl stated, nodding and walking back over to her bed. "Nothing, and nopony messes with us and gets away with it. I'll make sure of that." Suddenly, she turned around and walked over to the door. She flipped up a panel, and entered a four digit code. After a few seconds, the panel beeped, signifying that the alarm system was activated.
Octavia looked at her housemate in curiosity. She'd never activated the alarm system before...
Vinyl noticed the look and chuckled. "Just in case, y'know? Gotta keep those perverted colts away from you, what with your amazing flank, and all."
The cellist blushed deeply, easily visible against her ashen gray coat, and Vinyl laughed again. "I'm just messin' with ya, Octy..." she said as she looked at the bedside clock. It was already 9:23 and the lateness was made apparent by Octavia yawning, which Vinyl took into account, striding over to the camera and turning it on. She quickly set it to 'Record', and walked back over to her bed.
Octavia gave her another thanks before turning out her bedside lamp, falling asleep fairly quickly. Vinyl, who usually didn't go to sleep in the 'early' hours of the night, stayed up until well past midnight, watching random TV shows. It was only when her body practically forced her to lie down did she go to sleep.
Night One
June 30
Both Vinyl and Octavia are sound asleep in their separate beds, not a sound coming from either of them other than the occasional rustling of sheets as one of them turned in their sleep. At around 1:28 A.M. the house creaked, settling, and Vinyl stirred as a result. Soon after, though, there were odd sounds coming from downstairs. Hoofsteps, it sounded like, but at the same time, they weren't. These lasted for only about ten seconds before stopping, and nothing else happened until 4:09 A.M. when something downstairs hits the floor. A few moments pass, and the sound repeats twice more before stopping altogether.
Author's Note
Before I start off, I'd like to say that, even though I am a big, and I mean BIG, Octa-Scratch supporter, I will not be having the two dating in this story. They are simply housemates. Then again, they may or may not get together as the story progresses... I don't know...
Another thing: This story IS based on Paranormal Activity, but it will be vastly different (For the most part). The house is basically the same, with only a few, minor differences. (Sorry, I was too lazy to describe a whole new house, and I don't have the literary talent to do so, anyways.)
Characters are meant to be anthropomorphic. (Humanoid, but with horns, fur, pony ears, and hooves. [Sorry, Lyra])
One more thing... The characters are rather plain (meaning no cleavage), so there will be little to no clothing. (One: I'm not good at describing clothing. Two: They're ponies... They don't normally wear clothes.)
July 1
9:12 A.M.
"Vinyl, I'm going to my practice!" Octavia called from the door, to which the DJ simply nodded, even though she was upstairs. The cellist rolled her eyes at the lack of a reply and left, slinging the cello case onto her back as she closed the door.
With a heavy sigh, Vinyl went back to the computer, levitating the headphones back onto her ears. She replayed the footage from last night, perking up at hearing the footsteps, then again at the crashing. Curious, she paused the playback and went downstairs, looking around carefully. She had found the source within a couple of minutes. The pokers from the fireplace, all three of them, were stuck in the hardwood floor, perfectly perpendicular to the floorboards.
Vinyl walked over to one, gripping it with her magic and pulling straight up. The poker didn't budge. She tried the other two, pulling with all her might, but was met with the same result, as if they were now a permanent part of the floor. She scoffed at the pokers, kicking one in annoyance before walking back upstairs to study the video more.
11:38 A.M.
After studying the video for a full hour, Vinyl noticed something that was nearly completely invisible. At around 2:35 in the morning, there was a dark shadow moving in the stairwell, but you could really only tell it was there if you knew it was there beforehand. Vinyl happened on it by pure luck, after studying the darkness of the stairs for a full ten minutes in a spurt of boredom. She paused the video and stared at it, zooming in to get a better look. It didn't really have any shape that she recognized. At least, not a pony shape, though she thought she could make out a horn; actually, two...
"What in the hay is this?" she asked out loud, not really directed at anypony since she was the only one there. She grabbed her cell and dialed in Octavia's number, but got the answering machine. She left a quick message telling her friend to call her as soon as possible, then hung up, going back to staring at the shadowy figure. After a few minutes of staring in silence, she got bored, again, and started to rewatch the rest of the video for more irregularities. There were none.
1:29 P.M.
At this time, Vinyl was outside, messing around with the camera, recording anything that took her attention for more than five seconds. It was during this that she nearly missed Octavia's call, but she had gone inside for a drink at the precise time her phone rang. She ran upstairs to get it, quickly answering.
"Hello?"
"Vinyl? What did you need me to call you for?"
Vinyl chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck for some reason. "Well... There's something you gotta see."
"What?"
"It's kinda hard to explain... I'll need you to come home for me to explain it all."
She could practically feel Octavia roll her eyes. "Honestly, can't this wait? I'm still at the theater."
"You want the truth?" she asked, to which Octavia grunted her approval. "It can't wait."
The cellist groaned. "Okay... I'll be there in a half-hour." she stated, obviously annoyed, then ended the call.
"She hung up on me!" Vinyl laughed, not really believing her friend had done it. Shaking her head, she went back to the computer, and for the fifth time, looked at the shadowy blob.
3:04
Octavia stepped through the front door and set her cello against the wall as she always did. She scanned the living room for her friend, but didn't see her. The only thing she saw were the pokers sticking from the wooden planks.
"Vinyl!" she called. "What are the fire stokers doing in the floor?"
The unicorn leaned out of the upstairs bedroom door, looking down at the ashen mare. "That's what I wanted you to come home for... Come up here."
As she walked upstairs and into their bedroom, Vinyl took her place at the computer, holding out the headphones for her friend. "Vinyl, really, now... I don't--" She stopped as the unicorn gave her a rude look, thrusting the headphones at her. Octavia groaned and took them, putting them on with a huff, leaning on the back of Vinyl's chair to get a decent view of the video, which the DJ instantly played.
Her reactions were about the normal ones... A gasp at the footsteps, then a sudden jump at the first thump, followed by a groan at the other two. "So those were the stokers?" she asked, to which Vinyl only nodded.
"Did you notice the shadow?"
"What shadow?"
Vinyl rewound the video back to 2:33. She circled a small area with her hoof. "Watch this area very closely." she stated, then unpaused it. Octavia squinted her eyes at the video, gasping loudly at 2:35.
"What-what is that?!" she asked, almost yelling.
The DJ shrugged, almost smirking at her friends over-the-top reaction. "Hell if I know..."
"Wha- You didn't call anypony about this?!" she inquired, still very loudly, scoffing when Vinyl shook her head. "Ugh! What have you been doing since you found out about it?!"
"Studying it... From the horns on its head, I'd say it's some sort of goat-thing..."
"A goat-thing." Octavia uttered, her voice dropping at least four octaves. "Yes, that's real technical, isn't it?" She waved her hoof at her friend. "Don't you think we should get somepony in here to look at that?!"
"At what? A shadow?" Vinyl rolled her eyes, much to Octavia's annoyance. "Besides, who would we even call? I'm pretty sure there's nopony in Canterlot who deals with the occult..."
Octavia's anger faltered for a moment. "W-well, what about Ponyville? I-isn't there that Twilight mare?"
Vinyl's calm demeanor frosted over with a look of curiosity. "Twilight? Why do I know that name?" she asked herself, tapping her chin with a hoof. After a few moments, she exclaimed suddenly, startling Tavi. "Ah! You mean the town librarian, Sparks, right?"
The cellist blinked at the unicorn's rather...odd name for Twilight. "Yes... Twilight Sparkle. Couldn't she help?"
The white mare shrugged again, turning back to the computer. "Nah... She'd probably just think we were tryin' to prank her. Best not to do anything, really, at least not until we have concrete proof that we're dealing with the supernatural."
"Oh, yes, because disembodied footsteps, our fireplace stokers stuck in the floorboards, and a 'goat-thing's shadow aren't enough proof for you." Octavia huffed, turning and storming out of the room, only to come back in half a minute later, her face red to the point of visibility. "I almost forgot I live here..."
Vinyl chuckled, leaning back on the chair, which threatened to slip out from under her. "What, were you about to waltz out of the house?"
Octavia didn't reply with words, but instead flopped onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow. Vinyl spun in her chair, laughing at her friend. Suddenly, it flung from underneath her, narrowly missing the tripod. She, herself, landed flat on her flank with a loud thump, and an audible gasp. The earth pony sat up, looking at the pained unicorn with a look of mild satisfaction. "I hope you know you deserved that, and I thank whatever supernatural force did it to you."
Vinyl stood up, rubbing her flank. "Don't get your hopes up, Treble Clef... That was just gravity showin' me who's boss... Not your goat-thing."
"Whatever... What time is it?"
The DJ looked at the clock and gasped. "Nine forty-two... But-How...? I coulda sworn it was four o'clock a few minutes ago..."
Octavia grunted, now chuckling herself. "Time flies when you're trying to creep your roomate out, doesn't it?"
"Oh, please..." Vinyl stated, climbing into her own bed, getting under the covers. "I don't even have to try to do that...You're easier to scare sometimes than Fluttershy, and that mare's afraid of her own shadow..."
Tavi rolled her eyes, then looked at Vinyl. "Aren't you going to set up the camera?"
"Nope... I think we've had enough scares for the day..." she replied, glaring at her chair, which she hadn't picked up. She raised a forehoof to her mouth and bit it, then pointed at the accursed thing.
Octavia chuckled at that. "Calm down, now... It's only a chair..." she laughed.
"Yes, but it's not trying to kill you, now is it?" Vinyl retorted, laying back down and closing her eyes. "G'night, Tavi."
"Good night, Vinyl."
