Chapter 1: In Loving Memory
You didn't want to be there, but you were. God, your heart-- No, your fucking soul was ripped by what you'd been told. But she was right there; curled up as though she was sleeping. Her goggles had been placed around her neck, like she used to do when she needed to see regularly. You were looking down on her form. She looked so peaceful, lying there in the red velvet. Like nothing had happened. Like she was frozen in time.
A part of her was. She would be forever one of the best friends you'd ever had. She'd impacted so many lives. Why the hell couldn't you have done something more? It had just been a couple of drunk brawlers at one of her raves. She was rocking out like she usually did; driving the crowd wild. Unknown to you, a couple of ponies had snuck some spiked cider into the show. Vinyl's bouncers got to them once they started causing trouble; shoving other ponies around, Boasting. One pony in particular was going out of his way to try and stop the show.
Well, he fucking succeeded. He'd gotten up on stage before anyone had time to react, and smashed his bottle into Vinyl's face. God, just thinking about what had happened dredged up the rage inside you. The dumb fuck pony that hit Vinyl probably wouldn't walk again. Her bouncers had made sure of that. It was just a few cuts and bruises for Vinyl. She should have been fine.
The doctors had done all they could. They were just too late. A stray shard of glass from Vinyl's goggles had gotten shoved into her brain. It didn't kill her instantly. No, it dragged out her death. Twelve hours. Twelve fucking hours she was in that room.
Rainbow had since convinced you to sleep. That cyan pony took care of you, that was for sure. After agreeing to sleep, you awoke the next morning, and went through your motions. Right up until breakfast.
"Any news on Vinyl?" you inquired, causing Rainbow to stop eating. You looked at her, and she had tears in her eyes. "No."
"A--Anon..."
"No!"
She choked out what the doctors had told her through sobs. Vinyl was gone. The damage finally took its toll. The only comfort you had was being told that she died in her sleep. With no pain.
*****
"She really meant a lot to you, didn't she?" That voice. You'd heard that voice before. You looked over to where the voice had come from, and sure enough.
"Octavia? What are you doing here?"
She looked over at Vinyl's corpse. "I didn't choose to come. I was required to come. Apparently, I'm mentioned in her will." Octavia never liked Vinyl. That much you knew. You'd met her a couple times before. She wasn't the nicest of ponies, but she wasn't a bitch either.
"You're avoiding my question."
"Yes. Yes, she meant a great deal to me. I appreciate you showing your respects, I know it must not be easy for you." She sighed.
"We never got along. I hated her even. Her music, her raves, her running on attention. But I miss her."
"We all do."
The burial didn't lend to well to your emotions. Nor did the long walk back to Vinyl's auditorium, where the reading of the will was to take place. You and Octavia went together. You'd told Rainbow to head home. She'd been up nearly 18 hours trying to help you. You didn't need to stress her out more than she already was. She'd been allowed to head home, seeing as wherever she was mentioned in the will, you were too. As a couple.
So, you walked to the auditorium with Octavia. It was a silent walk. And it was a long walk. The auditorium only reminded you of Vinyl. It brought tears to your eyes when it came into view. When you and Octavia finally made it to the main room in the auditorium, the reading of the will proceeded. Only yourself, Octavia and one other pony were present. Princess Luna was reading the will.
"Now that you are both here, I shall proceed in disclosing Vinyl Scratch's will. ‘If you're reading this, then know I died happy. Why? Because I died before I had to witness any of your deaths. I don't know that I'd hold up that well at a funeral. At any rate, I've got a few things for you guys. I leave my entire auditorium and everything in it, to Princess Luna, with the following exceptions: To Rainbow Dash and Anon - you guys were awesome friends. I can't tell you how happy it made me when we'd hang. So, that being said, I leave you each a pair of my goggles.’”
Princess Luna used her magic to grip a box and moved it over to you.
"’I also leave you my entire collection of records, save for one. Tavi, I leave you this golden record, on the condition that you play it. Anon, make sure she does.’”
Again, Luna used her magic to move a sleeved record over to Octavia. "’I know it doesn't seem like much, but once you play it, you'll understand.’”
Octavia took the record with a quizzical look on her face.
"’Anon, make sure she plays it. Princess Luna, I thank you for reading this if you did, and I ask that you let Anon and Octavia use the auditorium to play this record. I know it's not much, but it's what made me think of you guys.’ That's all she wrote. I'll leave you now. My condolences to each of you. This loss was unnecessary." With that, Princess Luna left.
You looked over at Octavia, who was still lost in thought.
"Why would she leave me a record? She knows I hated her music!"
"Just play it. It's her dying wish, Octavia."
She sighed. "Fine, let's just get this over with. Would you mind? I don't know how to work her... instruments."
”Sure."
You took the record out of the sleeve. You held it in your hands. Both you and Octavia had to stare at it for a minute. It was gold plated. You took the record, and carefully placed it on the turntable. You started the player, and placed the needle onto the record. Silence.
"I figured as much. She would do someth--"
Vinyl's voice boomed out over the speakers. "Oh! Sorry guys, wasn't paying attention. Anyway! Anon, you've heard this before, but you're the only one. Octavia, I figured you should have this song. I know we've never seen eye to eye, and that I could be a bit annoying at times, but there are more than a few things you don't know about me. That being said, I'll let my music tell the rest. I hope you guys like it, it was my first time with what Octavia would call a 'real' instrument." More silence.
Once you flipped the record, you placed the needle in its appropriate position, and let the record play. It started out with a low bass sound, a couple of Vinyl-style beats, and you could see Octavia start to cover her ears.
"Turn it off. TURN IT OFF, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Before you flipped the switch though, the beats stopped. "Oh sweet Celesita, THANK YOU! I was starti--"
"This one is for you, Octavia. Let’s drop this beat." Vinyl's voice again. A bit of silence, and you and Octavia looked at each other.
"Was that it?" As if on cue, a cello started playing. It was a song you recognized; A song that Octavia had gotten you to play from your phone when it was working. The song was performed by a single cello, nothing more.
The song ended. Octavia was silent. You were silent. You'd heard that song before, but it had been remixed. This… This song was her original, unedited performance. Well, aside from the intro. The record finished, and you cut power to the table.
"I... I don't know what to say..."
"If you don't want it, don't destroy it. Please." She was silent again. She walked over to the table, and placed a hoof on the turn table's arm. She moved the needle back to the starting point.
"One more time, if you please." And so you played it again. Octavia moved to the center of the stage, and sat down. You went over and sat down next to her. Once the song finished, she started crying. She sobbed over, and took you in a hug. You returned it, your eyes starting to water.
"I miss her, Anon."
"I do too."
It was that day again. Three years had passed since Vinyl's death. It had left a gaping hole in you. But you visited her grave each year. This time though, something stopped you. It was music. Music from Vinyl's golden record. You stopped once you saw what was producing the music. It was a cello. A cello, being played by Octavia.
You read the tombstone to yourself.
"Here lies Vinyl Scratch. May her and her music never be forgotten."
Chapter 2: Ghost in the Music
It was cold. Well, kinda. Now that you think about it, it wasn't really all that cold. But it was dark. Probably because your eyes were closed. Doy. You open your eyes, and immediately realize something is wrong. You're not wearing your goggles! Looking around, you realize you're on the stage of your auditorium.
"Why the hell was I sleeping here?" you wondered aloud. All of your audio equipment was put away. The lights had been turned off completely. The place almost looked abandoned. There weren't any of your guards around either. All of the doors are open too. Getting a little creepy right around now. You stand up, and start walking towards your room. The hell?
You make it up to your room, and shut the door behind you. Why were all of your things packed up? Is this some sort of prank or something? It's not so funny anymore. You'll feel better after a hot shower. Clear your head n all. You make your way to the bathroom, and start the shower. You hop in, expecting the soothing hot water to flow over you.
You hear the water hitting the floor of the shower, but you don't feel it hitting you. You look around, and notice the water seems to be going through you. Great. That narrows the options.You're having a really fucked up dream, this is a reeeaaally elaborate prank, or you've been drugged. You sigh, and turn off the shower. No nice and warm shower today it seems.
As you wonder around your room, unpacking the various boxes and putting your things back where they belong, you mull over what’s going on.
"If I were drugged, shouldn't it affect my sight and hearing too? Hmmm..." With your bed made once again, you move on to putting your speakers back in their rightful places.
"I think I'd have woken up by now if this was a dream... Isn't that how that shit works? You realize you're dreaming, and you wake up? Whatever..." That leaves you with one option. You finish putting your speakers back where they belong, and sit down for a minute to think. Putting those speakers back took a lot more out of you than it should have.
"I bet Anon would know what's up. I'll just go ask him!"
Your mind made up, you head back down to the main floor, and towards the entrance of the building. The auditorium was eerily quiet and empty. Ah, sweet sunlight! You push one of the doors open, and step out into the sunshine. Something to warm you up, finally! You stand in the glory of the mid-day sun; anticipating the warming you've been longing for since you woke up.
And you wait a while longer. Why the hell can't you warm up today? Fuck it. The faster you get to Anon, the faster you can get this whole mess sorted out. Hopefully. Your first stop might as well be the square. You arrive, and everything seems to be alright here. All the ponies running their carts, doing their thing. You walk around the square, and find the Apple's cart. He picked up a second job there a while ago; maybe they'll know where he is!
"Excuse me" you say, as you approach the Apple's cart. There were two ponies there, a little yellow one you didn't recognize, and Apple Jack. ”Do either of you guys know where Anon is? I've been tryi--"
"Hello there Dr. Whooves! What can we get for ya today?"
"Hey now, I was here first!"
"Oh I'm just after a couple jars of apple jam, if you don't mind."
"Of course! Two jars, coming right up!" Apple Jack completed her little sale with Dr. Whooves in a couple minutes. Well, fine. She does need to make money after all.
"Now then, Apple Jack. Do you know where Anon is?" She didn't respond. As a matter of fact, she started talking to the yellow foal that was there.
"Apple Bloom, why don't you go see if Big Mac can bring down some more apple jam?"
"Sure thing AJ!"
Did she just not hear you or something? "HEY APPLE JACK. DO YOU KNOW WHERE ANON IS?" Apple Jack turned towards your direction. Finally. She looked hard towards where you were standing, and then started counting bits. Really? This is getting old. "Ok, fine. We'll do this the hard way." With that, you push one of the baskets of apples she had on display into her pile of bits.
"What in the hay?!" She looked around, trying to find the source of this little stunt. She must've looked at you at least three times. "That’s weird. I guess I pushed the cart." Really? FUCKING REALLY? Whatever you did to Apple Jack, you don't know, but it's obvious that she's not going to be any help to you. Fine.
Maybe another pony could help you. You look around for a bit, before spotting Rainbow Dash. As you trotted over to Rainbow, you noticed that ponies passing by seemed to have little to no regard for personal space. Whatever. Rainbow will help you out; she's Anon's special somepony, and one of your good friends! She was talking with Bon Bon of all ponies.
"Hey, Rainbow!" you called out to her as you approached. She didn't even acknowledge you were there. She said something to Bon Bon about some sort of treat for Anon, then turned around and headed straight for you. Finally, some answers! She didn't stop trotting though; she walked right up to your face. "Whoa, Rainbow, I'm not int--"
Before you could finish your statement, she walked right through you. You stood there for a second, before realizing what had happened. You turn around to look at Rainbow, and she's frozen in place. She looked around for a second, shivered, and resumed walking. You looked down at your hooves, just to make sure they were still there.
A quick pat down and you decided that you felt solid. Freaky. What’s going on? You walk over to a bench, and sit down on it. You need to sort your thoughts. You didn't feel warm in the sun, and the water seemed to pass straight through you. But you could still open doors and push things around. And each time you interacted with something, you were using magic. Mind you, it took more out of you than it normally did.
So why couldn't any pony else interact with you? Were they choosing not to? Rainbow almost ran straight into you! Or rather, she walked straight through you. Maybe you got shifted to another dimension or something? Maybe Twilight can help you out. Rainbow had told you she's the smartest mare in Ponyville.
You make your way over to the library, testing out your solidity whenever possible. At one point, you'd walked straight through another pony, but smacked face first into a wall. Weird. You walked into the library, and heard a couple voices coming from what was probably the basement. A couple seconds later, Spike, Twilight's assistant baby dragon, had shown up and investigated the door.
"Huh. Must've been the wind."
"No! NO IT WASN'T THE WIND!"
He didn't seem to hear you, as he started heading back down to the door he had emerged from. You followed him to find none other than Twilight and Anon. Twilight was explaining something about magic to Anon.
"Who was it Spike?"
"No one; I'd say it was probably just the wind."
"Well, at any rate, why don't you go and get some snacks for me and Anon?"
"Sure thing Twi." Spike headed back up the stairs, and Twilight returned her attention to Anon.
"Now then, as I was saying-- Anon? You ok?" Anon was staring straight at you. He was as white as a ghost. "Anon? Everything ok?"
"V-Vinyl? Is that you?"
"FINALLY! You can see me?! You have NO idea how long I've been trying to find you!" He just stared at you, mouth open.
"Anon, there's nopony over there. I'm sorry, but Vinyl's been dead for almost five years now."
"What? I'm not dead, I'm right here, Twilight!"
"Twilight, tell me you see her too; right there." He pointed straight at you. You looked over to Twilight, and smiled as big as you could and started waving at her.
"No, Anon. I don't see her. I think you should get some rest."
"What? But Anon, you see me, right? And you can hear me?"
"Y-Yes Vinyl, I can see and hear you."
"Ok Anon, now you're starting to worry me."
"Twilight, she's right fucking there; how can you not see her?!" Twilight backed up a little at Anon's outburst, regained her composure, and decided to play along.
"Fine then. Vinyl, IF you're here, come over to the board and write something." Why didn't you think of that before? You trotted over to the board, and using magic, gripped a piece of chalk and wrote out 'Hi Twi' on the board. Anon's eyes never left you. Twilight froze in place when you started writing.
"A-A-Anon, did she just-"
"Uh-huh."
Twilight passed out. Great.
"Well, you know I'm here at least. So, what’s been going on?" He looked at you long and hard before replying.
"Vinyl, you're dead. I was there when you died. I was at your funeral. I played the golden record for Octavia."
"What? Well, as you can see, I'm obviously not dead!"
"Oh really? Then explain why only I can see you!"
"I... I don't know why! But if I was a ghost, wouldn’t I be able to walk through walls or something?"
"I don't know I've never met a ghost before." Maybe you were a ghost. Strange, you don't remember dying. Fairly certain you'd remember something like that.
"At least you can hear and see me. You have no idea what it's like to be walked through." You walked over to him, and hopped up into his lap.
Almost. He let out a gasp when you fell through him and landed in his chair instead. You were sitting in his lap, literally. But at least you felt warm now.
"Vinyl, you're--"
"Yeah, freaky, isn't it? I figured since you could see and hear me, you'd be able to interact with me. Guess I was wrong."
You got a crazy idea. You turned around like he was seated in the chair, and laid back like he was. It was weird. You felt like you were melting into him. Your vision blurred after you looked up and your head entered his body. After a second, you felt yourself breath. Sort of. You didn't breath, but your body did. You looked down, and picked at the piece of parchment that was laying there.
Wait a minute. You stood up. You looked down to examine yourself, only to find that you weren't exactly yourself. Big red flag number one: you were standing on your hind legs, and it didn't feel weird. Red flag number two: you had hands. You ran your fingers through your hair, before realizing what had happened. You'd possessed Anon!
Having the dirty mind that you did, you immediately looked down your pants. So that’s what that looks like. Back to bigger matters, you dirty minded ghost. How do you get out of Anon's body? This was neat and all, but it was freaking even you out. At least you knew one thing for sure now though. You were a ghost. Or something deathly similar. Ha ha, punny.
Wait, could you use your magic? You looked over to the piece of parchment, and focused like you normally would to use magic. Sure enough, the parchment rose from the desk. Neat. Now how do you get out of Anon? He probably wants to know what the hell is going on too. You sit his body back down, and rest your head on your hands.
You sort of melted into him when you sat in his lap. Maybe if you focused, you could do it again, but in reverse! Worth a shot anyway. You shut your eyes, and focused on feeling cold again. Not that you wanted to feel cold, but that's what you felt before you melted into Anon, so it's all you got. A couple seconds later, you felt tingly, and start to lose feeling in Anon's hands and feet. A minute later, you were in your sitting position once again.
Once again, you were IN Anon's lap. You made a note to watch where you sat. Anon sat straight up.
"Vinyl?! What was that?"
"I dunno. You were pretty warm though."
"That was creepy... Please don't do that without telling me, Okay?"
"Hey! Up until then, I didn't even know I COULD do that! Besides, it wasn't all bad, was it?"
"...It was weird. Like I was pushed aside. I could feel my body doing everything, but I wasn’t controlling it."
”So you remember everything that I did?"
"...yeah."
"So--"
"Yes, I remember you looking." Rats.
"Eh, heh heh, listen I was jus--"
"We'll talk about that later. Right now, I'm just glad I'm not completely insane."
About that time, Spike had returned with drinks. Which he promptly dropped when he saw Twilight passed out on the floor.
"Twilight! Anon, what happened?!" he asked, as he ran over to Twilight.
"It's quite the story Spike. C'mon, let's get her to her bed." You followed Spike and Anon up the stairs. Spike would run ahead and open doors for Anon, while he carried Twilight. After they'd tended to Twilight, Anon came back downstairs to where you were, and Spike was watching over Twilight like a hawk. So many questions you wanted answers to. How did you die? What did Tavi think of the record? Why could Anon see you and nopony else?
Anon sat down on the floor next to you, and was admiring you. You leaned over to hug him, before remembering that you couldn't. You fell right through him. Remembering what had happened earlier, you quickly got back to your previous spot. As you retook your previous position, the reality of the situation hit you.
You were dead. It was so... chilling. And liberating. You didn't have any responsibilities anymore! You could do whatever you wanted! Whenever you wanted! You didn't even have to eat or sleep or anything! If you wanted to do anything normal though... You'd have to rely on someone. Completely.
You'd never get the satisfaction of eating a cake from Sugarcube Corner. You wouldn't get the warm feeling of hugging Anon, or get to experience one of his great massages. No more warm showers or warm sunlight beating down on you. No more relaxing after an amazing concert.
The reality was bitter. If you wanted to do any of those things, you'd have to rely on somepony else completely. You'd become a burden. You must've started crying, because Anon was saying something to you.
"Vinyl? What’s the matter?" You looked up at him.
"I'm dead, remember? It just hit me for the first time..."
"....Vinyl, you're as alive to me as I remember."
"But I can't do anything with anypony without help now! And you're the only one that can see or hear me!"
"Vinyl, you're not dead to me. Not yet." He had a point. Sort of. You were a ghost after all, right? You could at least possess Anon. But he could see you when no one else could. Why was it only him? Maybe because he's an alien? Who the fuck cares? You're not completely alone, so that works for you.
If you were dead, why didn't you see any other ghost ponies? This is some weird shit. You've got about a million questions, and not too many answers. Right when you decided to start your barrage however, Spike came back down to see Anon.
"So, Anon, you wanna tell me what happened in there?"
"Yeah... Basically, Twilight got spooked. I don't know how else to put it." Spike sat there for a minute, with a deadpan stare on his features.
"Lemme get this straight" he says, keeping his deadpan gaze focused on Anon. "You expect me to believe that Twilight Sparkle, one of the most gifted and talented mares in ALL of Equestria, got spooked?"
Anon rubbed the back of his head before answering with "Uhhh.... Yeah."
"Alright. So what 'spooked' Twilight?"
"A ghost" Anon answered, almost immediately.
"A ghost. Something that Twilight herself doesn't believe exists, spooked her?"
"Yup."
"Right, so what actuall--" You'd taken your cue to prove Anon's point, by using your magic to arrange some books onto the floor, spelling out 'Hi.' A few moments later, Anon was carrying Spike to his bed.
When he returned, he looked at you and said "You certainly know when to interject, don't you?"
"Heh, yeah, I guess I still got that."
"So what do you want to do now that you've petrified the pony that could help us, not to mention her assistant?"
Come to think of it, what WAS there for a ghost to do in Ponyville? You were waiting on Twilight to wake back up, so you had some time. You could prank some ponies around town, but that'd probably get really old really fast. Plus, you didn't particularly care for being feared. Ghost or not, it just wasn't your style. You could wander around for a bit.
Apparently you've been dead for about five years or something like that. You didn't see that much had changed, but you didn't really explore either. There were a couple of mares you wanted to meet up and catch up with too. Anon's special somepony, Rainbow Dash, and Octavia. Octavia....
Wonder how she's held up after five years? Who are you trying to kid anyway? It's not like she was your friend or something. She hated your guts and your music. She-- You know what, you're dead. Or a ghost. Whatever. It's been five years, maybe Anon would tell you about your death?
"Hey Anon..." you said, looking over to him.
"Yeah?"
”Would you tell me... How did I die?"
Anon sat down and sighed. "I knew you'd ask me that sooner or later... I was kinda hoping for later." You gave him the most pleading look you could muster. He looked over at you for maybe a minute before looking down.
"That’s not fair." Yes! And so, he explained to you how you died. Some drunken pony had snuck into one of your concerts, and smashed you over the head with a bottle. After smashing it over your head, he took the opportunity to jab, ever so drunkenly, at your dazed self.
He didn't miss. The resulting jab got you in the eye, sending shards of your goggles and the bottle into your brain. The rest of Anon's story involved waiting at the hospital for the doctors to tell him what was going on. You felt like there was something more though... Something he wasn't telling you.
Best not press on. You've got the basic information on how you died, and that's more or less what you were after. Strange though. You thought death would be different. Might as well not question it. Could be fun being a ghost.
"Vinyl? You ok?" You shook you head to clear your mind. It was kind of neat being able to do that and not feel anything. Anon was asking you things. Right.
"Yeah. Sorry. I just... Well, I didn't think I'd go down like that, ya know?"
"Yeah... Me neither." Morbid subject, to say the least. "So, what happens now?"
"Now? Now we try and get some answers, I think."
"How do you plan on doing that? I've managed to petrify both Twilight and Spike."
"I... I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we should visit your grave."
”My grave? Huh. I never thought of that. Alright, let's do it!" He wasn't as enthusiastic about the idea as you were. But he led the way, making sure to keep doors open for you. It's weird. You'd think a ghost could just go through walls or something. Oh well.
You followed Anon through town, to your auditorium. You looked around for where your grave would be, but you didn't see it. Since you're putting enough stress on Anon as it is, you decide to just go with the flow and keep quiet.
He led you around the auditorium, and walked in a straight line for a while. Finally, he came to the top of a hill that had been fenced off. You bounded past him to the top of the hill. You stopped when you heard the music. You stopped dead.
Anon approached your position, and whispered "come on. She needed to find out sooner or later." You suddenly weren't so sure you were ready for this. That music was your music. A very special and particular piece, that no one else had heard before. No one, except Anon. And, if your will WAS carried out, Octavia.
The ghostly sounds from the Cello confirmed what you already knew. You walked up the hill to where Anon had gone. He was standing next to Octavia, who was playing her Cello. She had tears in her eyes. You walked over and sat next to Anon, and listened to Octavia play. A couple of minutes went by, and Octavia finished the song.
"I... I'm sorry. I had to finish playing it..."
"It’s okay, Octavia. I know." Anon reached over and hugged Octavia. You'd never seen someone touch Octavia without getting some sort of slap or something. Let alone a hug. She must miss you more than you know. "Octavia, listen... I... I don't know how to break this to you... Vinyl? Now would be a good time." He was talking to you.
"Anon, don't. She's dead, we both know that. I need closure, not some false sense of hope."
"Octavia, just trust me. She's not dead! I can pro--"
"NO! I won't hear it! There is nothing that can bring her back Anon! No matter how badly we want her back!" Octavia was beyond mad. She was infuriated, and crying. She hated the words coming out of her mouth. She'd even dropped her Cello. There was your opportunity. Octavia was too busy arguing with Anon, trying to convince him you were dead. She couldn't see or hear you either. That leaves for one option.
The deep note that flowed from the Cello as you slowly pulled the bow over the strings silenced both Octavia and Anon. Anon was looking at you, a gentle smile on his face. Octavia however, was horrified. She looked like she'd just seen a ghost! Technically... You decide to try and put her at ease. You played a little tune that you'd catch her playing to warm up for practice. Before she had a chance to fall over, Anon reacted and caught her.
"I told you."
"But... But... It can't... I don't... I can't..." Great. You've probably petrified her too. But at least she wouldn't freak out on Anon now. That bit of magic wore you out, so you decided to set the instrument down and look over your grave. It was a fairly simply grave; a tombstone with the words ‘Here lies Vinyl Scratch. May her and her music never be forgotten.’ etched into the stone. Right below it, was your golden record you'd made for Octavia.
It had been encased in some form of glass or protective plastic, and was embedded into the tombstone. The weirdness of looking upon your own grave gave you goose bumps. If a ghost could even get those. As the sunlight glistened on the record, you noticed something. It wasn't huge, but it caught your attention.
”Hey, Anon? Come here and look at this." Anon set Octavia down, managing to keep her in a sitting position. She wasn't completely petrified, but she'd need some time to recover.
"What's up?" You pointed to the anomaly on the record.
"Right there, you see it?"
He squinted, before quietly asking "but... how?" He'd found the same anomaly you had. A tiny crack had formed in the record.
"I don't understand... Twilight sealed that record in there with magic! That shouldn't be possible!"
”So... what could do that?"
"I have no idea. We need to get back and see if she's awake yet."
"What about Tavi? We can't just leave her here."
"You're right." He walked over and waved his hand in front of Octavia. "Octavia? You okay?" She shook her head.
"Oh! I... I think so, yes. I hope you understand, but that's quite a bit to--"
"I know, it freaked the hell out of me too."
"Yes, well... Is she still here?"
"I'm right here, Tavi."
"She's right over there," he said, pointing in your direction.
"How can you tell?"
"I'm looking right at her!"
"Anon! Do not speak to me in that tone! While you may be able to see her, I for whatever reason, cannot."
"Right, sorry. I wonder why I'm the only one to have seen her so far..."
"Another question to ask Twilight. C'mon! I don't really care for being a ghost. You have no idea how badly I want to eat something right now."
"I never even considered something like that... Are you hungry?"
"No, I just... I miss being able to eat. It's weird..."
"It's the little things that make the big difference, I guess..."
"...If you are quite finished, I would prefer we figured this out as soon as possible. This entire situation is just..."
"...Weird?"
"Yes, I suppose that would be the correct term."
"Actually..."
”What?"
"I was just thinking... you were able to... possess me earlier. What if you--"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT! I will not have Vinyl prancing about as me ruining my good name!"
"I... I never thought of that."
"Funny, you seemed pretty okay with the idea when you did it to me."
"That was an accident!"
"Just a thought is all."
He did have a point. What if you just... slipped into Tavi's body? She didn't want you to, but she never wanted to do anything fun anyways... Why not? Well... How do you do this, exactly? Just walk into her or something? How did you—
"Vinyl, don't you dare think about trying to assume control of my body! Let's just get to Twilight and figure this--" She cut herself off as she walked straight into you. It felt just like when you tried to sit down on Anon's lap, but... in your face. What happened next was kind of blurry, but when you came back into focus, you were turned around.
"Wh... What happened?" Anon was crouched down beside you.
"Who's in there?"
"What? What do you..." You looked down. "GAH!" You jumped to your-- no, Octavia's hooves. This was weird. Cool, but weird.
"Alright, Vinyl?"
"Duh! You saw what happened, right?"
"Yup. Definitely Vinyl. Yeah, I saw; just figured I'd make sure."
"It was an accident, I swear!"
"You're a terrible liar. I saw you walking over to her. If she hadn't started walking, you would've tried anyway."
"...So?"
"So get out of her!"
"I... I don't want to..."
"Vinyl! You shouldn't just--"
"You don't know what it's like, Anon! I'm always... cold. When I'm... in somepony, I feel... warm. Alive."
"Even still, you could've at least asked her!"
"No, actually, I couldn't."
Hearing your words in Octavia's voice was weird. Being a ghost was weird too, but whatever. Anon sighed.
"Alright fine. I guess there isn't much I can do to get you out of her anyways..." He had a point. You could 'possess' any one you wanted, and nothing could really stop you; so far, anyway. But you'd give it up in an instant if it meant you could have your own body back.
"I promise I'll be careful. It's only for a little while. She can have her body back once we get to Twilight's."
"...Fair enough. Though, after we get this all sorted out, Octavia might have a bone to pick with you."
"When doesn't she?"
"Right. You might want to try and act like her while you're in her body. It's the least you could do."
"Fiiiiine. Let's just get to Twilight's and figure this out as fast as we can."
"That's what I've been saying!" You started trotting off back towards Twilight's library.
"C'mon! Waitin' on you now!" He was busy scurrying around collecting Octavia's things. She was probably gonna be pissed when you finally gave her control of her body back. Eh. Worth it. The trek over to Twilight's was cut short when you realized you could eat. And you were hungry.
"Octavia, where are you going? We need to get to Twilight!" Why was he calling you-- Oh. Right. Other ponies around.
"I-- uhh... Ahem. I'm just going to grab a quick bite to eat."
"We can pick up some apples on the way there; we're late, remember?" He was giving you one of his looks.
"Ugh, fiiiine." Before you could make to head back though, Octavia's name was called out. That was your cue! You turned around to find the source of the voice to see Lyra.
"Octavia! Hey, how are you?"
"Uhhh, I'm fine. Listen, I hate to greet and go, but I've really--"
"Oh don't worry, I'll be quick! I just wanted to know if we're still gonna practice later tonight?" Shit.
"I... I'm not sure, Lyra. Something's come up, and it's... important."
"Oh no! Is everything okay? Is there anything I can do to help?"
"What? Oh don't worry; it's nothing serious, just... pressing. No, it's a personal matter."
"Oh... Well, you know where to find me if your plans clear up." You nodded and turned to head to Anon. That was close. You've got to be careful. Anon might not help you if you blow your cover. At the very least, he'd get pissed.
You didn't mind Octavia getting pissed, but you'd rather Anon didn't get upset with you. Tavi was always irritable with you; but Anon was your best friend! Even if he couldn't do anything to you, you'd rather not piss him off.
"Thanks for that. Now let's go."
"Yeah yeah. I was just gonna grab a bite to eat..."
"I'll get you some apples later, for now we need to get to Twilight's."
"Funny, isn't it?"
"What?"
"We went to my grave to try and find answers, only to head back to Twilight's to try and find answers."
"Well, she'd passed out. Nothing much we could do but wait. Besides, you kinda wanted to see your own grave, didn't you?"
"It was creepy. Hard to believe my body is buried there..."
"It might not be buried there for long if we can figure this out."
"Until then... I want some apples."
Anon hit his face with his hand.
What Twilight had told you... You hadn't exactly been prepared to hear. It was an emotional roller coaster when you lost Vinyl the first time, now you're going to lose her a second time? When you'd arrived back at the library, Twilight asked to speak to you alone.
After making sure Vinyl wouldn't run off with Octavia's body, you followed Twilight upstairs to her room. She'd done a little research after waking up, and came to a conclusion you hadn't been looking forward to. Vinyl was a ghost; that much was certain. But her time was running out.
Turns out ghosts were studied in great detail back in the days of Starswirl. They could go on existing for a while, but... They'd need to take a body eventually, or else they'd fade away into who knows what. Vinyl had possessed you and Octavia already, so that helped her a little, but she wouldn't be able to keep it up.
She was leaving bits and pieces of herself behind when she left bodies. It wasn't so noticeable on you, being a human and all. Octavia, on the other hand... You'll just have to wait and see. For the time being however, you have to tell one of your best friends that she's going to fade away soon unless she takes someone else’s body. How would she react? How would Octavia react?
"Anonymous?" Her words shook you from your gaze. Something else was dominating your attention right now, making it hard to focus.
"Oh, sorry Twilight. I was just... thinking is all."
"Yeah... I know it's not going to be easy, but yo--"
"I know I have to tell her. I'm only delaying the inevitable."
"The longer she stays in Octavia, the more of herself she'll leave beh--"
"I KNOW, TWILIGHT."
She withdrew at your outburst. The ache in your fists signaled you to unclench them, though you hadn’t been completely aware you’d tensed up like that in the first place.
"I'm sorry Twilight, I didn't--"
"It's okay, Anonymous. I understand."
You sighed. Your time with Vinyl was torn away from you before, and now it’s going to go away again, but you don’t know when. These thoughts were heavy on your conscious as you made your way back downstairs. Vinyl was actually sitting down and reading a book. Maybe the mixing goes both ways? When she heard you coming down stairs, she looked up and smiled at you. You couldn't bear to look her in the eyes. They're not even her eyes, they're Octavia's, but you knew better.
"Nonny! Hey, I was thinking wh--"
"Vinyl, we need to talk."
"I was just about to, but you--"
"Vinyl." After you sat down on the couch, you looked up at her. Your expression was apparently very sobering, as it killed her smile nearly instantly. "I think Octavia should hear this too."
"...Right." She sat down and you watched as Octavia slumped forward, and a faint outline of Vinyl appeared. Twilight had stayed up in her room, deciding to give you some privacy. Vinyl meandered over so that she was sitting beside Octavia.
"So, what's the news?"
You tried to speak while looking her in the eyes, but you couldn't bring yourself to do it.
"I don’t know how long you’ve got left, Vinyl..."
"Until... what?" She asked, cocking her head.
"Until you fade away completely."
"Oh..." was all she murmured as her gaze drifted towards the floor. "Is there anything we can do?"
"There is one thing. You could stay in someone else's body." This information brought her expression right back up to nearly Pinkie’s level of enthusiasm.
"That doesn't sound so bad. It'd be like having a roomie!"
"Not... exactly. You'd evict them, Vinyl." Her once hopeful gaze now vacant, she paused a moment to take in what you’d just said.
She blinked a couple times before speaking up again, "What? What do you mean?"
"You would take over the body. Permanently."
"So... What would happen to them?"
"The same thing that's happening to you." Her gaze was hollow, void of all enthusiasm she’d previously acquired. She could live again, but she'd have to put someone else in her position. Neither of you said anything for a while. So long in fact, that you'd failed to notice Octavia coming to.
"A... Anonymous? What happened?" She was shaking her head as though fighting off brain freeze. "My head is killing me."
"Do you remember anything, Octavia?"
"Bits and pieces of..." she shut her eyes in concentration before continuing, "...something." she said, opening her eyes to look around the room, finally resting her gaze on Vinyl.
You could see the mild worry in Vinyl’s eyes for her friend as she leaned away from Octavia. "Why you lookin at me like that?"
Octavia paused for a moment, like she was gathering a scattered thought. "I really like your hair, Vinyl."
"What?"
"I never really noticed it before. But I must say it rather suits you. At any rate, I see we're back at Twilight's library."
"Wait, so you're not mad about my whole possessing you thing?"
"No, I can't say that I wouldn't have jumped at the opportunity myself. It's mildly irritating, but I understand." Her response was much more civil than what you’d been expecting, but she didn’t give you much time to figure out why that was. "Now then, has a solution been found?"
Once more, you found yourself looking down at your lap. "She can live, but she'd have to take someone else's body."
"That doesn't seem so bad, couldn't she share wi--"
"Permanently." You slowly returned your gaze to Octavia, doing everything in your power to avoid looking at Vinyl. Her situation was the last thing you wanted to think about, and the only thing.
"...Oh. Well, I don't suppose it's all bad being a ghost, right Vinyl?" She asked, feigning a laugh. Vinyl didn't say anything, choosing instead to look upon the ground, much like you wanted to do.
"Her time is running out, Octavia... we don’t know how long she has left."
The room was silent as the words hung in the air. It became so quiet, you were certain you could hear Octavia's heartbeat from across the room. You wanted to say something, but you weren't sure what. What do you tell a friend that has to either send someone to the grave or go there themselves?
Octavia chose to finally break the silence with, “Vinyl, of everything that I’ve seen in my lifetime, I’ve never seen a pony get a second chance at life. I daresay you’re getting one for a reason.”
Vinyl’s lackluster response reflected on her mood as she shrugged her head to look at Octavia directly. “Oh come on Tavi. How’s that a second chance?”
Octavia stamped her hoof to the floorboards and leaned towards Vinyl, but never rose from her sitting position. “How is it NOT a second chance, Vinyl? You were dead! Lost to the world! Taken from everyone who ever cared about you! And now you’re back!”
“Yeah, but I’m gonna be gone again in who knows how long anyways, so what’s the point?”
“That’s exactly the point! Why must you be so dense?!”
“Gee, I dunno, maybe cause I’m DEAD.”
“Not yet you’re not. If you were dead, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, now would we?”
“Well—”
“After being dead? Vinyl, it’s a gift is what it is! Don’t waste it moping around!”
“…You’re right, Tavi. I shouldn’t waste it.” She opened her eyes, revealing their lack of her usual happiness and enthusiasm. The expression she bore was one of confusion and fear, with a pitiful attempt to cover it all up. “I’m not sure what to do though,” she said with a half-hearted shrug.
“Perhaps—”
Becoming frustrated, she shut her eyes in an effort to concentrate. “You know what? I think I just want to spend some time alone. Yeah… Lemme think about all this.”
“But—”
You’d had enough of this argument about Vinyl’s fate, and decided to butt in. “Octavia, she can do whatever she wants with her time. Let her be. Vinyl, we’ll be here when you decide on something, alright?”
Your little outburst caught the attention of the two ponies, causing Vinyl’s eyes to meet yours. You wanted to look away desperately, but at the same time you never wanted to stop looking. That face would soon be gone for good, one way or another. Her ruby eyes tore from yours as she chose to look at the ground.
The ghost’s stare could’ve bore holes into the floor, yet she kept shaking her head like she was trying to get rid of a headache. “I think,” she said, biting her lower lip as she paused, “I think maybe I just need to...” Yet another break in her speech, and you caught her taking a deep sigh. “Yeah, I just need to think for a bit.”
The non-corporeal entity that was your friend got up and wandered around Twilight’s house. She would stare out the window next to the door, then mutter under her breath as she took to walking around some more. Occasionally she’d stamp her hoof, but every time you tried to say something, you stopped yourself.
She walked over and sat down on the couch, poking at a cushion while in thought. She was shaking like she was cold; but as you reached over to attempt to comfort her, she started hitting a couch cushion as hard as she could.
Her being a ghost meant that she couldn’t hit the pillow, which served only to further her frustrations and remind you that you could offer her no comfort.
There wasn’t much you could do in terms of helping her; the ball was in her court, as it were. Eventually she seemed to decide that the basement was the best place to get some thinking done, leaving you alone with Octavia. After Vinyl had made her way down the steps, Octavia assumed then was a good enough time as any to speak up, “So, Anonymous. What are we going to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Surely you’ve formulated some kind of plan to save her.”
“Errr… No, I haven’t. As far as I can tell, she can only live if someone else takes her place as a ghost. Given her reaction to that idea earlier, I don’t think she’s up for it, Octavia.”
“Surely there must be some spell or—”
“Twilight said there wasn’t,” you said bluntly, resting your head in your hands.
“Then maybe we could check the royal archives? I know there are some—”
You let out an irritated sigh and cut her off once more. “Octavia, it’s still all up to Vinyl. I don’t want to lose her either, but we can’t force her to—“ Octavia’s sudden movement caused you to cease speaking. She was glaring at you, a none-so-pleasant look upon her features.
“I beg to differ,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Would you really do that though? Force someone to take someone else’s life?”
Octavia stood up “If it meant they got their second chance and the other party was willing, then yes.” Her expression changed to one of determination, “Yes I would.”
“I’m not sure if that’s cruel or considerate,” you said, casting an irritated glare her way.
“Think what you want of me, I’m not going to let Vinyl skip out on another chance at life. She deserves it after having hers so swiftly and unceremoniously taken from her.”
“So you’re going to force her to do what you want?”
“You think she doesn’t want to live?”
You ran your fingers through your hair as you spoke. “I can’t say, Octavia, and neither can you.”
“Then what do you intend to do? Just let her slip away once more?”
You propped your arms up on your lap, resting your fingertips against your temple. “If she chooses to, then yes. I don’t want to lose her, Octavia, but I won’t force her to make a decision either.”
Somewhere between finishing your statement and looking up from your hands, Octavia had made it to where she was nose to nose with you. Her eyes scrunched in rage, you could feel the anger in her ragged breathing. “How can you sit there and call yourself her friend when you’d risk losing her again?!” she said in a harsh whisper.
“I’d do everything in my power to try and save her, Octavia. But if she doesn’t want me to, I won’t.”
She let out a frustrated huff before pushing away from you, turning to head towards the basement. “Fine. You sit here and do nothing, I’m going to go talk to her.”
“Octavia, just let her—”
She whipped her head around to lock eyes with you. “No,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’ve had enough, and she needs to listen to reason.”
Seeing as Octavia wasn’t going to listen to reason herself, you decided to let her go about her business. If things got out of hand, you’d intervene. You didn’t want to lose Vinyl any more than she did, but you weren’t about to make a life-decision on her behalf, either.
You stared at the basement door that Octavia had shut on her way down. It had been only minutes, but you could hear escalated voices already. The outburst that got you moving though, was a shout from Octavia, “Vinyl no!”
You ran over to the door and down the stairs at a breakneck speed. As you skidded to a stop in the basement, you saw Octavia running at Vinyl’s essence. There was something wrong though. Vinyl seemed... less? Like she wasn’t all there. Literally.
Octavia had stopped -in- Vinyl, in some attempt to grasp her. Vinyl continued to fade at an alarming rate though, and turned to face you. When she spoke, it was as though she was further away than normal.
“Anonymous. I’m sorry.”
That was all she said before closing her eyes and attempting to weep. Seeing as she had no fluids to escape her eyes, she settled for a silent cry. You stood in shock as Octavia tried to take hold of Vinyl, in some effort to keep her here.
Octavia’s words were shaky with some sour concoction of emotion that showed when she spoke, “No... No! Vinyl!”
Not long after that, Vinyl was gone. Completely. There were no traces, nothing to show she’d ever existed as a ghost. Octavia sat there a moment, trying to come to terms with Vinyl’s decision. After a moment or two of silence, she started poking at the ground with her hoof.
“No... No! NO NO NO! She can’t be gone! I—”
She gasped sharply, clutching at her chest. She was torn between crying and gasping for air, like she was having some kind of breakdown. Can’t say that you could blame her, either. When she started shaking, you approached her to see if everything was okay.
“Octavia, are you—”
“No! I am very much not alr—”
She’d cut herself off again, closing her eyes and falling over. You moved over to catch her, holding her shaking form in your hands. After a moment, she calmed down enough to open her eyes. You greeted her with a weak smile, holding her carefully against you.
As the two of you gazed into each other’s eyes, it became clear that realization was finally setting in. As the tears welled up in your eyes, you watched as she had a similar experience. Looking closer though, something caught your eye.
Her eyes, typically a lighter purple, now looked... different. Not like she’d been crying, but her irises... The color of her eyes had changed, resembling that of paint that had spilled into more paint. They now showed a hint of redness.
~End
Author's Note
I feel that this story was a bit lackluster, and I could've done much better. I do have the makings of another ghost pony story that will hopefully be better planned out and be more interesting to read. I apologize for the low quality of this story, and I hope to do a ghost story better in the future.
I am not asking for pity, I am sincere in my apologies for this. It could be much better, but I feel it is too far gone as is.
As I said before, I hope I can do a ghost story justice in the future, but that won't be for some time.
I made plenty of mistakes with this story, but I have learned from it to some degree.
