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.