Vinyl fumbled with her keys; the brass smacked against the wooden door with each failed attempt to reach its destination. The white unicorn’s eyes sagged and her tired body shown its lack and need for sleep. After more time than the unicorn would like to admit, the key made its mark and slid into the tumbler and allowed her entrance into her home.

The white mare stumbled inside; her tunnel vision directed her to the nearest soft object: her couch. With an ungrateful flop, Vinyl face planted into the soft material. Her body sank into the sofa, to which she smiled and embraced happily. With a yawn and a groan, she gently hugged the nearest pillow, then closed her eyes…

“Holy crap, Vinny! What the heck are you doing here so late?!”

The mare groaned, the relief of sleep's grasp ruined as her younger charge made his presence known. She groggily rose to her hooves and yawned as she tried to look at her brother.

“Oh, sorry…” Vinyl muttered, then rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?”

Neon shifted his gaze to glance at the wall clock. “It's, like, six in the morning,” he said, then returned his attention to his sister. “I gotta go to school in an hour.”

Vinyl mumbled incoherently, and flopped off the couch. Like a mindless zombie, powered by habit and muscle memory alone, the mare trudged her way to the kitchen. For a full minute, Vinyl just stared at the stove, only to wonder what she was supposed to be doing. She yawned again, then reached into the cabinet to grab a pot. “Eggs,” she muttered. “Eggs are breakfast, right?”

Neon stared at his sister, a slightly worried look on his face. "Are you okay, Vinny?”

“Huh?” Vinyl asked as she turned her head to face her sibling. She held the pot over the sink in her magical grip, though completely missed the running water. “No… yeah? Yeah, I’m fine. Octavia just kept me up…”

“Who?”

Vinyl lazily waved him off. “I’ll tell you when you’re…” She yawned. “When you’re older. Gotta make breakfast. Gotta take care of my brother, ‘cus I love him."

The pot then fell from her grasp and into the sink as Vinyl fell onto the kitchen floor, dead asleep.

Neon sighed. This wasn’t like Vinyl. She would always wake up when he did to make him breakfast before school—a pattern he has until now never seen her break. And, even though she worked terrible hours, he had never seen her this tired.

Then again, she never came home at six in the morning either.

He ignited his horn and dragged his sister’s sleeping form across the floor and towards her room.

“Holy Celestia, Vinyl!” he muttered as he struggled to drag his sister. “What the hell have you been eating?”

With some extreme effort, Neon managed to lift his sister from the floor and onto her bed. He then tucked her in and silently closed the door.

The next few minutes were filled with the colt hastily getting ready for school. Once he was fully prepared, he exited out the front door and headed off to school.

Neon regretted not asking his sister more about the odd circumstances, but he also knew she wouldn't have been any help in her current state—he would have to wait until after school to see what exactly was going on and find out who this ‘Octavia’ was.

Vinyl awoke hours later only to immediately curse herself for having stayed out so late. She had wanted to get home before he woke up, but apparently she underestimated the time she spent with her spectral friend. With a grumble, the white mare flopped out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

She stepped inside and turned on the water and waited for it to reach an acceptable temperature. Once it was, the mare stepped into the steady stream of warm liquid; her body relaxed as it was bathed in warm comfort. Though it did wonders to relax her body, Vinyl’s mind still remained a wreck of worry.

Neon must’ve been worried sick about me, she thought as she levitated over the shampoo and began to wash herself clean. And collapsing onto the kitchen floor probably didn't help… shit.

The rest of the shower was filled with Vinyl trying to think of an excuse as to why she was out so late, but, even as she turned off the water and exited the shower, she still didn't have an answer.

Vinyl sighed as she grabbed a towel and dried herself off. What the heck am I gonna tell him? she thought as she threw the soaked towel into the closest hamper and trotted out of the bathroom.

Once she entered the living room, the white mare looked at the hanging clock and realized that she would have to leave for the library soon if she wanted to have any chance of having enough time to both pick up Octavia’s requested literature and make it to work on time.

She cursed her long hours. She cursed her lack of sleep. And she cursed herself for allowing any worry upon her younger sibling.

Vinyl tossed her saddlebags over her back and trotted out the door. Now… where the hell is the library? she thought as she stepped down to the curb. Since Vinyl had never actually been there herself, she had no idea where it was.

Ponies of all shapes and sized trotted along the street in front of her that rushed to get to their destination. Lower Canterlot wasn’t exactly as popular as the upper district, as it was the ‘slum’ district of the city, but it still had it’s fair share of business. Because of the stark differences in classes, Lower Canterlot had a culture all its own that starkly contrasted that of the upper district. It mainly consisted of small, family owned restaurants and shops.

It briefly passed the mare’s mind to ask someone for directions, but she decided to simply hail a cabby.

“Taxi!” Vinyl screamed as she waved her hooves.

Eventually, she managed to catch the attention of one of the chariot-pulling ponies, who stopped on the curb just besides her. “Where to, Miss?” he asked in a gruff, tried voice.

“Uh… you know where the closest Library is?” she asked as she climbed into the back of the chariot.

The Cabby looked back at her with a surprised look. “Library? Wow, now that’s a place I haven’t been to in a long time.”

“I know, right!” Vinyl agreed with a quick chuckle. “Anyways, you know where it is, right?”

“Yeah, I do. But, is it okay if I drop you off a few blocks off? It’s a little out of my route and it’s easier to get too if you walk.”

Vinyl shrugged. “Eh, sure. Less I have to pay.”

The Cabby nodded, then began to trot towards his directed location.

True to his word, the Cabby dropped her off a few blocks from the library. She paid the stallion and trotted down the remaining few blocks.

“Wow… how did I ever miss this?” Vinyl thought as she stood at the front steps of the Lower Canterlot Public Library.

The library was massive and practically intimidating in its own right. It wasn’t the official Royal Library, which was located in the upper district, but it was impressive in it’s own right. Canterlot was a city of learning and knowledge, which was not limited to only the elite. The ‘lower class’ that called this district of town their home had compiled their own impressive collection of unique books of various types and styles. From the local history and culture, to fictional work my local authors, it was all recorded in that very building.

Vinyl snapped out of her stupor and entered the library. Once inside, she slowly began to make her way through the hallways, and tried, in vain, to figure out exactly how a library works.

Yeesh, there’s a lot of books, she thought as she looked up and down the rows of shelves. Now, where’s the Sherlock books? C’mon, stupid library! Vinyl groaned. At this rate, there was no way she could find what she needed in time. Come on, there’s gotta be a front desk or… oh, speak of the devil.

As Vinyl rounded a corner, she spotted an elderly mare re-shelving books. Assuming she worked there, Vinyl approached her. “Hey there!” she called out.

The elderly mare turned her attention to Vinyl and let out a soft smile. “‘Ello there, ma'am. How can I ‘elp you?” The mare was a relatively short earth pony mare with a grey coat and silver mane with classic librarian glasses that sat on her muzzle.

Vinyl smiled at the fact that she hadn’t just mistaken some random old mare for a librarian. “I’m looking for some Sherlock Hooves books… you know where I can find ‘em?”

“Ah, good ol’ Sherlock.” The librarian nodded. “They’re right over here. Come along, dearie, I’ll show you!”

Vinyl followed her past dozens of rows of books, only emphasizing the scale of this library. Eventually, the duo stopped in front of a particularly old-looking section. “Ah, here we are,” the librarian exclaimed, then blew off the dust that covered the shelf. “Now ‘ere is a shelf I ‘aven’t seen used in a long time,” she muttered with a smile and collected the requested books in her hooves before handing them to Vinyl. “Glad to see there’s still a few ponies out there that still enjoy ‘em.”

Vinyl whistled as she levitated the bundle into her bag. “Are they really that old?”

The librarian nodded with a smile. “Last one was published when I was but a wee filly.”

"Oh well.” Vinyl shrugged. “Thanks!”

“Not a problem, Dearie. And don't bother checking them out, as I doubt anypony else will be looking for them anytime soon,” she chuckled, then composed herself. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

Vinyl was about to say, ‘no’, but a sudden thought popped into her head. “Yeah, actually... do you have any, like, ghost books? Not like, actual ghost stories, but, like… mythology or something?”

The librarian furrowed her brow in thought, then smiled. “Y’know what, I think I know what you’re lookin’ for. Here, follow me.” The duo passed by a few more shelves before they stopped at one. The elderly mare pulled out a massive tome. “Is this sometin’ that you were talkin’ ‘bout?”

Vinyl scanned the cover. "Compendium of the Fallen: a collection of supernatural stories, mythos, and information on the damned.” she read aloud. “Yeah, I think this’ll do!” She then floated the hefty tome into her bag with the others. “Thanks a lot!”

“Don’t mention it none—it’s what I’m here for.” The librarian nodded humbly. “Now, is there anything else?”

Vinyl shook her head. “Nope, I’m good!”

“Excellent!” The librarian smiled. “Now, if you’re ready to check out, just follow me to the front desk.” The mare walked off with Vinyl in tow.

As the pair made their way past more shelves of books, a particular cover caught Vinyl’s eye. She stopped and examined the hardcover book, then grinned like a madmare.

Octavia did say she wanted a romance novel.

She levitated the book to her saddlebag then continued her way to the front desk, all the while trying her damned hardest to not burst out laughing.

Many hours later, Vinyl made her way towards the theatre, a cup of coffee levitated beside her. She had made her way to the club right after checking out the books from the library, and the following night at the club had been about average. Her shift had ended about a half hour ago, and the tired mare had stopped by a twentyfour hour coffee shop on her way, as she didn’t want a repeat of the previous night. The mare carefully sipped at her misty beverage sparingly; it's warmth just as supplemental as the caffeine.

Vinyl’s hooves eventually lead her to the familiar landmark and she pressed past the large oak doors for the fourth time. This time, however, she braced herself for cold-bodied friend. To her surprise, Vinyl was not immediately tackled by the spectre. Instead, she trotted into the room unhindered—no hide nor hare of the ghost.

“Huh… strange,” Vinyl mumbled, then called out, “Tavi, you here?!”

To her surprise, again, she didn’t get a response. Where is that darn ghost? she thought, then began to search for her friend around the main lobby. Finding nothing, her search continued down the hall and towards the main concert hall. As she neared closer, the faint sound of a familiar tone began to strike her ears.

Oh, she’s playing her… uh... Vinyl’s pace slowed to a near crawl, her body and mind growing dizzy and cumbersome. She wabbled slightly, then bumped into the wall to prevent falling over. “What the hell?!” Vinyl called out through clenched teeth, her head feeling like it was about to explode. She leaned against the nearest wall, unable to stand. Her vision soon began to swim and shift, to which she had to close her eyes to prevent herself from hurling.

Vinyl slid down the wall, her eyes still closed. For an unknown amount of time, the mare just lay on the ground, her eyes clamped shut. Eventually, though, Vinyl risked opening her eyes, and found that her vision had returned to normal. Soon after, the strange feeling in her head, too, faded to nothingness. Vinyl shook her head, and slowly rose to her hooves.

Something was still off.

Vinyl tilted her head and peered from side to side, and her eyes went wide with confusion at what she saw.

“What the…?”

The previously ruined, time-worn hallway were now prestige; the once moldy carpet now a spotless red, and the walls shone as if they were painted just yesterday. Vinyl rubbed her eyes with her hooves, but found that she wasn’t just seeing things. The walls were new. The floor was perfect. The air no longer smelled of rotting wood and decay. Hell, the entire aura of the theatre had changed within an instant! The general feel even seemed newer; untouched by the molesting hands of time.

Eventually, Vinyl found the strength to trot forwards and continue her journey towards the sound of the quiet symphony—her curiosity had replaced her confusion and fear. After a short travel, Vinyl poked her head into the main theatre, only to have it filled with even more confusion. The previously destroyed concert hall was now beautifully restored to what Vinyl believed to be it’s original state: the chandelier that had occupied the floor now hung high on its proper mount, while all signs of wear were vacant of the entire area.

But, this was not what caught her attention. No, what held that honor was the fact that the hall was entirely filled with quiet, attentive ponies. Living ponies! All their eyes were focused dead on the stage where a beautiful song currently radiated like a warm summer breeze. Vinyl followed their gaze, to which her mouth fell agape when she saw just who they were so fixated on: a living, breathing, non-ghost form of Octavia!

The previously spectral mare now sat on her chair in the middle of the stage, her eyes closed as she enthralled herself in her music; all other aspects forgotten or ignored. Her fetlock gingerly, and expertly, guided her bow across the strings of her instrument, and beautiful examples of acoustic perfection radiated from each movement.

Vinyl couldn’t help but stare; her body guided itself closer to the source of the beautiful sound.

But, Vinyl was knocked out of her stupor as she tripped over her own unfocused hooves. Her face planted directly into the lap of one of the ponies in the audience, to which she instantly scrambled to her hooves and muttered, “Sorry! I didn’t meant to! I was just so… focused… on...”

Her apology was cut short as she noticed her words didn't register on the finely dressed attendee, who continued to watch as if she wasn't there. Vinyl cautiously moved a hoof forward and waved it in front of the stallion, to which he didn’t respond. What the hell? she though. “Hey, buddy, anyone home?” Vinyl asked as she went to poke the stallion in the head.

Her hoof passed right through.

Vinyl shot back as she retraced her hoof. “Holy shit!” Vinyl screamed as she continued to backpedal, only to end up through another ponies lap. Again, the mare jumped. Vinyl stopped and shook in the middle of the aisle while she eyed the attendees with fear.

“What the hell is going on here?!” the mare screamed, then turned to face Octavia. “Yo’, Octavia, you doin’ this?!”

The mare didn't respond, still entranced in her music. Vinyl shrunk down slightly, her curiosity now fleeting as her fear and unease returned.

“No… this isn’t right,” the mare muttered as she away from the stage. “This is not right at all.”

The music deepened, the tone hitt a full crescendo. Vinyl’s own feelings mimicked that of the music: fear. Am I a ghost? Did Octavia do this to me? Who the heck are all of these ponies?!The cowering mare began to contemplate the idea of turning tail and run, but halted this train of thought to replace it with a more rational one.

She took a deep breath.

Okay, let’s think this through before I have a full mental breakdown... Vinyl thought, then focused on her surroundings.

Subtle details soon became apparent the more she focused, and the less she let fear rule her thoughts. The attendees were almost all earth ponies; their attire seeming to be in an older, long since out of style fashion. The walls were lit by torchlight, with the chandelier in the center casting the most light. The more she focused, the more she came to realize how old fashioned everything was. Only a few minutes after did all of the pieces began to fit in place, and it was soon she noticed the final piece of the puzzle that brought everything together: Princess Celestia sitting on a balcony, flanked by two royal guards.

She was staring into the past.

It wasn't that she was currently in the past, but more as some past event was being played right in front of her. Was this one of Octavia’s concerts? Had she done this to surprise her, or as a gift of sorts? The white mare finally stopped backpedaling. I get it… Octavia is trying to prank me! Fear turned to anger, and Vinyl stomped forward.

“Okay, Octavia, joke’s over!” Vinyl screamed as she marched towards the stage. “I know you think this is funny, but it's not! It's creepy and… and…”

Her hooves stopped as she got closer to the stage. Her eyes momentarily switched from the target of her aggression, to a hooded, shadowy figure that slowly crept up from behind the right curtain. Vinyl looked on with curiosity as the figure snuck closer to the stage, then disappeared behind the center curtain. Vinyl shook her head and dismissed the figure, then returned her attention back to Octavia. Her lips opened, but only a scream came out as the curtains behind Octavia burst open.

The figure she had just seen lunged forward, a knife clasped in his magical glow. Vinyl tried to scream for Octavia to move, but her voice fell upon deaf ears as the knife found home in Octavia’s side.

At that same moment, Vinyl’s mind started to swim again as the word started distory. She stumbled, her ears filled with the cries of surprise and anger from the crowd. All the while, the sight of the life draining from Octavia’s eyes remained plastered in Vinyl’s mind. She barely noticed the unicorn on stage tackled by somepony from the crowd as she fell to her side, her eyes then fluttered closed.

Vinyl laid there, the noise fading to nothing within an instant. The theatre disappeared and everything faded to a dull grey.

When Vinyl opened her eyes, the first thing that came into view was the moldy carpet. She groaned, then slowly rose from the floor and pressed a hoof to her still swimming head. The mare looked around and noticed that the theatre had returned to its normal, time warn state. She regarded the rest of the room, and noticed the chandelier was once again on the ground, and there was no trace of the ponies who had just recently occupied the hall. She turned to face the stage; her eyes locked with a floating Octavia, whose face shone with shock and concern.

The phantom disappeared and reappeared a second later in front of Vinyl. “Vinyl! Are you okay?” she screamed frantically. “What happened?! You just fainted!”

Vinyl scanned the area, just to make sure everything was back to normal, then answered, “I-I don’t… I saw…” She shook her head and collected her thoughts. “I saw it happen.”

Octavia tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Vinyl looked at the empty, worn chairs. “This place was new; full of ponies! I saw you on-stage, playing. And then I saw you… saw you… die.” She shuttered, her emotions from the moment flooded back. “Th-there was a unicorn! He just ran up behind you and…” She was unable to finish her sentence, the image of a fading Octavia filled her mind and took away any words she could say.

Octavia gazed at her living friend, mouth slightly agape in both confusion and surprise. “H-how?” was all she could ask.

Vinyl shook her head and cleared it of that dreadful memory. "I don’t know,” she began. “I just came in here and felt... funny. The next thing I knew, it was like I was in the past. I was like a ghost, and couldn't touch anything. I saw everything happen, and it felt so real! It was like… it was like I was you, a ghost, watching the memory unfold.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Were you doing anything differently?”

The ghost shook her head. “I was just playing like I do every night at this time.”

Vinyl grumbled. Is Octavia’s song affecting me in some way? she thought. Vinyl remembered how she felt a little dizzy yesterday night when Octavia was playing. Were related? Maybe the more she was exposed to the song, the stronger effect it had on her? Vinyl was no expert on magic, but she knew that such trance spells existed, and that the longer one listened to a song or saw a vision, the more powerful they became. By the way she was acting, it seemed as if Octavia had no idea what just went on. Perhaps she didn’t know her song was affecting Vinyl.

The white mare sighed. Ghost are frikin’ complicated, she thought. Maybe in the book I checked out would have answers?

Vinyl slipped off her saddlebag and opened them to reveal the assortment of books she collected earlier. Vinyl grabbed the large tome and opened it on the floor between herself and Octavia. “Okay, so I found this book at the library. Maybe it can help us figure out some stuff?”

Octavia raised a brow at the sudden change of subject. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Vinyl nodded, then scanned over the pages. “I think your song is some kind of trance spell: the more I listen to it, the stronger it gets. I remember them talking about it in school before I had to drop out. Yesterday, when you played, I felt a bit dizzy, and today I saw that…” She shuttered. “Vision. Now, I’m no expert in magic, but maybe there’s something in this book that can help.”

Vinyl continued to flip through the pages and scanned over the words until she found something relevant. “‘Ghost are the spiritual entities of living creatures that exist on the mortal plane. Descriptions of documented ghosts vary widely: from an invisible presence, to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike versions of their living forms. The deliberate attempt to contact and control the spirit of a deceased pony or their body is known as necromancy.” She shook her head, then read further and continued, “Most ghosts are believed to derive their powers from their emotional attachment to ‘unfinished business’ on the mortal plane; a task or truth that they need to accomplish before returning to the spiritual plain’ ”

The spirit softly clapped her hooves together. “So… does that mean I need to do something before I can… pass on?” Octavia asked.

“I guess so. It seems about right, at least.” Vinyl shrugged. “Do you have any idea of what your ‘unfinished business’ might be?”

The phantom cast her head down in shame. “Honestly, I can’t remember much of anything from when I was alive.” She shut her eyes and scrunched her face. “It’s all… bits and pieces—fragments of memories.” She sighed. “I can’t even remember how or when I got my cutie mark.”

To see a ghost cry was like seeing sadness itself. Ghostly tears rolled down Octavia’s cheek, their wispy form fell from her muzzle and splashed down on the floor below, only to dissipate and leave no trace they were ever there. It wasn’t just like watching someone cry, it felt like Vinyl was crying herself—specter radiated her emotions to all who was present. Holding back tears of her own, Vinyl tried to comfort the spirit, her hoof batted unaffectedly as the tried to run it through Octavia’s spectral mane.

The spirit didn’t wail, nor did didn’t shriek… she only cried.

Octavia momentarily made herself corporal, and Vinyl was able to feel her mane on her hooves. The spirit leaned on Vinyl and rested her head on her shoulder. The contact practically chilled the white unicorn to the bone, but Vinyl endured so she could comfort a friend.

Eventually, Octavia stopped crying. “Thank you,” she whispered, then snuggled deeper into her embrace.

In her head, Vinyl yelled at herself for forgetting to bring an extra jacket. “Y-you’re w-welc-come.”

Octavia giggled, then gave Vinyl a bit of space to warm up. “You really should bring a blanket with you.”

Vinyl, who was curled up in a tight ball with her hood over her head, muttered, “Y-yeah. I’ll r-remember that n-next time.”

While Vinyl was warming up, Octavia decided to skim through the book herself to try and learn more about her predicament. Most of what the book had to say was generalized. Since nopony had actually done a proper study on ghost, it was all just myths and lore. It mentioned behaviors of ghost: reasons for why they manifest in the first place and how they can pass on, but none of it correlated to her situation.

Octavia sighed and looked back to her recovering friend. “It seems we’re going to have to figure this out ourselves. This book doesn’t exactly help us too much.”

Vinyl shrugged. “Eh… it was worth a shot.” She cleared her throat. “Let’s brainstorm, shall we? What do we know about you? You died, but your spirit stayed here… why?”

Octavia put a spectral hoof to her chin. “The book mentioned that ghost manifest because of extreme emotional circumstances. Maybe I was angered or saddened because of… of… some reason. Of course I would be mad that somepony murdered me… but, if that was just the case, then every pony that was murdered should have become a ghost.”

Vinyl tilted her head. “Well, I do know that you were supposed to be on the Royal Symphony before you died.  Maybe—”

Octavia’s ears stood straight up. “I was going to be on the Royal Symphony?!”

Vinyl took a step back in surprise. “Uh… yeah? You don’t remember that? Princess Celestia was in the audience during your last performance. Heck, I even saw her in the… vision. She wanted to hear you play before giving you the spot.”

Octavia looked mortified. She had been given the opportunity, the very prestigious opportunity, to play in the Royal Symphony—the highest honor any musician could ever obtain! She could have been with the elites. The first earth pony in the elites. She could have went down in history as the first earth pony to play on the Royal Symphony. The first earth pony to play at the Grand Galloping Gala. An idol for all future musicians to look up to. A representation that earth ponies can be, and are, equal to unicorns and pegasi.

But she was denied all of that on one dreadful night, cut down by one unicorn fueled by hate and bigotry. Anger flew through her ghostly veins, the dark feeling rose from a place deep down in her heart. Her eyes turned red and glowed brightly as she growled at the thought. She screamed and let out all of her anger and sorrow in a powerful wail.

Vinyl shrieked.  The ear-piercing wail was much more than just a bloodcurdling scream.  She could feel the unbridled fury radiating off of Octavia.  She could feel the hatred burning in her own heart.  As the scream continued to invade her eardrums, Vinyl swore that deep down, she could feel exactly what Octavia was going through.  

Octavia’s anger soon subsided when she heard a slight crash. She looked up to see that Vinyl had backed into a pile of ruined chairs, her eyes filled with fear at the spectator in front of her… of Octavia.

The phantom held a hoof to her chest, spectral tears welling in her eyes. “V-Vinyl?”

She didn’t know what to do at that moment. Her new friend was looking at her with the same frightened eyes that all the others had gazed upon her with before. She couldn’t let the only pony that befriended her after eighty years be frightened away. She didn’t want to be alone. Not again. Never again.

Octavia slowly floated to the frightened unicorn. She held out a hoof and hoped that she would take it and not run away. To her greatest relief, she felt a hoof hesitantly touch her spectral fur. With a quivering lip, Octavia stuttered, “I-I-I’m so sorry, Vinyl! P-please don’t be scared of me! I would never, ever, hurt you!”

Vinyl took a moment to catch her breath. “I-it’s fine. I was more surprised than scared, honestly.” She rubbed a hoof against her ear. “Damn near made me go deaf, though.”

Octavia blinked. “Deaf?”

Vinyl nodded. "Yeah, you were screaming like a… well, like a banshee…” she nervously chuckled.

The spirit grabbed her throat. “I… I didn’t know I was screaming that loudly. I-I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Vinyl quickly shook her head. “No no, I’m fine. My ears are probably gonna ring all night, but no severe damage.”

Octavia was still a little reluctant. “Are you sure?”

Vinyl trotted up to her to pat her on the head, only to have her hoof phase through Octavia’s head. “I’ve been through worse at the club, trust me. Now, let’s get back on topic, okay?” The spirit nodded. “Alright. So yeah, you were gonna be in the Royal Symphony. And judging by how, uh… passionate, your reaction was, I think that might be the reason why your spirit is here. You were so overwhelmed by anger and sadness, that your spirit refused to ‘move on’.”

“That… that makes the most amount of sense, actually.”

Vinyl nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! So, that’s the reason how you got here. Now we gotta figure out why you’re still here. The book mentioned that a ghost will ‘move on’ when they resolved their ‘unfinished business’.” Vinyl gasped, the facehoof. “The song!”

Octavia’s eyes widened as realization hit her as well. “My song is incomplete...”

“That’s it!” Vinyl exclaimed. “You play that song every night, but you can never finish it because you died before you finished playing at your performance! So, once you finish that song, I bet you can finally leave this shithole!”

Octavia smiled, but then realized something, and it morphed into a frown. "But… how are we going to do that? I can’t remember the rest of the piece.”

Vinyl tapped her chin in thought. "I’m sure there’s a copy of your sheet music somewhere. I just have to find it. Maybe I can–”

Without warning, Octavia pounced at Vinyl. The unfortunate white unicorn gasped in surprised at the unannounced hug, but accepted it nonetheless. Knowing that Vinyl’s body can only take so much heat deprivation, Octavia released her grasp quickly, tears once again occupying her eyes. “You’d do all that for me, Vinyl?”

Vinyl nodded. "Of course! It’s what friends are for! Now, I gotta get home. Last night I came home too late and Neon was awake. But before I go, I brought you your books!” Vinyl levitated her saddlebag over to Octavia and emptied out its contents.

Octavia gasped with delight upon seeing the small collection of Sherlock Hooves books. She quickly read through the summaries on the back covers of each and giggled like a school-filly. “Oh, thank-you-thank-you-thank-you, Vinyl! I’m so excited—I can’t wait to read them all!”

Snickering evilly, Vinyl pulled out the last book. “Oh, I also brought you a romance novel I’m sure you’re gonna love.”

Octavia picks up the book and looked at the title. “Fifty Shades Of Grey… huh, doesn't sound like a romance novel to me,” she concluded, but shrugged. “But, what the heck—better than nothing!”

Vinyl could barely hold herself together. “Oh, I’m sure you’re gonna have fun with that one.” She cleared her throat. “Take care, Tavi. I’m gonna head home.”

“Good night, Vinyl–wait, did you just call me ‘Tavi’?”

Vinyl turned around and nodded. “Yeah… Is it okay if I call you that?”

Octavia’s mouth opened, then closed, trying to figure out an appropriate response. Eventually, she looked away from her unicorn friend and blushed. “Yeah… I-It’s fine.”

Vinyl chuckled. “Night, Tavi. Have fun!”

Octavia nodded and watched her friend exit. One she heard the large oak wood doors close, she dove headfirst into her new collection of books. Next Chapter: Chapter: 5 Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 48 Minutes