Neon awoke to the annoying ring of his alarm clock. The colt lazily removed one of his hooves from the warm embrace of his blankets, then began to blindly smack it against his nightstand. His lazy attempt to silence the blasted machine was met with no success, as he hit all but the maker of the inferior racket.

Oh… come on.

Neon groaned and pushed away the rest of his blanket. He blinked a few times, turned towards his alarm clock, then successfully smacked his hoof into the snooze button. He smiled with satisfaction as the ear piercing whine finally came to a stop.

After a few moment of basking in the blissful silence, Neon rolled himself from his bed to the floor. He was not a morning pony, but his morning routine had become so ingrained that he could complete it with minimal cognitive assistance. He slumped over to his small dresser, threw on the first black shirt he could find, then opened his door and headed downstairs.

This was his average morning: he got up on his usual hour, got ‘dressed’ at his usual hour, and expected his sister to have breakfast cooked for him, at the usual hour. Neon took a sniff of the air, expecting to get a wiff of whatever his sister was currently preparing.

Neon smelt nothing.

He did not smell the familiar scents of eggs and toast, or any other form of breakfast nutrition. No, the hallway and house was completely void of the smell of any forms of food. Intrigued by this strange change in his morning ritual, the young colt made way to the kitchen, only to have a peculiar sight caught his eye. His breakfast was on the table, but the unusual part was the sight of his elder sister, fast asleep and snoring slightly at the table, her head folded in her hooves.

Neon sighed. His sister was a pony of routine; a creature of habit. Everything she did on a daily basis was easily predictable. It was always in a methodological order, checked off on her own mental checklist. Infact, her schedule was so consecutive and predictable that he could name it by heart: waking him up with breakfast already made, wishing him a good day at school, trotting back to her room to get some much needed sleep, spend the rest of the day watching TV or doing chores around the house or whatever it was she did and, finally, go off to work. It was strange to see this borderline OCD mare break that routine, a new pattern that he had begun to notice.

The colt sat at the table then cleared his throat loudly to awaken his sleeping sibling.

Vinyl rose from her slumber. Her head pivoted as she regained a sense of her surroundings. “H-huh? What? Yes?” Her vision slowly cleared as the sleep fell from her eye. She soon noticed her little brother on the other side of the table with a very worried look on his face. “Oh... hey, Neon. How was school?” She shook her head. “No, wait, that’s not right...”

Neon wasted no time weaving around the subject. “Vinyl, what’s going on?”

Vinyl yawned and rubbed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean,” he replied sternly. “You’re staying out later than usual. You’re tired all the time. And... who’s Octavia?”

At the mention of her spectral friend, Vinyl’s ears stood on end. “Wait, who?” she asked, making sure she heard him correctly.

Neon shrugged. “You tell me. Yesterday, when I asked why you came home at 6am, you said: ‘Octavia kept me up’.”

“Uhhh…” Vinyl started, her mind drawing a blank. Crap… Should I tell him? she thought. It would either stop his worrying or make it worse. Depending on the way he takes the news, befriending a ghost could either be a ‘cool’ or frightening thing. Octavia was not a malevolent spirit. She was just a lonely, lost soul who just wanted a pony to talk to. There was no malice towards Vinyl on her part. If she could explain that to her brother, maybe he wouldn’t need to worry too much?

Although, she would expect Neon to beg her to see Octavia for himself.

Vinyl decided there was no reason not tell him, so she would… later. Right now, she was too tired to fully explain everything. “Don’t worry about it, Neon. Just eat up and get to school.”

The young colt banged his hooves on the table in frustration. “No, Vinyl. I want you to tell me everything, now! Yesterday, you were gone when I got home, and I couldn’t talk you then. I want to know what’s going on now!”

Vinyl sighed heavily. She ran a hoof through her mane and down her face. “Neon, please. I am way too tired to explain anything right now.” She groaned. “Listen, I’ll tell you everything later, alright? I have some more stuff to do today, but I will tell you at some point. I promise. Just… get to school, okay?”

The younger unicorn growled, then scrunched up his face. “Fine…” he muttered, then took an angry bite of his food. “But, if you don’t keep your promise—I swear to Celestia, Vinny, I’m gonna throw your entire vinyl collection in vinegar.”

Vinyl’s eyes went wide, her face somehow going pale. “You wouldn’t… you know that’ll ruin them!”

Neon ate his food with a resolute stare.

Vinyl gulped. “A-Anyways, I’m gonna go and pass out on the couch. Your lunch is on the table,” she muttered, then got up and made her way to the plush couch. She threw herself on it and almost instantly falling asleep.

Neon finished his food, briefly looked over his sister, then picked up his lunch and heading out the door.

He made sure remember the promise of his older sister.

Vinyl woke up a few hours later. She rolled off the couch and onto her hooves, then looked to the nearest clock to plan out her day based on the time. Noon... alright, I can work with this. She yawned and made way to the shower.

As she allowed the hot, refreshing water to wash over her coat. Alright, gotta go to find a copy the sheet music Tavi had on the night she died. Where can I find that? Royal Canterlot Museum of History? Yeah, I think that’ll do. I know they have a music section, so they’re bound to have copies in the archives or somtin’.

Vinyl’s face contorted into a frown as she thought about her brother. She hated hiding things from him, but she had to if she wanted to keep him safe. Even though Vinyl knew Octavia was not a threat, it was still something that he didn’t need to know. Something that would make his life easier if he never knew—ignorance is bliss, after all.

Neon had gotten suspicious and Vinyl was able to control it. However, that morning he was downright demanding explanations. The white unicorn couldn’t keep her secret rendezvous with spirits hidden anymore. She cursed at herself for not paying attention to the time whenever she was with Octavia.

Vinyl stepped out of the shower and used her magic to dry herself with a towel. She grabbed her purple tinted shades and left her home. It would be a few more hours until she needed to go to work and finding a copy of the sheet music shouldn’t take too terribly long. Perhaps she would have some time to kill before she needed to go to work?

The white unicorn waved down a taxi and telled to the stallion where she wanted him to take her. After a short ride, she paid the stallion and headed inside the museum. The building was fairly vacant of ponies, having only a hoof-ful enjoying the exhibits inside. Once Vinyl paid the fee, she headed over to the musical wing in hopes of finding as much information as she could on Octavia.

Her hooves lead her down several grand halls of the hybrid halls of the museum: old architecture mixed with modern flair. Most of the exhibits she passed were filled with relics, memories of both the transition and evolution of music in the land of Equestria. All genre's of music could be found on display. From rock to blues, from jazz to country, there was, at least, one thing that pertained to that genre. This gave her hope in her search, and a quick trip to the “Music martyrs of the past” section finally yielded her some results. Along with memorabilia from other artists who had died in their fight for their music, a small section titled “Octavia” hung in the corner.

The white mare trotted over to the display, checking out its contents. It wasn’t much, most of the small display taken up but a detailed write up of the mare’s birth and death; information that she had already been able to learn from the mare herself. There was a small plaque in front of a wax statue of the young cellist, summarizing her life’s accomplishments and the legacy she left behind.

“A fan of the great Octavia, I see?”

Vinyl jumped, startled by the sudden intrusion of a new voice. She turned, coming face to face with what she believed to be a museum attendant. She let out a sigh of relief and chuckled to herself. “Yeah… Guess you could say that.”

The attendant nodded. He was a middle aged stallion, his coat a dull grey, but his animated features fell contrary to his emotionless exterior. “Yes, she is quite the special one. Did you know that it was said she performed all of her greatest work unrehearsed?”

Vinyl shook her head, curious to the new information. “I didn't. Actually, I'm here to learn more about her; any information you know would be helpful.”

The curator smiled. "Ah, then let us start at the beginning, shall we?” He cleared his throat, readying himself for a lecture he has given countless amounts of times. "Octavia was born on October of 902 to a poor earth pony family. At the time, Canterlot was deeply segregated, and anypony who wasn’t born a unicorn was destined to live a hard life. As such, she grew up in the slums of Canterlot; a district exclusively for earth ponies.

“Her father was a carpenter, and her mother was a cellist. Even though her family didn’t tend to focus on music too much, seeing as how earth ponies got nowhere in life unless they worked hard in fields such as farming or crafting, Octavia had a knack for learning how to play the cello alongside her mother.

“By the time she was seven, she had surpassed her mother’s skill. She had become a prodigy, and as the years went by, her talent only increased. By the time she graduated high school, her abilities would challenge legendary musicians such as Beethooven.”

The old stallion looked upon the wax statue, smiling. "Her name had even reached the ears of Princess Celestia. Her Majesty was so enthralled by the stories she heard, that she met with Octavia personally so that they could set up a date where she could hear her play for herself. The earth pony community was overjoyed! They were so happy that one of their own had been recognized by the princess, that they all worked together to fix up the old theatre in their district to befit the princess’s arrival—a building that still stands, last time I checked.”

Vinyl suppressed a giggle, knowing fully well about the theatre itself.

“The young mare was unstoppable, her notes touching the hearts of Unicorns and Pegasi alike, a testament to how her skill was able to surpass petty racism." He shook his head, looking down. “But, disaster struck when the star was at her highest. During a performance on the eve of 921, a member of a radical group of Unicorn supremacists culled the would-be star before she could finish her song, ending one of the most promising careers in music history.”

He looked back up at the wax statue. “Even though she was murdered, the extremist were not able to kill her legacy. Her death sparked a revolution. Octavia’s name would live on in history as a martyr for equality. Princess Celestia herself personally dealt with all forms of racism over the last eighty years, virtually ending it today. And it wasn’t just social equality that ponies remember her by. Music scholars all over Equestria study her style, a lost art that has yet to be truly mastered by anypony.”

The curator finished his speech, and Vinyl whistled at the amount of information she took in. “Damn, she really was something back then. What a shame a bunch of stupid unicorns didn’t think the same.”

He nodded. "It truly is a shame. Think about what more could have happened if she lived. She would have been the first earth pony to join the Royal Symphony. That in itself would have been a major stepping stone for equality.”

Vinyl nodded as well. "Oh yeah." She paused for a second, remembering the reason why she came to the museum. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to have a copy of the sheet music Octavia had on her last performance in your archives would’ya?”

The curator stopped to think. “As I’ve said before, Octavia never used sheet music during her performances. Everything she played was solely through emotions. However, I believe we have a written version of a few of her songs." The old stallion led Vinyl down a few corridors. “Since Octavia never used sheet music, we don’t have any complete pieces in writing, unfortunately.”

Vinyl’s face fell, along with her hope. Everything she had relied on that sheet. She was supposed to get a copy of her song, give it to Octavia, and have her finally finish the song that has plagued her death for almost a century.

But now, what will become of her? The sheet is incomplete, just like Octavia’s song. There was no other way to achieve the full song now; the only source of information was dragged down to the grave and forgotten by the spirit of the prodigy herself. But, there was still hope. Even if what they did have written down was even a little more than what she knew, it could maybe ‘spark’ Octavia’s artistic vision, and allow her to remember the rest. It was a long shot, but the unicorn saw no other alternative.

The duo wandered through the back rooms, past old museum pieces that were not ready for display, or simply too ruined. Finally, the stallion stopped when he made it to the music archives, stopping in front of a large bookshelf holding hundreds of musical sheets in various sorts of condition, some new and others bonded in special plating to stop future decay.

He lifted a few folders in his magical grasp, sifting through them to find what he needed. Once he came upon the specific sheet, he held it out to Vinyl and put the file back where it belonged. “Here we are. This is all that the Royal Historians Guild could scrape up. I hope it helps.”

Vinyl nodded, still clinging on to a small shred of hope. “I hope it does, too. Thanks, man.”

The stallion smiles and bows. “You’re very welcome, ma'am. If there’s anything else I can help you with, I’ll be happy to assist you.”

“I think I got all that I need for now." Vinyl turned to leave. “Thanks again, man, see ya!”

“Take care now." The curator said as he went back to tending to the museum.

The weathered double doors creaked open as Vinyl made her way inside the theatre. As soon as she got inside, she expected to be tackled hugged by her spectral friend, or at least something along those lines. However, the foyer was vacant this time.

Vinyl checked the time on her watch that she started wearing to keep track of how long she was staying out with Octavia. She memorized what time Octavia plays her cello, and she had about fifteen minutes before it was that time.

“Yo’, Tavi. You in here?” she called out.

Without warning, a very furious spectre materialized in front of the white unicorn. She threw down a book at her friends hooves. “What the bloody hell is this?! I asked for a romance novel, not… not pornogrophy!”

Vinyl didn’t even try to hold back her laughter, which only caused Octavia to get more agitated. “What are you talking about, Tavi?” Vinyl asked after calming down from her laughter attack. “That is a romance novel. Pretty popular one, actually.”

Octavia scoffed. “If… If that’s-” She pointed a hoof at the book as if it’s mere presence disgusted her. “-what’s considered romance in today’s age, I have lost all hope in the future of ponykind. I’m scared to think about what the music industry is like.”

Vinyl perked up and levitated her saddlebags off her back. "Oh funny thing, I actually brought my player with me. I thought you might be curious about that.”

Octavia’s ears stood on end, but her face remained impassive. “Excuse me if I’m still a bit reluctant.”

“Pssh,” Viny said, waving her hoof and levitating out a pair of speakers. “I’m sure there’s some stuff you’ll like." She turned on her device, cycling through her large list of songs. “Let’s start with some oldie stuff.”

“Hold on," Octavia said, inspecting Vinyl’s devices. “This stuff plays music?”

She nodded.

Octavia looked very confused. “How? It’s so small. And where’s the needle? The records?”

Vinyl laughed. “Get with the times, grandma! Records are cool and all, but a lot of stuff is electronic now.”

Octavia tilted her head. “Electronic? You mean like those overrated ‘light bulbs’ and ‘heaters’ that those unicorns have in their luxurious houses?”

Vinyl shook her head. “Light bulbs and heaters are literally everywhere now. Even the poorest ponies have them. But yeah, something like that. I’m no technician or whatever, all I know is that I can play songs on this little box without having to haul around a big ass record player.”

Octavia leaned in to observe the devices again. "Fascinating."

Vinyl nodded. "Now, what song to play first… Hmmm… how about… Ah ha! Johnny B. Goode!”

The white mare pressed the play button on her device, starting the song off with a guitar riff. Octavia’s ears flattened against her head the second the noise started. “What is that?” She asked, a mix of disgust and surprise.

Vinyl bobbed her head to the beat. “Rock ’n’ Roll! What, you don’t like it?”

Octavia shook her head. "I don’t even know what that is! What instrument is he, she, or it even playing?”

“A guitar,” she replied.

“That sounds nothing like a guitar!”

“It’s an electric guitar!”

“Just turn it off, please!”

Vinyl grumbled, but obeyed. “Fine, we’ll pick a different song. Hmmm, how about… Ah, the Beatles! Can’t go wrong with the Beatles! Let’s do a classic one, shall we? Come Together.”

The song started off with low pitch bass. This time, Octavia didn’t cringe at the first few notes. She kept a steady face until the guitar rift came in the chorus. “I don’t like that… whatever you called it.”

“Electric guitar?”

“Yes, it sounds so… off! So ear piercing! I like acoustic guitar… but that is just awful!”

Vinyl sighed. “Guess you don’t like rock n’ roll. What’s next? How about swing? Heard of that?”

Octavia shook her head.

“Jazz?”

She shook her head again.

Vinyl groaned. “Sweet Celestia! What did ponies listen to back then!” She cycled through her music, picking a song. “Here, we’re gonna listen to Do it Again. Have some Steely Dan!”

The song started, and Octavia actually found herself enjoying it. There was some high pitched ‘electric guitar’, but it fit with the rest of the instruments and didn’t sound overly blaring or annoying. And the singer had such a smooth voice.

Vinyl smiled at the look on her face. “Ohhh, we’re getting somewhere now!” She face-hoofed. "Oh, duh! You know what you’d like? Some good ol’ Sinatrot!”

Octavia held out a hoof and politely cleared her throat. “Hold that thought, Vinyl." She then floated away from the foyer and towards the main theatre room.

Vinyl knew what was coming and followed her. “Alright, but this time try not to hypnotize me or whatever you did last time." She shuttered. “That was creepy…”

“I’m sorry, Vinyl,” the ghost replied. “But I honestly don’t know what that was all about.”

Vinyl was about to say something in response, but stopped as she was reminded of something. “Oh hey! I almost forgot!” She rifled through her saddlebags, pulling out a few pieces of paper. “I got the sheet music for the song you always play! It’s not complete… but maybe it can jog your memory?”

Octavia gasped. “Let me see!” she squeaked as she grabbed the papers out of Vinyl’s magic. As she scanned the over the notes, her smile dropped. “Vinyl… this isn’t the song I play.”

Vinyl almost stopped dead in her tracks. “W-what? But… but that was the song you played on your last performance!”

Octavia shook her head. “I’m sorry, Vinyl, but these notes are just… they’re different. It’s not even similar to what I’m forced to play.”

The white unicorn’s entire body deflate at the news. “But… but…” Her head sunk. “I was sure that it was… it looked…” It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. Vinyl was supposed to give the sheet to Octavia, who would finish the song and be put to rest. But apparently that wasn’t the way the spirit worked. What song was she even playing, then? Why is this one incomplete? And more importantly: what was the plan now?

The duo made their way towards the main hall, Octavia floating ahead while Vinyl trailed not far behind. Once they entered the main room, Vinyl soon found a seat in the front row while Octavia sat and got ready on her stool; bow and cello in hoof. Vinyl waited, bracing for the familiar notes to grace her ears. To her surprise, a different melody graced her ears, one that she had not heard before. She looked up, her lips curling into a smile at the upbeat, happy tempo, rather than the usual low one she was used too.

But, it didn't last long, as her vision began to swim. Though the song still rang through Vinyl’s ears, her eyes deceived her as everything began to swim,changing color and shape. The experience was nauseating, and vinyl soon found herself closing her eyes to prevent her from losing her dinner.

She fell to the floor from her seat, her mind filling with pain and discomfort and the sudden change. But, as soon as it had begun, the feeling went away, and the white mare soon creaked open an eyelid, only to have the other snap open as she stumbled back, just barely avoided being stepped on by a hoof. More joined around her as the mare scooted on her rump backwards, narrowly avoiding being stepped on. That was, until, she wasn't as lucky, having a hoof step right on top of her. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come.

But it didn't.

The unicorn cracked her eye open a second time, watching as the hoof passed right through her, as well as all others. She let out a brief sigh, chuckling to herself over her overreaction. She slowly climbed to her hooves, dusting herself off before getting a better look around.

The room around her was covered in ponies, all wearing olden style formalwear. The room itself looked sort of a like a ballroom, or what Vinyl imagined a ballroom would look like. Tables and chairs lined the outer perimeter of the large square room, with tables filled with horderves and other snack-based pastries. Most of the fancily dressed ponies stood in the center, dancing gracefully and with purpose though there was a slight hitch in the elegance. Something was slightly off about the entire scene, and it took her a moment to realize it: they were all earth ponies.

Every pony present was void of a horn or wings, and it was from this realization did more details become apparent to her. Though the room was fancy, it still held age—the floor was far since worn out, and the walls were in need of a good repainting. And the dresses and suits that the ponies wore seemed well used, some having well-hidden patches to hide their actual age.

Where the hell was she?

Vinyl trotted around, her eyes gauging her surroundings. After her first experience with the first vision, her initial shock wore off faster than last time, and she was able to get to her task much sooner than before: finding Octavia. This had to be a memory of some sort, one that held significance. She shuddered slightly, her mind briefly toying with the thought of this one holding more death.

It didn't take her long to find the mare in question, as she soon stumbled into the charcoal grey mare standing nervously near the punch bowl, her hooves gently tapping against the ground as she fidgeted, seemingly nervous about something.

The unicorn got into a better position, watching the mare from the other side of the table. Eventually, Vinyl watched as an unknown stallion trotted up behind Octavia, getting in close before tapping her on the shoulder, getting her attention. The mare jumped, turning to meet the stallion head on.

“Ahh!” she screamed. “Frank, don’t do that to me!” She threatened, giving the stallion a slight hit on the shoulder.

The stallion laughed, rubbing his shoulder. “My apologies, Octavia, it’s just that you are so adorable when you are startled.”

Octavia turned around to hide her blush, pouring herself a glass of punch. “What do you want, Frank?”

He smiled, moving around Octavia to face her. “I just couldn’t help but notice that you don’t have a partner for this dance." He held out his hoof. “May I, m’lady?”

Octavia huffed, turning more red and looking anywhere but at the young colt. She took her time to respond, contemplating if it was a good idea or not to dance with the colt. “F-fine! You get one dance, Sinatrot!”

He took her hoof, shuffling her out to the dance floor. “That’s all I need,” he replied smoothly.

Vinyl watched, her mouth agape and her eye twitching.

The two made their way out to the center of the dance floor, Octavia turning to face her partner once they came to a halt. She let him lead, their movements soon forming into a slow waltz, their steps syncing as their movements became almost as one.

Vinyl’s mouth still hung open.

The two continued their dance, Sinatrot leading and Octavia following. The mare’s nervous expression soon rose to a smile, her movements going from seemingly robotics, to fluid. A string quartet sat in the corner of the ballroom, their music ringing out throughout the entire room, filling it with a peaceful melody.The two earth ponies stepped and twirled around each other. Frank would smile coyly as he held his partner close, while Octavia would look away in embarrassment.

As the song came to an end, Frank performed one final move, holding Octavia’s back with his foreleg and dipping the grey earth pony as he stood above her. Once he brought her back up, he bowed to her. “See now, my dear Tavi, that wasn’t so bad.”

Octavia huffed, a flash of anger burning in her eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why not?” he asked while gently holding her hoof, ignoring her anger. “I think it’s rather cute.”

She quickly swiped her hoof away from him. “I don’t care what you think! You don’t get to call me that! Now, if you’ll excuse me." Octavia trotted away from the young, charming colt briskly.

The scene began to change again, causing Vinyl’s head to swirl once more. She fell to the ground, clutching her head with her forelegs. Once again the nausea returned and her eyes closed in an attempt to stop the pain. Her eyes clamped shut until the feeling slowly faded, and she opened her eyes once again to the view of the theatre floor.

Vinyl groaned as she picked herself up, brushing away all the dust from her jacket. She looked up, noticing Octavia on the stage with a surprised, but distant look in her eyes. She didn’t seem to notice what had happened to Vinyl when she played her song, and the white mare climbed up on stage and next to the spirit.

“Yo’, Tavi. Y’alright?” she asked.

The grey mare didn’t respond at first, urging a second attempt from Vinyl to snap her out of her stupor. “H-huh? What? Vinyl?” She rubbed her temples. "The strangest thing just happened. I think I just… remembered part of the song? I’m not sure. It all felt so different, yet... so familiar." She looked to her living friend. "Did something happen to you?”

Vinyl nodded. “Yeah, you put me in another… trance thingy. ‘Cept this time I was in like a ballroom or something." Her expression switched to surprised as she pointed a hoof at Octavia. “A-and you! You were totally dancing with Frank Sinatrot!”

Octavia looked at Vinyl, confused. “Frank Sinatrot? Sinatrot… that name…” She zoned out momentarily, staring at the floor. Her eyes widened slowly until they were as big as dinner plates. She looked at Vinyl with those wide eyes, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Vinyl! I remember!”

“R-remember?” Vinyl asked, slightly surprised at Octavia’s sudden outburst.

“Yes, I–” She gasped. "Oh, my stars, I remember! I was at senior prom, and I remember Sinatrot asking me to dance! Vinyl! I remember everything so vividly! It’s all coming back to me!” She lunged forward, wrapping her forelegs around her friend. “Oooooh! I remember! I remember! I remember~!”

As happy as Vinyl was for Octavia, she still needed to breathe. How a ghost could restrict her airways was way beyond her. “Tavi… please… air… also cold..." Even in death, earth pony strength was still a force to be reckoned with.

Octavia winced and let go, blushing. “Hehe… sorry. It’s just that, well, this is the first time that’s happened before.”

Vinyl pulled her jacket in tighter to conserve heat. “I’m happy for you and all, but you gotta explain something to me: you went to prom with Sinatrot?!”

Octavia shrugged. "Yes, I did. Why are you so surprised? You’re acting as if you know him.”

The unicorn stuttered for a moment before levitating her music player in front of her. “I’ll show you ‘know him’.” She muttered before playing a song. She showed the device, that had a picture of a well dressed stallion, to Octavia. “This is Frank Sinatrot! He’s like, one of the most well known singers ever!”

Octavia blinked as she both listened to the music and gazed at the photo. “Huh, really?” She shrugged. "Well, he always did have a smooth voice.”

Vinyl held her hooves in front of her. “Alright, so lemme get this straight. You went to prom with Sinatrot?”

“Yes.”

Vinyl made a motion with her hoof, telling her to articulate more. “So was he your coltfriend or something?”

Octavia quickly shook her head. "Oh heavens no! I’ll admit he was charming stallion, but I was never interested in him. I just danced with him at prom.”

Vinyl wasn’t buying it. “Why not?! I mean, if Sinatrot asked me to dance with him, I’d just bend over and be like, ‘just take me here’.”

The spectre looked away. “V-Vinyl! That’s… that’s completely obscene!” she blurted out.

Vinyl shrugged. “Hey, I’m just saying. But, seriously, what was wrong with him?”

Octavia blushed, crossing her forelegs and looking away. “I just… didn’t like him, okay?”

Vinyl snickered. “Why? Was it ‘cus he was a stallion or something?”

Octavia rounded on Vinyl, scoffing at the unicorn. “W-what?! What are you saying?”

Vinyl found a soft spot. She shook her head with a soft chuckle. “Well, I didn’t expect you to be a fillyfooler, Octavia.”

The ghost lit up bright red, her face scrunching up in anger. “H-how dare you accuse of me of being such a… a scandalous, disgusting, harlot! I am not one of those… those faggots!”

Vinyl actually took a step back in shock. What was just a joke started to become more serious than she thought. “Woah! What’s with all the hostility? I was just poking fun!”

Octavia snorted, turning around to face her back towards Vinyl. “There’s nothing funny about their kind. It’s… it’s wrong. It’s unnatural.”

Vinyl’s gaze softened when she noticed the change in Octavia’s tone. What was once a furious rant became softer and sadder, until it sounded more remorseful. Vinyl carefully trotted up to the ghostly mare, sitting beside her.

The unicorn looked down at the mare beside her, noticing her ghostly sobs. Vinyl tried to comfort the spirit, but, of course, her hoof phased through her. She kept running her hoof through her friend’s spectral fur until she calmed down.

Once her friend’s sobs had died down enough, Vinyl felt that it was safe enough for her to speak. However, Octavia beat her to it. "I’m sorry, Vinyl.”

“Hey now, it’s fine. It’s not the first time you’ve yelled at me.”

Octavia rounded on Vinyl. “No, it’s not that! I’m sorry for… for being this way! I-I-I can’t help it… and I hate it! I don’t want to be like this… but… but…” She choked out a few more sobs. "You probably don’t even want to be friends with a horrible pony like me anymore.”

Vinyl looked at Octavia with the softest, most caring gaze she could muster. "There there, Tavi. It doesn’t matter if you like other mares or not; love is love. I don’t know what it was like when you were growing up, but a lot of things have changed. We don’t care about that stuff anymore, and you have no reason to hide it anymore, or hate yourself for it.”

The ghost remained unconvinced, “B-but… It’s wrong... It’s–”

“Tavi, stop.” Vinyl said sternly, cutting off the spectral mare. “Listen to me. There is nothing wrong with being gay, alright? It’s not a mental defect, it’s not a demon from Tartarus possessing you to be gay, or whatever other crazy shit ponies say. The feelings you have for other mares are no different than if you had them for stallions. It’s all the same thing: love.”

Octavia looked up at her friend, wiping her eyes. “So… I’m not a… a freak?”

Vinyl immediately shook her head. “Of course not! You’re the same as any other pony. You just happened to live in an era of idiots and conservative pricks that refused to accept things that were different. Right now, at this time, you have nothing to worry about. Be free to be who you are, and not what you think society wants you to be. You are your own mare, Octavia. Cherish what makes you unique.”

Octavia sniffles, wiping ghostly tears away with a hoof. She smiles warmly at Vinyl, her smile genuine. “Thank you, Vinyl, that means a lot. I always… I always felt like a freak for being this way, for liking ponies of my own gender. It was hard enough being an earth pony musician, and adding being gay would only have made my life even worse.” She shook her head, chuckling. “You know, I kind of feel funny now for, well, for hiding who I was. It’s still a little strange, but… I’ll try to be more open; not letting their stupid bias dictate who I can be.” Octavia then blushed, nervously shifting in place.

The white unicorn noticed this, and was about to mention it to the floating mare when she felt a pair of ghostly lips kiss her cheek, before quickly retreating. Her eyes were locked on the now furiously blushing spirit in front of her.

“S-sorry about that,” Octavia muttered, turning her eyes away. “I just… I wanted to thank you for all that you have done for me and… and it just felt like the right thing to do.”

Vinyl stood there stunned for a moment, before snapping out of her momentary daze. She gently rubbed her cheek and smiled. “No worries, ‘Tavi. I was just surprised is all, don’t worry about it.” She chuckled warmheartedly. “And it’s been a pleasure to have you as a friend.”

The ghost continued to blush, but smiled and nodded at Vinyl.

The white mare yawned, checking the time again. “Welp, I gotta get going. Last time I stayed out too late, Neon caught on to our little ‘get togethers’.” She then groaned, remembering that she still had to explain the whole situation to her brother. “Craaaaaap!”

Octavia tilted her head, mind finally removed from her previous actions. “What’s wrong, Vinyl?”

“I have to figure out a way to explain, well, you to my little brother.” She sighed. “I promised him that I would explain why I’ve been up so late these past few days. I’d tell him the truth but… then he’d beg me to take him here and see you for himself.”

The spirit chuckled. “I’m fine with that.”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “You sure? I don’t want you feeling like… I don’t know… some kinda haunted house display prop or something.”

Octavia waved her off. “Nonsense, Vinyl, I’d be happy to meet him. I don’t want you and your brother to be troubled because of me.”

Vinyl nodded. “Alright then. He’s still in school, so I’ll have to bring him by Friday just to ease his nerves. Well actually, seeing a ghost wouldn't help ease his nerves at all…” Vinyl grabbed her saddlebags, leaving her music player with Octavia. “Here, if you want to listen to some more music.”

Octavia looked at the object, baffled. “I-I don’t know how to work this thing!”

Vinyl walked over to her, holding the device in her magic. “Here look, hit this button to play and pause the songs, this button changes the songs, this one will replay the song if you liked it, and this one at the top turns it off. Alright?” She said while demonstrating the actions of each button.

The old spirit still looked confused. “I think?”

Vinyl shrugged with a smile. “I think you’ll figure it out. Oh, I have some classical music in there, too. You’ll recognize the names.”

“Alright. Goodbye, Vinyl. See you tomorrow!”

“See ya, Tavi!” Vinyl replied, stepping outside into the cool night. Next Chapter: Chapter: 6 Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 22 Minutes