[HB - 3] Apollo

[HB - 3] - Apollo
Continued from:
Ghost in the Music
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>What Twilight had told you... You hadn't exactly been prepared to hear.
>It was an emotional roller coaster when you lost Vinyl the first time, now you're going to lose her a second time?  When you'd arrived back at the library, Twilight asked to speak to you alone.
>After making sure Vinyl wouldn't run off with Octavia's body, you followed Twilight upstairs to her room.
>She'd done a little research after waking up, and came to a conclusion you hadn't been looking forward to.
>Vinyl was a ghost; that much was certain.  But her time was running out.
>Turns out ghosts were studied in great detail back in the days of Starswirl.
>They could go on existing for a while, but... They'd need to take a body eventually, or else they'd fade away into who knows what.
>Vinyl had possessed you and Octavia already, so that helped her a little, but she wouldn't be able to keep it up.
>She was leaving bits and pieces of herself behind when she left bodies.
>It wasn't so noticeable on you, being a human and all.
>Octavia, on the other hand... You'll just have to wait and see.
>For the time being however, you have to tell one of your best friends that she's going to fade away soon unless she takes someone else’s body.
>How would she react?  How would Octavia react?
>"Anonymous?"  Her words shook you from your gaze.  Something else was dominating your attention right now, making it hard to focus.
"Oh, sorry Twilight.  I was just... thinking is all."
>"Yeah... I know it's not going to be easy, but yo--"
"I know I have to tell her.  I'm only delaying the inevitable."
>"The longer she stays in Octavia, the more of herself she'll leave beh--"

----------------------

"I KNOW, TWILIGHT."
>She withdrew at your outburst.  The ache in your fists signaled you to unclench them, though you hadn’t been completely aware you’d tensed up like that in the first place.
"I'm sorry Twilight, I didn't--"
>"It's okay, Anonymous.  I understand."
>You sighed.  Your time with Vinyl was torn away from you before, and now it’s going to go away again, but you don’t know when.
>These thoughts were heavy on your conscious as you made your way back downstairs.
>Vinyl was actually sitting down and reading a book.  Maybe the mixing goes both ways?
>When she heard you coming down stairs, she looked up and smiled at you.  You couldn't bear to look her in the eyes.
>They're not even her eyes, they're Octavia's, but you knew better.
>"Nonny!  Hey, I was thinking wh--"
"Vinyl, we need to talk."
>"I was just about to, but you--"
"Vinyl."  After you sat down on the couch, you looked up at her.
>Your expression was apparently very sobering, as it killed her smile nearly instantly.
"I think Octavia should hear this too."
>"...Right."  She sat down and you watched as Octavia slumped forward, and a faint outline of Vinyl appeared.
>Twilight had stayed up in her room, deciding to give you some privacy.
>Vinyl meandered over so that she was sitting beside Octavia.
>"So, what's the news?"
>You tried to speak while looking her in the eyes, but you couldn't bring yourself to do it.
"I don’t know how long you’ve got left, Vinyl..."
>"Until... what?"  She asked, cocking her head.
"Until you fade away completely."

----------------------

>"Oh..." was all she murmured as her gaze drifted towards the floor.
>"Is there anything we can do?"
"There is one thing.  You could stay in someone else's body."
>This information brought her expression right back up to nearly Pinkie’s level of enthusiasm.
>"That doesn't sound so bad.  It'd be like having a roomie!"
>"Not... exactly.  You'd evict them, Vinyl."
>Her once hopeful gaze now vacant, she paused a moment to take in what you’d just said.
>She blinked a couple times before speaking up again, "What?  What do you mean?"
"You would take over the body.  Permanently."
>"So... What would happen to them?"
"The same thing that's happening to you."
>Her gaze was hollow, void of all enthusiasm she’d previously acquired.
>She could live again, but she'd have to put someone else in her position.
>Neither of you said anything for a while.
>So long in fact, that you'd failed to notice Octavia coming to.
>"A... Anonymous?  What happened?"
>She was shaking her head as though fighting off brain freeze.  "My head is killing me."
"Do you remember anything, Octavia?"
>"Bits and pieces of..." she shut her eyes in concentration before continuing, "...something." she said, opening her eyes to look around the room, finally resting her gaze on Vinyl.
>You could see the mild worry in Vinyl’s eyes for her friend as she leaned away from Octavia.  "Why you lookin at me like that?"
>Octavia paused for a moment, like she was gathering a scattered thought.
>"I really like your hair, Vinyl."
>"What?"

----------------------

>"I never really noticed it before.  But I must say it rather suits you.  At any rate, I see we're back at Twilight's library."
>"Wait, so you're not mad about my whole possessing you thing?"
>"No, I can't say that I wouldn't have jumped at the opportunity myself.  It's mildly irritating, but I understand."
>Her response was much more civil than what you’d been expecting, but she didn’t give you much time to figure out why that was.
>"Now then, has a solution been found?"
>Once more, you found yourself looking down at your lap.
"She can live, but she'd have to take someone else's body."
>"That doesn't seem so bad, couldn't she share wi--"
"Permanently."
>You slowly returned your gaze to Octavia, doing everything in your power to avoid looking at Vinyl.
>Her situation was the last thing you wanted to think about, and the only thing.
>"...Oh.  Well, I don't suppose it's all bad being a ghost, right Vinyl?"
>She asked, feigning a laugh.  Vinyl didn't say anything, choosing instead to look upon the ground, much like you wanted to do.
"Her time is running out, Octavia... we don’t know how long she has left."
>The room was silent as the words hung in the air.
>It became so quiet, you were certain you could hear Octavia's heartbeat from across the room.
>You wanted to say something, but you weren't sure what.
>What do you tell a friend that has to either send someone to the grave or go there themselves?

----------------------

>Octavia chose to finally break the silence with, “Vinyl, of everything that I’ve seen in my lifetime, I’ve never seen a pony get a second chance at life.  I daresay you’re getting one for a reason.”
>Vinyl’s lackluster response reflected on her mood as she shrugged her head to look at Octavia directly.
>“Oh come on Tavi.  How’s that a second chance?”
>Octavia stamped her hoof to the floorboards and leaned towards Vinyl, but never rose from her sitting position.
>“How is it NOT a second chance, Vinyl?  You were dead!  Lost to the world!  Taken from everyone who ever cared about you!  And now you’re back!”
>“Yeah, but I’m gonna be gone again in who knows how long anyways, so what’s the point?”
>"That’s exactly the point!  Why must you be so dense?!"
>“Gee, I dunno, maybe cause I’m DEAD.”
>“Not yet you’re not.  If you were dead, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, now would we?”
>“Well—”
>“After being dead?  Vinyl, it’s a gift is what it is!  Don’t waste it moping around!”
>“…You’re right, Tavi.  I shouldn’t waste it.”
>She opened her eyes, revealing their lack of her usual happiness and enthusiasm.
>The expression she bore was one of confusion and fear, with a pitiful attempt to cover it all up.
>“I’m not sure what to do though,” she said with a half-hearted shrug.
>“Perhaps—”
>Becoming frustrated, she shut her eyes in an effort to concentrate.
>“You know what?  I think I just want to spend some time alone.  Yeah… Lemme think about all this.”
>“But—”
>You’d had enough of this argument about Vinyl’s fate, and decided to butt in.

----------------------

“Octavia, she can do whatever she wants with her time.  Let her be.  Vinyl, we’ll be here when you decide on something, alright?”
>Your little outburst caught the attention of the two ponies, causing Vinyl’s eyes to meet yours.
>You wanted to look away desperately, but at the same time you never wanted to stop looking.
>That face would soon be gone for good, one way or another.
>Her ruby eyes tore from yours as she chose to look at the ground.
>The ghost’s stare could’ve bore holes into the floor, yet she kept shaking her head like she was trying to get rid of a headache.
>“I think,” she said, biting her lower lip as she paused, “I think maybe I just need to...”
>Yet another break in her speech, and you caught her taking a deep sigh.  “Yeah, I just need to think for a bit.”
>The non-corporeal entity that was your friend got up and wandered around Twilight’s house.
>She would stare out the window next to the door, then mutter under her breath as she took to walking around some more.
>Occasionally she’d stamp her hoof, but every time you tried to say something, you stopped yourself.
>She walked over and sat down on the couch, poking at a cushion while in thought.
>She was shaking like she was cold; but as you reached over to attempt to comfort her, she started hitting a couch cushion as hard as she could.
>Her being a ghost meant that she couldn’t hit the pillow, which served only to further her frustrations and remind you that you could offer her no comfort.
>There wasn’t much you could do in terms of helping her; the ball was in her court, as it were.

----------------------

>Eventually she seemed to decide that the basement was the best place to get some thinking done, leaving you alone with Octavia.
>After Vinyl had made her way down the steps, Octavia assumed then was a good enough time as any to speak up,  “So, Anonymous.  What are we going to do?”
“What do you mean?”
>“Surely you’ve formulated some kind of plan to save her.”
“Errr… No,  I haven’t.  As far as I can tell, she can only live if someone else takes her place as a ghost.  Given her reaction to that idea earlier, I don’t think she’s up for it, Octavia.”
>“Surely there must be some spell or—”
“Twilight said there wasn’t,” you said bluntly, resting your head in your hands.
>“Then maybe we could check the royal archives?  I know there are some—”
>You let out an irritated sigh and cut her off once more.
“Octavia, it’s still all up to Vinyl.  I don’t want to lose her either, but we can’t force her to—“
>Octavia’s sudden movement caused you to cease speaking.  She was glaring at you, a none-so-pleasant look upon her features.
>“I beg to differ,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Would you really do that though?  Force someone to take someone else’s life?”
>Octavia stood up “If it meant they got their second chance and the other party was willing, then yes.”
>Her expression changed to one of determination, “Yes I would.”
>“I’m not sure if that’s cruel or considerate,” you said, casting an irritated glare her way.
>“Think what you want of me, I’m not going to let Vinyl skip out on another chance at life.  She deserves it after having hers so swiftly and unceremoniously taken from her.”
“So you’re going to force her to do what you want?”

----------------------

>“You think she doesn’t want to live?”
>You ran your fingers through your hair as you spoke.
“I can’t say, Octavia, and neither can you.”
>“Then what do you intend to do?  Just let her slip away once more?”
>You propped your arms up on your lap, resting your fingertips against your temple.
“If she chooses to, then yes.  I don’t want to lose her, Octavia, but I won’t force her to make a decision either.”
>Somewhere between finishing your statement and looking up from your hands, Octavia had made it to where she was nose to nose with you.
>Her eyes scrunched in rage, you could feel the anger in her ragged breathing.
>“How can you sit there and call yourself her friend when you’d risk losing her again?!” she said in a harsh whisper.
“I’d do everything in my power to try and save her, Octavia.  But if she doesn’t want me to, I won’t.”
>She let out a frustrated huff before pushing away from you, turning to head towards the basement.
>“Fine.  You sit here and do nothing, I’m going to go talk to her.”
“Octavia, just let her—”
>She whipped her head around to lock eyes with you.
>“No,” she said through gritted teeth.
>“I’ve had enough, and she needs to listen to reason.”
>Seeing as Octavia wasn’t going to listen to reason herself, you decided to let her go about her business.
>If things got out of hand, you’d intervene.
>You didn’t want to lose Vinyl any more than she did, but you weren’t about to make a life-decision on her behalf, either.
>You stared at the basement door that Octavia had shut on her way down.

----------------------

>It had been only minutes, but you could hear escalated voices already.
>The outburst that got you moving though, was a shout from Octavia, “Vinyl no!”
>You ran over to the door and down the stairs at a breakneck speed.
>As you skidded to a stop in the basement, you saw Octavia running at Vinyl’s essence.
>There was something wrong though.
>Vinyl seemed... less?  Like she wasn’t all there.  Literally.
>Octavia had stopped -in- Vinyl, in some attempt to grasp her.
>Vinyl continued to fade at an alarming rate though, and turned to face you.
>When she spoke, it was as though she was further away than normal.
>“Anonymous.  I’m sorry.”
>That was all she said before closing her eyes and attempting to weep.
>Seeing as she had no fluids to escape her eyes, she settled for a silent cry.
>You stood in shock as Octavia tried to take hold of Vinyl, in some effort to keep her here.
>Octavia’s words were shaky with some sour concoction of emotion that showed when she spoke, “No... No!  Vinyl!”
>Not long after that, Vinyl was gone.  Completely.
>There were no traces, nothing to show she’d ever existed as a ghost.
>Octavia sat there a moment, trying to come to terms with Vinyl’s decision.
>After a moment or two of silence, she started poking at the ground with her hoof.
>“No... No!  NO NO NO!  She can’t be gone!  I—”
>She gasped sharply, clutching at her chest.
>She was torn between crying and gasping for air, like she was having some kind of breakdown.
>Can’t say that you could blame her, either.
>When she started shaking, you approached her to see if everything was okay.

----------------------

“Octavia, are you—”
>“No!  I am very much not alr—”
>She’d cut herself off again, closing her eyes and falling over.
>You moved over to catch her, holding her shaking form in your hands.
>After a moment, she calmed down enough to open her eyes.
>You greeted her with a weak smile, holding her carefully against you.
>As the two of you gazed into each other’s eyes, it became clear that realization was finally setting in.
>As the tears welled up in your eyes, you watched as she had a similar experience.
>Looking closer though, something caught your eye.
>Her eyes, typically a lighter purple, now looked... different.
>Not like she’d been crying, but her irises...
>The color of her eyes had changed, resembling that of paint that had spilled into more paint.
>They now showed a hint of redness.

~End

###Last Edit: 02/22/2013 21:55