//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Scratch n' Sniff // Story: Moonlight Sonata // by Lynked //------------------------------// Vinyl's eyes slowly peeked out, her eyelids heavy as stone. They burned as well, though only to a slight degree. As always was after a night of hard sleep, the sluggish mare felt stiff and sore. Her head twisted left. Her head twisted right. Loud, powerful cracks echoed out from her craned neck. Twisted in her awkward position, Vinyl could peer over her shoulder to the deck. The early morning sun was just cresting over the horizon, only shifting with the light sway of the ship. Its rays beamed in, glowing on the mare's bed and caking her in warmth. She stretched her legs down, whipping her tail out and stretching her back. The sheets at the base of the bed were already nice and toasty; her hind legs were covered in encasing warmth. This was a great way to wake up. Satisfied with her stretch, the DJ relaxed. She got resettled into her bed, curling her tail back and letting her legs go loose. Down in her forelegs still was Octavia. The grey mare slumbered away, her face nuzzled into Vinyl's resettled neck. Her breath warmed Vinyl's neck with tiny pulses. This was ecstasy for her. It had been such a long time since they had held each other like this, much more since they had slept with each other. And now, feeling the soft breath on her neck, Vinyl was content once more. She ran her hoof down Octavia's back. It was a comforting motion that the sleeping cellist accepted. Vinyl stroked her marefriend's back for some time, enjoying the soft coat and warm touch. Certain that her motions were keeping Tav in her deep snooze, the aware mare casually slid a foreleg from under Tav, resting it between their bellies. "Tav always did enjoy a belly rub," Vinyl whispered with a snicker. It was true; Octavia would often - when times were better - lie on her back, while a certain white unicorn would scratch her exposed belly. The memories that flooded her mind tasted sweeter than sugar. Every time she would give the grey mare a soft belly rub, Octavia would blush and giggle in the cutest display Vinyl had ever laid her ruby eyes upon. Gently she grazed her hoof up Octavia's underside, ruffling the fur up before matting it back down. The cellist was in a deeper sleep now, but her face still showed signs of appreciation. Vinyl smiled and continued the simple motion. Even being the one doing it, she felt more at ease now. Silent still, the white unicorn stopped her soft rubbing to feel the deepest part of any mare: the heart. Calm thumps vibrated Octavia's chest in a relaxing rhythm. The beats pulsed through the DJ more vibrant than any beats she could produce with her equipment. It was always this way - the beats of Tav's heart were actually the base of many of Vinyl's songs. From the heart, Vinyl dragged her hoof down her marefriend's belly once more. Except now, she hit a sore spot, a spot that had never gone away, nor would it. She hit a spot that sucked the sweet relief from her and filled her with the turmoil that came with bad memories. Her face blanked completely. The tiny smile that was growing had fallen to a thin frown, and her ruby eyes lost their intensity. In her mind was a stormy ocean that deeply contrasted the gentle one that they were currently on. Now Vinyl was no psychologist, nor was she a psychotherapist, but if there was anything she knew about the pony psyche, it was this: some things can never be forgotten. There are scars that cut too deep to heal, and there are emotions too heavy to let go. Her hoof traced this spot up and down its entirety, letting her mind sink away into the abyss of fear that she had so long suppressed. Morning or not, it was dark. A chill suddenly befell the room, and the sun seemed to stop shining for a moment or two. The troubled mare's mind was creating the scene all over again. She would give anything to change her thoughts, to suppress them again, but they were intruding evermore. "I'm getting in there!" Vinyl had demanded. Vinyl's eyes clenched shut, her mind doing everything in its power to stop itself from bringing forth these thoughts. "We've already told you, you can't!" the formal stallion had explained. Vinyl raised her hoof up to Octavia's heart once more. These thoughts made her worried, scared even. She just needed to make sure it was still there, still beating. What she was greeted with when her hoof rested atop Tav's heart was a gentle thump. She was suddenly sucked from the darkness and spat out into the warm room once again. Somehow unbeknownst to her, she had worked up a small sweat. Her breathing was slightly heavier - not enough to cause a real disturbance - and her whole body was shaking ever so lightly. Her hoof was still on the cellist's heart though, and her breathing and shaking soon calmed down to the steady rhythm. "N-Nightmares," she muttered in the thick silence. If only it were true... *** Octavia finally woke from her sleep, alone and cold. She was in Vinyl's bed, that was obvious. Next to her was a moist spot, roughly the size of a certain DJ she knew. With caution, she extended a hoof to take a sample of the dampness. Bringing it to her nose, she found it to smell like sweat. She didn't know if she was disturbed or worried - most likely worried, considering the revitalized feelings she had for Vinyl. There was a feeling of unease building inside her. Yawning and stretching, the replenished mare took in the first deep breath of her day. Steam poured into her lungs though, causing an abrupt tickle that threw off her gentle wake up. She coughed out, clutching her chest in a melodramatic display. Her legs kicked out, throwing the sheets to the base of the bed, and her pinkish-purple eyes threatened to cry as she coughed with the unnecessary drama she knew she could sometimes create. She rolled off of the mattress, the coughs dying down. The walk to the opposite side of the bed was brisk - as expected - and Octavia curiously peered into the vaporous bathroom. The shower was still dripping, and shampoo bottles were scattered nonchalantly across the floor. She could come to only one conclusion; Vinyl had recently been here. Octavia turned from the bathroom entrance with a sigh. The clock on the wall set off another alarm - it was already eleven! Her heart skipped a beat at the time lag. It only felt like it was nine or so. She trotted up to the marble counter, above which the clock hung. As if it would help, she gave it an intense glare. Though something else caught her glaring eyes now; under the clock, much like what she, herself, had done but a day before, was a small little note written in Vinyl's very own chicken-scratch mouth writing. Octavia had learned to read it, but she was sure that to anypony else, it would vie the outcome of burning toast and crumbling it atop paper. Taxing her mind wasn't the first thing she had wanted to do this morning, but even so, she read: Hey Tav, Sorry about leaving you. I had a nightmare, and wasn't feeling good. You looked like you really needed the sleep, so I just let you snooze while I took a shower. But then you weren't up, and I really needed food, so... yeah, sorry... Love ya! P.S., that clock doesn't work. I don't know why. Octavia sighed. It seemed to be her turn to get the bunt end of a note suggesting abandonment. Though, Vinyl's heart seemed to be in the right place, so she could forgive her. And it helped to know that the clock was broken. It was strange to find that out, though; she had fiddled with it just yesterday, and it was working perfectly. Placing a hoof under her heavy head, she pushed through her still tired mind to evaluate the odd situation. There was an abrupt quartet of knocks rasping at her door. Her mind went to full alert, shooting her eyes to the sounds. She dashed to the door, and threw it open as if she was in danger. That unease was still lingering in the back of her mind. "Whoa, are you all right?" Bonbon asked, a little taken back by the display of force. She looked to Lyra as if the mint unicorn held some answers. Octavia took a moment to recap what she had just done, and immediately let herself loosen. "I'm sorry girls," she sighed, "I'm just a tad bit worried about Vinyl. Please, come on in." Lyra and Bonbon both entered the cabin with a bit of hesitance. "Is something wrong? Did things go alright last night?" The unicorn questioned with a worried face. "Oh, yes, things went swimmingly," the cellist affirmed, closing the door behind the pair. "However I did wake to a missing Vinyl. And that would be why I'm worried." "What do you mean, missing?" Bonbon asked as she sat atop Vinyl's bed next to Lyra. "Is she alright?" "Oh I have no doubt she's fine," Octavia huffed, bouncing onto her bed, "But I'm worried she may be a little... too fine, is all." "What do you-" "Um, why is the bed wet?" Lyra cut her marefriend off abruptly. The grey mare's face scrunched up in a bit of repulsion. "It seems to be sweat." Eager to get away from the nasty stuff, she added, "So you were saying dear?" The cream pony grinned at Lyra's slight face of antipathy. "Well I was going to ask, before Lyra brought up the sweat stain there, what you meant about her being 'too fine'." "I mean she may be tapping the spirits," Octavia said bluntly. "Octavia, I doubt she'd do that this early," Lyra commented, tearing away from the sweat. The cellist sighed. "You must not know her that well. She'd do it - I have no doubt." "If - and this is simply my opinion - if she enjoyed last night, then she'll avoid the drink," Bonbon reasonably noted. It occurred to the grey cellist that neither of her friends knew that the previous night held no 'positive reinforcement'. And yet Bonbon had made a well thought out point; if Vinyl had enjoyed the quality time with her marefriend, she'd surely avoid the poison that would prevent another night of it. "I...suppose. I'm still edgy though," she confessed. "Ah, I know something that should take your mind off of things. I don't know if you've noticed, but your little alarm clock right there..." Octavia looked down at her bedside table, surprised to find an alarm clock sitting silently atop it. "...doubles as a ship-wide radio. You just push the little blue button on top of it, and then let your ears become filled with some smooth, classical music." When Lyra had finished her slightly lengthy explanation, she magically levitated the clock onto Octavia's lap. The mare did indeed find the blue button on its top, softly pushing it and letting the calm sound flow forth. The sweet tune of Beethooven's Für Elise filled the room with a soft, ambient melody. The song - one of Octavia's more preferred pieces - was thankfully at its beginning. "Interesting, and they play this throughout the day?" she asked as she set the clock down, noting the red, LED-lit time: nine o'clock. "Yeah, and it's nonstop; the ship doesn't interrupt with annoying commercials or anything like that. It's...soothing," the cream mare said, a sigh of contempt easing through her lips. She fell back on the bed with a thud, ignoring the drying sweat. "Mm, it is," said the relaxing cellist. "So might I ask what you girls needed?" Lyra's eyes brightened with that sparkle they held whenever something exciting was happening. "We came here to tell you about Friday!" she exclaimed, changing from the relaxed tone to one more upbeat, almost in sync with the song. "We're stopping at a group of islands for a bit of shore time! Ooh, they'll be tropical and uninhabited! Bonbon and I are planning on spending the day together on the beach." "That's pleasant. I do suppose it would be nice to get off the boat for a while," commented Octavia as she too fell back on her bed. "Oh I agree," Bonbon threw her input out. "A nice, romantic evening on the sandy shores of a tropical island..." Her voice trailed off as she fell deeper into her own fantasies. There was a bit of silence that followed after her. The soft tune of Beethooven blending with the ship's swaying did miracles to Octavia's stress - it was practically melting away. "Well I guess we ought to get out of your mane. She and I are going swimming." Lyra nudged her marefriend, grasping her attention. "You're more than welcome to come along," she swiftly added, keeping a polite appearance. Octavia thought about it, and really, what more did she have to do? She needed a shower to get Vinyl's sweat out of her coat - a fact that also made her face scrunch yet again - but that was about it. "Indeed, I think I shall. It's very kind of you to offer." "Hey, it's nothing," the unicorn smiled. "You're our friend; we'd be honored to have you come along. Though, you may want to clean up." Despite the fact that her warning could easily be mistaken as rude, Octavia knew better. "That is just what I was thinking dear." "Alright then," Lyra said, clasping her front hooves together with a large grin, "We'll leave you to it. Come on over when you're ready, we've got time." The pair smiled at Octavia as they fell from the bed to the carpets. As they approached the door, the unicorn paused to add: "Oh and if Vinyl comes back, tell her she's welcome to come with us." "I will. Thank you girls," the cellist smiled to them as they left her suite. The soft melody of Für Elise had faded out now, giving way to a more suitable song for Octavia - her favorite - the Moonlight Sonata. It was a piece that held deepness in is harmonics, and a sort of life in the piano. It was her dream to, one day, accomplish the deepness of this song on her cello. It was a simple decision, made in the bat of an eye: stall the shower until after the song. Her nerves needed a bit more cooling anyways. Even though both of her friends had insisted that Vinyl would not touch the booze, she still had her doubts. "No, no, Vinyl is respectable on the inside," she scolded herself, trying her best to kill the conviction, "She'll stay sober, for my sake. I must simply have faith!" On her back, the plump mattress beneath her, she assured herself that Vinyl was, in fact, sober and aware. *** "Bartenders! Another margarita pleash!" Vinyl was so hammered she could hardly see. The shades on her face - she had retrieved them from Lyra this morning - weren't helping her at all. Her vision, however, was fine enough for her to shove a drained margarita glass down the bar in impatience for another. An annoyed purple mare stepped out from the shades, the early morning sun illuminating her face. "Miss, you've had six already. I don't think another is a good idea," she insisted, her sweet voice having died down as Vinyl continued to agitate her further. "Hey, now you two don't know that!" Her speech was slurred, and her movements like that of a ragdoll. "I'll have however mush I want!" "I do know that miss. How? Well, there's only one of me." "Wha...Nah, there's definitely two." The bar mare growled under her breath. "Ma'am, it's early morning. How can you get drunk at this time?" She looked out the side of the top deck bar to the rising sun. The place was neatly tucked in on the right side, exposed to the wooden path that ran up and down the entirety of the ship. It was at the bow, and just around the corner was the pool area, where Vinyl had come from. "Have you guys ever heard the one song? Ya know, it'z that... one song, by the Eagles er something, Hotel Caliponia?" Vinyl's drunken slurs were almost unintelligible, but they at least held some syllables. "Yes, I have Miss," the bartender facehoofed. "That has literally nothing to do with the situation." "Yeah, sure it does!" Vinyl proceeded to explain, spinning around in her stool with the coordination only a drunken pony could think they have. "Cuz there'z that one line. How'z it go..." "Ma'am, I really-" "Some danz to remember, some danz to forget..." she slurred in an off key sing-song tone. "Well I'm drunking to forget." The disorientated mare stopped her spinning stool at the counter, resting her hoof down in demand for another drink. "What are you trying to forget?" the violet bartender asked with a sigh. She had given up, and was mixing up another margarita for the drunk pony now. "I...uh, I forgot." Vinyl fell into deep thought - what had she forgotten? Suddenly she was ripped from her diluted thinking, looking left and right frantically. "Hey, do you feel that," the DJ asked, a look of drunken alertness about her. The bartender turned and gave her a confused eye. "We're moving..." "That's because we're on a boat miss," the blunt bartender groaned. She currently had a metal margarita mixer in her lavender magic, and was shaking it vigorously. "Huh...Oh..." the DJ's voice trailed off as she gave a glance over her shoulder, looking out upon the great Equestrian Sea. "Wonder when that happened..." "Oh yeah, big mystery..." the bartender huffed, rolling her eyes as she picked up a fresh glass for the margarita. She poured the green concoction into the V glass with skill. Then, she took a bit of salt and rained it down on the rim, before finally sliding it down to Vinyl and taking up her old glass. "It iz," the hammered unicorn agreed. Her tone was of garbled philosophical insight. In the bar's interior, the violet mare secluded herself from further conversation by sinking away to the corner. Drunken Vinyl just kept going though. "It'z almost like... um... ah, Sherclop Holmes." When her oh-so-clever simile finished dripping from her tongue, the white DJ looked down at her fresh drink, and grew a sloppy grin. The chilly thing was perfect for her dry throat, and was in fact just what she needed for her day. Her mind blanked of all conversation, and now, only held a badly misshapen image of the margarita. *** "Oh you girls just go ahead and get us a spot, I'll be back with the drinks," Lyra promised as she departed from her marefriend and her normal friend. They were headed towards a row of lounge chairs that sat by the large pool on the bow, and she had promised to get the drinks for them. Octavia had opted for a simple glass of wine, while Bonbon had sprung for a margarita. She departed the group, heading left and cutting the corner to hit the first bar. The morning was upon the ship, hitting it with gracious beams of sunlight that only wavered when the ship rocked. Lyra was rather enjoying things insofar; there had been only a few incidents between Octavia and Vinyl, and they were small. She and Bonbon were having plenty of together time, and were both enjoying the closeness that the ship offered. All in all, the trip seemed to be playing out just fine. Just as she was around the bend, the sight of drunken Vinyl hit her like a bomb. There was the DJ, who, only a night before, had been rewarded for not being hammered as usual. And yet she was on a topside bar, gulping down a margarita and swaying like the wind. A displeased feeling washed over Lyra in a wave of disgruntlement. "Vinyl, just what do you think you're doing?" she harshly snapped at the DJ. Vinyl looked like she had a heart attack for a second, before returning to as much of normality as she possibly could. She swung her stool around to face Lyra, the margarita pressed to her lips via magic. "Hey there, you," Vinyl giggled as she took the drink away. She nonchalantly waved a hoof as she brought the drink back up again for a quick second take. "How can you be drinking right now? Especially after Octavia only had praise for you from last night? Honestly, what is this?" Lyra's tone was one that an adult would use on a murderous filly. "Hey, hey, ya need to chill," the DJ slurred, gulping down the last of her margarita. Lyra couldn't see if she was even paying attention behind her opaque shades, but she would have to assume for the time being. "Chill? Vinyl I've been 'chill' the whole time we've been on this trip. But this is just outrageous!" "Outrageous?" Vinyl was suddenly in a serious tone. Behind her shades her brow was furrowed, and Lyra could only assume that her eyes held a sudden flame. "You have no idea, Lyra. Nopony has any idea!" The DJ slammed the glass on the bar behind her with her magic, her shades not moving once from the mint unicorn that stood in awe. Vinyl's face did change however, and now there was a furious frown on it. Lyra took a daring step forward. "What? What bit your flank?" The drunken mare snarled, her gaze fixed intently on Lyra. There was a wary wave of silence that befell them, the intensity of the stair not failing one bit during the entirety of the quiet. But then, Vinyl let loose a drunken laugh that bellowed out. She seemed to exhaust all the air in her lungs with one fell swoop, and was turning red as she banged the bar with a hoof. Clacks fused with her high-key chortle. "Vinyl?" Lyra slipped her name, hopefully gaining her attention. This was some worrying behavior. "Yeah, yeah," she panted, the final laughs trickling out of her boozed breath. "It'z all good!" "I'm a bit worried," the mint unicorn sincerely said. Even for Vinyl being drunk, this was...strange. But the white mare simply whipped her sharp hair up and shooed Lyra away. "Don't be. I'z fine... An' besides, I'm fine!" "Is this about last night?" The mint mare got right up to Vinyl - so close she could actually smell the liquor on the DJ's breath. "What happened? Is this something between you and Octavia?" The fresh smile that adorned Vinyl's face flattened in the blink of an eye. All cheeriness that had returned to the place had fled as well, whisked away on the brisk salty breeze that rolled over the ship. The swaying of the smashed mare had stopped as well; she was more stiff than some sober ponies could get. It was hard to tell if she was even breathing now. "Hey, are you-" "Stop." That was all the DJ said, her blunt tone that of a dead seriousness instead of the light heartedness of a silly drunkard. There was no time for an awkward silence to collapse over them now - Vinyl, with severely less coordination that she had shown moments ago, slid off the barstool and landed on the all fours with a thud. She did not even bother with a goodbye to Lyra, but rather, she curtly stumbled away, heading down to one of the many ship entrances and tripping through its doors. Lyra was in total confusion. The drunken disorder that even the drunkest of drunk Vinyl's could create didn't compare to how wrong that felt. The whole situation held an air of aberrance that couldn't be chalked up to any amount of margaritas. "I hate to seem rude, but I must say, I'm glad she's gone," the bartending mare breathed in relief as she returned to her post. She took the empty glass up with her magic, tossing it in an exposed sink before turning back to Lyra and performing her duty. "What can I get for you?" Snapping from her confused thoughts, the mint unicorn faced the bartender to order her poisons. Two green apple margaritas and one glass of merlot later, and Lyra was back on her way to the other two ponies - although she was no less confused than before. Her best mask of cheeriness adorned, the unicorn, with the drinks in the firm grasp of her magic, trotted out into the sunny pool deck. Both Octavia and Bonbon were reclined in poolside chairs, enjoying the sun as best they could. Lying on their backs, their tails and manes gently whipping in the sea breeze, they were conversing amongst themselves on some unimportant matter. Though, most matters seemed a bit unimportant to Lyra after Vinyl's display of bitterness. At the chairs, she dispersed the drinks. The oblivious mares snapped from their words exchange to take the cool spirits. These would be a nice counter to the warm sun. "Ah, thank you dear," Octavia said, taking a slight sip of her red wine. "Mm, thanks Lyra," Bonbon giggled, giving either the pony or the mixed drink a deviant eye. The unicorn took a seat beside the cellist, to the surprise of all of them. She slouched down on her back, the gentle swaying of the ship rocking her into a state of comfort. Not that she could stay in it long, though; she needed an answer to that. Her eyes were scanning over the distance, not shifting in the slightest for some time. "Octavia," she eventually asked in a bit of a hushed tone as she pursed the drink to her lips, "How was last night again?" "It was marvelous," the mare repeated, taking another sip of her own drink. Her purple eyes shifted, gazing over and observing the mint mare. "Why? Is something the matter?" Lyra was silent for a second, staring down into her green margarita. Maybe it was simply Vinyl being hormonal and drunk. No need to create problems between the seemingly recovering couple, right? "No...no, nothing's the matter," she lied, smiling at her friend. *** It had to be some time past noon - most likely four or so - when Vinyl eventually stumbled upon her goal. She was tripping and crashing quite a bit, but it didn't stop her from finding a long hall of shops. Marble tiles panned through the hall, the little clacks of the few ponies' hooves' here echoing throughout. It was still a blue theme on the walls, and the ceiling had a mural of many constellations and star formations. It was a marvel to Vinyl; she was walking through the hall inattentive to anything or anypony, her purple shades glued to the recreation of the night sky. A few snorts came from all around as the uptight ponies walked past her. She was stumbling around a bit, but the alcohol in her bloodstream was waning and she could tell. Now that her mind was a fair bit less diluted than before, she had a clear goal in mind - the floral shop. A gift for Octavia would not only make her happy, but also alleviate some of the guilt Vinyl was now beginning to feel for having drank despite Octavia's wishes. It was her life, and she'd do whatever she pleased, as anypony could expect. Yet she still felt slight regret, and she could at least make up for that. Another thought entered her mind as she rudely trotted through the center of the hall: she would have to apologize to Lyra for earlier. There was something that mint unicorn had said to press Vinyl's buttons, but she couldn't remember what. Even still she needed to apologize; it was Lyra who had gotten them on the cruise in the first place. The sobering DJ took a right, landing her in a shop that was carved into the ship. She didn't bother looking up at the name - it was a flower shop, and that's all that really mattered. A few bits jingled in her little coin purse; she had intended to use them at any bars that refused to take the V.I.P card, if there were any at all. But here she had a better use for them. All around her were bouquets of wonderful, colorful flowers, each assorted in ways that made them burst to the eye. Most of the arrangements were too fancy for Vinyl to even shoot a second look. She wanted something plain, simple, though eloquent. Much like her was her narcissistic thinking. Who didn't love a dash of Vinyl Scratch? "Excuse me," she politely asked. The employee, a white pegasus with a red mane and a rose for a cutie mark, turned from the flowers she was busy cutting to attend to Vinyl. "Hi," she smiled, perhaps too cheerily, "Welcome to Nightshade! Best flowers under Luna's moon, right here." "Uh, yeah..." This mare was making Vinyl uncomfortable. "Look, I need a good flower for my special somepony; nothin' too fancy or anything like that, just a good looking flower." The employee thought for a second, before lighting up like a match. "Aha! I have the perfect thing for you. How's...this!" She yanked a flower up from beneath her simple wooden counter, tossing it out for the DJ to inspect. It was one flower, but definitely beautiful on its own. A green stem, freshly cut, connected with red petals that shot out in a cone-like structure. The center of it had more of these leaves, all twirling around each other like the petals on a rose. "That...yeah, that one, what is it?" Vinyl asked, already in satisfaction. This would surely brighten Tav's day! "It's a hybrid between a rose and poison joke called 'Lover's Spore'. No worries though, the poison is long gone. Er, well, actually it's been repla-" "I'll take it! How much for it?" The unicorn was simply eager to get out and return to the suite for a nap. "That's ten bits," the pegasus smiled. Vinyl slammed the money down on the counter, nabbed the flower, and sprung off. *** Octavia was relaxing on her bed, enjoying the sweet tune of Adagio for Strings. Her body was cooling off; her damp coat was warm still, but the open glass doors helped with that. The steam was rolling out of the bathroom and filling the room, and, were it also not for the glass doors, would be suffocating her just as it had this morning. Her mane was completely flat and soaked - a style she would never be seen in public with, but in private felt rather freeing. More knocks came from her door. With a small 'ugh' of annoyance, she rolled off of her bed and headed for the door. She just wanted some time to herself; Lyra and Bonbon were pleasant to be around without a doubt, but some alone time would've been nice too. Despite her displeased demeanor, she trudged across the carpet and slowly opened the door. In the hall before her stood Vinyl, looking slightly weary. "Hey," the mare said in a small, plotting tone. She winked a ruby eye to Octavia before slipping past, an all too familiar scent radiating about her. "Vinyl Scratch, have you been drinking?" Octavia chided, demanding the answer she felt was obvious. Yet her marefriend stayed calm and collected, the small grin never failing. "Nope," she said in a light tone, "But I know what it is you're smelling. Here, I got you a gift!" With her light pink magic, she levitated a brilliant red flower to Octavia, resting it gently on her ear. Octavia shot her eyes up to glimpse at the overhanging petals. "Vinyl, it's beautiful, truly. But you haven't answered my question." The cellist disliked sounding so rude, especially after she was given such a thoughtful gift, but the smell of rank alcohol was exuding out with each breath Vinyl took. "It's the flower," Vinyl explained, "The place I bought it from soaked it in some kind of alcohol. It's apparently a mix between poison joke and a rose." Octavia immediately tried to get the poisonous flower off her head. How could Vinyl even think this was a good idea? "Hey, hey, calm down. All the poison was removed. That's why they were soaking it in alcohol." Were that true, things would make a bit more sense. Vinyl was acting normal: she wasn't swaying, she wasn't slurring, and most importantly, she wasn't convulsing. And seeing as the flower may have been carried in her mouth as she left the shop - also assuming the alcohol was still on the stem - then her breath would surely smell of it. "Well...alright I suppose," Octavia said, calming herself as she had done early that morning. "Yeah, and don't worry about dinner either. I already explained to Lyra the situation," the DJ sighed, falling back on her bed as though her day had been taxing. "What are you talking about?" the grey mare questioned warily, sitting on her own bed. "And what was wrong with Lyra earlier? She seemed...upset." Vinyl froze for a moment, but seemed for forcibly relax. "S-She and I bumped into each other, and I was a bit rude. Ya know, cuz I was feeling kinda sick this morning. Don't worry, I apologized." "Alright. And about dinner?" Octavia batted a fierce eye to the DJ, who was oblivious given her sprawled position. "Oh yeah, I kinda figured since last night was so good, we should just order some room service and chill up here." Her tone got a bit bashful at this last part, "Ya know, together." It was there. Deep in that coy tone that was just added, and Octavia knew it: a little tinge of remorse, sadness, guilt? Perhaps, though she could not see why. Nevertheless, the concept of dinner together, alone, was sweet. Octavia gave a soft smile. "That'd be lovely." "Really? Awesome!" Vinyl shot to life like the high point in a symphony. "We should order a really big plate of-" The red flower atop Octavia's head pumped out a gaseous cloud of pure scarlet. It was odorless, and tickled the cellist's lungs no more than normal air. She did her best to wave it away from her face, but she had already gotten a good whiff of the gas. Vinyl was quick to react. She grabbed the flower with her magic, tossing it to the marble counter as she quickly explained, "I had no idea it did that, I swear! I don't even know what that was!" "It's quite alright dear," Octavia said. While she was no botanist, she did just so happen to know that poison joke did not shoot out gas clouds. A bit more reasoning, and she came to the conclusion that it was probably harmless; after all, it would be illegal to sell poison, eloquent cruise ship or not. Though, the gas left a sweet taste in the back of her mouth, much like that of cupcake icing. "As you were...ugh...saying?" "Uh, yeah, I was saying we should get a huge plate of, well, something, and share it," Vinyl smiled, one eye still on Octavia as though to observe for danger. "Vinyl..." the cellist began, "do you know something about that flower?" "I don't, I swear!" There was a look of sincerity in the unicorn's eyes. "Indeed... Anyway, when do you plan on ordering? I presume you've mapped tonight out already?" "Yep, I figured we could eat at like seven or something. It's what, five now?" Vinyl glanced down at the alarm clock that was singing the strange tune of Hall of the Mountain Pony. It read five-thirty three, close to the DJ's assumption. "And until then?" Her marefriend grew a soft smile that beamed affection. *** The next two hours were spent in a sweet haze. The couple had gone out to the deck to watch the start of the sunset; it was, equally to them both, a beautiful spectacle. As the golden rays shot over the watery horizon, illuminating the sky with streaks of gold, pink, and orange, the pair sat close to each other on the couch. Vinyl seemed a bit reluctant to stay too close to Octavia for long, however, she always did come back to cuddle up. It was clear - to both ponies - that things were not alright between them. Yet for now, they were content, smiling to each other as the sun rolled on its descending course. Around seven, Vinyl ordered some room service. Delivery was quick, and soon, the pair were feasting on a shared platter of rigatoni and tomato sauce. For desert was a thick slice of strawberry cheesecake; a load of calories for sure, but delicious nonetheless. The night was spent idly chatting, exchanging pleasantries, and a displaying a few intimacies like hugging and cuddling. Celestia's day eventually fled, the empty sky being eaten by the Luna's starry night. The moon shone it's light through the blue glass, morphing with the dim candlelight that truly lit the room now. All in all, it was a fairly successful day for everypony.