"Yeah, yeah, another won't hurt," Vinyl cheered over the booming music. The stack of tiny glasses atop the bar in front of her was a true testament to her disorientated state.
Octavia giggled, sluggishly waving a playful hoof. "Aw, fine, for my little Scratches," she snickered. Then, she downed the clear liquid in her other hoof, shaking her head and snorting when it was gone.
Vinyl eyed her over with a grin. The night was young, but even in the dim blacklight-lit bar, she could tell her marefriend was partying. Her sepia mane and grey fur were carelessly rustled and messy, and her face never dropped that sloppy grin. "Aw yeah, now that's how we roll!" She turned down the bar to face the busy bartender. "Hey! Another round, S'il vous please!" she shouted with a hiccup.
A thump came from her side, but she paid it no mind. The bartender did, however; his eyes flew wide as the clear bottle of brew fell from his magic, shattering on the floor. Vinyl gave him a wary glance, grinding her teeth and snarling. "Dude that's good stuff you're wasting!"
He didn't answer - he was too busy throwing off his tie and apron and rushing over to her. She backed away, falling from her plush purple stool. What she landed on, however, was not the hard plaster tile that was supposed to be beneath her. She landed on something cold, something plump and curvy, something that seemed like it should be alive. A quick glance down to her hooves revealed a slumped grey mare with blue lips and a glazed gaze.
Immediately she fell to the Octavia's side, placing her ear next to her marefriend's drooling lips. Silence. She raised a shaking hoof and poked the mare's cheek. Stillness. Everything about her had stopped - her breathing, her blinking, and when Vinyl pressed her ear to the still mare's chest, her heart.
***
She awoke with a start, jerking up and off of her hard bunk. With an unceremonious thud she collapsed to the floor in a heap, waves of pain crippling her from any further movement. Her nose had barely missed a direct impact, but that didn't stop the horrible knives of agony the rippled through her face.
"Oh my," she heard a voice say. "I was told you were a heavy sleeper, but I didn't think..."
Carefully tilting her head up, she peeked open one ruby eye. Through the blur that clouded her vision, she could make out a tall, white stallion dressed in a nice green suite with a light cyan tie that covered his auburn fur. His striking blue mane was neatly combed, and his tail was brushed and groomed as it shimmered in the morning light. He seemed prepared for business - exactly what kind, Vinyl had no clue, but she frowned nonetheless.
"I...um..."
"Here, let me help you up," he said with a gentle smile as he extended his hoof. The DJ carefully took it, raising herself up to her own hooves once more. "My sincerest apologies for startling you Ms. Scratch."
"Right, uh, don't worry about it," she groaned, twisting her neck for the loud cracks that it entitled. Sitting back down on the cot, she batted her eyes at the captain. "So did you need something?"
"I did in fact," he said, taking a seat beside her. He smelled of deep cologne and hair gel. "I needed something two days ago. But I swear, the administration on this ship is so slow. I got the new brig records only last night; I'd have come sooner had I known."
"Known what?" the DJ asked. A long yawn drawled out of her throat. She stretched her arms left and right with a little, wide grin.
"Known that you were in here." He in turn had his own grin on his face. "Though I suppose I should have seen it coming. I saw the bar records a few days ago..."
"Oh, um...well ya see-"
"It's all right," he said, shushing her. "I remember our dinner a few nights ago, and well, quite honestly, I'm not dumb. I could tell just how bad things were between you and that charming cellist of yours."
"She's not mine anymore," Vinyl huffed with pouty eyes.
"I guessed as much. How are you feeling? From the looks of your hooves, I'd assume not so well."
Vinyl looked down to her hooves. They were scratched, scarred, with little lines of crimson running down them. "Oh this? I was...drunk. But look, I'm not really myself when I'm drunk," she explained in a defensive tone as she tucked her hooves between her plot and the bunk.
"Are any of us? I could guess that that too would be the reason for the bit of stability I'm seeing, hmm?" he asked, cocking his head with his patented smile.
Vinyl's cheeks filled with heat. "No offense captain, but I'm not a filly, so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't treat me like one."
He thought this over for a second, before saying with a wry wink, "I beg to disagree. You may only grow up once, but you're a filly twice." A little chuckle slipped his lips.
The DJ rolled her eyes; she couldn't think of anything else to do. "The humor's nice and all...but it's not really helping."
"I never meant to be funny - that was an accident," he said. His smile never left his lips once. "What I mean to say is that we never really stop learning. So to say that you aren't a filly would mean that you've learned all you need. And this may just be my opinion, but I highly doubt that that is your case."
"As if it's yours..."
"I never said it was," he said with a gentle nudge. He fell to his hooves and headed towards the door, saying over his shoulder, "Come, I think you and I need to have a little chat."
***
"Lyra...did we really have to sleep in different beds?" Bonbon asked as her marefriend casually trotted out of the steamy bathroom, a white towel bound around her mane. "It seems...well..."
"Well what?" the unicorn asked with a huff. She made her way around Bonbon's bed, to her own, jumping on it with a hollow thump.
"It seems like you're just..."
"Just what?" Lyra squinted, gazing harshly into her marefriend's cyan eyes.
Bonbon bit her lip and shifted on her sheets. She took in a deep breath, but instead of speaking, looked out behind her. Light was flooding in through the deck windows freely, lighting up the room with an orange glow. "It's just that you're being cold," she eventually said, turning back around. "And not just to Vinyl and Octavia...but to me too."
Lyra snarled, whipping the towel from atop her head. It flew to the bedside table, draping itself over the clock and lamp. "I'm being cold? Me? Look at yourself. I just made us sleep in separate beds. I thought that's what you wanted, after all. A break from me," she said. She crossed her forelegs and turned away, her chin high.
"Lyra, how could I want that?" Bonbon leaned in, extending her hoof with a hurt expression across her face.
"How? More like why. Maybe if you paid attention to me, instead of Octavia and that oaf of a DJ, you'd know the answer! Seriously Bonbon, is it just that they mean more to you than your own special somepony?"
"Now that's not true," Bonbon said with a scowl. "I love you dearly-"
"You don't show it! It's always Octavia this, Vinyl that... they're over Bonbon! And I'm afraid we will be too if you don't quit!"
There was a stiff silence. Not even the gentle rocking of the ship could alter it, nor the soft sound of rolling waves crashing against the side.
"We came here for us," Lyra said, her tone much quieter. "We came here to be together. We came here because we loved each other, and we wanted to spend quality time together. What don't you understand about that Bonbon? I want to spend time with you, not policing them..."
Bonbon searched for her words, gripping the sheets beneath her and tugging them close. "I...You would just turn your back to our friends?"
"They're not our friends anymore," Lyra huffed. "They've been dragging us down, don't you see? They're destroying our relationship, all because they couldn't keep their own together. It's so...so stupid! It's their fault. And now, Vinyl's going to give herself alcohol poisoning, and Octavia's going to become a hermit, and if you keep trying to help this failed cause..."
The cream pony scrunched her face up. Her cheeks flushed red, and her lips pursed. Squinting, she said, "Lyra Heartstrings. They are not the ones destroying our relationship."
"But-"
"Get out. Go on, get out. I don't want to deal with you right now." Bonbon pointed to the door.
"So that's it then? I knew it...I knew you cared more about them than me!" Another bitter silence befell them, sucking the warmth from the air. A tear trickled down the corner of the unicorn's eye, creeping down her cheek and dripping to the floor. She hopped down from her bed and sauntered to the door.
"That's not true either-"
"Fine!" Lyra snapped. "It's over, I get it!"
"It's not," her marefriend said sternly. "I just can't put up with anymore stress right now, and you're not helping."
Lyra ignored her, whipping the door open with her magic, and slamming it shut behind her. The mare, now alone in the room, sighed and rubbed her temples.
"It's not over..." she grumbled, shaking her head. Of all the ways to start off her day, it had to begin with this. She couldn't catch a break; everywhere she turned there was drama, the was heartbreak, there was lunacy. She growled, stomping her hooves down on the floor and storming over to the door.
When she reached it, she stopped, taking in a deep breath. "No no, Bonnie, calm down. There is a much better way to deal with this," she told herself. Patting her mane down into place and fixing a bit of ruffled fur on her side, she regained her composure and reached out for the door handle.
But when she opened the door and peered down into the hall, she was greeted with nothing but silence.
***
"Breakfast is on me," Starlight said with a grin and a wink. Vinyl followed him as he cantered into one of the various topside lounges. This one had the peculiar name, The Wayward Sail, chalked onto a blackboard that stood at the entrance. She sighed and went in, examining the plain, rustic surroundings.
The floors were wood, the walls were wood, and the ceiling was wood. The glazed, auburn planks added a cozy, cabin like feel, and did wonders for trapping the cool breeze that was constantly flowing. Both ponies inhaled deeply as a large gust filled the room, pressing the ashen red tablecloths to their circular tables. Vinyl and Starlight took a seat at one of these tables - one close to the back bar - and with haste, snatched up the menus at the center.
Vinyl cracked hers open and examined the laminated page, her eyes racing down the choices and her lips quivering, trickling with the slightest trail of drool.
"I don't imagine you have had a hearty meal as of late?" Starlight asked, peering up from the top of his menu.
Vinyl shook her head as she continued to examine her options. There was a large, cheesy faux omelet. Then there was the warm, steaming breakfast panini with crisp greens and scrumptious cheddar. And of course, at the bottom of the page, there was the breakfast wrap: a toasted, golden tortilla stuffed to the brim with leafy greens, fresh spinach, succulent mushrooms, and juicy tomatoes. She nodded at this with an eager stare.
"I didn't think so," the captain said with a chuckle. He was nonchalantly scanning over his menu. "The brig never does feed well. But, then again, you shouldn't land in there in the first place."
"W-Well it wasn't my fault," Vinyl said, slamming the menu closed and looking away.
"Oh? Then how did you land in there?" he asked.
"I - It was my ex's fault," she said with a huff.
Starlight almost chortled, but bit his lip and softened his smile. "That lovely mare you were with? Octavia, I think it was. What happened?"
Vinyl sighed and turned back to the table. "We, uh, just weren't right for each other..."
"Is that so? Well I'm terribly sorry to hear it," he said. His smile faded, replaced by a kind gaze. A waiter approached; he was the only stallion working, and had just finished wiping down the bar.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," he said.
"Nonsense." Starlight offered him a light smile. "I'll have the breakfast salad, nothing more thank you."
The stallion nodded and turned to Vinyl. "Yeah, I want the breakfast wrap and a glass of scotch," she said. The waiter smiled, spun around, and receded behind the bar once more.
"Scotch? This early?"
"I need something," she said with a sigh.
"Do you? Do you really? What, then, happened at my table those few nights ago?" He leaned on his hoof, an expectant yet kind look in his stare.
Vinyl blushed. Her eyes flew about and her lips fumbled, but in the end she said, "Just...memories."
"Strong? Must be," he said, "to cause something like that. But why the alcohol? What prompted it, I suppose I'm asking."
"If you don't mind, it's private," she said, turning her face to the wind.
"I do mind actually. Ms. Scratch, you've gained quite the reputation around the ship for your drinking. I get the records, you know," Starlight said. Eyes darted, his expression fell from kind and soft to stern and piercing. "It's not every day I get a complaint about a ship wide drunk. And I get even less brig admission reports."
Vinyl did not look back, but instead sighed and let the wind kick her mane back. "So I had a bit too much..."
"I've been following you, you know." Vinyl snapped her head around, her lip drawn up in a snarl. "No no, not literally. But I've followed your records, your actions. I even know about your little fracture there," he said, pointing to her bandage nose.
She blushed and grazed the rough gauss bandage with her hoof.
"You've gotten drunk on more occasions than I preferred to read about. And at my table, you shattered a full glass of bourbon. Then you created quite the ruckus with your...ex." Starlight's tone softened and his lips eased up from their frown. "Now you've got a shattered nose and managed to get yourself locked in our fine brig due to a fit of misplaced, drunken anger. Ms Scratch...It's not private anymore. I don't want this aboard my ship, and..."
"And what?" she asked, looking back to the bar. The waiter was giving them sly little glances ever now and then, failing in his attempts to be inconspicuous.
"And something tells me it's not what you want either." He sighed and leaned in. "What is the reason for all of this?"
"I don't need another pony running my life and treating me like a filly," Vinyl said, backing away with a sneer. "I'm sick of it, and won't take it anymore. Not even from you, captain."
Starlight leaned back in his chair, pushing the menu away and taking in a deep breath. He closed his eyes, slouched, and bit his lip. "I don't doubt it. But that's not what I'm trying to do. Listen to me, please. I only wish to help."
"Yeah, well...I don't want 'help'." She looked back over at the waiter, who was preparing two loaded plates to be brought out. Atop one was a crispy green salad, and atop the other sat her steaming breakfast wrap. She shook her head at it, gripping her stomach. Pain rippled up through her gut, but even still, her appetite had faded. Her eyes quickly shifted to the little glass of burgundy liquid that sat next to the plate, small trickles of water dripping down its cold sides.
"So you insist that you want to drink, break vital parts of your body, and end up in jail? All for what? For losing your marefriend?"
"It's her fault all of it happened in the first place!" Vinyl yelled, pointing a hoof to Starlight. "Jail! Booze! Everything!"
"Now now, no need to get upset," he said, waving his hooves down slowly. "Look, our food is here. I imagine we're both famished. Let's eat a bit, shall we?"
The waiter took the two ceramic plates from atop his outstretched wings and set them down before the two ponies. The savory scent of fried mushroom and spices wafted through the air. He then put the glass down next to Vinyl's wrap, the small cubes of ice clinking like little chimes.
She took no time in tearing apart her wrap, unceremoniously ripping into it and yanking a huge chunk out. Chomping down on it, she let tiny chunks and spittle fly with an ungracious snarl on her face.
Starlight took in another deep breath, the wind blowing through his mane. "All right, let's take a good look at this. You're an alcoholic." Vinyl opened her mouth in protest, but he raised a hoof to her. "And, something about alcohol makes you blow your top, no?"
She huffed and slumped down.
"You're keeping a secret, and it has to do with Ms. Octavia. You freely drink, but can't stand her drinking. As well, you are sensitive of ponies interfering with your life. I think it's fair to assume that I'm correct here?" There was silence. The captain took a large bite of his greens, giving the mare across from him a soft gaze.
"I guess," she muttered, crossing her forelegs.
"Good. It would then be fair to say that it has serious repercussions on your life." He bent down for another bite, but stopped, his mouth open and his eyes fixed on the mare across from him. Vinyl had taken up the glass with her magic, bringing it to her lips.
"Wait," he said. "Before you take a sip from that drink, I want you to think. That is why I've brought you here, after all - to think. Think long and hard about what you're about to do."
"I know what I'm about to do, thank you," she said, shaking her head and pressing the cold glass to her dry lips.
"If you did, I doubt you'd do it," Starlight said, once more bringing a halt to her movements. "I do not know what has happened in the past, but think about the present. Let us propose, for just a moment, that you hadn't taken a single sip of that blasted drink whilst on the ship. Where would you be now?"
Vinyl leaned forward, squinting her eyes and biting her lip. Her face was turning a deep scarlet, and her muscles tightened.
Gulping, Starlight quickly said, "Think about it. Is it worth it?" Then, there was a pause, a stillness that weighed heavy on them both.
Vinyl leaned back, resting her drink back on the table.
"There we go," Starlight said in a soft, calm voice. "Progress. Let us talk, for just a moment. No anger, no sadness, just talking. Is that all right?"
She picked up her wrap with her light pink magic, bringing it forward and taking off a significantly smaller bite. "I...sure. Whatever."
"Good, good. How has the cruise been so far?"
"It's been...fine," she said, gulping down her bite and slowly taking another.
"That's lovely. And the food? We serve only the best, you know." He offered a small wink.
"It's good, too."
"Interesting enough. And the music? How is it? Your friend, Lyra; she's quite the musician. Classical music, I find, always washes my stress away, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah." Vinyl took yet another small bite.
"My personal favorite - classical piece, that is - would be the Art of Fugue, by Johann Sebastian Buck. Might I inquire yours?" he asked with a gentle grin.
There was silence for a moment, Vinyl staring at the cool glass.
"I, uh, I guess the Moonlight Sonata. Tav loved that one..."
"And there we have it," Starlight said, clapping his hooves together. Vinyl's eyes shot wide, and she slammed her wrap down on the plate with a loud crashing sound. The bartender shot up, frantically searching for the source.
"My apologies," Starlight said with a nod. He shook his head, rolled his eyes, and got back to work. "See, Ms. Scratch, I knew that you didn't despise her, nor did you blame her for everything. I'm not a stranger to relationships."
"It's just a song," she grumbled, turning away and hunching down.
"Ah, but it's so much more, don't you see? For starters, it's not your preferred music, am I correct?" She reluctantly nodded. "You remember it by name. See, it's her song. And...you like it, don't you?" he asked, bending over to see into her ruby eyes. They were glossy, with tiny droplets forming at their base.
"Y-Yeah. So what?"
Starlight sat back up and looked out to the ocean. The never ending expanse of rolling waves seemed to be just that: never ending. On and on they rolled, their soft crashing music to his ears. He sighed and smiled now, a motion he was aware of constantly repeating. Even still, he nodded and chuckled to himself.
"I have a question for you. One last question, and then I must be off," he said, turning back to her. She looked up, her tearing ruby eyes shining in the morning light. "Is that glass of poison worth more than somepony you love?"
She looked at him, then down to her drink, then to him once more. "I-I..."
"If you want, I'll be here again tomorrow. If you're feeling comfortable enough, why not meet me here. We can...talk things over. I'm just a friendly stranger, sure, but sometimes it helps to talk to a stranger."
Silence once more.
"That sounds nice," Vinyl eventually said, wiping her eyes and stiffening her back. Clearing her throat, she slowly began to regain her composure, looking Starlight dead in the eyes.
"See? That's all you need - somepony to talk to. Don't worry, you can trust me," he said. With a muffled chuckle, he continued, "I'm sure you don't, but you can. Ten tomorrow, and I'll be here. And maybe you can tell me what the real trouble is. What you're keeping locked up."
"M-Maybe," she quietly said.
The captain smiled, standing and heading towards the door. "I look forward to it, Ms. Scratch. By the way," he said, just before he rounded the corner, "stop by the reception desk tonight. I'll have a key to an empty cabin waiting for you."
She smiled. "Thanks captain."
"Of course. And please, call me Starlight. We're friends after all, are we not?"
Vinyl gave one small nod.
"Good. I shall see you then." With that, he walked on into the midmorning breeze.
The mare, now alone, turned back to the glass in front of her, giving it a wary look. Licking her lips, she imagined the cool sensation as it would glide down her parched throat. But then, she turned away, leaning into the wind and sucking in deeply. Biting her lip, she tried to focus solely on the vast sea before her. But her eyes drifted to the glass once more, examining it, taking in its tempting form. The bitter aroma filled her senses, and she swore she could hear those little ice cubes clinking away.
Groaning, she leaned in, gripped the glass with her magic, and guzzled the whole thing down in one burning chug. Writhing and snarling, she slammed the empty container back onto the table, pushed herself away, and hopped down from her chair.
She rounded the corner of the restaurant and disappeared into the day.