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"A cruise? Like, a boat?" Vinyl asked, taking her pop tart out of the toaster. She flipped the steaming pastry, landing it on a small napkin she had laying out.

Lyra sighed. The blunt look on her face showed her inner feelings about that question, but she was determined to stay polite. Her friend seemed to be under a lot of stress, despite her still buoyant demeanor. "Yes, Vinyl, a boat. A fancy boat, with many high class ponies."

The DJ took her burnt pastry from her kitchen to her living room, sitting on her old, dark green couch. "Well why do I have to go? You know I can't stand ponies with their heads up their arse."

Lyra came in and sat beside her. The unicorn took her time getting comfortable; it was hard to do, given Vinyl Scratch's old apartment. It was an absolute mess, with random items sprawled loose, and old wrappers and dishes everywhere. To top it off, it smelled rank, like a collection of body odor samples. "Octavia says otherwise," She chuckled, turning away from the repulsive mess.

Vinyl stopped chewing her pop tart and slouched. "Yeah," she said through a mouth full of food, "Let's not talk about her for now."

"Why not? Is something bothering you?" The rhetorical question, Lyra knew, gave her the opportunity to finally see what the stressor was. Though, with Vinyl's response to the mention of Octavia, it was pretty obvious.

"I just said I don't want to talk about it," Vinyl pouted. She levitated her pastry to her cheap wooden coffee table, and crossed her forelegs in defiance. Her head shot away from Lyra, facing one of the few windows in the small apartment.

The mint colored pony leaned over to her friend with a sly little smile. "You're lying," she whispered coyly.

"Oh would you shut up?" Vinyl snapped. It was very out of character for her to get mad; now Lyra knew something between her and Octavia had happened.

Lyra sighed and backed off. "Hey, we're friends. Good friends, too. Why not tell me about it? Maybe I can help, who knows?"

The DJ seemed eager to retaliate, but slunk down into her couch instead. "I...I dunno. I mean, I love Tav an all, but she's just...ugh, sometimes," She confessed. With her magic, she brought the pop tart back to her mouth, and took a bite. Tiny chunks of food expulsed as she continued, "We had another argument, and I may have stepped over the line."

"How so?" Lyra inquired, looking around at the cobwebs in the corners to escape the little chunks of food.

Vinyl swallowed her bite. "Eh, she was mad about me touching her cello or something."

Lyra shot her a look.

"Alright, fine," the white pony grumbled. "I spilled a bit of vodka on the thing. But it wasn't much!"

The self-justification brought on an annoyed look from the green unicorn. "You know how special that thing is to her. I'd kill Bonbon if she even looked at my lyre wrong."

"Yeah, well...It's not like she hasn't messed up my equipment before," Vinyl snorted, taking another bite of the cooled tart.

"Vinyl, your equipment is replaceable-"

"This is expensive stuff!" The DJ argued.

"-but that cello holds a lot of sentiments," Lyra ignored the rudeness. There was a short moment of silence that followed, but the green mare knew there was more to it than just messing up the cello. "What happened next?" Her friend muttered something under her breath. "Vinyl..."

"I told her to screw off, okay!" The enraged mare lashed.

"Calm down," Lyra sighed, "And tell the whole story. I'm not going to get mad, I swear."

Vinyl scoffed. "It started when she began yelling. She's been doing that a lot recently, ya know," she eyed Lyra, taking a bite of the toasty pastry. "So yeah, anyways I yelled back. Who wouldn't, huh? Here was Tav, screaming in my face for something I didn't mean to do. I had to stand up for myself."

After she swallowed, she took another bite of the quickly diminishing thing, getting crumbs everywhere. "She was rambling about how I'm so clumsy, and how I need to 'clean up'. So I told her she was just being uptight. One thing led to another, and... well we decided that we just needed some time away from each other. Good thing I kept this apartment."

"Don't you feel guilty or something?" Lyra asked.

Vinyl sighed, and ate the last chunk of the pop tart. "Eh, a little. But she practically booted me out! That's just...ugh. Sometimes I wonder if it's even still there. That spark, ya know? The spark of love, or something."

"You don't think she hates you, do you?"

"How am I supposed to tell?" She gulped the bite down. "All we do is argue now."

Lyra slouched into the couch. "I see."

"Yeah, uh, look, let's change the subject. I really don't wanna talk about Tav right now," The DJ said. "Say, where did you get the cruise tickets anyhow?"

The unicorn perked up. "Oh yeah! Well, hold onto your seat... I was invited to play for the dinners there! This is a fancy, prestigious cruise line too!" Her face beamed with unrefined excitement.

"Really? That's awesome!" Vinyl said in genuine encouragement. "So they just gave you the tickets, or did you have to buy them?"

"Oh I could never afford them! A ticket for this line is normally a thousand bits or more per pony," she explained. "And we have upper class cabins!"

Vinyl's eyes shot wide. "Wow. Totally not worth it, in my opinion."

"So you don't want to come?" Lyra sounded let down.

"They gave you two tickets, and you want to take me instead of Bonbon? You two hit the rocks too?"

"Two? They gave me four. Weren't you paying attention earlier?" the green mare darted her eyes.

"Yeah, I thought you said two is all. Anyways, who else is coming? There's you, Bonbon, and me, but that leaves one ticket," Vinyl mused over the possibilities of the fourth guest.

Lyra facehoofed. "Octavia, of course."

Immediately, Vinyl protested. "You want me to get cramped on a boat with Tav for two weeks?" shot the shocked DJ.

"Oh c'mon, you two love each other. You girls are just hitting some hard times, that's all. A vacation would be good for the both of you," commented Lyra, who was now on her hooves. "Why don't you mull it over for a while? The cruise is two weeks away; just let me know when you've decided. I have to go find Bonbon, we're shopping for some fancy dresses to wear." She winked to Vinyl. "If you're coming, you may want to do the same. I'm sure Octavia would lend you the money if it meant making you appear high class."

Before the DJ could throw a defending retort, Lyra threw on her saddlebags, and opened the apartment door. "Octavia's coming, and it'd mean the world to her if you came too, I'm sure." It curtly shut behind her, leaving Vinyl to wallow in her own annoyance.

---

"A cruise. What am I suppose to do on a stuck up cruise?" She mumbled to herself. Slouching on the couch was beginning to strain her back, so she rolled of the sofa to the floor. "I'm not going."

The DJ pony (DJ PON-3, as her fans knew her by) sauntered back into the kitchen. On the stove clock, in flashy red led lights, the time read four-thirty. With a heavy sigh between gritted teeth she took a left through her kitchen, leading her into a small hallway that was the rest of her apartment. There were two doors in this dank hall, both on the left; one being the bedroom, and the other being the bath.

Down this hallway she went, grinding her hooves on the strangely soft carpet beneath them. The whole apartment, with the exception of the kitchen, had the same rustic look as the hallway. Bland, brown walls spanned either side, linking with the chipping ceiling and the dirty floors. There was hardly anything on the walls; a picture here, a record there. Not much, though. Of course, she hadn't been here in at least a month, so there were reasons.

She nudged the wooden door to her bathroom open, revealing a window-lit white tiled room with no more than a sink, mirror, toilet and shower. Vinyl started up the water with her magic, not bothering to close the door. Who would see her, anyways? A burglar? She toyed with the concept in her mind as she adjusted the dials.

Steam began to rise as Vinyl stared at herself in the mirror. The idea of a burglar was slightly amusing, but it couldn't hold her attention long. Now she found herself staring into her vivid crimson eyes, examining her lightning blue mane, and her soft white coat. Vanity swelled in her as she complemented herself with a wink.

Chuckling at her gesture, she turned away from the fogging mirror and stepped towards her shower. The white tub was being sprayed with lukewarm water; she soon realized that she had forgotten to pay a bill or two. Her attitude quickly shifted as she groaned and griped her way into the shower, pulling her blue curtain closed behind her.

A minute or two into the semi-cold shower, Vinyl found herself thinking over the cruise idea once again. She was in the middle of scrubbing the grease from her mane when the thoughts began to flood her mind. "I'm not going," She growled at herself, spitting out a small bit of shampoo. But even though her stubborn mind disagreed with the trip, she found that Lyra's words still rang in her head.

"It'd mean the world to her if you came too"

"Tav..." sighed the rinsing mare. Mad as she was, she couldn't help but feel guilty about the whole situation. Octavia was her marefriend after all; Vinyl hated disappointing her, even now. She wished she could let all the stress melt with the water.

"I'm right here," A familiar, tight voice huffed. Vinyl jumped at the sound, and quickly peeked out of her curtains. "It's interesting to see that you think of me in the shower though."

"Oh, um, Tav? What are you doing here?" the shocked mare blushed. The brick red heat was vivid under her wet, white coat.

Octavia, standing in the bathroom doorway, rolled her eyes and said, "I have a spare key, remember? Look, I'll be on the couch when you finish. Just...hurry up, will you?"

The grey mare turned from the door way with a flat expression, slowly walking off. Vinyl's heart was pounding harder than the initial shock; she wasn't ready to deal with Octavia, especially not now! And if she was here to talk about the cruise, she could just forget it! She shook her wet head, shaking a bit of water from it. She had made up her mind, and that was final.

The rest of her shower was rushed; the sooner she got her marefriend out, the sooner she could breathe again. Wiping the rest of her oily coat down in a quick cleansing motion, she shut the water off and hopped out. The steam in the room had fled through the doorway. This meant the mirror was clear. Quickly, she went to it, and propped herself up on the sink. Magically, she brought her towel to her from atop the toilet, and dried herself vigorously.

Everything on her frizzed. Her mane, tail, and fur all popped to their full extent, an easy fix for a unicorn. She brought her brush up from the sink. The bristles ran through her mane first, untangling and undoing all the knots. Then, it went to her tail to do the same. When both had been restored to their normally sharp look, Vinyl took care of her coat. The brush ran through it only a few times to get the knots out. She kept going though, using the soft sensation as a sort of stress relief.

It would do no good to keep stalling, however, and this she knew. She tossed the brush on the small sink counter, and, without haste, exited the warm bathroom.

Octavia was staring out the apartment window when Vinyl entered the living room. The clock in the kitchen read five now - she had spent longer in the shower than she had thought. Then again, a scrambled mind has a way of eating time. Sighing, she trotted over to the couch and slumped down.

The sudden jolt in the couch had apparently startled Octavia. She held her chest tight, taking in deep breaths as she shot Vinyl a look of malcontent. "Don't do that!" she chided.

"Sorry Tav," Vinyl gulped. She really didn't want a fight this late in the day. Though, with Octavia...one seemed inevitable.

"You should be! Nopony with any manners, no matter how inadequate, would scare an unnerved pony! It's just flat out rude!" the musical mare scolded.

Vinyl bit her tongue, desperately holding back a snappy remark. "Octavia," she rarely used her full name anymore, "I said I was sorry. What more do you want?"

"Well...It might help if you cleaned this place up. Honestly, how can you live in such a sty?"

"Hey, now it's my apartment, I'll do whatever I want with it!" The DJ was going to lose her temper soon and she knew it.

"Yes, well... I didn't come here to fight," The cellist relented.

Vinyl could not find it in her to do the same, however. "Are you sure? Cuz you're doing a pretty good job of it."

"I'd ask you to be reasonable here, but I see that it is out of the question," snorted Octavia.

"Was it reasonable to kick me out, huh?" the white mare chaffed.

The situation was exasperating by the second. Octavia noted this, but shoved it to the back of her mind. "I'll admit, it may have been a tad irrational, but you had it coming! Spilling that nasty vodka on my cello, and then having the nerve to tell me to 'buck off'." She crossed her forelegs, and scooted away from Vinyl.

"You were shouting in my face! What's up with that? It was an accident!" the DJ said in her defense.

"And that's another thing, Vinyl Scratch!" Octavia's tone was getting harsh, "You never own up to your mistakes! An apology, even if you had given a proper one, is not worth three hundred bits of repair money, mind you!"

"Oh, so it's money you want? Fine, I'll pay you back!"

"That's not what I'm talking about, Vinyl!" she spoke condescendingly.

Vinyl abruptly stood. "Don't talk down to me!" demanded the angered mare, "I'm not a filly!"

"You are most certainly behaving as one!" Claimed Octavia.

Eyes darted, Vinyl slowly got in Octavia's face. She stared right into those pink eyes, that on any other day, she would find very attractive. "What do you want? It's not to make up, apparently."

"I came here to talk about the cruise," Octavia explained with stunning composure. She backed away from her marefriend, who did the same. As Vinyl sat back up on the couch, she said, "And no, it was not to make amends. When I said that I didn't want to see you for a long while, I meant it."

The DJ scowled at the mention of the cruise alone; she had not wanted to see Octavia for a while either. "I'm not going on the cruise." She was putting her hoof down here.

"Oh is that so? I suppose you just don't care of what your good friend has gotten you then?" The grey mare berated. "You truly are inconsiderate."

"I care about Lyra, and I'm happy that she got the job. It's just, fancy cruises aren't my thing. And I don't need you to lecture me on it!" Vinyl snapped.

"Lecture you? It's rather hard to lecture someone with such a hard head as yourself," criticized Octavia. Vinyl had no response to the castigation; she just sat and fumed. "Now you listen to me. We are going on that cruise, a happy couple or not. It's for our friend, and her happy relationship."

Vinyl took that as an affront. "Maybe we'd be happy if you respected my opinion at least half of the time," she spoke her contempt.

"Don't change the subject," Octavia scolded. "Vinyl, if you want to keep this relationship, you'll be going on that cruise. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes..." she grumbled.

The grey cellist stood, shaking her sepia mane back into place. "Good. Alright, I really must be going. I need a glass of fine merlot to calm my nerves." She sighed as she headed to the door at the front of the room.

"By, dear," Vinyl huffed.

Octavia rolled her eyes, and slammed the door behind her as she left.

---

Alone, Vinyl Scratch sat on her couch with a bottle of the finest vodka seven bits could buy. Green Apple Clearpony, the label read - not that she could read the label now. She was hammered. Hammered and warm, and that was just how she liked to be. In the background, there was some soft music playing. She had no idea what she was putting on at the time she grabbed a record, but now she realized it to be one of Octavia's records: Moonlight Sonata, or something of that sort. It was Tav's favorite song.

Thought she did not care for such music herself, she found that listening to this piece brought back memories of happy times with her marefriend. The times before all the fights started. These memories made her warm inside - much warmer than the vodka she was swirling around with her magic. In the dark room, with only the moonlight coming in from the small window, the drunk mare reveled in these glorious tidbits.

There was when they first met, surprisingly at none other than the Royal Canterlot Garden Party. She had taken up an extra job as a stewardess there, and was busy serving h'orderves to the multiple guests when who other than the garden band called for her. Vinyl had obliged their request, getting them what they asked for: prawns in cocktail sauce. Not knowing what prawns were, she ended up bringing them some sort of crackers with a creamy sauce atop them. Octavia simply giggled and showed her what a prawn was, and boom, a new friend was made.

A transition cut through her wasted mind. She found herself now watching over her first kiss with that awesome mare. They were out in the rain, under a tree or something. Vinyl had a hard time focusing on it. But she remembered the feeling vividly, the rush when their lips met, the sweet taste of her flavored lip balm... It was almost like kissing one of the goddesses themselves. Octavia had the softest lips she'd ever touched, and when they met, it was instantly known that they were meant for each other.

Then there was the time when they made the decision to move in together. This was at least six months into their relationship, but Vinyl thought the move was overdue anyways. The two had decided that she would move in with Octavia, seeing as the wealthy mare had an extravagant house on the upside of Canterlot. While she never really cared for that stuck up city, Vinyl accepted the offer anyways. Anything for Tav, as it was at the time. But when Octavia saw how unhappy Vinyl was there, she was nice enough to make her summer house in Ponyville her main place. The happy couple moved back with ease. From then on, Vinyl was able to lax up on her DJ'ing (Octavia took care of her with her expanse of wealth that comes with fame), and she an Octavia had been happy. The high class mare was beginning to like the town, too.

About four or five months later, the fighting began. They had their arguments before, but...it was never quite like this. In previous agitated periods, they would simply fight, apologize, and have some make up fun in bed. Now, however, the anger just grew.

Vinyl had to take a break from her memories before they got ugly. She took a good swig of her vodka, gulping down all she could before her brain could recognize what burning was. When it finally did, she hacked up a storm. Too much vodka in too little time, and she felt ready to give it all back. Suppressing the urge was hard, but she assured herself it was only because she was drunk. If she could do it sober, she could do it smashed. Her stomach eventually calmed down, and things gradually grew fuzzier. But even as her room spun around her, Vinyl went back to her memories. It wasn't like she had something else to do. Now, the music had changed to Requiem for a Pony, one of the few pieces that this DJ genuinely enjoyed.

Her mind had skipped back but a few days now; she could see herself in Octavia's house as she was three days earlier. The cello, in its open case, was stained with a good bit of Everpony. Vinyl's drunken stupor wasn't as bad on that day, when compared to the lonely night she had to herself now, but it was enough for her to almost shatter her relationship. The bottle of vodka had tipped, and now soaked Octavia's prized possession. She could remember the eloquent mare losing it - The cellist exploded. Vinyl couldn't remember the exact words exchanged, but they were not nice by any means.

When she had decided, in all her drunken glory, that she had had enough, Vinyl finally told Octavia to buck herself. Everything happened so fast after that: she was immediately kicked out, Tav screaming about how she didn't want to see her again for years to come. At first the DJ was terrified that they were over, but Octavia said otherwise. Well, actually she said they'd talk.

And talk they did. About a day later, the booted white mare was getting settled back into her apartment. She would come here at least once a month since she moved in with Octavia, simply for a bit of nostalgic joy. Well Octavia showed up, and told her some things. They were more like conditions than anything else, but Vinyl had listened unbiased. First, Octavia didn't want to see her for a while. Second, when she finally cooled off, Vinyl had to get her act straight. Thirdly, Vinyl was subject to do whatever Octavia told her to do. The stuck up mare seemed to view it was over watch, or something. Vinyl just took it as arrogance.

Now she was up to date. Drunk, alone, yet warm and fuzzy still.

---

A sharp sound sent Vinyl flying from the couch. "What the hay..." she muttered to the floor. This was an awful way to start off a hangover.

The sharp sound came again, echoing to her very core. It sounded like a jackhammer on the sidewalk. "Vinyl? Are you in there?" A voice came from the direction of the pounding. It sounded a bit like Lyra. "Vinyl?" it called again.

"Ah...Ah'm comin!" the hurting pony called back. With a bit of struggle, she managed to get a hoof up onto her living room table for support. Her tense muscles put up a fight, though. It felt like hours before she even managed to get her chest off the ground.

The pounding came again, almost knocking her down. "Ah...I said I'm coming!" She snarled. Some ponies just had no patience. Growling and grumbling, Vinyl managed to get to her hooves and break from the coffee table. After a good bit of stumbling around the room, and almost landing in the kitchen, the unicorn eventually slammed into the door face first.

When the searing pain that ripped through her head subsided, she walked herself up the door. "What?" she gripped, pulling the door open.

"Oh my, you look terrible," Bonbon gasped.

Lyra was standing next to her. "You do... What happened last night?"

"Hey girls," Vinyl yawned, seemingly oblivious to their remarks. "Why don't you come in. And quit with the pounding. It's too early in the morning to make that much noise."

"Early?" Lyra asked, raising an eyebrow. She and Bonbon entered the messy place, and took a seat on Vinyl's couch.

She never really cared what people did in her home, so the DJ just closed the door and went to sit next to them. "Yeah. It's gotta be like, what, eight in the morning or something," she yawned again, plopping down on her former bed.

"Ah, I think I found out what's up," Bonbon sighed. The bottle of vodka sat in her hoof, empty.

Vinyl rubbed eyes to see the object. "Oh yeah..."

"It's midday," Lyra said bluntly. Her tail wrapped around Bonbon's, pulling the mare back from the empty bottle.

"Yeah, well...oops." The hung over mare just shrugged it off.

"Anyways," Lyra poked Vinyl to see if she was awake. The white unicorn seemed to be drifting off again, almost falling off the couch. The little tap did the trick though; she was up and attentive again. "Have you thought about the cruise?"

Cruise... When her mind registered the word at long last, it sent a barrage of messages up and out. She didn't want to be plagued with this stupid thing right now, especially with the hangover she had. But it seemed as though she had no choice.

Her mind got to work, scanning it's options and outcomes. She didn't want to go - Celestia knew she didn't want to go - but if she didn't, Octavia would end their relationship altogether. Things may not be the best right now, but it was clear just how much worse they could get.

Besides, this was for her friend. She needed to support Lyra as much as any good friend could! And Vinyl was a good friend, she could tell. Lyra would be so happy to have her come - not that she knew why, though. But if it made her happy... Her gaze drifted right, to the green unicorn beside her. A nervous smile flashed across her face.

She didn't want to go; that had to be obvious by now. Just yesterday she had actually said it. Yet here she was, conflicted completely. The sunlight that beamed in through the window made the worry on her face easy to see.

Now Bonbon was staring at her, anxious to hear her decision. Vinyl grew more and more nervous, switching between the two ponies, then down to the vodka bottle, then to Octavia's record that lay lifeless on the player.

"Vinyl? Have you...made up your mind? Are you alright?" Bonbon asked with honest worry.

All she had to do was say no. She could deal with Octavia later, and maybe work something else out. Just say no...

"Alright, I'll go," Vinyl sighed, mentally kicking herself.

Lyra's face brightened with excitement. "Oh this is so great!" she exclaimed. "C'mon, go get cleaned up! This is a fancy cruise, so we have some shopping to do, maybe visit a hairstylist, oh and those shades of yours aren't coming..."

While the unicorn was busy acting like a school filly, Vinyl thought of the bright side: she still had Octavia. Maybe this would be good - she might get the chance to fix things between the two of them. Or completely destroy them, but Vinyl wasn't exactly known for being pessimistic; to her, she had a chance.

So really this was more for Octavia than Lyra, even if the premises wasn't. And...it would be nice to have a vacation. All she had to do was congratulate Lyra a lot, be nice, avoid Octavia, and relax at the spa or whatever ponies are supposed to do on cruises. Piece of cake.