FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The ship had pushed off, and everything was in motion. The whole craft was gently swaying left and right as they sailed on out; Vinyl was lucky not to be prone to seasickness. In fact, she was managing herself quite well for the time they were out. She was beginning to get flutters in her stomach though; it was five fifty-five, and she was about to be late.

But things were still going great! Vinyl had finished up at the information desk, and after wasting all her time exploring the various bars, clubs, and shops - there were plenty to see - was currently on the elevator to the top level. The sights flashed through her mind, trailing along with mixed emotions. Most of the 'bars' were uptight clubs that only sold mixed drinks. While she was good with a margarita every once and a while, there was nothing she liked more than to sit and relax with a good bottle of gin or vodka.

With Tav, of course, before she became all uptight about liquor. Vinyl sighed as the metal doors slowly glided open on their tracks, releasing her to the small lobby. Obliviously she smashed right into a pony, her mind lost unto itself. She stumbled back, almost tripping on her dress.

"Well!" The familiar voice huffed.

"Tav?" Vinyl's ears perked. She rubbed her ruby eyes to clear them, getting a good look at her very angry marefriend. "Oh, uh, hi Tav..." In an attempt to ease the tension, she forced a little giggle.

"Vinyl..." The angry musician seethed through gritted teeth. She marched into the elevator, staring the DJ down with a piercing look.

"Dinner girls!" Bonbon nervously chimed.

For now, to everpony's surprise, Octavia relented. She snorted and turned to the various buttons on the wall. "Down one floor?" she asked to mask a sigh. Vinyl caught it however, and just sneered. In the corner of the elevator, she sat and crossed her arms. All the rudeness from Octavia was making her reconsider that jumping idea.

"No, no, we don't have time to switch elevators. Just... go down to the main deck, we'll make it from there," the cream pony said. The leg hopping thing she was doing showed just how nervous she was. Vinyl understood, of course - when she and Octavia were on better terms, they would go to each other's shows often. Making it on time was a huge deal.

The elevator hummed in its decent. Tension in the air made it hard for Vinyl to breath, but she managed. In an attempt to make it through the awkward time, she found herself examining Octavia again, taking note of how cute the pink socks looked on her. Then she looked over the mare as a whole, just to enjoying her slender curves that were outlined by her pink dress. A sick feeling in her gut told her she may not be able to do it much longer.

Lucky for her, her marefriend was silently staring at the door - angry, no doubt. But still, it let Vinyl get a good look in peace. She took it as a luxury.

"Alright," Bonbon spoke first, "I think we'll end up in one of the long hallways that runs down the ship. You know, the ones filled with bars and shops. Um...We'll take a left out of the elevator, and head to the foyer. Just stick close, okay?"

"Yep," Vinyl acknowledged. Octavia simply nodded.

"Good. Here we go," the nervousness in her voice rang like little chimes as the elevator doors slowly parted.

True to the letter, the three ponies found themselves in a long hall of bars. As they hooked left, they faced at least ten different shops and bars on either side of them. This, Vinyl noticed, was the exact same hallway she had dipped into to reach the information desk. The marble tiles that ran down it, the wavy columns on either side, and the mass collection of booze. Yep, she knew exactly where she was.

Bonbon lead onward, past the small crowd of marching ponies. It seemed that everyone was headed in the same directions, and soon Vinyl could understand why Bonbon had wanted them to stay close. It was more chaos, simply put. In suits and dresses, fancy ponies all walked with their head held high, trampling over the DJ.

On more than a few occasions Vinyl had struck a pony that was agitating her. A drunk colt at a bar, an angry jealous mare... But the ponies here were definitely top priority. She made a mental note to find a place to hit each of them in private. It was strange that she would think this, and this she knew, as anger was very hard for her to really hold. And right now, she wouldn't be angry if it was only her getting jostled. But no... in front of her, she saw Octavia get shoved to the right by a stuck up colt. That set her off like a bomb.

They were just at the entrance to the grand foyer when Vinyl had caught up with the stallion. He was a tall, stocky colt, with enough meat on his bones to feed half the ship she was sure. With an angry undertone, she placed her hoof on his black tux and stopped him in his track.

"Hey buddy," she snarled at him. He turned around with a raised brow. It occurred to Vinyl - more than once - that she may be more intimidating without the prissy red gown on. Oh well, she was giving this guy a piece of her mind, well dressed or not. With a hoof she pointed to Octavia."I think you owe her an apology."

The grey mare was blushing the deepest crimson she could as she watched the scene unfold. As she cut through the crowd, Vinyl watched the color grow unbelievably redder. "Vinyl," Octavia harshly snapped. "Stop this right now!" Her tone was hushed, not wanting to make a scene, but a few wandering eyes had caught the sight nonetheless.

"Not till this guy gives you an apology! No one hurts my marefriend," the white mare whipped her electric blue mane at the colt.

The large red colt chuckled. "I say, marefriend? What is the term ponies use nowadays, 'filly-foolers'? I'm surprised you were even let on the ship, what with high standards and all." After a hearty laugh, he turned and disappeared into the moving crowd. Vinyl watched, jaw hanging agape.

"Vinyl! Let's go!" Octavia continued in her harsh whisper.

"That guy...he, just, ugh! I'll...ugh!" the DJ fumed, stamping a hoof down on the glass.

Octavia pressed her nose right up against Vinyl's. "You listen to me. Bonbon is over there waiting patiently for your idiocy to come to an end. I believe you already know how late we are running! If you don't start moving your plot this instant I will drag you up to the cabin and hang you from the balcony by your ears!"

Tav was mad. So mad that Vinyl could almost see the steam rising off her face. "But that guy-"

"This Instant!" The cellist commanded.

A tad shocked at the dominating tone, Vinyl gulped and nodded. Quickly she trotted past Octavia, to Bonbon, who was waiting beside the archway next to the stage. "I'm, um, sorry," she blushed hard as she approached.

Bonbon gave only a weary smile before moving on. Uneasy now, Vinyl followed with a low head. So now she had upset her marefriend, and her normal friend. Great. She was only trying to help... of course that would fail...

Behind her, Octavia was keeping pace as they entered this next area. The new room they were in had a teal carpet path that cut diagonally through the otherwise tiled place. The windows here were arches in the walls, carved into either side. Through them, the setting sun shone in its final rays of the day over the watery horizon. Inside, lit by the fading sunlight, the place seemed to be a sitting area: A piano sat in the center of the elongated place, with well kept tables sprawling around it in an organized circular fashion, each covered with a blue tablecloth. Vinyl reminded to take herself here when more fights erupted. It was almost...soothing, with the mix of fading sunlight and soft colors. It seemed to be hardly used as well, so she could probably find some alone time here.

Ah, but her attention was needed elsewhere now, as the carpet turned and led them into an archway that stood at the back center of the room. Through this arch, there was a lobby that was similar to the one at the suites. Blue carpet spanned the entire floor now, and two elevators stood ready on either side. One was offloading now, a surge of well dressed ponies exiting and heading up the few stairs in front of the dining hall.

The dining hall itself was severed from the lobby by an archway that sat atop these stairs. Bonbon was still leading the charge, guiding Vinyl, then Octavia up the stairs and through the archway.

"We have a special table, next to Lyra," she giggled, stepping through the arch. In front of them was a small mahogany desk, where a green mare sat. She was busy directing various waiters and staff to their positions, and only acknowledged their presence with a nod. To be polite, they all nodded back, and continued around her. Her little cache split in two directions, both leading out to the dining hall. What Vinyl saw here blew her mind yet again.

In the dining hall, a mass of ordered circular tables sprawled around a small circular stage that held Lyra and her harp. The carpet throughout was, of course, blue, with the exception of two white streaks that ran on adjacent sides of the room. These marked the aisles, and there were no tables or chairs on these.

On the walls, massive imprinted windows shot up to the upper landing, once again letting the dying sun shine its final light in. The vaults above spanned in a rectangle around the room; it seemed that the upper crust of the cruise sat here. The railing was, yet again, blue waves that encompassed the area. Between the windows were their lookalikes - huge wavy columns that ran down from the vaults.

Bonbon and Octavia had gone ahead, and left Vinyl in the doorway. She had to canter to catch up, heading out then taking a right. Down this white carpet she trod, catching up with her group. "Where's our table?" she asked when she was finally in earshot.

"Hmm...that one, right there!" Bonbon pointed out. Using her hoof, she indicated a circular table. It was covered in a light blue tablecloth, with stars and constellations spread throughout it. In its center was a small candle, lit and glowing already. Around it sat three stained wooden chairs, each with a small blue cushion on the seat.

The table itself was right next to the stage; perfect for, well, all of them. Grade A seats to a high class performance, as Vinyl's mind put it. They each took their respective seats: Bonbon on the right, Vinyl in the center, and Octavia on the left.

In front of them, Lyra was already lost in the soft melody of her harp. The DJ had to admit, that golden thing could create quite the melody. It did wonders to her edgy nerves. And edgy they were, too. The whole 'fancy dinner' thing was wreaking havoc on her mind; it was clear that if she were to mess this up, Octavia would never let her hear the end of it.

So prim and proper as could be, Vinyl sat tall in her chair. Then, another thought came to mind: a chair? Why in Equestria were they using chairs, when normally there would only be cushions. Hay, even Octavia had cushions at her house.

Octavia interrupted the ever so deep thought. "Ah, it's nice to finally sit and eat, wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh yeah, I'm starving," Vinyl agreed. But her marefriend shot her a look, telling her that the question was directed to another pony.

"Oh absolutely. I've been looking forward to this all day," Bonbon said. She seemed lost in Lyra, her head on her hooves, eyes locked on the magical harp...

"And I am completely famished. How do the dinners work, if I may ask?" Vinyl found Octavia's question to be ridiculous; even she knew how dinner worked. Order, eat. The end, right?

"Lyra told me a bit about it, but I'm not really sure. I think they come by for the drinks first, then the captain gives his welcomes," the cream mare explained, not taking her gaze from Lyra once.

"Sweet," Vinyl commented, "I'm springing for a few shots." She giggled to herself.

"No, you are most certainly not!" Octavia harshly berated.

The DJ pony recoiled. "Well...I can settle for some hard cider," she huffed. Octavia kept up her evil eye. "...Wine?" Vinyl gulped.

"A glass," her marefriend said.

"Fine," the disgruntled Vinyl sighed. She turned away from Octavia and began playing with her silverware in front of her. It was laid out next to a small bread plate, ordered and formal. She was sure there was more to it, but for now it just looked like it went from smallest to largest. Not really caring much, she wasted the time flipping the forks and turning the spoons. And pretty soon, she had a Lincoln log house of silverware constructed atop her plate.

When Octavia noticed the waiter coming with the bread, she snapped at Vinyl. "Take that thing down! Be acceptable for once, won't you?" Her hushed tone was making its impact.

Vinyl hurried to deconstruct her silver house, doing her best to put the forks and spoons back in their normal positions. "I'm only doing this to be nice..." she mumbled. It was more annoying than anything.

The waiter eyed her attempts at normality as he approached. In his mouth he held a large silver platter, with three menus and a notepad stacked up next to a wrapped loaf of bread. He set it down between Octavia and Vinyl, quickly offloading the menus with his dim magic. One to Octavia, one to the starving DJ, and one to Bonbon (who was still lost in Lyra). Then, he levitated the bread loaf to the center of the table, gently resting it beside the lamp. His actions mirrored the actions of other waiters and waitresses as they tended to various other tables.

"A drink, perhaps?" he inquired.

"Bonbon, drinks?" Octavia had to recapture the pony's attention manually.

"Hm, oh, yes! I'll have a glass of the fine chardonnay," The cream pony ordered politely. With a quill, the waiter scratched down the order on his small notepad.

"And for you, ma'am?" He turned to Octavia.

"I think I'll take a glass of your finest shiraz. Bonbon dear, you did say these are free, correct?" Bonbon nodded, then turned back to Lyra again. "Yes, I'll take it," Octavia smiled to the waiter.

"Very good. And for you, miss?" The brown stallion looked down to Vinyl.

Putting on her best 'proper' tone, she said, "I'll have a glass of the...um...red wine...or something." The stallion gave her a condescending eye.

"S-She'll have the shiraz as well, please," Octavia was quick to fix Vinyl's uncouth response. She flashed a large, slightly nervous smile to the waiter.

"Once again, an excellent choice." The waiter's tone was obviously that of patronization. The DJ was fuming with discontent. Everypony treated her like a filly! She just couldn't get a break!

Bowing, the waiter spun around and left. He retreated into the kitchen doors - located next to the dining hall's reception area - disappearing from sight. Once he was gone, Vinyl turned back to Octavia. "Hey, uh, sorry," she forced a chuckle.

The cellist didn't seem mad, necessarily - just disgruntled. "It's quite alright," she breathed her emotions out.

Vinyl simply sighed, and after glancing over her menu, went back to killing time. She would flick the tablecloth, stack and restack the silverware, and occasionally break off some bread to nibble on. It was actually good bread; soaked in oil, but good nonetheless. Her hunger was uncurbed though, and soon the idle swaying of the tablecloth couldn't even draw her attention from her gut. She wrapped the screaming place with a foreleg, pressing the dress close to her.

It was then that Lyra plucked the last note of her harp. Silence mimicked the night: falling silently over the entire place. All ponies hushed in a wave of quiet that swept through the eloquent dining hall. Bonbon shot a quizzed look to Lyra. The green harpist grinned and nodded up to the landing above them.

When Vinyl's attention finally shifted from her gut to her eyes, she saw, on the vault at the back of the room, a large brown stallion leaning on the wavy rail. He was adorned with a striking white vest - the captain, no doubt - with his captain's hat atop his mane.

A quick glance out the window revealed it to be nighttime already. Time had gone by slowly; Vinyl was in fact relieved to see how much of it had passed. She turned back up to the captain, her mood improved tenfold.

"Ladies and Gentlecolts," the stallion began. His voice was deep and thick, but carried a suave tone to it. "Welcome aboard the Lunar Maiden. I, Starlight Shine, am the captain of said vessel. Currently, at six twenty-nine tonight, we are headed east at twenty knots... which means we are all stuck with each other!"

The enthusiasm in his voice elicited quite a few chuckles from the mass of ponies. An affable grin on his face, he continued: "And we ought to hope things go well, too! Does anyone know how many civil servants it takes to change a light bulb aboard this ship?" An awkward silence instilled. "It takes about thirty! One to screw in the bulb, four to observe, and twenty five to do the paperwork!"

More chuckles riveted the room. "Ah, who doesn't like a good joke?" he rhetorically asked, snickering to himself. "But that's not why I'm here, though and that joke was a fair bit bad. Anyways, welcome aboard, I hope you all have a marvelous time."

As the captain receded to his table, hushed hoof claps echoed all around. Even Vinyl quietly applauded the captain - mainly for his cheesy joke, though. But what really lit a fire in her eyes were the waiters that were flooding out of the metal kitchen doors. Each methodically fanned out, hitting each table as though they were directed.

Their table was one of the first ones to be attended. "Ah, good evening once again ma'ams," The same brown stallion said. His handlebar mustache, which Vinyl had not noticed earlier, made him fit the job perfectly. On his back was a platter with three glasses, two of red wine, one of white. "Have we come to a decision on dinner?" he asked as he levitated the drinks to their perspective owners.

Now, if there was anything that could get Bonbon's attention, it was food, wine, or Lyra. She was attentive as ever, though polite nonetheless. "Octavia, you can order first." With a purple hoofwrap, she extended the offer to the cellist.

"Thank you Bonbon," she smiled. "I'll take the sweet Italian peppers with herbed risotto, and a basil-lime sauce please."

The waiter scratched the order down, complemented her food choice, then turned to Bonbon once more. Vinyl had nodded him to her; she had no idea what most of the stuff on the menu was.

"And for you?"

"Hmm...would you recommend the butternut squash and pear ravioli?" She asked, carefully studying the menu. When the waiter gave his nod of approval, she smiled and said," Then I'll have that, thank you."

He smiled, then turned down to Vinyl. Once again putting her 'properness' on, she smiled and pointed to something on the menu. "I want, uh, that. Yeah, that one right there."

"The escargot? A very wise choice," He emptily flattered.

"Oh no," Octavia stepped in, "She, uh, here. Just get her this, please?"

The waiter closely inspected the grey mare's menu. "The parmesean and pumpkin dumplings? Ah, yes, a finer choice." The two shared a chuckle. Vinyl was sure they both thought her to be mentally incapable or something. She just grimaced and pouted, looking back up to Lyra. The green pony was already plucking away as the waiter left.

"I knew what I wanted," the white mare huffed when the stallion was out of earshot.

"Oh really?" Octavia's tone was blunt. "You wanted to eat snails?"

Vinyl's eyes grew wide as heat filled her cheeks.

Bonbon interrupted now; she seemed ready for some social interaction, finally. "So what are your plans? For tomorrow, I mean?"

"I'm not sure," Octavia began.

Vinyl had brightened now. "N-Nothing! I have something planned for us, if that's okay?" She smiled to Octavia, then to Bonbon.

"Vinyl, what did you-"

"It's a surprise," she smiled.

Bonbon was chuckling. "Well of course it's okay. It's a cruise, you're supposed to have fun! I was just wondering, because Lyra and I were going to head up to the mini golf course."

"Good!" Vinyl chirped. Excitement was burning in her chest as she spoke. And though the adrenaline surge was a bit misplaced, it sure beat the burning in her empty stomach.

Bonbon was happy, Vinyl was happy, and Octavia was busy - giving a wary eye, that is. None of that changed throughout the evening.

---

After the two hour long dinner, only two ponies of the three left. Bonbon had opted to stay behind and wait for Lyra; that pony would have much to rant on, Bonbon remarked. So now it was simply Vinyl and Octavia walking back.

The dinner still sat on Vinyl's tongue. That pumpkin dumpling stuff was delicious! She had rarely had a dinner so good, though, she would never tell that to Octavia. In fact, at the time, all she had said was 'It could be better.' It was as far from the truth as lies got.

Then the dessert came... The savory taste of her chocolate mousse flooded her mind yet again. Her whole spine tingled at the thought. Its soft texture, its creamy flow, and the ice cream that came with it... heavenly. That was definitely on her room service list now.

"Here we are," Octavia sighed at their cabin door. "You know Vinyl, I've been thinking." She slid the key into the door, revealing a gas-candle lit suite. As they both entered - Vinyl closing the door behind them - the cellist continued, "And dinner wasn't a total disaster. Actually, I'm rather proud of how you handled yourself for the most part. Though maybe next time you should remember not to chug your wine. It is for sipping, after all."

Vinyl was blushing slightly from the complement. "Yeah...sorry," she apologized as she sat on her bed. It felt firm, used, as though something heavy had been on it. "Hey Tav, what's up with my bed?"

The grey mare's eyes widened. "I'm not sure. But anyways," she attempted to deflect, "I was thinking that perhaps we should open that champagne bottle. If you're interested, be a dear and pour two glasses won't you? They're under the counter." With that, she disappeared into the bathroom, the wooden door shutting curtly behind her.

Vinyl was no fool; Octavia had a silly little secret. Not that it really mattered, but she was interested nonetheless. Ah, but champagne...that was a brilliant idea! Who doesn't like to end the day with good hoofing in their relationship, a belly full of delicious food, and a bit of fine, nerve-calming champagne? It was perfect.

At the marble counter, Vinyl first took the champagne out of the ice (which was still miraculously frozen), then reached underneath to find the hanging wine glass sets. Using her magic, she poured two full glasses, the sparkling fluid barely cresting the top. She, of course, took the liberty of lowering the champagne levels, for fear of overflowing and spilling and such. And she found it to be surprisingly exquisite, too. Not like the wine from earlier, which had not been much to her taste.

Octavia exited the bathroom with a combed mane and tail. A new feature about her though, was that she had slipped out of her outfit, with the exceptions being her stripped socks. "What?" she asked, noticing Vinyl's coy smile, "They're comfortable."

"Ah, no need to blush Tav. But, um, can I take this thing off now?" With a hoof she examined her silk garment.

"Fine," Octavia chuckled. The long forgotten sound rang like little bells in Vinyl's ears. She couldn't suppress a chuckle of her own.

Magically, she slipped her dress off and tossed it aside. Well actually, onto her bed. Octavia would have a filly if Vinyl tossed the costly dress to the floor. Now that her body was unconfined, she levitated her glass up to her lips, but hesitated. "Hey...you wanna go out on the deck? The moon's just coming out tonight," The white mare suggested.

Octavia nodded at the idea, picking up her glass with an expert hoof. She joined Vinyl at the blue glass balcony door. Chivalrously Vinyl pulled the door open, letting her marefriend slip out to the crisp night air. She came quick behind her, pulling the door closed as she stepped out. The deck was cold tonight, but her heart felt warm.

Octavia had taken her seat on the couch. Her glass of fizzing champagne rest as a silhouette in front of her. Forcibly, Vinyl slouched down on the couch, setting her glass down next to its twin.

The cellist sighed at her marefriend's less-than-graceful landing, but remained calm for the sake of the mood. "I see you were right about the moon," she noted. The thin crescent was hovering barely on the horizon, making but a tiny glowing reflection on the cool water below. "How did you know?"

"Are you kiddin? The moon's awesome! It's my main source of inspiration, ya know. I have moon calendars, posters, charts... the works," she boasted. A smug smile grew on her face.

"Hm. Impressive to say the least." Octavia took a sip of her champagne, bringing about a rapid topic change: "Oh my, this is divine!" Her voice was slightly muffled by her hoof.

"It's pretty good, I gotta give it that," Vinyl agreed, taking a sip of her own.

There was a bit of silence after that. It seemed, at least to Vinyl, that neither wanted to ruin this moment. A soft, tender moment was hard to come by now; they both knew that they needed to savor this taste of love, as it was quickly fading. The thought of it echoed in the back of her mind.

Fading... No, it couldn't be. Look at them. They were...happy right now. But that thought still stained her mind like grape juice upon fabric. She turned to Tav for some comfort. "Tav, you know I love you, right?" She asked, taking another small sip of champagne.

"I do," was all the cellist said. Vinyl didn't know whether or not to take that harshly.

"Yeah, well, anyways... Do we have to sleep in separate beds? I kinda like sleeping with you," she blushed, looking down into her alcohol as it floated in front of her.

Octavia rested her head on a socked hoof, staring out at the moon. "No, I suppose not. And to be honest, I enjoy sleeping with you quite a bit." A bashful smirk grew on her face as she sank deeper into the couch.

"Aw," Vinyl poked. Tav was adorable when she blushed.

"Yes well..." was all the cellist could push out. She shot her cute little grin into her champagne. "Vinyl?"

"Huh? Yeah?" Her name held an off ring on Octavia's tongue.

"I just wanted to thank you. For sticking up for me. That was very chivalrous of you," She coyly complemented, sending her pink eyes into Vinyl's.

The mare blushed, giving a small chuckle. "Hey, it was nothin'. But I won't take anypony messing with my Tav."

"Thank you, Vinyl." She gave her marefriend a small smile, making Vinyl feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.

The pair, in their sweetest moment in weeks, remained silent for a while. Under the soft glow of the moon, and with the sweet taste of the champagne, it seemed as though nothing could go wrong. The first night, and all was right...

---

Vinyl hurt. She hurt. Her head thumped hard in her sideways world, a nauseous feeling in her gut complementing the masterpiece. She was cold; her fur stood on end in the brisk sunny glow.

Sun? Whoa, wait. She was outside... That, of course, explained the rough sleeping ground; she was laying on the deck. Deck, hurting... Things weren't looking up. Yet perhaps the worst part of it all, was the lack of memory from the night before. A slide reel began to play in her head.

Okay, so there they were, she and Octavia. They were sitting on the couch, enjoying the champagne, chatting about dinner and Lyra and such. It was ten... no, maybe fifteen minutes after Octavia's thank you, and the two were very close to each other. Alright, so then after that, Vinyl offered Octavia something. A gift? No, that wasn't it. She had nothing to give. It must've been more champagne. Yes! That was it! She had offered Octavia more champagne, and the grey mare chuckled and politely refused. So then Vinyl went in for more...

And that would explain the drained champagne bottle in her hooves.