An Island, Two Mares and a Bottle of Rum

Chapter Ten

In Which You Realise That This Is Indeed a Shipfic

***

"I'm huuuuuungryyyy!"

Octavia winced, the sound of her marefriend's whining too much for her poor ears to bear. Up until now, she didn't know Vinyl was so skilled at the ancient lady-like art that allowed mares to drive their unfortunate husbands to spend all their money on an especially beautiful dress or a 'totally magnificent' piece of jewellery, which, as funny as it may seem, was always the most expensive one in the shop. Fortunately, same-sex couples were delivered from such issues, and, listening to Vinyl's unbearable whining, Octavia started to wonder if that was the real reason behind having so many gay ponies around Equestria.

"Hungryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

Vinyl's voice carried all the pain and sorrow of the best mind of her generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, and whatever else Octavia had heard from Vinyl's drunken "dramatic" reading of Howl, when she had balanced herself on a stool at a local bar, which led to the mares' ostracism from the aforementioned bar. Howl was indeed the right word here; her being a DJ, Vinyl's vocal abilities left much to be desired, turning her whining into a high-pitched howl that would make wild timberwolves envious. Not that there were any tame timberwolves, to think about it.

"HuuuUuuuUuungryyYyyyyYyyy!"

The white mare's vocals resonated across the desolate island, evoking an opulent migraine inside the grey cellist's head. It felt as if Vinyl's voice was riding a rollercoaster, up and down, up and down, up and-

-And a precise mighty kick from Octavia finished the fun ride, showing a fine skill of markmanship as she stuck her hoof into the white mare's mouth. Vinyl mumbled something indistinct but soon gave up on the noble attempt and waited patiently until the offending hoof was removed and its proud owner radiated a content smile.

"Ouch, Tavi, that hurt," the DJ mumbled, rubbing her lips. "You could've just kissed me, you know?" She grinned widely. "Just like in those films-"

"No, Vinyl." Octavia frowned and stared at the blue sky, sick of it already. Couldn't the pegasi provide a few clouds? Alas, it seemed that 'providing a Celestia-forsaken island in the middle of the ocean' was not on the weather team's list. "You really ought to stop whining. I'm hungry, too, but whining won't make the dates grown on the trees again," she concluded sadly, eyeing the palm trees that were now lacking the delicious fruit.

"How would you know?" Vinyl wondered in a contemplating tone (at least in what seemed to her a contemplating tone), rolling over. "You haven't checked."

"Vinyl, this is called biology." Octavia sighed and averted her gaze from the sky, looking at the white (now mostly dirty-white) mare. "They teach it in college."

"I haven't been to college," the white unicorn replied with a shrug.

The cellist frowned. "Well, that shows- Wait, what?!" She jumped in place, staring at her marefriend, wide-eyed and confused.

"I've never been to college," Vinyl repeated nonchalantly. "I mean, I am a DJ! I love my music; I don't love studying. Besides, my folks always told me I was gonna find a rich stallion to pay for everything I want. But hey, now I have an almost-rich-but-not-quite-there mare!" she exclaimed cheerfully, crushing Octavia in a loving hug.

"Vinyl!" the grey pony exclaimed, freeing herself of the powerful grasp. "If you think I'm going to pay for everything from now on, you are gravely mistaken." She tossed her long black mane back in a show of dominance. "Now that we are in a relationship, I expect us to share everything on equal terms."

The DJ gasped, backing down and tripping, only to fall onto the sand. "Tavi! You- You're speaking like a communist!" She squinted her eyes, getting back to her hooves. "Tavi? Tell me - you aren't a communist, are you?"

Octavia blinked in confusion as Vinyl closed the distance between them slowly, glaring at the cellist with a look that would surely kill a small animal, like a cat or a squirrel, or at least leave it paralysed for a while.

"Are you?!"

"Vinyl, calm down!" the grey mare exclaimed, waving her hoof before Vinyl's face, in order to bring the white mare back to Equestria. Island. Whatever. "I'm not."

That statement seemed to have an instant soothing effect on the white mare, who followed her marefriend's instruction and calmed down at once. One could only marvel at how fast her mood had changed, putting the infamous teenage 'mood swings' to shame.

"But you know, I have read Colt Marex's works..." Octavia said with a sly grin, looking away at the horizon.

"Tavi..." Vinyl growled in a warning tone. "Don't fuck with me, Tavi." She pondered for a moment. "No, wait, actually, do fuck with me; just not metaphorically. I mean, it's good to fuck in bed, or in the kitchen, or a toilet cabin would be nice too-"

"I get that, honey," Octavia interrupted her mare before her mind could delve deeper into the field of bizarre sex. "Just- a ship?"

"Huh?" Vinyl followed the grey mare's extended hoof that was pointing at a black dot at the horizon that was slowly but steadily approaching them. "A ship!" she exclaimed as the dot grew bigger, revealing itself to be a white (How do those black dots always change colour to something completely different?! she mused) ship, and a rather large one at that.

As the vessel drew nearer, the mares saw, not without astonishment, that it was a huge steam ship, one of those new long and broad models.

"Wow." Vinyl shook her head in disbelief. "It's like a gift from Celestia herself."

"I've a bad premonition about this..." Octavia mumbled, eyeing the ship.

"Come on, Tavi, it's our way out!" Vinyl retorted. "It's even got its name written in gold! Must be some awesome cruise liner!"

"I guess you're right..." the cellist agreed reluctantly, taking a long glance at the golden letters that read, Titaneigh.