An Island, Two Mares and a Bottle of Rum

Chapter Three

A Day Under the Sun, A Night Under the Stars

***

"Are you done yet?" Octavia whined, hours of waiting making her sober and anxious. Her hunger hadn't dissipated by this point; on the contrary, it was even more intense now.

"No, Tavi," Vinyl replied, sitting next to the grey mare by the shore, holding the hoof-made fishing rod in her telekinetic grip. If she asks me one more time... She groaned mentally, the headache gone, but her mood slightly lowered by the fact that she was getting hungry. And while this feeling could usually be suppressed by drinking just the right amount of alcohol, the rum was gone. For Vinyl, it meant that their entire existence depended on her ability to catch a turtle (or a tortoise... whatever!) or a fish. Alas, her skills in the field of fishing were far from supreme.

"Vinyl, if you don't catch anything, I'm going to eat you," Octavia said sternly, crossing her hooves.

Vinyl grinned. "Well, I know I'm pretty hot, but you can save your desires for later." She tossed her friend a wink, making the earth pony groan and roll her eyes.

"Vinyl, stop  being a foal. I said eat, and not eat out," Octavia retorted, eyeing the endless ocean. If it really is that endless, why can't we catch a single fish?!

"I didn't mean it." Vinyl waved her hoof in the air. "You implied it."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Now who's acting like a foal?" Vinyl asked triumphantly.

"You are!"

"Am not!"

"Totally are!"

The argument would have lasted for hours, were it not for the fact that Vinyl suddenly felt something tug at the end of the string. "It took the bait!" the DJ exclaimed, channeling her magical power to battle the forceful fish (Turtle? Tortoise?) that had all chances to become their dinner. Or supper, given the fact that the sun was already setting, galloping towards the horizon at full speed.

"Vinyl, we don't have a bait!" Octavia replied automatically, only by sheer force of habit, for her stomach was already screaming at the perspective of having some actual food and not half a litre of rum. Though, I must admit, the rum was pretty good...

"I got it!" Vinyl yelled, her magical grip now in possession of a struglling fish. "It's a bass!" she screamed in sudden realisation, noticing the features of the sea creature. Oh my gosh, shall I...

"Don't ever think about-" Octavia began, but it was already too late: Vinyl's DJ insticts were kicking in, and at full speed at it.

"DROP IT!" Vinyl shouted on top of her lungs, and dropped the fish into the ocean, the lucky bass regaining freedom with a splash. "AWW YEAH!" the unicorn took off her shades, grinning widely. "That was awesome, Tavi, right?! ...Tavi?"

Octavia's eye twitched, then the other one joined in the action, sending her eyelids into a fervent neurotic dance. Must... strangle... the punny pony...

With a roar that would make a primeval gorilla envious, the cellist jumped on top of the white mare, pinning her to the ground, grabbing her by the neck. Vinyl tried to resist, but that motion only sent their entwined bodies rolling towards the palm tree, which stopped them with a powerful hit, supported by an audible smack.

Suddenly, somthing fell onto Octavia's head, driving her out of the murderous stance. "A date?.." she said in disbelief, eyeing the fruit that had just hit her, noticing many such fruit resting upon the palm tree. Of course! Palm trees have dates! she thought, her attitude softening as she realised that there was at least some kind of food on this Celestia-forsaken island.

"Huh?" Vinyl blinked. What does she mean?.. "Tavi, I'm flattered and stuff, but you were just trying to kill me and now you're asking me out? I mean, sure, I am hot, but-"

"A date, you idiot!" Octavia facehoofed and showed the fruit to her friend, biting into it immediately afterwards.

"Oh, that kind of date!.." Vinyl exclaimed, not without a hint of disappointment. Well, at least now we have something to eat...

***

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Octavia said dreamingly, her stomach filled with dates, her eyes half-closed.

"The fruit?" Vinyl asked, chewing into the remains of her dinner.

"The sky," the cellist replied simply, prompting the unicorn to look up.

And the sky was beautiful indeed. Miriads of stars were covering the majestic dome, glittering and winking at the two mares, who now sat in silence, taking in the scenery. Octavia lay her head on Vinyl's shoulder, a gesture to which the white unicorn blushed. Sure, she wasn't new to such situations, but... something felt slightly different from all the times Octavia and she had spent side by side. It was rather... romantic? The DJ's blush grew even deeper. Don't say anything stupid, Vinyl, just don't say anything stupid...

"Not as beautiful as you," the words escaped the white mare's lips, her brain not entirely taking in what she had just said. Amazing, Vinyl. Waaay to ruin the moment, she scolded herself, afraid of what implications the cellist's mind had drawn.

Octavia blushed. That was so nice of Vinyl... Wait. Was she... flirting with me?.. For some reason, even though the situation felt rather awkward, something in the earth pony's mind (or heart?..) told her it was right.

"Thank you, Vinyl," Octavia replied, a slight bush covering her cheeks. "You are beautiful too."