The three mares trotted down into the lower level of the boat where Applejack had set up a small wooden table with four chairs. Rarity produced three Lady Rara lunchboxes in which she had packed a lilywurst sandwich, a bag of hay fries, and a cupcake. Applejack quickly scarfed down her entire meal while Rarity slowly and methodically took small bites of her food. Twilight was still shaken by the entire ordeal and her body literally shook as she tried to eat.
“Something the matter darling?” Rarity asked, “You’ve barely touched your food.”
“I should be used to all this.” Twilight confessed, “I’m from Manehattan. We run across corpses all the time on the beat. But I moved to Sunset Shores to get away from all that.”
“Don’t fret yer lil’ unicorn head.” Applejack consoled, “That shark’s as good as dead. We’ll all have a good laugh about it come Hearth’s Warming Eve.”
“There’s still a sea serpent out there.” Twilight added, “I just know it.”
“I know whad’ull make ya feel better.” Applejack advised, “I brought me a jar a’ my ol’ Granny Smith’s famous zap apple moonshine.”
The rustic pony opened a small cabinet next to the table and produced a large glass jar of lavender liquid about the same shade as Twilight. She gripped the lid with her hooves and unsealed the top with a pop. She then retrieved three shot glasses from the same cabinet and placed them on the table.
“So who wants ta go first?” Applejack asked, “How ‘bout you, Twi?”
“Sure, I guess.” Twilight said as Applejack poured her a glass.
Twilight levitated the shot glass and poured the potent liquid down the back of her throat without even tasting it.
“Ah! It burns!!” she complained.
“Has a kick to it, don’t it?” Applejack said with a chuckle, “You next, city slicker.”
Rarity levitated her glass and drank it without so much as flinching.
“I’ve had stronger.” she commented, “I could probably drink the entire jar.”
“You wanna make that a bet?” Applejack challenged.
“What kind of bet?” Rarity asked.
“We keep drinkin’ an’ whoever tosses their cookies first hasta pay the winner 50 bits.” Applejack explained.
“Fair enough.” Rarity agreed, “Let’s begin.”
What started out as a friendly wager soon devolved into a bitter competition of pride and social standing. Both mares had bloodshot eyes and could barely keep their hooves from shaking by the time each was on their sixth shot.
“You both need to stop.” Twilight advised, “You’re going to kill your livers.”
“M-my l-liver’s hu-half-dead ana’way.” Applejack slurred, “Jus’ l-like th-tha rest o’ m-me.”
“Wh-what ev-ever d-do you m-mean, duh-darling?” Rarity asked.
Applejack answered by vomiting all over the table and then collapsing into a sobbing mess.
“I-I w-win!!” Rarity tried to say, “Wh-who’s th-the s-sissy l-li-little unicorn n-now?”
Applejack quickly wiped her tears and vomit and gave Rarity a hateful look. Twilight helped Applejack clean herself with a washcloth and then Applejack cleaned the table. The earth pony the sulked in a corner as she and Rarity slowly returned to sobriety.
“It ain’t fair...” Applejack muttured, “It just ain’t fair...”
“Don’t try to back out now.” Rarity said, snapping back into sobriety, “A wager is a wager.”
“Y’ull get yer fifty bits, moneybags.” Applejack said, “I was mopin’ about somethin’ else.”
“What?” Twilight asked.
“Nun o’ yer durn business!” Applejack shouted, “Leave me alone!”
“Is in the shark?” Twilight continued, “He’s probably dead by now, like you said.”
“Ah told yuh to shut yer trap!!” Applejack snapped.
“Okay, fine...” Twilight muttured.
“What tha hay, I might as well tell yuh.” Applejack said, “Ain’t no point in keepin’ it a secret any longer. Most a’ mah folks are gone an’ I get a little mopey sometimes.”
“You mean they died?” Rarity asked.
“Whadda yuh think happened to ‘em, city slicker?!” Applejack replied, “Ah jus’ miss ‘em is all. Ya see, mah ma and pa passed away when I was lil’ more than a filly, they were killed when a stick o’ dynamite set itself off when they were tryin’ ta clear some rocks. Then ah had to raise mah little sister Apple Bloom an’ she passed away not too long ago on account a’glidin’ off a cliff tryin’ ta get ‘er cutie mark. Mah granny’s heart couldn’t take that so it gave out on ‘er and then she passed. All ah gots left is mah brother, Big Mac, an’ he left to go wash windows in Manehattan.”
“Oh, you poor, poor darling!” Rarity consoled, her own eyes welling with tears, “Forget the 50 bits, somepony needs a hug!”
The pretentious unicorn warmly embraced the gruff earth pony who stuck out her tongue in disgust and pushed her away.
“Ah dun’ need yer pity.” Applejack said, “That was jus’ tha moonshine talkin’.”
“I think somepony still needs a hug.” Twilight agreed.
Applejack was forced into a group hug by the two unicorns and gave a heavy sigh.
“Ah guess you two ain’t too bad for unicorns.” Applejack concluded.
The trio’s bonding experience was interrupted by a loud banging against the wall that shook the entire cabin.
“Now what?!” Twlight gasped.
The banging became even louder and tiny cracks began to form in the wall.
“It’s that durn varmit!” Applejack shouted, “He’s breachin’ tha hull!”
Everypony galloped back up the stairs to the deck only to find a large shark fin circling the water and occasionally banging against the side of the ship.
“Rarity, go grab me another harpoon spear from down below!” Applejack ordered, “I’ll end ‘em for good this time!”
“Aye, aye captain!” Rarity shouted with an overdramatic salute.
Rarity ran back downstairs and soon returned with a large metal spear in her teeth. Applejack took it in her own jaw and then locked it in place at the tip of the harpoon’s pulley. She cranked back the spring again and waited for the precise moment that the shark’s fin appeared in front of the spear. She smacked the lever with her hoof and the harpoon once again pierced the shark’s hide, blood oozing from the creature’s ribcage.
“Die you overgrown tuna!” Applejack screamed, “I’m havin’ shark steak tonight!”
The shark responded even more violently than the first time it was speared. It thrashed about with a demon’s fury and once again swam away from the boat, trying to drag it further out into the sea.
“Not this time fella...” Applejack muttered, “Twilight, get my shotgun!”
Twilight scrambled to retrieve the shotgun that Applejack had carelessly left on the deck.
“I think it washed overboard!” Twilight realized.
“Of all the cotton-pickin’...” Applejack grumbled, “Rarity! Get you one of yer harpoons!”
“Yes, of course!” Rarity responded, rushing back downstairs.
The shark could not break free of the second chain and instead caused the deck of the ship itself to take on water and begin to sink.
“He’s sinkin’ us!” Applejack called out, “We cain’t let tha engine get wet! Get tha pumps out!”
Twilight managed to find a small water pump in the engine room and turned on the machine. The pump gradually dumped the water back into the ocean but not at a fast enough rate.
“I’ll go up to the helm and run ‘im aground on tha shoreline!” Applejack decided, “We’ll drown tha’ bastard out!”
The madmare rushed up to the helm and turned the engine’s throttle on full speed ahead toward the beach. She sang at the top of her lungs in vengeful glee.
“Raise this barn! Raise this barn! One-two-three four!” she crooned, “Together we can raise this barn! One-two three-four!”
The shark still managed to put up a fight and the old engines could no longer handle the resistance. The friction became too much for the engines and sparks broke out. Fire and smoke belched out from below deck as Rarity galloped back up to the deck in a panic.
“I have all of my equipment but the engine’s on fire!” she shouted, “This is the worst possible thing!”
“Just hold out a bit longer!” Applejack assured her, “We’re almost there!”
“Up up up raise those beams! Hammer them joints! Work in teams!” she sang, “Turn around quick by the right elbow! Grab yer partner. Dotsey-doh!”
The engines soon gave out and the ship was dead in the water. Half of the lower level was flooded and half still on fire. A feeling of despair clutched Twilight’s heart but Applejack shook with angry determination.
“I have an idea, everypony!” Rarity advised, “Put me in the shark cage and I’ll shoot a poisonous dart directly into the shark’s mouth!”
“You’re crazier than Applejack!” Twilight yelled.
“It’s the only chance we have!” Rarity said, “Now help me set up the cage!”
The three ponies reluctantly constructed the shark cage on what was left of the deck and Rarity then donned her scuba gear. She loaded her harpoon gun with a syringe full of poison encased in a metal jacket.
“May the Faust be with you.” Twilight said as Rarity placed herself in the cage and slammed the top shut.
“Faust?” Applejack asked.
“Celestia’s mother?” Twilight explained.
“First I’ve ever heard of ‘er.” Applejack said.
Twilight and Rarity both levitated the cage into the water and Rarity sunk below the surface.
Rarity shook nervously as she tried to balance the harpoon gun in front of her, knowing the shark could kill her in an instant. She gurgled a scream through her mask as the shark charged the cage from behind and broke her concentration. The gun fell away from her horn’s grasp into the water below. The shark charged at the cage again and rear section came loose. Rarity managed a scream again as the shark opened its jaws and Rarity unlatched the top of the cage with her horn’s magic. The posh unicorn darted away to safety just as shark’s jaws became entangled in the cage bars.
The great white beast soon broke itself free and made another assault on the Winona. Rarity’s eyes darted about in confusion as she hid behind a seabed and faintly heard the engine of another boat. She could see the underside of a small motorboat that was headed directly toward the Winona.