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// 40 - Smooth Sailing 
// Story: The Apple Falls Far from the Tree 
// by David Silver 
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Silvertail was true to her word, and had the fish gutted and grilling in short order after the boat had been parked on the side of the river with its anchor.

Sweetie Belle watched her with a morbid curiosity. "Why did you learn how to cook fish?"

Silvertail looked over at Sweetie. "Why else would someone learn to cook something? Because they are hungry."

Sweetie pointed at the fish. "You're going to eat that? You're a pony."

Silvertail flashed her teeth, her sharp teeth. "I am a sea pony. The leather wings and us sea ponies are the omnivores of the pony world. This fish is smelling mighty fine to me. I suppose a unicorn wouldn't understand."

Sweetie tilted her head a little with confusion. "Omnivore, that... means you eat anything, right?"

Scootaloo landed beside Sweetie. "Cool! I tried fish once, on a dare. It was alright."

Sweetie made a face. "Really?!"

Scootaloo shrugged. "It was tough to chew."

Silvertail pointed at Scootaloo. "You are not made to enjoy meat. You have nice flat teeth, don't you?"

Scootaloo opened her mouth wide and Apple Bloom inspected those teeth. "Yep, flat! What's that mean?"

Silvertail flipped the portion of fish she was tending, making it hiss and pop as it cooked. "It means she's good at mashing up grains and plants. I have some of both, sharp in the front, flat in the back. I can cut up a fish in my mouth like you would with a fork and a knife."

Scootaloo giggled. "Wow! Don't you ever cut yourself?"

Silvertail tilted her head. "Funny enough, that has happened once in a while. No one said the life of an omnivore was easy."

Their lesson on anatomy was interrupted by the boat lurching to the side powerfully, knocking Sweetie Belle and Applejack onto their sides with a squawk out of each. Applejack and Willow got up quickly and came rushing to the grill. "What's goin' on?"

Silvertail moved towards the disturbance, grabbing a javelin in her mouth on the way. "I was hoping they'd moved on."

Apple Bloom pulled out a bottle and guzzled it down, becoming stronger and bulkier almost instantly. "Are there monsters in tha river?"

Silvertail hurled the javelin into the water, but it struck nothing but the waves. A female horse head popped free of the surface with a frown. "Foolish sea pony, give up the land and join us. The waters are your true home."

Silvertail waved a hoof at them threateningly. "Go choke on seaweed, ya blasted deeptide horse! I'm not giving up my legs and that's that!"

Scootaloo advanced alongside Silvertail, peering at the floating head in the water in the dim evening light. "Who is that?"

The head smiled as she looked at Scootaloo. "I'm Glossy Weed. Come closer, little one, and I'll teach you the ways of the Deeptide."

Silvertail quickly put a hoof in front of Scootaloo. "You'll not have any snacks off this boat today."

Glossy bared her teeth. While Silvertail's were sharp, hers looked like a menacing row of daggers in her mouth, clearly designed to rend into flesh, cooked or not. "It won't hurt more than a moment, little chicken."

Scootaloo's wings popped out to either side. "Chicken?!"

Sweetie sighed. "Shouldn't have said that..." 

Scootaloo was already in the air, drawing her flaming rapier on the way. "I'll show you a chicken!" Her surprise was great when the head inhaled and explosively blew a stream of water up at her. She was knocked from the sky under the bludgeoning spray and came down with a splash into the river and Glossy Weed was upon her in a flash.

Apple Bloom climbed up onto the edge of the boat and jumped in, dagger held in her mouth, and Applejack was only a moment behind.

Willow pointed. "Kalik, fetch her."

"No." Kalik curled on the boat. "You do it."

"I am your master. Save her!"

"That may well be, but I am fire, and that is water. I can think of more creative ways to end myself than that." Kalik yawned without interest and feigned sleep.

In a huff, Willow dismissed her back to her plane. While she considered another tactic, Silvertail grabbed a trident and joined the ponies in the water. Sweetie Belle stayed on the boat beside Sunflower and began to sing, her eyes riveted on where Scootaloo had vanished beneath the surface of the water.

In the darkness of the waves, Scootaloo was ensnared in the razor-sharp grasp of the Deeptide. She could hear Glossy speaking, "I have you now, little chicken. Stay still for me and I will make your end painless, relatively."

Scootaloo was still holding her rapier, though it bubbled and steamed instead of flaming. She thrust it at the large and sinuous creature, but did little more than scrape the jabbing weapon along toughened scales. Glossy returned the prick by sinking powerful teeth into Scootaloo's left hind leg and giving a cruel pull. She could have inflicted a much more severe injury easily, but she savored toying with her future meal. "Or you can fight. I thought you might..."

Apple Bloom arrived and stabbed her dagger into the beast, getting its attention. She could scarcely see in the dark, but she could discern it had no legs, instead possessing a long aquatic tail that was wrapped around Scootaloo. Its fins were terribly sharp, and Scootaloo was bleeding from where they dug into her form.

Applejack joined the brawl, but flailing hooves were noticeably less effective in water, to say nothing of how difficult it was to get off a good buck while swimming. Regardless of her grace, her presence, along with Apple Bloom, was enough to get Glossy to release Scootaloo and lunge at Applejack, giving her a taste of those sharp fins and long teeth. 

Scootaloo was infuriated rather than intimidated and plunged her rapier into the creature's back, drawing a garbled hiss of pain from Glossy, though it was not a telling blow against the terrific creature of the deep. The fight looked chancy at best, with retreat barred with Applejack ensnared by it.

Silvertail joined the battle with threatening jabs of her trident. She couldn't find a good window to get in a true strike on her nemesis, but at least distracted Glossy from tearing into Applejack too viciously. "Let her go, you damp monster. You won't win me over by killing my passengers!"

A bright flash caught their attention as a creature appeared in the water from nowhere, a large crocodile with a golden hue to its scales. It fixed its eyes on the deeptide horse and swam towards it with open maw. Suddenly the battle seemed less one-sided, and Glossy Weed released Applejack, fleeing into the darkness rather than face them.

Applejack grabbed Scootaloo by the scruff and swam back to the boat with Apple Bloom beside her. Soon everyone was back on the boat, dripping but safe. Sweetie was quick to see to Scootaloo's serious-looking injuries, while Apple Bloom offered her curative vials to Applejack.

Silvertail set her trident down and sighed. "You're a fierce bunch, I'll give that. Where did that croc come from? There aren't usually crocs along this portion of the river."

Willow volunteered that information. "That was my doing. Contacting otherworldly creatures is my specialty."

Silvertail tilted her head. "Ah? I've heard of your type. Should have figured that out from the flaming cat you kept around, but I don't like to pry. Thanks." She returned to the grill and plucked the fish off with a frown. "This one's burnt." She flipped it up and caught it in her mouth, eating it, singed or not. "Not too bad."

Sweetie Belle bonked Scootaloo on the head. "Don't do that again! I thought you were going to get eaten!"

Scootaloo looked petulant, crossing her forelegs. "It called me a chicken. I'm not a chicken."

Apple Bloom poked Scootaloo. "I've called you a chicken before."

Scootaloo brought up her hooves to shove at Apple Bloom. "It wasn't funny then either!"

Sunflower tried to intercede with held up paws. "Everyone's OK now. There's nothing to be upset about, right?"

"Wrong!" Scootaloo turned away from the others, sitting on her haunches and she put her snout up into the air.

Sweetie deflated a little. "I was just worried, Scootaloo... You're my friend. I don't like seeing you get hurt..."

Applejack paid half attention to the little ones, trying to not look too obvious about it, but she determined this was not the time for an adult to butt in, even if she did have an opinion on it.

Sunflower bobbed his head with Sweetie. "We're your friends, Scoots. We want you to be safe."

Scootaloo spoke without turning around, "I don't need a foalsitter. I can take care of myself."

Apple Bloom bit back an obvious retort about to escape from her and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry fer callin' ya a chicken, Scootaloo. Yer an awesome warrior, like Rainbow Dash."

Scootaloo looked over her shoulder. "You're just saying that to butter me up."

"Maybe." Apple Bloom smiled gently. "Doesn't make it less true."

Scootaloo giggled and turned around to face the others. She held out her hooves and soon they were filled with her friends. They hugged warmly, and all was forgiven.

Applejack stepped in then, gently ruffling the top of Scootaloo's head. "One thing ah do need ta say. Ah don't want ya jumping into the mouths of monsters, no matter how insulting they get. Don't give them that kinda satisfaction."

As Scootaloo promised to try to be more mindful, Sweetie approached Silvertail. "Who was that?"

Silvertail frowned. "An old 'friend' of mine. She's hunted this river on and off for as long as I can remember, harassing the smaller boats and looking for easy snacks."

Sweetie pointed at Silvertail's flank. "What'd you mean by giving up your legs?" Thinking about it, she looked at Silvertail's cutie mark, which showed a fish skewered on a harpoon. Seeing it was oddly reassuring. Despite her alien appearance, she was clearly a pony.

Silvertail sat. "It's an old story, unproven so far I know, but if a sea pony loses themselves to the waters, they eventually lose their legs, and their civility, and become deeptide horses. Glossy there's convinced she can talk me into joining her, and she doesn't take 'no' for an answer. I rather like the land, thank you kindly." She slapped another cut of fish onto the grill, already covered in herbs and spices.

Sweetie nodded with obvious fascination, looking thoughtful. "Does it work the other way around?"

"You mean, drag a deeptide onto land and get their legs back?" Sweetie nodded quickly. "I've never heard it done, but I suppose what goes one way could go the other. Do you think she'd agree to come up here and live a decent life instead of hunting in the water?"

Sweetie smiled sweetly. "You never tried asking. Maybe she likes you but she's really bad at saying it."

Silvertail snorted as if the idea was ridiculous, but looked thoughtful as she turned her attention to cooking.